Sydney Cyclist

Cycling in Sydney Australia

How far is to far on a training ride

Still learning to ride and building up fitness levels after a long bout of inactivity from sport

I have just managed to reach 40 km on either sat/sun each week without major problems, I plan to try to reach a 100km eventually

What do others ride on a Sat/Sun  ??? What is the max you could ride I have been thinking that if you rode about 200km would it be the same as running a marathon and take a while to recover

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Permalink Reply by robflyte on April 23, 2012 at 4:27pm

my first 200km was slower than my best time by 30 minutes but that will happen when between the 158km and 190km mark youv'e had three punctures.  Glad Boxhead was with me, I was feeling very deflated as well.

Then the Garmin went into a test mode and was showing a colour wheel on the display.

Penrith, pizza, patched tube as a spare again and felt rejuvinated.  Even the garmin came back to life.

Permalink Reply by Eleri on April 23, 2012 at 8:07pm

Great work.  300km is a long way and you did it in a good time!  

Permalink Reply by mikesbytes on April 23, 2012 at 4:37pm

Personally I see 200k as being easier than a marathon

Distances like 200k are good for building base, I do it sometimes, though most of the time I work on intensity

You will get to your 100k target.  At 40k you ain't are far off as it sounds, just find a strategy that's suits you.

Permalink Reply by Will Edwards on April 23, 2012 at 7:36pm

I started off doing 40km rides on my hybrid for about a year. Then when I upgraded to the road bike that went up to 70km at first. Took about 6-8 months doing that before I attempted my first solid 100kms. It hurt. Now I tackle 120-160kms every Sunday without worrying about the after effects.

Funnily enough, your body adapts to the distance once the mind knows you can do it (if that makes any sense). To give you an example, I did Fitz's Challenge which is 205kms of constant undulation and three very difficult climbs. The distance wasn't the killer factor, it was the constant hills. So now my body can handle the idea of doing less than that over flatter terrain.

Will Edwards

thenod.tumblr.com/

Permalink Reply by Paul on April 23, 2012 at 9:06pm

My only "training" as such is my commuting to and from work, which is around 52km per day. It's not so much the distance, but all the hills. I am doing about 800m of climbs in that 52km, so in a week I am doing 4km of climbing.

That makes a massive difference. Before I moved to my current location (Hills District), I was doing a typical 3 Gorges Ride at around 26 to 27km/h avg. After 6 months of commuting from the new house, I tackled the 3 Gorges and found my avg speed is now 29km/h+, and that is without pushing myself too hard. I made most of the gains, unsurprisingly, on the climbs.

I am doing my first 200km this weekend. I don't expect it will be an issue. My previous longest ride is 165km, and the 200km ride is the exact same course with an extended turnaround from Mt White to Peats Ridge (so not much more climbing). Aiming for around 8 hours rolling time, depending on how my riding buddies feel.

Permalink Reply by Pooliothrvwganster1 on April 23, 2012 at 9:20pm

Thanks everyone for all the comments 300 k,s is mind bending you guys are fit as  I will push on I think Will & Mike comments are the way to go 40 seems OK now , I will push up soon to 50 then 70 , hope to let you know when I hit 200.Seems a while off I'm in the unfit category still.

To many beers,wines and pies not enough exercise I need to watch the diet as well

Permalink Reply by Tim on April 23, 2012 at 11:24pm

Just slowly push up the ride km's so your body adjusts.  And I find that for rides over 50km's, you need to think about energy food and hydration - otherwise you risk bonking due to low blood sugars/salts.

Permalink Reply by Michael Fagan on April 24, 2012 at 12:43am

Great question. I reckon the answer is it depends on what you want to accomplish. If its for general fitness I reckon 80 - 100k's is a proper ride with say 500 to 1000m of climbing . . . but if you do proper interval training based on power production you'll be surprised how distance matters a lot less but you gain more. Don't listen to me though.

For the real answers check out Cycling 360 Podcasts, especially the episode Why Isn’t My Riding Improving? 

Permalink Reply by John Knight on April 24, 2012 at 4:01pm

Hey, nice podcasts!

I downloaded a handful for a road trip today and they are very interesting listening!

Permalink Reply by Michael Fagan on April 24, 2012 at 11:40pm

Hey if you want to see some other great stuff I bought the DVD's connected with this Youtube:

The Italian Job

And for technique I used this when I started cycling here in the mountains . . .  As series of 5 or 6 short videos:

Cycling Survival

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