London to brighton bike ride.. For a fatty!

[PigOnStilts]

Just want some honest advice....
I am 2.5 stone overweight although I'm getting down the gym daily and I'm looking much better even if the numbers aren't dropping.

My mate wants me to do London to brighton with her in June.

My bike has a basket a bell and still looked pristine.. 🙄Not ridden it much. Love cycling but kind of stopped when I was recovering from a slipped disc. Never did more than a quick tootle to the shops.

Is it even possible that I could complete proper training and get my fitness levels up for this ride by June? Or am I being overambitious?

I'm 45 and tend to put on muscle relatively easily. But I am fat!

YES. I did it with a group of friends a few years ago. Very mixed levels of fitness, but we all made it (just about) still smiling.

I am a regular commuter cyclist but didn't do any extra training (perhaps I should have done!).

I suspect that if your bike is quite comfy you will be fine till the dreaded Ditchling Beacon hill...which it's totally acceptable to walk up.

Take lots of snacks and have a bike service first.

We did it one year and it was a shambles.

We put down that we were going to be slow and booked ourselves on the coach back.

They set us off on one of the hottest days of the year at the latest time.

All the water stations had shut.
Not because we were slow but because they had either ran out of water or just didn’t open for that long.

We got about 10 miles and had to make the decision to return.

We were never going to make it down to Brighton in time for the coach on the way back so we had to set off back.

Wouldn’t even attempt to do it again.

Yes! Go for it.
If you like cycling it's a great goal to get fit!
Just do a feasible training plan... you are already down the gym... why not book one or two personal trainer session to get some endurance and strength training exercises tailored to your needs/ wants.
There should also be lots of training advice on the internet.

I am doing something similar in September, and I went from doing no exercise to 4-5 days training/ week.... but still a long way off from the ideal!
The only thing is, as someone else said, June can be hot...

I don't want to make a total tit of myself.
Should aim for 10 miles an hour?

I'm fat and should think the main problem is a sore arse. Get the comfiest bike seat you can find and ultra padded shorts!!

That was our aim but by the time we had set off we wouldn’t have made to the coach on the way back

I’ve done it twice, back in the 1980s when it first started - turn up at Clapham Common and if we went, to doing it in 2007 and thousands of people ride it and you get time slots - I got to choose the time slot.

It isn’t a fast paced event due to sheer bike gridlock and with training you’d be fine for 6 months to get to a few hours on a bike

I’ll warn you though that the last hill is tough

OK. Thanks for input.....I have told my friends ill do it.

Then I came home and ate a load of hobnobs

Carb loading! It’s important