Flounce

Want to know 1) what your thoughts on the schedule below and 2) what sort of training I need to complete the ride below.

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Day 0 Thursday noon - one way car rental, drive me and my bike to SF

Day 1 Friday - Start early, ride 125 mi from SF to Monterey.

Day 2 Saturday - Long day, start early - ride 145 mi to San Luis Obispo (Mile #270)

Day 3 Sunday - Sleep in a bit, ride 110 mi to Santa Barbara (Mile #380)

Day 4 Monday - Long day, start early - ride 155 miles to home in Irvine (Mile #535)

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My longest ride to date is just shy of 200 miles and avg 15 mph moving time. I am not very strong or fast, just keep my heart rate in the 130s or so, maintain nutrition and hydration, try to minimize stops 5-10min, and keep trudging along.

I ride around 200 miles a week now, mostly low intensity except for a single session of tabata style intervals that probably aren't strenuous enough. Recently got aero bars for another hand position (not very aero given handlebar height similar to seat level) and a brooks saddle, and have been fiddling with fit. I should be able to move a little faster and with greater comfort.

Planning to do this ride later in they year e.g. after September, so I have time to train for it.

What do you think of the schedule above?

Should I work up to 300-400 miles a week in order to ensure that I can complete it without injury ? Any advice on training for this would be helpful.

thanks.

StephenH

I'd say you're probably good now. Just as likely to injure yourself working up to 400 miles a week as you are doing this ride. I've got something not too different planned in May, and a schedule similar to that is pretty typical for people doing 1200ks. (I try to do 1,000 miles a month, but there's nothing magic about that number, either.)


If you're riding around without any baggage, then taking 50 lbs of camping stuff on the ride, that'd be different.

CliffordK

How many hills? If I remember right the freeways around there are pretty flat. Do you have a Strava or RideWithGPS route?

If you're doing 200 mile rides at 15 MPH, then you're likely just fine.

Sure you don't want to do your ride in 2 days?

As mentioned above, gear vs motel touring makes a difference.

Also, have you done multi-day rides? Back to back centuries? My biggest thought is that one always feels a little hung-over on day two, and probably day three. The feeling subsides a bit later in a longer ride.

However, if you haven't done multi-day rides, then perhaps try a few weekends with back-to-back century rides, just to prepare yourself for that second day. Carrying your touring gear would also be good.

johnny99

What route are you taking and when are you doing this? Highway 1 through Big Sur is closed for most of this year. Big Sur bridge to open on Sept. 30

Flounce

I'm planning on riding after the bridge is repaired, unless there is an "easy" detour you know of.

If bridge is not repaired by then, I guess I will have to repair it. I can fix just about anything with my zip ties and electrical tape.

Here is the route, I will extend the end down to Irvine via beach route.

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/7163105

DXchulo

I second the idea of back-to-back days. The second day is always worse than the third.

In 2015 I went 3,000 miles in 23 days. I did a ton of training before that. I tried to do it all- I did a double, an Everest, and a 10-day block of centuries. That was good for my confidence, but I think I overtrained.

This June I'm doing 1500 miles in 10 days. I'm taking it easier this year. I'm just doing back-to-backs 1-2 times a month and one non-stop 400 miler. That ride is more for fun than training, really.

As long as you're in decent shape it's more about determination than anything.

Flounce

Thanks for the advice, all. Back to back days of centuries sounds like good training, I'll do it.

Dxchulo - 3,000 miles in 23 days... bad ass.

400 mile ride for fun? Are you human? When I grow up, I want to be you. You ride regular diamond frame bike or a recumbent? What saddle do you use? Tire size and width? Gearing?

I'm on 23mm tires right now on a Cannondale supersix evo, and anything over 140 miles is no longer fun. Depending roads and hills, sometimes I'm beat to sh*t. Been on a Sella SMP saddle that starts bothering me after 120 miles or so, am hopeful that this Brooks I got will be much better.

DXchulo

Maybe fun is the wrong word. I've wanted to ride across NV for a couple years now. Time to actually do it.

I ride a regular bike. I just started using aero bars about a month ago. I'm usually on 25s and a Selle Italia SLR. After a while things hurt. That's the name of the game.

valygrl

So, Gibraltar road in Santa Barbara? you know what you are getting into there?

Flounce

Thanks for pointing out that Gibralter road detour. I didn't even notice that.

Can you tell me about that? I know nothing about it.

I was planning on getting back as fast as possible, so unless it is some scenic view that is to die for, I'm not going to climb some crazy hill.

valygrl

Yeah it is a huge hill. The view is great but it doesn't fit the fast as possible plan. Just ride through Santa Barbara near the coast.

Anyway one other takeaway here is that real world conditions and online maps don't always agree, and it's easy to draw a line on the screen that doesn't make sense in real life. I didn't look at your whole route but you might look at the adventure cycling web site for their route.

Also I wouldn't count on the bridge in Big Sur being done.

If you stretch your timeframe out a few days you may enjoy the trip more. If you get done early, cool, but having to bail because you are going slower than expected sucks.

Not trying to discourage you, but realistic planning is an important component to success. Training is just one part of it. Mapping and logistics are important too.

Flounce

Thanks.

Yeah, my plan was actually to spend one weekend driving the entire route by car as a sort of a dry run, and also to familiarize myself with the roads in case I get ambitious and decide to skip a stop and ride through the night.

Question:

What would be the fastest way to ride this if I had to bypass Big Sur, i.e. so my ride before the bridge is repaired?

valygrl

Sorry, no idea.

genec

While doing a loaded tour across country, it seemed that the first 20-30 miles each day (100+ mile days) was the hardest... just getting into the swing of things each day.

NewToEndurance

How many days prior to the ride would you do a practice run of a back-to-back century? I know this is an old post, but I've never done a multi-century before and I'm doing the same type of race from Massachusetts to Connecticut June 24-26. I got a pretty late start on my training due to an injury, so I haven't worked my way up to a double-century in the training yet (though I have done multi-day training). I'm definitely open to doing a double-century this week but I am worried about overtraining since I'm coming up on the event. HELP, and thank you!!

GhostRider62

40-42 days/

antimonysarah

It’s too late to make much of a difference except possibly injuring yourself. Is this the tri-state trek? If so, I think you’ll be fine, they take care of their riders. Just eat and rest when you feel bad and then get going again.

NewToEndurance

(sorry can't switch out of "bold" for some reason)
Yup, Tri-State Trek! Not as much worried about getting injured before the Trek as I am about not being prepared enough. My goal is to finish the race. If that comes with a minor injury or two, I'm okay with it.

Outdoor training rides I've done so far (8 total):

May 28th - 2 hrs
May 29th - 2.5 hrs

June 2nd - 3 hrs
June 3rd - 3.5 hrs
June 4th - 3.5 hrs

June 10th - 5.5 hrs
June 11th - 4.5 hrs
June 12th - 2.5 hrs

Any recommendations on how you would spend these remaining training days if you were me? Relevant background:

- former college athlete (mid 30's now)
- been active since college with various sports including soccer and basketball
- NO endurance cycling experience; NO cycling-as-a-hobby experience (transportation in college, junior high)
- I understand training recovery: diet, rest, stretching, roll out/massage, etc.

I took this Thurs and Friday off of work to support any remaining training I need to do. (Training needs to conclude next Tues; I leave for Boston -from CA- next Wed).

GhostRider62

I would make sure you have good cycling bibs, lots of chamois creme, and Vitamin M (ibuprofen). Saddle pain will be your biggest challenge, it will hurt even with good kit. This is one area where you might help yourself right now. You can probably tough the rest out. Ride the hills easy and the rest steady. Do not ride the event hard. Go easy. Take your time. There is nothing you can do to train your body at this point in time but you can make it worse. There is no cramming for an endurance event. Sorry to be so blunt.

Shadwhand

Alternative routes you could take if the bridge is broken would put you inland. If you’re okay with that, either the ALC route or the Pinnacles 600k route are good places to look.