Hey all, at the end of august i will be going on a camping trip where i will be doing alot of mountain biking and some hiking/ packing. Im curious about peoples thoughts on how to train to get ready for this. Im guessing we will be riding 3-5 miles a day for about 7 days. I go to the gym 3-4 times a week already. My usual training is strength based. Lots of compound movements. I havent mountain biked in about 2 years because i moved to a big city and my bike is back home where i used to live. So the riding will mainly be on logging roads. Im wondering if the bike machines at the gym will help? I just dont want to be slowed down by not being prepared. The main objective of this camping trip is hunting. So i will also be trying to find animals (deer, elk, ect) and may be packing extra weight after i find them (sorry animal rights ppl). Any thoughts on this would be much appreciated. Like i said i dont have a bike and live in a big city so i cant train like i used to (on a real bike)
I don't know where you live, but, a lot of cities do have bike rentals...might be something worth checking into. I think that getting on a real bike just a few times will at least sort of "wake up" those muscle groupings to make it easier when you go on your trip. Really, 3-5 miles of biking isn't much at all, so I think especially considering that you strength train 3-4 times a week already, you should be absolutely fine. I don't know how bikes are at the gym... I ride a real one, BUT, if the bikes at the gym are your only option, I'm assuming that if they have different resistance levels (They do, don't they?), that should help a lot, upping the resistance to sort of simulate hills and wind and what not... I'd also work on squats, lunges, squat jumps, etc. lots of lower body strength moves (which you can do even at home) to get your muscles ready for such lower body activity on your trip. I don't know exactly how you plan on hauling animals around on a bike--not sure what kind of animals you're going for, but I'm assuming you'll also need some good back/shoulder strength for this trip so I'd get crackin' on pushups and pullups a lot too. I don't know how sound my advice is, just coming from the logic I use training and staying active. Might be better to consult a trainer at your gym. Have fun though!
If you're not very experienced, I'd suggest worrying about being safe and then think about keeping up. Logging roads can be very steep and treacherous. Falling and seriously injuring yourself is going to be a lot more of a hassle than riding a little extra cautiously. I cycle and go to the gym regularly. I think the above post is good advice. I also think you're going to be using some muscles in a way that you normally may not. Spending time on the stationary bike with high resistance is going to help. 3-5 miles on pavement? Piece of cake. You'd knock it out without even breaking a sweat. But 3-5 miles on trails will be tougher. Shouldn't be too bad though and you sound like you're in good shape so you should be fine. Good luck!!
