46
The short answer is: not that difficult. The long answer requires some explanation.
The equations of motion for a rider on a bicycle are well-understood if not always well-known. The power needed to propel a bicycle on firm flat ground (as on a velodrome) varies approximately with the cube of speed. Thus, to double your speed, you would need to increase ...
42
First, different people have different optimum cadence. So that's one thing that explains different cadence between different cyclists.
Second, to travel at any given speed requires a certain amount of power. You can get more power by pushing harder at the same cadence, or you can pedal faster at the same level of force (or you can pedal harder and faster....
37
It is really dangerous to follow a large vehicle closely. It is possible behind a directeur sportif in a passenger car which is smaller: you can see through it, and the driver is a cyclist who knows you and knows about you.
You cannot see what is coming in front of the truck. If they choose to brake hard, watching the brake lights will be of no use; you have ...
29
A fit person can do 50km without too much difficulty, though they'll probably be sore from the effort if they don't cycle much, just because cycling uses different muscles to, say, running. It wouldn't be easy, but it wouldn't be too hard.
It sounds like you're not very fit. If you were determined, you could probably make it around 50km but I doubt it ...
26
More than likely it is normal and frankly your legs probably aren't used to it. 17 miles is a long way for a beginner so I would pat yourself on the back for that.
You may also benefit from a proper fit from a bike shop. As a lot of beginners either have their seat too high or too low which can limit your power and actually cause you to tire quicker, ...
24
Focussing on the "training harder" aspect of your question:
A simple way for training hard while keeping your speed comparatively low would be to increase your cadence.
The easiest approach: Try switching a gear or two lower than you normally feel comfortable with, meaning you will have to pedal faster to keep the same speed.
One of the advantages of ...
21
You could probably add training wheels, but not a crank. There simply isn't anywhere on the frame for cranks to go. Also, adding training wheels to a balance bike is kind of defeating the purpose of a balance bike. It's meant to be an alternative to training wheels that allows the child to learn to steer into falls and "scoot" around and eventually learn ...
19
If you want to play nice, this ride is going to be quite gentle and sociable for you. That means it could be a good fit for a recovery ride. Read up on recovery riding, but you should find it’s recommended to have a nice steady ride where you keep your heart rate down low (like zone 2), and if you get it too elevated, even by a little bit you spoil the whole ...
18
In addition to the answer by @Nate, I also commend you for putting in 17 miles after a 24 miles ride. Don't beat yourself up over struggling a little.
Be sure you allow plenty of recovery time. You do not get fit exercising, you get fit recovering from exercise. If you do not allow time to fully recover, you will struggle to get fitter. Two days after a ...
18
The OP needs to cover 150km on flat surface within 12 hours. It's the average speed of 12.5 km/h.
Even if we are more realistic and allow for one hour break every 2h15', we end up with four stages of less than 38km each to be ridden at the average of less than 17km/h.
If we put some challenge into the event and, let's say, set on the average speed (excluding ...
17
Honestly? 6 days is a bit late to do anything significant. You should probably do ~5-15 mile rides for the next 4 days, and have at most a short 2 mile ride on day 5, and then you've got your event.
Try and do your rides on similar terrain/roads if possible. Ideally you'd do pieces of the real road - they always feel "shorter" on subsequent trips.
Don'...
17
No, not possible.
If you want to go the other way, buy a 12 inch bike and then remove the chain/pedals/bottom bracket/bearings and degrease it. Store the parts so they don't rust. Optionally put something over the ends of the BB tube to protect the threads, even some duct tape would help.
When the kid is old enough, refit all the transmission parts.
...
17
When I first started doing longer distance rides, the rule-of-thumb I was told was "drink a bottle every hour."
Obviously, that's a very rough figure, and it's going to depend on a lot of factors, including how much you're sweating (a combination of workload and heat+humidity), how much you weigh, and just generally how much fluid you personally ...
16
TCX and FIT are designed for fitness activities, so they can contain more fitness data than GPX.
eg TCX or FIT supports laps (splits). So your device could record a new lap whenever you press the lap button, or automatically after a set distance, eg every 1km. Also they support pauses, if you want to stop the activity at one point, then start again later. ...
16
Unless you are riding big hills, weight makes surprisingly little difference. Even on hills, you may be surprised how little effect it has.
You want to increase rolling resistance so you slow down when you stop putting in power. Fat knobbly MTB tires at low pressure slow me down more than enough on the road.... Those old school bottle dynamos work a treat....
15
You've got off to a great start, well done. Several answers tell you how to improve quickly, and they're not wrong. But you'll see plenty of improvement just by riding often, occasionally pushing yourself, and resting when you feel the need after a hard effort.
Riding daily to work/school/college if reasonable, with something for fun some weekends is hugely ...
14
It's probably not a great idea. Start with a shorter route and see how you do. Pick a flat route without hills. Make sure you have a bail out and a way to get home (public transport, a friend, Uber etc.).
You probably should get a bike shop to have a look over your bike for any issues, you don't want to get stranded by something going wrong or have any ...
13
Riding 50 miles (80km) in a day is a fairly modest goal. Doing it three days in a row is only slightly more ambitious. As a fit (as you will be when you do it) person to ride 80km, you could expect to take 3 to 3.5 hours if you rode hard, and 4 hours if you took it easy.
The difference is how you will feel the next day. For the actual ride, plan on taking ...
13
I'm in the do it this year camp.
In comments you say you can currently ride probably a painful 60 (miles).
In general, a conservative plan is to extend your ride distances by 10% per week. But it's important to realize that marathon and iron man athletes do not train by running a marathon each week. The aim of their training is to build deep core fitness ...
13
I think you should always check with a doctor if you have concerns about your health. While you probably can get advice on your health from this forum, this is not the best place to seek specific medical advice that is going to be right for you.
With that said provided you have no issues that can stop you from training here is what worked for me and others ...
12
What is the fastest possible way for you to stop?
For me, it's pulling hard on the front brake, with my rear end well behind the seat. Ideally my rear wheel will be a couple inches off the ground the whole time. Actually achieving this is virtually impossible, but it should be the goal.
The braking technique you should use is a "light" version of whatever ...
12
Good luck on your brevet attempt!
200km, or 124 miles, is a long ride. For reference, on the road, average riders might complete a century ride (160km/100mi) in 5-7 hours, maybe less if one is with a fast group.
Note: I initially recommended that the OP drink ahead of thirst. In comments, @whatisname contended that this advice is based on a myth. On further ...
12
At this time, this sounds like unvalidated pseudo-science.
I wouldn't take the article that you cite at face value. The website is primarily an advertisement for the author's private practice. The sources cited in the article aren't related to exercise, aren't primary research, or are neither. The author isn't a leader in the field, a respected researcher, ...
12
Unless you specialize in cycling events where you hold your breath the entire race, I am beyond skeptical of some of the claims in that article.
Much of the claims about CO2 in breath control are true, but then the claims about the benefits of CO2 go off into the weeds. Yes, CO2 in the bloodstream is what triggers the sensation of needing to breath, rather ...
11
To answer your questions -
"Is it possible to do 50 km distance without any previous training? -
Yes, it is possible, assuming by no previous training you mean
cycling training. If a person has been active in running or other
aerobic activity using their legs it is possible to ride 50 km
without any previous bicycle training. In your situation it may be
...
10
While gym and spinning are good complementary activities to cycling, I would recommend that you also look at adding an element of riding on a real bike (like the dark knight said in his comment).
For long distance road riding, there are a number of things you need to practice. In my honest opinion, the two things that need the most practise are:
Sitting ...
10
In principle yes, but keep in mind that, while you will be using public places you will be likely meet other cyclists who are not there to train and will act, to your eyes, just like moving obstacles: kids riding and suddenly stopping or turning, flocks of teens looking at their phones while riding one hand and then suddenly stopping their bike across the ...
10
There are a number of possibilities but I can't say definitively. I'd guess it's grown from one or a combination of the following, in no particular order:
i. Consideration of event demands.
Coaches often create intervals which replicate the demands of a rider's goal events. e.g. if you are racing an event with a lot of short climbs which are often attacked,...
10
It never gets easier, you just go faster.
— Greg Lemond
It actually sounds like you are doing great, that 30km ride was 50% longer than your previous largest ride which is pretty significant.
Just sticking with it is a big part of the equation here but, there are lots of training plans out there like https://www.cyclingweekly.com/fitness/training/cycling-...
9
Unfortunately there's no magic formula. A lot depends on your age and training base going into the race season.
There are two things you need to balance:
Intervals/speed workout.
Burnout/injuries.
You will see the fastest gain in the shortest time doing intervals, but you also put yourself at the greatest risk for injury/burnout. Given that you're ...
Only top voted, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible