Best Regimen to Prepare for a Long-Distance Bike Ride While Working?
January 7, 2022 9:06 AM Subscribe
Early in 2021 I took up bicycling, after not having been on a bike for more than 35 years. "Ask" helped me make the jump, so I'm back again with a new question: How can I get in good condition for RAGBRAI? Snowflake details inside.
I started commuting by bike several days a week in 2021, and took longer rides on the weekend through most of the year. Now that the weather is reliably awful, I'm going to gym to ride a stationary bike. "Longer" rides in this context does not mean "long"; the furthest that I went in one day was 27 miles, and that was with taking plenty of breaks.
I love cycling, and I've lost about 70 pounds since I started, by combining the hobby with watching my calorie intake. I don't want to stand pat, so I've decided that I want to spend 2022 getting into good enough shape to participate in RAGBRAI in 2023. I'm pretty sure I can find all the information I need about gear, type of bike, managing expectations, etc., by researching online, but my biggest question is how to build my endurance for the event.
I work full time, Monday thru Friday, 8AM to 5PM. I have a family, and I'm on the hook to cook dinner most evenings, though I can likely negotiate having a night away a week. What can I do to get ready for long distance riding, if actually riding for long distances is confined to a once-a-week activity, or twice a week at best? Can you recommend any particular training plans? Thanks in advance for your collective help.
I started commuting by bike several days a week in 2021, and took longer rides on the weekend through most of the year. Now that the weather is reliably awful, I'm going to gym to ride a stationary bike. "Longer" rides in this context does not mean "long"; the furthest that I went in one day was 27 miles, and that was with taking plenty of breaks.
I love cycling, and I've lost about 70 pounds since I started, by combining the hobby with watching my calorie intake. I don't want to stand pat, so I've decided that I want to spend 2022 getting into good enough shape to participate in RAGBRAI in 2023. I'm pretty sure I can find all the information I need about gear, type of bike, managing expectations, etc., by researching online, but my biggest question is how to build my endurance for the event.
I work full time, Monday thru Friday, 8AM to 5PM. I have a family, and I'm on the hook to cook dinner most evenings, though I can likely negotiate having a night away a week. What can I do to get ready for long distance riding, if actually riding for long distances is confined to a once-a-week activity, or twice a week at best? Can you recommend any particular training plans? Thanks in advance for your collective help.
couple of simple things...
1. In order to cover long distances, you need to sit on your bike for _long_ time - at touring pace, it turns out that's mostly just about getting and staying comfortable rather than being super-fit - so, concentrate first on getting your riding position / bike setup / saddle / shoes / gloves / grips / bars / etc absolutely perfect (for you - whatever that means). You might be sitting on it for up to 8 hours in a given day, and it takes a certain amount of consistent & gradual practice to build your body up to that, even when you get all the other variables sorted.
2. You might not have done a multi-day ride before, so during the next year you should plan to fit some of those in. By the summertime, you should easily have enough miles in your legs to plan for say a three-day tour at 40-50 miles per day, which would be a fun trip in its own right as well as a proof that you're well on your way.
I assume you've already read all this kind of stuff: https://ragbrai.com/ragbrai-training-yes-you-really-should-train-for-ragbrai/
posted by rd45 at 9:47 AM on January 7, 2022 [6 favorites]
1. In order to cover long distances, you need to sit on your bike for _long_ time - at touring pace, it turns out that's mostly just about getting and staying comfortable rather than being super-fit - so, concentrate first on getting your riding position / bike setup / saddle / shoes / gloves / grips / bars / etc absolutely perfect (for you - whatever that means). You might be sitting on it for up to 8 hours in a given day, and it takes a certain amount of consistent & gradual practice to build your body up to that, even when you get all the other variables sorted.
2. You might not have done a multi-day ride before, so during the next year you should plan to fit some of those in. By the summertime, you should easily have enough miles in your legs to plan for say a three-day tour at 40-50 miles per day, which would be a fun trip in its own right as well as a proof that you're well on your way.
I assume you've already read all this kind of stuff: https://ragbrai.com/ragbrai-training-yes-you-really-should-train-for-ragbrai/
posted by rd45 at 9:47 AM on January 7, 2022 [6 favorites]
I've got a stationary setup at home: a smart trainer with a sacrificial bike on it. It's always ready to go. The fact that I can be on it and going in five minutes makes a big difference, and the fact that I'm not wasting time riding through town to get to the "meat" of the ride means all of the time I spend on it is optimized. Smart trainers are expensive and require a certain investment in self-education to get the most out of them, but a conventional trainer will be fine for your goals.
I do one long road ride and four stationary rides a week: two hard interval rides of 1 hour, and two easy (zone 2) rides of 90 minutes. Interval training is a good way to get a lot of fitness improvement in a relatively short time, but it's counterproductive to do more than 2/week. You need to recover. And you do need to do some long training rides to prepare for long events, but this is more about fine-tuning your position and equipment, and discovering those problems that only crop up after N miles (for example, I get hotfoot after about 75 miles). You don't need to do all long rides. The fitness you build on shorter rides still carries over to longer rides, although it is my understanding that 60 minutes should be the minimum duration for a workout to build fitness. Memail me if you want me to talk your ear off.
posted by adamrice at 10:06 AM on January 7, 2022 [1 favorite]
I do one long road ride and four stationary rides a week: two hard interval rides of 1 hour, and two easy (zone 2) rides of 90 minutes. Interval training is a good way to get a lot of fitness improvement in a relatively short time, but it's counterproductive to do more than 2/week. You need to recover. And you do need to do some long training rides to prepare for long events, but this is more about fine-tuning your position and equipment, and discovering those problems that only crop up after N miles (for example, I get hotfoot after about 75 miles). You don't need to do all long rides. The fitness you build on shorter rides still carries over to longer rides, although it is my understanding that 60 minutes should be the minimum duration for a workout to build fitness. Memail me if you want me to talk your ear off.
posted by adamrice at 10:06 AM on January 7, 2022 [1 favorite]
Seconding a well-adjusted bike to minimize saddle-soreness. Since most of your training will be over the summer, can you go for shorter (20 mile) bike rides right after work and eat a TV Dinner a bit later? And do longer (50 mile + rides) on consecutive weekend days? Can you adjust your work schedule to start earlier to accommodate this? You might want to do some climbs - Iowa, believe it or not, is actually pretty hilly, and during Ragbrai you tend to climb these moraines multiple times a day. No shame in walking your bike up though. I rode RAGBRAI for two days a couple of years ago (and, FWIW, am not tempted to repeat the experience), so I have a few thoughts not training related. Firstly, remember that it's a ride, not a race. Think of having 10+ hours to do 70 miles and suddenly it's much more manageable mentally. Particularly, as you stop every 15 miles to get food and socialize. Consequently, you can get a rally comfortable saddle, since weight/speed is not an issue. Secondly - learn how to ride in groups. And learn how to deal with people who do now know how to ride in groups, as there will be plenty of these. You'll be riding in a crowd most of the time. Thirdly - it's likely to be hot and humid (on the days that don't have a torrential rain), so learn to adjust your expectations and pace in 95 degree weather. Good luck! I hope you have a blast.
posted by Dotty at 10:07 AM on January 7, 2022
posted by Dotty at 10:07 AM on January 7, 2022
Hello! 8 years ago I prepared for Ride Idaho by doing the Cascade Training Series, a century early in the summer, and Seattle to Portland toward the end of summer. I do not have suggestions for how to incorporate stationary cycling but I can speak to building from 27 miles in an organized way.
Start making a table of mileage and climbing goals for your long rides. I'm not sure how hilly RAGBRAI is, but even if it's flat, find some hills to ride for the physical and mental endurance gains. Plan on doing a shorter recovery ride the day after each long ride, so you get used to getting back on the bike when you're tired and sore. An hour is enough, to start, and maybe a third to half the length of your longer rides would be a huge help.
Example: over 3 months, my training started with a 20 mile ride on the weekend and every week increased either 10 miles or 250-500 feet of elevation. My longest training ride was 115 miles/4600 feet climbing, then a taper week of ~50 miles. The week after that was 200 miles/5000 feet for STP, a very lazy few weeks (regret), and lastly Ride Idaho which was roughly 60+60+90+80+rest+60+40 (elevation 1500+4500+2800+3000+200+rest+1900+1400). I was also bike commuting (~30 hilly miles per week). I'm including these details not because it was the best idea ever and you should do exactly this, but rather to show how you don't have to complete the full distance of your event in training, and you really can start from 27 miles and build to a tour!
posted by esoterrica at 10:19 AM on January 7, 2022
Start making a table of mileage and climbing goals for your long rides. I'm not sure how hilly RAGBRAI is, but even if it's flat, find some hills to ride for the physical and mental endurance gains. Plan on doing a shorter recovery ride the day after each long ride, so you get used to getting back on the bike when you're tired and sore. An hour is enough, to start, and maybe a third to half the length of your longer rides would be a huge help.
Example: over 3 months, my training started with a 20 mile ride on the weekend and every week increased either 10 miles or 250-500 feet of elevation. My longest training ride was 115 miles/4600 feet climbing, then a taper week of ~50 miles. The week after that was 200 miles/5000 feet for STP, a very lazy few weeks (regret), and lastly Ride Idaho which was roughly 60+60+90+80+rest+60+40 (elevation 1500+4500+2800+3000+200+rest+1900+1400). I was also bike commuting (~30 hilly miles per week). I'm including these details not because it was the best idea ever and you should do exactly this, but rather to show how you don't have to complete the full distance of your event in training, and you really can start from 27 miles and build to a tour!
posted by esoterrica at 10:19 AM on January 7, 2022
Getting used to long hours in the saddle is crucial, but in my experience a time-efficient way to prepare for a long ride is to do (somewhat) shorter but (somewhat) faster rides with fewer breaks. For a century (100 mile) ride, my longest training ride was 65 miles, but I did it with one break. After that, a century was easy, but with 4 breaks and about 2 mph slower than my usual training pace.
Also, when the weather gets better and you get fitter, can you do regular 1-2 hour morning rides before work? Can you commute to work by bike?
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 10:51 AM on January 7, 2022
Also, when the weather gets better and you get fitter, can you do regular 1-2 hour morning rides before work? Can you commute to work by bike?
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 10:51 AM on January 7, 2022
I think this is reasonable. How long is your commute, by the way?
Several years ago I started training in January for a century (100 miles) that I did in May. I commuted most days, about 7 miles total round trip, often with one longer ride one workday a week, but usually only 14-20 miles, and then increased my mileage on one long ride each weekend. I also had kids and a demanding job. I had never ridden more than 25 miles at once previously. I added 5-10 miles to my longer rides generally, with the goal of doing a 50-mile ride two weeks before the century. I did a 60-mile ride two weeks before the century, and that was plenty of training. I then did more centuries that summer without having done much more training at all. I know that's a lot of details, but a year and a half seems great for this.
Ramping up, you'll want to get two days of riding in a row when you can, but they don't have to be stupidly long rides or anything; you want to have the experience, a few times, of doing a long ride on Saturday and then a longish ride on Sunday and then your commute on Monday. Aim for that twice this summer and I think you'll be good. Or maybe try to take some vacation and do a few longer days in a row this summer? Can you do a few days of bike camping this summer, even if it's not high mileage? If your family is into camping, could you plan a trip where you bike to it and they drive or something?
Then the real work will be maintaining all that next winter. Your bike commute is great for this, even if it's short.
For training plans: I'd say start with RAGBRAI. Their coach's plan seems to focus on doing a few 10s plus something slightly longer on the weekend to start, but notice how the goal is total weekly mileage.
The biggest challenge for me in my training was finding and navigating the routes because I was new to my town. If you already know your area or have routes, then this might not be so time-consuming. It can help to have folks to ride with sometimes, even if they're not on the same exact plan.
Also, you said you are watching what you eat. This is great, but don't calorie restrict too much, as you'll be burning calories, and you want to make sure you have enough fuel. Bonking on long rides is the worst, so learn what little snacks and such you need to carry, and how much water with or without electrolytes you need. This is all part of training. Better to have bonked in training and know how not to, you know?
This sounds awesome, super inspiring. I think you can do this. Good luck!
posted by bluedaisy at 1:49 PM on January 7, 2022
Several years ago I started training in January for a century (100 miles) that I did in May. I commuted most days, about 7 miles total round trip, often with one longer ride one workday a week, but usually only 14-20 miles, and then increased my mileage on one long ride each weekend. I also had kids and a demanding job. I had never ridden more than 25 miles at once previously. I added 5-10 miles to my longer rides generally, with the goal of doing a 50-mile ride two weeks before the century. I did a 60-mile ride two weeks before the century, and that was plenty of training. I then did more centuries that summer without having done much more training at all. I know that's a lot of details, but a year and a half seems great for this.
Ramping up, you'll want to get two days of riding in a row when you can, but they don't have to be stupidly long rides or anything; you want to have the experience, a few times, of doing a long ride on Saturday and then a longish ride on Sunday and then your commute on Monday. Aim for that twice this summer and I think you'll be good. Or maybe try to take some vacation and do a few longer days in a row this summer? Can you do a few days of bike camping this summer, even if it's not high mileage? If your family is into camping, could you plan a trip where you bike to it and they drive or something?
Then the real work will be maintaining all that next winter. Your bike commute is great for this, even if it's short.
For training plans: I'd say start with RAGBRAI. Their coach's plan seems to focus on doing a few 10s plus something slightly longer on the weekend to start, but notice how the goal is total weekly mileage.
The biggest challenge for me in my training was finding and navigating the routes because I was new to my town. If you already know your area or have routes, then this might not be so time-consuming. It can help to have folks to ride with sometimes, even if they're not on the same exact plan.
Also, you said you are watching what you eat. This is great, but don't calorie restrict too much, as you'll be burning calories, and you want to make sure you have enough fuel. Bonking on long rides is the worst, so learn what little snacks and such you need to carry, and how much water with or without electrolytes you need. This is all part of training. Better to have bonked in training and know how not to, you know?
This sounds awesome, super inspiring. I think you can do this. Good luck!
posted by bluedaisy at 1:49 PM on January 7, 2022
I've done some longer rides (around 250 over a 3-day weekend), nothing group-supported, and can generally echo what's been said above about time in the saddle. If you can generally condition yourself in some way more than twice a week, you're going to be in better shape and have more confidence. It's that time of year where finding daylight hours to bike is not easy, so I'm more likely to ride on the weekend. However, if you can run or even walk for a an hour or so a week, it will have a tangential effect on your bike conditioning.
Time in the saddle is your best bet. I wouldn't worry too much about mileage as a goal in itself, try to set some goals for how long you're out, and then lengthen it. No more than 10% increase week-over-week.
In general, breaks are fine, just get back up there and start peddling again. Are you breaking when you're in pain? out of breath? hungry?
> If it's a pain thing, you might have bike fit issues. I've never had a professional bike fit, there are plenty of YT videos that can help you diagnose and make adjustments.
> If you're hungry or weak, make sure you're bringing food along and eating before you need to. Make sure you're getting sufficient hydration too - I've run out of steam because I forgot to drink water for three hours. Easy to do in the winter season.
> Out of breath? Slow down. "Race pace" is overrated and it doesn't sound like that's what that ride's about anyway.
Rough guide: Ride at least once during the week for an hour at a time. On the weekend, try to stay out for 3-4 hours. Build concentric loops around your departure point that keep you from getting too far away and running out of steam. Try to extend to 6 hours out at time, maybe get comfortable with two days in a row (Sat/Sun) at 3-4 hours. But again, don't try to go fast. I don't think you need to be able to actually cover the weekly mileage before you ride it.
I'll end with the thought that biking is not like running. It's not as stressful on the body. If you have a good handle on your nutrition and have a good amount of base miles under your belt, you will surprise yourself with the distance you can cover.
If you're needing pragmatic inspiration, I enjoy Leonard Lee's channel on YouTube - he's not a racer and is middle-aged. He's a videographer, so the b-roll is generally pretty good. I'm pointing to his training for a big Mallorca ride, but very different terrain and distances.
posted by SoundInhabitant at 2:40 PM on January 7, 2022 [1 favorite]
Time in the saddle is your best bet. I wouldn't worry too much about mileage as a goal in itself, try to set some goals for how long you're out, and then lengthen it. No more than 10% increase week-over-week.
In general, breaks are fine, just get back up there and start peddling again. Are you breaking when you're in pain? out of breath? hungry?
> If it's a pain thing, you might have bike fit issues. I've never had a professional bike fit, there are plenty of YT videos that can help you diagnose and make adjustments.
> If you're hungry or weak, make sure you're bringing food along and eating before you need to. Make sure you're getting sufficient hydration too - I've run out of steam because I forgot to drink water for three hours. Easy to do in the winter season.
> Out of breath? Slow down. "Race pace" is overrated and it doesn't sound like that's what that ride's about anyway.
Rough guide: Ride at least once during the week for an hour at a time. On the weekend, try to stay out for 3-4 hours. Build concentric loops around your departure point that keep you from getting too far away and running out of steam. Try to extend to 6 hours out at time, maybe get comfortable with two days in a row (Sat/Sun) at 3-4 hours. But again, don't try to go fast. I don't think you need to be able to actually cover the weekly mileage before you ride it.
I'll end with the thought that biking is not like running. It's not as stressful on the body. If you have a good handle on your nutrition and have a good amount of base miles under your belt, you will surprise yourself with the distance you can cover.
If you're needing pragmatic inspiration, I enjoy Leonard Lee's channel on YouTube - he's not a racer and is middle-aged. He's a videographer, so the b-roll is generally pretty good. I'm pointing to his training for a big Mallorca ride, but very different terrain and distances.
posted by SoundInhabitant at 2:40 PM on January 7, 2022 [1 favorite]
If the longest you've done is 27, you'll want to see how your bike feels after something more like 50+ miles (as people above have mentioned). You'll also figure out how you feel about things like handle bar bags, phone holders, managing snacks and hydration on those longer rides.
If you are prone to swamp ass, you will want to be proactive about preventing chafing in summer humidity.
posted by mandymanwasregistered at 2:46 PM on January 7, 2022
If you are prone to swamp ass, you will want to be proactive about preventing chafing in summer humidity.
posted by mandymanwasregistered at 2:46 PM on January 7, 2022
Everyone here has good advice, but to add - I've done a number of centuries with different "training" beforehand. The years I felt the strongest was when I was bike commuting and not necessarily training hard, not the other way around. Even though I had a short commute there's something about riding regularly and having to push yourself in short bursts (like accidental interval training) that worked. With that in mind, I'd try to get back to commuting as soon as the snow melts! Have fun!
posted by beyond_pink at 4:54 PM on January 7, 2022
posted by beyond_pink at 4:54 PM on January 7, 2022
As someone who has done century-plus rides and week-long tours, I second the advice to figure out how to be comfortable on a long ride. Things that are OK for 25 miles can be agonizing after 100.
Another thing to figure out is nutrition and hydration. I can do a 30-35 mile ride without anything other than water, but any more and I need to start consuming calories. I prefer a combination of Gatorade and real food—some of my favorite pre-pandemic rides involved riding 20-30 miles to a café, having a sandwich, then riding home—but some riders find their stomachs do better on gels or other more digestible food.
A third thing to figure out is the most efficient way to tackle hills. The RAGBRAI route is relatively flat but has plenty of rollers.
For more advice, I heartily recommend Edmund Burke and Ed Pavelka's book The Complete Book of Long-Distance Cycling.
posted by brianogilvie at 9:48 AM on January 8, 2022
Another thing to figure out is nutrition and hydration. I can do a 30-35 mile ride without anything other than water, but any more and I need to start consuming calories. I prefer a combination of Gatorade and real food—some of my favorite pre-pandemic rides involved riding 20-30 miles to a café, having a sandwich, then riding home—but some riders find their stomachs do better on gels or other more digestible food.
A third thing to figure out is the most efficient way to tackle hills. The RAGBRAI route is relatively flat but has plenty of rollers.
For more advice, I heartily recommend Edmund Burke and Ed Pavelka's book The Complete Book of Long-Distance Cycling.
posted by brianogilvie at 9:48 AM on January 8, 2022
When I was pressed to find training time I'd squeeze in a few extra miles by extending my commute route.
posted by Carbolic at 9:57 PM on January 8, 2022
posted by Carbolic at 9:57 PM on January 8, 2022
Sorry I'm coming to this thread late; hope that your prep has been going well. One thing that I'd emphasize is that, if you haven't invested in proper bike shorts and started using chamois cream, you will need to when you're riding all day every day for a week. I thought that I could just get by with the shorts but not bother with chamois cream on my first RAGBRAI, and I paid for it.
posted by Halloween Jack at 8:20 AM on July 18, 2022
posted by Halloween Jack at 8:20 AM on July 18, 2022
« Older Caption services for online course videos? | Can you ever move more than 1 server-based IMAP... Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Sublimity at 9:38 AM on January 7, 2022