I'm in a similar boat as Toshi when it comes to cycling. I have plenty of other things to do and a dog who needs to run 15-20 miles a week, so time on the bike is precious. The only times I get to ride more than 3-4 hours at one go are brevets or the occasional organized club event in my area. Zwift--and especially Zwift racing--has been essential in keeping my fitness up. Careful discipline during events is helpful as well. I don't have a power meter, but an HR strap has been a useful way of making sure my effort is where it should be. I didn't get that far into our brevet season last year, but I did do the Triple Bypass last July. Training was a mix of intervals on the trainer, as Toshi describes, and long, Z2 rides in the mountains. In the end, I was able to climb Loveland Pass (summits at 11,990 feet) while keeping my heart rate reasonably under control. On Tuesday, March 24, 2026 at 7:05:35 AM UTC-6 [email protected] wrote:
> We were just talking about this in another discord server - I believe RUSA > seems to think populaires are training for a 200K, which is a training for > a 300K, and so on. My local RUSA club seems to think otherwise. We have a > trio PBP finishers in the club, and maybe a handful of SR series completes. > At least in our club, these folks are supplementing their near daily riding > with big weekend rides in between - so for the 200K, they will have done > the 125/150K as well as an additional 150K in between, then maybe another > century/200K before the next 300K, etc. > > As this is titled "notes from a lazy randonneur", I suspect that may not > be part of your training plan. I consider myself to be a somewhat fit, > multi-sport individual, but I have found that by trying to do the bare > minimum of commuting and maybe a halfway decently sized ride on the > weekends is not enough as I get above 200K. I'm jealous of those folks who > can ride 200/300 and be no worse for wear; I typically need a few days > recovery. > > What is your nutrition regiment, btw? My issue is never remembering to > eat/drink enough, even though I feel like I am slamming my mouth full of > it. > > On Monday, March 23, 2026 at 10:09:48 PM UTC-5 ttoshi wrote: > >> The PBP 1200 km bike ride is in 2027, and if I am ever going to do it, it >> will be next year. My daughter offered to support me at the overnight >> controls by finding my hotel and carrying my extra provisions and clothes >> to the hotel. How can I pass that up? >> >> With that goal in mind, what is the minimum effort I can put in and still >> have a comfortable and fun ride? >> >> In the case of training, it's either time in the saddle or increased pain >> while you are saddled. You can look up the peer reviewed literature, but >> the ratio can be 4:1. That is, 30 minutes of painful intervals can be worth >> 2 hours of endurance riding. >> >> Well, my only riding this year has basically been commuting to work and >> back. I have a 7.5 mile commute each way, and with ~900 feet of climbing on >> the way home, it takes about 45 minutes home. If I can achieve a 4:1 ratio, >> then a painful commute can be worth as much as 3 hours of moderate >> endurance riding. >> >> So far this year, I did a 200k and 300k with basically nothing other than >> my commutes. 2026 was my 7th time doing the SFR Healdsburg 300k and it was >> my fastest time ever by nearly an hour! >> >> What happened? Well, there was some luck involved, as there were no flats >> or mechanicals. My friend with whom I rode the 200k, 300k, 400k and 600k >> was much stronger this year and paced us quickly through the wind. However, >> I think my biggest difference is the use of a power meter and Garmin watch >> to do power-based interval training. >> >> My Garmin puts me through the wringer several times a week. The hardest >> are the sets of 20 second, sprint intervals. However, doing the "threshold" >> interval of 15 minutes gets me home a full 5 minutes faster than my fastest >> previous time! >> >> I think my body is learning to recover more efficiently from hard pushes, >> allowing me to go more quickly over rollers on the road without wearing >> out. The longer moderate power intervals help me put out more power on >> climbs without wearing out. You can do all out sprints without a power >> meter, but the moderate intervals are really helped by the power meter >> keeping me honest about exactly how much work I am doing. >> >> I have a 400k in a few weeks. In order to prepare for that, I added a >> longer way home with an additional hill, but I am not planning on doing any >> weekend rides. By the end of the work week, my legs feel like I did an all >> day bike ride, so I feel good about using the weekend to recover my legs >> for the following commute week. I'll report back after my 400k and 600k in >> May. These rides should be enough for me to get registered for PBP next >> year... >> >> Toshi in Oakland (RUSA 7220) >> > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/5ebd275b-74b6-445c-b034-0ee24f24a867n%40googlegroups.com.
