I got my first bike about 6 weeks ago, and now I'm loving it at the expense of my swimming and running (I've got a bit of catchup to do on the riding front). I've signed up for the SouthBank to Surfers bike ride on 8th Dec. The most people I've ridden with is 3, so I haven't been in any real pack rides before. The furthest I have ridden is 64k, but that was reasonably hilly, so hopefully I'm not biting off more than I can chew.

The course comes to within a stones throw of my house at the half way point, so I might get to fill up my drink bottles at the half way point.

I was wondering whether anyone has done this event and has any hints.

Otherwise I'm open to general hints for riding in packs and covering a long distance.

Mike

i was interested in doing this however it sounds a bit more 'elite' than the last southbank to coast ride.

according to the website you have to maintain a speed of at least 25 km/hr the whole way. That speed is okay but I dont know if I could do it for nearly 4 hours.

25kph min is pretty easy in a group ride - you get about a 25-40% advantage. i don't like riding in the middle of a pack so prefer be eiter at the front or the back or if stuck in the middle, choose the outside not the inside. just alternate where you watch from 'further up the road' (to anticipate slowing, trouble spots, etc) to 'the wheel in front'.

if it gets too hard you can just drop back to the group behind and so on.

from 64 up to 90k is no dramas Mickey. Last year i did Coomera half IM (which is 90k, with a bit of a swim and run either side) after only six weeks riding as a newbie and had only done 4-5 rides of 55-65k. i tired in teh last 20k but still managed just below 30kph.

the main thing is to spin rather than grind to save your legs.

I'm really jealous Mike. It sounds like a great ride. I wish I could join you but I will be down south that weekend.

Thanks PH, I'm starting to get the hang of not being able to see through the rider in front, and trusting that they will alert me to problems up ahead, but I can't help looking ahead.

I had my first ride amongst strangers in the Bribie Tri on the weekend, that was great fun. I may have gone a bit crazy with the spinning thing though, my average cadence was 100. I don't know if there is such a thing as riding with your cadence too high, but this is what I feel comfortable doing. On a flat course my cadence is high 90s, on a hilly course it's high 80s because I spend some time in the lowest gear. Is there an optimal cadence, or is this an individual thing?

I'll report back on how I get on.

Mike

Been asking this question myself of those who know and have lots of experience - seems like 100 is not crazy at all as i understand it and certainly good training for aerobic system. But in a shorter race, say 40k and under, you'd probably benefit your time by choosing harder gears and having it in the 90-95 range. Since i don't cycle much at all, to save my legs for having a decent run at Noosa tri, i purposely kept the cadence higher and was mostly in the 100-105 range, except of the hill climb - result was i was running off fresh legs passed heaps of people, but when i check the results i was well in the bottom half or the field for teh cycle leg, even avering 31.5k for the 40k.
So, i'm going to try a strategy of "train high/low/& hills, but race much harder". A longer cycle race, say >80K, you'd need to eek out the reserves in your legs a bit more therefore, keep cadence higher for longer stints i would think.
sorry, i'm no expert on this and just experimenting.
good luck
PH
(p.s. can you PM me with your tri report from Bribie?)

I've been told that the optimal cadence for a triathlon is about 90 because apparently that is what you run at...
(this coming from a well-known cycling coach).

So how come when we ran 'Surfers to Southbank', at a stretch, we made it 84km!

Thanks for the cycling tips. I'll keep the cadence up during the ride on the weekend so I can make the distance, but then drop it down a bit during my training.

Last training ride in the morning (weather permitting), then I'll rest up for Saturday.

Digger, I will let you know what distance I measure on the weekend with my bike computer. It may be a different course to what you ran.

Mike

Cadence wise, I feel that if you are on the taller side, a slightly lower (85ish) cadence works well. Still, it is all personal preference. Lance Armstrong rides 100-110 rpm.

I made it!

It was way easier than I expected it to be. Started out slow, trying to pace myself, but gradually got faster as the ks flew by. I spent the whole morning looking for someone else not wearing a cycling jersey, but no it appears as though everyone, even the mountain bikers, have cycling jerseys. I think I'll get one before the next social cycling outing.

Started out in the rain which was refreshingly cool and didn't seem to cause much of a problem. The worst thing is the spray coming up of the back wheel of the bikes in front, I need windscreen wipers on my glasses. The rain cleared up about 20k in. The traffic really only got busy when we got closer to the Goldcoast.

The all important statistics:
Distance : 89.5k
Time : 2:50:49
Speed : 31.43 kph
Cadence : 84
Heart Rate : 156

It was surprising how quickly the time passed. It seemed like no time at all and we were at the drink stop (40k). At this point my brother and I decided that we did not need to stop, we were on a roll and would keep going, but as it turns out they stopped everyone and restarted a few minutes after we got there. I found that the hardest part of the ride was the 16k ride back to the train station. I started getting a sore knee towards the end of the event, and it had stiffened up a bit while I was having breakfast at a cafe on the goldcoast.

Being a beginner rider it was interesting to see the wide variety of things that pack riders do to keep each other safe, and surprising the number of people that had flat tyres. I would definitely do it again, in fact I heard murmerings of a 160k ride to Noosa.....

Mike

Nice one mate. I did not realise it was actually today. Driving to the pool I saw road closed signs then looked at the bikeway and saw heaps of riders. The rain was not cool but sounds like it cleared up.

It always hurts to start riding again after a good sit down. I avoid the cafe rides as a result myself.

well done Mickey....

so....now you 90k ride sussed, just gotta add a little swim beofre it (1.9k) then a 21.1k run and you got yourself a half IM! keen?

catch you at the Chrissy drinks

PH

PH, I think I might be ok with the swim and the ride, but at this stage a 21.1k run is completely out of the question. My legs (right knee) just don't last the distance, I wouldn't even be able to complete a HM as a standalone event. I would have to start doing longer runs and gradually build up to that type of distance. You're like a drug dealer, I start off with a couple of fun runs then all of a sudden you're pushing the heavy stuff on me.

Mike

hehe...i can see a plan in there already. late Oct 08 is the Gold coast half IM, there's a Brissy half mara in Apr 08, Doomben in June 08 and GCM half in July 08 ...just a thought
endorphin is the drug mate. i'll stop pushing the ideas - you only need one good dose to be hooked and it comes from within not from others.
cheers
PH

Congrats Mike. Fantastic effort. Sounds like you had heaps of fun. I might have to join you on the next one if I can.