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Whether you signed up for your first multi-day ride to challenge yourself, raise money for a cause, or to have fun, thinking about riding day after day can seem overwhelming. You’ve committed to a ride that will challenge you both physically and mentally—now you just have to prepare for the long ride.
With consistent and thoughtful preparation, you can finish—even flourish—on the bike day after day. Success hinges on a few key elements in your training, including specific types of riding, off-the-bike training, and general preparation.
To help, we put together this 16-week plan, designed for those who have already built a training base. Keep progressing through the milestones, checking them off one by one, and you’ll be ready to roll come go-time.
How to Prepare Your Bike for Long Rides Over Multiple Days
Before any ride, you want to make sure your bike is ready to cruise the roads or trails. This means you need to exercise due diligence and properly inspect your bike before you head out.
If you haven’t ridden your bike in a while, get a tune-up by a bike mechanic. If you ride regularly, you can probably get away with just checking the basics like brake pads, tire pressure, and gears, as well as your bike’s headset, bottom bracket, wheels, and spokes to see if anything is loose.
You should also take this time to give your bike a good wipe down to ensure the frame, derailleurs, and chain is clean of any dirt.
How to Train for a Multi-Day Ride
16 Weeks Out: Build a Strong Endurance Base
Having a solid foundation will be key to your success in a multi-day event. Ride at least four to five hours or 50 to 75 miles a week to make sure you’ll be able to withstand all the miles and hours on the saddle. You could split this up into one longer ride (two to three hours) and two shorter rides (about an hour or 1.5 hours). Increase weekly mileage by about 10 to 15 percent.
14 Weeks Out: Do a 50- to 60-Miler
One weekly long ride is key to your event prep. During these rides, practice pacing to finish as (or almost as) strong as you start. Keep your heart rate effort at about 70 percent of your max (or maintain a pace where you can carry on a conversation with your ride buddies).
12 Weeks Out: Practice Holding Planks
Planks don’t just work your abs; they build strength in all of the muscles that surround your spine. Planking regularly will make your core strong enough to support you day after day and prevent back and neck aches. Aim for a 60-second hold by the time your event rolls around by adding five to 10 seconds each week.
10 Weeks Out: Complete a 3-Day Ride Streak
Plan at least two to three ride streaks before your event to get your bum and body used to being in the saddle for consecutive days. Make two of the days longer and/or harder than the third. Focus on managing fatigue throughout the ride and making sure to recover well between days. The streak might look like:
- Day 1: moderate mileage at a moderate pace
- Day 2: long ride, including some intervals
- Day 3: lower mileage, at an easy recovery pace
8 Weeks Out: Conquer a Single-Day, Mass-Start Ride
You’ll be more comfortable riding with hundreds of your new closest friends at your event. Do a long one, like a metric or full century, and practice pack riding, navigating crowds, and drafting. And emphasize pacing, efficient refueling at rest stops, and adjusting to the group dynamics.
6 Weeks Out: Find Your Go-To Ride Snacks and Drinks
Don’t wait until the big event to find out what doesn’t agree with your belly. At this point, practice drinking at least one bottle and eating 120 to 240 calories per hour. Experiment with different options until you find something that works. It’s smart to keep a journal of what works best for you, and adjust accordingly. Botching your fueling not only wrecks your day, but on multi-day rides, it can also set you up to suffer tomorrow.
5 Weeks Out: Master Recovery
Within 30 minutes after each ride, snack on carbs and protein—a banana with peanut butter, chocolate milk, a handful of nuts—and keep your feet elevated, potentially with compression socks if that feels good for you. Add in about 10 to 15 minutes of foam rolling to keep tired muscles loose and ready for the next ride.
4 Weeks Out: Brave the Elements
You may encounter rain, cold, wind, or heat during a multi-day event, so deliberately go out in crap conditions to build mental toughness and be sure that “waterproof” jacket really will withstand the wetness.
3 Weeks Out: Make Sure Your Bike Is Ready
Don’t wait until the night before the first day of your event to realize you need a new chain. Have a mechanic give your bike a thorough check a few weeks out. Get all of your other gear—pump, multi-tool, tubes, etc.—together and make sure you know how to use it all.
2 Weeks Out: Download the Course to Your GPS Computer
You’ll be glad you did if the course markings go missing (or never go up in the first place). Even if the ride file is not available yet, you should familiarize yourself with the course, figure out how to download the file to your cycling computer, and use it for navigation when it is posted or shared.
1 Week Out: Taper Your Training
At this point, cramming in some last-minute miles will only tire you out. Do a couple of short rides that include a few quick, hard efforts such as a tough climb or a town line sprint, but otherwise, rest and let your muscles repair and restock with glycogen (stored fuel) so you’re ready to rock on day one.
David Lipscomb is the Bicycling membership coach and owner of CIS Training Systems in New York City.
