[Closed] Training for a long multiday event

If it's on the road in July, you'll have no problem doing those miles to get round in 14 days.

My advise would be to nail your kit and using it so that you aren't wasting time that could be used for sleeping or riding.

Depends rather on where you're starting from, IMO. I think that it's just a case of having really good base fitness, then doing a bit of speed work, then knowing how to do long multi day rides. It's more about the prep and the strategy than the fitness.

The best tactic, if you want to set a good time, is follow rule one which is do not stop. This is far more important than how fast you go. Just don't stop, and if you have to stop, jump back on your bike as soon as you can.

Re Zwift etc - sweet spot training would be good, and it's much more time effective than endless steady miles. But you do need to do endless miles at some point so you know how to do it.

1600 miles in 14 days sounds like a lot but consider that if you can ride for 12 hours a day that's only 9.5mph average speed. So if you make sure you are riding your bike for 12 hours a day you'll be absolutely fine. But you need to know that your arse, your hands, your shoulders and neck can take it. And the rest of your body - when I did an 18.5 hour ride some tendons in my ankles hurt really sharply and I'd never experienced that before in 25 years of riding. And if it's ITT style self supported you will need to get your kit and your food dialled in - which you might have some experience with if you have been bike packing. Study the route and learn where you can get food and water on or just off the route. Make notes, plan, and scout locations on Google Streetview.

Structured training is always more effective than general riding though.

Riding lots, but easy, and maybe throw in a high intensity session once a week if you're not getting any intensity on your other rides.

The HRM is good for teaching you HOW to ride easy, no point trying to do lots of miles if you do them too hard and burn yourself out!

For indoors, I'd echo what's been said above, sweetspot workouts can replace longer outdoor rides but use less time, and you can do lots of them if you make sure you're not going too hard.

I'd go further and suggest getting a cheap set of rollers. They should (just) offer enough resistance for sweetspot stuff, I feel they have improved my pedalling, and because you're pretty much locked in position on the saddle they also help you iron out any issues with your setup e.g. saddle position etc.

Self-supported as in no feed stations or backup crews but you can use commercial services?

Get your bike fit dialled, like really dialled. What might be OK for a 6hr ride might not be for a 12hr one. I took 18 months to get mine sorted - I'd get nerve damage in my fingers that would take a month to sort out, change something and try again.

As @molgrips says time spent stopped is time wasted. I have two pairs of data fields on my GPS: average speed and elapsed time, both have overall and moving figures. I try and keep the two parts of each pair as close as possible but even so I'd expect 5% or more non-moving time with a corresponding reduction in overall average speed.

Use your training rides to sort out your kit. Look at other setups but ultimately you need to work out what works for you.

For ITTs I make "trail" notes - basic details like distance, expected time, amount of ascent to the next resupply point. Also opening times of shops, cafés and the like. No point in rushing to get somewhere if everything's shut.

Once you know you can do 200km or whatever then there's no real point in continuing to do such long rides as the wear and tear on your body is significant and basically means lots of downtime where you can't train.

There's really three things you need to look after:

1. Yourself
2. Your bike
3. Yourself

Some good stuff mentioned above already. I was training for the Colorado trail this last year (ha!) and found using TrainerRoad absolutely great. It meant I had a structured plan with rest weeks, etc. and also meant I was getting the low-intensity workouts in which I find easier to do indoors. Once you get the 'feel' of the various session goals I found it relatively easy to swap indoor sessions for outdoors too. It's also a good check on training stress to make sure you don't over train. Doing something like yoga or similar to keep your flexibility up is a good idea too.

Also, don't underestimate the importance of nutrition, both during training and the event. There's some really good cycling specific books out on this (I like the Feed Zone ones) as if you're training hard you need the right intake otherwise you're jus putting more stress on your body. For during the event it's trickier as you're limited to whatever you can get hold of, but at least you can understand what kind of things are better in advance rather than experimenting with stuff on the trot.

Oh yes I forgot to comment on the HRM. I have previously trained with power so I have a good idea of what I can do but I didn't at first.

Finding your zones is not simple but you could do something like go for an 8hr ride, get tired and note down the HR you can comfortably manage on longer climbs at the end of the ride. This should be a reasonable number to stay under all the way round.

You could get as 'into' the training as you like, depends on personality type I think. I'm not one for big data etc so I've just used the basic format of base+build cycles and put the work in on the turbo. You say you're not a fan and neither am I, nor Zwift etc. But 1 hour of good effort on a turbo per week can be all you need and done well, it's very effective on top of the longer steadier stuff. You just need to be ready to give it some beans, threshold efforts etc. Long intervals and long base rides (though as Whitestone says, no point going over ~100 miles too often as you already have the multiday experience. You get fitter via recovery not by being knackered all the time).

It’s more about the prep and the strategy than the fitness.

The best tactic, if you want to set a good time, is follow rule one which is do not stop. This is far more important than how fast you go.

If you have a strategy you should back it up with fitness. Not stopping is a sound plan, it's just the basics though. The av speed gain you can get from good form and conditioning is worth up to 2 hours a day, ie you need to be stopped 2hrs less to keep up with the fitter version of you (edit, maybe 1.5 hrs based on how many hrs a day an average multi-dayer will do). So, get fitter and stop less. You also want to be getting the value out of the hours you put in, make that added 2 hours you ride each day worth more miles because you're not shattered and slowing down at night etc.

These events are completed using your head not your legs. Just get used to doing "hard" things and coping with them. The key was right there in your first sentence "Its at the top end of what i think i can do". You are going to have to work on your mind as hard as your legs. You need to be able to cope with lows and also riding when you really do not want to. I'd also point out that I've seen lots of highly trained riders zoom by at the start of these long events only to break themselves quickly both mentally and physically. So don't over think the "standard" cycling training, work on your mindset and you'll be fine.

Well obviously being as fit as possible is going to help. But you're going to go into it as fit as you can be given your time constraints etc. And wherever you are in fitness, not stopping makes a massive difference. And when stopping it's so very easy to lose so much time.

It's better to ride slower and for longer than faster and need more rest.

So a sort of TransContinetal type event? In the UK or abroad (and I mean "abroad" for you where you may not necessarily know the language/roads etc)?

I've worked on the Ride Across Britain (a fully supported Lands End - John O'Groats ride) quite a few times and that's a bit simpler,, basically 9 Sportives in 9 days with full feedstation & basecamp support but the thing that gets most people on that is the training. Loads of people turn up at Lands End having never ridden 100 miles, having only just fitted new cleats/saddle/bars/tyres, having never ridden in shit weather, never worn their waterproof, never ridden in a chaingang and so on. They're super fit because of sitting on Zwift smashing out watts but they have zero road sense, very limited technical ability (especially descending) and as soon as the road is damp, they're toppling like dominoes. They put their waterproof on and end up sweating buckets or they leave it off and get hypothermia. They use massive gears (because ego) in group riding and end up surging, banging wheels or stalling as soon as the road goes up.

The event recently changed it's training plans from a whole load of stuff about Zone 2/3/4 etc and heart rates and power to actually saying "go out and ride your bike 100 miles in inclement weather in less than 9hrs moving time" because people were simply relying on turbo trainers and for events like that where you HAVE to ride (usually in groups) no matter what the weather, you absolutely need the real world experience.

Doubly so if you're doing it self-supported and you have luggage / packing to sort - things like the positioning of kit within each bag etc.

I have entered similar type of event next summer but it’s slightly shorter at 1080 miles. My training for the event will not involve a stationary trainer. That’s probably just me though as I hate the things.

Observing the folks that do transcontinental etc my key things to work on are:

Multiple days getting going again after multiple big days on the bike as in being able to put in a 150 mile day after 3 or 4 or 5 big days. I think it’s a mindset.

Navigation. I have to be spot on with my navigation can’t be wasting energy taking the wrong turn or faffing with maps at each junction.

Being efficient when stopping. As mentioned earlier in the thread it’s not the fastest cyclist wrt speed that does well at these events. It’s the folk that spend the most hours each day moving forward on the bike.

For training I’m just going to get used to big days again once the days start getting longer. Managed about 24 century rides this year and one 200miler. Also will do some big back to back rides. Like a big ride to visit someone stay overnight and ride back the next day. At the moment I’m just trying to keep riding around 200 miles a week then build up my weekly mileage as the days get longer. I will build in plenty of recovery so I don’t burn out. I will do natural intervals rather than structured sessions. A bit of an effort on hills can give you plenty of higher zone training.

To be honest I’m not worried about fitness or FTP. I’m more worried about mental toughness, potential mechanical issues and navigation.

Just to challenge the not-stopping thing a bit (I do agree but its not the be all and end all). I raced the Tour Divide in 2019 and finished 2 hours behind a super fast French girl who was obsessed by the not stopping thing. I'd have caught her if the race for 40 miles longer 😉 She nearly abandoned in Kremmling after killing herself to make up time and limit stops. Same in Cuba where she headed out into terrible rain in the dark only to have to turn tail and retreat as conditions got dangerous. I learnt to take the time I needed and not get overly stressed if I felt a 3 hour lounge in McDonalds would help. It's all about knowing yourself and riding yourself into the event rather than out of it. I turned up a little bit over my usual weight, not particularly well trained and rode the race of my life as this made me start cautiously and grow into the ride.

In addition to the above good advice, and I'm looking at a similar challenge some time next year, but a proper bike fit is on my list for longer stuff. My bike fit is fine for even 100+km stuff, but an endurance MTB race (24h relay) taught me that little niggles on a few hours' worth of riding can turn into something that could stop you in your tracks on such a multi-day event. A proper and tested feeding strategy too.

Well obviously being as fit as possible is going to help. But you’re going to go into it as fit as you can be given your time constraints etc.

Fair, that's a little different to saying it's more about the plan than fitness but I'm probably being pedantic there.

It’s all about knowing yourself and riding yourself into the event rather than out of it. I turned up a little bit over my usual weight

^ wise words. I think the guys who've done a number of longer events say you do ride into fitness as you go, turn up rested rather than at peaked fitness. Certainly you don't really settle in for a number of days and there's very few who can ride a strategy like Mike Hall did, or Sofiane Sehili does now. I expect they're still easing in in the same way, just at another level of confidence in what they can maintain.

I’d also point out that I’ve seen lots of highly trained riders zoom by at the start of these long events only to break themselves quickly both mentally and physically.

Well trained but not so able to ride slow, naturally inclined to rev higher and burn out? Those same fast guys would do well if they paced it though, their base pace will still be faster.

Basically the tortoise approach is good, just be a faster tortoise : )

If I could add 3 pieces of advice:

1: Sort out little issues before they become big issues.
So, if u got a small blister starting on your big toe, stop, and sort it out, before it becomes a huge blister, and potentially ends your race. (duct tape works wonders for this)

2: Arse cream, get the best you can find, and use loads!! I used to supplement my arse cream with a product called Anusol cream. It has a local aesthetic (its available in South Africa, I am not sure about the UK)

3: Get used to riding on regular plain food. Drink water (and maybe a electrolyte every 2nd or 3rd bottle) Stay away form to much the sugars, as you will begin to feel very nauseous, and ultimately puke!! (I have seen this end races many many times!!!)

Also, I have found day3/4 to be my toughest, after that you seem to get fitter, on the ride (or your body learns to suffer?)

If you consider pulling out, don't ever make the decision at nigh, most problems seem better after a good nights sleep!!! So golden rule, if u want to bail, first make it to the morning before deciding!!!

Good luck.

I raced the Tour Divide in 2019 and finished 2 hours behind a super fast French girl who was obsessed by the not stopping thing. I’d have caught her if the race for 40 miles longer 😉 She nearly abandoned in Kremmling after killing herself to make up time and limit stops.

This is a problem of pacing, not not stopping. Riding within your sustainable pace is essential - the point I'm trying to make is that you ride slowly and don't stop, rather than ride too fast and don't stop.

Fatigue is not linear with effort. If you ride twice hard you don't go twice as fast; and you can ride for much much less than half as long and you will need much more than twice as much rest!

As an example, if I spin gently round my 90km route, I might average 24km/h. If I smash it I might do 28kph. But at the 24 pace I will be fine after 3h45 and I can carry on all day, whereas at 28 I'll be beaten up after 3h13. And I'll be sore the next day too.

You need to find that all day pace, or even that multi-day pace. And be wary of going over it, because even dipping into the red a bit takes a lot of miles out of the leg bank. You will be making deposits into the leg bank, but don't withdraw too much!

HR is ok for training useless for the ride itself as It will almost flatline after a couple of days maybe even already on day two.

Although the route sounds rather flattish check ou the climbs its different riding 15 to 20 min climbs is very different to one or two hours contiuous efforts even if not steep.

You need to avoid all unnecessary efforts, Your power meter is gold for that, not for a value to reach but for one not too exceed and this needs to be quite a bit lower then your FTP. Even short bursts those small kicks done big blade or even a 10 min climb done just a bit too hard do a lot of muscle damage which on this length of event you are gonna pay a hefty bill for. You need to find your all day cruising speed (so you need to simulate this by doing a ride at least similar to your hardest day and be able to repeat the next day(no need to repeat for real just feel fine the day after))..

Comfortable clothes, think about dry clothes to change in and think about having them cleaned regularly(it helps avoiding itches, bum problems and it just feels nice getting into fresh kit).

It doesn't seem to hard actually 10 hours on the bike maybe 12 if you are slow should be able so time to eat/sleep correctly aplenty IMO.

Try your kit and I mean your full kit(all bags lights and so) a badly fixed bag a strap hampering a cable can give you lots of hassle.

If allowed some clean kit extra spares sent to somewhere en route can be nice, put a prepaid postage packed in there to so that you can easily send the spoilt unwanted kit back home.

Oh smile have fun and enjoy the scenery.

@molgrips thanks you beat me by a couple off seconds for the most important advice 😉

Power is personal but for this kind of rides my values are.

FTP 320 or so, I set myself a do not exceed value of 250 watts 230 for 20 min climbs and 200 watts for the long stuff.

This means that if there is steep stuff on route even if only for 10 min efforts that you will need to have the gearing low enough to cruise up it easily as if you where going for a stroll with grandma or the kids on a sunday afternoon.

Your power meter is gold

Yes, because as you'll have found out it's very very easy to go into the red on a climb whilst thinking you are taking it easy, because we're so conditioned to pushing it up climbs.

FTP 320 or so, I set myself a do not exceed value of 250 watts 230 for 20 min climbs and 200 watts for the long stuff.

Yeah those are similar numbers to what I worked with when I was training with power.

The problem I have is that for me, climbing at that pace takes FOREVER as I am rather heavy. So on a one-day effort I push it a bit because I know I don't have to ride the next week or two!

This is a problem of pacing, not not stopping. Riding within your sustainable pace is essential – the point I’m trying to make is that you ride slowly and don’t stop, rather than ride too fast and don’t stop.

I disagree having been actually there. Ridden pretty fast but stopped longer and rested ..but internets.

FTP 320 or so, I set myself a do not exceed value of 250 watts 230 for 20 min climbs and 200 watts for the long stuff.

Yeah those are similar numbers to what I worked with when I was training with power.

The problem I have is that for me, climbing at that pace takes FOREVER as I am rather heavy. So on a one-day effort I push it a bit because I know I don’t have to ride the next week or two!

At over 6 feet and about 13 ston I am not a lightweight but it allows me to climb well over 2000 feet an hour which allows for nice progress IMO.

One or even (big)two day events like Paris Brest Paris are différent there you can(and should from time to time) damage the engine and cruise home on the fumes. The only way where I would knowingly go over my limits is in events where there are groups and it would enable you a free slipstream ride on flattish terrain or into a fierce headwind like 2019 P-B-P(where you could basically have a free ride almost to Brest)

for the OP I found the YACF that was advised on here to me in the past a good source for information.

But keep in mind measures of hardness and capabilities are very personal. For the one P.B.P getting in a 90 hours(full value riders) is a challenge other see 60 hours as cruising speed.

As you quote at the top of what I can do don't get to tempted by (almost)racing snakes speed. But also don't underestimate your own abilities as long as you take it steady it can go a long way.

As said higher never decided to bail at night, have a nice sleep ride for a bit and then decide. Even a bad leg day or bad weather day doesn't have to be the end. I went in september for a ride that was probably at the limit at my relatively unfit abilities. after two 250 km( 5000m climbing) days I broke at the end of day two, rain cold no food so went for a nice sleep and only left the next morning at 9 am and stopped already at 6 pm. Got chucked back to the tailend of the field but had a nice meal and breakfast and cruised back through the pack in the next two days to make it in time(whilst on paper there was little hope left after day three). And even if you run out of time better enjoy the ride and scenery and be a little late then ride yourself to bits and hate parts of it just for a medal or a placing.

This came up on my youtube feed recently, advice from the experts

If you're curious about a structured plan, I think you can use the plan builder on TrainerRoad without signing up:

https://www.trainerroad.com/plan-builder

You plug in how much time you have for training and any events you have planned (I think they have a special 'stage race' category too, which I suspect might suit your event) and it puts a plan together for you. You can choose to do the workouts indoors or outdoors - you can even set it up to send all the power targets to your device.

Even if you're not that fussed about following a full plan, it might be worth playing with to get an idea of a structure you can use to be more efficient and avoid overtraining etc. If you have a look and it looks nice PM me for a referral for a month. (I don't get anything for referring you other than doing my good deed for the day).

Rather than worrying about pacing or power, or training, I’d go see what it’s like.

If it’s a bike packing type/ sleep in a bus shelter event, go ride 100 miles then sleep in a bus shelter and ride home. If you feel epic ride the long way and make it 130 miles back. That’s the pace you need & will let you know where you stand & what works for you.

Think about charging devices if you’re going to rely on them.

I’d love to try something like this.

IME the biggest problem is dealing with $hit - like when stuff goes wrong, rubbish weather, your navigation is off, something breaks and having the mental resilience to deal with setbacks. Generally, this simply comes down to having had time on the bike and dealing with it - get on top of your bike maintenance and know how to fix stuff with the tools you have or bodge a repair. Can you repair a split tyre in the rain with the stuff you've got? Starting the day and feeling rubbish is probably going to be the norm - if you know the feeling and can get going, getting yourself into a better place and doing it day after day. Visualisation techniques can help too - have fun (although it might not feel like that at the time)

For me, breaking the days up into chunks really helped, both when racing and when doing a Lejog. I worked in roughly four hour chunks, with four of these in a day. Eat while on the bike, but don’t turn down the chance of a good meal where it’s available. Don’t risk riding too far for food, only to find it’s closed and you’re on a bag of peanuts for dinner.

The not stopping is a good tip, as is being more efficient when stopping. If you need to stop to add or remove a layer, do it at a water source, and maybe go for a pee (away from said source) at the same time. Three for the price of one.

Nutrition and hydration are very important. Recognise the specific signs of a bonk, dehydration, or tiredness. Never make a decision to scratch unless you’ve satisfied these three needs first.

In your training, try experiencing all three so you know what to expect. Turbo gives you leg fitness, but proper long rides in similar conditions to your big ride will help too.

For pacing just go at a pace you can chat, doesn't need to be any more complicated than that (it turns out to be around the percentage of FTP that hofnar and molgrips discuss above). You'll find you have a natural pace, don't try to push it. Some people have a fast pace but need longer sleep time, others can go steady and get by on just a couple of hours. Of course the fastest have a fast pace and don't need much, if any, sleep. My tactic for a group start is to let the fast guys head off into the distance and then I can ride at my own pace without the male competitive instinct kicking in and then redlining trying to keep up with them!

Not stopping, etc. It isn't really about not stopping, it's about being efficient with your time - which might actually mean stopping. As Dave points out, heading off from a warm dry café when there's an approaching thunderstorm isn't good use of your time - head to the counter and order what you just ate, AGAIN.

When my wife did LeJog I said that the third and fourth days would be the hardest and so it proved. The reason being that she'd head out for long rides Sat and Sun but not do much on Monday so her body got used to a couple of tough days and then recover. Someone I worked with (and who used to be a semi-pro racer) said he was fittest for long distance stuff just by riding every day but not big miles, maybe fifteen miles to work and back with some longer but not silly long rides at the weekend, one of which might be the club chain gang.

At least two of the posters have done multi-day events, I'll leave you to decide who they are.

My tactic for a group start is to let the fast guys head off into the distance and then I can ride at my own pace without the male competitive instinct kicking in and then redlining trying to keep up with them!

This is what screwed my solo Mountain Mayhem. Set off and found myself riding with an acquaintance, a guy who lives locally to me who used to come along on some of the group rides occasionally. We both ended up pushing each other far harder than if we'd just have thought about it and settled in for the 24hr long haul. Treated it like a regular 6hr day in the Peaks.

Anyway after about 4 laps of this, he saw sense and went into the tent and I'm like "great stuff, I can open up a gap on him now!" Went harder again for another lap.

Yeah, that couldn't really last. As it turned out the weather had other ideas and it threw it down solidly from about 11pm at which point 60% of the soloists just went "yeah,, bedtime!" But I was wrecked, precisely because of that stupid urge to compete by going faster.

Thanks for all this input. Its v valuable. Im used to multiday stuff having done Italy Divide and Jameso's TNR. I can use my kit and have the capability to charge on the go.
I was earching for a structured plan to help me stop 'just riding'like a do at the moment.
@stevious that TR link looks great. Without the access to a turbo/gym/wattbike then stuff like my ftp is unknown so its all a bit vague.
Ideally i need something prescriptive so i can follow the rules and be ok. Left to my own devices i shall probably just ride some and see how it goes
Ian

I use TrainerRoad. One thing with outdoor workouts is that you don't actually need to know your FTP, you can just work off RPE or feel. For instance: one of the workouts is called Palisade, it's a set of intervals that indoors go slightly over then slightly under your FTP hence the usual term "over-unders". Outdoors using RPE you get this:

Warm Up:
- Ride for 15 minutes gradually raising your effort from RPE 4 to 7.

Main Set:
5 sets of the following, with 6 minutes rest between sets:
- 3x1 minute at RPE 8, with 2 minutes at RPE 9 between each interval.(that's one minute at RPE 8, two minutes at RPE 9 repeated three times)
Cool Down:
- 6 minutes easy.

Here's another (Darwin):

Warm Up:
- Ride for 10 minutes gradually raising your effort from RPE 4 to 7.

Main Set:
- 4x10 minutes at RPE 8 with 3 minutes easy between intervals.

Cool Down:
- Spin easy for 1 minute, longer if you can.

VO2max workout(Spencer +2)

Warm Up:
- Ride for 9 minutes gradually raising your power from RPE 4 to 7.
- 1 minute at a hard RPE 8, with 1 minute recovery.
- 1 minute at a hard RPE 8 with 1 minute recovery.
- 1 minute at a hard RPE 8, with 3 minutes recovery.
Main Set:
- 6x 3 minutes at RPE 9, with 4 minutes recovery between each.
- After last interval, skip straight to cool down

Cool Down:
- Spin easy for 5 minutes.

RPE 8 is basically your FTP effort, i.e. the maximum effort you could hold steady for an hour or so. Obviously doing workouts outdoors in such a prescriptive manner means you need somewhere suitable that doesn't have loads of junctions or traffic lights, etc.

I agree with @whitestone about using RPE outside. Even though I have a good handle on my FTP and all that stuff, I just don't like staring at my computer when I ride. Having looked at the power data afterwards it's close enough to the targets for me to be happy.

Even though they're mostly turbo-trainer focused I think that it's still the best value all-in-one coaching and planning package. I think to get anything better you'd have to spring for a coach (and prob something like TrainingPeaks as well).

I was earching for a structured plan to help me stop ‘just riding’like a do at the moment.
@stevious that TR link looks great. Without the access to a turbo/gym/wattbike then stuff like my ftp is unknown so its all a bit vague.
Ideally i need something prescriptive so i can follow the rules and be ok. Left to my own devices i shall probably just ride some and see how it goes

I'm no expert but I can say that it's possible to get a good level faster from a competent/average base in 6 months w/o using plans or power meters, done it a few times to some extent. Joe Friel's blog is excellent reading on the ideas of Base+Build and how raising your FTP via HI turbo work also raises your base pace so you cruise faster. In the end you can see it on your Z2 rides but it takes time, for a while nothing happens.

What I learned was mostly about going slow (Z2) most of the time partic in winter/spring and layering grimace-level turbo work over that for no more than 10% of my training time, only 5% most weeks based on doing 15hrs a week average - I prob could have got the same results from less hrs as long as the base was there and the turbo work was ~1hr a week. Turbo sesh was 5x5 at threshold with no easy break in between, or 2x15 / 2x20 (always faded well before end of 2nd 20). Just used PE and a HRM. Threshold doesn't need a power meter, you soon get to know when you're at the edge of what you can hold in a longer interval.

I'm not sure if there are rules as such apart from not overtraining (the effort to recovery link) and understanding the time it takes (the base/build cycles idea). I find that if the race/event motivates me then I put the effort in, no plan needed, I just plan out what a good week of Z2 and Threshold work looks like and make sure I get out for an hour or so on the MTB for fun on a nice morning etc, keep it flexible if you can and don't work tired legs too far / at all ("can't train a tired muscle", though maybe you can condition yourself for recovery, idk).

I'd write down what I did and how I felt on a wall planner and the more I did the less I shirked as it wastes what you've done to date. The same way of thinking got me through the hard days in the event - I'm X number of days in and I'm not binning all that now over one shitty day, etc.

(and a high five for joining the TNR!)

I found that RPE going up hill was radically different to going down. 200W felt like nothing at all climbing, like I was hardly moving, but I had to really smash it on the other side to maintain that. If I were going with RPE I'd have ridden much harder on the climbs and done almost nothing on the descents.

Absolutely great advise above. Good luck with the training, you've plenty of time to train for the event.

To probably echo the above;

- Dial in your riding position and try to train on the same bike you'll do your event on.
- Sort your kit out. Like putting your sleep wear inside your sleeping bag and putting that into your bivvy bag, then rolling it all up. This way you'll save time when you're knackered and can be sleeping in a few minutes.
- Decide whether you need a stove or not. If there's plenty of places to get a hot drink or hot food then I'd not bother.
- Practice being smooth with your pedalling, an even smooth pedal stroke is more efficient.
- Sort out your diet so you're getting enough calories and nutrition to aid good recovery. Plus eat normal food when out on the bike as this is more likely what you'll eat during your event.
- Do lots of shorter but more intense rides structured around things like climbing, cadence, speed, sprints, strength etc. This way you should be able to recover enough for the next day. Plus training shouldn't be as dull as endless zone 2 miles.
- Save your longer rides for taking it easy then that way you should still enjoy yourself.
- Have no longer than 2 consecutive days off.
- Try cross training like swimming or weights or running. Again keep it less than an hour.
- Stretch (I prefer dynamic stretching to static).
If you have a bad ride then it's good training, if it's been a good ride then bonus!
- Supplements. For me that's vitamin C, D, glucosamine and cod liver oil.
- Try to find a training partner or two to help keep thing fresh and you motivated.
- Keep smiling but be prepared for some rough days.

I found that RPE going up hill was radically different to going down. 200W felt like nothing at all climbing, like I was hardly moving, but I had to really smash it on the other side to maintain that.

I aim for flatter rolling roads for anything aiming at consistent Z2 or Sweetspot time. The fitter you get the faster HR drops on a descent too. Someone said that's why the old schoolers train on a fixed wheel in winter but I'd rather just ride on flatter roads, fixed wheels try to kill me when I zone out and relax.

Bookmarked

I aim for flatter rolling roads for anything aiming at consistent Z2 or Sweetspot time

Yes, steeper roads make it nearly impossible to maintain anything like constant power. Round here that means a lot of main roads!

Oh and remember - all you have to do is sit there and pedal, and eventually you'll get there.

The guys above who pushed the 'do not stop' mantra have it nailed; have a bash at two particular points when out on some full training rides...... try to keep 'Stopped Time' to less than 4 mins / hour; set your gps to record stationary time to keep a record of the little breaks at the roadside and secondly just go ride with a couple of pals and ask them to continue at the same 'all day pace' whilst you simply stop for a wee and see how long/ how much effort you need to put in to catch up to where you would have been if you had not stopped ( I know we all need to water a bush - this is just a drill).

Have at the turbo trainer and get the hours logged. I'm doing all my training atm on the turbo for my KAW double next year. I know its boring but saddle time wins.