100-mile training plan

Beginner's 12-week training plan

If you’ve secured a spot in the Ford RideLondon-Essex 100, congratulations! You’ll be joining thousands of others on an epic journey that takes in both the buzz of central London and the beauty of rural Essex – and we can’t wait to cheer you along.

But if you’re new to cycling and wondering how to tackle training for the 100-mile challenge, fear not – we’ve put together a handy 12-week training plan to gear you up for the ride and make those miles manageable.

It’s the ultimate guide to help you feel your best as you cross the Finish Line at Tower Bridge!

Training lingo

Threshold efforts, tempos, surges… It all sounds impressive on paper, but what does it actually mean? We explain some of these nifty training terms to help you follow our plan with ease:

Endurance ride: these rides are carried out at a lower intensity but for longer durations, so they help you build the stamina needed to succeed in the Ford RideLondon-Essex 100!
Tempo ride: often called ‘hard aerobic’ training, tempo rides require more concentration and effort than endurance rides. They often work well for rides of 20 to 60 minutes.
Threshold ride: the term ‘threshold’ means the highest effort you can sustain for a set period. In cycling, this is often 20 to 40 minutes.
Surge: a surge is a short acceleration out of the saddle (but not a full-blown sprint!) that reflects a short, intense change of pace. Once you’ve completed a surge, you should return to a steady cycling effort.
Cross-training: yes, we know, cycling is the best sport out there – so why do anything else? Well, to work other muscle groups, add interest to your training and keep motivation high, it’s recommended that you build some cross-training into your Ford RideLondon-Essex 100 preparations. Cross-training could be anything that keeps you active, whether that’s running or rock climbing, swimming or circuits, or windsurfing or walking the dog.
WU: warm up…
CD: cool down. Phew!

You may come across this term during your cycling journey, too:

Revolutions per minute (RPM): RPM measures the rate at which you turn the pedals. For context, a medium cycling effort (85 to 95 RPM) should feel comfortable, while a higher effort (95 to 120 RPM) should make you work a bit harder and breathe a bit faster.

RideLondon Editor

Oct 12, 2023 ·

6 mins read

Get in the zone

You’ll see that our training plan also mentions zones! These go from 1 to 7 and refer to the amount of effort we recommend you put into a session:

Mobile users: scroll across

ZONE	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
EFFORT	Easy peasy	OK	Moderate	Getting harder now...	Difficult	Yikes – this is starting to hurt	That was TOUGH!

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Training tips

If you’re not feeling yourself, don’t push yourself to do a set session, and consider doing some lighter cross-training or taking a rest day instead. Remember, rest really is best – especially if it means escaping a pesky injury.
Talking of rest, our training plan makes space for two rest days a week. If you’re itching to move on any of these days, then you’re free to go for a ride or do some cross-training – but try to keep it nice and easy.
Don’t have time for long rides on Sundays? Don’t worry. You can rejig the different sessions to the days that suit you (although we do advise spreading out your harder efforts to give yourself time to recover).

The 12-week plan

Mobile users: scroll across

WEEK	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
1	Rest	10 min WU (zone 1 / 2) 2 x 10 min efforts (zone 3 / 4) with 5 min recoveries 10 min CD (zone 1 / 2)	45 min endurance ride (zone 2 / 3)	Cross-training	Rest	10 min WU (zone 1 / 2) 35 min endurance ride incl. 3 x 5 min threshold efforts 10 min CD (zone 1 / 2)	1 hr endurance ride (zone 2 / 3)
2	Rest	10 min WU (zone 1 / 2) 3 x 6 min efforts (zone 4) with 2 min recoveries 20 min tempo ride (zone 3) 10 min CD (zone 1 / 2)	50 min endurance ride (zone 2 / 3)	Cross-training	Rest	10 min WU (zone 1 / 2) 35 min endurance ride incl. 3 x 6 min threshold efforts 10 min CD (zone 1 / 2)	1 hr 15 min endurance ride (zone 2 / 3)
3	Rest	10 min WU (zone 1 / 2) 12 x 1 min surges (zone 6) with 75 sec recoveries 15 min tempo ride (zone 3) 10 min CD (zone 1 / 2)	1 hr endurance ride (zone 2 / 3)	Cross-training	Rest	10 min WU (zone 1 / 2) 40 min endurance ride incl. 4 x 5 min threshold efforts 10 min CD (zone 1 / 2)	1 hr 45 min endurance ride (zone 2 / 3)
4	Rest	10 min WU (zone 1 / 2) 8 x 1 min intervals (zone 6 / 7) with 75 sec recoveries. Rest for 10 min and repeat 10 min tempo ride (zone 3) 10 min CD (zone 1 / 2)	1 hr 15 min endurance ride (zone 2 / 3)	Cross-training	Rest	10 min WU (zone 1 / 2) 45 min endurance ride incl. 3 x 8 min threshold efforts 10 min CD (zone 1 / 2)	2 hr 15 min endurance ride (zone 2 / 3)
5	Rest	10 min WU (zone 1 / 2) 5 x 6 min efforts (zone 4) with 2 min recoveries 15 min tempo ride (zone 3) 10 min CD (zone 1 / 2)	1 hr 15 min endurance ride (zone 2 / 3)	Cross-training	Rest	10 min WU (zone 1 / 2) 1 hr endurance ride incl. 2 x 10 min threshold efforts 10 min CD (zone 1 / 2)	3 hr endurance ride (zone 2 / 3)
6	Rest	10 min WU (zone 1 / 2) 5 x 6 min efforts (zone 4 / 5) with 2 min recoveries 20 min tempo ride (zone 3) 10 min CD (zone 1 / 2)	1 hr 15 min endurance ride (zone 2 / 3)	Cross-training	Rest	10 min WU (zone 1 / 2) 1 hr endurance ride incl. 2 x 15 min threshold efforts 10 min CD (zone 1 / 2)	3 hr 30 min endurance ride (zone 2 / 3)
7	Rest	10 min WU (zone 1 / 2) 3 x 9 min efforts (zone 4) with 2 min recoveries 40 min endurance ride (zone 2 / 3) 10 min CD (zone 1 / 2)	1 hr 15 min endurance ride (zone 2 / 3)	Cross-training	Rest	10 min WU (zone 1 / 2) 1 hr endurance ride incl. 4 x 8 min threshold efforts 10 min CD (zone 1 / 2)	4 hr endurance ride (zone 2 / 3)
8	Rest	10 min WU (zone 1 / 2) 45 min tempo ride (zone 3 / 4) 10 min CD (zone 1 / 2)	1 hr endurance ride (zone 2 / 3)	Cross-training	Rest	10 min WU (zone 1 / 2) 20 min endurance ride (zone 2) 25 min threshold ride (zone 6) 10 min CD (zone 1 / 2)	4 hr endurance ride (zone 2 / 3)
9	Rest	10 min WU (zone 1 / 2) 45 min tempo ride (zone 4) 10 min CD (zone 1 / 2)	1 hr endurance ride (zone 2 / 3)	Cross-training	Rest	10 min WU (zone 1 / 2) 20 min endurance ride (zone 2) 20 min tempo ride (zone 3 / 4) 20 min threshold ride (zone 6) 10 min CD (zone 1 / 2)	3 hr 30 min endurance ride (zone 2 / 3)
10	Rest	10 min WU (zone 1 / 2) 60 min tempo ride (zone 3 / 4) 10 min CD (zone 1 / 2)	50 min endurance ride (zone 2 / 3)	Cross-training	Rest	10 min WU (zone 1 / 2) 20 min endurance ride (zone 2) 20 min tempo ride (zone 3 / 4) 10 min threshold ride (zone 6) 10 min CD (zone 1 / 2)	2 hr 30 min endurance ride (zone 2 / 3)
11	Rest	10 min WU (zone 1 / 2) 40 min endurance ride incl. 3 x 5 sec sprints (zone 7) 10 min CD (zone 1 / 2)	50 min endurance ride (zone 2 / 3)	Cross-training	Rest	Rest or go for an easy cycle	1 hr 30 min endurance ride (zone 2 / 3)
12	Rest	10 min WU (zone 1 / 2) 3 x 15 min tempo efforts (zone 3) with 3 min recoveries 10 min CD (zone 1 / 2)	45 min endurance ride (zone 2 / 3)	Cross-training	Rest	Rest or go for an easy cycle	It’s time to put your training into practice – have fun out there!

100-mile training plan – print version
Click here to download a free, printable version of our 100-mile training plan. Stick it on the fridge, the wall or wherever you see fit and tick off your sessions as you go!