The Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer is not just ANY bike ride. It is a 2 day, 220 km, fund raising, bike ride. So a bit more goes into it then just riding. Here is what has to happen before August 2014:
Training - LOTS and LOTS of training. Riding a bike for 7+ hours a day, 2 days in a row, is no easy feat. Believe me, you want to spend a LOT of time in the saddle before making this ride. You need to work up stamina, endurance, cardio strength and callouses in all the right places.
To ride a bike 2 days straight you are going to want to consider:
- Padded bike shorts - Don't even dream of riding without these. Just don't! I need a second pair.
- Clip in bike shoes - I was frightened of these at first but they are WAY easier on the knees and very helpful. I haven't even fallen over once due to using them. If I can do it, so can you! Mine have fairly low mileage on them so they'll do for 2014 too.
- Bike Sleeves - these are under armor type material to slip over your arms in the cold morning hours. Pretty neat invention if you ask me. I bought a pair for last year's ride and was greatly saddened that I never needed to wear them. Sometimes I wear them around the house just for fun...
- Padded socks - I learned this the hard way. My "bike" socks were not padded enough to stop my toes from hurting like mad! Second day I wore my "hiking" socks which are padded in the heels and toes and I didn't even feel my poor sore toes. Note: due to first day of NOT wearing padded socks, I lost a couple of toe nails. :( Yes, they grew back but it wasn't very comfortable until they did. So padded socks it is! I need at least 1 more pair of padded socks so I can wear fresh socks on day 2.
- Bike - Tune ups - One at the beginning of the season when I start riding outdoors again and most likely one right before the big ride. Tune ups can include new tires, new chain, new spokes, new cables, etc. depending on how the bike is holding up. My bike is a 22 year old Specialized Crossroads which is a Hybrid bike. This past summer it got new super skinny street tires in preparation for The Ride 2013. I expect those tires will need replacing before the 2014 ride as they have no tread whatsoever (built that way). And fortunately during the ride there is a bike tune-up tent at each rest stop, just in case. I've thought about buying a new(er), more street ready bike but hey, this one took me all the way in 2013 so why not 2014?
- Butt Balm - Don't laugh (okay, laugh a little), this stuff is real and a REAL help. Chaffing can be a real problem on a looooong ride. Let's just leave it at: I was happy to have some handy.
- Camping Gear - What I learned in 2013 is that August can be FREEZING cold at night. We camped out in tents and I was dressed in my PJ's, Long Sweatpants, Sweatshirt, and Socks and was still cold in my sleeping bag. This year I'm acquiring a sleeping mat and bringing a fleece blanket! My camp towel worked great, the tent makes a super drying station for damp items as long as you bring them in at night before the dew settles on everything, and I wasn't over packed so it only took about 5 minutes to stuff everything back in the gear bag. Pack light!!!
- Nutritional Adjustments - This has been hit or miss for me and I'll need to do a bit more research and trial/error to get it right. During training rides (riding 4+ hours 2x a week) it can be hard to eat the right combo of protein, carbs, etc. I found that after some rides I was okay and after others, I was starving and just couldn't eat enough. Hope to find a better balance this time around as the "just can't eat enough" feeling isn't a good one when you are trying to sleep. Stay tuned for light bulb like discoveries!
- Training Schedule - I will admit it was a bit difficult not to be able to ride outside until May. This winter I hope to find some great spinning bikes that are available for hours on end INSIDE like the class the Boxing Club offered last year. Early morning spin from 7am - 11am was super for working out the long rides before the snow cleared. Besides that, I'll need to continue to work on my strength and cardio training in general. Workout schedule to follow after I try a few new things. Yoga anyone?
Last but not least (in fact, very very IMPORTANT) - Fundraising! - That's right. This ride requires that I raise funds in order to ride. My personal goal for 2014 is $10,000. This is where YOU come in. I currently have 250 days left to fundraise (or they won't let me ride!!!) which means that I need to have a donation of $40 per day, every day between now and then. Will you be my $40 (or more) today?
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