Hello

[Pickles]

Hi

Hello everyone new to the forum.
I have just said i will ride from near Oxford to Lands End and back in september!! (i must be mad!!)
At the minute im not cycling much i do about 3 miles a day on my mountain bike. Ive ordered a Giant Defy 2 which should be here thursday. Im 37 and never done anything like this before. We are doing the ride for charity so its giving me something to aim for.

So what advice would you guys give me with regards to training, supliments and such things?

Cheers for any advice.

Andy

 

[Pat "5mph"]

lots of time to train till September: good luck!

 

[smokeysmoo]

I'd say build your mileage steadily. There is nothing worse than deciding to go and do 10, 15, 20+ miles because you feel you have to, you'll feel crap and probably never want to ride again!
So increase gradually. Once your Defy comes you'll notice a big difference in how quickly you cover the ground, but you'll also need some time to adjust to the feeling of a road bike after riding your MTB. Don't worry if it feels super twitchy at first, you will get used to it.
Do you ride clipless or flat pedals? Clipless will benefit your riding, but if you don't use them now I'd suggest you stick with flats, then once your super comfy on the Defy you may want to consider them then, (then again you might not ).
Other than that remember to keep hydrated, and set yourself realistic goals as you go. Remember, a ride of 1000 miles starts with just one.
Very best of luck in your endevours

 

[biggs682]

again start increasing the miles gradually do not worry about the speed at first i would concentrate on distance first , once the new bike comes start playing around so you get a comfy position that you can keep for a whole day in the saddle once you have found that then you can start winding up the speed etc etc , are you going to fit any weather protection ie gaurds or not .

 

[Part time cyclist]

Easy way to train fir the miles is to go out and ride , oh by the enjoy it as well as this makes the job easier any ways welcome to the forum

 

[Pickles]

Cheers for the words of wisdom chaps. I had a big box turn up this afternoon. Ill get it together once my 2 year old helper has gone to bed!!

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

As part time cyclist said: ''Enjoy yourself.'' The ride itself will be tiring but then you'll have the buzz of doing it and your friends to keep you going. You don't want to turn building up the stamina into an ordeal.

Ooh, a big box, one day early! That's a good omen.