Hi all,

Like many before, I have been lurking for a long time now... and seen responses from HTFU, DTM, and TTID (hopefully not the latter) to welcome, hi, and come along!

I do a commute on my fixed bike of about 8 miles a day and ride every day and at any free time possible. Sometimes calling friends that live a little further away so i can ride.

The Question:

How does one progress to ride furthur distances is it a matter of HTFUing or maybe starting a little earlier on my commute adding a little more each day? Or should i just go for it and hook myself on to one of the many rides available... I know im a strong rider i just don't want to fail half way or worse. Any tips on progressing further and further?

Thanks in advance & hi again!

CP

if it's worth anything i went from 25/30 miles a pop to 65/70 for the "extended" May Cambridge ride.

I had those kind of thoughts beforehand but in the end I just enjoyed every minute of it.

Wasn't fixed though and yes at times I did freewheel.

You don't have to HTFU so much as just go out and keep riding. Don't go all out, just cruise along, take breaks etc.

You won't hit 16 miles (for instance) and then find you can't go an inch further. When you start slowing down or getting hungry, stop, eat something, drink coffee and/or beer. Start riding again. Easy.

Also

HTFUMF

yeah appreciate the dive in at the deep end approach...

I want to get to the points where i can comfortably ride those distances when and where i like. Not just a battle between me and the unknown.

i think i understand i guess setting achievable goals is probably the way to go... in a way im doing that already.... but as far as pushing myself a little furthur takes a bit of confidence.

welcome to the forum, this appears to abe a refreshingly well though out post so I'll neglect my usual abuse and provide an answer for you.

I fully recommend a course of deep end therapy. Commit to one of the rides, don't worry about it. Eat plently of carbs for a few days before hand and just do the ride.

Most of them aren't manic in pace and to my knowledge we've only ever left 50*14 behind, though to be fair he was taken away in an ambulance).

The rides are always good times and riding in a group you tend not to notice the miles flying by as conversation saps up and emptyness that would be experienced doing it solo. If you don't want to throw yourself straight into one of the intercity rides then may I suggest one of the night rides. These are typically only 20ish miles. You'll likely realise by the end of those that you don't want to stop riding, this is the first sign that you can do longer distances.

i started riding laps of of richmond park as it's only 6 miles away for me, started with 1-3laps now i do 4-6 depending on how much time i have. i now find it easy to do 50 miles so that longer road rides of 60+ aren't so daunting (or knackering).
i recommend good shorts and not carrying a bag if you do those kinds of distances it's much more comfortable. proper bars are much better too as you get to move your hands around a lot and get down on the drops if it's windy or you want to go faster.

endurance is built up by steady 70% output riding. i.e. going as fast as you can but still being able to hold a conversation without interfering with your breathing, if you go balls out fast straight away you will be pooped. hills naturally give you a short intense period to vary your training.
i don't actually see these rides as 'training' it's just the chance to ride more so that on proper rides i'm able to keep up with the geared riders

Alternatively, if the paranoia is difficult to evade, ride roughly parallel to a railway with frequent stops. If all fails, grovel to the station and get home that way. Or do circuits a la Mr. Smith. I don't do that because I don't like circuits. However, the canteen in Richmond Park is nice and has good views.

Thanks for that...50 14 to me sounds crazy ratio for a long ride, i assume that what that is?

In terms of carbs and other nutritious goodies, i have a very lazy routine when it comes to food i often forget to eat, due to social distractions. I guess i should be taking care of myself a little better. When riding i never feel as though my body needs food etc. but i guess i must know in my brain that i may be close to overstepping my ride length... hence the fear.

longest ride have done so far on my fixed bike is 60k..... im planning a 1 day, 160k ride... am i mental?

i've done a bit of running in the past (last year) and that was a similar approach. I even went off the drink (what the fuck) and took it pretty seriously. ie 4:30 wake ups 12 and 3 mile runs...12 jogging (as you say so i can talk) and 3 mile runs.

I entered a race not too shortly after my training, a 10k which i did in 40:41 for my first effort at running i was pretty chuffed... but i think my body is not made for stamina.

crazy ratio, crazy guy.

yeah I'm back in town this weekend, time to put in some long fixed rolls in preparation for Canterbury etc..

that depends if you will be doing it in jeans and a silly high (or low) gear and bars that only give you one hand/back/neck position

would be on 48/16... and in biking shorts shorts and bullhorns

all of the above are good recommendations, I would say rather than worrying about failing halfway through just attempt a longish ride, like say the canterbury one at the end of the month or the one out to camber sands in september, the only way you get used to riding longer distances is by riding longer distances, spending time in the saddle and just turning the pedals. Popping into one of the night rides would be a good way to get a sense of how riding for a more extended period of time feels.
I never did anything more than commute about 12miles a day before deciding to do the dunwich dynamo this july, 120miles to dunwich on the suffolk coast, so to get used to doing longer distances and to prepare for it, I rode on every long ride on the forum, so southend, brighton, cambridge and oxford, and wouldn't have been able to do the dynamo if I hadn't.

I ride drops... the flexibility of hand positions is crazy. I prefer drops with quite a flat section to it to so no slipping. They are also quite wide i find these better for slight climbs. I think my setup is almost perfect for a longer ride... and i'm quite looking forward to progressing.

As far as richmond park is concerned its about 25miles for me to get there.

As a side line issue: How anybody cant find anything on this forum is basically a bit dumb... I've been on a few forums before... the search function is amazing. I guess the main issue with people not finding something is often to do with not knowing what they want!

Rides and races and just checked out the Canterbury ride like you say i should just bite the bullet.thanks!

HTFU

Ride 'til your knees bleed.

bleed? you mean fall or pop out of their sockets?

and hardening the fuck up/deep end approach/aversion therapy

Disengage brain. And go.

Thanks for the advice but my brain is quite useful it keeps me out of trouble. but the go bit makes sense.

I remember coming off the train from Cambridge and barely being able to cycle home. Then I called up my brother and we went and skanked to old Reggae in a jamaican club till four am.

The sleep after that was sublime.

fck me that's fast. once did a 40min 10k run but the distance was a bit suspect (prob 0.5-1.0km short)...anyway, sounds like you're pretty fit.

stamina will come later. just keep on riding. increase your distance on weekends, you'll be alright. loads of forum folks that go on these long dist rides are nowhere near your fitness level. dont worry bout jumping in the deep end.

proper nutrition is important. i go through 1 energy bar every 1.5hrs. and about one bottle every 2hrs (<1hr if it's hot and sunny). if you feel hungry or thirsty, it is often too late.

Okay I wasn't doing a serious answer but "10% rule" is a good one.
Add no more than 10% to your weekly distance and make your weekly long ride no more than 10% longer than the previous.

You can go out and ride 100mi but you will hurt for quite a while after wards so it's best to step up distance incrementally otherwise you risk overuse injuries.

Added to rep

Welcome! Join in on the beers and the rides. You'd be amazed how fit you get just by commuting each day. I have a similar commute distance to your and managed the Brighton ride this year without any major problems. I wasn't the quickest but I made it. The long distance thing is more of a mental barrier until you do it.

I don't see my commute i do as a pootle through the city... id like to think of it as improving my chances to ride further. I terms of ratio and this time of year whats a good size to run?

Obviously city ratio is very different than longer rides... in the city i ride 47-18 its comfortable and not too spinny. Do you go higher or lower for longer distances?


ps thanks for all the advice so far... this is going to be my training bible (thread)

and that's straight from Aroogah - a bloody nice guy and general all-round good egg.

Actually is there any decent books that cover riding training regime that you could recommend?

I read a few when running and runners world schedules are great!

Got... and nailed it too