So as I’ve been perusing the RAGBRAI Facebook group posts, I see some posts where some of your are concerned about being behind in your training, some to the point where you are considering not going. Horror of horrors! It’s much too early to be thinking like that. You have 2 months still to get ready which should be plenty of time regardless of your level of fitness at this point in time. Here are some thoughts on what you can do if you feel you are way behind in your training.

Several years ago I put out my first RAGBRAI training plan and that has become a very popular guide to help people do the appropriate volume of training as they build up to RAGBRAI. This year’s plan is a 23 week (5 month) plan that starts out slowly and gradually builds as your cycling fitness builds. However, as well as a motivator I’ve discovered this plan could also be a stressor, if you aren’t able for whatever reason to keep up with it. It should not be viewed this way. It is a plan, and as we all know, a plan almost never is followed to a T. It’s meant to be a guide that can and should be adapted to your personal situation. Here are some ways you can adapt it if you are behind where you want to be.

First, consider your current level of fitness