I'm a newbie aiming to do 100 miles and need some advice

[mjr]

I'm only picking up on what people have written over the years - if you want to progress, then you have to push things a bit harder/faster/longer. And if you are doing that then nipping to the shops on the bike isn't that significant.

Just a passing thought really.

There's a lot of nonsense written about pushing harder/faster/longer being progress itself, which it isn't necessarily, unless that's how you're looking to progress.

Doing lots of short rides won't get you to a hundred on its own, but it will probably teach you about getting on the bike in adverse conditions or when you feel exhausted, which could be useful. Conditions and your condition can change quite a lot between the start and finish of a hundred.

[PH]

There's a lot of nonsense written about pushing harder/faster/longer being progress itself, which it isn't necessarily, unless that's how you're looking to progress.

Don't understand this at all, what do you mean my progress? Whether it is or not depends on what you're progressing towards and how you structure your harder/faster/longer. But to dismiss it as nonsense misses the point, harder/faster/longer is the basis of increasing physical ability of any form and it can sometimes be incorporated into otherwise utility activities. I do intervals against a HR monitor on three of my homeward commutes, the benefit has been noticeable. I start from the basis that cycling ought to be fun and that all miles are good miles, but it isn't always instant gratification.

[mjr]

There's a lot of nonsense written about pushing harder/faster/longer being progress itself, which it isn't necessarily, unless that's how you're looking to progress.

Don't understand this at all, what do you mean my progress?

Personally, I regard more fun as progress, but to each their own.

Whether it is or not depends on what you're progressing towards

Exactly!

and how you structure your harder/faster/longer. But to dismiss it as nonsense misses the point, harder/faster/longer is the basis of increasing physical ability of any form and it can sometimes be incorporated into otherwise utility activities.

Now that's missing the point IMO. I believe that increasing physical ability isn't an end in itself and I object to trying to portray it as such.

I do intervals against a HR monitor on three of my homeward commutes, the benefit has been noticeable. I start from the basis that cycling ought to be fun and that all miles are good miles, but it isn't always instant gratification.

It shouldn't be instant masochism either. I can't think of many things worse for sucking enjoyment out of cycling than having a HR strap around my tits and doing intervals, but again, each to their own.

[Tiberius]

Me….Fifty nine years old…..Cycling regularly for four years…...No fancy training ritual, special diet, electronic wizz bang whatsoever.

Coincidentally, I did my first 100 mile run just two days ago……Two things that worked for me

1) Dead obvious really, but watch the weather forecast…particularly the wind speed. I can deal with hills/rain/cold all day long but hour after hour of head winds/cross winds is a real killer.

2) Get a good early start….. NO up at eight, breakfast, set off at nine thirty.….. If you can knock off (say) twenty five miles before ten AM then you will feel like you are well on your way (the whole thing is as much about what is in your head as is in your legs) You don’t want to be at the eighty miles mark when it starts to get dark.

Hilly North Yorkshire.....I grabbed a low wind day and set off at seven AM...I was just fine.

Good luck !!........

[PH]

Now that's missing the point IMO. I believe that increasing physical ability isn't an end in itself and I object to trying to portray it as such.

Each to their own indeed, how generous of you to tack that on to a post the rest of which reads like there's only one way, which is yours and the rest is nonsense.
No one said increasing fitness or physical ability or whatever you want to call it should be the one and only end, but for many people, many cyclists, it is part of it. In the case of the OP, they want to ride 100 miles, most people could just do that, I rode my first 100 without having done 50, it hurt, the only pleasure was in finishing. Having the fitness to do it with ease, is a pleasure, choosing a scenic route adds to the enjoyment as does wandering off for an extra 20 because some road looks interesting, the amount of time I have to stop and look around is proportional to how I'm riding , getting to the end still feeling fresh and ready for something else the icing on the cake. Those pleasures are for me the end, the goal, ever changing goals, they're mine and don't have to be anyone elses. I have worked at being able to do that, I'm glad I did and while I subscribe to the idea that all miles are good miles, they're not all equal, each to their own.

[eileithyia]

Welcome to the forum.
Don't get hung up on what a training programme tells you should be able to achieve. Different sport i know, but i once saw a 6 month training programme to go from sofa to marathon, and it started with a walk to the end of the street back 2-3 times a week.

25mins on a bike for the first time in years is quite a respectful start... don't worry about speed... when i first started 12.5mph was rule of thumb for touring and or getting around events such as an 100 in 8.

To be honest for loaded touring we were probably more likely to be doing 10mph at one stage.

Start with 25 mins and build up the time spent in the saddle. I would suggest you have all winter to get on short rides and then the spring to start building up the distances / time in the saddle..... then look to do your challenge next summer.

[roubaixtuesday]

Coincidentally, I did my first 100 mile run just two days ago……

Many congratulations, that's a great effort and a real milestone.

Bloody well done!

[mjr]

Now that's missing the point IMO. I believe that increasing physical ability isn't an end in itself and I object to trying to portray it as such.

Each to their own indeed, how generous of you to tack that on to a post the rest of which reads like there's only one way, which is yours and the rest is nonsense.

I tacked it onto the beginning too. You could almost say it was a repeated theme!

No one said increasing fitness or physical ability or whatever you want to call it should be the one and only end,

Odd, I could have sworn someone wrote "if you want to progress, then you have to push things a bit harder/faster/longer". That's also the view taken by many training programmes but unless you're doing it for some sort of challenge or like that sort of sports approach, it's really not necessary.

[Vorpal]

Odd, I could have sworn someone wrote "if you want to progress, then you have to push things a bit harder/faster/longer". That's also the view taken by many training programmes but unless you're doing it for some sort of challenge or like that sort of sports approach, it's really not necessary.

The OP has a stated goal of riding 100 miles. He's not going to get there by going for a gentle 8 miler twice a week is he?

If he wants to progress towards his stated goal, he does indeed need to push things, at least by gradually increasing mileage, if nothing else.

And some people enjoy that, whether it's sprinting the last 100 metres to work, climbing a famous col, or just improving over yesterday's / last week's time to work.

We're all different and have different goals.

[horizon]

The OP has a stated goal of riding 100 miles. He's not going to get there by going for a gentle 8 miler twice a week is he?

If he wants to progress towards his stated goal, he does indeed need to push things, at least by gradually increasing mileage, if nothing else.

And some people enjoy that

And some don't. But I think there's a bit in all of us that's gets a kick out of accomplishing that bit extra, even if it's just getting to the top of a hill.

But the serious point is:

He's not going to get there by going for a gentle 8 miler twice a week is he?

. And that's where people divide: either you want to do it or you don't.

[mjr]

The OP has a stated goal of riding 100 miles. He's not going to get there by going for a gentle 8 miler twice a week is he?

If he wants to progress towards his stated goal, he does indeed need to push things, at least by gradually increasing mileage, if nothing else.

Gradually extend range but there's no need to push it, is there? If anything, overextending oneself can easily put you further from an endurance goal like an imperial century IMO. All that stuff about 13mph for 2 hours, monitoring heart rates and drinking a bottle of junk food every hour is bizarre and unhelpful for most tourists.

[amcycling]

Me….Fifty nine years old…..Cycling regularly for four years…...No fancy training ritual, special diet, electronic wizz bang whatsoever.

Coincidentally, I did my first 100 mile run just two days ago……Two things that worked for me

1) Dead obvious really, but watch the weather forecast…particularly the wind speed. I can deal with hills/rain/cold all day long but hour after hour of head winds/cross winds is a real killer.

2) Get a good early start….. NO up at eight, breakfast, set off at nine thirty.….. If you can knock off (say) twenty five miles before ten AM then you will feel like you are well on your way (the whole thing is as much about what is in your head as is in your legs) You don’t want to be at the eighty miles mark when it starts to get dark.

Hilly North Yorkshire.....I grabbed a low wind day and set off at seven AM...I was just fine.

Good luck !!........

I like the idea of starting out early, pretty sure I'll need all the mental tricks on my side. Also, congrats on you 100!

[531colin]

Lots of playing with words going on here.
If you can't do 13mph for 2 hours, then 100 miles is going to be a bloody long day, as well as a big ask.
And what does "push yourself" mean?
Nobody said "push yourself to exhaustion" did they?
If you only ever ride within your comfort zone you will get fitter, but very slowly.
If you "push yourself" to the extent of getting out of breath on the hills, you will get fit quicker.
If you train scientifically, you will probably get more fit, even quicker.......i can't say i have ever bothered, all I do is ride my bike as much as i like, and get out of puff on the hills. At 69 years old, as long as I can do 100 miles in the Dales including Tan Hill and a couple of other molehills, that will do me.....and yeah, start early, before the motors are out......and do everything you can to maintain fitness through the winter.

[mjr]

If you can't do 13mph for 2 hours, then 100 miles is going to be a bloody long day, as well as a big ask.

Who cares if it takes all day? It's not like it's a hardship to set aside a day for it.

And what does "push yourself" mean?
Nobody said "push yourself to exhaustion" did they?

Parts of the "training" plan in the opening post sounded an awful lot like that to me: "riding fast improves your endurance by raising your lactate threshold, the point at which your muscles scream "Slow down!"" To me, these days, that sounds like a vision of cycling as torture and I feel it's important to remind people that it's not the only way, because if we want people to ride for life (which we need, to keep the country moving and fit), it must stop being misrepresented as an extreme sport that people do for a while, suffering all the time, until they conquer some challenge and then give it up.

I hope to head off out to look for wildlife one evening this week, which is the sort of fun thing you can do on a bicycle much more easily because there's no noisy engine to scare it away.

[531colin]

............."training" plan in the opening post sounded an awful lot like that to me: "riding fast improves your endurance by raising your lactate threshold, the point at which your muscles scream "Slow down!"" To me, these days, that sounds like a vision of cycling as torture ......., it must stop being misrepresented as an extreme sport that people do for a while, suffering all the time, until they conquer some challenge and then give it up .............

Exactly what of that lot are you attributing to me?