I am new to this forum and searched for a place I could ask some questions! I am a bit nervous for this upcoming trip but of course very excited too. I bike 2x week on a Specialized Dolce anywhere from 12-20 miles a time usually at about 14 mph approx. some hills. Once in awhile I join a group who are very fast and bike our city for about 30-50 miles at a time. I can barely keep up with some.
I am fit- but could lose about 8-10 lbs. ( hope to have done so by Oct!) Female - 50 years
I am nervous about steep inclines and keeping up.
Do you have any hints or a place I can look into for a training guide to get ready?
with cycling and a diet your weight loss plan is quite realistic, 4 lbs a month more or less, as for training i would join the group that cycles 30 to 50 miles (50 miles is a lot actually, try 30 miles until you feel that you can do more) not sporadically but consistently, it is easier to push yourself into longer distances and higher speeds riding with others, stretch your training to 3x or 4x a week if you can, the week before the provence 5 day trip take it easy but continue riding, and practice your french !
+1 on the advice above. Some slow and steady weight loss as in a pound a week or so usually isn't a big deal and shouldn't impact your training if you just make small sensible changes and don't try anything drastic.
I also strongly second the recommendation to simply ride more days than you don't ride. If you can ride four or five days a week and try not to go more than a day or two without getting on the bike that alone should dramatically improve your fitness. It's hard to build fitness when you're resting more days than you're training. Just ride regularly and things should improve, ride quicker on days you feel great, ride easier on days you're more tired, ride longer when you have time and just a short half hour to hour on days when you're pressed for time. Keep it simple but ride a lot and you should see some nice improvement in time for your trip.
