Hi, I just started my TR journey 5 weeks ago in an effort to use structured training to build up towards a big race in March 2027 in Australia that will be 230km road. I used to ride a lot, and am also no stranger to doing 6-8h rides, but I haven’t done anything longer than 3h in the last two years…

@cartsman Great advice here! I agree with all of this. You don’t need to be pushing your long rides out every single week, and you need to be careful with those big efforts. I usually say that 8 and maybe 4 weeks out from race day are good times to get a couple of longer rides in, but with so much…

The 50% “rule” is based on the outcome of missing your next high intensity training session. It assumes that your high intensity sessions are more important to meet your training goals than your long ride. This is probably not true in your situation, at least not for the entire time between now and…

[image] cnidos: I would suggest a eventual weekly volume that’s the same as the time you expect this event to take you, for at least a few weeks before hand I’m an advocate for getting some big rides in before a long event, but I’d be very careful increasing overall training volume in the mon…

[image] grwoolf: I’m an advocate for getting some big rides in before a long event, but I’d be very careful increasing overall training volume in the month/weeks leading into an event. Agreed. I was more thinking the bare minimum. Two weeks at target volume then a mini one-week recovery/taper…

[image] Bschmittoz: I started TR on a 3 days per week plan, but will look to go to 4 days shortly. Now, my big concern is, just intuitively, if I continue with the plan of 4-6 h training per week, trying to raise my FTP, how that will convert to spending 230km in the saddle in one chunk. They…

[image] 2 hour training sessions for long MTB race - my experience Racing The third point is that he didn’t do Leadville on 2 hour training rides. This is often quoted and just plain not true. Nate came into the final 12 ish weeks prior to Leadville with a 330…

[image] Un-QuittingBikes: At Leadville, he went sub-9 and was on pace to do sub 8, but some issue with logistics caused him to miss his last hydration pack swap. No, he was right on pace for where he finished (hitting top of columbine at ~4.5 and bottom of powerline inbound @ ~6.5). If you a…

[image] grwoolf: I do think long rides can be beneficial as well. The nuance is that long rides are beneficial as long as the rider doesn’t sacrifice their interval training. [image] cnidos: FTP is certainly important as you’ve nicely described. But long rides have their role still. A…

I think it depends on what the goal of your training at that specific moment is. Long rides and intervals train different things. They both have their place, but one doesn’t completely replace the other.

50+ here. I did the grand fondo plan with long outdoor rides on Saturdays to prep for a 6 day alpine road trip. I wasnt fully complaint with the plan but with AI adjustments the workouts felt about right. Only day 6 was a struggle felt very strong the other 5 days. Would i have done better or wors…

Long rides durability buildup vs 50% rule

Training

cnidos July 20, 2026, 6:04pm 9

He was basically doing weekly long rides heading into Leadville, with his longest one being 70-80% the ultimate duration of the event.

FTP is certainly important as you’ve nicely described. But long rides have their role still.

(Weekly volume/CTL is also one of the strongest predictors of FTP).

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Long rides durability buildup vs 50% rule

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