Top tips for 600 mile charity challenge?

[FAB Rider]

Hi

I'm a 20 mile "summer" cylist who has "volunteered" to do a 600 mile challenge in aid of the families of bereaved soliders, so those bereaved families can have a holiday with other similar families at Youth Hostels. The challenge is from Coverack YH to Whitby YH. It's over 7 days, averaging 80/90 miles per day with support provided. It's a cracking cause and I would like to live to tell the tale having done it!

I would really appreciate advice around the following areas:
Clothing
Kit to have to hand
Training
Shoes and cleats
Heart rate / navigation monitors
How to recover!

I already have:
A Giant SCR 3.0 triathlon bike (I did my first triathlon last year)
Standard helmet
1 set bib leggins
2 padded shorts
1 triathlon quick release shoes and hard cleats
1 short sleave jersey

Any help from experienced riders would be appreciated
Thank you

 

[lukesdad]

Recovery is probably your most important concern. Make sure you stretch well get some carbs. and protein into you within 30mins of finnishing your ride as well as liquid, may be worth investingf in some compression tights to sleep in.

 

[HelenD123]

Make sure you eat and drink enough, particularly if the weather's hot. I've found that sports drinks like Gatorade can help over longer distances.

 

[FAB Rider]

Thanks guys, this is good stuff... keep them coming! Thank you

 

[jimboalee]

When?

 

[weevil]

I have these two books on loan from the local library at the moment and am impressed enough that I'll probably one, or both*.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/7-Week-Cycl...TF8&coliid=I36TD2EZD2L3K7&colid=197YW5CUJ3RSO

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cycle-Life-...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1260217215&sr=1-1

The training plans are easy to follow. And reading ahead to later weeks will give you a good idea of how much saddle time you'll need to put in each week.


* I should say that, impressed though I am, I've not actually started to follow either programme yet, as all my bikes need a service. And SWMBO seems to think that tiling the bathroom is a higher priority.

 

[FAB Rider]

Jimbolaee - it's end of April / beginning of May '10

Thanks weevil - I'm looking them up now

 

[wlc1]

Nutrition Nutrition Nutrition

Practice Practice Practice

Hydration Hydration Hydration

There you go - your all set.

How is your Giant set up, it's not a tri specific bike so if you have tri bars clipped onto it then take them off.

Re your tri - Sprint tri, Oly or middle distance ( ironman 70.3) or ironman ?

This is going to be perfectly easy to do provided you train and spend your training time training not pretending to do so.

feel free to PM me if you need any specific help ( I am no expert btw), I have had a masisve lay off from this forum as my son was very very ill but I'm back here every now and then.

Best of luck

 

[snorri]

You mention support, does that mean they are feeding you along the way and sorting out overnight accommodation and a route? These are the time consuming parts of a tour, getting these these done for you takes a big part of the load off your shoulders.
You say you have done a triathlon, whatever that is it sounds impressive, this charity ride should be a dawdle.

 

[jimboalee]

I trained to ride the E2E in a seven day 'Randonneur multiples'.

It was a 220 km per day affair.

I trained by riding to work, 30 miles per day as normal and riding a longer trip on Friday afternoon or Sunday, from six months to four weeks before the event.

With four weeks before the event, I was riding to work as normal with a 100 miler on Friday afternoon followed by another 100 miler early Saturday.

Two weeks before the event, I took Friday morning off work and rode to Tywyn 125 miles away and rode back home the next day.

Throughout this six month training, my nutrition was being sorted by my GF at the time who was a nurse.
It was CHO balanced with plenty of protien for building muscle.
She used my spreadsheets which calculated my calorific requirement and cooked something to the suitable ratios of CHO, protien and fat and fed me at the appropriate time of day to lose as much fat as possible.
I lost 16lb ( 9 % ) of fat in the three months leading up to the ride.

Once a week - Wednesday, I would simulate 'Hill climbs' on the gym bike at 300 - 350 Watts absorption. 5 x 5 minute intervals with 1 minute at 100 Watts between.


OP. You should be starting your prep' after the Xmas break.

PS. At no point during this training or riding 200 km AUKs did I use a Heart Rate monitor or concern myself with Lactate Threshold.
When I felt my legs burning, I slowed down a little, except on the gym bike where hypertrophy was the aim.