Complete newbie to a 900 mile bike tour in 12 months?

[niall.riches]

Afternoon all,

I'm sure you probably have loads of posts like this on a daily basis but any help and advice is much appreciated!

I'm a fairly out of shape 22 year old male who has only really ever ridden a bike around the block when I was about 8.

Me and a tight knit group of friends lost one of our mates a couple of months back to a rare form of bowel cancer, and he was a really active chappy, so there's a plan for a charity 900 mile bike tour from Austria to Beccles, Suffolk for next June (2018).

It's something I really want to do but I understand it's going to be VERY tricky to train from a complete newbie to 70-miles-a-day in the space of 12 months.

I've inherited quite an old bike from one of my friends just to get my balance back and start doing some short journeys - I can manage about 5 miles at the moment at around 11mph before I start to fatigue, but I seem to have got my balance back (no injuries yet!)

My query can be split into multiple open questions which I'll list as follows:

1.) Is it possible?
2.) Should I invest in a road bike ASAP or continue on an old bike for the time being?
3.) Should I be going for shorter trips at a faster speed or longer trips at a comfortable speed?
4.) Is it best to push myself during training or could that do more harm that good?
5.) Literally any other tips regarding gear changes, equipment, links to training programmes, mental and physical health, nutrition, warming up / down etc.?

I understand this is a bit of an essay, but I really want to get the best start to training for the year ahead that I possibly can.

Thanks in advance!

Niall

P.S If anyone in the East Anglian region sees an unfit male in a bright pink waterproof riding around in the next year, give me a nice wide birth!!

 

[mjr]

1. Yes.
2. Dunno. Will you be doing the tour on a road bike or a touring bike? Do you need to carry your own luggage? If you don't yet know what you like in a bike, or what you need, I'd give it a month or two to look around, or possibly longer and try to get a bargain when they start selling off the 2017 models.
3. What speed do you need to do the tour in? I'd be inclined to go for distance but I don't care much about speed because it varies so much with how I'm feeling.
4. Dunno. Have you had a health check recently? I'd get riding further before seriously pushing it though.
5. Biggest tip is to have fun. You'd be very welcome to come try the local relaxed rides if you fancy a drive across Norfolk www.KLWNBUG.co.uk - I think Cycle Ipswich or Cycle Felixstowe have some rides but I don't remember details. Other clubs exist but might be a bit far or quick yet.

PS. Why? Do you not talk to other cyclists?

 

[niall.riches]

Thanks for the tips mjr

Firstly I'm glad to know it's possible

This is gonna sound very ignorant but I'm not even entirely sure on the difference between a road bike and touring bike - a lot of our group have suggested road bikes though so I assume that's what we'll be going for.

As for the tour I think we're looking at doing somewhere between 13-16mph so not incredibly quick but certainly a lot quicker than I'm biking ATM.

Defo need to get a health check sorted, hadn't really thought about that but it's probably one of the most important things to do now.

Local relaxed rides around Norfolk and the East Anglia region sound like great fun as well, I'll be sure to check them out!

The wide birth is just in case I fall off

 

[boydj]

Keep it simple - just extend your time on the bike slowly, going at a sensible, easy pace for a good few weeks until you have built up some stamina. Remember to have regular rest days. Use the bike as much as possible for short journeys and, if possible, commutes. Build up your longest distance slowly. After a few months you'll have a much better idea what kind of bike you need for your grand tour.

12 months is plenty of time to build up to a 70-miler, and, if you train sensibly, 70 miles will not be a huge challenge.

 

[mjr]

Good tips @boydj but it reads like it's not just one 70 miler. I read it as 70 miles a day for 900 miles, which I reckon will be about two weeks. Bit more of a challenge, especially the early part in Austria, but still possible.

 

[boydj]

Good tips @boydj but it reads like it's not just one 70 miler. I read it as 70 miles a day for 900 miles, which I reckon will be about two weeks. Bit more of a challenge, especially the early part in Austria, but still possible.

Yeah, lost out on the multiple days a bit, but it just means that the OP's weekly mileage has to climb considerably over the last few months of his training period with a bit of taper in the couple of weeks before the start of the venture.

 

[niall.riches]

@boydj thanks for the tips, sounds as if just slowly building up to the distance goal might be the best way forward.

 

[mjr]

This is gonna sound very ignorant but I'm not even entirely sure on the difference between a road bike and touring bike - a lot of our group have suggested road bikes though so I assume that's what we'll be going for.

The divisions aren't exact, but generally a touring bike will have more capacity to carry luggage and wider gear range - basically a frame shape like a not-race-aggressive road bike but with fixing points for more racks, space between the forks and stays to take medium-width tyres and mudguards, a triple chainring up front and possibly a mountain-bike rear changer. A bit less aerodynamic and probably a bit heavier so that it can carry the weight. Stronger wheels with 36 or 40 spokes.

If others are going for road bikes, it's probably a good idea to start there (edit: when you do go to buy a new bike - maybe not immediately) because it'll be easier to keep pace with them - not just travel at the same speeds, but also with similar acceleration/deceleration.

As for the tour I think we're looking at doing somewhere between 13-16mph so not incredibly quick but certainly a lot quicker than I'm biking ATM.

That sounds do-able, especially if you're not carrying luggage. I'm nearly 20 years older than you and think I could just about do that travelling light and I see the doctor far too often

(Edit: I've done more than 100 miles in a day, but I think the most I've done in consecutive days is about 300 miles over 6 days although that was carrying all my own clothes/toiletries/tools - still a long way short of 900 miles at 70 a day, so take my opinions with a bucket of salt if you want and I won't be offended!)

Defo need to get a health check sorted, hadn't really thought about that but it's probably one of the most important things to do now.

The most important is probably to ride more Don't wait until after the checkup if you've not noticed anything wrong, especially at 22 years young, but I would get a check if they'll let you (you might have to tell them you're planning to cycle 900 miles to persuade them) because going from now to 70-miles-a-day is going to be quite a big change in behaviour fairly rapidly!

The wide birth is just in case I fall off

Try not to do that - bruises slow up cycling too much

(Edited to clarify two points)

 

[snorri]

Think positive, some who have followed that route were a little older than 22!
The route on mainland Europe will probably follow two recognised cycle routes, mainly free of motor traffic and following the rivers Rhine and Danube, so fairly flat although, there is a hilly bit in between the two.
http://www.rhinecycleroute.eu/
http://www.europebicycletouring.com/european_trips/Danube/Danube.htm

Edit Now that you have given us your route, my reference to the Danube does not apply.

 

[si_c]

It's very doable, especially for someone your age as @mjr has already said. Firstly, I'd stick with the bike you have now for the moment and change the bike when you know what your requirements are going to be, you don't want to buy a bike this month only to realise later it will be unsuitable.

A couple of questions you need to answer really which will help us advise you better.

1) Is this ride supported or unsupported, by which I mean, do you have to carry everything you need with you, or will you have someone in a van following you to carry bags.
2) Where are you staying overnight? Hotels/Hostels or camping?
3) Do you have a route set out yet? If so, what is it?

From a fitness and training perspective, being realistic, you don't need to worry too much about training for speed, that will come naturally later, but you do need to worry about time in the saddle. I'd suggest at 70miles a day, you should be aiming to extend your rides to around the 6 hour mark, if you are doing a half hour or so now, your first aim should be to ride for an hour, then an hour and a half. Keep a diary of how long, and how far you have ridden and try to aim to ride every other day to allow yourself a little rest between.

Once you have more of an idea of what sort of ride it will be then we can help better with bike choice.

 

[Markymark]

Very doable. How easy you find it will be based on how much training you put in but a reasonable amount of training will get you through it.

 

[Markymark]

Little training will be a hard slog of a trip.

Reasonable training would a reasonably hard trip

Lots of training would mean a comfortable trip.

Pays your money takes your choice!!

 

[jefmcg]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-39351162

The day I left London to embark on a 6,000-mile (10,000km), year-long cycle to Tehran, I was deeply unprepared.
I wasn't fit. I had never used panniers. I had no sense of direction. It was six years since I had last ridden up a hill.

 

[psmiffy]

there is a hilly bit in between the two.

I did it on Friday - practically killed me

 

[mjr]

I did it on Friday - practically killed me

Congratulations on your resurrection!