fatpunk

Well it's been interesting month. I got hurt on election night, ended up partially tearing my Achilles tendon and mcl. I've been off my bicycle since then. Needless to say i'm going stir crazy!

Anyway, every year a group of EMTs and Paramedics get together and do a 3 day memorial ride in memory of those of us who have passed on. https://scemsmemorialbikeride.com I was doing some maintenance on my employer's fleet of bikes when I was approached about riding in it next year. I said, "sure what the hell, i'll give it a go, what is it 50 miles at 8 mph?" HA!! This thing is the better part of 200 miles over 3 days at 13 mph. I can pull 14.5 mph for 25 miles on my fat tire bicycle non stop and i'm smoked after that.

If I had to give it a go right now, I know I would get dropped and not finish. Anyone have any suggestions on a training plan online they can point me to? And any suggestions on a road bike? 6'5" 380 lbs right now. I'll probably buy a road bike in Jan/February once I feel more comfortable about the weight. I don't have a budget right this moment, still got to get the wife's blessing to use my debit card for something that big.

Thanks for all the advice and help in advance!

Neil_B

"If a man's reach doesn't exceed his grasp, then what's a Heaven for?" - Robert Browning

"Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men's blood....." - attributed to Daniel Burnham.

Or, for something more personal, I lost 125 pounds with the idea I'd treat myself and learn how to ride a bike when my weight got down. Then after I got the bike I decided I was going to ride a century... and went from balancing to century in ten months.

I'm sure others could guide you to detailed training plans. I just thought I'd reassure you that wanting to do the ride you've posted about isn't a sign you've lost your mind.

Black wallnut 

For a written training plan you could do worse than the one put out by Cascade Bicycle club for their Seattle to Portland ride. https://shop.cascade.org/content/events/stp
In the link you can find their Training seminar book under downloads with training plans. Or you could just ride as much as possible and take long rides on the weekends seeking out hilly rides often. Hills will increase your fitness faster than just about anything else IMHO.

fatpunk

Neil_B, Thank you so much for those 2 quotes and the reassurance. That means a ton to me. I actually just printed them and put them up in my garage where I keep my bicycle and ride gear. Black wallnut thank you for pointing me towards the Cascade Bicycle club's training plan. I am defiantly going to give it a go. I wish I still lived on the West coast, that looks like it would be a blast. Unfortunately I live in a area where hills do not exist. So I'll defiantly be spending some time on exercise bikes.

brianogilvie 

Sounds like a challenge, but a doable one. Good luck!

You might take a look at Chris Carmichael and Jim Rutberg's book The Time-Crunched Cyclist. It contains several variations of a training plan that requires only 6 hours per week or so; the tradeoff is that a couple workouts each week involve fairly intense intervals. Even if you don't follow a plan religiously, they might be useful as a reference. Joe Friel's Cyclist's Training Bible goes into more depth about the principles of training and how to design your own plan following them.

Neil_B

I slightly mangled the Browning quotation. BTW the immediate context is worth reading as well; the poem the quotation is from is "Andrea del Sarto", which is a monologue by a Renaissance painter. During the course of the poem the artist speaks about not paying attention to critics because perfection is impossible, but giving your all is all you can do - which isn't a bad way of thinking for a Clyde either. For instance, Contador can ride a faster century than I can, but "what does the mountain care?"

I, painting from myself and to myself,
Know what I do, am unmoved by men’s blame
Or their praise either. Somebody remarks
Morello’s outline there is wrongly traced,
His hue mistaken; what of that? or else,
Rightly traced and well ordered; what of that?
Speak as they please, what does the mountain care?
Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp,
Or what’s a heaven for?