How to get to 50 miles

[Markymark]

So, I cycled around 20 miles the other weekend - average speed was just under 15mph on a hybrid. It was fairly windy and a little bit hilly.

If I want to get this up to 50 miles, am I better:

1. Keeping the same pace and slowly increasing the journey length by say 5 miles each time?

2. Slow down the pace and increase the journey by greater lengths, then work on increasing the pace when I get there?

Also, when people say the did 50 miles, is that non-stop or is a bacon sandwich and coke break allowed???

 

[middleagecyclist]

So, I cycled around 20 miles the other weekend - average speed was just under 15mph on a hybrid. It was fairly windy and a little bit hilly.

If I want to get this up to 50 miles, am I better:

1. Keeping the same pace and slowly increasing the journey length by say 5 miles each time?

2. Slow down the pace and increase the journey by greater lengths, then work on increasing the pace when I get there?

Also, when people say the did 50 miles, is that non-stop or is a bacon sandwich and coke break allowed???

If you can do 20 miles at 15 mph then you can easily increase your distance. You will slow down naturally if you are tiring but you just need to find a pace that suits, keep taking on fluid and carbs and don't worry about the overall mph. I bet you could do 50 miles tomorrow if you had the time. Up to last week my longest ride was 89 miles (with 4 x panniers). Then I did my first Audax and covered 155 miles. It just took longer that's all.

Of course you can stop for a break, bacon buttie, cup of tea or whatever else floats your boat. It's not meant to be punishment!

 

[Cyclopathic]

Ten miles at a time.

 

[lulubel]

You can go out for the whole day, and include breaks for morning coffee, lunch, and a cream tea if you want to - as middleagecyclist says, you could do that tomorrow if you wanted to. At the other end of the scale, you can aim to do 50 miles as fast as possible without stopping. Most people do something in between.

If I went out to do 50 miles on my own, I'd probably take water and a couple of cereal bars, ride at a steady pace (slightly slower than usual for shorter rides) and stop for as long as it took to eat the cereal bars.

It my OH came with me, we'd probably be a bit slower because we'd be chatting, and we'd probably stop for a cake somewhere rather than taking food.

How you do it depends on what you're comfortable with. There are no rules.

 

[ColinJ]

If you can ride 20 undulating miles on a pretty windy day at about 15 mph, then you can probably go out tomorrow and do that 50-miler as long as you take your time and eat and drink plenty!

You might enjoy it more if you build up to it first though ...

PS Er, as already suggested by middleagedcyclist!

 

[Melonfish]

up it in increments, do 20 miles one weekend, do 25-30 the next. cycle regularly and before you know it you'll be doing 50 with ease.

by all means plan an all day out, stop regularly for food/drink and enjoy yourself, you're not in the tour de france after all

 

[gbb]

Drop your average speed by 1 mph, you'll be surprised how much less effort that takes, conversely try to increase your average by 1 mph, it too takes a lot more effort.
To begin with, if you don't go balls out to achieve the 50 and enjoy the steady ride, you'll be surprised how far you can go.
Breaks ? if you fancy a stop, then why not. When i first started increasing my mileage, i'd ride maybe 15 miles, stop for 10/20 minutes and have a mars bar and a lucozade, when you get going again, you seem buzzing.

But don't forget, we're not machines. There's days when it's just not there, stop and have a break.
Other days, you'll fly and wonder what it's all about. Sadly those days are few and far between (for me anyway)

 

[jdtate101]

If I'm doing 60 miles or less it's usually non stop. More than 60 then a small refuel break and a bottle refill is the norm. More than 100 miles then multiple stops. For getting the distance greater, just extend by a small amount each time, but be careful to remain fueled and hydrated throughout.

 

[mickle]

Just do it as they say. If you can do 20 miles in comfort you can do 50 or even more. Just keep yourself fueled and hydrated.

You only have to look at the multitudes of people who tackle the London to Brighton every year without any training whatsoever.

 

[AideyM]

My rule is enjoy the ride.
I would vary my training one push for new ground, say 30 miles then back it up with a couple of shorter ones, then a steeper one, and so on. This way I built up strength, speed and distance

 

[snorri]

Also, when people say the did 50 miles, is that non-stop or is a bacon sandwich and coke break allowed???

Of course a break is allowed .

I don't think I've done a 50 this year (so far!) without my overnight gear in the panniers.

 

[JamieRegan]

I ran a marathon last year for the first time (actually on my 40th birthday). When I was training, I read a book on marathon training by Jeff Galloway, a veteran of over 100 marathons and he advocates walk breaks during training and the marathon itself - even for top athletes (Japhet Kosgei won the Rotterdam marathon in 1999 with this technique and he finished in 2hrs 7 minutes).

The first time I tried this I was running 9 miles max. My fastest time for 9 miles running without stopping was 1hr 35. I tried his walk breaks which meant I ran for 6 minutes, walked for 1, then ran for 6 and so on. The idea is that you do it right from the start and you don't wait until you're tired to walk. The theory is that you only lose about 20 seconds in the minute that you walk and that you easily catch that up with fresher legs during the next 6 minutes and you have enough in you to finish as strongly as you started. In that first try I knocked 6 minutes off my best time, taking it down to 1 hr 29. As you get fitter, you then increase the length of each run and decrease the walk, so when I did the actual marathon I was running for 10 minutes and walking for 30 seconds. I completed the marathon in 4hr 38 with a target of 5hrs.

Now this might all be irrelavent, because I'm new to cycling and I don't know what the cycling equivalent would be. Maybe a cycle for 20 minutes and a coast/ roll for 1 minute (?).

It does seem a bit soft and girly on the face of it to make these stops, especially if you're experienced and good, but it really works, I promise. If you don't believe me, just try it for yourself if you have a regular run to cmpare to and see if it makes a difference. Be strict on yourself though and stop when you say, even if you're not tiring yet.

 

[al-fresco]

Now this might all be irrelavent, because I'm new to cycling and I don't know what the cycling equivalent would be. Maybe a cycle for 20 minutes and a coast/ roll for 1 minute (?).

I suspect that the cycling equivalent is stopping for a break every 25 miles. Stopping when there's no reason to stop, no real need to stop turns 100 miles into 4 X 25 miles and it's just so much easier.

 

[snorri]

The first time I did a 100, I decided beforehand to stop every 10 miles for a few minutes. I stuck to the plan and found the day much less exhausting than expected.

 

[totallyfixed]

15mph ave on a windy day in rolling terrain on a hybrid with no drops is very good. As everyone else has said you could do 50 as and when you wanted to. Always easier doing it with someone else. The only advice I think you need is to get a road bike as soon as you can, then you will really fly. Only one thing better....fixed of course