Can you Everest in one month? CW5000 July challenges

Every month we set our CW5000 riders two challenges, each one designed to mix up someone's riding, and help inspire them to get out and closer to the 5,000 mile target. 

Everesting was a big challenge during lockdown as the British and outright record for the challenge got beaten over and over. But while the record attempts have backed off since last year, it's still a fun cycling challenge. 

The recognised Everesting challenge is to complete a ride that from start to finish gains the same elevation as Mount Everest - 8,849 metres.

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Riders who aim to do that in as short a time as possible typically find a climb with a gradient of around 11 per cent and ride up and down it continuously until they have gained that vertical height and the overall distance ridden can go over 200 miles depending on the climb used.

But we're not asking you to to do that. Instead we are challenging you to gain 8,849 vertical metres throughout the month. That's around 2,200 metres of elevation gain every week.

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To see whether or not your normal level of riding would allow you to gain this height, it's worth checking back on previous months of riding to see how much climbing you amassed. Then divide this by the miles you rode that month and work out whether or not you need to up your mileage, or search out some hills, to gain the elevation.

Challenge number two is one big week of riding - 200 miles. This is our biggest weekly mileage challenge in a while, but if you're not going to get a big week of riding in during the summer, when will you? 

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200 miles in seven days is a big ask, and you don't need us to do the maths for you to work out how many miles that is each day. 

We recommend one big ride of close to 100 miles and three or four smaller rides through the week. Virtual miles count for this one of course, so do chuck in a few hours on the turbo if it helps.

Good luck to everyone taking these challenges. Don't forget to let us know how you managed them whether in glorious success or heroic failure. You can post about your rides in the CW5000 private Facebook group where you'll find likeminded people to support you, or email us with details via cycling@futurenet.com