How difficult is 100km?

Choochtown

Advice needed please. I'm mid 40s and until about 10 years ago was reasonably fit and did a bit of mountain biking. I've 3 1/2 months to get ready for a 100km charity cycle.
Got out the old mountain bike today and did a few Kms and am determined to train regularly from here on in. I'll be getting a road bike in a couple of weeks but can use the mountain bike until then.
How many rides should I be aiming to do a week and at what length initially?
Should I supplement my cycling with something else (eg. weights)?
I would be a bit overweight but not excessively so. Is 100km a realistic aim for me?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Lumen

Ride your bike as much as possible and maybe do some bodyweight core work (planks, leg raises, bird dogs etc).

Wouldn't bother with weights.

Beasty

Moved from training logs sub-forum as

1. It's not a training log; and
2. The OP is more likely to get the advice they are looking for in the main forum

Beasty

thrilledskinny

100k is not that difficult, if your out and about on your bike a good bit and do average and even short cycles like say 20 - 40 /50 spins then you will be able to do a once off 50 k no bother. Of course you can up the no of k you do with each cycle, but even if you only ever do a max 60 or 80 k spin, you'll be well able for a the 100k.
Is really just acheiving a good level of fitness and you'll be able for it ;-)
No need for weights, energy drinks or any other stuff, its just cycling.
Plus if its for charity you just go at your own pace on the day, if there are others doing the cycle that makes the cycle easier, you just get dragged along.
Just always remember how ever far you go, you have to cycle back so never over do it ;-)

Cookie_Monster

If you get to the piont of doing 50-60 km once or twice a week before then you'll manage the 100km on the day ok.

It's not that big a distance, especially when with a group.

I'd start looking at doing something like 2 nights a week 15-25km and a longer ride on the weekend. 40-50km. Regardless of fitness 20km should be doable for pretty much anybody, speeds being the only difference. Don't worry about climbing hills for the first few weeks until you get comfortable.

You'll be sore on the saddle for the first few weeks also as your body gets used to the position. Don't let this put you off, it'll pass.

Choochtown

Many thanks to all for the speedy advice.
Sorry it started in the wrong sub-forum Beasty!
Lumen, excuse my ignorance but what's a bird dog?

Lumen

Choochtown wrote: »

Lumen, excuse my ignorance but what's a bird dog?

Woof!

Bigus

Lumen wrote: »

Woof!

If she's a Bird then i'm the Dog, you'd get fit on that in no time:D

Bigus

The 100km won't be a problem it's the hills that will get ya. So make sure your training matches the hills on the route

Zen0

100km is relatively easy if you work up to it, gradually, increasing your distance by about 10% each time - say one long spin each weekend, with one to two short faster spins (commutes or evening spins). There are a couple of things you need to look out for. The main one is nutrition. Over that distance, your body could easily run out of fuel, so you need to keep it topped up with food and/or energy drink - high carbs like bananas, fig rolls, energy drinks. The other thing if you wish to finish with a flourish is to invest in a heart rate monitor and learn how to use it - the HRM makes it much easier to pace yourself so you don't burn yourself out going up the first hill. The HRM allows you to keep in your aerobic zone for most of the time. I'm slightly older than you and did my first 100k last year. Found it quite easy. Hoping to do something longer this year.

I found this really good:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Complete-Book-Long-Distance-Cycling/dp/1579541992/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1332717260&sr=8-10

el Bastardo

Choochtown wrote: »

Many thanks to all for the speedy advice.
Sorry it started in the wrong sub-forum Beasty!
Lumen, excuse my ignorance but what's a bird dog?

Same question: what is it?

100km is perfectly doable at the right pace. You've 3.5 months to get your arse in gear. If it were me in your situ, I'd follow this

BostonB

Whats the 100km ride? Could do with something like that to aim for myself.

TheBlaaMan

As above, if you can get up to c70-80km on your own, you should manage 100k on the day with the group.

In your training spins, try to cover similar terrain to that of the actual 100k spin - ie not a great idea to train on totally flat routes if the charity spinn is over more hilly routes.

As to a training schedule, the suggested training for the 90km Sean Kelly Tour of Waterford would be a good base-line.

youtheman

I took up cycling last year at the grand 'auld age of 49, so you are never too late.

My first big spin was the Tour of the Burren lasy year, and I spent most of it alone and into the strong headwind.

For me, I think the msot important thing is to get your 'undergarriage' used to the length of time you will be on the bike. You can go at whatever speed is most comfortable for you, and you can change gears when you hit the hills, and as many pit-stops as you like, but you'll eventually get to the stage where you literally have a pain in your hole (forgive me french).

Having the right gear is also essential, forget about track suit bottoms and a mountain bike. Treat yourself to a good pair of cycling shorts, and preferably a proper racer.

And the one thing that I can't get my head around is the number of cyclists who have their saddle down too low. I see fellows with carbon bikes, and all the lycra gear, and their two knees pointing outwards as they cannot extend their legs fully. So get somone who know what they are doing to get you at least a half-right bike fit (or adjustment).

clonmahon

I took up cycling last April at the age of 48. The prime motivation being a health scare (and the rising price of petrol). Last August I cycled a hybrid from home to Westport in two days, 181 km into a headwind all the way. I was carrying 15 kg of cargo. Following day I shed all the cargo and cycled the Great Western Greenway from Westport to Achill Sound and back to Westport. The following day fully loaded again I cycled the 181 km from Westport to home. Took me almost 15 hours to do it, there was a good tailwind in the early part of the day and I was totally f****d when i got home, but I had a great time.

I done a lot of fully loaded cycle touring in my 20s. The big difference I find in my very late 40s is that it takes a lot longer to recover from a long journey like this. In my 20s I could have done that journey rested for a day and done it again. It now takes at least four days to recover.

In recent months I’ve bought a road bike and go out riding with a local club on Sunday morning. The pace setter on this club run is a very fit 66 year old. The guys done a charity cycle from Croagh Patrick to Cavan last year, they tell me the 66 year old rode on the front of the group the whole way.

experimenter

Last year I started cycling in June and did the Sean Kelly 90km in August that year, no problem once you stick to the training plan...

Had a great day and will do the 160km this year...

Dermot Illogical

I started out last year from more or less the same position as yourself OP. Just looked back through my logs to see how long it took.. Started mid-March and did 100k first week in June.
Just make sure to get out as much as you can and increase the mileage as you go. If you can do 50-60k on your own, then 100k in a (reasonably paced) group should be achievable on the day.

Choochtown

Many thanks to all for the great advice. I feel a lot more positive about it now. It'll be 5 weeks until I get the road bike so I'll have to use the mountain bike until then but I suppose it's the same muscles I'll be working and when I finally get the road bike I should notice the difference.

Four of a kind

Choochtown wrote: »

Many thanks to all for the great advice. I feel a lot more positive about it now. It'll be 5 weeks until I get the road bike so I'll have to use the mountain bike until then but I suppose it's the same muscles I'll be working and when I finally get the road bike I should notice the difference.

I'd say going from a heavy mountain bike to a road one will be like playing pool after playing snooker wayyyyyyyyyyy easier

velo.2010

Choochtown wrote: »

It'll be 5 weeks until I get the road bike so I'll have to use the mountain bike until then but I suppose it's the same muscles I'll be working and when I finally get the road bike I should notice the difference.

Yeah, you'll certaintly notice the difference between the two bikes as well as the increased fitness if I understand what you mean.

My first 'long cycle' was that Lance in the Park spin in Aug. 2009, about 80kms. I was completly cream-crackered at the end. Funny thing was, I had a roadbike for some years before but made the mistake of getting a turbo trainer around the same time - so the bike stayed on the trainer pretty much. A mistake in hindsight.

Keep up the cycling 'outdoors' no matter what your riding. Do remember too to bring plenty of food with you. That day in the Park I only had one bottle and a few jaffa cakes!

piston

Just get the miles in, outside in the real world, not on a turbo trainer. It's the best cycle training advice you will ever get.

You would need to do a few 40 mile rides (giving sufficient recovery time in between) and get comfortable with that distance and then you should be able to complete the ride no trouble at all. If the proposed route is very hilly, you need to do your training rides in the hills if possible.

Training on a MTB might be frowned on in some quarters but it's best to train on a heavy bike (IMO). Get used to spinning low gears rather than mashing big gears, this will make it much easier and eat and drink plenty to prevent fatigue setting in. This isn't a difficult distance to ride for anyone used to spending a bit of time on a bike and of reasonable fitness. I've done rides of this length on a 1950s Raleigh 3 speed and also on fixed gear bikes and I'm 3 stone overweight.

fenris

Make sure that you get properly fitted for your road bike, small changes in saddle height and angle can make a big difference after a couple of hours. You don't really see this on a MTB as you are not locked as rigidly into one position.

Spin lower gears faster rather than grinding high gears, coming from MTB what you think is a fast cadence probably isn't, I know when I started on a road bike my average cadence was about 50 RPM - nowhere near the 80 RPM given as a guideline for road cycling.

There is a definite short period where your performance drops when you transition from grinding to spinning and you feel ridiculous but that soon passes and you find that the higher cadence in the lower gear is much more sustainable and gets you up more hills. A cycle computer with cadence really helps as you can focus on the avg cadence and just adjust the gears to allow you to maintain that cadence rather than chasing an average speed.

If the event that you are doing is the Wicklow 100 then there are a few long drags that can really sap your strength and as has been stated here before the only way to get used to hills is to do hills.

Managing you rest and recovery is a big deal, as a fellow over 40, I have found that recovery is much slower than I think it should be (compared to when I was 20, which I am in my head) and pushing too much too quickly can lead to niggling injuries that can put you out of action for weeks thus missing more cycling than if you just gave is a couple of days rest at the start.

A big mistake that I made was trying to lose weight quickly at the same time as training, you have to give you body enough to work with otherwise you end up going backwards and seeing your performance dropping rather than improving.

It is worth finding some other people to cycle with as it will motivate you to get out on your bike and the "It's not a race" sprints for signs, tops of hills, large puddles etc. can really spice things up!
The chances are that there are others near you with similar goals in a similar time frame, doesn't have to be formal, just match up spins if convenient.

Choochtown

Wasn't aware of that difference in RPMs when changing from mountain bike to road bike. I've just done my 3rd evening on the spin and have been doing a flat route gradually increasing in length. Problem is I've been mostly cycling in top gear and dancing on the pedals at times to keep it there.
Sounds like I need to lower the gear and increase my pedal speed and I also need to rest tomorrow (maybe do a few bird dogs!) Neck is very sore tonight hopefully that's normal?

At least now I can understand the enthusiasm on this forum... 6.30 this evening, sun beating down, quiet bog road, first 20 minutes done and I'm into a rhythm ... Life doesn't
get much better!

Four of a kind

Choochtown wrote: »

Wasn't aware of that difference in RPMs when changing from mountain bike to road bike. I've just done my 3rd evening on the spin and have been doing a flat route gradually increasing in length. Problem is I've been mostly cycling in top gear and dancing on the pedals at times to keep it there.
Sounds like I need to lower the gear and increase my pedal speed and I also need to rest tomorrow (maybe do a few bird dogs!) Neck is very sore tonight hopefully that's normal?

At least now I can understand the enthusiasm on this forum... 6.30 this evening, sun beating down, quiet bog road, first 20 minutes done and I'm into a rhythm ... Life doesn't
get much better!

Had this exact feeling yesterday myself! Hard to beat it for sure!

ozzy jr

I'm planning on cycling the Dingle Peninsula in a couple of weeks time, the route I'm taking is a round trip of about 120km.

I cycle every day, ranging from a minimum of 40km up to Glencree and back via Cruagh Road, to 65km over Sally's Gap or to Dublin Airport or Howth (I live in Dundrum).

Would I be up to the 120km? I'm not racing, just going at my own pace.

piston

Choochtown wrote: »

Wasn't aware of that difference in RPMs when changing from mountain bike to road bike. I've just done my 3rd evening on the spin and have been doing a flat route gradually increasing in length. Problem is I've been mostly cycling in top gear and dancing on the pedals at times to keep it there.
Sounds like I need to lower the gear and increase my pedal speed and I also need to rest tomorrow (maybe do a few bird dogs!) Neck is very sore tonight hopefully that's normal?

At least now I can understand the enthusiasm on this forum... 6.30 this evening, sun beating down, quiet bog road, first 20 minutes done and I'm into a rhythm ... Life doesn't
get much better!

Definitely learn to spin. It is easier, both on the bike, and on your knees. Riding around in a big gear does wonders for leg muscle strength but won't really improve you fitness. The club riders and racers of yesteryear trained on a 63" fixed gear and there was a reason for that, it teaches you to spin a higher cadence. 23 or 24 mph is achieveable on the flat in a 63" gear, even for a fat lump like myself.

Peadarmac1

Hi, I am 51 and overweight until recently did very little in the way of exercise.I got a hybrid last september mainly to get fit, but have only really started to make use of it at the start of this year, so far I have lost half a stone(3.6 kg to you young people) (I need to lose at least twice that:eek:) and now regulary cycle 3-4 times a week averaging 20-25km mid week days and 30-40km at the weekend ,I have even overtaken some road bikes:D. I managed to cycle up the hill of howth:P a few times and it's getting easier. best advice just try to get out often as possible.hoping to get up to 100km some day soon:).

cdaly_

ozzy jr wrote: »

I'm planning on cycling the Dingle Peninsula in a couple of weeks time, the route I'm taking is a round trip of about 120km.

I cycle every day, ranging from a minimum of 40km up to Glencree and back via Cruagh Road, to 65km over Sally's Gap or to Dublin Airport or Howth (I live in Dundrum).

Would I be up to the 120km? I'm not racing, just going at my own pace.

No bother to you. They say you can do your normal week's in a one-day spin...

paulgalway

Peadarmac1 wrote: »

Hi, I am 51 and overweight until recently did very little in the way of exercise.:).

I am in the same boat as yourself, now 51 and not cycled for 25 - 30 yrs.

Have a Hybrid also and have completed 5 laps of a 24km route here in Galway; going out nearly every 2nd day.

After reading the recent posts here now realise I was making a mistake in staying in high gears.

Hope to do 100km before the end of the summer, will be trying to follow the sean kelly plan.

One thing I do need to get is a bike computer to try and monitor my progress; have been using a windows app but I don't think it is too reliable.

Peadarmac1

Peadarmac1 wrote: »

Hi, I am 51 and overweight until recently did very little in the way of exercise.I got a hybrid last september mainly to get fit, but have only really started to make use of it at the start of this year, so far I have lost half a stone(3.6 kg to you young people) (I need to lose at least twice that:eek:) and now regulary cycle 3-4 times a week averaging 20-25km mid week days and 30-40km at the weekend ,I have even overtaken some road bikes:D. I managed to cycle up the hill of howth:P a few times and it's getting easier. best advice just try to get out often as possible.hoping to get up to 100km some day soon:).

Hi Choochtown, How are you doing with the training? just thought I might give you an update on my progress,I lost a few more pounds and last weekend I cycled 55km. Today I am just just come back from a 65km cycle and plan on doing 80km next weekend and 100km:eek: the following one.

keep us updated on your progress

sometimes it helps to set down goals for yourself, even if you cant always achieve them, at least you have something to work towards.;)

ck101

At I started training in anger a month or two ago after 12 years doing very little excercise. I got up to 50k very quickly after 3 weeks or so. Now I'm doing 120 - 150k a week with the odd long one at 70k.
100k won't be a problem as long as the hills aren't that bad.