RAGBRAI TRAINING: your complete training guide for this year's RAGBRAI

by Coach David Ertl

While it may still feel like winter for those of you in the Midwest, it is time to get serious about developing a plan to get in shape for RAGBRAI. I am once again going to help you out in that department.

Here is my 2020 RAGBRAI Training Plan to help guide you. If you have not done RAGBRAI before, or even if you did and weren’t happy with the outcome, here’s a plan to give you an idea of the minimum amount of riding you should plan to do so you are in basic condition to do RAGBRAI successfully.  I have received a lot of great feedback on the helpfulness of this plan, as simple as it is, so I am happy to provide it to you again. It will help provide a guide for the number of miles you might consider doing in training leading up to RAGBRAI in July.  Yes, you have five months to prepare, but time will go fast so it’s not too early to start thinking about getting (back) on your bike and starting to get your body in shape. If you are snowbound like us, you can do the miles even on a spin bike or indoor trainer until the weather warms up.

Below are links to the 2020 Training Guide that you can print and keep handy throughout this training season.  This plan has proven useful by many riders over the years and I hope you find it helpful as well.  Use it as a guide. Don’t feel you have to do the exact number of rides or miles on the exact days indicated.  But you should aim for your longest ride to be about as long as the longest ride listed for each week, and putting in the total number of miles each week as indicated.  It’s best to spread your miles out over several days and not to pack them all in on weekends.

Click to download the PDF of the RAGBRAI Training Plan 

Click to download the Excel File of the RAGBRAI Training Plan 

I look forward to helping you again this season. If you have topics you would like to have me cover, please email me at cyclecoach@hotmail.com. I look forward to hearing from you and writing about topics of interest to you.

Here’s to a successful training season!

Coach David Ertl

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David Ertl is a USA Cycling Level 1 Coach. He coaches the Des Moines Cycle Club Race Team, JDRF Ride To Cure Diabetes and individual

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