Getting nowhere fast

[Evogirl]

I recently joined the forum and told you all that I was cycling Paris to London and on to Nottingham in April 2014. I had bought myself a Ribble Gran Fondo which has proven to be too small for me, so have on order a Canyon Ultimate AL as I just couldn't enjoy riding carbon fibre.

Unfortunately I have hardly any miles under my belt due to a serious bout of asthma which involved hospitalisation, my new bike arrives on Tuesday and I am feeling stronger so am hoping to start afresh clocking up some short miles initially, my new ride is equipped with Shimano Ultegra Di2 which I'm hoping is as good as reviews suggest.

So people do you think I still have enough time to start proper training for my ride next year I need to be able to ride 69/70 miles each day.

 

[Hill Wimp]

I recently joined the forum and told you all that I was cycling Paris to London and on to Nottingham in April 2014. I had bought myself a Ribble Gran Fondo which has proven to be too small for me, so have on order a Canyon Ultimate AL as I just couldn't enjoy riding carbon fibre.

Unfortunately I have hardly any miles under my belt due to a serious bout of asthma which involved hospitalisation, my new bike arrives on Tuesday and I am feeling stronger so am hoping to start afresh clocking up some short miles initially, my new ride is equipped with Shimano Ultegra Di2 which I'm hoping is as good as reviews suggest.

So people do you think I still have enough time to start proper training for my ride next year I need to be able to ride 69/70 miles each day.

Yes but don't start with 60-70 miles a day. You will be able to build up quick. I do my training by doing sprints on certain parts of my routes and increasing my mileage by 3-5 miles a week on my 50 mile circuit and yes despite my name i do drag myself up those hills, you get fitter quicker by doing it and as i live on top of one i have no choice if i want to get home.

I would add i don't cycle the 50 miles every time i go out. Im a comfortable 30 miler building up.

Good luck

 

[vickster]

Presumably you have sought medical advice given the asthma and are getting it under control? Build up slowly, bear in mind that the winter training leading up to the ride may not be lung friendly so you may need to train indoors

Bonne chance!

 

[IanG1]

regular time in the saddle building week by week and you will be fine, what is your current base fitness like? I try an get out and do a couple of 15/20 mile rides during the week after work and try a push on at a decent pace the follow this up with 30/40 mile rides at weekends. If you can cycle to work this is training for free and worth it if possible for you?

 

[DooDah]

As @Hillwimp says. Build up slowly. I built up fairly quickly from about 20-25km to about 55km, but I soon realised that for me it was more important to build up hill strength (I live in a very hilly area). As this has improved, so has my ability to go further. If you live in a flat area just increase your ride distance by a very small amount each time, and eventually you will be able to ride relatively long distances without thinking. Bon courage

 

[Evogirl]

Yes I can certainly manage riding to work 8 miles each way, and will try a 30 miler on the weekend initially. Thanks for the advice and support.

By the way I live in an extremely hilly area in North Yorkshire lol

 

[Hill Wimp]

Go girl. Paris in the Spring .... beautiful.

 

[Berties]

Build up slowly,if you commute put in a few more miles either side of the day,I do ! In this weather it's easy to do the miles,as the temps lower and the wet comes you will have to stay motivated,
Experiment with hydration levels and food ,longer distances do take it out of you,ensure the bike is set up correct again after more miles you can tell this,but in all enjoy it,and best of luck

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

I'm sorry to hear about the asthma problems. I've been there, including one hospital stay and one threatened if the attack hadn't responded to treatment that time - it's really unpleasant. Is it exercise induced or due to allergens? If the latter, the cycling has helped improve mine massively over the last few years.

You still have loads of time to build up the miles. Ride as often as you can and increase your mileage when you feel able to, but go at it gently to start with.

 

[Risex4]

There's plenty of time to train for a ride next year, so certainly don't pressure yourself and think you need to push stupidly hard to catch up. As others have said, little and often is the best regimen to get you going again for the first few weeks.

It'll just be a question of commitment and a bit of planning. Good luck!

 

[Evogirl]

Thanks all, advice much appreciated. Yes Phil the asthma is due to allergens and is always worse at this time of year. However I will get out and start with some short runs and build up as my chest strength allows.