Don't want to get wooped by the Boy Scouts



Idahospud

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Nov 12, 2006
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Hello! I purchased my first road bike in January of this year (yeah, me!! :D) and am completely addicted to riding. I am just starting, so when I read of everyones feats of riding at speeds over 20mph and distances of over 25 miles, I turn green and feel my body scream that it really doesn't want to go that far or fast just yet :)
Keeping this in mind, I have been asked by the Scoutmaster to accompany the Boy Scouts on a 50 mile day trip. :confused::D Apparently, I am the only person in town over the age of 18 with a bike LOL!!! I am a 35 year old female. This should be an interesting trip.
How should I go about getting ready for such a ride?
I don't want to look shamefully pathetic to the MEN in the truck behind me who are eating cupcakes and pciking up the stragglers. :eek: I do not want to be one of the stragglers, either!!! NO WAY!!
I am not concerned about speed, because I will be riding with boys on Huffy's that were purchased at Wal-Mart. Just about training for distance. Can you help with a schedule that my body won't reject??

Thanks!!
 
Idahospud said:
...How should I go about getting ready for such a ride?...
Just get out and ride four or five days a week. Don't kill yourself on these rides, just get out on the bike and enjoy it. I don't know how much time you have till your 50 miler, but add a bit of mileage to your long rides each week until you get up to at least 35 miles before the event. You don't need to do the same ride or the same distance every day, listen to your body and mix up the longer and easier rides. Ideally you should do some rides where you get yourself breathing steadily and deeply but you shouldn't be gasping or dying, a long hill can help you find that kind of a pace. Get used to using your gears to adjust for the terrain and the wind conditions and try not to slug away at the biggest gears your bike has, shift down and spin a bit to give your legs a break. Get used to eating and drinking during your rides and definitely bring some extra food on your longer rides, it's no fun bonking as you attempt longer rides.

Fifty miles is a very reasonable goal for a reasonably fit adult. Just work up to it steadily and try to get out several days a week. Consistency is more important than intensity right now, it's much better for you to ride four fun steady days than to beat yourself up one or two days a week. It'll do more for your endurance and be easier on you mentally which makes it easier to get back on the bike on subsequent days.

One potential problem on your 50 miler is that the some of the boys on the Huffy's will be going pretty slow. IOW you might be able to finish 50 miles in something like 3 hours with some training under your belt but it may take you a lot longer depending on the kids. Even though you'll be riding under your best pace you'll be on the bike a lot longer. Make sure you feed yourself well if that's the case. I've done century rides with slower friends and they've beat me up a lot more than doing one at my own pace, it's hard to ride slowly for a lot of hours.

Good luck and have fun, BTW what part of ID?
-Dave
 
Thanks for your advice! Especially with the eating bit. I guess I can snag a cupcake from someone on the way! LOL. Actually, I'll go with something healthier. Chocolate demands an audience of one :D

I am pretty sure that I can do this. I really like the advice of getting to a 35 mile ride. Seems logical to me. My longest ride so far has been 18. I felt like I could keep going- on a high, I guess, but MADE myself quit so that I would actually be able to walk and stand at work for the rest of the week Funny thing is, I wasn't sore so much as just tired.

I would actually love to be able to do a century! Goal of mine, to be sure. I guess the scouts will just be speeding up my goal attainment process a bit. How long did your century rides take you? Stop and eat and nap for a couple hours in the middle? Yellowstone would be a fun place to do a long ride. I used to make fun of bikers in Yellowstone :eek:

I am in Blackfoot, small town between Pocatello and Idaho Falls. You?

Cindy
 
Idahospud said:
... I am pretty sure that I can do this.. I would actually love to be able to do a century! Goal of mine, to be sure...
I'm sure you can, 50 miles is a very reasonable goal and one that shouldn't take too long to reach comfortably. I've helped a lot of friends work up to their first metric or full century, it's not as hard as most think if they just enjoy being on the bike. The standard advice is to work up to at least 2/3 of the distance comfortably and to ride regularly enough to get used to being on the bike, to toughen up for being in the saddle, to learn some bike handling and road smarts and to learn to feed yourself and pace yourself. If you can find other cyclists (call local bike shops) you should get out on some group rides to learn how to ride a straight line, how to handle a bike with others around and how to draft. Besides the time passes faster with others, especially in the wind.

Here's a goal to check out: http://www.active.com/event_detail.cfm?event_id=1416178
not too far from you down I-15 and a very supportive environment for a first century.

Yellowstone would be a fun place to do a long ride..
It is a great place to ride, but the traffic and Bison in the middle of the road can be spooky at times. I like to do the lower loop in the early season just as the snow melts and the roads open. It's just shy of a century at 97 miles with a couple of food stops at Old Faithful and Canyon and several passes over the continental divide. A good goal to work up to. The park just decided this year that the road from the South entrance(Flagg Ranch) is closed to cyclists during the spring when the road has been plowed but not opened to cars yet. They're still allowing cyclist's to come in from West Yellowstone during the preseason but not from our side. Bummer and it seems quite arbitrary, they cite lack of patrols and safety concerns, but I see that doesn't apply to skiers in the winter or pedestrians anytime of year. I can walk on those roads but not bike on them until I have cars to contend with. Luckily the officials in Grand Teton haven't taken that approach and we can ride or rollerblade on the inner park road here without cars this time of year.
I am in Blackfoot, small town between Pocatello and Idaho Falls. You?
Jackson
 
What a great link. Thanks! I have actually been to Wellsville to teach at a Marriage Retreat at a hotel in Sardine Canyon. It is beautiful there. I have this site linked on my desktop now. Something to chew on while I ride. It makes my heart race thinking about it.

My family owns a cabin 30 minutes from West Yellowstone, so opportunities to do the lower loop won't be scarce! Love to swim the Firehole. How long does the 97 miles take you? How long have you been riding?

Jackson is beautiful. Haven't been that way for a few years. I went a few years back to see The Bar J Wranglers. I also went skiing at Grand Targhee a couple years ago and went through Jackson on the way there.

What do you recommend for food for the 50 miler? Also, do you experience aches in the arches of your feet? It isn't Plantar Fascitis (might have butchered the spelling on that) from what I can self diagnose because it doesn't affect my heel at all. I am wondering if it is just part of the conditioning. I rode 45 miles in 4 rides last week.
 
Idahospud said:
... I have this site linked on my desktop now. Something to chew on while I ride. It makes my heart race thinking about it.
Yep, it's supposed to be a great ride. Several of my wife's friends have done it and they almost have her talked into it this year. Sort of depends on the spring we get, there's no way she'll ride the trainer so if we get a dry spring and she can ride she'll probably go. Looking at the site they offer a 38 mile shorter version as well as a metric century(62 miles) so it looks like you can take your pick.
...How long does the 97 miles take you? How long have you been riding?
I've been riding since the early '80s and raced pretty seriously for a lot of years so my times aren't too relevant. I did that loop with a friend a few years back during a period when I wasn't riding at all and she'd never done anything nearly that long. She showed up with a mountain bike (big mistake) since some of the roads were under construction and dirt(no big deal to ride a nontechnical dirt road on a road bike) so we didn't exactly set any land speed records. I think it took somewhere between 8 and 9 hours that day. It was an off the couch hundred miler for me and I was pretty wiped afterwards. BTW I wouldn't recommend that approach, it was just an impromptu thing that sounded fun at the time and I'd ridden scores of hundred and even some two hundred mile rides over many years leading up to it so I kind of carried through on experience. Not smart and certainly not a suggestion.
...What do you recommend for food for the 50 miler?...
Basically whatever sounds good to you and you'll be able to digest while exercising. Simple carbs in the form of fruit or energy drinks are good. I often have a sandwich at rest stops and I like most of the various sports bars, but they're an acquired taste. Eat a little bit all day long instead of a few big meals and keep your jersey pockets filled with a bit of spare food(good reason to spend the bucks on a 3 pocket cycling jersey if you don't have one). Bannanas are popular as are cut up orange sections in a ziplock bag as are poptarts for some. Just make sure you bring stuff you'll actually be psyched to eat. You'll burn through a lot of calories in a long ride so save any dieting for your normal weekly routines and just stay fed during your longer efforts. Sure there's a lot more to sports nutrition than that, but in a nutshell keep the carbs coming while you ride and immediately after your ride. This is no time for Atkins or South Beach, as they say, "Fat burns in a carbo fire", you've got to keep your glycogen up to go the distance or you face the dreaded bonk.
...Also, do you experience aches in the arches of your feet? ...
Are you wearing stiff soled cycling shoes? If not, get some! If you are, consider arch supports or sports type footbeds. Your arches shouldn't hurt if your shoes fit well and are stiff enough. Ideally you'll have stiff soled road shoes coupled with some sort of clipless pedals. It makes your cycling more efficient and gives you a bit of a safety edge in terms of being connected with your feet, that keeps you from getting pitched when you hit an unexpected pothole or bump and allows you to steer a bit with your legs and hips on descents. A lot of new cyclist's are scared of being attached at the pedals, but modern clipless pedals take very little time to get used to and can be set pretty loose allowing you to get out with a tiny twist of the ankle. It's mentally intimidating at first, but practice with them on a quiet road or a big parking lot and you'll get the hang of them in no time assuming you haven't already. Remember you can loosen up the factory settings on most pedals until you get comfortable with them.

Good luck,
Dave
 
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Several of my wife's friends have done it and they almost have her talked into it this year. Sort of depends on the spring we get, there's no way she'll ride the trainer so if we get a dry spring and she can ride she'll probably go. Looking at the site they offer a 38 mile shorter version as well as a metric century(62 miles) so it looks like you can take your pick.
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You'll have to keep me posted on whether or not your wife decides to go. I think I will most likely register for the 38 miler. I can always go farther if I want to and work up to a harder ride in the years to follow. My husband is starting to get interested in riding as well. The whole riding thing started with me theiving his Bianchi Mountain bike last summer when I had a foot injury and needed some kind of exercise that wouldn't hurt my foot. I loved it so much that I was going out almost every afternoon. I was killing myself on his bike. It is a great bike, but for the length of rides, it was not an easy ride. I had to laugh about the trip in Yellowstone on the Mountain bike, especially when I think of the summit near (I think North of) Old Faithful. OUCH! I don't think I'd recommend that approach either :p Now that I have a road bike, he is getting interested in getting one himself. Yeah!!

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I've been riding since the early '80s and raced pretty seriously for a lot of years ..........ridden scores of hundred and even some two hundred mile rides over many years leading up to it
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Wow, wow, and wow. I think perhaps I love to sleep too much. I guess it is teaching the old dog new tricks thing :D At this point I can't imagine 200 miles. Of the people that you've helped to ride a century, did they accomplish this in one summer? I don't want to kill myself, but I also know that I tend to underestimate what I can do. I am pretty fit for a gal my age, if I do say so myself. Has your wife done 100 yet? How'd she get there if she did?


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Are you wearing stiff soled cycling shoes?
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I am. I also have clipless pedals. I ordered some insoles from superfeet.com and will try them out whenever the weather knocks it off so I can go out.

Well, I should do something productive, like go to work now:mad:! Friday comes soon.

Thank you for all of your help w/ my questions.

Cindy
 
I'm grew up in Firth, ID and now live in Cache Valley. In fact the Little Red Riding Hood Century (not to mention LOTOJA) uses my daily commute in the route, and I usually happen to ride along with them for a while when I"m commuting the day they do it. It's a very leisurly, friendly, well supported ride

If you like, I may be able to hook you up with a couple of friends who ride it. They'll probably be doing the full century, but it always helps to see a friendly face to get you started.

And speaking of Scouting- I'm Cubmaster of our local Cub Scout Troop- the boys on thier Huffies shouldn't be a problem at all for you to keep up with. After about 5-10 miles, all the spirit is gone out of them ;)
 
I grew up in Firth, ID, and now live in Cache Valley. The Little Red Riding Hood century uses my daily commute as part of the route (as does LOTOJA). I've ridden along with them for the length of my commute before. It's a very friendly, leisurely, well supported ride that sounds perfect for you. I may be able to hook you up with a couple of friends who ride it most every year. They'll probably be doing the full century, but it's always nice to have a friendly face to help you get started.

And speaking of Scouts- I'm the Cubmaster of our local Cub Scout pack. I"ve seen the older boys do thier 50 miler, and I don't think you have much to worry about with keeping up- after about the first 10 miles, all their spirit is gone ;)
 
Thanks for trying to hook me up with your friend. That would be great. It would be nice to have someone to answer questions and encourage me toward the 100 miler!

I am glad to know that there isn't much to worry about with the scout ride. The more I learn the less I am concerned..... I just really wanted to save face :rolleyes:

Firth is right down the road. Small world once you hook up online, isn't it?

Well, it is Saturday and time to PLAY :D

Let me know who to get in touch with................... Thanks again!