"Greenberg, Danielle" <DGreenberg@...> said:

>Hello,
>I am a member of the CCC and I am interested in doing the double century.
>Last summer I did the mid-hudson century (about 5000' of climb) in 6'53''
>and completed (on the same ride) the double metric in 8'27". I
>typically ride 15-16 mph on the westchester hills. So I'm not in your
>fast group but I think I can finish. Also the last 2 years I have ridden
>over 6000 miles. What I could use is some training advice for the
>double.
>Miles per week necessary etc.
>Any help would be greatly appreciated.
>Thanks.
>Danielle Greenberg

Training tips for the double century.

Riding

Obviously you have to get out and ride. I start riding in late March and
early April depending on the weather. You should be riding regularly by
the end of April. That leaves 2 months (May and June) to do enough
serious riding, so you have a good base by the time the double rolls
around.

There are two schools of thought for the type of riding you should do to
get ready for the double.

The first way is to continue to go on longer and longer rides, till you
have worked up to 125 miles. Depending on the number of rides you do, you
add either 5 or 10 miles each ride.

The other way is to train on shorter (60 miles or so) fast rides and ride
hard. The idea is that on the day of the double, you take it easy and
cost though three of these rides back to back.

I have done both, and shorter fast rides work better for me. Other people
like the longer and longer ride approach. In either case, I would ride 2
or 3 days a week if possible.

Food

We stop at 60 miles for breakfast (but you should eat before you start),
80 miles for water, 105 miles for lunch, 135 miles for an afternoon
Gatoraide, and some where around 175 miles for more drinks. Obviously you
will have to eat and drink more than this. You should get good at eating
on the bike. Store snacks in your rear pockets, and pull them out
occasionally (now you know why cycling jerseys have pockets in the rear).
Make sure you carry lots of liquids. This is really important if it is a
hot day. We will stop for water it people run out, but it takes time.

I take some sort of carbo, which I tend to eat at the beginning of the
ride. Good soft bagels (too hard and you won't eat them) work well. I
also carry some sort of sweet snack, but not too sweet, as sweet things
don't go down well when you are exercising. Chocolate brownies work well,
but can be messy in your pockets. I tend to eat these toward the end of
the ride. But my all time secret weapon is grapes. They give you water
to rehydrate you, and they are full of fruit sugars to give you a real
boost. I take them off the vine and throw them in my middle rear pocket
so they balance on my back (now you know why good cycling jerseys have 3
pocket, not 2 or 4). I gobble a handful or two before big climbs. They
really help. Highly recommended.

You should find out what kinds of foods work well for you.

Ride Ride Ride.

Make sure you train for riding the double century by riding long stretches
with out stopping. Stopping is the enemy of long distance cycling. The
fast group generally does the ride in 14 hours total time. If you look at
your cycling computer after the ride is over, you will be amazed to see
that you were on the bike for only 12 hours. You think you probably
stopped an hour total, but all the stops add up. Even a very frenzied
pace will still surprise you with how much you stop.

I will post more tips as I write them up, but this should get you going.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Bruce