Manchester to Blackpool

[92jon]

Hi,
Myself and mty mate are planning to do the charity bike ride from Manchester to Blackpool - its around 60-70 miles and we havent done anything over 35 miles.
We cycle most weekends, on average 10-20 miles. We both have basic mountain bikes and cycle at steady speeds.

I was wondering if you have any advice for getting up to speed to manage the 60 in comfort (ish).
Would anybody reccomend a gel seat for extra comfort??

Thanks in advance

JON

 

[92jon]

Hi,

We started the routine today - a nice 24 mile loop via Manchester city centre.
10% increase next week I think.

JON

 

[92jon]

Hi,

We are keeing a log of our preperation / training for this event here :

http://www.bikerides.dsracing.me.uk/black.htm

Thanks
JON

 

[92jon]

Hi,
We have ordered re-hydration back packs for water and storage. Hopefully that will solve the water issue.

Road tyres are the next to be sorted.

We got a 30 miler in yesterday - http://www.bikerides.dsracing.me.uk/black.htm
My legs arnt as bad today - and my rear is also better than normal, I think the padded cycle shorts have worked!!

Thanks
JON

 

[fossyant]

You should be fine - my colleague at work is a runner and he did it with two non cyclists/runners last year without any cycling preparation. Given the miles you are doing now, you'll be fine. Just remember plenty of fluids and good carbs on the day itself.

I'm starting to perpare for the Lakes Challenge (September in Cumbria) that is cycling and running. As a non runner and cyclist of 21 years, it's taking a while to get the running up to speed, but again, like you it takes time. The cycling bit is a doddle, but I don't want any injuries from 21km of running (broken over about 4 stages).

 

[92jon]

You should be fine - my colleague at work is a runner and he did it with two non cyclists/runners last year without any cycling preparation. Given the miles you are doing now, you'll be fine. Just remember plenty of fluids and good carbs on the day itself.

I'm starting to perpare for the Lakes Challenge (September in Cumbria) that is cycling and running. As a non runner and cyclist of 21 years, it's taking a while to get the running up to speed, but again, like you it takes time. The cycling bit is a doddle, but I don't want any injuries from 21km of running (broken over about 4 stages).

Thanks Fossy ant - we have bought hydration packs which I tried out on the last ride we undertook - very good they are, but I did add 3 extra stops to find a tree!!

We have updated our site with last Sundays ride - this was a nice ride up to Woodhead tunnel via the Londendale trail. I would reccomend the route.
http://www.bikerides.dsracing.me.uk/black.htm
Thanks
JON

 

[92jon]

Hi,
Got a nice 35 mile ride this weekend.
From Bury to Bacup and then back down via Rochdale. Plenty of hills, plus a good mix of on and off road work.

http://www.bikerides.dsracing.me.uk/railway/bacupnew.htm

Thanks
JON

 

[92jon]

Hi,
We have recenly completed our longest ride so far - 35 miles.

http://www.bikerides.dsracing.me.uk/black.htm

This was a great ride from Bury to Bacup and back round via Rochdale and Heywood.

The preperation continues.

Thanks
JON and DUNC

 

[92jon]

Hi,
Preperation for the Blackppol ride continues. We did a nice run round Stockport and South Manchester last week - saw plenty of other cyclists out, especially on the Fallowfield Loop.
We have added a couple of new links -
http://www.bikerides.dsracing.me.uk/links.htm
We woudl like to have a ride up to the Roman Lakes in Marple - looks a nice area to visit.

Thanks
JON

 

[scazzer]

hi mate....
know how you feel with the build up to this ride
me and two friends done this ride about 3 yrs ago..........

we had everything go against us.....rain...howling wind straight into our face
all through the ride or so it felt like
the bike i used i had only bought it about 4 weeks before the ride only a cheap 1, which had grip shift gears ,,,could i get use to them,,no chance..
when i was trying to go down a gear for a hill would end up going up a gear and vice versa,much to the amusement of my so called mates
any way,as for yourself the amount of training you are doing you will fly through it,,,i didnt get to train that much but managed to finish in about 6 hrs (i think).the gel seats wil help,also some padded cycling shorts will give added comfort..
good luck and enjoy

 

[92jon]

Thanks scazzer, we are really looking forward to it - however going through the many pain barriers are not our fav things!

We did a ride yesterday, through rain, wasnt the nicest, we managed 36 miles, my legs went a bit, on a big hill, and I had to push. But I am feeling stronger than I did when we first got back in saddle a few years back.



We will keep the site updated on our preperation. Again thanks for the support.



JON

 

[92jon]

Hi,

A small update on our preperations here:

http://www.bikerides.dsracing.me.uk/black.htm

Thanks
JON

 

[92jon]

Not long to go now for the actual ride - I am really looking forward to it.

The exercise bike has been dusted off so I can get some practice in while watching TV, nice!

Hoepfully tonight I will get out and do a small run round - maybe 10-15 miles, take in some hills - I love hills! Going down them!

Good luck to anybody who may also be doing the Manchester to Blackpool run

JON

 

[danny shep]

Im thinking about signing up for it as i've done my own rides from Bolton to Blackpool (through Belmont, Walton Le Dale, Preston and Kirkham) quite a few times recently and on each occasion i felt more comfortable and managed to get my ride time down a little bit. My first attempt took me about three hours but after a few more rides i got it down to just over two and a half hours from my house to the promenade.
In the last few months i've been riding to work which involves a 30 mile round trip each day so that has boosted my fitness and riding confidence and im now at the point where i want to join a cycling club as my girlfriend, most of my pals and work colleagues are sick of me talking about bikes and rides, and they believe that if i had some like minded people to share it with it would hopefully take the load off them. So this Sunday just passed i went for a ride with the Lancashire Road Cycling Club and was really encouraged by every aspect of the day. Everyone on the ride was really great to get along with and once i had got my confidence with riding in a group then i started to feel more at home. One difference i found to my solo rides is that it started a leisurely pace which is something i generally don't do as im always trying to get my destination asap, but on reflection i think the nicely paced start makes sense to let your muscles get warmed up. As we neared the rides half way point, which was Chipping near Preston, the pace picked up and i noticed that i didn't have as much breath to talk easily as i did before. When we made our stop at a local cafe i loved it as they served my favourite, beans on toast, and we were able to just chill out before heading back out on to the road. On the return journey i felt pretty refreshed after the food (especially the carrot cake clif bar) and rest and decided to move forward in the bunch and take the lead up a few climbs. I was really surprised with how good i felt doing this as i have been purposefully trying to improve my performance when climbing and just as a fellow user of this forum pointed out, my BMI of about 19.2 should mean that i have a pretty good power to weight ratio and after Sunday's ride i really think i might have one.
As the rest of the club riders were on pretty expensive carbon road bikes i was pleased that i held my own against them on my Pinnacle hybrid commuter bike which served me well on the day. As i usually ride on my own i really enjoyed the competitive aspect of the ride as even though it wasn't a race it was fun to race up the hills to see who could get to the top quickest.
The ride was supposed to be to Skipton and back (approx 80 to 90 miles) but as it was raining quite heavily we only covered about sixty, which is toward the top end of the mileage i have ever covered on a ride, but as the company and competitive element was so stimulating i hardly noticed that we were on a long ride at all.
As for the Blackpool ride i used to ride there on the bike and catch the train home as even though two two and a half hour rides in a day is not a massive amount i just couldn't face the return journey on my first few visits so took my bike on the train instead. On about my third ride to Blackpool i felt fit enough to ride home as well but must admit i found it torturously hard as even though the distance is only about forty miles each way the gradient was uphill virtually all the way home and to add insult to injury got lost, ended up in Chorley and had to ride home from Rivington which took my total distance covered for the day well over 100 miles.
Good luck on the ride and from the info you've posted about your training rides i think you'll be absolutely fine. Who knows i may even see you there

 

[92jon]

Hi,

Danny Shep - Thanks for the support and assistance.

We successfully completed the run and had a great day.

I have posted a report (pics soon) here:
http://www.bikerides.dsracing.me.uk/black.htm

Great spirit on the run - a lot of banter. Overall a great day. My legs (and body) are ok - so i feel the practice and prep helped me.

I now want to do longer runs!

Thanks again

JON