Preparing for The Audax Ride:

Going long more a state of mind than it is a physical act.  That said, getting the bod and bike in condition are good and worthy actions.

The body:  To begin with, just get into the saddle.  Do it now.  Do it regularly.  Do it often.  Start with five to seven hours per week.  That’s not hard to accomplish.  Do a one hour ride on every weekday, and one two hour jaunt on the weekends.  Keep the effort level low, and enjoy  the thing.  Alternately, three each hour-and-a-half ride, evenly spread through the week would work well.  The key is to be on the bike, and to do it consistently.

If you can, make two of these rides into fairly serious workouts, and the others very low-key.  But time on the bike is more critical than high effort.

Weather and darkness can make some of this a little difficult.  Spin Class can help.  We do a great one at Bicycles Unlimited.  I’d avoid a gym type class.  Most of them are “suffer parties” which don’t target specific areas a cyclist needs.

Note:  It’s not possible to be consistent part of the time.  The goal is to ride regularly, and do it spread throughout the week.  A five to seven hour thrash, once a week, will do more damage than good.  Put another way, it’s not possible to make up for three off days, by riding three times as long on the fourth.

The Bike:  For now, get it clean.  Lubricate the driveline.  Inflate the tires.  Get any minor problems fixed.  Go Ride.  You’ll want to get a good thorough tune up done around the end of the first week of February.

The first of the Audax Tune Up Rides is on February 26.  The trick it to get any real deficiencies identified and corrected by then.

We’ll soon have more on this subject, including the hows and more importantly the whys.  Until then, go out and ride!  Engage this week, and enjoy it!