Nuts or not ?, the last longest ride I entered was The London to Brighton in 1992, now here I am at 65 and have just applied to enter the Prudential Ride London in 2018. Am I mad or insane ? and at a time when I am struggling for spare/more time to get out on my triple. Advice and tips welcomed.
Depends what you call long distance. These days it's from the lodge to the pub at center parcs but I have done the coast to coast from Whitehaven to Sunderland in 1996 to raise money for the hospital unit that saved my life after I jumped off the bike at high speed
Not so much since i've been in Cornwall, but used to ride a fair bit. occasional trips out on the mountain bike now. I rode with a local group of roadies, sunday morning was usually out for 60-80 miles. I had a season racing cyclo cross which was an eye opener to say the least! I've done a few of sportives as well, up to about 120miles. try to build your miles up gradually and don't try to ride too fast. find a group that you are comfortable riding with & you'll be fine. other than box hill it's reasonably flat.
AS mentioned above,build up slowly. Get your training miles in, you'll be surprised how many miles you can grab if you get up early and bob out for a quick hour. Don't worry too much about long training miles, but build up cumulatively during the week, then as your target date approaches, get two our three longer ones in too. On your last week, taper off the intensity, maybe get one or two smaller rides at start of week... then rest, allow your body to fully recharge. Don't go out on the piss on the last couple off nights either. I've ridden a few charity rides, 50 to 80 milers, and every time I've totally failed to train like that, but I still got through them! Good luck!
Trying to do miles a week ATM but struggling to do over 35 at any one time, hopefully it will come right
I ride most weeks try and cycle around 100 miles a week, luckily I live in Wales and some great places to ride the roadie or mt bike, I read once before that it takes around 4 years to get your cycle legs, well I have been cycling 15 years and still not found mine
It's all about miles in the legs. No matter how short a ride the cumulative effect really helps. Time in the saddle is important to build "comfort endurance". Constant snacking helps on long rides...i like jelly babies or chocolate raisins. Small handful every 20 mins or so after the first hour. Hills are your friends 60 miles or more for a long ride 40-60 miles for a hills session. If you can get out 3 times a week (2xhills 1xlong) you will smash the ride London.
I enjoy cycling, but never done big miles (50 max), so can't help with advice. Besides, all the good advice is above. Good luck with the ride, it seems like you should have time to build up to it. Enjoy...