Steeped in history, the Around the Bay inaugural ride was kicked off on Sunday 17 October, in 1993 with 2,700 people riding the classic 210 km route around Port Phillip Bay. It is now considered one of Melbourne’s major annual sporting events, and now has rides from 20 kilometers to 300 kilometers that have opened it up to all riders. Bicycle Network can be very proud of their continual achievement of getting “More People Cycling More Often” with this well-run event.

For many serious cyclists, the Around the Bay 210, 250 and 300km rides are targeted as one of their personal bucket list of great rides to be ridden and ticked off. There is also a lot of team corporates that see this event as a fantastic opportunity to bond over the human spirit and endeavor that comes from the training leading up to and then participating together. For more information about the Around the Bay, please click here to visit the official event page.

With Bicycle Network hosting the ride every year, it’s time to place the event’s date in your diary and consider what sort of training and preparation you plan to do in the lead-up to it. If you are riding the 20km ride, then it could be a matter of getting yourself and your family together and used to riding a few weeks before the event.

Preparation

If you are riding the 50, 100, 135, 210, 250 or 300km event, your preparation will greatly depend on how seasoned a rider you are. I would certainly not want to start any of these rides without establishing a reasonable amount of base training first. If you get halfway through one of these longer rides and discover that you aren’t fit enough to complete it, it raises a few issues. The first is that you’ll spend the remainder of the ride mentally driving yourself through to the end. While this may be “character building” it also means that you run a high risk of injuring yourself, and it will make you very susceptible to possible post ride illness. The better your preparation leading up to the event and the fitter you are on the day of the event the more enjoyable the ride will be for you.

To help you with your cycle training leading up to the event we have created a FREE 12-week training program that we can send to you by clicking on the button above.

For the 100, 135, 210, 250 and 300km events you’ll most certainly need a structured training plan to ensure that come event day you are in good form. If you haven’t been riding for very long, then this becomes even more important, especially if you are considering the longer events. I’ve been professionally training cyclists since 2007, and I know for a fact that fitness is something that takes you time to develop especially for endurance events like these. There are unfortunately no shortcuts or crash courses that can speed up the process. Consistency in your training is the key.

New to Cycling

If you have been riding for only a year and are contemplating the 210, 250 or the 300 km events then I strongly urge you to start your training now and slowly build up to riding around 250-400 km a week by at least the beginning of October. If you have regularly been riding for two or more years, then 12 weeks of structured preparation will be sufficient.

What to do right now to kick start your training

Regardless of your form,  there is no need to build speed at this point. You don’t want to peak before the event. Spend time on your bike with the majority of your the riding below 75% of your max heart rate to build a good aerobic base. This can be punctuated with three or four short five to ten minute intervals at a higher intensity one or twice a week.  As the ride is relatively flat there in not much need to include hill climbing in your training.

As for skills, I recommend that you practice building confidence either riding in or getting used to riding with large bunches on the road. This is important as you will encounter quite a few on the day.

What to expect next

Over the coming months, I’ll be covering off riding safety and etiquette, nutrition, bike and equipment preparation, clothing and of course training tips that will help you get prepared for and having the best time when riding this edition of the Around the Bay.

I wish you all the best with your training.