I get these questions all the time, so it’s time to answer them all:

“I ride X miles, X times per week. I’m doing a big X mile ride in X weeks. Will I be alright?”

The answer is always the same: It depends.

You might see quite a few “10 weeks to the perfect century” plans in the pages of bicycling magazines, but that’s really just giving you a starting point. Unfortunately, there’s no set formula that works for everyone, all the time.

Let’s say you go out and do a 50 mile ride every weekend and feel pretty good afterward. You might be able to finish a century (100 mile ride.)

On the other hand, if you can complete 50 or 60 miles, but you fall over gasping when you finish, you might not be ready for a century.

(The general rule of thumb is to be able to do a training ride 75% of the event distance. So if you can do a 75 mile ride two weeks before your planned century, you’re doing alright. Just taper off and rest up for the century!)

Scaling back, let’s say you’re doing a few 10-12 mile rides each week. It’s entirely possible you can do a 25-40 mile ride next weekend.

But then again, you might not get past 15 miles before cramping up and calling it a day. I just can’t give you a better answer without knowing your entire riding history (i.e. analyzing all your training journals and riding with you in person.)

Continuing that thought, no one knows your body better than you do. If you feel like you are ready for a big ride, you probably are. If you feel weak while riding and are scared at the prospect of a slightly longer ride, you might want to take some more time to build up your fitness.

The only way to know if you’re ready is to do it and see how it goes!

Things to keep in mind:

Here are a few things to keep in mind when comparing your current training rides with your prospective century or bigger ride:

Terrain. 60 mile rides in Florida aren’t the best way to prepare for a 100 miler in Vermont.

Altitude. Along the same lines, a 60 mile ride at sea level is way different than something in Colorado at high elevation.

Speed and pace. Remember to pace yourself. If you enter a race or something where the distance is a little long, don’t start too fast, even if everyone else does.

A good rule of thumb is to do the first half of the ride at a slightly easier pace than you can handle. That way, you have energy saved for the second half. And if you have enough energy, you can ride the second half faster and get a good finishing time.

Fueling. Remember that if you’ll be riding longer than usual, you will probably take in more food and water than usual. And you want to space that out, so don’t wait until after 60 miles to start fueling.

(See my before and after, and during ride fueling articles for more info.)

Follow those tips and listen to your body and you’ll know whether you can take on that big ride!

As a cyclist, you will eventually find yourself riding downtown in traffic. I try to avoid these areas, but when you’re putting in some serious miles, or if you live in the city and have to ride out to the country roads, it’s hard to avoid them all the time.

Here are some tips to stay safe when you encounter these areas:

1. Pretend drivers don’t see you.

Pretend drivers don’t see you, because they probably don’t! You really should expect people to hit you or force you off the road, simply because they are oblivious to your presence. They might have their mind on something, not expect to see any cyclists on a certain road, or of course they could be on their cell phones.

To increase your safety, try to maintain a “cushion” around you. Typically this would involve time and space factors, allowing you to escape danger if necessary (like if a disrespectful motorist encroaches on your personal space.)

A similar tip: some people say to look drivers in the eye to make your presence known… well, if they’re not looking at you in the first place, what good does that do? (If they are looking at you, then hopefully they’re not planning on running you over!)

2. Watch parked cars.

Be careful around parked cars, too, because they can still be hazardous!

Don’t ride too close or you might get doored. (That’s when a car door opens right in front of you and you hit it.) If you have to ride somewhat close, watch for people’s heads. If someone is in the car, there’s a good chance of getting doored.

And certainly watch for lights on and wheels turned towards the road – the car might pull out in front of you.

3. Be visible.

The more visible you are, the easier it is for drivers to see you.

Reflective tape, reflective clothing. Don’t wear a black outfit at night.

4. Don’t run red lights.

It seems obvious (since it is illegal,) but running a red light usually puts you right in front of fast moving cars. That’s not smart.

And drivers hate it. It happens all the time in big cities where traffic sucks, so it’s somewhat expected there, but still…

5. Expect the worst, crazy stuff.

Pedestrians and drivers do some crazy stuff. Just when you think a person will walk normally, they’ll start dancing around and knock you down.

Drivers will pass too close or not pass at all, or wave you through an intersection that you can cross perfectly well, legally, according to the traffic signal.

In the future, follow these tips and you’ll ride safely through traffic and can enjoy the rest of your ride!

Today’s question is about finding sunglasses that keep wind out of your eyes when cycling…

Q: I have problems with my eyes when wearing cycling glasses. The wind comes over the top and stings my eyes, i wear contact lenses and find that the wind drys them. Over long distance i struggle. I have tried loads of different types and found nothing. Can you help?

Thanks,
Winded Willy

Hi Willy,

Sorry to hear about your problems. I wear contacts too so I am almost always wearing sunglasses. I never ride without them. Luckily, regular cycling sunglasses have been sufficient for me.

In your case, the best suggestion I can make is to look at the sunglasses that are like a combination of sunglasses and goggles. There are quite a few that look like sunglasses, but then they have a foam ring around the frame which seals out the wind. Typically these are favored by motorcyclists dealing with lots of wind and an open face helmet, but would probably work for bicycling as well.

Here are a couple examples:

There are sunglasses called Guard Dogs. Here is a neat looking pair.

There are others, such as these, available to online motorcycle retailers.

Those look like they would keep wind out without making you look too obnoxious. If those don’t help, though, the only other thing I can think of would be to go with the full-on goggles.

Today’s question is about choosing a bike repair stand that costs under $200….

Hi Levi, What’s your favorite sub $200 repair stand. I’m considering the Ultimate Pro Elite, Spin Doctors Pro G3, Park Tools PCS 10, and the Feedback Sports Pro Classic.

Thanks,
Repair Stan

Hi Stan,

I think the repair stands from Ultimate (which was purchased by Feedback Sports, so they’re the same stands with a new name) are awesome. I’d choose one of those in a heart beat.

They have a great tripod base that is stable on a variety of surfaces, as well as a very nice adjustable clamp. Plus they fold up for easy transport.

However, I found the Spin Doctor Pro G3 pretty cheap on sale since Performance Bike always discounts it then offers coupons, so I personally use one of those and it works very well. I’ve had no problems at all and highly recommend it if you’d like to save a little dough. (It is very similar to the Ultimate Pro repair stand, but usually cheaper.)

And as much as I like Park tools, I’ve never liked their repair stands. The PCS 10 looks better than the Park stands I’ve used in the past, but I still wouldn’t buy one. The other stands you’re looking at are so nice, there’s not really any need to consider other options.

While a flowing paceline looks like a lot of fun, you can’t just jump in and go for it. Riding in a paceline successfully requires multiple skills and constant alertness; if you’re not ready for it, you’ll endanger yourself and others.

But it is doable with some practice and these tips (which should be considered rules not meant to be broken.)

Here’s what you need to know to successfully ride in a paceline:

1. Stay Close

The purpose of a paceline is to conserve energy by drafting. Riders in the draft will expend around 15-20% less energy than the rider at the front.

But to make use of this benefit, you have to ride close to the wheel in front of you! Ideally you want to stay within 12″ of the wheel in front of you. (Experienced riders may even ride about 4″ off the wheel in front of them!)

The goal is to consistently stay close to the wheel in front of you for the whole ride. Whatever you do, don’t let gaps open up. If there is a paceline where everyone is 6″ from each other, and you are only comfortable sitting about 24″ behind someone, you are bound to let gaps open and screw up the rhythm.

At best, you’ll get yelled at. At worst, you’ll cause a crash as riders try to pass you.

So make sure you are ready to ‘stay close’ if you are entering a paceline.

2. Hold Your Line

The second thing to do to ride consistently and predictably is to hold your line. Not only do you have to worry about the distance between you and the rider in front of you, you need to follow the same line.

You can’t just weave side to side and have a jolly good time. You need to pick a line and stick to it. Typically the paceline will ride parallel to the white line on the shoulder of the road, keeping perhaps 6″ to the left of it at all times.

Of course, during turns and when avoiding obstacles, that line will change. The key is to take the same line as the rest of the group.

Where this can really cause problems is in a turn. See, even if you have a single paceline, chances are you have some riders riding side-by-side at any given time. (And if it’s a race situation, there will be riders completely surrounding you.)

Obviously, if there is a rider to your left or right, you can’t use an outside-inside-outside line around a turn. You need to stick to your outside, middle, or inside curve or you’ll take someone down and probably get run over.

3. Don’t Overlap Wheels

If you’re following the first two rules, overlapping wheels should be a non-issue, but it’s so dangerous I have to mention it. Never overlap wheels!

Here’s what happens: You start riding a few inches to the left of the person in front of you to get a better view of the action up ahead. Your mind gets sidetracked, and next thing you know, your front wheel is overlapping the wheel ahead of you.

Everything is fine until the rider in front of you swerves just slightly to avoid a piece of gravel. In doing so, his rear wheel nicked your front wheel, twisting your handlebars and sending you to the pavement.

While the rider in front of you is partially to blame for his erratic riding, you could have avoided the spill had you not overlapped wheels!

4. No Sudden Movements

Another thing you never want to do in a paceline is make a sudden movement. With riders so close, it doesn’t take much of a movement to wreak havoc.

For example, don’t swerve at the last second. If you didn’t see the pot hole until it was too late, your safest option is to ride through it. Swerving around it is bound to take you or the other riders down.

Also, hard braking would be considered a sudden movement. If you need to slow down, slow down gradually. In most cases, sitting upright to catch more wind and feathering the brakes slightly is enough to slow down.

Even standing up is a sudden movement if you don’t think it through. When standing, you need to stand at the same time as you are powering through the front of a pedal stroke. Otherwise your bike will actually drift back underneath you a few inches, possibly hitting the rider behind you.

5. Communicate

Finally, communication. Even if everyone in the paceline follows the other rules and rides excellently, if you don’t communicate, you’ll have problems!

You need to use your voice and hand signals to relay information to all the riders in the paceline. If there are obstacles ahead, cars behind you, it’s time to slow down, etc., you need to communicate that to everyone else.

(Signals vary between groups so check on that before joining a new group ride.)

Now go practice, and when you’re ready, get in a paceline!