The Ride for AIDS Chicago might well be one of the most challenging and rewarding experiences of your life. This training section is a tool to help you get into shape. We strongly encourage you to set aside considerable time to train for the ride. You may think you can handle the ride and that you don’t need to train for it. But the more you train, the more you’ll be able to enjoy the ride. If you don’t train at all, or don’t train very much, you could be in for a couple of pretty long, painful days; so start training now! This guide will help prepare all riders, no matter what their fitness level is when they begin.

Our route is a very challenging one.

While only 2 days, they are two very long days in the saddle.

Training Rides

A schedule of training rides is posted (see link to left). The training rides organized by the training ride leaders are the best way possible to get into shape. These rides vary in distance and terrain, giving you the best approximation of what to expect on the ride. You’ll also learn riding and safety techniques, experience group riding, see parts of your city you’ve never laid eyes on, meet other riders, and have lots of fun. Go on a few rides and you’ll begin to look forward to waking up at 7:00 a.m. to fill up your water bottles for your 70-mile Sunday jaunt.

Where To Begin

Before you put together your training plan, you’ll want to assess your current cycling abilities.

Ask yourself these questions:

• What is my current state of fitness?
• Do I have any physical limitations that will require special attention while I train for the ride or during it?
• How well do I ride a bicycle now, and how much time in the saddle can I endure before I have to get off?

Determine what your cycling level is now, and then determine what training you’ll need to do. Plan your schedule from now until the ride so that you can make time for training. Leave entire weekend days free several months before the ride to do longer rides. Cycling 80, 90 or 100-mile rides, when you’ve built up to that distance, will help tremendously. You’ll also need to do a few back-to-back longer rides, so leave a few weekends open for those.

Do not wait until a month before the ride to start training. Your body needs the chance to build up endurance to keep going for up to ten hours. That’s possible only if you start training early.

Start training today.