This will allow your body to feel at its best for the day of the mile ride while also being fully capable of accomplishing the feat. During the last two weeks of the ride, shoot for shorter distances. Taper down from a mile practice ride to a mile ride on a long training day. Short training days should include some high-intensity intervals, but they should be shorter ranging from two to three minutes.
Continue moving down the scale to a mile ride and let your energy stores really fill up right before the event. Feeling refreshed and ready to go will make riding miles with a group or supported ride all the more fun rather than painful.
Pixabay After getting a great bike and tackling regular rides during the week and maybe a longer weekend ride, many cyclists start entertaining thoughts of riding a full century. Get Comfortable Going Long Pixabay Allot enough time for building up your stamina and endurance leading up to a century ride. Set a Training Schedule Pixabay Set a training schedule that varies the types of rides you complete throughout the week.
What is the Cheapest Meal Kit? On long training rides, aim to get about calories an hour from simple foods like bananas, figs, and energy bars. Make it a goal to drain one 20 to 24 ounce bottle of sports drink an hour. One of my first centuries nearly cured me of centuries.
It was the Santa Fe Century in Gainesville, Florida, which climbs just 1, feet over more than miles. I live in Pennsylvania where we climb that much in every 10 to 20 miles whether we want to or not. Forty miles in, everything hurt from being planted in the saddle hammering the flats without a break in position. Being comfortable riding with others—as well as being able to identify what wheels to follow and what wheels to steer clear of—will help ease your nerves and make that first century far more enjoyable.
Flat tires , missed turns, lost riding mates, incoming storms…lots can happen in miles. It's a great accomplishment for cyclists, and with a little perspective as to how far miles is, you start to realize that completing a century means covering an awful lot of ground. More: Video: 3 Ways to Prepare for a Century. More Cycling Articles. Look for this banner for recommended activities. Cancel Yes. Join Active or Sign In. All rights reserved. Go Premium. Need Help? Realistically, this starts the night before and the morning of the ride.
You should be treating yourself to a nice carb-based dinner the night before like pasta or rice and then for breakfast something slow-burning like porridge. Instead, we are going to keep it simple by telling you to eat little and often. From the moment you start riding, you will want to be eating every 45 minutes, sticking to carb-based foods like energy bars, sandwiches and bananas with the easier they are to eat on the bike the better.
A big tip from us is to start savoury at the beginning of the ride and then finish with the sweet stuff later. If you go sweet from the off, consuming large amounts of sugar for near-on seven hours will have you feeling sick in no time.
So, if you stop for a proper lunch on the ride, which we always do, maybe go for a sandwich, a sausage roll or even a Scotch egg rather than cake. Also try to steer clear of fatty food. Your body will have a nightmare trying to digest it on the bike and chances are it will leave you feeling bloated and uncomfortable.
Before any ride, let alone a century day, make sure your bike is in good nick the night before departure. The Cyclist YouTube channel has you covered with most of the important maintenance issues.
Also, try and convince a friend or a loved one to join you in this century adventure. Not only will their company help the miles tick by faster and potentially come in handy if you face any mechanical or safety problems, but the opportunity to draft in their wheel occasionally will also make the ride much easier too.
Then when finally out on the road, pacing yourself is going to be important. A good perceived effort to ride is a speed at which you can still chat to your friend while pedalling. Do this on the climbs, too. Enjoy yourself!
It is easy to forget that bike riding is predominately about having fun, not just a masochistic ritual we use to make ourselves fitter.
0コメント