# Bicycle Tour of Colorado Training



## I3erto (Jul 23, 2007)

So.. My brother calls me up and wants to do this ride 

http://www.bicycletourcolorado.com/index.php?func=display&module=htmlpages&pid=41 

Its a little more intense than any ride I've done before. I have done centuries in the past and I currently ride 60 or so miles a week (not currently training for anything just riding to and from work). I looked at old century training schedules and was wondering if they will be enough work to complete the ride. If anyone has done it before how did you train? Any advice would be great. Thanks in advance.


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## MerlinAma (Oct 11, 2005)

Century training schedules are certainly a good place to start. I've done 5 BTC tours and 2 CRMBT.COM tours. (you might look at their route and date as an alternative)

Back to your question. You need to spend some time climbing, either real or simulated. Colorado climbs are not steep, but are long. So don't worry about 12% plus grades, worry about 5-8% grades for 7 - 10 miles. 

We rode Gunnison to Creede last year (this would be BTC 2010 first day) and it's a tough 106 miles.

Also back to back long rides. You'll be riding several days in a row for more than a few hours so your saddle needs to work well. It just takes some time in the saddle for your neck, arms, and back end to adjust.

Typically before a Colorado summer tour, I'm putting in 200 miles a week, but I can assure you there will be many people that you think have only been to spin class. I guess it depends on how much effort you want to put in. My goal has always been to RIDE the tour, but you'll see many people on BTC sagging in. Don't be surprised at the number of tents up when you actually ride to the finish.  

BTC has a decent forum and you can get input from some veterans over there.


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## Drew Eckhardt (Nov 11, 2009)

I3erto said:


> So.. My brother calls me up and wants to do this ride
> 
> http://www.bicycletourcolorado.com/index.php?func=display&module=htmlpages&pid=41
> 
> Its a little more intense than any ride I've done before. I have done centuries in the past and I currently ride 60 or so miles a week (not currently training for anything just riding to and from work). I looked at old century training schedules and was wondering if they will be enough work to complete the ride. If anyone has done it before how did you train? Any advice would be great. Thanks in advance.


As one data point but not a suggestion:

I did Ride The Rockies in 1997 from Grand Junction to Golden (418 miles, 29,000-30,000 feet of climbing) when I was riding ~20 miles a day with the masters racers across the street at work most days and ~25 miles on weekends plus a couple of centuries and rides in the mountains around Boulder.

It felt good although the initial 60 mile 5000' climb up Grand Mesa seemed like it would never end.

Ride the Rockies has a suggested training schedule here:
http://www.ridetherockies.com/rider-area/training/


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## I3erto (Jul 23, 2007)

thanks for the reply. i dont think that getting up to 200 miles a week by june will be to difficult. ive done it before. im more worried about the multiple day hard rides at altitude (i live in san diego at sea level). i would agree with you, i would like to be able to RIDE it not just finish it. it is always much more enjoyable when you are'nt struggling. which ride do you think is better the bct or the crmbt? both seem pretty difficult and im/we're not tied to the bct if the crmbt is a better ride.


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## pmf (Feb 23, 2004)

I did Ride the Rockies in 2000. I live in the DC area which is close to sea level. For me, the altitude was the biggest factor. Most of the roads in Colorado are relatively recently built and well graded. That's not true of roads on the east coast that tend to march straight up a hill (I rode Pedal Pennsylvania a few years earlier -- that was some steep stuff). So like someone else said, you're going up long long climbs taking sometimes well over an hour. The wind was also a factor. I remember having a day resembling your day #2 where it looked mostly downhill all day. I looked forward to that day. Unfortunately, there was a strong headwind forcing us to pedal hard down that incline. 

Ride as many miles as you can. Try to do back to back long rides. Get a big cassette (12-27) if you don't have a triple. I even bought a smaller front chainring, but in the end, that wasn't really necessary. Go early and acclimate if you can. My wife and I did the ride and went several days early -- it helped me. When doing weeklong tours, its important to pace yourself. Eat well and drink lots of water. If you can, get a short leg massage every day. I did this for the Pedal PA ride and it helped me recover. Keep your water bottles clean. Keep yourself clean. Don't wear the same shorts day after day. After finishing up every day, its a good idea to get a shower right away and put some lose fitting clothes on. I'd usually then lay down, prop my feet up and drink some fluids for an hour or so. As the week wears on, it'll be harder and harder to sleep -- don't worry about it. Take a light jacket, gloves and tights -- the mornings are often in the 50's. When I was there, it snowed the week before the ride (this was in late June). Being from DC, which is usually a blast furnace by mid-June, it never occured to me to take some cool weather clothes. 

Colorado is a spectacular place to ride. The roads are good and have wide shoulders. The scenery is really awesome. The nights are cool and comfortable. You'll have a great time and remember it for years after.


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## pmf (Feb 23, 2004)

Oh, and if you can afford it --- get hotel rooms. I'm personally not into camping, especially after riding all day long.


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## cdhbrad (Feb 18, 2003)

"We rode Gunnison to Creede last year (this would be BTC 2010 first day) and it's a tough 106 miles."

I'll vouch for that, I was on the same ride. Toughest, but probably the most fun day, I have ever had on a bike. I spent most of the climb up Slumgullion Pass at 4-5 mph, but never stopped til I reached the top. I'm from FL and last year's CRMBT ride was my first riding in CO. I was riding about 10-12 hrs a week, 175 miles or so, the whole summer before I went out there. We don't have many hills to speak of in FL, but one section north of me that I visited every Sunday I could.

For gearing, I strongly suggest either a compact or a triple. My bike had a 50/34 crank and a 12/27 cassette and I did OK. On our tour, I was in the 34/27 combo quite often on the climbs. One very fit Masters racer with my group came out with a 53/39 and 12-25setup and when we got to Durango for a rest day, he was searching every shop for the biggest cassette he could use with a standard Shimano derailleur. He said next time, he'll have a compact. 

All that said, don't pass up the chance to do the ride. It was the most fun I have ever had in one week on a bike and will definitely do it again.


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## zipptrek (Jun 16, 2002)

Hi,
I rode the BTC in '99. Camping is a ***** after a long day. You have to unpack at night then repack in the AM. Tent and all. Water proof bag for your gear. They drop your bag out in the open. It rained 5 of the 7 days for me. Wet gear, no fun.
Getting food every night was tough. Not sure I would have liked their menu though.
By the time I got done doing everything that had to get done it was bedtime.
Extra bike clothing is nice. You have to wash your own. Did mine in the sink at the schools we camped at.

We went a week early and slept at elevation to get acclimated. I highly recommend this if your a flat lander. I live at 270 ft. Not sure of this yrs tour but they usually go up over 10,000 ft several times. Be prepared for inclimate weather on the ride, it can get nasty up there in them mts. State police had to cancel one of our climbs due to freezing rain. Problem was we were already halfway done the days ride and got stuck in Silverton. They weren't expecting 1200 people. I think we out numbered the population. They ran out of food and warmer gear.
I rode up red mt pass with just a thin wind breaker and thin tights. About 11 miles uphill.
It was about 35 degrees fahrenheit and raining. Not too bad on the way up, hypothermia on the way down.

I say go for it, you will never forget it. Great scenery, took some awesome pics.
When you get home you can kick some a&& from all the altitude training.


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## pmf (Feb 23, 2004)

A waterproof bag is a good idea -- that never occurred to me. They do dump all the bags out on the ground for pick-up. I guess I got lucky -- it never rained on us. 

Hotels are worth it.


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## Blue CheeseHead (Jul 14, 2008)

I am about to embark on a similar, self guided trip to NorCal, 4 consecutive days, 321 miles and 25,000 ft of climbing. I have been riding 8-10 hours a week since January (mostly on a CompuTrainer). Having done 3 of the rides last year and knowing the condition I was in then, I am feeling good about this trip. I worked on general conditoning and increasing power for the first 10 weeks. Since then I have been mixing in some simulated hill climbs (20 min x 3) just to get my legs used to the burning feeling for long periods. My bike happens to have a triple and I put a 12-27 on it for this trip. I use every gear and when it tips up to 20% I wish I had more.  I agree with the others that you want a compact+27 at a minimum. SRAM makes a 28 and a friend going to NorCal with me found a 30 for his bike. He may have had to go to a medium or long cage derailleur. I am not sure.

Since you are in San Diego you are not too far from some good climbing. Go ride plenty of hills.

You will really need to pace yourself. Day 1 looks tough. Use easy gears. It is no time to play Contidor on the climb. Sit back, watch your heart rate and survive.

Frankly for me the descents worry me more than the climbs.


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## Dank (Nov 26, 2006)

What about gearing? I'll be in the Boulder/Estes Park area...Right now I'm running an 11-25 --53/39...


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## pmf (Feb 23, 2004)

Dank said:


> What about gearing? I'll be in the Boulder/Estes Park area...Right now I'm running an 11-25 --53/39...


On Ride the Rockies, the climbs were not that steep, just really long. Pedal PA and Bike VA had some much nastire stuff. On RTR, they didn't put us on anything a semi tractor couldn't get up. Rocky Mountian National Park was the steepest day and it wasn't that steep. The climb was really long and got up to something like 12,000 feet. It was cold and the air was thin. There was ice and snow at the top, and this was in mid June. We didn't hang out on top very long. 

On that tour I used a 12-27 cassette and 53/38 chain rings. Lots of gearing is nice when you get tired on a climb. You might want to get a 12x27. The set up you have will work fine though.


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