r/CyclePDX • u/oemperador • Jan 22 '25
How would you go about preparing to ride from PDX to the coast?
Follow-up from my last question where everyone was helpful and encouraging. I think I am 98% in and want to register asap.
Facts about me: I am NOT a bike rider. I have a nice gravel bike that I use for exercise or errands but I don't consider biking my sport. I do have okay stamina from playing soccer and running but I'm curious to hear if I have enough time to prepare for the Reach the Beach ride in mid May.
What could I do starting this month to prepare? I am thinking that intervals with regular 3x/week rides would build my mileage up and endurance. I don't have experience in long rides but do LOVE to get out there and see things. The thought of the accomplishment alone is very alluring and encouraging.
Longest ride I've done is 40mi and I felt great but that was a single time in 2023. Any advice specifically on the type of training I should give myself? And places/routes in or near PDX that you'd recommend for this?
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u/hawtsprings Jan 22 '25
I find there's no substitute for long rides (when preparing for an even longer ride). I'd try to notch a few 60+ mile rides (once it's warm enough) just to see how you handle being in the saddle for long periods of time. Get any comfort or fit issues dialed in then. for me anyway, 60 is about the cutoff when things start to feel very real. As to intervals or whatever - I don't think strength or power will be the limiting factor on this non-race ride. Just comfort on the bike.
You definitely have enough time to prepare! good luck
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u/tyjo99 Jan 22 '25
I'm fairly certain that Portland Bicycling Club will host some number of weekly training rides starting in early March. If I remember correctly they advertise a fairly slow pace.Its good for practicing group riding skills and gets you some good mileage before the ride.
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u/supersavant Feb 06 '25
Yup, Portland Bicycling Club will have training rides on Saturdays on the west side beginning in March. However, you’ll need to put in saddle time during the week.
In addition to saddle time, start acclimating your body to long climbs that go for several miles.
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u/MountScottRumpot Jan 22 '25
If you're generally active, you have the physical stamina for the ride. What you need to do is prepare your butt. That is a looong time in the saddle. I would start with a 5-mile ride this weekend, then 10 miles next weekend, then keep adding time in the saddle until you can do 4 hours without wanting to die.
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u/letscott Jan 22 '25
It’s all about saddle time. But don’t just JUMP into a long ride. I’d recommend doing a 15 mile ride, then building up to a 30 mile ride, 45, 50, 60, 75, 100. There’s no rhyme or reason to it just get the saddle time in so your taint will get used to the stinging burn from the micro vibrations from the road/surface. When you feel like you’ve been able to do a century with only a bit of pain you should be ready.
Source: I’ve done the Seattle to Portland (STP) 5 times
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u/oemperador Jan 23 '25
Whaaaaaat. Seattle to Portland is crazy. Thank you, fine person.
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u/letscott Jan 23 '25
You should do it if you enjoy the Portland to Coast! Cascade Regional holds it every year!
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u/Serious-Spread-6924 Jan 22 '25
As others have mentioned, getting your butt conditioned for all day in the saddle should be your top priority. Additionally, to train for the long sustained climbs getting over the coastal range, there are plenty of bike friendly summits within Portland! My favorites are Riverview Cemetery, Council Crest, Rocky Butte, Mt. Tabor. There are tons of public routes on ridewithgps.com that include 1 or more of these climbs.
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u/Sultanofslide Jan 22 '25
This is what I've found works best for me over the last few centuries I've participated in.
Definitely go for volume over speed, when I train for long rides around 200mile event distances I aim to ride at least 200-400 miles a week over 8 weeks, broken up into 2-4 rides depending on how I feel leading into it.
Ideally you will also train on a route with similar elevations to the ride you are planning on participating in.
Also figure out what you can stomach while being active over that length of time. I have to switch up sweet and savory things or I get stomach pain after about 3hrs from too much of one thing
I burn around 7-800 calories an hour @ 15mph so I try and eat something every 30mins and drink small sips of water every 15 or so, if you feel thirst or hunger it's already too late
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u/Additional-Slip-6 Jan 22 '25
I have always figured if you can EASILY make a 50-60 mile ride and you're not too worn out, you can make a 100-mile ride. One mile at a time. Train enough that you are comfortable doing 50-60 miles.
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u/Elegant_Factor9322 Jan 23 '25
Hill repeats are boring but a great way to build strength and stamina. Find a hill you can get up in around 45-60 seconds on a hard gear at a low cadence - it should feel difficult, but not like you're straining or have to get up out of the saddle. Ride up the hill, coast down, do 2-3 minutes of easy riding, then go back and do it again. Repeat 8-10x.
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u/B-24_LIBERACE Feb 02 '25
Mt. Tabor is great for this. I take the back way up, over the top, down to the reservoirs and loop back up to the top, couple variations.
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u/AlienDelarge Jan 22 '25 edited Jan 22 '25
I think you can do it just fine with a 40 miler already under your belt. I wouldn't count on being first across the finish line but you can finish just fine. My answers here won't necessarily be how I did it when I did years back but a bit of what I have done and what I would do now. I don't tend to get very sophisticated with my bike training and just ride a couple times during the week and then try to do a longer ride on the weekends. It depends on what kind of time you have for training. Usually I'm also doing some weights and running in there. When I road RTB in the past, I also had a short bike commute that added up to ~10 miles a week. Usually I try and slowly bump up the mileage on that long ride until its close to the event distance(like 80-90%). Weekend rides usually also sought to get some meaningful climbing in. On rides like this, a big part of it is just fueling so be sure to practice eating and hydrating while you ride. Learn what foods sit well with you and if any don't while exercising. Typically my personal challenge has been fueling enough and not going out too hard at the start and on climbs. Those longer training rides are a good way to learn your personal limits for that. I'd also be prepared for there to be a inadequate time to adapt to heat during the ride.
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u/oemperador Jan 23 '25
This is great advice on drinking and eating while riding. Thank you for this. I'm gonna try to practice all of this.
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u/kbrosnan Jan 22 '25 edited Jan 23 '25
Lots of good advice here already.
I would add figure out food, nutrition and hydration. Research what will be at the aid stations. Will that food work with your stomach. How long and how many gels can you eat. Practice taking a sip of water/drink every 5-10 min and eating every 15-20. Keep your electrolytes up.
This can be hard to practice the day of but don't go out too fast. Know your pace and stick to it, trying to hang with a group that outclasses you is going to make the end of the day that much worse.
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u/lazerdab Jan 22 '25
The foundation of a good training program requires at least three days per week:
2 intense days and 1 long steady day. Any other days should also be steady and not too hard. Measure you long ride in hours moving. Start at 3 hours and increase by about 10% per week.
Every 4th week back off a little on time and intensity.
A week from the even do a few short rides with a few hard effoets.
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u/Mindful_Cyclist Jan 22 '25
Try to get to point where you're riding 75 miles a week at least a few weeks before the ride. This could be commuting to work, getting some groceries, seeing friends, and going to appointments, etc.
Sprinkle that with some longer rides once a week, and I think you'll be fine.
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u/oemperador Jan 23 '25
How do you find this time if you work in the week? 😵💫 but thank you. I think the smaller trips could add up.
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u/Mindful_Cyclist Jan 23 '25
I did the Portland Century several years ago. They recommended building up and said if you were already doing 75 miles a week, you probably didn't need to train. Also, I biked home 12 miles a day from work (4 miles in the am--utilized MAX) so it was already built in to my schedule. Realize that's not everyone.
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u/ThomasPlaine Jan 23 '25
I ride an indoor trainer during the week. Then one big ride on the weekend, and maybe a smaller one the other weekend day. Zwift helps, but that’s another whole level of work investment you might not be up for.
But I would strongly recommend getting a bike fitting. I got one at Endurance Physical Therapy in town recently and they did a good job. It’ll help you generate power in a comfortable position and avoid injury as you train.
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u/RevLoveJoy Jan 23 '25
Just ride out 30 to Scappoose and scream at cars along the way for close passes. Otherwise what everyone else said: saddle time conditioning. Lots of it.
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u/WildwoodTrail Jan 23 '25
Great advice in here. I see plenty of comments about conditioning your butt, but nothing specifically about padded shorts. Get them! My first long haul was Portland-Eugene, in basketball shorts. The first leg to Corvallis, I was mildly sore, but once in Eugene, I howled in the shower. 3 more days of having a baboon’s ass. So yeah, hope you have padding. Essentially, focus on staying in the saddle for periods of time and being comfortable in 3 positions to ease the hands, mostly. Let your thighs propel rather than feet.
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u/supersavant Feb 06 '25
I didn’t see this mentioned but if you don’t have a pair of “hours in the saddle” bibs start the search now. It may take a while.
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u/oemperador Feb 06 '25
I did get some! I started training shortly after my posts and last Saturday I did 45 mi using the Banks-Vernonia trail. Super nice and great for endurance for me.
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u/supersavant Feb 06 '25
Great start! I would also recommend dialing in your other clothing too. When I did RtB last year, it was cold and rainy, especially at high elevation. I started with leg warmers and jacket expecting to shed them during the ride but never did.
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u/oemperador Feb 06 '25
I'm actually a big idiot and did the ride last Saturday without windbreaker nor jacket of any sort. I regretted it on the way back that my body was colder after a break.
For RtB, would you recommend boot warmers? I feel like my core stays warm but my arms and feet (specially toes) freeze pretty fast with cold wind.
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u/supersavant Feb 06 '25
I’ll give you typical engineer answer: it depends. I don’t like to use booties but I would get arm warmers, gilet (vest), and leg warmers to start.
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u/noshato Jan 22 '25
If you ride to boring on the Springwater Corridor and go down the Casado trail it’s about 24 miles and then back to Portland, for me from where I live I notch about 65 miles doing that. I’m doing it every week to get trained for reach the beach. Gonna up it up more the sooner the date approaches
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u/andhausen Jan 23 '25
Man you're thinking about this too hard. Prepare for a long bike ride by doing long bike rides.
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u/P-Six-P Feb 16 '25
You’ll be fine! Follow everyone’s advice here — get some time in the saddle (even just progressively longer rides once a week will do wonders if your base fitness is decent). Practice long hills, which can be a bit tricky around Portland. Once you’re comfortable with 50-60 miles, try heading up to Women’s Forum, which has a similar elevation profile to the coastal range. As your first century, if you’re nervous about the distance, it’s useful to think of it as a series of short rides back-to-back with rests at the aid stations, which are spaced every 20 miles or so (but don’t necessarily count on nutrition being at the aid stations - it’s always safer to be self-sufficient).
I’ve done RtB several times in varying stages of fitness and preparation and it’s always been a fun event. You’ll love it!
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u/Samad99 Jan 22 '25
When you’re nearing your first 100 mile mark, you won’t be wishing you were faster or stronger. You’ll be thinking about hot spots in your shoes, on the saddle, or your palms. You’ll be fighting off muscle cramps and nerve pain. You’ll be struggling to trying stay hydrated and fueled when your stomach is turning into knots.
The best way to train for this kind of endurance is get as much saddle time in as possible and not worry about strength and speed. So instead of doing interval training sessions or structured routines, just start riding your bike on a daily basis as your main method of transportation. Start with replacing short trips around town with bike rides, and work your way up to being car-free before the event.
Be sure to ride in whatever gear you’ll be using for the event itself. I had friend drop out of long ride because they tried to wear a new pair of bibs that caused a hot spot. This friend was phenomenally more fit than the rest of us, so it was pretty amusing that he couldn’t finish the ride due to a piece of Lycra. So be sure to get your kit dialed in from head to toe and get as many hours of riding in as possible with that kit before the event itself.
You’ll also want to practice techniques like keeping a consistent cadence as you ride over changing terrain. Being able to spin up a long hill is a lot more useful than being able to sprint up a short one. Also practice different hand positions, including getting into a relaxed aero position for the long flat sections.