# tips for training for a 500km ride



## deltaskelta (Apr 13, 2014)

Ok so the whole reason I bought my bike in the first place was to do a 4 day 500km bike trip across the Korean peninsula in May. I don't have that much time to get ready for it, so I am looking for any tips you may have for such a journey. 

I have already looked through the tips in the stickies here, but thought I would ask if there is anything specific for this kind of trip.

Thanks for your help.

EDIT: BTW, the terrain will be mostly flat paved trails along rivers, getting a little mountain-y through the center o the country. Also, Korea is so populated that I shouldn't have much trouble jumping on a train or bus in the nearest city if I run into any problems, so its not like I will ever really be in the middle of nowhere disconnected from the world


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## Alfonsina (Aug 26, 2012)

What are the logistics, outside of the many hours a day of being on a bike? Is this an organised supported ride? How many hours of riding are you expecting to have to do every day to make your 125 kms a day? Food? Lodging? Gear? Night riding?


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## deltaskelta (Apr 13, 2014)

Alfonsina said:


> What are the logistics, outside of the many hours a day of being on a bike? Is this an organised supported ride? How many hours of riding are you expecting to have to do every day to make your 125 kms a day? Food? Lodging? Gear? Night riding?


Not organized in a large group or anything other than the 5-10 friends I am planning it with. It is a common trail and has been done many times. The Korean "parks?" department even has some booths setup where you can stamp a faux passport and get some kind of trinket at the end. I am expecting 6-7 hours a day of riding time 90% of which is paved "no cars" paths that follow rivers. The other small bits go through cities and connecting roads to get to those paths. 

Korea is so densely populated that there will be plenty of food and lodging along the way, choosing from peoples houses who are on the trail and have signs posted to take people in, hotels, and jimjilbangs (Shower + sauna + hottub + a floor to sleep on) No night riding. Will have emergency supplies and some food with me just in case, of course. 

And like I said before, there are plenty of easy options to bail along the way if things get out of control, or over my head.


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## Kumachan (Jan 15, 2013)

I used to ride such distances in Japan which is somewhat close to Korea in terms of cycling.
My recommendations: 
+ Take as little baggage as possible. You can buy everything necessary on the way anyway.
+ Take as little friends with you as possible. Korea is safe country and little people will mean less anchors. 
+ Use USB charged lights and have some for emeregency. Charge them in hotels from a portable charger, no PC necessary. Riding during the night is recommended but it gets dark early so riding at least some three-four hours in the dark makes a lot of sense - less traffic, higher speeds. Actually most my funny stories of cycling trips happened while driving at night. 
+ Stay in hot springs. Ok, that's case for Japan. Small hotels also work. For the extreme country side better to find something before but not really necessary.
+ Train to climb. Train to climb. Train to climb. I can say it again. Korea is mountainous and expect heavy climbs.
+ Before my first trip I did some 30 kilometers daily for few months. It was enough, but still, looking from now I was quite weak then. Still, I did it.


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## Alfonsina (Aug 26, 2012)

Is the OP coming form a zero riding background? Is that right? Are the trails heavily populated? It is hard to maintain speed when you are negotiating horses and kids and skateboarders etc. as you are planing on getting at least 12 mph, is that actually going to happen? I mean, if it is just a tour when you really are not time crunched, it sounds great fun, but really you are still needing to bang out about 80 miles a day for 5 days, right? but you are on a road bike, not a comfy touring bike, and you are going to have to carry kit on your back. You need clean shorts every day, at least. I think you need to have hours in the saddle to make sure you are broken in, you are not racing, so assuming you are already fit aerobically, the worst part would be logistics and arse issues. Get riding mileage every day.


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## QuattroCreep (Nov 30, 2009)

You are looking at a reasonable amount of riding per day about 75mi. Try to break each day into 3 - 2 hour chunks. Try to cover about 25miles/40km per chunk. Between chunks stop and get a coffee/tea/snack, take some photos.

Get comfortable on your bike. Do back to back days to get used to sitting on the bike seat for long periods. If the ground is mostly flat your butt might end up hurting more then your legs. Remember to stand and stretch it out every so often.

I would try to get to the point where you can ride back to back 75km days. Then don't go out to hard on days 1 and 2 of the tour. Pace yourself.

Take 1-2 aspirin in the morning before you get going. Thins the blood a little if you are dehydrated and makes the first hour on the seat a little better on a multi day tour.


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## deltaskelta (Apr 13, 2014)

Thanks for the tips everyone. Most of the cities have a bike trail going through the city that has a path on it, there will be people out and about, but the main point is I shouldnt have to go through many city streets at all. There is also always a dedicated bike path on those river roads, so one can maintain a reasonable speed. 

I am going to try to do two 50km days this weekend and then push it further every weekend until the time comes.

The mountains are what scares me. I don't think there is any way to really anticipate what it will be like until I get out there so I will just have to wait and see and do all the climbing training that I can. 

Thanks for the tips, keep them coming if you have more


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## AndrwSwitch (May 28, 2009)

Having just seen your other post, get your bike checked out by a shop. Do it now, while you have time to do something if they find problems.

I realize I may sound like a bit of a bike snob, but this is reminding me of an event I did a few years ago. It was a multisport relay. I was to do the mountain bike leg and a woman who was new to cycling was doing the road leg. She'd picked up an old 10-speed. It was seriously chewed, with rotting cable housings and brake pads, steel rims, a seatpost with separate clamp, suicide levers on the brakes, etc. etc. etc. I think she still felt a great deal of personal pride in completing her leg, but she was constantly struggling with that bike, both on our ride together and during her leg of the relay.


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## Red90 (Apr 2, 2013)

The old adage applies to endurance riding or racing "Eat before your hungry, Drink before your thirsty!!!"

The key to making it a successful trip is to make sure your body is well taken care of or you'll hit a wall when you ride. This can occur if you don't sleep, drink or eat enough. Try to get 8hrs of sleep every night before the ride, eat a couple of hours before you start and regularly as you ride and make sure you drink enough water to pee clear.

Before you go on the trip, make sure you do some long rides. You need to flush out any fitment issues, aches and soreness. You want to sort out your geometry and get used to the position before the trip.

Also learn to ride in a group. This includes hand signals and calling out cars, hazards, shoulder checking and cycling in a steady predictable manner.


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## Mr645 (Jun 14, 2013)

I think if you can ride 100 miles with 3 or 4 short breaks, then 500k should be possible. The real key to 500k is planning and comfort.
Make sure you carry enough batteries for any night riding, enough tubes and parts for basic repairs that may be needed, carry enough food and liquid to get from stop to stop, in fact carry double the needed liquid and snacks to get from stop to stop in case something slows you down. You have to plan perhaps a clothing change.

And second, comfort and bike fit since you may be spending 30 hrs on a bike.The time in saddle can really become an issue


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