Sponsored post – Is it possible to prepare for a 50-miler in six weeks?

One of Cycling Plus magazine's readers has asked: “I’ve got my first 50-miler in six weeks, but have not yet ridden more than 30 miles. What advice can you give me?”

Eddie Fletcher, Wattbike’s lead sports scientist, kindly answered:

"It all depends how much prior training has been done. In principle, if you have ridden 30 miles then 50 miles is doable (even if slowly). My main recommendation would be to start putting structure into the training. First, you’ll need to understand the training zones (see here) and do a test to establish your heart rate and power training zones (see here).

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"With six weeks to go, you’ll have four to five weeks of training, with tapering and recovery taking one to two weeks. Getting through a 50-mile ride is not about riding 50 miles in a single training session, but about the accumulation of training hours in the build-up to the event.

"You need to put in at least one long weekly ride over mixed terrain (including hills) of rising duration – for example 2hrs, 2.5hrs, 3hrs, 3.5hrs – then drop it for the taper weeks to 2.5 and 2hrs. You should also reduce the intensity in these taper weeks.

If you can do 30 miles then you can probably soldier on through 50, albeit slowly

You can read more at BikeRadar.com