Shinkers

First, apologies if this sort of thing gets asked all of the time. This is semi-uncharted territory for me though and I could use some insight.

There is a 430 mile (700k) ride that happens here every year in September. It's primarily a relay, but it does have a solo option. I've been dreaming of doing this for the last three years but I've never felt like I had the endurance to complete it. I would consider myself a lazy cyclist who has never stuck to a training program. I ride when I want to ride which is usually every weekend when temperatures are above 40 degrees F (about now through November). I can commute (50 miles a week), but honestly don't do it very often due to the hassle of changing clothes at work. That's easy to manage though and I plan to be better this year.

Anyway, last year I rode 8 centuries and 7 of those were on the same route and included 7000 feet of climbing. That ride became my bread and butter road route and I plan to be riding it several times this year. Today I rolled out for my first ride of any length this year and managed to complete a century with 3700 feet of climbing. I felt pretty hammered when I was done due to a lack of food, but as I type this I feel fine.

My question: is a ride of this length something that could be accomplished this year? Or is it something that I need to plan for and actively try to ride through the winter to accomplish? I feel like my fitness hasn't taken too much of a hit from last season, but I've never ridden further than 115 miles and honestly even the thought of riding a double currently makes me nervous.

My thinking was to anticipate riding a double sometime this spring (as soon as I feel like I'm reasonably ready) and continue with my normal riding schedule of 80-100 miles each weekend with maybe another double thrown in toward late summer. Would that be likely to get me where I need to be or would it still be out of the question?

I guess basically I'm wondering if I can continue to be a kind of lazy cyclist and do my weekend rides or whether I need to be riding as much as possible throughout the entire week.

Thanks.

unterhausen

The traditional randonneuring method is to ride a series of longer rides, 200km, 300km, 400km, and 600km. In my experience, a lazy approach will get you to 400km, but not to 600km. You probably should ride 5 days a week, but not necessarily long rides. One hour rides are fine. And remember that recovery is very important. I find that up to 300km makes me faster, 400km wears me out and I need some recovery. I find that 100km is the perfect training distance. Anything over that is probably junk miles. You need to ride 200km or 300km to get your eating down, but I don't see it as training. I have seen better distance riders than me that do 200km every week. They are no doubt faster than me too.

atwl77

I know a guy who's a regular with one of the fast club rides that I occasionally join on Sundays, he went from riding a 200km directly to 600km, skipping 300km and 400km altogether. Although for training, he did do two 300km rides in two days consecutively to see if he would be able to do the 600km. I also went from 300km to 600km the first time I joined the audax scene. So I suppose it is entirely possible to train at least one or two 300-350km rides beforehand, to be ready for a 700k.

Shinkers

Right on. That answers my questions. Thanks guys.

Riveting

Lazy, yet wants to do a 700k? I prepped for my first 525km/325mi (24 hr solo, only stopping for food and bio breaks) by riding 5-6 days a week for an entire season (weekday commutes, and weekend hammering) with a combined mileage of about 120 miles on the weekdays, and 100-150 miles every weekend, and then with a 200 mile about a 6 weeks before the big event, and then a 160 mile on back-to-back days (320 mi. total), maybe 3 weeks before. Then a taper in total weekly mileage and intensity leading up to the event, but still riding 5-6 days a week. A 100 mile ride with moderate to high intensity will burn about 3,000 calories, so a 700km (434 mi) will be about 12,900 calories. Learning to fuel and hydrate yourself properly and consistently for such a depleting ride might be a big learning curve. Everyone is different.

unterhausen

You can be lazy if you don't mind more suffering and taking longer. The issue with riding almost every day is that it's harder to recover. Five days a week is plenty, especially for older riders.

I think the most important moment of my randonneuring career was when I got to 200km on my first 300k. I realized I only had 100km and I felt fine. Plus, I was about to go downhill to a good diner, so it was a positive moment. When I got to the finish of my first 400k, the organizer told us that was the most important distance, because randonneuring events just build up 400km segments. But I was too tired to feel particularly positive about it. And my lights all failed, so that was bad.

StephenH

When you say "700k", that could be a highly variable ride.
For example, when some people say they rode a century, it means they went out hammer-and-tongs and banged it out 4 or 5 hours, and if that's one's expectation, they'd best be very well trained or exceptionally gifted. Other people ride a century in 8 hours and if it's not too windy or not too hilly, that just doesn't take a whole lot of training or fitness.
In the case of a 700k, if you can ride a century at reasonable speed and still feel good, and if they allow THREE days for that 700k, you should be good.
Two days, or other shorter expectations, maybe a problem. If the thing is super-hilly, maybe a problem. If it's one way against the prevailing wind, maybe a problem.
You might anticipate having some saddle issues or numb hand issues or other problems that you wouldn't have on a century, so no guarantee you'll be unscathed even at that.
Make sure your lights are up to snuff, make sure you have stores open when you're passing through.
If you're struggling to make the centuries, then go for the extra time and extra training.

unterhausen

Good point about saddle issues. I recommend Lantiseptic skin protectant if you have never done something like 700k before. Definitely a ride saver

Cyclist0100

When first read the original post I understood the race to be 700k (430 miles) straight though. However, some responses seem to assume this is a two or three day effort, which makes a huge difference in terms of training and fitness requirements of the race participants.

While the 80-100 miles that Shinkers is doing each weekend is pretty good distance it doesn't seem to line up with proper training for a 700k race. Whether you do the 700k race this year or next you probably want to change your training plan. No more "ride when you feel like it". You'll have to diligently plan your weekly rides to include long and short distances of varying difficulty. You should also be riding 4-5 times per week rather than 2 (4 would likely be plenty). I'd also pay close attention to diet and would seriously work on hydration and fueling practices necessary to complete a 700k distance. You could be the fittest, strongest person in the race, but if your hydration and fueling practices are lacking you will likely struggle to finish. Proper training and diet along with good hydration and fueling practices = more fun and better race results.

The event sure sounds like a lot of fun and would be a major accomplishment.

Tourist in MSN

One last comment, the date and time of your event is fixed, it does not automatically adjust for the weather.

But if you are like me, any training you do will be on days when it is not too windy and not raining. So, you have months to think about clothing and any other preparation you think you might need if you are unfortunate and find that your event is during inclement weather. My month long bike tour in Iceland, I think I wore my rain jacket on one out of three days. Last summer my 5 week tour in Canadian Maritimes was even wetter. Start thinking about what you will do if the conditions are less than ideal.

StephenH

The original post never did call it a "race", and that's one reason I didn't assume it was a straight-through type thing.
If it IS a "race" (I'm thinking like the Silver State 508 or Texas Time Trials or Race Across Oregon or that sort of thing), it depends a lot on your expectations AND on the time cut-offs that the race organizers have.
On the Texas Time Trials, the 500-mile option (800k) has a 48-hour cutoff. You're basically riding two 400ks back to back.
You can go out on these races and suck at it, and that's okay. But if you hit the time limits, you wind up as a "DNF" on the records rather than a slowpoke. And in that case, you want to do a "24-Hour Race", not a "XXX-Mile Race".
From the description, it could just as easily be something like RAGBRAI, though.
If this is unpaved or offroad, that's a whole nother animal, tho.

aloKen

The easy answer is come ride with Salt Lake Randonneurs. You'll definately be ready to ride StS solo by September. Our calendar is designed to take a century rider up to 600k by the end of June. Just show up to each ride and we'll teach you everything you need to know. Good luck!

Salt Lake Randonneurs ? Long distance road cycling in Utah and southern Idaho