RideLondon Training Update #1

Very nearly one year ago I joined a big family group to do the  Memory Walk in Sutton to raise money for Alzheimer’s Society. We were walking in memory of my Dad who suffered from Pick’s Disease, a form of Dementia. We had a great time and smashed our fundraising target, generating over £1,000 for Alzheimer’s Society!

Next year, on what would have been my Dad’s 67th birthday I’ll be taking part in another Alzheimer’s Society fundraising event – RideLondon. It’s a 100 mile bike ride starting and finishing in central London and taking in the Surrey Hills. I’m targeting £600 as a fundraising target, but I’d really love to double that. Take a look at my Just Giving page if you haven’t already.

This is the first of weekly – I hope – updates on my training progress. I also want to outline what my training plan looks like.

As part of my training I’m using British Cycling’s couch to 50k plan. It’s a bit tame to start with, for me, because I cycle a reasonable amount already including tackling a 5% gradient pulling a trailer with my 3 and 5 year old in! But it’ll get tougher, and then I’ll move onto the Improver’s Training Plan which should get me capable of doing a 60 mile ride before March.

Beyond that, I’m not sure what I’ll be done to get ready for 100 miles, but being able to do 60 miles in March gives me the spring and most of summer to work up to 100 miles. I’ll be looking out for organised rides to take part in during those few months to both get experience and build confidence. Maybe I’ll even join a local road cycling club!

That’s the plan then… but I’ve already started! So what have I been doing?

Well, week 1 is pretty tame:

  • Monday – Rest (yeah, weird to start with a rest day)
  • Tuesday – 30-minutes steady ride
  • Wednesday – Cross training/rest
  • Thursday – 30-minutes steady ride
  • Friday – Cross training/rest
  • Saturday – Rest
  • Sunday – 30-minutes steady ride

This week I did the Tuesday and Sunday rides (see all my rides on Strava) but as the kids were with me it was harder to stick to the plan. I did more than that though, riding a total of 15 miles over Wednesday, Thursday and Friday pulling the kids around. I probably exerted myself more than the training plan demands of me!

Week 2 is pretty similar, with slightly longer rides, presumably to help build stamina – one thing I definitely need to improve on. Cycling makes me feel really good, so I’ve enjoyed this week 🙂 Looking forward to week 2!

Donate now if you haven’t, and if you have, maybe you can help me with some supplies?


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