You can count me in for Tour de Cure this coming November! I\’m gunning for the 62-mile route.

The distance doesn\’t worry me much. The pace, however, is a different story. If I remember correctly, the 50-mile riders in the 2018 TdC needed to maintain an average pace of 14 mph to make the cut-off time.

After all these years, I still cannot manage 14 mph for long; yet for years I\’ve wanted to increase my cruising pace. Maybe I simply haven\’t wanted it badly enough!

I\’m aware that being able to ride faster for longer doesn\’t have to be pie in the sky. Today I made a small beginning by trying to stay at 15 mph for several minutes at a time. Whenever I started a new effort, I pressed my Garmin\’s lap button.

But really, how should I train? The Cyclist\’s Training Bible is aimed primarily at racing cyclists preparing for a season of competition. Non-racers can still find good advice in there; but do I truly need to create a periodized training plan for riding in Tour de Cure?

Since I ride pretty much year-round, there\’s no need for me to worry about the Preparation part of a periodized training plan. How about the Base period? Maybe I need more work there, as in increasing the length of my weekly long ride.

The Build segment is where I always seem to fall short. Do I try to build too gradually, and thus not do enough? Do I start it too soon, or too late? If this morning\’s ride is any indication, it\’s not a bit too soon for me to begin Build. The best I managed was 15.36 mph for 1.62 miles!

The Peak period has to be carefully timed. Peak too soon, and you could very well burn out before event day. But you don\’t want to reach your peak after the event!

I might be making it more complicated than necessary, but I\’ve got that big ride on the calendar; so count me in.