Some pointers please - keen mid-life bloke looking to get up Mt. Ventoux.

[Spudmaster]

Good morning,

Typical MAMIL here - aged 49 & 90kg. In my 'youth' was relatively fit - rugby, athletics and skiing in the main. Did a LOT of cycling as a kid, mainly to get around as I grew up in the middle of nowhere. Sadly that stopped when I got a driving license aged 17, and went away to Uni.

12 years ago, when we started a family, I bought a hardtail and started riding a bit with friends and my 'new' family - but nothing major. Then, about 6 years ago, a few of my pals started road-biking. I took the plunge, bought a Cube Attain, (great starter bike!), signed up to L2P and loved it. Fast forward to now, I have done L2P 3 times, treated myself to a new bike this year, (Merida Scultura Endurance 8000), and have the Cube permanently on my Zwift Smart trainer. This year, I have done c. 2000 miles so far, with c. 700 of those on Zwift.
I am still absolutely loving my cycling, but the challenge is often balancing time commitment with work and family. Most of my riding is done with a small group of friends or solo - typically 30-70 miles on mainly B & Back roads, averaging 17-ish MPH; and normally involving at least 1 pub stop, (except when solo!). I have always had 'strong' legs, and seem to be quite good at 'putting down the power' for short periods - in such a way that I actually love short punchy hills - and typically appear relatively near the top of leaderboards on Strava for such segments- especially for weight & age. However, at 90+kg - I hate long steep hills. Which brings me to my point....

I have signed up to do Mt. Ventoux in late April with a couple of my cycling pals, and a couple of their slightly more serious cycling friends. It seems like my idea of hell - but also the ultimate challenge to say I have done it. My approach is very much not to be first up there - just to make sure I get there, ideally in a manner that I can be proud of. I am really not a cold/wet weather rider by choice, so I am looking for tips on best 'programme' or approach to time on Zwift over the next 3-4 months over winter to get me in best shape for my spring adventure. I have done the 12 week 'build me up' programme twice before. First time it had a real positive impact, second time less-so; and I struggled to fit in what is a fairly regimented schedule around 'life'.
With my FTP currently at c. 230, (c. 2.6W/kg), I would ideally like to increase this to 250+; and get weight down to 85 or lower to get me knocking on 3w/kg for the big event. I am a data geek - and all being well, Santa will be bringing me a power meter for Christmas so that I can continue to monitor and use power when back out on the road.
Finally - I am happy to push myself - but not to the point of zero enjoyment!

Lots of information there - but hoping some / much of it might be relatable to others on here. As such - any tips and pointers much appreciated!
TiA
Spud

 

[BSRU]

If you can, get a smart trainer and then you can "practice" on the virtual climb of Ventoux with accompanying video.
It will give you a reasonable idea of the effort needed.
Although I imagine the real climb will be harder as you have to battle with the weather, traffic and your mind .

 

[CXRAndy]

Climbing mountains requires you to be able to spin away for 2-3 hours.

Seen as you have Zwift, check to see if you can ride with comfort up Ventop with 100% trainer difficulty.

This will tell you if your gearing is suitable and if your road bike needs to be geared down to allow you to spin.

I've done Ventoux from two sides in real life. I still have aspirations to complete the cingle-one day

 

[roubaixtuesday]

You'll be fine.

Indoor fitness is good, losing weight is most important, and sorry, but climbing as many real hills as possible next most important, even if reps of your local.

 

[Exlaser2]

I don’t think you will any problem as long as the weather plays ball . Just concentrate on endurance training and try and lose a little weight .
I did it 12 years ago when I was 50 . I weighted 78kg at the time and was cycling about 2000 miles every year. My problem was too much of it was commuting mileage and I didn’t do enough long rides so suffered like a dog for the last 7km. But I did make it to the top . It just took me 2 and a half hours . My advice is don’t try and keep up with anyone, just find a cadence that you can cope with and stick to it.

 

[PK99]

I don’t think you will any problem as long as the weather plays ball . Just concentrate on endurance training and try and lose a little weight .
I did it 12 years ago when I was 50 . I weighted 78kg at the time and was cycling about 2000 miles every year. My problem was too much of it was commuting mileage and I didn’t do enough long rides so suffered like a dog for the last 7km. But I did make it to the top . It just took me 2 and a half hours . My advice is don’t try and keep up with anyone, just find a cadence that you can cope with and stick to it.

I did it (almost*) age early 60's. Weight 100kg. Training in the Surrey Hills. In the late summer between snapping an ACL in Feb and the reconstruction op. in October.

* Only almost because a very short way below the Tom Simpson memorial they closed the road because of high winds. One of our group was on a Pinarella Dogma and had to sit down on the road and hold it down to stop it flying away.

 

[T4tomo]

any tips and pointers much appreciated!

Low gears - not sure if you are taking your own bike or hiring, but low gears are your friend. It might be "only 9%" but that sustained ~10km @10% thru the forest is unrelenting. Your legs will thank you for being able to spin a low gear.

Don't attempt to keep up skinny mates / people. Ride your own comfortable pace.

Spare a though for Tom as you pass.

Do more than just ride up Mont Ventoux. There are lovely routes around there. Check out Gorge de la Nesque as a route back.

Whilst it will be frustrating, if its windy as F&&$ don't be too proud to turn back Chalet Reynard. You really dot want tobe on te "monscape if it whips up a hooley and starts blowing rocks at you!

 

[Dogtrousers]

I did a similar thing this year, but Grand Colombier, not Ventoux. I'm somewhat older than you but vaguely comparable in other ways. You're waaaaaay faster than me (I struggle to maintain 20kmh/12mph) but similar weight and FTP. Same objective (just get up there) and data geekiness.

Here's what I did. Worked for me.

Lots of hills outside. I put a minimum of 1500m of ascent on my Saturday rides and planned the most fiendish routes I could. This is kind of dependent on your local geography. Of course UK hills are nothing like as long or consistent as an HC climb but they are all uphill and with careful route planning it's possible to make really hard outings.

Turbo simulations. Practiced riding up my target hill or similar on the turbo (with video). Figured out my sustainable power. I find the turbo lies a bit and the simulation isn't as hard as the real thing but it still takes it out of you. Typically 2hr sessions. I did this if I was too busy to get out on the road on Saturdays, or if the weather was foul, or if I could only manage a short (hilly, natch) ride outside.

So that's weekends taken care of. Then I tried (and didn't always succeed) to do 2x 1hr turbo sessions during the week. Nothing scientific - I just did hard intervals, with the aim of giving my fitness a bit of a boost.

So that's it. Try to ride a bit more, and when you do ride, do it uphill as much as possible.

With the power meter, to begin with just use it to calibrate your brain "so that's what 200W feels like". Don't try to hit a target power, just observe. Then, when you're used to it you can try riding up a known hill at a target power. Over, and over, and over again

On the day. If hiring a bike, get one with the same bottom gear as your own. At the bottom, say "goodbye, see you at the top" to your pals. Ride your own pace, and pay extra attention to keeping effort levels lower when you're feeling keen and fresh at the start. You'll regret it if you don't do this. Don't try to keep up with faster people. Don't hang around for slower people. The time gaps at the top will be surprisingly short anyway so there's no point messing up your day by pressing too hard.

It went fine for me - the first time. My target was actually 2x ascents, and the second half of the second ascent was very tough.

 

[bobzmyunkle]

- typically 30-70 miles on mainly B & Back roads, averaging 17-ish MPH

You'll do it no problem. Don't worry about watts per kilo, do find a reasonably long 10% and ride up it on a regular basis. Or reps on a shorter hill.

 

[CXRAndy]

You'll do it no problem. Don't worry about watts per kilo, do find a reasonably long 10% and ride up it on a regular basis. Or reps on a shorter hill.

He can do Zwift simulation which I've done several times. It takes me 2hr 15mins in Z2 spinning away 85rpm

 

[Jameshow]

Just put a couple of yellow pages under your front wheel on swift and you be fine!🤣🤣🤣

 

[Dogtrousers]

Oh, and take lots of photos. This is important for capturing memories, and definitely not an excuse for a quick breather.

 

[Spudmaster]

Really useful tips here - thank you all.

 

[CXRAndy]

Here is my descent from Ventoux

View: https://youtu.be/UPQcyvShQgw


The views are amazing on the way up too

 

[Exlaser2]

When I did it . The views on the way up and down were terrific, see pic 1 .
The view from the top was a little less spectacular lol, see pic 2 .