Training for London-Brighton ride

[GorgeousLadyofWrestling]

How would I go about this? It’s in September and 55 miles.

For reference I cycle 2-3 times a week to work which is a 20 mile round trip. I have 3 young kids and going out on rides for hours and hours is not feasible. I have sometimes gone out for two hours or so - usually covering 20-25 miles.

Bit worried I’m not going to be able to build up enough time in the saddle. I’ve signed up with people at work and they’ve said they stopped frequently so it doesn’t sound like it’s 55 miles in one go.

My friends have done this ride and apparently its quite hilly. I did london to southend last year which is a similar distance. I was only going out once or twice a week for about 30-40 miles max for a few weeks before. If you can do that sort of distance and still have some left in reserve you should be ok. There will be rest stops, and you can stop in between if you need to. There is a training guide on the website but i didn't follow it. Good luck!

And you will be surprised at how much the crowd (if there are any) plus the other riders will keep you going.

I did this years ago and I was pretty unfit and didn't even own a bike! I did a total of 7 miles "training" and although it nearly killed me, with your current cycling activity I think you'll be fine

Oh that’s really interesting, thank you.

Yeah I’ve heard about the hills. I used to live in Brighton so have an idea. I now live in south London and my route home from work is a series of hills getting bigger and bigger. Some weekends I cycle out to Biggin Hill and back which is about 25 miles or so and has killer hills.

Hello. There is nothing better than building up gradually. I work, study and have 2 DC and still find (some) time to cycle. I've done Croydon to Brighton on my own by building up gradually. Biggin hill routes are perfect.
I am in South London too (Shirley) , PM me if interested to ride together. I won't do Brighton in September but would be happy to cycle there just for fun.

I've done this ride - albeit many years ago - for the BHF.

To be honest, if you can do 40-60 miles bike commuting a week you'll be absolutely fine. The biggest hill is Ditchling Beacon, right at the end. It's pretty steep, but it's not exactly Mount Ventoux either. I pushed my bike up (with dozens of others) - I'm still in awe of the 4-person bike that passed us on the way up.

There were quite a lot of very enthusiastic spectators, which was great. It was the hottest day on record when I did it - there were a number of spots where bystanders were squirting riders with a garden hose, which was very welcome.

I've done it too (years ago!) and, like PPs, think you'll be fine. Max ride I did prior (from a start of 0 cycling 6 months beforehand!) was 25 miles.

It's such a fun ride - year I did it there was a brass band at Turners Hill. One thing to bear in mind is that it can get pretty choked up at times, so you do spend some time off the bike waiting for others, especially in the beginning stages (and that was a 6am start). Oh, and IIRC it is slightly more downhill from halfway, apart from Turners Hill and Ditchling. Have a great time!

I know a lot of people that do it regularly, all aged over 60! They don't aim for a quick time they treat it as a day out. Stop for a burger, ice cream etc at the stations along the way! You'll be fine with the level of cycling you currently do.