The following post is the fifth in a monthly series from Steve Schulz. Steve serves as course director on Cycle Oregon. He is also the owner of STRADA, a fitness and adventure training center in Portland, Oregon. STRADA offers specialized training rides and programs designed to help riders get the most out of Cycle Oregon.

It’s less than two months until Day 1 of Cycle O! Are you where you need to be in your training? Here are some benchmarks you should be hitting at this time:

1)    You should be riding between 100 and 200 miles per week, depending on your riding level. If you aren’t there yet, look at your schedule and see how you can rework it to get this mileage in.

2)    You should be getting in four to six rides per week.

3)    You should have at least one long ride a week, and preferably two. This is different for everybody, but suffice to say you know if you aren’t getting this in!  While you may feel that you can easily conquer a 60-mile flat route, 60 miles against a headwind is a whole different ball game. (So get out and try to ride in the wind – this is a real possibility on Day 3.)

4)    You should have at least two good climbing rides per week. You should be working on your climbing and descending skills, and you should be comfortable in your gearing. Now is a good time to find a big, long hill and see how you do. Periodically re-ride this route over the next couple months and see how you’re improving.

If you’ve followed this plan over the past few months, you should be feeling pretty good by now. If you haven’t, well, it’s not too late! Start putting it into play now and work hard the next two months.