400km cycle for a beginner

deco1610

Hey guys, I want to know your take on what I'm about to say.

I'm thinking of going on a long cycle from Valencia to Madrid (they're in Spain) sometime in the next 6 months or so. I have little in the way of experience on a bike though. Don't get me wrong, I can ride bikes, although I havent been on one in 2 or 3 years. I have to mention as well, that I'm by no means unfit. I'm a competitive runner in a club, and train 6 days a week, sometimes twice a day.

My question is how long do you think it would take me to complete this cycle? Perhaps more importantly, do you think I COULD complete this cycle on running training alone? The distance between the 2 cities is 400km, roughly, and there are several hilly stretches along the way, as you would expect from Spain.

Thanks for your responses in advance!

TurloughT

Hmm, 2 Things:
Different muscles,
Take it handy.

Moflojo

Fitness-wise you'll probably be fine deco but you do use a different muscle set when cycling than when running so don't rely on the running to get you fully prepared. You also need to get used to spending prolonged periods of time in the saddle. The length of time it will take you to complete the trip depends on the type of bike you have, how much gear you will be carrying and how fast you want to travel. With a light touring bike and not too much gear you should easily be able to cover this distance in 5 days.

Lumen

In one day?

jmdsk

Why Madrid? Is it a charity run?

SubLuminal

If you can vary your route get to the coast and its flat all the way..

deco1610

Lumen wrote: »

In one day?

Well, over the course of a few days hopefully. These sort of distances are alien to me though. As a runner, I'd cover less than 400km in a month, and I really have no idea how long it would take me on a bike. I'd like to get the whole thing done in 3-4 days, but the guy above said I should be looking at 5 days altogether...

jmdsk wrote: »

Why Madrid? Is it a charity run?

Nah, I'll be living in Valencia next year, and I want to visit a few friends up in Madrid. I'd love to do it by bike.

SubLuminal wrote: »

If you can vary your route get to the coast and its flat all the way..

Madrid is right in the centre of Spain and Valencia is by the sea. I'll have to deviate from the coast at some point!

Lumen

If you're fit I'm sure you should find 100km a day no trouble. With a bit of cycling training it'll be much more fun.

I'm not sure why you'd want to do it with no cyling training at all - you risk picking up an injury which will affect your running when you get back.

deco1610

Lumen wrote: »

If you're fit I'm sure you should find 100km a day no trouble. With a bit of cycling training it'll be much more fun.

I'm not sure why you'd want to do it with no cyling training at all - you risk picking up an injury which will affect your running when you get back.

Why do I want to do it? To put it simply, because I can. I'm not worried about injuries really. If I take it easy, and not be foolish, I should be grand. But again, I'm no expert when it comes to cycling!

blorg

You'll enjoy it more if you put in a bit of training. The fitness transfers only as far as aerobic capacity; the muscles used are very different. I discovered this when I ran 10km having done no running training.

Also have a look at www.viasverdes.com - these are off-road routes that might be pleasant, there may be something between Valencia and Madrid.

Bear in mind that during summer Spain is very hot and the interior which you plan to cycle in is the hottest bit, even more so than the south. So don't do it in August.

Loaded touring is harder than cycling a bike without bags. Much harder. I'd add 1.5x, more if there are hills.

Spain is a great country for cycling (it is very popular as a sport) and the motorists are by and large very courteous, certainly more so than in Ireland. The roads are also of an extremely high quality, even the smaller ones. Enjoy your trip.