I'M BA-A-A-A-ACK!!! My First 20-Mile Ride plus Tour-Training Questions

[SierraSlim]

[COLOR= #0000ff]Hi Guys!![/COLOR]

[COLOR= #0000ff]It's been months since I've posted, due to several family crises and depression caused by those and 4 months of rain and general busy-ness, but I've missed you all and hope you've enjoyed Winter and Spring a whole lot more than I did!![/COLOR]

[COLOR= #0000ff]Since I last posted, I've done my first and second 20-mile ride, and am averaging 15 miles when I go out (but until this past week that hasn't been often, because we're building an ark due to all the rain). I've lost 50 pounds now, woohoo!! The problem is, I'd lost 50 pounds in November, and haven't lost any since. The good thing about that is that I haven't put it all back ON by now, which the old Sierra would have done, so at least I've learned to maintain. But I don't lose if I don't bike nearly daily, and I wasn't, so it's my own fault. Anywho, onward and upward -- or, in the case of the scales, onward and downward, lol. [/COLOR]

[COLOR= #0000ff]I'm still going on my credit-card tour June 4, but feeling a lot less trained for it than I'd thought I would be, last Fall. So I'm trying to train like crazy this month, and would like some opinions/suggestions on the training schedule I'm working on. Here it is:[/COLOR]


[COLOR= #0000ff]Week of[/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff] [/COLOR]SUN
[COLOR= #0000ff] [/COLOR]MON
[COLOR= #0000ff] [/COLOR]TUES
[COLOR= #0000ff] [/COLOR]WED
[COLOR= #0000ff] [/COLOR]THUR
[COLOR= #0000ff] [/COLOR]FRI
[COLOR= #0000ff] [/COLOR]SAT
[COLOR= #0000ff]1st[/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff] [/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff] [/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff] [/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff] [/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff]15 + 10[/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff]miles[/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff]Easy ride[/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff] [/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff]18 + 10[/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff]miles[/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff]Easy ride[/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff]Off[/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff]8th[/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff] [/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff] [/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff] [/COLOR]10
[COLOR= #0000ff]miles [/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff]18 + 12[/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff]Easy ride[/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff] [/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff]22 + 12[/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff]Easy ride[/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff]Off[/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff]15th[/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff] [/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff] [/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff] [/COLOR]12
[COLOR= #0000ff]20 + 14[/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff]Easy ride[/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff] [/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff]24 + 15 [/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff]Easy ride[/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff]Off[/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff]22nd[/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff] [/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff] [/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff] [/COLOR]14
[COLOR= #0000ff]24 + 16[/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff]Easy ride[/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff] [/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff]26 + 18[/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff]Easy ride[/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff]Off[/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff]29th[/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff] [/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff] [/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff] [/COLOR]16
[COLOR= #0000ff]25 twice[/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff]Easy ride[/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff]Travel[/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff]To Tour[/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff]TOUR [/COLOR]Meet-up
[COLOR= #0000ff]3:00 [/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff]TOUR[/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff]22 or 39 [/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff]miles [/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff]TOUR[/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff]26 or 54 miles[/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff] [/COLOR]5th
[COLOR= #0000ff] [/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff] [/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff] [/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff]TOUR[/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff]38 [/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff]miles[/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff]TOUR[/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff]15 or 30[/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff]miles [/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff]Travel[/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff]Home[/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff] [/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff] [/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff] [/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff] [/COLOR]

[COLOR= #0000ff]Where it says 15 + 10 miles or whatever, I'm planning on doing a 15-miler in the morning and a 10-miler late afternoon. On the last couple rows, where it says TOUR, those are the miles for each day that the tour says we'll be doing, so that's what I want to be comfortable with by the end of this month. I've been told I should have a day off each week, and "easy-ride" days where I do ride but not very far or very hard, so have tried to incorporate those. [/COLOR]

[COLOR= #0000ff]My questions: How far should the easy ride days be? Should I be doing riding on Wednesdays, and if so, how far/what kind? This schedule looks doable to me, though once I've tried it I may change my mind, etc. But I really need to build up some more distance and strength so I can enjoy the bike tour instead of just enduring it. [/COLOR]

[COLOR= #0000ff]I look forward to your suggestions. Thanks!!!![/COLOR]

[COLOR= #0000ff]Sierra[/COLOR]

 

[kdelong]

I would make the easy days around 20 niles or so, but not pushing like you should be on the other days. I would still try to be on the bike on Wednesdays too, but I would try to incorporate it into my daily life, like taking the bike to go pick up something at the store, or riding to go see a movie that you wanted to see, or riding to the library or museum or park. Just pick something that you would normally go to in the car but bike there instead.

On your daily doubles, really push hard on the second ride of the day to build up strength. Use the first ride to build up your endurance. One of the best ways to build up strength is through someting called intervals. You start out by riding close to as fast as you can for a set distance, say 1/2 mile, then you slow down and recover for a mile, and then repeat the faster riding for 1/2 mile and then recover for a mile. Just repeat the sequence of riding fast and then riding slow three or four times during your second ride of the day. You can go whatever distance that you want on the intervals. You will notice your improvement when you can ride further on the fast part of the interval and don't need as long to recover. You will also notice that you are getting a little bit faster and riding longer distances more easily. The only problem with intervals is that they will tire you out and they can be boring. Maybe you can get Mr. Slim to ride them with you so that they aren't so boring. If you decide to ride intervals, don't overdo it and hurt yourself.

I'm glad to see that you are still riding even while dealing with your family crisis. I was wondering if you were going to be coming back to the forum or if you had found a site that you liked better. We have been getting all the rain that you had. Bad weather patterns with a lot of flooding going around. Att least we didn't get tornadoes here like they had down south. But I did end up doing a lot of bike maintenance because I didn't want to ride in the rain, and I just bit the bullet a couple of days and went ahead and got soaked. But it looks like only a couple more days of rain and then happy days will be here again, I hope.

 

[daveryanwyoming]

Originally Posted by SierraSlim .
[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 255)]I look forward to your suggestions. Thanks!!!![/COLOR]...

In addition to the good advice above I'd try to throw in a few longer rides before your tour. You know your schedule best, but if possible doing say a single 35 mile ride when you have the time instead of a 20 + 15 double. For both physical and psychological reasons it's good to do some riding up to at least 60-70% of the duration of your longer tour. Among other things it teaches you to pace longer rides, to feed yourself, toughens you up for sitting in the saddle and builds confidence that the extra hours during the tour won't be too big a jump from what you've previously done in training. You don't need to train all the way up to the longest day of your tour, but getting a healthy percentage of that on previous training rides is typically a good idea.

From that standpoint, are your weekends heavily booked such that you limit Sunday rides to 10-16 miles? Weekends are typically good days to stretch things out a bit and get some more time on the bike. From that standpoint a more typical training week looks something like:

Mon: rest day (because you presumably rode a fair amount over the weekend)
Tues: steady mid effort ride and where you might push yourself a bit harder if you feel good
Wed: steady mid effort, perhaps longer than Tuesday but usually easier
Thurs: same goals as Tuesday
Fri: rest day to prepare for the weekend
Sat: longer perhaps easier ride
Sun: longer perhaps easier ride

Maybe your weekends are booked solid but I'd generally try to get the longer mileage on days when I have extra time instead of doing doubles on weekdays and most folks I know have best success with a 3 day T, W, Th midweek block balanced by longer weekend riding.

YMMV,
-Dave

 

[SierraSlim]

[COLOR= #0000ff][SIZE= 12px]Hi, KD and Dave![/COLOR][/SIZE]

[COLOR= #0000ff][SIZE= 12px]Thanks for the suggestions! I knew I could count on my buddies here.[/COLOR][/SIZE]

[COLOR= #0000ff][SIZE= 12px]KD, if an easy day is 20 miles, I'm already in trouble, lol. I just finished a 20-mile ride, and am POOPED. Part of it is that I was back on my old 3-speed heavy Electra cruiser -- (Daughter's commuter bike was stolen so I'm loaning/selling her my Raleigh and ordering something new) -- with a new seat I hate and will be taking back, and part of it is that it was hotter than normal for a change, and I didn't take enough water to last the whole ride. But part of it is just that I'm out of shape and haven't been able to ride enough these past months. So if my 'easy' days are 20 miles, what the heck are my hard days, lol? I have always done intevals, even before I knew what they were called or that I should do them, lol, just because it's fun to look at the stop sign 1/4 mile away and see how fast I can get to it, and then slow down until I'm rested or bored or whatever, and do it again. It's good to know that I should be doing them on the second ride of the day, though! [/COLOR][/SIZE]

[COLOR= #0000ff][SIZE= 12px]Dave, I was breaking up my 35-mile ride into 20 and 15 simply because at this point that's the only way I could GO 35 miles, lol. At some point I hope to be back in better condition and able to do it all in one setting, but for now 22 miles is the furthest I've ever gone at once, and I pretty much am ready to collapse by that point. I obviously have to go that far (and further) on the tour, but since it's self-paced I'm thinking my sister and I will take a good break at lunch or whenever and split the mileage that way. I do need to learn to pace longer distances, because I tend, other than the intervals I do, to pretty much go as fast as I'm comfortable with the whole way, so maybe I could go farther if I slow down a bit and enjoy the ride. I also really need to toughen up the sit bones, because I was DYING the last 5 miles today, butt-wise. I'm trying new saddles right now, and this was obviously the wrong one. Felt like I was sitting on concrete! [/COLOR][/SIZE]

[COLOR= #0000ff][SIZE= 12px]I'm glad for the suggestions about the schedule, too,because I have no idea how to be training for the tour. I thought I was supposed to take off a couple days a week, so obviously need to re-work that. And it's not that my weekends are so booked as much as it is that I simply prefer to do my longer riding during the week when there is less traffic. The bike trails here on weekends have traffic jams, lol, and being retired I can go out during the week, so I try to do most of my longer rides weekdays. So to follow your suggestions but still accomplish that, maybe I could change the days like so:[/COLOR][/SIZE]

[COLOR= #0000ff][SIZE= 12px]Sun: rest day[/COLOR][/SIZE]
[COLOR= #0000ff][SIZE= 12px]Mon: steady mid effort ride and where you might push yourself a bit harder if you feel good[/COLOR][/SIZE]
[COLOR= #0000ff][SIZE= 12px]Tues: steady mid effort, perhaps longer than the day before, but usually easier[/COLOR][/SIZE]
[COLOR= #0000ff][SIZE= 12px]Wed: steady mid effort ride and where you might push yourself a bit harder if you feel good[/COLOR][/SIZE]
[COLOR= #0000ff][SIZE= 12px]Thu: rest day to prepare for the weekend[/COLOR][/SIZE]
[COLOR= #0000ff][SIZE= 12px]Fri: longer perhaps easier ride[/COLOR][/SIZE]
[COLOR= #0000ff][SIZE= 12px]Sat: longer perhaps easier ride[/COLOR][/SIZE]
[COLOR= #0000ff][SIZE= 12px] [/COLOR][/SIZE]
[COLOR= #0000ff][SIZE= 12px]Gosh, rearranging this is harder than I thought, lol. I'll keep working on it. At this rate I may end up in the Sag wagon the whole trip, lol.[/COLOR][/SIZE]
[COLOR= #0000ff][SIZE= 12px] [/COLOR][/SIZE]
[COLOR= #0000ff][SIZE= 12px]Thanks for the help, guys! /img/vbsmilies/smilies/icon14.gif[/COLOR][/SIZE]
[COLOR= #0000ff][SIZE= 12px] [/COLOR][/SIZE]
[COLOR= #0000ff][SIZE= 12px]Sierra[/COLOR][/SIZE]

 

[daveryanwyoming]

Sounds like you've got the idea, and yes a couple of rest days per week is very smart.

Sort out your seat issues and try to challenge yourself with a longer ride sometime in the next few weeks. Eat and drink along the ride, stop for a cup of coffee and a snack if you need to but try to work up to more mileage between now and your tour. It's one thing to break up rides because you run out of time but another if you simply can't stay on the bike for the extra hour when you're scheduled to do a few long days in a row in the not too distant future.

Learn to pace yourself and remember to fuel yourself while out riding and as long as you can straighten out the saddle issues (some of which is likely just more time on the bike) you should be able to ride more than 20 miles in a single shot.

Good luck,
-Dave

 

[SierraSlim]

[COLOR= #0000ff][SIZE= 12px]Oh, Okay, Dave![/COLOR][/SIZE]

[COLOR= #0000ff][SIZE= 12px]If I can stop for coffee and a snack for a few minutes, I can probably work up to doing the miles in one setting fairly soon. Right now I only stop at the half-way point for a couple minutes to get a drink, and otherwise I pretty much book it. But if I go a little slower and pace myself, and take a drink break more often, it doesn't sound quite so intimidating. I could only do 20 today, but I got too hot and ran out of water, which is an easy fix. The bottom hurting will take finding the right seat, and that's the biggest problem for me, because nothing else hurts at that point, and if it weren't killing me and I had had more water, I could have gone farther easily. [/COLOR][/SIZE]

[COLOR= #0000ff][SIZE= 12px]I think I can, I think I can.... Call me the little engine that could, lol.[/COLOR][/SIZE]

[COLOR= #0000ff][SIZE= 12px]Thanks a lot! /img/vbsmilies/smilies/icon14.gif[/COLOR][/SIZE]

 

[CalicoCat]

Hi Sierra,
Glad to see you are back. I was starting to get a little worried about you! Winters are tough, and with the Spring we've been having, I have also been ready to build an ark

Anyway, it sounds like you are doing pretty well, all things considered. But I HAVE to advise you to learn to take a drink while riding. You should not have to stop, and on your tour, you might not be able to stop every time you wish, and you don't want to get dehydrated.

A lot of people are hesitant to drink on the bike, because they are afraid of getting unsteady and/or dropping a water bottle. It just takes a tiny bit of practice before it becomes second nature, and it is well-worth the time it takes to practice. Just find a quiet stretch of road, pedal slowly but not too slowly (too slowly and you will be unsteady) and reach down and touch your water bottle. Then pick it up and put it right back in the bottle cage. You might find that it is easier to get in/out if you stop pedaling for a second. Then pick it up, take a sip, and put it back!!!! Once you've done it once, you can do it a million times.

 

[SierraSlim]

[COLOR= #0000ff][SIZE= 12px]Hi, Cat!![/COLOR][/SIZE]

[COLOR= #0000ff][SIZE= 12px]I've just been hibernating, I guess. Four months of clouds and rain and wind has just about done me in. But the sun is back, thank God, and so am I, lol.[/COLOR][/SIZE]

[COLOR= #0000ff][SIZE= 12px]Learning to drink while I ride is a great idea! I don't know why I never thought of that; I always just kept my water bottle in my basket, and then looked for a shady place to stop and drink. But what you suggested doesn't sound too hard, so I will work on that. I think I actually have to get a bottle-holder, first; I don't think my bike has one, but I've seen them in the bike shops. I'll do that![/COLOR][/SIZE]

[COLOR= #0000ff][SIZE= 12px]Thanks for the tip. Let me know if the animals start showing up 2 by 2, lol.[/COLOR][/SIZE]

[COLOR= #0000ff][SIZE= 12px]Sierra[/COLOR][/SIZE]

 

[davereo]

Welcome BAAAAAACK. The big question is. How much credit do you have on your card? /img/vbsmilies/smilies/wink.gif From the sound of the weather pattern out west I am happy to be on the east coast. After a brutal winter we went right into a mild spring.
As ussual all good advice has been offered. Just get out there and ride as much as you can.
Have Fun
Dave

 

[SierraSlim]

[COLOR= #0000ff][SIZE= 12px]Hi, Dave![/COLOR][/SIZE]

[COLOR= #0000ff][SIZE= 12px]You're so funny. /img/vbsmilies/smilies/biggrin.gif[/COLOR][/SIZE]

[COLOR= #0000ff][SIZE= 12px]My credit card has wayyyyyyy too much credit on it, lol. And I plan to have fun with it, lol.[/COLOR][/SIZE]

[COLOR= #0000ff][SIZE= 12px]It was a nasty winter, alright. Not snowbound like some people had in the Midwest and East, but clouds and rain most of the time for 5 solid months???? Crazy!! And now, of course, there's TONS of pollen and allergies from all the plants that got watered. You'd think they'd have drowned! And we seem to have just skipped Spring entirely and are just going straight into summer. I actually got sunburned today on my ride -- and I wear sunscreen!![/COLOR][/SIZE]

[COLOR= #0000ff][SIZE= 12px]I'm looking forward to the tour with a big mixture of excitement and nervousness. I think it will really, truly, be a blast -- if I can survive it, lol. But I'm also actually looking forward to when it's over, at this point, because I've been so stressed about training that I think I began to lose the enjoyment of simply riding to be riding, instead of counting miles and times. So afterward, I'm going to enjoy just biking 25 miles a day or whatever for a while, and not be so freaked out about pushing to another level. [/COLOR][/SIZE]

[COLOR= #0000ff][SIZE= 12px]But until then.... Ride, Forrest, Ride! LOL.[/COLOR][/SIZE]

[COLOR= #0000ff][SIZE= 12px]Me[/COLOR][/SIZE]

 

[swampy1970]

Sierra,

Good to hear that you're back out on the bike again and getting ready for your Tour.

You don't have to make training rides actually seem like training. Find somewhere of interest about 12.5 to 15 miles away, ride out, have a short break, maybe even a coffee and ride back. That'll get you a 25 to 30 mile ride in and you also maybe get to see somewhere you've never been before. It's like a mini Tour whilst getting ready for a Tour. If being 15 miles away seems a little too far because you might have mechanical issues etc, then find something a little closer to home and take "the scenic route"

I know our local bike shops have maps that show all the bike routes that show all the bike paths, recommended roads that are fairly free of traffic as well as roads with bike lanes for Solano and Yolo counties and I'm guessing there'll be something like that out in your neck of the woods. Combine that with Google Maps (too look for points of interest) and you could have a fun ride or two.

As far as saddle woes go - Terry saddles are fairly popular with the ladies as they've been making women specific saddles for years.

 

[SierraSlim]

[COLOR= #0000ff][SIZE= 12px]Hi, Swampy![/COLOR][/SIZE]

[COLOR= #0000ff][SIZE= 12px]I love your suggestion. Sometimes I get so caught up in "training right" that I find myself actually losing the enjoyment of just getting out and riding. After all, this tour isn't a race (thank God, lol), and it's not on hills, and all I really need to be able to do is ride for 3-4 hours a day at my own pace -- so what am I getting freaked out about?? Even if I do hit a bonk or have knee problems or whatever, they said the Sag wagon would always come pick you up in those cases, so all I really need to do is keep my bottom in the saddle and let the callouses develop, lol. [/COLOR][/SIZE]

[COLOR= #0000ff][SIZE= 12px]Dear Hubby and I are actually planning a ride along the River Trail here this week at some point, and I'm looking forward to that -- though the last time I did it, it nearly killed me because it's a little hilly. Only a little, mind you, with very low-rise but long hills, but since I've never done anything but completely flat rides, they felt like the Pyranees to me! Hopefully it will go better this time. [/COLOR][/SIZE]

[COLOR= #0000ff][SIZE= 12px]Will look into the Terry saddles. Most of the saddles I look at seem to feel so HARD when I push down on them -- like the one yesterday, which pretty much felt like I was crushing delicate parts between rocks and a hard place for the whole ride. I don't know if it's a matter of getting used to it (god!) or just that that's not the fit for me. But my old saddle doesn't hurt for the first 12 miles or so, so maybe I just need to keep it and develop more callouses. Whatever I do, I gotta do it quick because the tour is in 5 weeks! Yikes![/COLOR][/SIZE]

[COLOR= #0000ff][SIZE= 12px]Gonna train your way, I think, though. Sounds like fun again.[/COLOR][/SIZE]

[COLOR= #0000ff][SIZE= 12px]Thanks! /img/vbsmilies/smilies/icon14.gif[/COLOR][/SIZE]

 

[davereo]

+1 for Swampys suggestion. His approach matches what a credit card tour should be.

Ride 10 to 15 miles pull in to a small village buy a few trinkets stack them in the sagwagon. Back on the bike for 10 miles to the next village for some local cuisine. Last leg of the day 10 to 15 miles to the lodge for a few cocktails and rest. Most importantly every destination town is teaming with craft and gift shops.

 

[SierraSlim]

[SIZE= 12px][COLOR= #0000ff]Hey, Dave![/COLOR][/SIZE]

[SIZE= 12px][COLOR= #0000ff]Now I AM excited about the tour. I hadn't thought about it that way at all, and does that ever sound like fun! It's a good thing they have the Sag wagon; otherwise, I might have to buy extra panniers for the trinkets. /img/vbsmilies/smilies/biggrin.gif[/COLOR][/SIZE]

[SIZE= 12px][COLOR= #0000ff]Thanks for the encouragement.[/COLOR][/SIZE]

[SIZE= 12px][COLOR= #0000ff]Sierra[/COLOR][/SIZE]