# Training for a 130 miler! Advice



## RoadCrusher (Sep 29, 2010)

So Im training for a 130 miler between Sacramento and San Francisco and looking for any advice from people that have crossed over and completed a 100+ ride. We are planning on doing this ride in a little less than a month. I have been training about three days a week with shorter rides during the week and a longer ride on the weekend. Last weekend I rode 50 miles which is the longest ride I have ever completed. Im a little worried that I might be stepping it up to quickly since we are planning on riding 80 miles this next weekend then 100 the following and then the following weekend doing the 130 miler.

Another issue is I have a piece o crap bike. It's an old 1982 Schwinn World and Its really heavy compared to other bikes so I feel like Im putting in a lot more effort then my brothers are. We found and rescued it from a dumpster and replaced the rubber components and made it ridable. It's still a heap, the wheels wobble, so i have the brakes at looser setting so the wheel doesn't rub the brakes, the shifter doesn't work very well, especially on hills when im shifting a lot.

I don't have $1000 dollars to spend on a new road bike just yet but plan on saving and hopefully buying one early next year. The way I feel with gear intensive sports is you really should use the shitty gear and use it and abuse it and earn the privilege to have better gear otherwise you either wont appreciate it or it will just collects dust in the garage. 

I do however routinely pass people that have nice bikes on the trail and get such a kick out of it when I clank past them. Anyways any advice from you guys would be awesome! 

Thanks :thumbsup:


----------



## skyliner1004 (May 9, 2010)

make sure ur bike is in good/perfect mechanical condition. anything wrong will make your ride miserable. carry a spare tube, patches, everything else you may need.

a month is plenty of time. i trained for 1 week for my first 100mile ride. my training consisted of 4x 20 mile rides @ 75% effort. I didn't ride the bike 2 days before the event. and i did well on the century ride. My avg for the century was actually faster than my avg speed for all my lone rides. 

Try to do the ride with as many people as u can. a bigger group means higher avg speeds.

just ride as many long rides as u can with ample rest between rides. rest is as important as training.


----------



## AndrwSwitch (May 28, 2009)

On a longer ride, it's all about fit. Something slightly bothersome at mile 20 can be incredibly annoying at 50, and downright painful at 100.

With bikes from the early '80s, sometimes by the time you price out needed maintenance parts to get an efficient, reliable ride, the most sensible thing to do is put them back in the dumpster from whence they came. On the other hand, sometimes you luck into some pretty nice hardware.

Bad shifting can be caused by all sorts of things. Do you have a friction shifter or is it indexed? If it's indexed, it needs to be adjusted correctly. The derailleur needs to be on straight, the hanger needs to be straight, and there can't be any play in the pantograph - the part of the derailleur above the jockey wheels, where the pivots are.

The chain needs not to be stretched, and the freewheel needs not to be worn out.
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/chains.html#wear

The rest of his site is worth a good look too, especially since maintenance information for older bikes is sometimes a little tricky to find.

A dirty derailleur cable or housings is another very frequent cause of bad shifting. If it's the same as what was on the bike when you un-dumpstered it, you could probably benefit from replacing it.

Finally, shifting under load, especially on older 10- and 12-speeds, takes good technique. You need to let up on the pedals a little bit for the shift. It helps to anticipate shifts on climbs.

While you're having a maintenance fest, check the bearings. They may have some seal drag, but they should turn smoothly. There should be no play in the bottom bracket and headset, and no play in the wheels when they're on the bike. Don't forget the pedals.

Can you get one of your brothers to help you true the bad wheel? If not, it's not that hard and there are instructions all over the 'net. Go slow, be patient, and don't set your expectations too high. Thirty year old rims are sometimes limited as to how good they can be. The brakes can be used as a stand-in for the feeler on a truing stand, but your brakes need to be correctly aligned for that to work.

My commuter is a mid-'80s bike. Good ones are certainly worth keeping and maintaining, and I think they're fully adequate to any non-competitive road bike role. Just figure out what it will cost to get this one back to good mechanical condition, and be realistic about whether that will make sense.

EDIT: Oh yeah... pics?


----------



## PJ352 (Dec 5, 2007)

RoadCrusher said:


> So Im training for a 130 miler between Sacramento and San Francisco and looking for any advice from people that have crossed over and completed a 100+ ride. We are planning on doing this ride in a little less than a month. I have been training about three days a week with shorter rides during the week and a longer ride on the weekend. Last weekend I rode 50 miles which is the longest ride I have ever completed. Im a little worried that I might be stepping it up to quickly since we are planning on riding 80 miles this next weekend then 100 the following and then the following weekend doing the 130 miler.
> 
> Another issue is I have a piece o crap bike. It's an old 1982 Schwinn World and Its really heavy compared to other bikes so I feel like Im putting in a lot more effort then my brothers are. We found and rescued it from a dumpster and replaced the rubber components and made it ridable. It's still a heap, the wheels wobble, so i have the brakes at looser setting so the wheel doesn't rub the brakes, the shifter doesn't work very well, especially on hills when im shifting a lot.
> 
> ...


My advice is pretty straightforward. If you've made this bike rideable, have already put a fair number of miles on it and plan to ride over 100 more before your 'journey', lube the chain and maybe do some _minor_ tweaking, but avoid going through the bike and getting into more major adjustments - at least before the planned ride. Doing so reminds me of working on my plumbing problems in my old house. What started out as an adjustment ended up being a day job requiring a couple of trips to the hardware store.  

BUT, by all means be prepared by bringing along the standard spare tubes/ patch kits, etc.

I think with your attitude and motivation you'll do fine. And BTW, I find your philosophy towards 'gear' refreshing. Kudo's to you for that!! :thumbsup:


----------



## ewitz (Sep 11, 2002)

Look into renting a better bike for the last week of prep (including the 100 mile ride) and the actual ride. For the cost of a rental you have the piece of mind that comes from a reliable bike.


----------



## BeepBeepZipTang (Oct 8, 2009)

Seems like your bike is serving you well right now, some flaws you mention,may hamper you a bit, but you seem confident about it.Tune it , lube it and and go...:idea: 

Dont forget to..
Stretch out and hydrate a couple days before and more a few hours before the event...:idea: 

Most of all...Have a Nice ride.:thumbsup:


----------



## iebobo (Jun 23, 2006)

As others have said, get your bike tuned to make sure your wheels are true and roll smoothly and that your shifters and derailleurs are at least adjusted properly. Whatever you do, I recommend NOT making any big changes to your bike for a couple of weeks before your ride. This is a recipe for disaster, as shifter cables can stretch and you can find that the new saddle you put on the week before is brutally painful after 50 miles.


----------



## Peanya (Jun 12, 2008)

Take the bike to the shop, and spend $60 to get it tuned & the wheels trued. You could rent a bike, but I'd be worried about fit for such a long ride. You could rent it out before, and then if it's good rent it again for the long ride. 
Other than that, have fun, get plenty of sleep, and have a carb-heavy dinner the night before. Take 3 to 4 days off before the ride too. Oops, almost forgot: get some good shorts! Sugoi RS, DeSoto 400 mile, Assos are great starting places.


----------



## Keeping up with Junior (Feb 27, 2003)

*Train your Tummy*

Learn how to eat and drink for a long event. You will need to stay hydrated as well as keep your energy stores up with appropriate calories. Try different things and find what works best for you. What you want/need at the 40 mile mark is different than what you will want/need at the 80/100/120 mile mark.


----------



## Mr. Versatile (Nov 24, 2005)

130 miles is a very significant and ambitious undertaking. In addition to just sitting & riding long distances you should also be riding plenty of intervals. An interval means riding along at your normal speed, then get in the drops and go 110% effort for 60 sec. Rest a couple of min by going back to your normal speed, then repeat the all out effort. It's unlikely you'll ride this on your long ride but it will improve your strength and endurance. If you do this ride prepare by hydrating (drinking) a lot of water the day before the ride...maybe about 3 qts spaced out during the day. The day of the ride take a real big, nice drink before the ride starts & during the ride continue to drink. I usually empty a water bottle every 20 mi. or less. Even if it's cool you're losing a lot of water through perspiration and respiration and failing to replace that will land you in a place where you don't want to go. 

Before a long ride like a century I like to eat carbs for breakfast. My fave is oatmeal & I usually eat a double serving of it along with some fruit. On the ride I always carry Cliff Bars, Power Bars or something similar. I make my own trail mix minus the M&Ms. I try to eat something every hour. I always pack some kind of pain meds, e.g. aspirin, Advil, or similar. When you're on the bike that long if something starts to hurt it will quickly become like the worst toothache you ever had.

Wear comfortable cycling specific clothing including cycling shoes, gloves, & sunglasses.

Lastly, & I'm not trying to be unfriendly or harsh - I would not do a ride like the one you have planned on a bike like you've described even if it was perfectly flat. I'm no snob but I'd certainly use a better bike for a ride like this.


----------



## RoadCrusher (Sep 29, 2010)

Thanks for all of the advice!

I completed 80 miles this last Saturday which consisted of a ride up to apple hill and back from Sacramento. This consisted of about 4500 feet in elevation gain on the way there and about 1500 feet on the way back. This ride kicked my ass but I'm feeling pretty good that I was able to do it. I have not had much experience with sustained hills so this was good but my legs are still recovering.

I didn't bring any snacks which I think I will definatly do next time and eat every hour. I had a fruit smoothie for breakfast which I don't think was enough and had delicious apple pie once we got up to apple hill. I had plenty of water and I think I was fine there. 

Im getting much better at shifting and the sustained hills really forced me to shift smoothly. I wish i had a better bike but I seem to be doing well on the one I plan to have it tuned at the LBS before the ride so it should be in good working order.


----------



## hanyu (Oct 21, 2005)

I was at Apple Hill on Saturday. I saw some youngsters with road bikes hanging out at Kid's Inc. Was that you?


----------



## RoadCrusher (Sep 29, 2010)

Ya! we were there to get some Walkin pies so you probably saw us. We just cant resist them and had to ride all the way up to apple hill just to get them.


----------

