Ready to Ride

If you have ridden more than 1,000 miles during the last cycling season and are looking for ideas on how to go for more, you've come to the right place!  This lens brings the world of long distance cycling into view - so you can prepare for rides of 100 miles or more.

Many recreational cyclists find they are able to ride 50 miles, either alone or with a group, with relatively little training or preparation.  Yet riders who have completed a half century develop a healthy respect for long distance riding, and most realize that riding to the next milestone - 100 miles or more - requires a greater level of fitness. Understandably, many expect to accomplish this simply with more miles and more hours in the saddle.  Indeed, many century riders train exactly that way, with long, steady distance rides and little else to prepare them.

Experts encourage cyclists who are contemplating riding a century or a double century to incorporate cross training, resistance training, stretching, and diet and nutrition regimens into their programs. That may be fine, for an active twenty-something, with few responsibilities.  But for a middle-aged person, who may be busy raising a family or managing a demanding career, making such a program fit into one's life seems impossible.

The answer, in a nutshell, is to develop a plan that fits into your busy lifestyle.   It must be tailored to the committed recreational riders who does not have a background in competitive cycling, and isn't interested in it now.  This Lens is meant to help the rest of us prepare mind, body, and bicycle for the successful achievement of our endurance cycling goals, be it a well-supported club century, a brevet, or whatever ride you have dreamt of doing, but didn't believe you could.