Bike Ride Training For a Successful 100 Mile Cycling
Organising your Century Bike Ride Training is reasonably straight forward if you plan well. The amount of time you'll need to train prior to completing a Century will depend on your level of cycling ability. I'm going to assume you are fairly new to endurance riding and find an hour or two cycling reasonably comfortable, but about your current limit. If that's you then I recommend starting your training about 3 to 4 months in advance of the big day. If you're a total beginner then I suggest adding another couple of months to the front of the following plan to get yourself to the level of being able to ride 1 to 2 hours comfortably.
Plan a few long rides: 25; 50; and 75 miles. You don't want to do the same routes all the time as they'll get monotonous however comparing your first and latest times over the same route will be the easiest way to see how you've improved over time.
Also try to pick routes which are similar to the Century ride in terms of number and severity of hills, terrain, weather conditions, number of stops etc. It would be no good training on the flats in cool weather if the big day is run over the mountains in the height of the summer sun!
Your training goal is to be able to do 75 miles comfortably.
Each week you should ride a mix of long rides (typically 25, 50 or 75 miles) and shorter rides which could perhaps include some interval training. Try to ride at least four times a week. Of course your long rides don't need to stick to the 25, 50 and 75 miles suggested but it is easier to plan 3 routes (i.e. 25, 50 and 75 miles) than it is to add lots of other distances in between.
Century Bike Ride Training Month by Month
Month 1
Try to reach a total mileage each week of around 75 to 150 miles. Within this distance complete a 25 mile ride 2-4 times. You should increase your total distance each week and also include more of the 25 mile rides as the weeks go on.
Month 2
In month 2 you should introduce some 50 mile rides. Try to do a total each week of 150 to 200 miles.
Month 3
You can continue on from the second month, gradually increasing the total weekly distance to between 175 and 300 miles. Introduce a 75 mile ride towards the end of the month and do more 50 mile rides than 25. 25 miles rides or shorter can still be extremely useful if you push harder than normal for the entire distance.
Month 4
In this example we're assuming the Century ride is at the end of the month and I would suggest training for only the first 3 weeks of the month, perhaps with the exception of one or two shorter rides in the final week. You should not ride at all 2 or 3 days before the big day. In the total first 3 week period include at least a couple of 75 mile rides and try to reach a similar total distance in week 3 as you did in the final week of month 3 (i.e. about 300 miles).
On the day don't rush off at the start. It's the perfect way to run out of steam before the end. An average rider will target 16-18 miles an hour giving a total ride time for the Century of around 5 to 6 hours plus rest/bike repair stops. Adjust this speed for whatever time you want to complete the ride in. However you should know by this stage what speed you're happy with so just ride as you planned and you'll be absolutely fine.
If you're really serious about your Century bike ride then you should try a program which covers:
- how to avoid common training mistakes that will hinder your progress
- how to ride as efficiently as possible
- specific training workouts for every type of rider and for every stage of your training
- the symptoms of overtraining and how to train without doing yourself damage
- nutrition and hydration to give you all the energy you will need
- base training
- interval training
- effective cycling weight training techniques
- how your mental approach can affect your performance
- all the necessary equipment during training and the big day ride
Plan a few long rides: 25; 50; and 75 miles. You don't want to do the same routes all the time as they'll get monotonous however comparing your first and latest times over the same route will be the easiest way to see how you've improved over time.
Also try to pick routes which are similar to the Century ride in terms of number and severity of hills, terrain, weather conditions, number of stops etc. It would be no good training on the flats in cool weather if the big day is run over the mountains in the height of the summer sun!
Your training goal is to be able to do 75 miles comfortably.
Each week you should ride a mix of long rides (typically 25, 50 or 75 miles) and shorter rides which could perhaps include some interval training. Try to ride at least four times a week. Of course your long rides don't need to stick to the 25, 50 and 75 miles suggested but it is easier to plan 3 routes (i.e. 25, 50 and 75 miles) than it is to add lots of other distances in between.
Century Bike Ride Training Month by Month
Month 1
Try to reach a total mileage each week of around 75 to 150 miles. Within this distance complete a 25 mile ride 2-4 times. You should increase your total distance each week and also include more of the 25 mile rides as the weeks go on.
Month 2
In month 2 you should introduce some 50 mile rides. Try to do a total each week of 150 to 200 miles.
Month 3
You can continue on from the second month, gradually increasing the total weekly distance to between 175 and 300 miles. Introduce a 75 mile ride towards the end of the month and do more 50 mile rides than 25. 25 miles rides or shorter can still be extremely useful if you push harder than normal for the entire distance.
Month 4
In this example we're assuming the Century ride is at the end of the month and I would suggest training for only the first 3 weeks of the month, perhaps with the exception of one or two shorter rides in the final week. You should not ride at all 2 or 3 days before the big day. In the total first 3 week period include at least a couple of 75 mile rides and try to reach a similar total distance in week 3 as you did in the final week of month 3 (i.e. about 300 miles).
On the day don't rush off at the start. It's the perfect way to run out of steam before the end. An average rider will target 16-18 miles an hour giving a total ride time for the Century of around 5 to 6 hours plus rest/bike repair stops. Adjust this speed for whatever time you want to complete the ride in. However you should know by this stage what speed you're happy with so just ride as you planned and you'll be absolutely fine.
If you're really serious about your Century bike ride then you should try a program which covers:
- how to avoid common training mistakes that will hinder your progress
- how to ride as efficiently as possible
- specific training workouts for every type of rider and for every stage of your training
- the symptoms of overtraining and how to train without doing yourself damage
- nutrition and hydration to give you all the energy you will need
- base training
- interval training
- effective cycling weight training techniques
- how your mental approach can affect your performance
- all the necessary equipment during training and the big day ride
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