Super Randonneur in a month

Success Stories
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Well, my original Mt Sufferlandria plans (mentioned on another thread a while back) were cancelled due to Covid, but I revised this to getting my Super Randonneur status within a month (this is riding 200, 300, 400 & 600km Audax rides). Finished this on Monday, after doing the last two of those within four days.

A few things to comment on:

  • Yoga & Elements of Style made a HUGE difference to pain on the bike - I still get a bit of shoulder ache, but back pain is gone. Can’t recommend @abicarver’s workouts enough.

  • There isn’t really a training plan for ultra-distance cycling. I did the Climbing and Hilly Grand Fondo plans, and they work in that they’ve improved my base strength, making it easier to keep a decent speed for hours without working too hard. I do wonder whether it’s possible to have something more focused on long-distance, though. Without spending hours on a trainer, though:)

  • Yoga on the bike: I developed a routine a few years back to try relieve shoulder/back ache, and found that it’s a subset of the In The Office yoga workout. But it made me think that there might be room for a dedicated 1-minute routine that can be done while cycling outdoors (i.e. safe!) at regular intervals to keep things loose. Any ideas on this? (I currently do a sort of cat/cow, and twist my head left & right, and when possible (freewheeling downhill) do spinal twists).

Altogether, though - SUF has had a huge impact on my cycling this year - and I’ve only been around since late 2020. I tended to be of the “just go out and cycle up as many hills as I can” mentality, but I really feel stronger, more well rounded, and less prone to injury than ever before. And looking forward to the winter for a change.

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Congrats! That’s an awesome Mt SUF!

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Depending on what you mean by “a long time on the trainer”, the description of It Seemed Like Thin Air seems to match what you are looking for:

" If you’re looking to churn out enough tempo work to make the domestiques at team sky look twice this is the one for you. Believe it or not, packing so much tempo into 2.5 hours gives this session the same endurance building power as a 5 hour “Zone 2” ride."

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Fantastic. This inspires me, as I’d like to do something similar in the future.

Thanks for sharing this.

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Good point - I tried that one once a while back (it was in a plan at some stage). Bonked out on the final 10 minutes of the Thin Air bit. It’s brutal. I should do it again…

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You can do It Seemed Like Thin Air one of two ways:

  1. As a workout in Erg mode which is what we were talking about.
  2. In Level mode, to test out your pacing strategy.
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Thank you Nick. I’m so happy to hear that the yoga vids are making such a significant difference to your aches and pains. I’ll see what I can come up with for on the bike mobilisations. You might also like to check out my Instagram feed for this sort of thing: Login • Instagram

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@nicktick, although your post is older, your effort is no less spectacular. 1000km in 4 days for a recreational rider is serious business. Well done, mate! :clap:t3::clap:t3::clap:t3:

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Thanks! It was a serious challenge for me at the time.

But ever upwards - last year I did London Edinburgh London, which is 1540km, in 103 hours.

And this year my challenge is Bristol Glasgow Bristol, a slightly longer 1620km, but with 25,000m of climbing in 6 days.

Thing is : each one seemed nearly impossible at the time. And eventually I’m going to bite off more than I can handle. But the mental training program here is fantastic. Long distance riding is more about just staying within your limits and keeping going. It’s largely a mind game. At least, I’ll keep telling myself that as long I believe it!

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@nicktick, I applaud you once again! It’s amazing how we can take on something that seems nearly impossible and soon after start planning how to do it again - and be even faster or go longer. At age 60, I did my first triathlon 2 weeks ago with 3 months preparation and know that I will do 2-3 more before the year is over.

What you say about it being largely a mind game is so true for endurance sports. I have heard many triathletes say the hard part is getting comfortable with the monotony and to just keep pushing on. Especially with the swim, where there aren’t many distractions. The approach promoted by the Wahoo Mental Training Program is far more powerful than it may seem to an uninitiated athlete.

All the best to you on the Bristol Glasgow Bristol ride. My gosh, that is epic!

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