50 mile coming up

[Ashgarth]

bah! I am doing a 50 mile in about 1.5 weeks and I have never biked that far before! My bf says I can do it (yeah he bikes 80miles just to go out for lunch!) so to him 50 is nothing!

I have only been riding my bike to and from work (16 miles round trip) so I am no where NEAR ready for the 50 miler!! yikes! what did I get myself into!!!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

If you can do a couple of 30's in the coming week, you probably will be able to do a 50 if you muster your inner strength.
Try a 30 mile ride as soon as possible.

[Starfish]

And, if you haven't already, consider a conversation and trial ride with your boyfriend to practice riding in his draft, and to make you're you're "on the same page" about pace, breaks, etc. Also, don't forget all the great advice on these forums about nutrition, hydration, etc!

[Zen]

Great advice so far.

Did your bf promise to stay with you?

Is there a sag vehicle?

[marni]

Having just completed my first three 85 mile days back to back followed by a 120 mile, I think the training that did me the most good was putting in TITS time of at least 3 hours on a daily basis. Of course I was riding for charity and not racing which meant that on those long days I could stop everyhour on the fifteen for hydration, sustenance and fanny fatigue break- Chamois butter liberally applied and reapplied is a good thing also.

Break the ride down into small segments and set goals and rewards mentally- something like when I finish the next five miles I will take a five minute break.

Do not try to keep up with your boyfriend but do consider using him to pull while you draft.

Finally find yourself a good cadence setting theme song that you can hum mentally and focus on that and the white line.

You'll do it if you want to. good luck!!!

marni

[Starfish]

TITS time

?

[Zen]

Time In The Saddle (TITS)

[Ashgarth]

HA! He is a 'real' rider---he said he will wait for me at the finish line with cookies and coffee

He's one of those riders that will ride with me but its a 'chat ride' so it isn't very serious/fun for him...he perfers riding with the boys



lol

I love him though

[madscot13]

Having just completed my first three 85 mile days back to back followed by a 120 mile, I think the training that did me the most good was putting in TITS time of at least 3 hours on a daily basis. Of course I was riding for charity and not racing which meant that on those long days I could stop everyhour on the fifteen for hydration, sustenance and fanny fatigue break- Chamois butter liberally applied and reapplied is a good thing also.

marni

does this mean your first stop was after one hour and 15 minutes? Or did you stop more frequently?

[Nokomis]

How's your recovery after your normal ride? Are you sucking wind and can't move for hours, or do you feel strong & refreshed quickly? If you can recover fairly quickly, then (in addition to the great advice above) break down the 50 into smaller rides w/ a break in between. Use those rest stops to recover then go for the next ride, break, ride, done!

Mentally this helped me to get thru my first Long rides by thinking of them as a sequence of short rides - go & have fun!!

[RoadRaven]

Way to go, Ash... I did my first 100km in December last year (about 62miles)

The general advice in training books and articles, is to increase your riding by about 10% each week.
So do take Lisa's advice and try a couple of 25-35milers before you set out for your 50 odd miles.
We are asking our bodies to change and respond at a metabolic level, so we need to ease into such distances carefully.

Having said that, just set yourself a gentle pace, and you will be fine!
Looking forward to hearing about it

[Ashgarth]

I am very excited and this is all great advice.
I am also riding with a very supportive group of women, so every little bit helps!

trust me.....I will take FULL advantage of the rest stops!

[HappyAnika]

Hmm, I just heard this last night from a friend who read it in a book or a magazine (not sure if its a reputable source). The idea is that if you add up your weekly mileage, that's the number of miles you should be able to do in one ride. From my perspective, I might be able to complete the ride, but I don't think I'd be very comfortable for about the last third of it. Anyone else heard of this? Good luck! Let us know how it goes.

[Starfish]

Time In The Saddle (TITS)

Aaaah, thanks! I had never heard/seen this.

[marni]

Mad Scot- Actually what I do is eat/hydrate 15 minutes before I start a long ride, then I go 1 hour 15 before the first break. After that I hydrate, eat as necessary on the 15 before and after the hour. I have developed this system for myself because otherwise I tend to just put my head down and go until I am wobbly from hunger or so dry mouthed I can't swallow. Having my watch beep is a good reminder to lift my head, look around, stretch, admire the scenery and take a couple of good deep lung clearning breaths.

marni