It looks as if my son Alex, a senior in high school--and very fit, has decided that he wants to ride RAGBRAI this summer. I told he can but that he has to find someone to ride with. After a few suggestions and realization that he didn't know anyone that has actually completed the full trip (plenty of friends have ridden a day or two) that someone became me.
I hinted that a book on bicycle training would be great- thinking this was a passing idea. And guess what I opened Christmas morning--you got it....A crisp new copy of
The Complete Book of Long-Distance Cycling
Build the Strength, Skills, and Confidence to Ride as Far as You Want (or as Far as Your Son Wants You to Ride)
by Burke and Pavelka
I skimmed the book and found a section--Training for 50 Miles-- that assures the reader, or even Aunt Harriet, that if she follows the recommended training schedule for 6 weeks, she will be ready. The caveat is that she should already be in decent biking shape.
Ok. Admission. I am not in decent biking shape (or any kind of shape) though 20 years ago I could have easily trained for a 50 mile bike ride in 6 weeks. But RAGBRAI is closer to 50-60 miles a day for 7 consecutive days and I am 20 years older : ( .
So on to the section--Training for 100 Miles. This section suggests 8 weeks of training--and once again assuming decent biking shape. And if she is not in decent biking shape, then she needs to work up to 75 miles or 5 hours per week and then start on the training program.
RAGBRAI 2010 is scheduled for the last week of July and registration is due in early April.
So just to see if this might even be a possibility, I hopped on the stationary bike in the basement and pedaled for 30 minutes and completed 8.66 miles. This served as the starting point for my training program.
Alex did the math and increased the amount by 10% each week working up to 100 miles by mid-May (we decided to increase the mileage since this is not just a one day trip). This gives us 10 weeks to RAGBRAI--when the real training begins.
So I now have a training program in hand. Since he has done my homework for me, he has a commitment that I will follow the program through February...barring no injuries and some confidence building, then I will make a decision.
Week 1: Goal = 22 miles. I have completed a whopping 19 miles on the stationary bike in two workouts. This week's goal is looking pretty doable. In addition, I have logged 10,000 steps today on the pedometer....I think I need all the "training" I can get.
Next week Alex has assurred me that I will have my requested "Core Strength Building Program" in hand. Something tells me he won't disappoint!
