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Just switched from MTB to Road bike



 
 
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  #1  
Old August 8th 04, 04:13 PM
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Default Just switched from MTB to Road bike

Hi,

I have been following this group for several weeks and have learned a lot. I
have been riding a MTB for many years for exercise and just bought a Trek
1200 to spice up my riding experience. It worked.

I am 50 years old and with my new bike am interested in setting a goal. I
have decided to attempt a century ride in late October. I had been riding
30-50 miles per week on the MTB. That has increased to 75 miles per week
since acquiring the new road bike. My questions a Does anybody have any
advice on how to train for this goal? and... What is a SAG in an organized
ride?

Thanks in advance
Jay


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  #2  
Old August 8th 04, 04:29 PM
Luigi de Guzman
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Default Just switched from MTB to Road bike

On Sun, 8 Aug 2004 11:13:19 -0400, wrote:

Hi,

I have been following this group for several weeks and have learned a lot. I
have been riding a MTB for many years for exercise and just bought a Trek
1200 to spice up my riding experience. It worked.

I am 50 years old and with my new bike am interested in setting a goal. I
have decided to attempt a century ride in late October. I had been riding
30-50 miles per week on the MTB. That has increased to 75 miles per week
since acquiring the new road bike. My questions a Does anybody have any
advice on how to train for this goal? and... What is a SAG in an organized
ride?


You're probably fit enough.

SAG= an unnecessary acronym. "sag wagons" are support vehicles that
assist riders with mechanical failures and/or take them back to the
start when they have to abandon. Some say it means Support And Gear,
but I have maintained that the capitalization of "sag" is just another
instance of acronymphomania. Again, I would be interested to hear
from old-timers as to when 'sag wagons' became "SAG wagons," since old
bike books & magazines that I read (circa 1980) still use the
uncapitalized version.

-Luigi



Thanks in advance
Jay


  #3  
Old August 8th 04, 04:52 PM
Dan Brussee
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Default Just switched from MTB to Road bike


I have been following this group for several weeks and have learned a lot. I
have been riding a MTB for many years for exercise and just bought a Trek
1200 to spice up my riding experience. It worked.

I am 50 years old and with my new bike am interested in setting a goal. I
have decided to attempt a century ride in late October. I had been riding
30-50 miles per week on the MTB. That has increased to 75 miles per week
since acquiring the new road bike. My questions a Does anybody have any
advice on how to train for this goal? and... What is a SAG in an organized
ride?


You're probably fit enough.

SAG= an unnecessary acronym. "sag wagons" are support vehicles that
assist riders with mechanical failures and/or take them back to the
start when they have to abandon. Some say it means Support And Gear,
but I have maintained that the capitalization of "sag" is just another
instance of acronymphomania. Again, I would be interested to hear
from old-timers as to when 'sag wagons' became "SAG wagons," since old
bike books & magazines that I read (circa 1980) still use the
uncapitalized version.


Agreed on the fitness level. Go for it!

Per Miriam Webster (www.m-w.com)...
Sag
1 : to droop, sink, or settle from or as if from pressure or loss of
tautness
2 a : to lose firmness, resiliency, or vigor spirits sagging from
overwork b : to decline especially from a thriving state
3 : DRIFT
4 : to fail to stimulate or retain interest

At least a couple of these would seem to fit someone who started the
ride and may not be able to complete it either from a mechanical
(bike), physical (injury) or mental (just plain pooped) reason.

  #4  
Old August 8th 04, 08:16 PM
Arthur Harris
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Default Just switched from MTB to Road bike

wrote:
I am 50 years old and with my new bike am interested in setting a goal. I
have decided to attempt a century ride in late October. I had been riding
30-50 miles per week on the MTB. That has increased to 75 miles per week
since acquiring the new road bike. My questions a Does anybody have

any
advice on how to train for this goal?


Your weekly mileage sounds ok, but what is the most miles you've done in a
single day? On a century, a lot of the potential problems come from being on
the bike for many hours (back/neck strain, saddle discomfort, etc). You
should do at least one ride of 70-75 miles before the century. If you can do
75 miles comfortably, you should have no problem with the century.

On the big day, ride at a pace that is comfortable for you. You don't want
to push hard the first few hours and bonk at 60 miles. But you don't want to
ride at a snails pace either. Eat and drink often during the ride. Get off
the bike periodically and stretch and relax.

Depending where you live, late October can be quite cool in the morning. Be
sure you have a vest or jacket, tights, gloves, etc. And a place to stow
them as it warms up.

Good luck
Art Harris



  #5  
Old August 9th 04, 05:15 AM
Claire Petersky
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Default Just switched from MTB to Road bike

wrote in message
...

I am 50 years old and with my new bike am interested in setting a goal. I
have decided to attempt a century ride in late October. I had been riding
30-50 miles per week on the MTB. That has increased to 75 miles per week
since acquiring the new road bike. My questions a Does anybody have

any
advice on how to train for this goal?


Here are my suggested weekly miles:
2nd week Aug: 100
3rd week Aug: 120
4th Week Aug: 130
5th Week Aug: 120
1st Week Sept: 140
2nd Week Sept:170
3rd Week Sept: 150
4th Week Sept: 170
1st Week Oct: 180
2nd Week Oct: 170
3rd Week Oct: 190
4th Week Oct: 20

The idea would be generally to increase your weekly miles, then slack a
little, then increase again. The very last week before your big event, you
should simply rest. Clean and tune your bike, and take it out for a little
spin a couple days before the century, then rest again for another few days.
Then you'll be ready for the big day.

I don't know how often you ride, but if you're like most work-a-day drones,
you'll be doing most of your riding on the weekends. So, when your goal is,
say, 130 miles for the week, that'll most likely look like two 50 milers on
Saturday and Sunday, with a 30 miler in the waning early evening sunshine
mid-week. Another way to get the miles in is to use your bicycle for
commuting. Since your goal is to do this century by the end of October, when
the daylight is already rapidly beginning to wane, you'll want to buy some
lights to be able to complete your training, whether some of your riding is
after/before work, or to/from it.

The more you're prepared, the more fun you'll have -- you can do it!

Warm Regards,


Claire Petersky
please substitute yahoo for mousepotato to reply
Home of the meditative cyclist:
http://home.earthlink.net/~cpetersky/Welcome.htm
Personal page: http://www.geocities.com/cpetersky/
See the books I've set free at: http://bookcrossing.com/referral/Cpetersky


  #6  
Old August 10th 04, 01:00 AM
Eric Gunnerson
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Default Just switched from MTB to Road bike

Because of time constraints, I can only afford an hour (ie 15 miles)
Mon-Wed-Fri. That gives me 45 miles a week, and then my weekend rides have
gone from 30 all the way up to 70 miles the week before the ride. Being able
to ride for 4+ hours will give you a good handle on how much you should eat
and hydrate for the ride, and put you in good shape for a century.

--
Eric Gunnerson

Visit the C# product team at http://www.csharp.net
Eric's blog is at http://weblogs.asp.net/ericgu/

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.
wrote in message
...
Hi,

I have been following this group for several weeks and have learned a lot.

I
have been riding a MTB for many years for exercise and just bought a Trek
1200 to spice up my riding experience. It worked.

I am 50 years old and with my new bike am interested in setting a goal. I
have decided to attempt a century ride in late October. I had been riding
30-50 miles per week on the MTB. That has increased to 75 miles per week
since acquiring the new road bike. My questions a Does anybody have

any
advice on how to train for this goal? and... What is a SAG in an organized
ride?

Thanks in advance
Jay




  #7  
Old August 11th 04, 11:19 PM
Steve Palincsar
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Default Just switched from MTB to Road bike

On Sun, 08 Aug 2004 11:13:19 -0400, hebertj wrote:


I am 50 years old and with my new bike am interested in setting a goal.
I have decided to attempt a century ride in late October. I had been
riding 30-50 miles per week on the MTB. That has increased to 75 miles
per week since acquiring the new road bike. My questions a Does
anybody have any advice on how to train for this goal?



Try articles like this:
http://www.adventurecorps.com/how/centtrain.html
(found by searching google for the phrase "train for a century")
 




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