Miles running vs. Miles cycling

[SBSpartan]

How does this translate? Does it? What I am talking about is, how far can I bike without building a base of mileage, drawing only from my running?
Is 1:4 fair? I only say this because the Marathon and Century seem to be the two big marks and that is about the ratio.
I am thinking about going to my first club ride this weekend. It is 46 miles. I wouldn't have a problem running 10-12 miles so would I be ok on the ride?

Discuss.

 

[Spunout]

I would suggest that there is no relation. If you haven't done any cycling, you won't have the condition to do a century. Granted, something is better than nothing.

If you are planning preparation and base-type cross training you may consider 'hours' of training. Distances are relatively meaningless when planning any cycling program.

 

[jhuskey]

How does this translate? Does it? What I am talking about is, how far can I bike without building a base of mileage, drawing only from my running?
Is 1:4 fair? I only say this because the Marathon and Century seem to be the two big marks and that is about the ratio.
I am thinking about going to my first club ride this weekend. It is 46 miles. I wouldn't have a problem running 10-12 miles so would I be ok on the ride?

Discuss.

Speed ,terrain all play a factor in any comparison, also consider that your butt has to be conditioned to stay on a saddle for 50 miles or even 20.
Shoulders get stiff,hands go numb.
Many pleasant little distraction occur, but a good cardiovascular base and strong legs do help.

 

[SBSpartan]

I would suggest that there is no relation. If you haven't done any cycling, you won't have the condition to do a century. Granted, something is better than nothing.

If you are planning preparation and base-type cross training you may consider 'hours' of training. Distances are relatively meaningless when planning any cycling program.

I am guessing that if you could do a century you could run a marathon and the other way around. That is just me having never done a century but ran a few marathons. That isn't my question anyway. The question, to be more specific is - I just starting biking. The longest I have been out is like an hour (I don't see the point in time vs. miles considering everything I read is distance related not time related) I am looking into doing a ride with a local club that is about 45 miles on Saturday. Just curious what everything thinks about how hard that is to pull off with a good base of fitness from running and soccer? Relate it to something for me. I am sure there are plenty of people here who have started biking after running and came in to it in great shape.

 

[SBSpartan]

Speed ,terrain all play a factor in any comparison, also consider that your butt has to be conditioned to stay on a saddle for 50 miles or even 20.
Shoulders get stiff,hands go numb.
Many pleasant little distraction occur, but a good cardiovascular base and strong legs do help.

Distractions aside. These happen in other things as well. The group speed is the one thing I really don't know. They say 14 mph. I have no clue if that is fast.

 

[jhuskey]

Distractions aside. These happen in other things as well. The group speed is the one thing I really don't know. They say 14 mph. I have no clue if that is fast.

That is pretty slow unless there is a lot of climbing,a lot of step climbing. Still your butt can hurt a lot and your shoulders can get plenty stiff in a ride that long.

 

[frenchyge]

I would suggest that there is no relation.

I would agree with that.

Regarding your specific situation, you sound like you're fairly fit (in a running sense, anyway) so if the club riders aren't particularly fit or aggressive, then you may still do okay on the ride as long as you're comfortable riding for 2.5 hrs at this point. There are all different flavors of club rides, and while most would probably be okay, others would probably be trouble for a newbie at that distance. Will the route be an area that you're familiar with, in case you get dropped?

 

[Felt_Rider]

I know the ride and I would classify it as rolling hills with one very short steep steep climb and then a very fun long down hill. The ride leader seems to be very cautious about not dropping riders. There is one short store stop. I thought this was a good ride with a little more traffic in some areas and then some nice remote areas once you get into Cherokee County.

The group may break apart if some of the faster riders show up.
My average speed for this ride was around 17, but at the time I was riding a 12/23 cassette and struggle a little more in climbing. Some of the riders did ride at 14 and picked up a little speed on some of the downhills.


I look forward to returning to this ride maybe the following weekend.

 

[frenchyge]

The group speed is the one thing I really don't know. They say 14 mph. I have no clue if that is fast.

That sounds more like a friendily paced ride, so you should probably be okay speed-wise. If you can do the distance, then you should be okay.

 

[ZimboNC]

I am guessing that if you could do a century you could run a marathon and the other way around.

Not comfortably.

--Steve

 

[Felt_Rider]

Because of some higher traffic areas even some of the faster riders are forced to stop and that is when the groups that break apart can recollect.

We are considering painting the intersections so that anyone can come out and ride this route. However, being in groups make the traffic have a little more respect. We saw and passed a lot of individual riders during this ride.

 

[SBSpartan]

Not comfortably.

--Steve

Agreed but I think you could still do it. The discipline you were good at would be far easier. The other you would struggle, but I think you would pull through.

 

[SBSpartan]

Any tips on riding in a group for the first time?

 

[Felt_Rider]

Watch for hand signals from some of the more experienced riders.

For this ride:

When you are clumped together and toward the back you cannot see upcoming obstructions. You will see a rider point down meaning there may be a rock, pot hole or something else in the road that may cause a pile up. Sometimes they may say, "gravel" so be careful for gravel at intersections and edge of road.

If you see them put their hand down with a flat palm facing toward you that means they are either slowing or stopping. So be on the watch because you can close the gap quickly. Sometimes they will verbally say, "slowing" or "stopping" because they cannot free their hands.

You may hear, "car back" or "car front". be careful and look for an opportunity to merge into a single file line or to warn you not to pass. Some of the riders will tell you that you are clear. That means they are slowing to let you in.

Watch for drafting. If you have never rode in a group you may feel drafting for the first time and in a larger group you can close the gap very quickly and hit someone in the rear. If you do close the gap quickly be sure to let any riders behind you know that you are slowing.

Coming to an intersection make sure you unclip ahead of time. I have seen the domino effect before and thankfully I wasn't part of it. No harm other than being embarassing.

Those are a few that I can think of.

 

[Felt_Rider]

Also be prepared.

Saturday is going to be very warm and there will probably be only one store stop that you can replenish your supplies if necessary. The ride starts at 8:30 I think so you should be done before it gets real hot.

For that I ride I would personally use two larger bottles, an emergency gel pak and two energy bars. All of that is not really necessary for a 46 mile ride, but better safe than sorry.

I have cramped up in the past and lucky for me other riders sacrificed their gel paks and fluids because I was trying to go light. In return I have shared some of my supplies with riders who packed too light for the day.

 

[SBSpartan]

Also be prepared.

Saturday is going to be very warm and there will probably be only one store stop that you can replenish your supplies if necessary. The ride starts at 8:30 I think so you should be done before it gets real hot.

For that I ride I would personally use two larger bottles, an emergency gel pak and two energy bars. All of that is not really necessary for a 46 mile ride, but better safe than sorry.

I have cramped up in the past and lucky for me other riders sacrificed their gel paks and fluids because I was trying to go light. In return I have shared some of my supplies with riders who packed too light for the day.

Good tip. I have never had a bar midway through running. Not sure how the body would react. Maybe I will stick to the gels for now as they work well for me running. Out for 2+ hours? 3-4 gels should be plenty I would think.

 

[Felt_Rider]

I cannot say for sure, but I think that you will be encouraged once you get this ride behind you. This is not a group of "racer boys". When I rode with them the ages probably ranged from late 30's and up. Some of them looked to be very casual riders and very friendly.

 

[vchu7105]

Distractions aside. These happen in other things as well. The group speed is the one thing I really don't know. They say 14 mph. I have no clue if that is fast.

Not fast!

 

[SBSpartan]

Not fast!

Maybe I should buy a comp?! I probably would have been able to answer that myself.

 

[melslur]

1:4 sounds about right to me. I'm a casual athlete, and I went out a few weeks ago for a 100 km ride. I really felt it that night, similar I think to a 20-25 km jog.