Getting ready for Velo Birmingham.

Nothing prepares you for a long bike ride like “time in the saddle.” Even if you excel at other sports and consider yourself a strong athlete, you owe it to yourself to get a lot of riding in before your adventure — you use a lot of different muscles riding a bike.

Also, when we’re out on long distance rides we hear more people groaning about sore butts than sore muscles! Bottom line (sorry): ride more, and your butt will thank you later!

Even if you’re accustomed to long distances, remember that you’re going to be riding at a uncontrolled pace. This means you’ll be on your bike longer than you expect, and certainly longer than weekend rides at home. The Velo can be congested and even walking pace in it's early miles.

It’s not at all uncommon for people who ride at 12- or even 18- mile-per-hour paces at home to average less than 8 miles per hour in the first hour of Velo. There’s so much to consider!

Here is our suggested club program for your weekly single ride distance.