Sportive Help!

[BearPear]

Mr BP has decided to enter us both for the White Rose Classic (short route) in June 2014. This will be his 3rd time, first at the short distance. I did the short distance Otley sportive this year but I have never cycled further than 30 miles and I'm thinking I might have had too much wine when I agreed to give it a go.

We live in a hilly area, every direction from home is a hill. I know I need to train but surely I deserve some level roads - maybe build up to bigger hills? I can do 10 miles without much of a problem, this includes hills, but 50 miles is a huge jump from 10. What I'm wondering is would there be a recommended training plan for a hill-dodging sportive novice like me?

Before anyone says it, I know full well that the only way to ride better on hills is to ride more hills!

Also, I ride with a metal half-toe-loop having had a spectacular clip-less moment in front of a heard of cows and a not very sympathetic husband over a year ago. Should I man up and give it another go?

 

[DCLane]

Practice. And then some more practice. Hills are great for practising on!

Give it a go - I went from unfit and an absolute max of 6 miles to 60+ in the space of 5 months. You've got easily enough time.

Or, borrow a tandem and make him do the work

 

[Mattonsea]

I think you need to start riding out a little bit further each time . Go up in 5 mile jumps. You will find a naturel rhythm . As for your pedal issue , who cares , do what you want ,or what you are happy with.

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

Before anyone says it, I know full well that the only way to ride better on hills is to ride more hills!

It isn't but if you're riding 10miles now,it's probably a good idea to start pushing that distance up

Also, I ride with a metal half-toe-loop having had a spectacular clip-less moment in front of a heard of cows and a not very sympathetic husband over a year ago. Should I man up and give it another go?

Only you can answer that.

 

[BearPear]

Tried a tandem once, it didn't end well!

 

[50000tears]

Hills aren't the big scary that you think they are. The mistake novices make is to attack them hard at the bottom with usually leaves then struggling or failing the reach the top altogether. Once you learn to ride the hills like any other stretch, i.e. just get in the right gear and keep spinning, you will realise how even the worst of the hills can be tamed.

Do up you mileage though, you have plenty of time so just up it be 5 miles every week or so. Don't think of it as jumping from 10 to 50. It is 10 to 15 to 20 and so on.

 

[BearPear]

Once I start a hill I'm a bit tenacious and will plod away until I get to the top, but I really don't enjoy the experience! I think I could do reps of a level one-mile strip near home to build up some distance, which is do-able, especially while it is dark and I am at work all day.

Commuting might be a thought!

 

[winjim]

Last charity ride l did, l rode with a guy on a Commuter bike with little plastic half-toe clips, and we were keeping up with the MAMILs clipped in to souped up carbon fibre road bikes, so stick with whatever pedals are comfortable.

However don't give up on clipless just because your husband wasn't sympathetic, it's up to you. In fact, I think that advice extends to most things in life . And I bet the cows have seen it all before.

 

[BearPear]

A MAMIL clipped into a souped up carbon road bike - you've met my husband then!?

To be fair he's very encouraging, and he did check I was OK before laughing at my spectacular tumble.

 

[winjim]

Hey, I did a full clipped in somersalt not long ago. Mind you, I was trying to ride the landslipped road up Mam Tor

 

[ColinJ]

I have a vague recollection that you live near Haworth?

If so, I would suggest that you start off riding to Moor Lodge at Scar Top and visit the tearooms there. Then ride back the way you came. That is about 9 miles with a few decent hills.

When you are happy with that, do the same again but ride past Moor Lodge and continue up to the defunct Herders pub above Wycoller, then turn and head back down to the Moor Lodge cafe. After riding back you will have done about 12 miles with a bit more climbing. Another possibility with about the same degree of difficulty is to ride over to the Robin Hood at Pecket Well. Have lunch there then ride back over the hill.

When you are ready for a bit more, continue down from Pecket Well to Hebden Bridge. Cafe stop here, then ride home. That would be about 16 miles, with more climbing.

The next step up could be Scar Top, Herders, descend past Wycoller Country Park to Laneshaw Bridge, turn left just before the A6068 and head round to Wycoller village where there is a nice cafe. The ride home from there back the way you came is fairly challenging. That would be about 20 miles in total.

Finally, when your legs are coping with that, tackle my 'Trauma of Trawden' loop - Haworth, Stanbury, Scar Top, Herders, Laneshaw Bridge, Trawden, Clarion House, Coldwell Activity Centre cafe, Widdop, Slack, Lee Wood, Hebden Bridge, Pecket Well, Oxenhope, Haworth. That is a tough 29 miler. Work at that until it doesn't feel like it is too hard and you will be ready to add a few extra miles on here and there.

Get yourself feeling comfortable with 35-40 hilly miles and then you could push yourself a bit harder on the day of the event.

Good luck!

PS Some of those roads are dodgy when it is icy, so be careful if you tackle them over the winter.

 

[BearPear]

Yes Colin I'm quite near Haworth. I think a "starter" session up to Scar Top would see me off; Haworth to Stanbury is a b×tch of a climb, I know it's short but Sladen Bridge to the tea rooms would probably see me walking! It worries me that this would be considered a starter, maybe Mr BP has misled me about the hills on the White Rose!

I think a few more gym sessions and maybe some spin classes might be a start in this cold weather.