Red Heart Ride

Training Plan

We believe that almost anyone can complete a Red Heart Ride if they do the right training. It may take 3 months or 2 years to prepare (depending on your starting fitness) but with persistence you can do it.

Every individual is different so please consult a sports professional to design the right training preparation for you. The following plan is provided as a guide only.

It is important to try a multi-sports approach to training, so you develop a strong platform from which to launch into your Red Heart Ride.  Swimming, jogging, pilates, yoga, skipping rope and all team sports are fantastic forms of cross training.  Most Red Heart Rides will have you riding between 170 and 215 kilometres per day, for between 8 and 16 days without rest days.  You will improve your fitness as you go, but you must be prepared to experience a little discomfort in the early stages of the epic ride.  Have faith, because by the last day you will be feeling fantastic, and 200 km will feel like a walk in the park.

A Red Heart Ride is not a sprint, it is an endurance event.  You must be strategic with your training so that you don't focus on one form of training over another.  A strong core of back, abdomen, neck and shoulders will allow your legs to keep rotating.

We recommend training at least 4 days out of 10, with a minimum of 15km per session.  The main focus should be on maintaining a high average cadence (pedal revolutions) to increase your aerobic capacity.  Ideally you should familiarise yourself with feeling discomfort by riding 100km in one day, with breaks to replenish your energy stores.  Within 2 weeks of your ride start date, you should be attempting a ride of 200km or more.  We would recommend that this ride is accompanied by another rider or a support vehicle for safety and nutrition.

At the Red Heart Ride we aknowledge that people lead very busy lives.  So we anticipate that while most people will make their best efforts to train and attain a high level of readiness for the start of the ride, some may not be as diligent.  Red Heart Ride cannot be responsible for your preparedness, and we ask that you take seriously the expectation that you must be above average in your fitness before we start. 

Here is a basic training plan for out-of-practice or new cyclists:

Basic Plan

And don't forget - the most fun you will have training is in a group. Get a couple of mates together and enjoy the ride!