ihiggo15 and the 160 km sponsored cycle

ihiggo15

What can i say i bought a giant defy 5 recently to start cycling as a means of keeping fit and fancied a new sport. However i have also decided to do a sponsored cycle in 4 weeks time, i think i have bitten off more than i can chew.:pac:

Took the bike out for my first spin last nite and did 8 km in about 25 mins, mainly just to test the bike out figure out gears etc. the road was mainly flat with baby inclines.

This morning i went on a 13.5 km route which took an hour, with an average speed of 12.43 km/h highest ascent was 66 and lowest was -58. My back side is in bits so its time to purchase a pair of padded shorts.

Also should i go out for a spin this evening?

Also i would be grateful if anyone could advise what distances should i be doing over the next few days and weeks so i will be in good shape for the charity cycle in 4 weeks time.

cheers.

smacl

From nothing to 160k in 4 weeks is a bit of an ask to be honest, it took me three months to go from not having cycled in a couple of decades to doing 100k. How fit are you now, and what's your weight like?

ihiggo15

Pretty fit, was playing club football this year as well as gym work, current weight is 12st 5llbs,

i know its going to be a challenge, now i fully understand that 160 km is going to be hard and it dont expect to do it in a crazy quick time.

smacl

Fair play for giving it a go, and good luck. Your rear end is going to suffer big time going from no hours in the saddle, to 6-8 hours, so get some good padded shorts and some chamois cream tomorrow. Main thing is to get hours in the saddle; your backside will get sore first, then variously knees, shoulders, hands, and everything else. Nutrition is also important, as is hydration, so if you keep drinking and eating and are bloody minded enough you'll probably manage. If I had to do something like that from scratch, I'd probably go for 5-6 days training a week, with two spins on most days and one longer spin on one day. Loads of sleep in between and no booze, pain as it is.

Try posting back here every second day or so, as it will keep you motivated to progress. And once again, best of luck, not an easy one, but if you're thick skulled and thick skinned you might just pull it off

FWIW, I'm a pretty crap cyclist myself, so take my advice as such, but I've got a feel for long days in the saddle over the last couple of years.

ihiggo15

cheers smacl, yeah got the padded shorts today and i heard about chamois, u hardly know where it can be got as in pharmacy or cycle shops. yeah i know it goin to be hard, but i have been through a lot worse. Yeah nutrition and hydration is key, luckily enough i have studied sports and exercise science so i have more than enough experience in this.

Yeah im planning on doin 5-6 days a week and 2 spins most days, and defo one if not 2 long spins a week.

Being off the booze is no bother to me.

Beasty

To build your endurance your body needs time to recover - going out 5-6 days a week is likely to be counterproductive, particularly if you are starting from scratch. I would suggest a couple of easy spins during the week, and see how far you can go on, say, the Saturday, with perhaps a slow recovery spin on the Sunday. You have to build up. and ideally need to have done at least a 100km ride perhaps a week before the event (again giving you time to recover for it). So if you're aiming for 100km in 3 weeks, you probably need to be doing a 70km or so spin in 2 weeks, and maybe 40-50 in a week's time

ihiggo15

Chears beasty, when i started to read ur reply it made a lot of sense to me. I will start to plan for those distances over the coming weeks.

I decided to get a quick spin in the morning as i wont get again till Monday, so i went out and did 16.5 km in 1hr 17 mins, with average speed of just over 13 km/hr, the padded shorts i got yesterday evening worked a treat, plus i lowered my seat every so slightly average talking to a relative that does triathlons and a lot of road racing as he called round, and said it was a tad high.

Hopefully on monday i will get up to 20 kms done.

smacl

ihiggo15 wrote: »

i went out and did 16.5 km in 1hr 17 mins, with average speed of just over 13 km/hr

Not wanting to seem rude, but 13 km/hr seems very slow. What type of bike are you cycling, and over what terrain? Reason I ask is that even a novice on a road bike would probably average >20kph+ over shortish distances. Given you're reasonably fit, I'm guessing you've the wrong bike for the job, possibly something like a heavy old mountain bike with knobbly wheels and crappy suspension. If this is the case getting your hands on a better bike would make a huge difference.

ihiggo15

First of all it was into a headwind and the route I took had a lot of inclines and very few downhill parts.

Still trying to figure out gear setting goon uphill etc

The bike is A 2012 giant fefy 5. So I don't think it's the bike.

smacl

Usual mistake is to push way to high a gear. If you pick a gear that your legs are spinning much faster, you'll do a higher speed with much less energy expended. Also makes it much much easier on a long cycle, as its more forgiving on the body. Hills and wind will crucify your speed, to the extent that I don't think average km/h makes much sense without describing the route and conditions.

ihiggo15

Cheers smacl, i find when i use a gear that my legs are spinning much faster i do a higher speed but cover feck all distances. Is this possible.

smacl

ihiggo15 wrote: »

Cheers smacl, i find when i use a gear that my legs are spinning much faster i do a higher speed but cover feck all distances. Is this possible.

If you can keep the legs spinning at >80 rpm for anything other than steep hills you're doing it right. If you pick up a cycling computer with cadence sensor, it will tell you how fast you're pedalling, they start at about €40 for something like this, though you can spend as much as you want. It could also be worth getting your saddle height checked; you can lose a lot of power having it too low, related article here. Could also be worth having the bike serviced as you could be getting some drag by components such as the chain needing cleaning and lubing. I'm guessing your average speed is lower than it should be down to some problem with your set-up.

If you think of holding an average speed of 20kph for your 160k, with three 20min stops, this will have you on the road for about 9 hours, which is about the max for doing your cycle in daylight these days.

ihiggo15

Well today i took smacl advice on board and checked the height of my seat and lowered it a tad as it was high. I went for a 25.39 cycle, i will attach a picture of the climbs that i occured on my cycle. The cycle took 1hr 18min. Avg speed 18.36 with a max of 46.46.

I would appreciate any advice, also please look at the pic of the climbs.

Cheers ihiggo15

smacl

That's a hilly enough course, you'll be much faster on flatter ground.

shaka

It's good your doing a bit of climbin but think you will need some base miles too , I'd look a getting in three 30 km flattish routes a week as well as your climbing day

ihiggo15

What can i say, i went for a more longer flatter route with a few climbs today, it was 58.3km and it took me 2.30 hours with an average speed of 23.48. Really enjoyed today, weather was nice and the spin was lovely. Now for a few days rest and hit the road on saturday or sunday.

ihiggo15

Very hectic week this gone by got out only twice, both times did over 50km in just over 2 half hour mark.