Originally Posted by
tbyers1
Greetings from Seattle! I'm a 52 year old who started cycling last August with the idea of losing some weight and training for the Seattle to Portland ride (a two day, 200 mile ride) on July 12, 2014. To sign up for the associated training series, they said that we should be able to ride 25 miles at 10-18 m.p.h. on the flats. So, I trained through the winter on flat courses and was able to average about 14 m.p.h. and signed up for the 12-14 m.p.h. group. The training series started yesterday with a 30 mile ride. I kept up with everyone on the flats, but I struggled significantly on every hill, whether short or long for two reasons, I think. Lack of training and no clipless pedals. I've got the pedals and will need to train with them. But here are the questions:
1. Do I have enough time to train for the STP this year...hills and all?
2. If so, what is the fastest way to increase my endurance on hills? I am not afraid of hard work, but I want it to count.
Thanks for all of your suggestions!
Trish
Trish, you definitely have plenty of time to train for STP. They usually post an example of an STP training plan somewhere on their website. You don't have to follow it exactly, but if you try to implement something like it, you'll do fine. And. If the route is the same as the times we did it, there is a short steep hill towards the end. I didn't know that the first time. The chorus of "Oh NOOOOOO"s you hear as people turn the corner and see the hill is pretty funny. So just know it's there, and it's short and you WILL be able to do it.
Totally agree with the "learn to use clipless on the flats" and otherwise do hills regularly. And the two big hills on STP are totally doable, not steep but more the slow and steady, just-keep-the-pedals-turning kind.
"My predominant feeling is one of gratitude. I have loved and been loved;I have been given much and I have given something in return...Above all, I have been a sentient being, a thinking animal, on this beautiful planet, and that in itself has been an enormous privilege and an adventure." O. Sacks