Need to Ride 40 Miles 2 Weeks from Now

AZSPM · Nov 18, 2006

I have committed to a 40 mile ride 2 weeks from today and wanted to see how best to prepare for it. I basically started cycling today (rode 20 miles) and it took me about 1hr 20min. I have been running for about 6 months and I average about 3-4 hours of running a week.

Have I bitten off more than I can chew? The ride today felt great, however, after I got home there was some stiffness in my legs and I felt a little bow legged. I plan to ride 2-3 more time over the next 2 weeks and slowly increase my mileage to 25, 30, 35 and then will do the 40 in 2 weeks. Does this make sense? Thanks.

uzziefly · Nov 18, 2006

Well... how fit you are, how comfortable you are on the bike and all are factors that'll come into play..

Yeah slowly increase your mileage... warm up well, stretch.. and cool down and stretch again..

Say maybe monday, you can ride 25 miles... that should be a start... then see how your body feels..

Good luck!

Gnarly 928 · Nov 18, 2006

40 miles is not that far even for a total beginner, really. You could probably do it *cold* without any special preparation, but you would certainly feel it. Especially if you have some gross problems with bike fit, clothing or technique. If you are a runner, you should be fit enough to do the distance without any conditioning issues, but you may have equipment or technique issues that you could 'pre-diagnose' with some more rides before you take off on your 40-miler...
Don't worry about it too much and enjoy it. Wear some bike shorts and make sure you take food and water into your body along the ride. Wear a helmet and keep watch for oddball drivers..
Don Hanson

AZSPM · Nov 18, 2006

Thanks for the replies. As far as fit goes, it feels pretty good. I probably need to go out with some veteran riders to see how my technique is. One thing is that the bony part of my butt hurts now. Is this normal? Do I need to think about a different saddle or could it be my technique.

Also, how many miles/hour is average? 15mph? 20mph? Less? More?

estone2 · Nov 18, 2006

AZSPM said:
Thanks for the replies. As far as fit goes, it feels pretty good. I probably need to go out with some veteran riders to see how my technique is. One thing is that the bony part of my butt hurts now. Is this normal? Do I need to think about a different saddle or could it be my technique.

Also, how many miles/hour is average? 15mph? 20mph? Less? More?

Your butt will get 'broken in.' Cycling hurts like hell for the first couple of rides. Sometimes even the first few months. But soon it becomes really comfortable.
The MPH question is very subjective. How much is avg for a beginner? 15mph on a flat is not unreasonable. When I started riding, I thought it was awesome that I could average 16mph. Now, if I went out on a ride and averaged 16mph, I would shoot myself - anything less than 21.0mph and I panic, since I'm a racer. Everyone rides at different speeds, and conditioning really shows.
Don't worry about speed. It comes with training. And if anyone says you're slow, don't worry about it. You can kick their butts next year

-estone2

JayTee · Nov 19, 2006

Your fitness will be fine. Biggest issue is that you'll probably get a little tired of the saddle. Get in a few more 15-25 milers before then and you'll be fine. Yes, and the soreness in the "bony part" (sit bones) is very very normal at first. You'll be pleased to know that it resolves within the first half-dozen rides.

balzaccom · Nov 19, 2006

Don't worry about pace. Eat enough, drink enough, and ride at a pace that is comfortable. 40 miles is easy, if you keep your nutrition and fluid levels up. Once you have done a few of these, then you can start to worry about some kind of average mph.

And I wouldn't really feel that riding 25, then 30, then 35 is important. 30 isn't a lot more than 20 or 25. If you rode 20, you can ride 40--just take it easy, don't push ( at least early on--the last half hour; push all you want!) and keep yourself well refreshed.

piece of cake.

PW

uzziefly · Nov 19, 2006

yeah the saddle issue is very normal.. In fact, when I don't ride my road bike for a while, say like 2 weeks, I need to re-adjust to the saddle again and it feels a tad unomfortable for a while or so.

JayTee · Nov 19, 2006

uzziefly said:
yeah the saddle issue is very normal.. In fact, when I don't ride my road bike for a while, say like 2 weeks, I need to re-adjust to the saddle again and it feels a tad unomfortable for a while or so.

Exactly. I couldn't ride for six weeks after some surgery in May and it was hard to believe that my old faithful saddle all the sudden felt like a brick again when I got back on the bike!

levels1069 · Nov 19, 2006

AZSPM said:
I have committed to a 40 mile ride 2 weeks from today and wanted to see how best to prepare for it. I basically started cycling today (rode 20 miles) and it took me about 1hr 20min. I have been running for about 6 months and I average about 3-4 hours of running a week.

Have I bitten off more than I can chew? The ride today felt great, however, after I got home there was some stiffness in my legs and I felt a little bow legged. I plan to ride 2-3 more time over the next 2 weeks and slowly increase my mileage to 25, 30, 35 and then will do the 40 in 2 weeks. Does this make sense? Thanks.

first of all, congratulations and welcome to the addiction...

is the 40 mile ride with a bunch of people i'd assume? that will make the ride ALL the more easy. If you can practice group riding in a paceline and drafting, you'll make very fast improvements. Not to mention, riding with other people gives you another variable into the equation and helps take your mind off the pain a bit in your legs.

just get out there and ride man, turn the pedals and go forward....everything else is quite trivial, relax and just get out there and enjoy yourself. Take lots of gatorade/water and some powerbars or gels, you'll have a great time.

little story, my girlfriend bought a bike after seeing me ride all the time...she wanted to ride with me and get back in shape, her second week on the bike she road 45 miles with me. We stopped a few times, drank lots of water, and just made sure to laugh and have fun the whole time. 40 miles will be a cinch for you

uzziefly · Nov 19, 2006

levels1069 said:
first of all, congratulations and welcome to the addiction...

is the 40 mile ride with a bunch of people i'd assume? that will make the ride ALL the more easy. If you can practice group riding in a paceline and drafting, you'll make very fast improvements. Not to mention, riding with other people gives you another variable into the equation and helps take your mind off the pain a bit in your legs.

just get out there and ride man, turn the pedals and go forward....everything else is quite trivial, relax and just get out there and enjoy yourself. Take lots of gatorade/water and some powerbars or gels, you'll have a great time.

little story, my girlfriend bought a bike after seeing me ride all the time...she wanted to ride with me and get back in shape, her second week on the bike she road 45 miles with me. We stopped a few times, drank lots of water, and just made sure to laugh and have fun the whole time. 40 miles will be a cinch for you

Ditto, Jens 'lover'

Ahh I cant wait to ride again... Once my ankle heals up... And once I finish the exams...

madhattaz · Nov 20, 2006

Do you know the route you'll be riding?? Train accordingly to the difficulty of the ride. If it's mostly flatlands, you'll breeze through the 40 miles with no problems. If there are harsh elevation changes, you may need to step up the training the efforts a bit.

As for speed, you'll probably be able to approximate your "limits" through your trainings.

primalcarl · Nov 24, 2006

Average speeds depend entirely on the terrain. Round here it's very hilly, and a 16mph average isn't bad at all. If you live somewhere flatish with just the odd hill nearer 20mph would be very good.

Just enjoy yourself, and pace yourself. Don't use most of your energy up on the first testing hill

AZSPM · Nov 25, 2006

Again, thanks for the replies. I just happened to ride 26 miles the other day and it was tough especially since I was doing it alone. I do feel as though I can do 40 miles. It's encouraging to get all of your feedback and it is much appreciated. BTW, according to my computer I avg'ed about 14.1. Other than stops and slowing down, it seemed like my speedometer (or slowometer) was reading on avg about 15-15.2 mph. Do the starts and slow downs at lights affect it that much? Thanks.

Brad2021hk · Nov 25, 2006

My dad came to visit back in May. He hadn't been on a bicycle in like 10 years. I dragged him through a 25 mile ride on mostly flat terrain. He averaged about 12mph. The old man suffered a decent amount, but I'm pretty sure I could have gotten at least 5 to 10 more out of him. If you are at all athletic, you can gut out the 40 miles.

John Nelson · Nov 25, 2006

I find that the speeds you notice when occasionally glancing at the spedometer are usually higher than what is recorded as your average speed. I think it has something to do with the fact that you're more likely to be curious about your speed as you go faster.

uzziefly · Nov 25, 2006

John Nelson said:
I find that the speeds you notice when occasionally glancing at the spedometer are usually higher than what is recorded as your average speed. I think it has something to do with the fact that you're more likely to be curious about your speed as you go faster.

That's also coz you slow down and stop at traffic lights etc.. Yeah but what you said is kinda true as well, I think...

seany916 · Nov 27, 2006

my advice:

you have to ride at least every other day (2x every 3 days if at all possible) so that the nerves in your butt die.

don't focus on distance, focus on going FASTER, that will be a better workout for you than going farther. anyone can go 50 miles at 5 miles an hour for 10 hours.

but if the group is moving faster than you're used to... you're screwed.

keep in mind that you'll go 1.5-4 miles an hour faster with a group without much effort.

if the group is averaging faster than you, you'll struggle to keep up.

25 miles at a brisk, heart pounding pace will serve you better than 40 long easy miles

push your pace and distance so that you can talk to the people around you on your 40 mile ride.

you don't want to finish shattered, and if you can barely finish 40, you won't be talking much on that ride

good luck to you

tgiboney · Nov 27, 2006

Congrats and welcome to the road.

If I were you I would try to get more then 2 or 3 rides in before the big day. Don’t worry about or force your self to do 25, then 30, then 35. Stretch, take some time warming up (10 to 20 min for me at an easy gear with a fast cadence) and then go ride and work on technique and relaxing. Don’t forget to drink often, eat something if you are out for more then an hour, and stretch after the ride. Take some time off (bike and running) if you are getting sore and tired and take care of your body, massage the sore mussels, stretch, keep fluid intake up and eat well.

And try to ride with a local group, don’t be afraid that they will not want you, just let them know you are new and looking for advice and a group to ride with. I know where I come from we always welcome newbie’s and are more then willing to help them out. And its much easier to get the mileage in with a group, easier because you are not always in the lead breaking the wind and the company take your mind off of the pain as some one else has already said.

Did you get a professional fit? If not you may want to look into as soon as you can to ensure that the fit does not cause any problems. Search this site for fit and you will find many hits on the importance of fit.

And for the ache butt it will go with time if the saddle is right for you but it will take more then 3 rides to make that decision which is another reason to try to get more then 2 or 3 rides in between now and then. You may also want to search this site for saddles and again you will find many hits and the one basic theory is that what fits mine may not fit you but it does take time to determine weather yours does or not.

Have fun on the 40 mile ride and let us know how it goes and then you will want to do a 50 then a 70 etc. Man this is an addicting sport with endless challenges have fun.

pl8ster · Dec 6, 2006

So how did it go?

Need to Ride 40 Miles 2 Weeks from Now

AZSPM

uzziefly

Gnarly 928

AZSPM

estone2

JayTee

balzaccom

uzziefly

JayTee

levels1069

uzziefly

madhattaz

primalcarl

AZSPM

Brad2021hk

John Nelson

uzziefly

seany916

tgiboney

pl8ster

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