[ddkeeler]

Hey all, I have only been riding a month or so. I have been going further and further every ride. My question is at what point should I stop increasing mileage and just start working on speedwork or keeping a really high cadence? If anyone has any sort of training plan they could share with me that would very helpful as well.

Thanks

Dalton

 

[Industry_Hack]

Once you feel like you're properly set up on your bike, (fit is very important) you can start mixing up your rides a bit.

I'm a big proponent of interval training. To give you a rough idea of what that entails, if you're going to be out for an hour, you could try a variation of this: Give yourself a warm-up, then go flat out for maybe a minute, followed by about eight minutes of recovery. Repeat this a few times, then cool down for the remainder of your ride. Your current level of fitness will dictate the interval. When you first do it, that minute may seem really long. If you're young and really fit, it might not be so much, and you can do one in five.

Another option is to take your current distance, such as a 30 mile loop for a two hour ride, and try to cut your time by sustaining a slightly higher speed for the duration. Either way, you want to raise your intensity every other day, or every third day, depending on how hard you ride. And you absolutely must give your body at least a day of rest, maybe two, otherwise you'll get burned out, and it won't be fun.

 

[ddkeeler]

If I rode 30 miles today and tomorrow I wanted to go out would I just do a short high intensity ride?

 

[Industry_Hack]

I don't see why not. But you may want to share your goals first, otherwise what's the point? Is your goal cycling-oriented, or just general fitness? Do you want to be able to ride long distances effortlessly? Just want to be fast? Or are you trying to lose weight? You'll need to take your health and fitness level into consideration too.

 

[ddkeeler]

I want to start competing in races next year. I want to be fast as well as being able to ride long distances. I understand that it takes little steps.

 

[Industry_Hack]

A lot will depend on your fitness base. If you're already pretty active, you'll do fine. Pay attention to proper nutrition and hydration too. Your body needs the right fuel as well.

 

[tomk]

I'd really like to develop a plan as well....to this point it has been getting used to the bike and increasing my distances / lowering my times but no kind of regimen. I actually feel in some ways that I may be hurting myself. I find riding everyday to be counterproductive.

I got my road bike in August - so just over two months ago. I had a really tough time with my first 20 mile group ride but now I don't even think about taking a 21 - 35 mile ride and have just done my first 1/2 century. My average ride speed when I started was 12-14mph (1-1/2 hours of ride time for 20 miles) and there are now 5-7 mile chunks of my regular 21 mile loop ride where I maintain an average of 17-20 mph.....so maybe I am improving!

Looking at my ride stats my biggest weakness is climbs - really slows me down. What can i do to improve my climbing?

 

[Industry_Hack]

A couple of things to consider:

Without a plan/way to measure improvement, you'll probably end up wasting your time by either advancing slower than necessary, or not at all.

Yes, you can hurt yourself, and no, riding every day is not necessarily counter productive. Hard efforts without rest and recovery will lead to injury, and slower gains. The key is to make the most of each ride. A high intensity ride is going to build up lactic acid in your leg muscles. For those of us lacking a personal masseuse, the best way to get rid of that lactic acid (which is what makes your legs sore) is to get some blood flowing into those muscles so it can transport the acid out. There are plenty of ways to exercise your legs that will accomplish that, but a casual recovery ride is what I suggest. Just get out and do some light spinning. Take in the scenery. Enjoy the ride for the views. Mixing up your rides allows recovery and keeps things fun and interesting. If you ride hard every day, you're not going to end up faster.

Hills? That's an easy one. Do more of them. There are seven days in a week. You could do sprint intervals Monday, recovery Tuesday, hills Wednesday, recovery Thursday, take Friday off, do your long group ride Saturday, and your short recovery ride to anyplace serving beer and tacos on Sunday. That's just an example, but you get the idea. Just have a plan, and have a way to measure results. Oh, for your first week or two of hill efforts, don't worry about time. Concentrate on breathing and cadence. I suspect a lot of people use too much leg and not enough lungs on hills when they first start out.

That's my two cents for today.

 

[tomk]

Thanks, I_H! I do tend to forget to "enjoy the scenery" and living in the LHV area of PA there is a lot of it right outside my door. I appreciate your ideas. There is a brutal climb about 8 miles from me....sounds like a good training ride to head down there and go up and down a few times.

 

[jeepster93]

hack is right on...
You will get in better/faster shape with a plan.
Just going out for a ride is not increasing your base.
You need to :
change up pace
Climb hills
sprint
long ride
EVERY WEEK.
Not to mention that nasty "cross train" a must!

BUT: DO NOT exceed a 10% increase in exercise a week!!!!!
Do not increase either speed or distance by more than 10% a week. NEVER increase BOTH speed and distance at the same time-a recipe for injury.

 

[jeepster93]

I am going to ride an MS-150 next summer.
75 miles a day for 2 days.

I have a training schedule for training for this event. It has a LOT of miles on it. Like a 16 week plan with near 200 miles a week on it near the end.

Here is a sample plan for a century in 2 months(assumes you arte in pretty good shape to start):

 

[tomk]

Jeepster, that's very helpful.
Can you equate "easy pace brisk" to avg MPH?

Would climbs be a part of each route?

Thanks!

 

[jeepster93]

MPH will change as you progress and get stronger. If you want to compete you will need to go FAST, 20mph plus for hours.
I need over 15mph to be classified as a good workout for me a 55yo.

Pace:
Easy=a leisurely pace
Pace=your century race pace
Brisk=faster than your century.


What time do you want to finish? 6 hours require a 16.66 mph for all 6 hours, including all stops and off bike time. To compete, look around 4 to 4 1/2 hours(22/25mph).


Hills-Maintain your cadence. Do not stomp on the pedals, spin them. If you are stomping on the pedals, shift down or the hill is too steep.
I live in a hilly/mountainous place (Denver Colorado), so hills are not a hard thing to find, and part, to a certain level, of every ride. A hill ride is seeking out a big hill and climbing it, not the hills you encounter on your daily ride.

This training schedule is for someone who wants to "complete" a century, not "compete". Competing is a whole 'nother situation.

 

[tomk]

Once again - really helpful. I can see how I need to start putting this plan together. Winter will intervene here soon....