London to Cambride ride 2011

[1ncredible]

Hi people.

I plan to take part in the London to Cambridge bike ride in July and it will be my first big ride.

I'm a 27 year old male who has for the last 4 months been cycling for my commute to work. My diet is healthy, i'm 6'2" and weigh 12.9 stone. My journey each day is 13.2 miles round trip.

I have just done a timed 17.2 mile loop of near where I live and managed it in 52.04 mins, with avg speed of 19.9mph. I ride a Giant M1 Escape with 26x1.1" tyres.

When I got in, I wouldn't say I was exhausted and could have carried on; but from what ive mentioned, do you think Im over half way there in terms of fitness for this ride??

I do incorporate some interval training in between on days off etc, but it's not as regular as I'd like. I know the event is not a race, but just want to get some opinions, as I haven't ridden 60 miles in one hit before.

Regards, Phil

[JohnV]

Phil,

Between now and July, you should have plenty of time to train and be ready for this event. I am 64 and have been riding on a regular basis for just over a year and I am scheduled to do a 2 day, 150 mile charity ride next month. The furthest I have gone on a bike on a single ride is 50 miles but I have no doubt that I can do the 75 miles/day trip without any problems. It's amazing how far you can ride without realizing it.

Since you ride on a daily basis, that is a plus but I think the trick is to try and practice in an area that is closest to the actual route that you will be riding (flatland and flatland, hills and hills) and keep increasing the distance each time you ride until you can equal or come very close to the 60 mile ride that you will be doing in July. My charity ride is in a hilly part of Florida (if you call what we have hills) and I practice ride in another hilly part of Florida.

The Giant Escape is a nice commuter bike and as long as you don't try and break any land speed records, it should work quite well for you. Your time for the test run that you did is very good, but trying to keep up with the road bikes for 60 miles just doesn't sound like a good idea. I am riding a road bike (Giant Defy) in my ride, but don't plan on doing more than 17-18 mph and I certainly have no intentions of trying to keep up with the 20 and 30 year old riders. Just pace yourself and you will be fine. My only suggestion is to change the saddle for this ride to a road type saddle if your Escape has the stock comfort saddle. Your thighs and legs will thank you later. You may also want to remove the fenders and rear rack to lessen the weight for this ride; that is if you still have them on the bike.

[1ncredible]

Thanks very much for the reply John . Like you said I have plenty of time to train for the ride and pacing myself is the key. I never rode it with the stock saddle as my brother must have removed it (it's his bike) and the rack would have been removed a long time ago if there was one .

I have few times ridden the long way home, which is 9.5 miles with a few more hills. It's good to vary the route, not only for added endurance, but to relieve any chance of boredom.

[JohnV]

I am actually getting ready to take my truck and drive the route that I am going to ride just to see what I am up against. I plan on taking the bike with me and if the hills look really bad, I am going to ride the bike up that hill to see how it affects me. Just another way of me getting mentally and physically ready for this ride.

[Bill]

I really can not give you a good answer bit I can tell you I wish you the best of luck and be safe! Just keep training yourself not overdoing your body's limitations and do the proper stretches before during and after!

Best of luck,
Bill

[cyclerUK]

Remember it's not a race
19mph average is probably too fast unless your really fit.
60 miles say at 15 mph would be a better speed (4 hrs).
A lot will depend on the terrain, wind, etc.
We did 50 miles today at 15.5 mph avg'. but that included a few hills.
Remember to take something to drink and eat and a puncture repair kit (spare tubes etc).
You've a couple of months to get ready so go out sometime and do a 40 miler route to see how you go. You really should have no trouble.
Let us know how you progress.
Good Luck.

[doctordee]

I can't give any more advice than what the other guys have said, but I will give a good luck and thumbs up and I am also jealous as we have no rides like that over here.

[JohnV]

Quote:Remember to take something to drink and eat and a puncture repair kit (spare tubes etc).

And something I forgot to mention ... make sure you have some energy gels or chews and plenty of water.

Quote:We did 50 miles today at 15.5 mph avg'. but that included a few hills.

The 17-18 mph I mentioned in my earlier post would be the fastest I would go, especially in hills. As CyclerUK suggests, I plan to keep my speed between 13 and 15 mph for almost all of the ride. The last 50 mile ride I did at 15 mph average speed (flat land and hills) took 3 hrs and 34 min. I have done 50 miles at a faster speed on flat lands and it was OK, but I sure don't want to try and keep that pace in the hills.

[1ncredible]

Thank you all for the support guys. I certainly will keep you up to date and let you know how I get on. Just got to keep a cool head and ensure i don't over do it. Like people have said I have plenty of time to train and will check out energy gels as Ive not heard of them before.

[Bill]

Think of energy gels like batteries for a flashlight?

[JohnV]

Quote:will check out energy gels as Ive not heard of them before.

Any of the health and fitness stores should have them as well as the better bike shops. If you have GNC stores in GB, you can get them there or from their web site gnc.com. Although, I don't know if the cost of shipping would make it worth while. You may also want to try the gummy chomps. They seem to work better by letting them dissolve in your mouth rather than chewing them.

[1ncredible]

Hi guys just to let you know I managed to do the ride alright.

I did it in a total of 3 hours 40 mins riding time and could feel it in my legs at the end. I did a total of around 85 miles that day as we had to cycle to different railway stations and to the start point.

I kept going with a bunch of bananas and some Powerade drinks. We are planning on doing the London to Hastings 70 miler in 2 weeks time. A bit more hill challenging too. Anyone else doing this one?

[JohnV]

Way to go! Congrats on finishing. Not that you have the bug, you'll be doing it everytime there's a ride. That is a good time for 85 miles. Was the ride mostly flats or did you have some hills as well?

[1ncredible]

Cheers It was that time for the 60 mile trip, but did a total of 85 that day. There were a few hills, but nothing too bad. I enjoyed riding in large numbers of riders - I think that helped me mentally.

[JohnV]

On the MS 150 I did in May, I did the 50 mile leg in 1:28 but it was mostly rolling hills. Even still, that is a good time for 60 miles. I have a 50K ride coming up next month and a 100K in October. Then I have a 3 day 205 mile trip in November. I'm going to be wiped out by Christmas.

[1ncredible]

Definitely sounds like you're going to be knackered out.Where is the 205 mile trip from and to? My friend (who wasn't too keen to do the 60 mile ride) is now already booking up our next one - London to Hastings in 2 weeks time. 70 miles this time and a few more challenging hills!

[JohnV]

OK, Wow! I just noticed a big typo: 50 miles in 1:28 makes me the fastest person on a bicycle. NOT! That should have read 3:28.

The two hundred mile ride is from Daytona Beach on the east cost to Tarpon Springs on the west coast. The distance between the two cities is much shorter than that, but the route that they take makes it much longer. Really looking forward to it.