There are tons of blogs and books out there about how to train for a long-distance bicycle tour. Some are helpful, and others are kind of crazy… one bike touring email newsletter I signed up for recommended that I “try sleeping on the ground (or even outside) for several nights before you leave on your trip!” Yeah, because three months of that won’t be enough when I’m actually ON the tour. No thanks.
But, my grandpa used to say that chance favors the prepared, and it’s my philosophy, too. So, although I’m forgoing the opportunity to spend the holiday season in a tent on the back porch, I’m doing what I can to prepare physically.
I’m actually training for two things right now – the ride, obviously, and also a Physical Fitness Test for the Marine Corps. I’m heading to Officer Candidates School in summer 2012, but before I do I have to pass a readiness test in February that consists of a 5k run, 70 second flexed arm hang, and 100 sit-ups in 2 minutes. So I’m totally obsessed with cross-training. My workout schedule is 4 days of biking a week (10-20 miles, 20-30 miles, 30-40 miles, 40-60 miles), crossfit 3x per week, running 3x per week (one 1-3 mile maintenance run, one track workout, one timed 5k) , and yoga as often as I can make it. The long bike rides are the hardest to fit in to my day because they take up so much time – one of the many reasons that I’m looking forward to the “practice ride” I’m taking from San Francisco back to San Diego in January. That will really give me the feeling for what it will be like to bike 60+ miles day after day – and sleep outdoors.
I can definitely feel my legs getting stronger, especially going up hills. It’s amazing how much our bodies can change and adapt in just a few weeks. While I’ve been riding with my rear panniers about half-full, this week I’m going to add more weight and put on the front panniers. The bike handles much differently when fully loaded, so I’m looking forward to some awkward wobbling and frantic clip-out moments at stoplights around town.
If you’ve ever trained for a long ride and have thoughts you’d like to share, or have general fitness tips, feel free to leave a comment on my wall, shoot me a message via Twitter, or drop me a line at janessagoldbeck at gmail dot com. I’d love to hear from you.
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