New to cycling and loving it!!

[leendat]

Hi I am a 45 year woman in average to poor shape (lol). I am new to cycling and I believe I have found a sport that I truely love!! I am going to attempt to do the Shiner Gasp this year. I guess I will know for sure then if I am truely hooked to cycling!!! I have started training about a month ago with my sister, friend and her husband. So far it has been allot of fun. We have gone on rides on 360 and in the great hills area, and even some rides out in Port Aransas to prepare for the Shiner Gasp. Any feedback on what I should expect on the shiner gasp as a newbie would really be appreciated.

[Aggie_Ama]

The Shiner GASP is a great ride, I did it last year and might do it this year. It is a big ride so you will have lots of company and the support is great. Expect a headwind to Shiner, sorry it is the truth this time of year. The course is mostly rolling hills, if you are riding 360 they will not be anything to be worried about at all. Roads are generally pretty good, although I remember one fairly long section of chip seal.

My number one piece of advice- plenty of time in the saddle. Last year I had been really busy and logged a low number of miles, the ride was way harder than it should have been.

[leendat]

Thanks Amanda I will keep that in mind!!. We are hoping to log a couple of long rides now up until the ride. I figured I would need to do that if anything to get used to being in the saddle for long periods of time. Do you know what the average time it takes to get to Shiner?

[Aggie_Ama]

The ride last year was 83 miles, some years the route is closer to 90. I was very out of condition, the weather was not good (really humid, some rain, strong headwind) but it took me about 6 hours on the bike. I averaged 13.5 mph. This pace put me in the bottom half, but people were coming into Shiner as late as we stayed (3:30).

A long ride will definitely help you get ready, you don't have to do 80 miles but I would try to do something around 60. There are a lot of threads here about preparing for a long distance ride that are very helpful.

And don't let me scare you, I cannot emphasis how little riding and training I did before Shiner. You will have a great time on the GASP.

[leendat]

Thanks Amanda for the tips. I will def. keep them in mind!
Where do I find the threads on long rides?
leendat

[Aggie_Ama]

You could try tips and tricks or using the search function on century training. Or if that doesn't work just start your own thread and everyone will help with questions on prep!