New cycling goal

As I previously mentioned, I’ve recently started cycling.  After a bit of down time due to a virus, I realised how much I missed not being able to cycle.  That has spurred me on to new goals!

My intent is to ride in next year’s Manchester to Blackpool bike ride!  That’s a whopping 60 miles cycling in one sitting!  Bearing in mind that the furthest I have done in one ride so far has been 15 miles, I’m going to have to do some work!  I need to have a plan!!  First of all I have to build up my stamina, and the only thing for that is to build up my cycling miles.  Looking at my previous workouts, I’ve only managed about 30 miles a month….. that needs to increase.  So first target is 30 miles in a week.

This is very much achievable through commuting.  However, if I don’t manage to cycle in to work then the distance can be made up in the evenings and weekends.  Once I’ve sustained 30 miles a week, I intend to up it by 10 miles until I reach 60 miles in a week.  From that point on I need to focus on extending my ride length.

The other thing I’m noticing is my average speed is quite low.  Some of that could be attributed to fitness and some of the terrain I ride on (gravelly paths and poor quality roads), but some could be down to my bike setup.  Currently I’ve got semi-slick 700C x 42 tyres on my hybrid bike.  Picking up some slimmer tyres would certainly help reduce my rolling road resistance and I’m not convinced that my seating position is at its optimal, so I’ll look into that.  But for now, its time to get my miles up!  I’ll keep my blog updated with how I am progressing!