What’s a TOSRV?
TOSRV (Tour of the Scioto River Valley) is a 2 day bike tour in Ohio, May 20-21, that spans 210 miles, most of which is flat. This will be the 56th running of the classic and will be my 5th time cycling it, although with much older legs!
Training
The trick is, and has always been, getting your base miles during the winter months. If you don’t, well, it’ll be a long weekend in May!
Now that I live in TN, the weather is warmer so I’m able to get out more often. Even still, it requires indoor trainer sessions, which no one likes, and since I don’t have the tech gear to do Zwift, I have to rely on my own creativity to make it enjoyable. But it still sucks.
I’m fortunate to have local friends who ride all year long so there’s always someone to tag along with. Together is better, especially if it’s cold, plus it keeps you up on your game.
As we speak, I’ve already logged a solo 70 (read about it here) and a group 80 miler. I log about 150 miles a week and hope to add more.
Reality of the Road
My biggest takeaway is that I don’t recover like I used to and I have to really watch what I eat & drink during the week to ward off cramps. Translating that into routine, it means that although my zeal & memory are telling me I should be able to handle an additional ride, my body dictates truth with cramps or overtraining symptoms, usually with no warning. Getting old isn’t for the timid!
I’ve also joined Tuesday night group rides that are notably fast to work on strength and anaerobic training.
Takeaways
Logging the 80 miler the other weekend was a real confidence booster: strong pace, no cramps (that was HUGE!) and felt I could have rolled another 20.
The Tuesday rides have also helped, not just with improving my speed work, but in building strength to help me push through longer rides. My goal this weekend is to shoot for a 100 miler. Fingers crossed!
Conclusion: I’m on target to do 210 miles in May.
Thanks for reading. Stay tuned!
