Last days of prep for the big ride!

Here's an article from Velo News with some good tips for riding just prior to a GranFondo. It's all about tapering the effort down to allow your body rest prior to a big effort.


"Tapering before your Gran Fondo is important. Trying to get in a last minute 100-mile ride to boost your endurance in the week prior to the event will not help. You’d be better off tapering to make sure that you are rested before a long challenging ride.

Make sure you are well rested before a Gran Fondo.
How best to taper?
•Do your last endurance workout 4-8 days before your Gran Fondo.
•Avoid “big gear” workouts for 1-2 weeks before the event.
•Avoid exhaustive aerobic workouts for the three days prior to leaving for your Gran Fondo
•Intervals (LT) are OK in the last week, but should be avoided in final 2 or 3 days before you depart for the event
•Use an active recovery ride (very, very easy) in the days before, or simply rest if riding isn’t an option
•Treat the first few kilometers of the Gran Fondo as a “warm-up” to get your legs accustomed to the effort

If you’re looking to peak for your Gran Fondo event you’ll want to reduce volume in the week before but maintain your intensity. High volume makes recovery more difficult, and lower volume allows the rest required for replacing glycogen stores, while giving you time to psych yourself up for the hard efforts ahead. As your schedule permits, you’ll want to continue to ride, but keep in mind that you’ll benefit most from decreasing the duration of your intervals while maintaining intensity."

Article from

Training for Gran Fondos, part 5: Tapering and tips

• By Curtis and Kristi Eastin, Chris Jones
• Published Jul. 20, 2010
• Updated Dec. 14, 2012 at 3:36 PM EDT

 See the entire article here.