London Nightrider Training - Newbie with questions!

[Daniel Robinson]

Firstly, just like to say a big HI to everybody on the forum, I'm a newbie with some questions about training routines and diet which I'm hoping some of you may be able to help me with.

So, my biking experience, I consider myself to be somewhere between a beginner and an intermediate rider mainly used to relatively short commutes on my mountain bike to work but recently pushed the bar a little higher the last few weeks managing to cover 25 or so miles on the odd Sunday morning.

My Aims - I've recently signed up to take part in the London Nightrider 2014, I'm sure many of you are familiar with this, but for those that aren't its a 62mile ride around London at night. Why you may ask considering my lack of biking experience? Two reasons really, a personal challenge, never undertaken anything like this in my life but before, but for a cause much closer to my heart. My four year old daughter suffers from cerebral palsy and potentially could be eligible for a life changing procedure costing in the region of £60,000, unfortunately the procedure isn't funded by the NHS so as a family we have to raise this massive sum. Taking part in the nightrider is a way for me to raise some funds via sponsorship - but that's another story.

So why have I turned to the forum? Lots of questions really and not knowing anybody really into cycling I have nowhere to turn, so here goes:

1. Training - Whats the best training schedule to follow to get me up to scratch to cover the nightrider course? How often should I be cycling and what distances should I be aiming to cover?
2. Diet - Over the last 18 months or so, through diet and exercise I have lost 2 stone. I'm still carrying excess weight so it would be good as a spin off from the cycling to be able to shed a few more pounds. Whats the best foods to consume when training? Are carbs better when trying to cover long distances?
3. Bike - My current bike is a Cannondale mountain bike, been toying with the idea of getting a road bike for a while and have the luxury of being able to purchase one on a cycle to work scheme so save a few pounds too. Ideally I was looking to spend in the region of £750 and there's plenty to choose from in that price bracket! Are there brands to ignore, quite like the look of some of the CUBE and Lapierre bikes but know nothing about these brands. Really like the specialised bikes but they seem pricey by comparison - Any recommendations?

Apologies to have so many questions, and also if this is the wrong category to post this in, but please bear with me, this is all new territory to me. Thanks for reading

Dan

 

[Kies]

Training - keep doing those longer rides, increase the mileage by 5 or 10 miles per month.
Weight - all that riding will help to shift the pounds, weight loss is done predominantly in the kitchen, with food choices and portion control. Drink plenty of water, sleep well and limit your alchohol intake.

Bikes - at £750 on c2w scheme you have lots of choices. Go try a few out and then come back and ask some more questions. Cubes, Canondales and Specialized are all good bike builders. Think about the type of road bike you want - speed or comfort?

 

[jefmcg]

relax. If you can do 25 miles now, you could be doing 62 in a few weeks. In fact, you could be doing it this weekend. Do 25 miles, take a nice lunch break, cuppa and a sandwich. Do another 25 miles. Cuppa and a cake. 12 miles and you're done.

 

[Wobblers]

My first properly long ride was London to Brighton on a cold, windy and very wet night with the Friday Night Ride to the Coast. The longest ride I'd ever done beforehand was 35 miles. I suspect that you won't find the distance very difficult - your commuting will have given you the base fitness you need. In fact, if you can do 25 miles now, you could probably do the 62 miles this weekend. As Kies says, just increase your mileage by small increments every month and remember to pace yourself.

 

[slowmotion]

When I started, I used to commute daily, a round trip of eleven miles. After a couple of months I did a charity ride of twenty miles. Two weeks later I rode 62 flat miles in Holland, with 10kg in my panniers. Surprisingly, I didn't find it particularly difficult . Had there been a few hills, I would have really struggled. BTW, I was pretty old and unfit. You'll be fine. Just ride regularly. Welcome.