1000km in 10 days - novice

[Neil Kendall-Cheese]

Well here goes....
I am 50 years old and have set myself the goal of cycling 1000km in 10 days around Western Turkey (where I live). Don't panic, I have set the start date as 13th October 2013, so plenty of time to get there.
Downsides - I started this whole idea weighing in at 17 stone (5' 8" tall) so VERY over weight. In the first 3 months I dropped to 14 st 12lbs but have put 3lbs on over the last couple of weeks. Doctors say I should be around 11st. Also, I have never one anything like this before.
Upside - I am mad as a fish and hugely determined. Over the first 4 weeks, I have gone from nothing more than occasional riding around town to 16.5 miles a day, 5 days a week, 5.5 miles 1 day a week and 1 day off.
So the questions really are;
At 50 is 1000km in 10 days around Turkey (http://runkeeper.com/user/671480256/route/1724309) realistic?
I am currently adding around 5.5 miles (5 days a week) every two weeks. Is this a reasonable rate of increase?
Has anyone got any advise that they can impart?

My blog to day is http://g1tzc.blogspot.co.uk/ to give an idea of what I have done in the last 28 days since taking it seriously.
Thanks for reading the thread.

 

[biggs682]

with the right amount of time there is no reason why doing a 1000km in 10 days should be a problem , you will just need to step the daily amount up till you are doing the target total on a regular basis in the required time .

best of luck and keep us posted

 

[Kins]

Wow, nice ambition. Used to have a house outside Bodrum, beautiful area. Those hills though! I feel the pain from here!

 

[simmi]

Good luck with it Neil.

Wow, nice ambition. Used to have a house outside Bodrum, beautiful area. Those hills though! I feel the pain from here!

It wouldn't be the hills that would be my main concern.

I was in Kalkan, Turkey last year and the driving was at a level I have never seen before, and I have been all over!

It made "wacky races" seem like "driving miss daisy"

 

[Neil Kendall-Cheese]

Fortunately, I have two plus points on the roads. First is that I have been coming to Turkey for 7 years (finally emigrated here in September) so used to the driving style here. Secondly, I have the luxury of a fantastic wife who is driving a support vehicle for me - one lucky man.

 

[Nigelnaturist]

Well in Oct I did that distance in 19 day, I started back cycling back in June, I am 49 in Feb so I cant see why not. Good luck.

 

[Kins]

Good luck with it Neil.


It wouldn't be the hills that would be my main concern.

I was in Kalkan, Turkey last year and the driving was at a level I have never seen before, and I have been all over!

It made "wacky races" seem like "driving miss daisy"

Well, I toured most of eastern Turkey in a unimog, some of the things you see out there make your eyes roll up in your head and not come out for a week.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

Fraid it is the hills that would be my concern (4,900 feet/1,500 meters), having cycled out of Marmaris last year. you have some serious climbs involved along the way and a pretty good distance to cover as well. we never had any issues with the drivers though (other than the odd truck driving down the hard shoulder the wrong way, but they always went over into the (wrong) carriageway around us). We did some of that road out of Denizli (also the same pass as you have planned to drop into Denizli) and whilst the pass down into Denizli was great fun and plenty wide enough for vehicles to accommodate all traffic and 2 mad cyclists, (Denizli police loved pulling us over to have a chat and always insisted we have some very welcome chai!) the road through Denizli was interesting with sections that were no cyclist (and I did not want to be there either) but there was always away around it. the route out of Denizli was horrible and it was a fair distance before we left the sprawl (though i have to say the Kaklik caves are well worth the 2TL to see them!

just realised you are doing it the otherway round. make sure you have some seriously low gears available, it is a long steep climb out of Denizli that way round! great fun in reverse, even overtook a number of lorries on our descent! The good news is (as you probably know) there are some service stations on about half way up.

 

[SpokeyDokey]

Good for you - great target!

Can you do it? Not a clue, but it's worth a try and you can modify your target nearer the time if needs be.

Good luck with the training.

 

[Neil Kendall-Cheese]

Thanks for the comments.
I have been reading a few articles regarding training and I am going to switch from five days a week to three days a week doing 22 miles a day and then doing a half day on Saturday, for the next couple of months. It suggests as an "older" cyclist, you need to give your body time to whilst training.
The nice thing is that having 301 days before I start, if I am not happy with this new approach I have plenty of time to change back.
It then appears that as you get closer to the time you throw in a few 5 day weeks but 2 days off. I must admit, even being 4 stone over weight still, I am finding the 16.5 miles 5 days a week very comfortable, possibly too comfortable as I am getting off the bike most days thinking I could still do another 5.5 mile lap. Also lucky that I live in a town which gives me 210 ft up hill every lap, so currently 630ft per session.
Also once the next couple of weeks at 22 miles are out of the way I have another circuit planned (http://runkeeper.com/user/671480256/route/1736794) which is just over 28 miles in a circle, which will then allow me to tag town circuits on top of that as well. Ultimately 28 miles is almost half distance and I hope to be at that point after going from not really doing anything, in 6 or 7 weeks..

 

[Kins]

Just give your misses a tow rope so if the hills are to bad she can tow you up!

In Turkey they won't mind as you see scooter with half a house attached puttering along the hard shoulder.

 

[Neil Kendall-Cheese]

Can anyone point me in the right direction for a comfortable saddle. Both of the one that I am using at the moment are, literally, a pain in the bum. I have got the standard saddle that came with the Carerra and I have tried a gel saddle, but after an hour or so I am finding that my backside really hurts. Does anyone also think this is down to the fact that I still need to lose a few stone in weight (currently around 15 stone).

 

[Monsieur]

Great ambition
What bike have you got?

 

[Neil Kendall-Cheese]

Carerra Tour de France special. Looking to get a mountain bike to compliment it. As a bike the only complaint I have is the saddle (as above post). Rides well, gears shift well, smooth.... generally enjoyable to ride. I am not a human rocket as I seem to average around 12mph.

 

[Jimmy Doug]

Good for you mate! Go for it! 100 kms a day is absolutely attainable, but you may find it hard going in the heat and the hills. You asked about a saddle. Most seasoned tourers swear by Brooks saddles. They're not the cheapest, but they're very comfy after they've been broken in.