New cyclist questions!!!

katozdad

I have been training since January for a century ride. I carry a few extra pounds and have been making steady progress despite the poor weather. I think that once you sort out the comfort issues and can start clocking up above 40-50miles the rest of it is in your head. I find that as soon as I broke the 50 mile barrier, the hunger for more miles kicked in and in the space of 3-4 weeks I have climbed to 88.5 miles just a few days ago. My recovery at this level is getting much quicker and I am trying to hold myself back from doing the century too soon. I want a new bike in May, as my current ride is a Hybrid, which is faster than the MTB but I think I can squeeze another 2-3mph average out of a proper road bike from my 13mph average. I plan to adjust to the new bike throughout May and will aim for the century by the end of June.

I also ride purely solo, but get a lot of support and encouragement from the Century Cycling group, more specifically the Classics Challenge that is currently running, you wouldn't do yourself any harm by joining the challenges.

Finally, if you ride solo, plan your routes carefully, I have set out a few times with a specific mileage goal in mind and have been disappointed a few times when I miss my goal by just a few miles. It is not a biggy, but if you are aiming for a big milestone like 50miles or a 100k, it can get a bit disheartening when you narrowly miss it when you get home.

mikeatmichael

Don't worry about speed. You need to ride long and slow to build up your bodies aerobic capacity. That will only come with time in the saddle and your speed will increase as that does. In a couple months when that has improved you can work in some intervals and hills to build up power and speed.

Just ride fast enough to be breathing a little hard and sweating a little, don't kill yourself.

Don't forget to vary your routine and take rest days to give your body time to recover and grow stronger.

rgbink

Don't worry about speed enjoy the ride. Someone told me when I first started riding to just enjoy it. Walk up hills if you wanted to. The strength and speed will come with more time in the saddle. The main thing is enjoy it. I started last April and by the middle of June was riding twenty miles and more in a little less than two hours. Before you know it you will be riding up the hills you never thought you could go up.

Speedtrap

I want a new bike in May, as my current ride is a Hybrid, which is faster than the MTB but I think I can squeeze another 2-3mph average out of a proper road bike from my 13mph average. I plan to adjust to the new bike throughout May and will aim for the century by the end of June.

You will get more than the 2-3 Mph you are hoping for, when I switched to a good road bike my speed went from 14-16 MPH up to 22-24 MPH on average. If you can get the road bike sooner to train, get it now.

jhalsey205

Lots of great advice here. Your goal is aggressive but do-able. I got into cycling 17 months ago and completed my first century 4 months after my start (it was not pretty). I now have a total of 8 centuries under my belt. The key (for me) was time in the saddle. I started off with 20 mile + (slow) training rides and ramped up from there.

To reiterate a few things from above -
-no to padded seat
-good cycling shorts are worth their weight in gold (and not cheap) if you intend to spend time in saddle
-a good bike is very helpful
-a professional bike fitting is huge!
-focus on mileage rather than speed / pace

Good luck

TheBigYin

some great advice on here - the thing is, provided it's not a "time constrained ride" - i.e. you have to finish before the "broom wagon" sweeps you up, anything much over 60 miles or so is ridden as much in the mind as in the legs. What I mean by that is, if you can ride 60 miles in 4 hours, you can easily ride 100 miles, you'd just need to adjust the speed downwards a little.

Join the century cycling group on here, and keep asking questions, we'll see you right