Brevet this October - insane idea?

[Catrin]

I am sorely tempted to try out a RUSA Brevet in mid-October (SE Ohio). It is 200k, and am trying to decide if this is a totally insane idea to shoot for in my first year of cycling...given that is only 4 months away - but that is 4 months away! I would need to do some serious training to get my legs ready for a trip of that length as right now I am only up to 30 miles...

Obviously I would need to do a lot of work to get ready for this - which is fine considering it involves my bike - am just rolling the idea around and seeing what it feels like. This is the kind of riding that got me interested enough to learn how to ride in the first place

Now I have a touring bike that FITS me and feels great to ride, I am seriously considering it. This October date is the earliest that I would consider - there is one in Nashville, TN in late November, but it is certainly easier for me to get to Ohio...

Is this a totally insane idea?

[KnottedYet]

Go for it!

Where would we be if we didn't shoot for insane things? Grab life with both hands and give it a big wet kiss!

http://xkcd.com/752/

Sister Madonna Buder does Ironman tris, and she's in her 80's. She didn't even start running until she was 50. Sounds like she's doing insane things, eh?

Go for it!

[Zen]

Do you really need the external validation?
Do or do not...

[OakLeaf]

Go for it! Everyone needs a goal, right?

I'd offer to join you, but it's likely I'll be running the Columbus marathon the next day. Not that I've signed up for that, or even made a mental commitment to it, yet...

Hard to tell what the terrain might be like, and they haven't posted a route yet. It'll almost surely be hilly, but the really insane hills are southeast. Starting from the southwest side of Columbus makes it likelier you'll go southwest, since there are a limited number of places to cross the river. If you want to, you can be ready.

[Catrin]

Do you really need the external validation?
Do or do not...

No, it isn't for the validation - I was just wondering how insane this sounded for someone in her first year of cycling I am good at extremes, and have learned over the years that the occasional reality check is a good thing

Go for it! Everyone needs a goal, right?

I'd offer to join you, but it's likely I'll be running the Columbus marathon the next day. Not that I've signed up for that, or even made a mental commitment to it, yet...

Hard to tell what the terrain might be like, and they haven't posted a route yet. It'll almost surely be hilly, but the really insane hills are southeast. Starting from the southwest side of Columbus makes it likelier you'll go southwest, since there are a limited number of places to cross the river. If you want to, you can be ready.

This is great information - and should you decide that this sounds like more fun than the marathan let me know I think that Map My Ride gives assorted training plans for different needs and I will check theirs out. I need to do this in a way that I will be ready without burning myself out/hurting myself. I am good at extremes, sometimes too good

Go for it!

Where would we be if we didn't shoot for insane things? Grab life with both hands and give it a big wet kiss!

http://xkcd.com/752/

Sister Madonna Buder does Ironman tris, and she's in her 80's. She didn't even start running until she was 50. Sounds like she's doing insane things, eh?

Go for it!

Go Sister Madonna Buder! I didn't step over the top tube of a bike until 2 months after my 50th, so there seems to be hope for me

+1 on grabbing life with both hands and giving it a big wet kiss! The longer I cycle/better shape I get into - and because of that the more I feel like reaching out and grabbing life! Too many years of being over-weight and working FAR too much pretty much kept me from everything but my computer and television. As I said in a post several months ago, cycling does indeed seem to be the fountain of youth - at least for me

[redrhodie]

Wow, you sure have chutzpah! I mean that in the best way.

[Catrin]

Wow, you sure have chutzpah! I mean that in the best way.

Thank you for the compliment

[DarcyInOregon]

You should try a hilly metric first, and if that goes ok, then do a hilly century, and if you can do that then do the 200k. A lot of the distance cycling takes time and experience, to learn what you can and cannot eat and drink during the ride, when you need to eat and drink, knowing what and when to eat and drink when a new route is more hilly than expected or a hot wind blows in your face for miles, contributing to potential dehydration, along with gaining experience on climbing, getting the leg muscles strong, learning how to react in certain situations so that the reactions are instinctive, etc.

If you train for a metric first, when you finish the metric you will know if you can do a century or a brevet. At the end of a metric you should feel like you can bike another 40 miles easily and with enjoyment. If you suffered during the ride, or if the next day you complain about torn leg muscles, aches, pains and extraordinary fatigue, then you know you are not ready for a century yet, or a brevet.

I finished a century yesterday with about 5000 feet of climbing. The temperature was about ten degrees hotter than expected. A strong headwind came up in the early afternoon. Some cyclists called it quits for mostly heat-related issues. When we got back to the starting point, one century cyclist was prostate on the floor shivering in spasms while event volunteers put ice on him and waited for the ambulance to show up; the man was suffering from heat exhaustion. These are the kinds of situations a cyclist has to train for to prevent anything happening to them on a long ride. It is best to train for a metric, and if the ride suits you, then train for the century, and build up to the brevet.

[Catrin]

You should try a hilly metric first, and if that goes ok, then do a hilly century, and if you can do that then do the 200k. A lot of the distance cycling takes time and experience, to learn what you can and cannot eat and drink during the ride, when you need to eat and drink, knowing what and when to eat and drink when a new route is more hilly than expected or a hot wind blows in your face for miles, contributing to potential dehydration, along with gaining experience on climbing, getting the leg muscles strong, learning how to react in certain situations so that the reactions are instinctive, etc. ....

This is good information - thanks. I had assumed a progression of something like this - bit it is helpful to read it. I was thinking tonight about the difference of being able to stay in the saddle for the 13.5 hours allowed for the 200k compared to the amount of time I am currently accustomed to.

[DarcyInOregon]

This is good information - thanks. I had assumed a progression of something like this - bit it is helpful to read it. I was thinking tonight about the difference of being able to stay in the saddle for the 13.5 hours allowed for the 200k compared to the amount of time I am currently accustomed to.

There are things experience teach you to do. Well first a metric will show you if you have the right saddle or not, because if you don't, you will figure it out on the metric and in a painful way. Also, when the shorts are perfect with the saddle you will know with just one short ride that it is a perfect match. It can take a couple of years just to find the right shorts for you. For example, I love the Voler elite shorts sold on volerwear.com because they have a higher rise and the pad is one of the best on the market. There are other little things to do to prevent saddle soreness and one is I carry the chamois cream in the little packets in my jersey pocket, and at every SAG stop where I use a Porta potty, I apply an entire packet of the cream. I don't get saddle soreness or tissue abrasions. My saddle is the Selle An-Atomica, made in Wisconsin.

[Catrin]

There are things experience teach you to do. Well first a metric will show you if you have the right saddle or not, because if you don't, you will figure it out on the metric and in a painful way. Also, when the shorts are perfect with the saddle you will know with just one short ride that it is a perfect match. It can take a couple of years just to find the right shorts for you. For example, I love the Voler elite shorts sold on volerwear.com because they have a higher rise and the pad is one of the best on the market. There are other little things to do to prevent saddle soreness and one is I carry the chamois cream in the little packets in my jersey pocket, and at every SAG stop where I use a Porta potty, I apply an entire packet of the cream. I don't get saddle soreness or tissue abrasions. My saddle is the Selle An-Atomica, made in Wisconsin.

Thanks for the information, and I have been wondering how long of a ride it might take to determine if my Brooks is really the saddle for me. My calculator tells me that if I add 6 miles a week to my "long" ride then I will be up to 200k by the end of September - that seems a reasonable way to build my mileage base. Guess I should find some hillier places to ride though I am thinking that as my endurance/fitness increases that I may be able to build it a little more quickly.

I have been lusting over some Bib shorts that TE sells, am saving up for them and will check out the Volerwear site. Thanks again!

[lph]

Heya Catrin, love the attitude

I had a similar question involving a brevet the first year I started road biking. For various reasons I didn't do it then and haven't done it yet, mostly because I realized that even the training I was doing at the time was taking a bit too much time away from my family. I wish I could get up early and do long long rides in the early morning, but fact is I need a lot of sleep too, especially when training a lot, and without it everything deteriorates including my mood and temper. So I'm headed for the long slow approach instead. That brevet of mine is not going anywhere and I'll do it someday :-)

I did have a similar project last year to tackle a long climb (rock climbing), much longer than I'd ever done before. I learnt a whole lot of stuff from it, mostly what a total wimp I turn into when I've been awake for 24 hours... and to bring that over to bike riding, I'd say:

- do do the metrics and the centuries first. Don't skip them because you don't have the time, or they're too uncomfortable, or whatever, they're invaluable learning opportunities.
- don't overestimate the physical challenge, and don't underestimate the mental challenge.
- analyze every long ride to see where your weak points are and where your strong points are, and adjust accordingly. That slight irritation you notice on a metric could wreck your brevet completely.
- pay attention to your tolerance to the weather.

And don't kill yourself to reach that one goal. It would be really cool to do it in your first year of riding, but not if it costs you an injury. It'll still be there next year.

And maybe at some point I'll even go take my own advice, and do my own brevet!

[Catrin]

Heya Catrin, love the attitude

.......And don't kill yourself to reach that one goal. It would be really cool to do it in your first year of riding, but not if it costs you an injury. It'll still be there next year.

And maybe at some point I'll even go take my own advice, and do my own brevet!

There are some advantages to being a single woman with no pets - I can't feel guilty about taking time away from the home-front Yes, it will be really cool if I can celebrate my 51st birthday this way (the brevet is the week of my birthday) but the world won't come to an end if it takes me a little longer. It does help being a woman of a, shall we say, persistent nature

[indysteel]

I think Darcy's advice--about doing a metric and then a century--is good.

My calculator tells me that if I add 6 miles a week to my "long" ride then I will be up to 200k by the end of September - that seems a reasonable way to build my mileage base.

That makes it sound pretty doable, although if you end up being like me, the mileage progression isn't quite so linear. Like you, I accomplished a pretty significant goal within my first year of cycling in that I bought my first road bike in July of 2006 and did a 160-mile one-day ride exactly a year later. In building up to that mileage, I experienced certain mileage "plateaus."

During my first summer/fall of riding, I got up to about the 45-mile mark without too much fuss. After that, it took some consistent weeks of training to learn how to eat and drink and to get used to the aches and pains that set in after about 3 hours on the bike. After I got used to 45 or so miles, I quickly ramped up to about 60-65 miles (roughly a metric), again without too much fuss. From there, my body needed to adjust again. I spent some time "exploring" the 4-5 hour mark. How to eat, how to drink, how to stretch, when to take a break and when to grunt it out. The season ended at about that point, and I more or less put the bike up for the winter and worked on building my aerobic base with spinning.

When spring came, after a few somewhat painful weeks, I quickly ramped up my mileage back to the 60-mile mark. I then started to also do some speed work. For me, being in the saddle for long hours was a lot easier if I was riding with other people, but most of my riding companions were faster than me. If I was going to ride with my friends, I needed to get faster. So, mixed into my long weekend rides, I added some weekday training rides. My strength and endurance really improved at that point.

It was at this point that I did my first century over Memorial Day, 2007. In preparation for it, I was riding about 150 miles a week and my longest ride to date was 75 miles two weeks before. It was a relatively hilly century and that, probably more than the mileage, made it hard. I finished, but there were times during the ride that it really hurt. It was my first real taste of the mental toughness required for century plus rides.

It took a good week to recover, but after the century, I kicked it up a gear and started riding 200 or more miles a week. Most of my long rides were in the 65-mile range (because that's about the longest ride CIBA offers), but I usually rode that distance both Saturday and Sunday so my body was adjusting to long hours in the saddle. I was also finally able to do some hilly rides in Southern Indiana without feeling like I was going to die, too.

By the time my first year anniversary came around, I felt pretty strong and decided to do the RAIN ride on a bit of a whim. Some of my friends thought I was in over my head, but I felt confident enough to try. I'd also note that I was pretty nervous, too. It was all I could do to keep my breakfast down.

As it turns out, I felt like a million bucks during that ride. A nice tail wind and relatively comfortable temps helped, but I just felt inherently strong. I did it with a friend who had just finished a cross-country bike trip, and she made for an excellent partner. We did the ride with a 19 mph average and finished in the top third of the finishers. I have to admit that it was one of my prouder moments. I went on that year to do my first week-long tour in September, riding about 400 miles in six days in the hills of Tennessee. Again, I was pretty proud of that.

So, I wholly believe that we can set our sights on pretty ambitious goals. That said, you really need to listen to what your body wants and needs. It likely won't be as simple as doing longer and longer rides each week. Your body will need time to adjust to certain hurdles. If you push too hard, it will push back. But what's the worst that can happen if you try? You train hard and decide ultimately to put it off until next year? So what? There's no shame in that. I will add this, too. It is a lot more fun to do a century (or more) for which you've adequately trained. Yes, it's possible to gut them out, but there's no real joy in it, at least for me.

[DarcyInOregon]

Catrin, what is your average speed and your average cadence? Those two numbers are important for your training schedule. Just for an ordinary century without too much climbing, a cyclist needs a minimum of a 12 mph average. When you bike distance with longer continuous climbs, speed going up the climbs becomes more important so that the average speed doesn't fall too critically low, so that you don't become a DNF due to not being fast enough. In other words if your average speed is 13 on the flats and rollers, but only 6 on the climbing, then your overall average speed will fall below 12 and you will have time problems. The cadence is important too because too low of a cadence requires more effort and tires the body faster; i.e. a higher spin is more efficient for distance.

Also, be flexible with your goals. I know cyclists who are naturally talented at climbing, who can do miles of continuous climbing with steep grades and they love it. Other cyclists dread climbing and the climbing takes so much energy they lose blood sugar and glycogen and suffer going for distance. You have to get out and find routes with at least 3-5 miles of continuous climbing, keep the speed up, and keep the cadence up. You might discover you hate climbing with a passion and there is nothing wrong with that choice. Some people are naturally gifted climbers, others have to work real hard at it, and some decide the pain is not worth the gain.

Another aspect of your goal is to consider how you want to do the long distances. For example, when I do distance my goal is always to be normal at the end of the ride, go home, have a nice dinner, soak in the tub, do chores and the next day I get up and there is no pain and stiffness. Other people do long distance and can't walk for two weeks.

And, some people do distance and decide that metrics is the distance they prefer. Just about every cyclist on a metric is capable of doing a century, but most of them prefer doing a metric. Century cyclists understand this point. You might finish a metric and realize that is all the distance you want to do, and that is ok, because if your life depended upon it, you could do a century in a pinch, but your preference is to do the metric.

I think you said your long distance now is around 30 miles. You need to change it and 30 miles is your short ride. When 30 miles is your short ride, and you rarely do a ride under 25 miles anymore, and your preferred distance is 40-50 miles, then you are ready for the metric. When your preferred distance moves up to 70 miles, you are ready for the century. You will know it because after every long ride you feel real good, and your perception of the terrain shifts, so that once what used to appear to be huge hills are just now slight bumps in the road.

And, train with a GPS bike computer so that you learn to recognize the grades, how steep you can go, when you need to shift down, and even what grades are just so steep it is smarter to get off the bike and walk.

Finally, there does get to be a time problem with all of the training. The cycling is fantastic, but most of us have only so much time we can spend on it.