Question for road warrior consultants,etc out there?

[denny]

I'm new to cycling and just getting more comfy with cycling overall thanks to the great advice on this forum. I'm starting a new job in November that will have me on the road 14 days out of the month and I think excercise will probably be out of the question with 12-14 hour days. With only 2 weeks to cycle in the month and colder weather rapidly approaching, is it an unrealistic expectation that I'll be able to build up enough endurance and speed to train for a century by Spring?

[pinkbikes]

It's a little hard to say without knowing what your base level of fitness is and what your expectations are on how much "speed" you are after in your century. And I am presuming we are talking a century of miles here rather than a metric century...

If you have some level of base fitness, then I would say "yes" as long as you are prepared to lower your expectations to survival of your century rather than going in gangbusters and setting your world on fire. Save that for next time.

I say this as a person who had some disrupted preparation for significant riding challenges this year and did ok using alternate training methods.

I was invited to be in a team for a 24 hour mountain bike race a week after I was supposed to be going on a cruise for a week. So all of my final build up was done on an exercise bike in the gym of the ship and running up and down the zillion flights of stairs. I jumped back on the bike within an hour of getting home from the cruise and promptly fell off and bruised my ribs because the world was still rocking for me but the bike wasn't! But I made it to the event and rode really well considering.

Later in the year I was on holidays with my DH and daughter in Hawaii a week before we were to go on the Cycle Queensland (a 9 day cycle tour which we were all doing with the daughter behind me on the tandem - that's hard work). Again the exercise bike in the gym copped a pounding, along with the elliptical. We handled the tour well - although the second day of 94km with lots of hills was a bit of a pull for the 10yo daughter and so an even bigger pull for me on the front!

I then did a metric century a few weeks later with some workmates and had an absolute blast and could have ridden off into the sunset at the end because I was having so much fun it was a shame to stop at 100km!

Anyway, the moral of all this blather is that you can't expect to prepare by doing NOTHING for the two weeks you are away from your bikes and working those long hours. You will still have to do something. Perhaps you could think of your weeks at home with your bike as your "building" weeks and put a heap of work into them - incorporating a variety of preparation including strength.

Then make sure you use the hotel gym, regardless of how tired you are after those long days, to make your weeks away your "maintaining" weeks and just concentrate on not actually LOSING fitness. Just try to keep up the cardio work and maybe if there is a decent exercise bike do a little bit of work with some intervals.

Hey - this is not the optimal preparation for a century we're talking about here. But life is too damned short to put off doing things that are important to you, and those little adventures and challenges that make life interesting!

I believe that with a decent fitness base and a reasonable expectation that it is going to hurt, that you may be a bit slower than you'd like in a perfect world, and that you may not be ready to get up the next morning and do it all again, you should be able to ride a century. If you want to do it, give it a go!

[Blueberry]

Another option would be to bring your bike and a trainer with you. Or try to find local routes if you have a shorter day in there. I did some great rides while traveling on business.

CA

[denny]

I'm hoping to complete at least 61 miles in my first century. I'm not sure bringing my bike will be feasible. Days are usually 10-12 hours long and I don't want to risk losing my bike if I have to jump to an earlier flight (that happens at least 80% of the time).

I'm very fit and will usually run or spin in the absence of outdoor cycling. I'm hoping a recumbent bike or treadmill found in most hotels will help keep my base training up but I'm not sure if it will help outdoor cycling. I'm hoping that it will.

[Blueberry]

Any possibility of finding a local gym and taking a spin class? How about a folding bike (Bike Friday)? I remember an article about a guy who traveled extensively for business, but set a goal to ride every day. He took the Friday and a trainer, and had ridden every single day for years... Just food for thought

ETA - out of curiosity, what kind of job has you on that kind of schedule? Sounds nuts to me

[vinbek]

the cold winter months are great for weight training. Take stairs whenever possible. Do step ups. Find a step stool or stairs to walk up and down. You can also try a fast pace up and down stairs - thats a good cardio and will develop those legs. The only thing you will be missing is just miles in the saddle. So the days you are home, get on a trainer or spin cycle and spend some time in the saddle for endurance. Good luck on the new job. I hope you enjoy it!

[pinkbikes]

I'm hoping to complete at least 61 miles in my first century. I'm not sure bringing my bike will be feasible. Days are usually 10-12 hours long and I don't want to risk losing my bike if I have to jump to an earlier flight (that happens at least 80% of the time).

Ok denny, so basically you're going for a metric century. I understand completely about not wanting to bring the bike with you - there are just some risks that you don't need to take and that's one of them!

I'm very fit and will usually run or spin in the absence of outdoor cycling. I'm hoping a recumbent bike or treadmill found in most hotels will help keep my base training up but I'm not sure if it will help outdoor cycling. I'm hoping that it will.

To be honest, if you are very fit then you could probably go out and do a metric century now. You may not do it with style or grace, you might feel a bit uncomfortable in your bike skills, you would probably have a really sore butt, and you may feel like crap for a week afterward, but I bet you could stick your jaw out and soldier through if you had to. So what you are chasing is some style and grace and comfort on the bike while you do it.

Step One: Maintain your current level of fitness. You need your fitness to succeed in this and so you need to preserve it. Don't let the new job cost you this. The recumbent bike or treadmill can allow you to do this part. They will both help you keep up your cardio efforts. Do these while you are away.

I find an upright exercise bike is similar enough in position to a "real" bike to be useful in terms of strength training (do one of those hillclimbing programs they have on them) but find recumbent bikes are really only useful for preservation of cardiac fitness.

Step Two: Bike Time It doesn't matter if it is spinning in a gym or your bike on a trainer indoors in the cold weather, but you need to work the right muscles the right way and the only way to do this is on a bike of some sort. You need to build muscle memory and strength. Make your weeks at home the time for this.

If you can manage a ride outdoors in the cold weather, then by all means do it, but really you just need miles on the bike to get the body conditioned the right way. Sit in front of the television, listen to an iPod, use one of those nifty training DVDs. Whatever - just ride the bike as much as you can when you're home. You are putting miles in the bank so that you can withdraw them later when you need them! With interest!!

Step Three: Bike Skills You said you are just getting comfortable on a bike, and by this I am assuming that you are talking about your bike handling skills and your ability to ride in traffic or amongst other riders. This is a bit trickier because it depends on the individual and their level of agility, fine motor-skills and perceptual ability.

I figure these are the last things on your shopping list. Leave these until the warmer weather starts to pick up and then transfer your efforts during the weeks at home into riding out on the road as much as possible to hone your handling skills. Maybe even take a bike handling course for a half day if one is offered around your parts. By this stage at least you will have a huge store of cardiac fitness and "bike muscles" on your side so that all you need to do is concentrate on putting the bike right where you want it.

Step Four: Century Choice Try for an easy win for your first one. If possible, pick one that isn't the hilliest one possible! A century without a hill feels a bit empty I'm sure, but there is no sense beating yourself silly on your first one. Try to do some of your "skill rides" on portions of your chosen century (especially on the hills) so you have some comfort in knowing you have conquered them already and you are familiar with parts of it from a "cyclist's eye point of view." You'll be surprised what a comfort this will be during the real thing.

Step Five: Prepare Well No new clothes on the day, no new foods or drinks on the day, no new routines on the day, no new equipment on the day.

Sleep well, hydrate well. Enjoy every minute. Sounds easy doesn't it? Sorry if this is a bit "how to suck eggs" but I like structure!