Pan Mass Challenge

[przc]

I want to do the PMC for 2011!! Can anyone give me some good advice for training for it?? (200 miles in two days) I am really excited about setting this goal for myself and hopefully i will be able to achieve it. I am new to biking and really enjoy it. I have been riding for 2 1/2 weeks and doing 25 miles a day 4 days a week. Started at 17 miles and worked my way up i know i could go alot farther i just haven't mapped a bigger route yet. Any advice would be great.

[newfsmith]

For now, just keep doing what you're doing. Try to work up to 40 miles 4 times a week before winter. The hard part is continuing to build during the winter. You'll probably be able to ride until December outside, so it is really January and February that you will need a trainer, or spinning class,or cross country skiing 4 times a week to maintain base fitness. You will probably be able to start road riding mid-March to April. The first month do your 40 miles 2 or 3 times a week and a 60 to 70 miler once a week, second month 2 or 3 times a week 40 miles and once a week 70 to 80 miles. By mid-June at the latest you should do your first century and you can do one more in mid-July. No rides over 60 miles after that. PMC is always the first week-end of August, be sure you have time to recover before then.

There are water/gatorade/fruit stops every 20 miles of PMC. Use them.
Remember to stretch at the lunch stop. Try to do some group rides before hand, your first group ride with 4000 others is intimidating enough. Group rides beforehand will make the transition easier. If you want to do the Sturbridge-Bourne-Provincetown route you need to be sure you can raise the minimum amount ($4,200 this year). When you register you have to give them a credit card number and if you don't raise the minimum they charge the difference to that credit card. This is all about fund raising for cancer research. Since I've retired I can no longer afford to raise the difference, so I volunteer 2 days and just ride the Sunday. If you can get onto an established team that will help greatly with both fund-raising and training.

The ride is awesome. You will never have so many people thank-you again. It is addictive.