Building up to any event includes quite a range of things. There\’s building up mileage, starting far enough in advance of your event so that you can do it gradually. This could require months, depending on your current level of fitness and the difficulty of the event.

As some non-race events have a cut-off time, you might also have to work to improve your cruising pace. That\’s one of the things on my current agenda. When I rode the 50-mile Tour de Cure in 2018, I squeaked through with only two minutes to spare. I want to do better this time!

Today I rode 36.8 miles, but averaged under 12 mph. What a slowpoke! I had decided, however, that today wasn\’t going to be about working on my pace, much less hard efforts; so my sluggardly progress didn\’t matter.

Maybe I need more lunges and squats to help develop my leg strength. But not today! The day I do my weekly long ride, I skip off-bike work. The trouble is, I\’ve been skipping it to often.

Core work shouldn\’t be neglected if you don\’t want an aching lower back. These exercises look tough; I suspect they aren\’t intended for anyone just beginning core work. See here for a beginner\’s core workout.

And don\’t forget this aspect of building up : gut training! Gut training is why I now need to start working to push the pace during long rides. I\’ve already noticed that fueling at 12-13 mph is very different from fueling at 14-15 mph!

What to use as fuel is an individual thing. For me, commercially available bars seem to work fine. I\’ve tried making rice cakes, too, per the recipes in Feed Zone Portables. They tasted good, but I think I got too much water in them. When I picked one up, it would fall apart. I guess I need some building up as a cook?