Yorkshire Tour de France Stages

Can you remember your hardest day in the saddle?  For sure mine was the Fred Whitton sportive back in 2011, you can read the story of that day here. Day two of the Yorkshire Tour de France stages came very close to that day, read on for details.

The Stunning Yorkshire Scenery

Raising funds for the Steve Prescott Foundation, I was one of around  50 riders who set out to do the Etape de Yorkshire earlier this month, taking in the bulk of the planned route for the Tour de France stages later this month.

Day One

Day One Ascent Profile

As we headed out from Leeds, conditions for the first day spirits were high.  The group quickly split into three and settled into a rhythm. It was fascinating to see how Yorkshire was preparing for the upcoming Tour de France with loads of yellow sprayed bikes alongside the road and in the Villages as you rolled through.

Weather conditions were OK to begin with but the day deteriorated quickly with heavy rain and wind with strong gusts which made the going much tougher than it might normally be – at times the crosswinds were simply brutal.  

The day was pretty rolling with three key climbs of note, most of which come in the mid section of the day.  The big climb of the day was Buttertubs, a long 2.5 mile steep climb with a 1 in 8 ramp at the end which came at the 72 mile mark. 

As we stopped  in a café for lunch, wet through, muscles began to cool and a few stiff looking legs could be seen.  Copious amounts of food was put away, particularly by many of the former rugby players riding the event, washed down with tea and coffee. 

Walking back out into the pouring rain and wind, the back 50 miles were hard work.  As we clicked over the 100 mile mark, mentally your brain and body starts to think ‘finish line’ given most long distance sportives stop at this point.  The run into Harrogate was rolling and we were all pretty pleased to be greeted by some superb catering with real cooked food, not an energy bar in sight. 

Day One Summary

Distance:             125 miles

Ascent:                 7,690 ft

Avg Heart Rate:  146bpm

Avg Speed:         14.3mph

RAR:                     61 (Medium/Undulating)

Day Two

Day Two Ascent Profile

What a tough day, effectively a Fred Whitton in distance and ascent profile.  Having done a ten hour day in the saddle previously, a lot of tired legs rolled out of Tadcaster, in trepidation of a big day ahead and it didn’t disappoint.

Thankfully the weather was nice, it would have been really miserable in the wet and wind, particularly with the climbing profile.  The route looped West then swung back South into a headwind for most of the day.

The day had seven major climbs including the longest climb in the Country – Cragg Vale – an 8km long drag with a brilliant descent which then took you straight back into steep ramps.  One of things I do love about hard days are the descents where you can hit some terrific speeds, Steve Prescotts brother – Neil – recorded just over 60 mph on that descent.  Not for the faint hearted!

In between that was a combination of some killer steep ramps and long climbs including Holme Moss which saw your heart rate soar.  At one point, the neutral service car pulled alongside me and I quite happily grabbed the rear window for a natter for about 200m, sticky bottle city.

Finishing Up

As we rolled off of Holme Moss down towards  and over Woodhead Pass heading towards Sheffield, mentally you’re thinking “I’m on the backstraight”.   How wrong  you could be.  The sting in the tail was a right turn off into a killer of a last 25 miles with around 3,000 feet of climbing, thankfully on freshly layed tarmac, some of the best I’ve ever ridden on. 

Ramp after ramp seemed to arrive, with every corner bringing a new surprise.  With over 220 miles in the legs, it took a big effort to get up and over everything.   I was on my own on this section having opted to miss the last stop and push on so a real mental and physical test.

You often watch the Pro’s on TV and wonder how the legs might feel having done the big mountain stages whilst racing.  As an amateur crawling up some of the steep ramps at 3mph and needing about four days for my legs to recover from the soreness and fatigue, you have to marvel at the levels of fitness and recovery required to be a pro.

Rolling into Sheffield, my tank was pretty empty after the final effort.  Rolling through those big efforts I had the words of Steve Prescott in my head.  When alive and struggling with his battle against a terminal illness he undertook a series of physical fundraising challenges and was attributed with this saying - “What the mind believes, the body achieves.”

Day Two Summary

Distance:             121 miles

Ascent:                12,316 ft

Avg Heart Rate:  135bpm

Avg Speed:         12mph

RAR:                     101 (Very Hard)

Yorkshire is Ready

Visit Yorkshire have done a good job of getting everyone in the region behind the Tour.  Building, villages and hillsides are decorated, roads re-layed, cafes adorned with cycling memorabilia.  The views and landscapes are simply stunning, hard to ride but beautiful to be amongst.

I’d recommend anyone to ride the two days, however you  will need to train hard for it.  I’ve previously written about something I describe as ‘Ride Ascent Ratio’.  Day one I would describe as ‘rolling’ and day two ‘hard’ for the average cyclist, albeit they are described as pretty ‘flat’ stages on the Tour.  You’ll need to be able to climb relentlessly on day two, requiring strength and conditioning plus a big dose of attitude.

A superb experience which will test riders of all ability.  I'm pleased to tick it off the bucket list.

Overall Ride Summary

Distance:             245 miles

Ascent:                20,007 ft

Avg Heart Rate:  140 bpm

Avg Speed:         12.9 mph

RAR:                     81 (Hard)

Deloitte Ride Across Britain

Boasting nine daily stages, a small army of logistics people moving from point to point and over seven hundred cyclists, the Deloitte Ride Across Britain is arguably the most organised way to ride from John O' Groats to Lands End (otherwise known as a JOGLE).

I was lucky enough to get an invite from the nice folk at Halfords to ride the whole end to end, but alas my schedule is so tight at the minute, all I could afford was a daily stage.  I opted for the 114M run down from Carlisle racecourse, culminating at Haydock racecourse, a few miles from my home.

The Start Line

Weather forecast was changeable with predicted rain.  Arriving at the venue around half six, the departure point was already busy. and conditions were dry  A huge tent village had been erected just outside the racecourse entrance for the riders doing the end to end to sleep in.  As they depart, it gets broken down, loaded up and re-erected at their arrival point.

One of the selling points of this particular package is the fact that everything is organised for you.  Your accomodation, meals, feed stops and training programme is all included in the price of £1,200 per person.

Tent Village for Riders

Setting off from Carlisle, I wanted to make a point of talking to as many riders as possible about their motives for booking on the Deloitte Ride Across Britain.  The key appeal was the fact that it's a turn up and ride package.  People were prepared to pay for the convenience.  Their well resourced website will tell you what you get.

So, what was my experience?

• Everyone involved organisationally were all very friendly.  It was well drilled.  Bike security was taken really seriously, with plenty of visible security people and a tagging system to ensure that no one got into the compound or out with a bike.
• Timing was done by a small sticker which you mounted on your helmet, must have had a small RFID chip in it.  It recorded your time out and in.   Times were uploaded to a website as soon as everyone was finished.
• The feed stations were very well stocked.  Sandwiches, pies, bananas, chocolate, crisps, fruit, energy drink (Powerade) and water. There were three stops on the day.

Getting Stocked up before Shap

•  Riders were of mixed ability.  Some experienced, some new.  I talked to lots of people who were riding either on their own, or as part of a group.  Hello to Ian who rode the Van Nicholas and Paul from Cisco who rides with Saddleworth Clarion, nice to chat to you both en route! Everyone had a different story.  Either they had been touched by someone close to them suffering a terminal illness and were riding in their memory, or others were just doing it for the personal challenge or for fundraising.
• Jumping onto a group was difficult.  The groups that were riding, were generally friends and doing the whole JOGLE together, so it felt like being a gatecrasher at a dinner party at times.  I rode most of the leg on my own, other than a few passing conversations.  The Powerade cycling team were nice lads, I jumped on their group for about ten miles and they pushed a good pace. 
• The route was well signposted.  My Garmin gave out just as I rolled over the line at Haydock, but you didn't need a Garmin for navigation.  I just used it for ride stats.
• Mechanics from Halfords were at all the stops.  Most common problems they reported were loose bottom brackets due to the heavy rain, broken spokes and buckled wheels.  Boardman bikes were on stand-by at every stage in case you had a major mechanical, which I thought was a nice touch.

Halfords Spanners on Stand-By

•  The Unicorn2 Race-Pace bike was a big hit.  Had loads of riders come up beside me and ask me about the paint job and what sort of bike it was.  For those that asked, the sprayer was Performance Race Art in South Wales.  Highly recommended painter if ever you fancy getting your bike re-sprayed.  Had the deep section SRAM S60's on for the event, they rolled really well and were super fast when descending (particularly with my weight on them). Continental 4000 tyres were rock solid reliable as always.
• Weather was awful.   It was nice as we set out, but it soon deteriorated as the morning unfolded.  Going over Shap in the Lake District, there was a heavy fog.  Visibilility was about 30-40M only, so cars were just appearing from nowhere.  I found the climb up Shap pretty comfortable, to be honest, after the Fred Whitton Challenge, I've re-defined what I think a hard hill is!  After lunch, the heavens opened and it made for a very wet afternoon in the saddle.

Shap and the fog..

• Clothing.  Went with Rapha bib shorts, overshoes, base layer, thermal vest and GS Gazetta cycling top with merino arm warmers.  Stuck my Castelli waterproof in the backpocket.  Had two pairs of gloves, short and long-fingered and my trusty Condor cap.  I wore everything on the day.  At times stripping back, when it threw it day, wrapping right up again.  Glad I wore what I did in the end as conditions were miserable at times.
• Managed to get on the wheel of Sarah Storey for a bit.  She whizzed past me on her Dolan Hercules and I thought, let's do this.  Cranked it up a bit and rode beside her for a mile or so.  Her Shimano Di2 shifter had run out of charge, so she was stuck in a gear.  She was very cordial and as an ambassador for Deloitte, every inch the perfect host as she then accelerated off and I dropped off.  She's doing the whole JOGLE as part of her training.  Loved her gold handlebars!
• Arriving at Haydock.  Seven and a half hours in the saddle, 114 miles and 4000 feet later, I'd got exactly the time I wanted (the race timing system counts your pit stops, my Garmin recorded ride time can be seen here).  Average 15.1mph, which for the route, weather conditions and urban traffic, I was pretty pleased with that.
• Good luck to everyone carrying on.  My legs felt wrecked after that long day in the saddle, so am so respectful of everyone who had already put four days and around 550 miles in at this point, with the prospect of another four days to come.  Good effort all round.
• And finally.  By chance spotted the new Boardman Air Pro in the Halfords pit at the lunch stop.  Just hidden away.  Apparently this is one of only two in the country at the minute, so I got the mechanic to bung it up on the stand for the picture.  Lovely looking bike, so will hope I get to review it.

In summary, the Deloitte Ride Across Britain is a very well organised event, aimed at the "turn up and go market".  If you want everything organised for you on an endurance cyclo sportive, then you'd be hard pressed to beat it.  My highlight of the day - getting these two Powerade water bottles which match my new bike paint job perfectly!  Little things eh.....

Nice one Powerade!

Tips for Riding Long(er) Distances

This weekend, I did a session with a group of riders who are undertaking a cycling challenge over the Bank Holiday Easter Weekend, riding a couple of hundred miles from Wembley to Ashton-under-Lyne.

They're all novice riders, so I prepared a quick handout for them, which I thought might be of use to others are completely new to cycling and the idea of distance riding.

Some Bike Fast Facts

1. Road cycling is a team sport. Races are won and lost by the team working together to get their key rider over the line.
2. The most efficient way to ride is behind someone. You can save up to 25% of your energy by tailing or riding tightly as a group. This is why pro-riders take it in turns on the front.
3. Being fitted correctly on your bike is really important as it ensures you optimise your energy to the pedals.

Preparation

• Lose some weight, if you're BMI is high. Speed is all about weight, wind and lungs!
• Put plenty of miles in on the bike on the road, not in the gym – they’re different!
• Pedal at a high cadence (spin speed). Select an easy gear, with high cadence (85rpm+) to preserve your strength.
• Gears are there for a reason. Use them to maintain your cadence whether going up or going down a hill
  
  How to ensure you all get there in one piece
• Eat a decent breakfast every day. i.e., Porridge, Muesli, Banana, Peanut butter on Toast.
• Ride as a group, taking turns at the front.
• Remember it's not a race. You're effort should be akin to running a marathon, not a sprint.
• Ride as fast as your slowest rider. It’s easy to get de-motivated at the back, but easier if the group is helping and encouraging you.
• Warm up as you set off, 20 minutes of easy pedalling, no heroics.
• Eat/drink regularly on the bike. At least one large bottle per hour and 60g of carbohydrate an hour (2 x gels or equivalent in other food). Eat before you’re hungry, drink before you’re thirsty!
• Drink a recovery drink at the end of each day. I use SiS REGO, which you can buy in Tesco for around £8.99. Make sure you drink it within 20 mins of finishing or you lose the effect.
• Stretch at the end of every day. At least 15 minutes worth. You will feel the benefit the next day!
  
  
  Great Bike Food
  
  
• Bananas – great for slow release energy (not more than x2 per day). One in the morning, one in the early afternoon is good.
• Pasta at night or anytime during the day.
• Soreen Malt Loaf – nice alternative to sugary foods.
• Flapjack/Peanuts/Snickers/Peanut butter on toast – slow release energy from the nuts.
• Jelly Beans.
• Dried Fruit.

Things to carry with you

• Waterproof jacket
• Spare inner tube, tyre levers and pump.
• Details of next of kin in your saddle bag and any medical conditions you may have.
• Put your mobile phone in a plastic, sealable bag along with any money (this keeps the rain off and moisture from sending your phone a bit crazy).
  
  What to Wear
  
  
• A base layer to wick away sweat.
• A cycling top on top of that with/without arm warmers.
• A windcheater jacket if cold.
• Lycra shorts/bibtights with a pad in the rear (trust me you will know why at the end).
• A well fitted helmet, straps fitting snug. A small beanie cap to go under your helmet if cold.
• Fingerless or full length gloves. Carry both with you in your rear pockets.
• Sunglasses. Whatever the weather! Saves flies in the eyes, keeps the wind out and also protects from bits of unexpected grit kickin up into your eyes!
  

When you hit Form...

Form's a funny thing. It can come and go. Suddenly here, suddenly gone. Top athletes talk about it a lot. It's that feeling when everything feels effortless, things just "click."

Coming back after Christmas, my fitness had really dropped. Combination of weather and viruses. I've been determined to try and get back in shape and I've managed - on average - 100 miles a week on the bike since.

The last couple of runs out, I've really felt like my fitness is coming back. Things just aren't as tough as they were a few weeks ago. Miles in the saddle are really helping to get my aerobic fitness back.

I thought about when I first started riding today. For three months I went on club rides and was the last up everything and always battling at the back of the group. Then "click". One day, my fitness just came. I was faster going up and on the straights. Like someone had just flicked a switch. My form had come.

Next weekend I'm helping to coach/advise a bunch of riders who are doing a charity ride from London to Ashton-under-Lyne. Shree Bharatiya Mandal, Indian Association aim to cycle up from Wembley over the Easter Weekend in support of Willow Wood Hospice and Tameside Hospital (any support you can give them is appreciated).

One of the pieces of advice I plan to give them is to get out in the saddle and put miles in their legs on the road in order to try and reach some form. Not in a gym, not running, but on a bike! I'll be posting my hints and tips for them here on the blog, for ease of reading.

For that route, which will be couple of hundred miles, my estimate will be they will need to put in at least 500 miles of bike riding to get some sort of basic fitness. Let's hope everyone has the time!!

With more miles in the saddle, I'm really hoping to build on my fitness over the next couple of months and arrive into the spring with at least 1500 miles in the legs ready for the Sportive season to start. Please let the weather be kind! How's your training going?

2011 Objectives

Happy New Year to you.

It's 1/1/11 and I'm officially kicking off my second full year on the bike. I've been road cycling for sixteen months now and continue to learn and enjoy this great pursuit along with thousands of others.

During this year, I really want to improve my strength and speed on the bike. Providing I can keep clear of viruses and work commitments don't become too pressing, I know I'm capable of achieving this.

Key Objectives
4,000+ miles distance.
Reduce my BMI by 10%.
Club Standard award.

Planned Sportives/Charity Rides (more to be added).
Cheshire Cat
Manchester 100
Tour of Britain stage

Preparing for a long distance cycle ride

Lots of people I know are committing to long distance charity rides at the minute. Very admirable. Inevitably the "help" e-mails are beginning to arrive in my inbox, particulary from people who haven't done any kind of endurance or distance riding before.

I'm no expert, however, I've read enough books in my short time as a cyclist to have picked up some of the pointers you should consider. Here are ten tips to get you started: -

1. Pick the right bike for the job. Road bike? Tourer? Mountain Bike? Check with your organiser what they recommend.
2. Set a decent amount of money aside for your new bike. Avoid Halfords, go to a local bike shop or internet specialist. I've written a road bike buyers guide here.
3. Remember, that just because you can run it doesn't make you an endurance cyclist. Running and cycling use different muscle groups. You need to put training miles in on a bike, not in your trainers.
4. Get fitted on your bike, give yourself the best chance of being comfortable and using every ounce of energy efficiently.
5. Cycling is all about power to weight. Lose as much weight as you can prior to your ride without sacrificing strength. Every pound you lose, it one less you need to haul around on your bike and it will make ascending easier.
6. Don't leave it to the last minute to train or you will make it really difficult for yourself. Any ride exceeding 100 miles in distance on a single day or subsequent days, will require a high level of fitness and preparation. If you're doing say 400-500 miles over a week, you should be thinking around 16-20 weeks out in terms of preparation time.
7. Don't over estimate how fast you will ride. 100 miles will probably take you around six to seven hours depending on terrain. The hillier, the harder. The bumpier the roads, the longer it will take. Check the profile of your ride to establish what balance of fitness/strength training you need to do.
8. Get yourself tested so you know what your training zones are. For distance riding, eating/fuelling is absolutely key on the bike. If you burn sugar at low intensity, you'll be running out of steam quickly unless you replace it.
9. Get a specific training plan book. These are widely available on the web or in a high street book specialist like Waterstones. Joe Friel has written a decent book which you can view here.
10. Buy the right kit. So essential. Whether that be the kit you have on yourself, on the bike (tyres) or in your saddle bag. Buy the best you can afford at the time. Buy cheap, you might pay twice.

Soreen World Record Attempt

Friday night saw the kick off a 24 challenge to establish a new World Record for “The greatest quantity of electricity generated by pedalling on static cycles for a period of 24 hours. (Electricity is measured in watts)”, spearheaded by Malt Loaf brand Soreen.

Inviting riders to book in on one of fifty wattbikes set up in the centre of Manchester Velodrome, the set up meant that around 1200 hours of cycling would be crammed into the 24 hr attempt (50 bikes x 24 hrs) if fully optimised. I, along with a bunch of riders from North Cheshire Clarion, stumped up en masse to have a crack at some of the sessions and to get the event rocking early doors.

Jumping on for the first session, I went for a warm up and averaged 183 watts output for the first 30 minute session at 5.30pm. I then had an unexpected half hour break and cranked it up for the second session at 6.00pm, achieving an average wattage of 222W and peaking around 360W when I pushed a hard gear for a couple of intervals.

The Wattbikes are great, I blogged about them previously here. This event was a great opportunity for you to measure your power output, whilst doing something for charity and contributing to a world record attempt. As it happened, around 3hrs into the challenge the record of around 12k watts was smashed and with the event still running at the time of writing this, it's already up to around 72K watts, so I can officially call myself a World Record Holder I guess.

It's a great initiative, good for the region, good for the brand. Few small improvements to mention if they do it again: -

1. E-mail confirming that you've booked on, didn't confirm your time, so if you didn't remember, you'd be stuck.
2. I booked a back to back session, 5.00pm and 5.30pm. Turning up, they had no record of this, thankfully I managed to grab a cancelled slot at 6.00pm. Everything was on paper. I wasn't the only one regretably.
   
3. The readings were all recorded manually. You just verbally gave your wattage. Wattbikes can be all fully hooked up via a network and data taken electronically. This would be better in the future as - with big prizes up for stake - anyone could have just lied when submitting their power output to win the prize. Can't see the Guinness Book of Record guys accepting the reliability of that, although I'm assuming the wattbike data will be downloaded and submitted.
   
4. It would have been great display the real time rider data. If the data was being captured electronically, you could see a leaderboard for most watts etc which would have been a real incentive on the day.
5. Thought they might have publicised it a bit better. Great event, shame that more people didn't know about it. They'd being posting on social media but were lacking some of the fundamentals for me like a hashtag to really bring the community of contributors together.
6. Spot prizes like a Soreen cycling top would have been brilliant. Rider with the biggest power in each session wins one.
7. Don't think the website was that well optimised.
   

On the positive side, it's worth mentioning the following: -

1. It was an interesting idea and - as a marketeer - a great alignment between potential market and brand, very newsworthy.
2. It gave a lot of people a free try on a Wattbike.
3. It was open to everyone, you could just book on, so very inclusive.
4. Soreen were donating 5pm for every watt generated, so on the basis that over 72K had been done before the event finish, that should mean £15K ish for the Christie Hospital.
   
5. THE RECORD GOT BROKEN, which is great for that to happen in Manchester and great for all those taking part. Well done to all the fellow record breakers!
   

Tour of Britain - Photo

Here's me just hitting the crest of Gun Hill on Sunday's Tour of Britain, Stoke Sportive. The fastest rider on the day got up it in 7 mins and 31 secs. My time was 12 mins and 52 secs which put me 516th out of 778 riders in terms of time. Plenty of work still to do on my fitness. You can get some perspective of how high it is from the backdrop. Was great to nail it.

Latest Ride Data

London to Dover

Tower Bridge looked glorious this morning and it was a fitting place to start the London to Dover run that I did with a key customer this morning (they are going all the way to Paris). Weather was beautiful, warm, with a slight breeze. Setting off, we whisked through the London traffic, surprisingly so and before we knew it we were hot-footing it out on the way to Rochester.

The group was of mixed ability today, some experienced, some relatively new to road cycling, which meant quite a bit of stopping and starting, particularly on the hilly bits. It was a large group of 14, which cut quite a peloton on the roads and attracted plenty of abuse from angry motorists! Today's route was much hillier than you'd expect it to be, in fact, there were a couple of hum dingers, which really challenged the group.

The first one was a really long, steep drag, just outside of Folkestone, it seemed to go on forever. Four riders walked it, I managed to get up it, which is quite something, given that climbing has been my achilles heel to date.

The new bike has made a big difference. It's eight pounds lighter than my previous bike and it felt much easier going up. The second hill, was a nasty little incline. We went off route about four miles outside of Dover and ended up going down into a small valley, the corresponding climb back up the other side was steady, then very steep, a bit like Mow Cop. Nevertheless, I got up it, which really surprised me.

The time seemed to sail by today, before we knew it we had hit Dover after covering 87 miles en route, I took the train back to London and rode over to cycling cafe - Look Mum No Hands - for a welcome beer and a bit of supper en route back to the hotel. Had a few Garmin issues again today, it froze halfway through the route, so I lost my ride data. I nicked a photo of someone elses Garmin and with my ride back to the hotel, it was 92 for the day for me.

Key things for me today: -

• I don't feel like a total novice anymore. I was able to ride comfortably at the front of the group for much of today's ride.


• My hill climbing has really improved. I'm never going to be Alberto Contador being fifteen stone, nevertheless, hills that previously I think would have been insurmountable, today, I conquered.


• My Dolan Ares bike has been a big contributor to this new level of performance combined with the increased training miles I've been doing.


• Riding through the City of London tonight, was a real lesson. No one looks before they cross, most cyclists ignore red lights and the road is a free for all.

"The Unicorn"

That's what my Dolan Ares bike was labelled when I turned up at the North Cheshire Clarion club ride on Sunday. Primarily as - regular readers of this blog will know - I've been getting a bit of jip that I've owned the bike for a couple of months, but no one from the cycling club had ever seen it (giving it a near mythical status, hence "The Unicorn").

It was a lovely run out Sunday (ride stats here), warm weather, a good turnout for the run and a cake stop at Tatton Park (the warm weather makes such a difference). Checking my stats out, I've managed to do 145 miles on the bike this week, so I think it will be a record month for me, just shy of 400 miles in the saddle.

It's all good training for the upcoming Sportives and rides I've planned. This Friday, I'll be riding the London to Dover leg of a London to Paris fundraiser that one of my customers has organised, this will give me a good kick-off into my July mileage target of 400 (the route is 82 miles). It should be fun, so if you see a mini-peloton heading out from London Bridge on Friday morning, give us some encouragement.

Ten Top Tips for a Novice Distance Rider

So, today has been a day of very stiff legs. Feel like I've been battered a thousand times, don't think I did enough stretching post-ride, only got myself to blame. Ten things I would recommend to anyone thinking about their first distance ride are:-

1. Get a decent bike. Hybrid or road. Doing a big distance on a £100 Halfords special is hard work. The Boardman Hybrid is good value at £499 if you can stretch to it.
2. Carb up for the week before. Eat as many carbohydrates as you can relative to your overall diet, 65% is a good percentage.
3. Increase your fluid intake well before the ride. I've been drinking 3-4 litres a day of water for the past month. Plays havoc with your bladder, but good for hydration.
4. Work on your aerobic capacity for at least three months before. Cycling, jogging, star jumps, spin classes, aerobics, whatever works for you. But do something.
5. Eat a whopping carbohydrate packed breakfast at least 2 hours before setting off. Typically I would eat Porridge, a couple of bananas and two slices of toast with peanut butter plus a litre of Isotonic drink, like Lucozade or Gatorade.
6. Cycle with friends when training, it's far easier to motivate yourself to get out.
7. Buy some Lycra. Seriously, do it. It's much more comfortable and make sure you get some with the padding in the bum. It also helps disperse heat more quickly.
8. Buy a decent cycle computer. Mine measures Cadence (revolution speed), Heart Rate ( to see how hard your working), Distance and Speed. It makes much more sense of understanding how your training is actually working.
9. Take a regular break. On our 100 miler, we took 20 mins at 50 miles and again at 75 miles. It freshens up the legs.
10. Stretch, then stretch again. The more you do post-ride, the better it will be the next day.

Manchester 100 Miler

I completed the 100 miler today around the villages of Cheshire with three colleagues. Really pleased with the outcome. Did the ride in 6hrs and 36 mins (which was well below the 7hr 30 min target I had set for myself. Average speed of 14.9mph, cadence average 84. Calories burnt 6852 . Max Heart rate was 212, average 156. Top speed 35mph (down a huge hill, very exhilarating). What I wanted to achieve most today was to a) finish it. b) Hit 15mph average and c) Hit a cadence of 85. So, I'm pleased with the results. Area to improve is hill climbing. On many of the hills I got dropped by my team mates who had much more in their legs, so that's something to work on. On the flats I felt comfortable and was hitting an average of around 17mph. Food and fluid worked out OK, no major dramas, no cramping, no energy problems. Bike was comfortable over the distance. Across the team we've raised a £1000 for Whizz-Kidz as of today, total is still rising. Feel very pleased to have done it. Weather held up, no rain, wind around 10mph. Had a very hot bath when I got home, legs are stiffening nicely! Thanks to everyone that contributed so generously.