Cycle Sportives

3 months is enough time to get in good enough shape to get round. It won't be pretty mind.

hippy is right always better to under-train, rather than over-train, no recovery, injury caused by tiredness etc..

also at this stage forget the mileage, what you should focus on is time on the bike..start a conservative plan now and stick to it.. good luck FBR, keep us up to date

thanks for the reassurance. not impossible then. hhhmm...under-training...that's easy ;p

id be happy if i make it around in under 10hrs. only my second alpine event so not sure how realistic 10hrs is. we'll see. just hope that it's not too hot on the day.

having this issue with stuttering start to the year training for the etape.

getting so frustrated-move to london, new job(s), flat finding, flat moving, decorating... flu meant last 2 weekends have been missed and having never trained for an event like this before i'm finding it hard to have faith in training plans and all the info i'm diggin up and trying to apply. making me a bit demented tbh... expecting spring onion in 2 weeks to be a real kick in the head.

Don't worry man, I had the same thing last year when we moved. I did none of the winter clubruns, none of the club turbo sessions. I still had my commuting. In the end my power was the same level as the year before and I set some (albeit slow by 'proper' TT'er standards) PBs. You'll just get fitter a bit later and probably enjoy yourself more since you'll be fresh and keen.

FBR, whatever happens over the next three months, just enjoy yourself.. the Marmotte will be superb and unforgettable..

al

I just sorted a couple of summery trips:

The Long One, and The Tour of The Black Mountains.

I'm a little unsure about whether or not I'm fiddling around in territory that I'd do better to avoid; though I figure that both events should make for some really bright points in the year. Wales is "on my list", and finding new tricky terrain so close to home (Chichester) was a pleasant surprise.

The Long One. Hmm....
The Black Mountains one looks like fun, riding in the Brecon Beacons is a pretty beautiful experience, had a lovely long weekend in Wales a few years back where I did a lot round there #nostalgia

The Long One. In!

Good man.

Epic, right?

Also

If you are looking for a shorter option, there is a 104km (66miles) route which is equally as challenging with 1356 meters of climbing.

How is 104km with 1356 of gain equally as challenging as 207k with 3669m? My basic maths makes it less than half as challenging...

The Long One. Hmm....
The Black Mountains one looks like fun, riding in the Brecon Beacons is a pretty beautiful experience, had a lovely long weekend in Wales a few years back where I did a lot round there #nostalgia

I got a place on the Wiggle Dragon Ride at the last minute so will be checking out the Brecon Beacons-never been to Wales before which is a bit shameful so looking forward to it-come to think of it my predominant experience of Welsh people is from going to rugby matches in Edinburgh so I'm sure it'll be a good day ;)

anyone else doing the dragon ride?

^^^Yes.

I'm not doing it this year, didn't do it last year, did it the year before as my first ever sportive and enjoyed it hugely. The year before that was the aforementioned long weekend of welsh exploring. It's a good course, with good terrain - if you can make a proper trip of it and have a little explore on the following/preceding day, there's lots to be done.

^third time's the charm

cool beans. will be my last big ride before the etape so want to be in good shape and enjoy it. what course did you do and were the climbs comparable to alpine ones (this is what I'm told)?

^^I got there in the end.

I did the 80 mile jobby, never done anything alpine but there were some nice long drags that give you plenty of time to think things through.

Also, wiggle site is playing difficult for me atm, will give it another try later.
third time's the charm, again.
All paid up. What the hell have I done?

So, doing Whitedown on the spring onion, can anyone who has ridden it compare it to Exedown, Titsey/White Lane or Ditchling?

The London Phoenix Easter Classic. This was a nice fast one last year with a few forum faces present, which I am just in the process of signing up for. 112k, minimal climbing but, last year at least, a relentless headwind to keep things painful. This had a lovely friendly vibe last time, and lots of tasty snacks too.

So, doing Whitedown on the spring onion, can anyone who has ridden it compare it to Exedown, Titsey/White Lane or Ditchling?

Did the Whitedown today on the Hilly 50 run.

Was steep, and goes on a fair bit, but I still remember the Ditchling being a fuck of a lot worse. Maybe I was just less fit, and it was pretty baltic, but aye-I'm doing the Spring Onion too and I'm less fearful having gone up it today.

That helps - I'm ok with Exedown and Ditchling, they are painful but I know I can do them OK. White lane is steeper though, I can only do it out of the seat and when it's wet my rear wheel spins...

What's the gradient on White Lane? Something like 25% isn't it?

I believe so but haven't seen anything official to say so. It's a real bitch though.

The London Phoenix Easter Classic. This was a nice fast one last year with a few forum faces present, which I am just in the process of signing up for. 112k, minimal climbing but, last year at least, a relentless headwind to keep things painful. This had a lovely friendly vibe last time, and lots of tasty snacks too.

Looks like fun, would be nice to do something without too many hills.