MiPeGr

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cobalt123

I've gone from ~100 to 127 in a maybe 5 rides... seems possible if you ride 3 nights a week or so.

jsigone

As you ride more, you will get stronger. The first month is the hardest, stick it out!!

for the real ride, gearing is all that matters over power. You want to be able to spin at a comfy RPM yet not have slow RPM or travel at tip over speeds.

what is your current gearing on the bike, what is the RPM needed to maintain 5-6mph that your body is comfy with. Some people like to spin at 80ish RPM, some like 110rpm and do it the entire climb.

TrojanHorse

Couple things - your FTP should represent the amount of power you can produce in an hour FULL GAS. Which means you'll be wiped out for the rest of the ride.

Second, it looks like that route gets up to 8-9% in places, which becomes a gearing challenge (as jsigone mentions above).

You can see the route here: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/29279137

Looks like a sturdy amount of climbing for a 32 mile ride.

Anyway, you have tons of time between now and September to be able to complete the ride. Get a bunch of miles in your legs and you should have no trouble. If you hook your trainer up to zwift, there are plenty of routes that will give you the same sort of climbing challenge that you can use to gauge your progress.

jsigone

man add elevation into the mix, I personally start riding bit slower around 5500-6000 and much slower at 8k ft

carlmel

I agree with what others have said.
When you decide if it is likely for you to be able to do it, a more important question is simply to make sure that you have gears so that you can maintain a high cadence at even the steepest parts.
If the 5% grade slows you down to a cadence of 60, you are going to suffer a lot regardless of the other factors.

superdex

While I appreciate being motivated through numbers, I might suggest just completing the ride being the major goal. Just doing it, regardless of wattage, performance, or time, will be a huge accomplishment. As the weather improves, you'll need to find training rides that contain similar climbs. That will be enlightening.

If you're hung on the numbers, you'll have to add elevation to the mix: https://www.trainingpeaks.com/blog/t...g-at-altitude/ (spoiler alert: power goes down as altitude goes up)

youcoming

Unless you have a power meter on the bike you will do ride on numbers are pretty much just numbers. Make the goal to just finish the ride and have fun doing it.

MiPeGr

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TrojanHorse

You don't need a power meter, HR is perfectly fine even if it lags a little behind your actual effort

Figure out what HR you can maintain without blowing up and then just make sure you stay below that. Should be eminently doable with a 28/34 low gear.

washed up

First of all...forget the math. Sign up for the ride so you have a goal and just get out and ride your bike and have fun. If you get half way done and blow up turn around and ride back down. Sometimes we get way too hung up on numbers, computers and meters.

Yendor72

I hate to be that guy, but don't find excuses to not train. I find myself doing that and the next thing you know I haven't ridden for 2 weeks. Set mini goals to get you to where you need to go. It's not always sunshine, lollipops and rainbows. There are tough days in the saddle, that's what will make the tough parts of the ride easy. Train hard so the actual event seems to be too easy.

MiPeGr

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MiPeGr

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jadocs

Ok when I started riding, I didn't set any goals (HR, Power, whatever)....I just loved riding my bike and I rode it every chance I got. If you are just starting out, stop viewing it as training because what you need to be doing is getting saddle time in....that's time in the saddle, speed agnostic. Just get out and ride, enjoy the ride, find group rides and get in on as many as you can. I used to get a hankering to ride after dinner, so I threw a light on and rode around my neighborhood. Before I knew it I had racked up some serious miles.....and I was getting faster. I switched to faster groups. Gains will come fast when you are first starting out. Just get out and ride.

jsigone

Take out or never use that 28t in the front chainring and you will hit those power numbers

MiPeGr

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TrojanHorse

Let's start with an easy question - have you ridden this week?

CliffordK

what is your weight? 150 Kilos? Is that inclusive of the bike? Any way to cut that down by 50 kilos or so? That will make a huge difference with your climbing ability.

I did the ride a couple of years ago. I was riding loaded. Truthfully the "rim" was a bit anticlimactic.



I wouldn't worry about 163W continuous for 8 km. It isn't a race.

You'll see a variety of cyclists up there from teenagers to cyclists in their 70's. Big and small riders.

Get a little practice riding some local hills. For Eugene, Fox Hollow Road will be about that 5% for several miles. I think the GEARS riding group does hills every Tuesday, although there may be better beginner rides other days.

It was a tough ride just getting to the lake.

https://www.strava.com/routes/6229282
https://www.strava.com/routes/6358941

The official route just goes 1/2 or 2/3 the way around the lake, on the east side (at least when I did it). Many people do the whole loop.

Note, I did a couple of changes to my route. There is a good bike path along Dorena Lake between Cottage Grove and Culp Creek. Perhaps a couple of other side trips? The Umpqua Hwy was moderately busy, but generally had good shoulders for riding.

The first climb between Culp Creek to Steamboat was intense. Then Steamboat to the lake was just pretty continuous unrelenting climbing. Not steep... just climbing.

I didn't quite make my destination in the first day, In part due to not having low enough gearing for that first climb.

Around the lake wasn't bad at all (I only did the East side).

Saturday for Ride the Rim, they had several break spots around the lake, with bananas, fruit, and water.

bgraham111

I googled to see how much, on average, you can increase your FTP in a set time frame. The numbers were all over the place. 1-5% a week. I'd say 2% sounds good, if you are doing specific, regular training specifically designed to increase FTP. (My FTP sucks, and I'm currently working on this myself, so it's pretty interested.)

2% a week, 24 weeks. that's 48% increase. If you are at 120W, then you are looking at 177.6W. (150W would move to 222W)

But.... maybe you can do much much better! I found folks who blow that estimate out of the water. So... giddy up!

CliffordK

Uhhh,,,

Bad news.

I plugged the numbers into Bike Calculator
5 MPH
310 lbs
20 lb bicycle
clinchers
hoods
5% grade
NO WIND
5 MPH
70 degrees F
6000 Feet

BikeCalculator came up with 192 watts.

I presume the 30W difference has to do with systemic losses. Drivetrain, wheels, tires, etc.

One actually drops about 5W if one plugs in tubulars and aerobars.

Do it on an MTB on bar-ends/bar tops, and you're at 216W.

According to the calculations, if you do 5 MPH on the level, at the above parameters, it is about 20W for the road bike, and 44W for the MTB.

If you can drop the weight down to say 210 lbs + bicycle, then your MTB power drops to 151 watts, and down to 134 watts on the road bike.

MiPeGr

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superdex

hate to break it to you, but that is probably the only (realistic) way to achieve the performance you're dreaming about. Otherwise, train to the best of your ability and enjoy the ride and stop staring at numbers. You're starting to lose the larger picture here, I think.

jsigone

if you can't drop weight then build muscle mass and make more power. This will increase power to weight ratio and get you up the hills better. Also increase the FTP.

Squats, leg press, calf raises. Military press, lunges forwards and sides. Also work on lower back/core when in rotation of muscle groups.

colnago62