The Spring Festival is just around the corner, and many friends will be cycling back home. Before embarking on a long-distance ride, some preparation is essential—such as gear, route maps, and preliminary training... Let’s talk about how to prepare for self-training in long-distance cycling.
To prepare for a long-distance ride (such as cycling to Tibet, circumnavigating Taiwan, Qinghai Lake, or Hainan), it’s very necessary to go on an appropriate long ride once a week. Through weekly rides, your aerobic capacity and muscular endurance will definitely improve—but this must be built on maintaining the correct cycling rhythm and technique.
We often see such a scenario: shortly after setting off or just reaching the suburbs, as soon as people see the road open up, they get excited, charge ahead, compete with each other, or draft closely behind others... If your planned distance is over 100 kilometers, the result is often that you set out like an energetic general but return utterly exhausted... I don’t even know how to describe it. Then you sleep deeply, yet still feel drained the next day.
If you can’t recover well the next day, you should seriously examine your cycling process. It’s likely that your muscle tissue and other bodily functions have been compromised—in other words, instead of improving yourself, you may have hurt yourself this time.
In truth: training is about quality, not quantity. With the right method, a 10-kilometer ride can be far more effective than an aimless 100-kilometer one. If you want to improve your abilities through long-distance cycling, here are a few points for you to consider:
1. Cultivate enjoyment, not fear, of long-distance riding. The approach is to ride with ease. If you have a heart rate monitor, try to keep your heart rate at around 70%, and preferably not exceeding 80% (of course, everyone knows this, but can you control yourself?—no sprinting, no charging!!!). If you don’t have a heart rate monitor, keep your speed at about 26–28 km/h (on flat roads). Ride with an easy gear ratio (absolutely!).
Many of you have probably noticed that real long-distance riders usually pedal along slowly. In such rides, “speed” plays a supporting role, because you need to understand that long-distance cycling trains your aerobic capacity and leg endurance. As the saying goes, “a tall building is built from the ground up”—this is basic training, the start of all improvement. Enjoy the scenery, learn to avoid fatigue during long rides, and use your mood to adjust your stamina. Gradually, you’ll come to enjoy long-distance cycling and adapt to staying on the bike for 4–5 hours straight.
2. Many friends may worry that their speed won’t improve during these rides. Well, okay, you can do some interval sprint training in the last 10–15 kilometers of the ride (but only if you’re not too fatigued—if you are, skip it). Sprint once every 3 to 5 minutes, covering one kilometer each time, for three to five sprints. When sprinting, of course, give it your all. If you have a heart rate monitor, watch your heart rate, and remember: regardless of your gear ratio, ensure your cadence stays above 100, ideally 120. The reason I suggest doing high-intensity intervals toward the end is so you can push yourself fully without any psychological pressure. Plus, if anything happens, you’re closer to a city and easier to handle.
3. Learn to control yourself—that’s crucial. With wide open roads and few people, it’s easy to get overly excited. Even though the 70–80% heart rate rule is common knowledge, not everyone can stick to it. Learning self-control is the key to success!!!
4. Almost forgot: never ride on an empty stomach. If you don’t eat anything an hour before setting off, even if you consume Tour de France-level energy bars every few kilometers during the ride, it won’t help. Remember to drink water every 15 minutes—don’t wait until you’re thirsty!!!
5. Don’t let your guard down—you know very well that every driver is a potential hazard, and there are many unexpected dangers as well.