Quote Originally Posted by OakLeaf View Post
The cut-off for a 200K brevet is 13:30. That's a 9.1 mph average..
Are you including the time for stops? Some cyclists don't need much time to use the toilet facilities and to eat and drink, and others need a lot of time. It is reasonable to assume 3 hours of total stop time over a 125 mile distance for a fairly new cyclist. It means she has 10.5 hours to complete 125 miles.


Quote Originally Posted by OakLeaf View Post
I live in similar terrain, but IMO the short steep stuff is at least as hard as long and shallow. And anyway, the brevet she's planning will be in terrain very similar to where she lives. There's no reason for her to train in very different terrain...
Dang, you get long and shallow? I do a 4-mile climb to my house and the lowest grade is 5% and the steepest is 18%. Nasty. I've never been on a ride that has a climb that is long and shallow, or if it was, I just thought of it as being a 3% grade, not a climb.

I thought Catrin had said she wanted to do a brevet in another state and it would be hilly. I live in a state that is mountains and valleys, so when I think hilly I think of long steep grades, not short steep rollers. You are correct, it is a different training technique if the hills are 1/2 mile or less.