Training advice for an amateur

[cwjohnstone]

Hi all, I commute to work on my road bike (5 miles each way) but have never tried long rides. I want to get into cycling a bit more and would really love to do the London to Paris ride. Any advice on how long it would take to train for this event as I am quite unfit at the moment and how much training to do etc etc would be very grateful, cheers.

 

[MLC]

A very simple training plan would be just to concentrate on getting in the miles.

Continue commuting but pick a day where you can set aside 1/2 a day for a long ride (you may not need that much time at first)

At first pick a small mileage target you already cycle ten miles so try 15-20 as a start.

Increase the mileage by 10% each week for 3 weeks on the 4th Week do 1/2 your mileage amount for the 3rd week (active recovery) then in week 5 pick up from week the 3 level and repeat the process.

Ignore your speed it does not matter at this stage you are just getting your lungs, heart, legs, upper body and bum used to cycling for prolonged periods. Once you get that sorted then you can look at quality and speed work but you must have a good solid foundation first.

It may help to have something to aim for such as a landmark/Cafe/Pub etc to cycle to. It may also help to plan a loop near you so that you are always within say 4 miles of your home if you have to bail out for whatever reason.

You will be surprised at how the mileage clicks up quickly in 8 weeks you will be breaking the 40 mile barrier if you followed that plan to the letter and would probably be able to do 60 very steady miles in one hit EDIT: 60 miles in a day ride with rest stops

Perhaps pick a local club that caters for newer riders so you can do it with others !

 

[cadseen]

You actually must be fairly fit riding 10 miles a day already, unless you only just started.
Just increase the distance now and again. And maybe put more effort in on the shorter rides.

You dont need to train over the distance you are goin to ride, but it will give u more confidence to try and cover longer distances at least once a week.

 

[cyberknight]

You actually must be fairly fit riding 10 miles a day already, unless you only just started.
Just increase the distance now and again. And maybe put more effort in on the shorter rides.

You dont need to train over the distance you are goin to ride, but it will give u more confidence to try and cover longer distances at least once a week.

I am in a similar situation as i have signed up for a sportive .
Advice on here basically told me if i can half the distance ok then the rest will be ok as group riding is a lot easier as you take turns at the front and get a bit of drafting that can pull you along .

Might be an idea to search for a local club that has group rides of differing levels of ability so you can work on your fitness and then move up to the faster group as you improve.

 

[cadseen]

I am in a similar situation as i have signed up for a sportive .
Advice on here basically told me if i can half the distance ok then the rest will be ok as group riding is a lot easier as you take turns at the front and get a bit of drafting that can pull you along .

Might be an idea to search for a local club that has group rides of differing levels of ability so you can work on your fitness and then move up to the faster group as you improve.

Yes much easier in a group if you are a similar standard and ride together. Although you can sometime get carried away and ride to fast and pay for it later. Then again I rode the few i done flat out

 

[festival]

somehow you need to double your mileage to work, and when thats comfortable you do a couple of extended rides home ( or rides in) say, 15 or 20 miles. in addition build up a weekend ride starting with 25 mile and aiming for 50 +. by the end of the summer you can manage 50 plus.

sounds hard, it will be, you cant afford to take too much time off

this will set you up for a hard winters training and then the following year go for it.

join a club

 

[Rouge Penguin]

Go a slightly longer way to work. If its 5 miles, leave 5 minutes earlier and and an extra mile or two.

2 years ago, i thought a 10-15 mile ride was a long way. Now its 60+ at the weekend without issue, all from just pushing slightly further each week. Maybe chuck in a few hills and you'll wonder what the fuss was about.

Would suggest you prep properly though. Make sure the tyres are inflated, the harder the tyre the easier it is to peddle. Most road tyres range from 85-125psi, i keep my 125max psi at about 100 as there is a balance in speed and comfort.

Get padded shorts or bibs. A god send.

 

[supercooper]

like rouge penguin said , tyre pressure is important but I would also say if you don't have toe clips then get some, you will be surprised how little things like that make your ride easier and help you do more and I know it sounds silly but do you have a road bike :?: . oh and to C/C

 

[scouserinlondon]

My commute has just shortened due to getting a new job, so it's gone from 7 miles to 5. To try and compensate I've really concentrated on increasing my cadence so I'm spinning quicker in lower gears, and working up a decent sweat. 2 nights a week I try to take a longer route home and include a couple of big hills; and also to cycle every day rather than copping out for the train.

I have no clue whether any of this will work, but it's worth a punt.+

 

[david1701]

find a fun long route home and add on miles where you can, then try to do something social on the weekends and you should be ok to just add and add miles

 

[jonbrackenridge]

I was in a similar situation, hadnt ridden for years and then a friend got himself a road bike and i thought sod it if theres 2 of us wont be as "boring" got myself a road bike and started with some short runs of 5-6 miles a night relatively flat roads, i then started doing more by myself due to friends work commitments etc and im now regularly doing 50+ mile run once/twice a week and pushed my daily rides too there now at 12-13 miles each night and thats only over 6 weeks really.