London to Paris....advice please

[surfatwork]

Hi, I am fairly new to proper cycling, but signed up to a London-Paris charity ride next Sep. Any tips much appreciated. A few questions that come to mind...
1. Training program: I am just starting out, so how would you suggest I work my way upto being able to do 80-100miles in a day, and for 3 days consecutively?
2. Any suggestions on bikes would be welcome: will a £650 range or less road-bike do, or do I need a £1000 one or something even more pricey? Of course, I completely realize that the best bike is only as good as the engine.....so
3. I am currently banging away on an old MTB - my idea being that if I can do 30-40miles on an MTB, I should be fit enough (i.e. have the strength and stamina) to ride 80miles on a road bike. What do you guys think?

thanks

 

[PpPete]

2.You certainly don't need to spend loadsamoney on a bike. If you are not averse to a bit of tinkering I'd ever think about getting the now famous £299 Triban 3 and holding the other £350 in reserve for such upgrades as you later decide will ease things along.
3. It's not so much the miles as the hours in the saddle. Personally I wouldn't be able to stand 3 or 4 hours on an MTB but on my road bike 16 hours is no problem.

 

[FreeFlow Bikes]

Build yourself up gradually to the distance doing a little more each week. Don't go out and try to do too much at the star, especially since you're not used to it as it could cause injury and put you off. Make sure you go and see the bike in a bike shop and sit on it and if possible get a demo ride. The correct bike setup is so important to iron out any little niggles and pains. Simple things like moving the saddle forward/back an inch or two or changing the stem length by a couple of mm can make all the difference.

 

[DiddlyDodds]

2.You certainly don't need to spend loadsamoney on a bike. If you are not averse to a bit of tinkering I'd ever think about getting the now famous £299 Triban 3 and holding the other £350 in reserve for such upgrades as you later decide will ease things along.
3. It's not so much the miles as the hours in the saddle. Personally I wouldn't be able to stand 3 or 4 hours on an MTB but on my road bike 16 hours is no problem.

PpPete is spot on.
We did it two months ago , i did it on a 30 year old Falcon road bike with a new seat and new tyres. so NO you dont need a fancy bike. .
I would say do it on a road bike just because of the thinner tyres. and for training its not speed your after its just endurance , so just get out and do as many hours at a time as you can.

 

[DiddlyDodds]

Oh and by they way its a brilliant trip,, you will really enjoy it,

 

[Enw.nigel]

Oh and by they way its a brilliant trip,, you will really enjoy it,

+1.
I did the 4 day version in June starting on my 63rd birthday(my present to myself).. Was on a high for weeks afterwards.

 

[surfatwork]

thanks very much for the advice. I take your point that one doesnt need a fancy bike, but it is really quite a challenge to cycle for more than a couple of hours or so on my old MTB.
I managed to pick up a good roadbike though from a fellow forum member here at a very good price - a 2011 Scott S30. Just picked it up today and cant wait to have a go on it.

 

[BrumJim]

Training program - There are various cycle magazines that will give you advice - Cycling Plus, Cycling Active, maybe even something in British Cycling's archives, maybe available if you join. It seems one of those journalistic staples.
However, if you can do 40 miles on a moutain bike, I'd be looking at hitting 100k on a road bike early in the New Year (February or March). More long rides, and you should hit 100 miles on a road bike by June or July. Then your next target is recovery - do a long ride on Saturday (~100k), and follow up with something similarly decent on Sunday (or any two consecutive days). This will be suprisingly hard and painful. As long as you have done this a couple of times before September starts, you should be strong enough to enjoy the London to Paris.

There is also mixing up a bit of short speed work, some Fartleks and some regular (daily commute?) riding to build up fitness that people will tell you to do.

As a friend of mine told me recently, if you train hard enough, you can enjoy the challenge. You can complete it with less training, but you will suffer, it will be painful, and you won't enjoy it. If you do train, it will still be hard work, but you can get much more pleasure out of it.

 

[lulubel]

Personally I wouldn't be able to stand 3 or 4 hours on an MTB but on my road bike 16 hours is no problem.

Totally OT (sorry, surfatwork), but I'm completely opposite to this. I find hours on the MTB much more comfortable. On the road bike, the muscles in my neck and upper back go into spasm after a few hours, and I end up with a migraine. And my position on the road bike isn't aggressive, by any means.

 

[DiddlyDodds]

thanks very much for the advice. I take your point that one doesnt need a fancy bike, but it is really quite a challenge to cycle for more than a couple of hours or so on my old MTB.
I managed to pick up a good roadbike though from a fellow forum member here at a very good price - a 2011 Scott S30. Just picked it up today and cant wait to have a go on it.

The S30 is a great bike , you will eat the miles up on it.

 

[surfatwork]

did a couple of rides on it and overall, enjoyed it. Still figuring out the settings for handlebar/seat etc. to make it a bit more comfortable, but the overall effort is much lower