Getting Ready

Getting Ready .... MS Team FedEx Training Tips

This page is intended to offer you some tips on how to prepare for riding the MS Bike Tour. It is meant to offer sound advice, however this is not expert advice, just insight from past experience. If anyone has ideas for this page please let us know and we'll try to include them in a future update.

Am I riding enough?

Many people ask about how often they should be riding to prepare for a long ride. I think that there are a few considerations. Obviously you need to train your muscles which means you need to ride and you need to have non riding rest days. You also need to train to a higher level of aerobic fitness. One must also consider what I loosely call "training for comfort". The chief complaint I hear from riders is that they have the legs, heart and lungs for the long day but they suffer from such discomfort that they can't continue. Generally we suffer from pain in our arms, neck, back, hands and of course our rear ends.

I believe that the only real solution to the comfort issue is time spent on the bike regularly. I don't even think that it has to be a long duration, just regular riding. Our bodies need the riding position to not be a foreign position when we spend the entire day in the saddle.

Another benefit from regular riding this time of year is that our bodies become accustomed to the heat and humidity. It is quite possible to be an athlete with very good aerobic fitness but lousy tolerance to the heat. The only way our bodies adjust is to train in the environment that we plan on performing in.

Am I ready?

You are probably more ready than you think. Most new riders that ride the MS Bike Tours have not pedaled 80 miles in a day ever before. Those new riders that have been taking advantage of the team training rides have more of a head start than the average new rider in that you've done some long distances. The good news is that many experts agree that most riders can ride 2 to 3 times further than they ever have if they are riding consistently. So if you've done some 30 to 40 mile rides, you should be fine.

I recommend that you keep your normal training pace up until about four days before the tour. At that point I think it's prudent to back off and get good rest right before the long ride. Personally, I ride my last 20 to 30 mile ride on Tuesday, 10 to 15 on Wednesday, rest on Thursday and ride just 6 or 8 miles on Friday before the tour. To each his own but I have found that this keeps me kind of "warmed up" but not worn out.

It is also important to consider what you eat in the week before the ride. We all read stories about pro riders that break all the rules about eating and eat four pizzas for breakfast and then go ride 125 miles at 30 mph, I don't think that's the norm. There are hundreds of articles to read online about nutrition so I won't spell out a plan here. I just think it's important to point out that it pays to eat correctly before the tour. It is generally accepted practice to eat many more carbohydrates than you usually do in the two days before the big event so you might want to read up on that as well.

Don't forget to prep your bike as well as your body. If you have any doubts about the condition of your bike, please get it to a bike shop and let an expert have a look. There is nothing worse than having a bike problem on the ride and unfortunately I speak from experience. Our bike shop sponsors do offer excellent mechanical help on the road during the tour but you want that to be your back-up. If you come to the tour with a broken bike you will find yourself in a line to get it fixed and possibly a late start.

I'm new. Tell me about being on the ride...

Once you are out on the route there will be rest stops about every 10 miles. These stops will have water, Gatorade, fruit and other items needed to keep you going. Lunch will be served at one of the stops. If you need help along the road you can alert one of the SAG trucks by waving as they go by. The SAGS can take you to the next rest stop and if you need to call it a day, they will get you to the finish. Please note that if you need to stop riding for the day and it's early, it may take a little while to get you to the finish, the SAG trucks can't all be making the trip to the finish at the same time

If you have questions or concerns, please contact your team captain or one of the other experienced riders on your team. Have a great ride!