TFN (the 1000Km cycling tour over 8 days with 100 riders covering 3 states) is just a week away, starting next Thursday!

Its been 4 weeks since I confirmed my participation in TFN (and cancelled the SriLanka trip 🙁 ).

Ever since I signed up, I had been busy on almost every weekend leaving me with very few days to practise on. This post is a quick update on my practise and where I stand today.

CAUTION: If you are a road biker or a super biker (or one wanting to be) who likes to zip past at dizzying speeds covering several hundred Km’s in a day and wanting to know about stuff like HRM, cadence, paceline, specialized bikes, etc… STOP! Read no further, for you will be wasting your time on this post! However, if you are the type who loves to be on the saddle, riding through scenic locations at your sweet own pace, not minding your position in the pack… then do continue reading!

Statistics (last 4 weeks):
Total practise Km’s – 494 Km’s
No of practise rides – 5
No of century rides – 3 (one close enough at 90)
Longest ride – 147Km from J.P Nagar to Nandi hills and back
No of rides practising for the climbs – 2
Km’s covered on each ride – 102, 104, 51, 147, 90
Confidence – reasonably high
Butterflies in stomach – quite a few
Adrenaline levels – very high

I wanted to ride and practise more in the last 4 weeks, but I had several events at home including my daughters birthday, my wife’s grandpa’s funeral and a wedding engagement and along with it, travel. So, this is all I could manage.

Yet, I think am TFN ready! Yes, because I did all the rides pretty comfortably and still had some steam left at the end of each ride.  And I had not experienced any fatigue or pain during the rides including the 147Km ride to the top of Nandi hills and that is a good indicator of fitness. Also, scaling the highest peak in Borneo a few months ago has done a world of good to my confidence.

TFN training, my way:

TFN training means several things to several people. For a few, it is about logging crazy miles at dizzying speeds! For a few, it is about just a few long rides and good knowledge of their own limitations. To me, training is more about practising to manage your ride and more importantly yourself which means

hydrating well (I prefer water with lemon or electral and tender coconut)

eating frequently in small quantities ( I carry dried fruits with me and maybe an energy bar)

in short, eat before you are hungry, drink before you are thirsty

not pushing too hard (stay within limitations, your legs need to last for a good 8 days over 1000km’s)

not trying to prove a point to anyone (enjoy the ride at your own pace)

carrying what you really really need on the bike and leaving out everything else

managing a few long climbs (Nandi hills?)

a few long distance rides

trying out stuff that you would finally be using and making sure things are as you want them to be

Of course, beyond training by being on the saddle, there are other things too. Observing nature, soaking in the beauty of the place, making a lot of friends and hogging on good food! For these, I have my own plans :-)!

Training is a personal thing:

Now, like I told you already, training for such events is a very personal thing.  People have different views and methods. Each, in his own way could be right (or wrong).  This way of training is my idea of doing things. Slow, soaking in nature, being happy within your limitations and not being concerned or egoistic about not being in the lead pack,… so on. I enjoy my cycling this way.

Few pointers:

• Changed from knobbies to slick tyres. Helps a lot on the long rides.
• Cleaned my bike properly (esp chain) and oiled it.

Whats your opinion?

Would love to know your opinion on training for such events. Let me know.. how will you train for such an event? If you are a TFN’er already, would love to hear from you as well.

Keep watching this space.. I will keep you updated on how I fare in TFN.