I am planning on riding the Belgian Waffle Ride in North County San Diego this year (May 5, 2019). It is a cool event with waffles, beer, 90 miles of road, 40 miles +/- of dirt riding, 10k ft of climbing, tequila, and bacon 
I am currently trying to build out a training schedule for the ride and was wondering if any of the good people here on TR have ridden it? And if so, what did your training plan look like and what bike/bike setup did you ride?
Cheers!
What’s your goal?
Around 10 hours would be great. Having a great day on the bike and not completely wrecking myself physically would be great too.
Hey there!
Typically for rides like this that fall into the “Gran-Fondo” designation, this is our recommended training progression:
Sweet Spot Base
Sustained Power Build
Century Plan
This is our recommended plan for riders completing your typical 100 mile centuries, racing Leadville or Dirty Kanza, or any other steady and extended Gran-Fondo riding.
I hope this helps, good luck with the rest of your training!
I did the Wafer a few years ago (the half) and rode a Niner BSB with 30mm tubeless slicks. I wouldn’t go much larger than that since there is so much road.
The neutral roll out is not neutral. Don’t kill yourself at the start 
Anyone know what an average TSS for the ride would be?
Somewhere in the 5k-6k kilojoule range, probably 400-500TSS depending on your weight and fitness.
So currently I’m at 3.58 W/kg. My average over the past 6 months is around 300 TSS a week. Have been doing the low volume plans during the week and riding outside on the weekends.
If I start training for the BWR next week I will have 22 weeks till May 5. Doing the
Sweet Spot Base
Sustained Power Build
Century Plan
will take 24 weeks. I will most likely miss a 2-3 weeks for snowboard trips. So… my question is… Should I skip the first sweet spot base I and start with sweet spot base II? Or should I start with sweet spot base I and not finish the century speciality plan?
Cheers!
It’s always best to start at the bottom and work your way up I recommend trimming the final weeks of Specialty rather than skipping SSB I.
Happy training!
Thanks! Just curious about your thoughts. Does it make sense to continue on the low volume with weekend rides or should i really step up to the mid volume? Just concerned that doesn’t leave much time for outside riding on the weekend.
Cheers!
This question really boils down to how much stress you can handle and also your personal priorities with respect to outdoor riding. The way I see it, you have a few options:
Option 1:
Mid-Week: Mid-Volume (TuWeTh)
Weekends: One ride from Mid-Volume (Sa), one outdoor
Option 2:
Mid-Week: Mid Volume (TuWeTh)
Weekends: Outdoors
Option 3: Low Volume(TuTh)
Weekends: Outdoors
The highest options represent the highest improvement potential. Keep in mind though, that it is just potential. If your body is not ready for that amount of stress, then you will be over-fatigued and will not see the improvements you hope to see.
Also, if a lack of riding outdoors (Option 1) leads to a decrease in motivation, this could also be detrimental to your training.
So in summary, pick the highest attainable (and sustainable) option for you
I hope I was able to deconstruct this a bit and help you decide which route works best for you!
@Bryce I started the mid volume sweet spot base this week and laid out the training in the calendar. Doing the SSB Mid 1 & 2, Sustained Build, and Century actually finishes 5 weeks after the event if I do every week, and does not give me a taper week going into the event. You had recommended just cutting the century plan at the end, but I did some digging into the forums and podcasts and on one podcast coach @chad mentioned cutting weeks 3 & 4 out of the SSBs. I believe these are the lower TSS weeks in those plans. Does it make sense to do this? Or does it make sense to just get into the century plan, do a 2 weeks of it, then stop plan and do a week taper going into the event. What should the taper look like?
Really appreciate the help.
Cheers!
What kind of gearing did you use? I’m thinking 50/34 - 11/30? Basically the max my dura ace will handle w/o switching the rear deralliur to ultegra to run a 11/34.
Thoughts?
I had 1x11 with 42t with 10-42 cassette
The estimate @stevemz gave holds true for me. I did it in 2017 in 9:38 (lost about 45min to mechanical issues) with a TSS of 469 and burned 5000kj. Also during the first climb I set a 5min power PR staying with the group which wasn’t ideal but I still had a great day on the bike.
It’s important to be able to eat on the bike, have all day endurance and be prepared to grind up the final climb for ~15min (assuming they’re still doing double peak at the end)
I trained for a long and hard Grand Fondo, I did it before I learned about TR. My set up was a Niner RLT 9, WTB Exposure 34s, tubeless. This ride is doable on a road bike, if you are a good bike handler. Don’t go all out at the bottom of double peak, it’s called double peak for a reason, and it comes at the end.
Have fun!
Thanks! Did you see anyone doing the ride on a mt bike with slicks?
I’d have to imagine there are some with that setup, but the dirt sections aren’t that gnarly. I did it on my Masi Evoluzione with 28s and was fine.
You’ll pay an aero penalty on the mtb and there is a lot of asphalt to cover.
I really want to do BWR this year. And they have this sweet deal…buy one get one free for women doing the full waffle!
The only problem is that I am unsure of my bike handling skills for an event like this. I road race, and I ride dirt fire roads but nothing technical or single track. Is BWR technical when it is on the gravel/dirt? Will I find myself walking because of tight turns with loose terrain or steep descents?
I did not, I did see one person riding a FS MTB. He was quickly dropped, like other comment said, there’s no real “neutral” start, everyone goes from the gun.