In the spring of 2017, my husband, Dean, and I finalized our travel plans for a fall trip to Europe, which was to include one week at the Belvedere Bike Hotel in Italy. We had both been involved in long distance running for about 15 years and had a fairly solid cardiovascular fitness base. Over the years, we had completed several bike touring trips around BC. However, neither of us had much experience riding in a larger group, we didn’t have road bikes, and I had never used clip ins (the mere idea of clip-ins freaked me out a bit).
So Dean suggested we join the Spring Kits Energy beginner cycling course and were so fortunate to have Kristina as our trainer. The beginner course provided me with the support and encouragement I needed to get into clips and conquer my fear of falling. The course structure, which involved weekly instruction on a specific topic, followed by a group ride, provided just the right combination of education, practical skill development, and fun.
By the time September arrived, I felt confident in my emerging road cycling skills, but the real test was still to come. The highlight of the trip was my sense of accomplishment upon riding to the top of San Marino, which is a tiny little country within Italy set at the top of a “little” mountain. As I dug deep and used the numerous hill climbing techniques Kristina had drilled into me (yes, she can be a task master), the full extent of what she had taught me, sunk in.
I don’t know whom to attribute the quote to but I agree wholeheartedly that “A coach is someone who always makes you do what you don’t want to do, so you can be who you’ve always wanted to be. There is no glory in practice, but without practice there is no glory”.
One of the ways you become a better cyclist is through muscular adaptation. In very basic terms, this is what happens: The stress of training causes micro tears in your muscles. Your body then repairs the damage, which results in an inflammatory response (the swelling and tenderness you feel after a hard workout or race). The rebuilding process that follows creates stronger muscles—but onlyif the body has adequate time to heal. If you start your next hard ride when you’re not completely recovered your body is at a disadvantage. If you do this too many times you’ll grow more tired and gain less from each workout.
But recovery isn’t just about sitting on the couch with your legs up. It’s also about not going hard all the time and using rest days wisely. Strategies like low-intensity rides, stretching, yoga and massage will help your muscles recover faster.
10 ways to maximize every minute you spend in—and out—of the saddle.
1. The harder the workout = the more recovery time you will need. Generally speaking 48hrs should be enough, unless you made a huge jump in your training volume/intensity or you a hard race. Then you may need an extra day or two before you jump back into training.
2. To help your legs recover: elevate them, ice them or wear compression tights right after a hard/long ride.
3. Ride a short (45-60min) recovery ride the day after an intense ride. Keep your recovery rides light and easy, spinning the legs with very little intensity.
4. To replace the lost glycogen, eat immediately after all hard/long rides. Mainly carbs with only a small amount of protein and fat.
5. Stretch hip flexors, quads and hamstrings on a regular/daily basis.
6. Use your time off the bike to cross train with swimming or weight training focusing on core and upper body only. Keep the weights light on the legs. Hard leg training is best done in the off season.
7. Your body is trying to heal from the moment you get off the bike until you get back on again so plan meals ahead of time so you are eating every 3hrs, fuelling the fire.
8. Muscles do most of their repair during sleep. Get at least 8 hours of sleep on a regular basis.
9. If you are suffering from fatigue, frequent colds/flu, frequent injuries or just general fatigue, it may mean that you are overtraining. Take a few days off and ease back into it slowly.
10. Increase volume and/or intensity by only 10% each week.
Vancouver has embraced the large number of bikes on the roads by providing bike lanes and specific bike routes that are great routes when traveling to and from your workout but definitely not the place to lay the hammer down.
So how do you deal with training when you live in the city?
First off, you must remember that as a cyclist, you are legally obligated to obey all the rules of the road like any other vehicle. If you break the rules, it is you who is going to suffer the most if you get hit. So choosing an appropriate route for your workout is key.
Due to the nature of an interval workout your goal isn’t to find a route that is pleasant to look at, but a route that is safe and will allow you to complete the workout in repetition and as close as you can to what was prescribed. It may seem boring but training on the same route for the same workout each time will give you consistency and specific numbers to measure your progress.
For long rides it is best to choose routes that have very little traffic and as few stop lights/signs as possible, otherwise you won’t get the training benefit of the workout. This may mean that you have to drive your car out of the city before you can start riding. Zero Ave, Richmond loop, Iona, Stanley Park and Marine Drive are great routes with very few lights.
But even out of the city it is impossible to find a route without any traffic signals. So if you are riding in a large group you will want to follow some basic rules. These will not only keep you safe but they will also help keep your group together as well.
Indicate to vehicles AND your fellow riders the direction you plan on riding well in advance (right or left turns).
Don’t ride through stop signs or red lights (see #4 for more of an explanation).
As the lead rider, if the light turns yellow, stop to avoid breaking up the group when the light turns red.
When riding in a pack, stay close and consider yourself as one vehicle. When crossing intersections continue to move as one unit. Having each person stop individually will create confusion for other vehicles and confusion in the group. If there is a break in a group (more than one bike length distance) then you become two vehicles and you will need to stop.
Use the most trafficked roads as time to warm up and cool down – take your time.
Start long rides early in the morning when it is still quiet on the roads.
If you haven’t heard this saying before and you have a race coming up within the next two or three weeks, I want you tape this sentence on your bike and read it before every ride.
Most people are procrastinators. Whether you are preparing for an important presentation or training for a big ride, most people will wait until the last few weeks before they start to get serious. When it comes to mental projects, your brain is very malleable and you can quickly cram it with all the information you need. But your body doesn’t work that way. It takes months to build a training base and many more months to build speed and power, on top of that base.
All this information shouldn’t be new to you, but I’m reminding you again because, with less than a month left in the season, what you do now can make or break your entire season.
If you haven’t completed your long rides over the last few months and have been skipping your intensity workouts, I’m sorry but cramming in extra rides during the last few weeks will do you more harm than good.
The purpose of training is to break the body down gently, allow it to recover and grow stronger. Trying to speed up this process means that you will miss the recovery and getting stronger part. On Fondo day, you will arrive feeling burnt out, tired and possibly injured.
Instead of throwing in the towel, you can still salvage the ride with less than optimal training if you follow these five tips:
1. Get lots of sleep and recovery time so you arrive on race day feeling refreshed and mentally ready for a hard ride day.
2. For the two weeks leading up to race or ride don’t add in any extra training sessions in addition to what is on your training program. Or talk to your coach about foregoing the taper to continue training up until the event.
3. During the ride, take it easy and don’t try to race the event. Keep your heart rate low and take as many breaks as you need at the rest stops. If your body isn’t accustomed to riding the distance you will fatigue simply from being on the bike for this extended amount of time.
4. Readjust your expectation. Possibly use the event as a training ride to prepare you for the next one.
5. Have fun and enjoy the day. Remember that any day on the bike is a good day.
2. For the two weeks leading up to race or ride don’t add in any extra training sessions on top of what is on your training program. Talk to your coach about discuss how to skip the taper and continue training until the event.
3. During the ride, take it easy and don’t try to race the event. Keep your heart rate low and take as many breaks as you need at the rest stops. If your body isn’t accustomed to riding the distance you will fatigue simply from being on the bike for this extended amount of time.
4. Use the event as a training ride to prepare you for the next one.
5. Have fun and enjoy the day. Remember that any day on the bike – is a good day.
Some of you are moving away from being casual riders to cyclists training for an event. One of the most important things you will need to learn, practice, and eventually master is the art of eating during long rides and during your event. I’m not talking about eating while pedalling, although eventually you may be ready for that, I’m talking about eating at regular times during your ride to keep up your energy throughout your event.
When you are riding, your muscles use sugar and fat to do the work. The process of converting fat into energy is more difficult and time consuming so the majority of your energy will come from sugar or glycogen. Your body will use most of your available glycogen stores within the first hour. Unfortunately your brain only survives on sugar. So when you feel dizzy, light headed, confused, short tempered or faint this is because you don’t have enough sugar going to your brain. You may have already experienced this on a ride but if you haven’t you never want to get to this point. Once you are there, it is extremely hard to reverse.
You want to stay one step ahead of what our body needs which is why I teach all my athletes to eat on a schedule – whether they feel like eating or not. Normally in life you are counting calories so that you don’t over eat. Now I’m teaching you to count calories so that you eat enough. The timing of when you eat and the amount of calories you eat at each interval are the keys to having a great ride.
Use the following guideline to start with and then add or subtract calories as your stomach insists or your energy demands require.
Breakfast one hour before your ride of mainly carbohydrates with only a little bit of fat and protein as these both take too much time to digest (2-3 hours).
examples: toast with pb and banana, yogurt with granola and fruit, fruit smoothie, oatmeal
drink one glass of water and an extra glass of water for every cup of coffee so you are well hydrated
First snack at 45minutes into the ride: 200-250 calories for women, 300-350 calories for men of mainly simple SUGARS (very little fat or protein)
NOTE: The range of calories are a guideline for you to start with and through experience you will know if you need more or less.
examples: fruit bars, gels, white potatoes, bananas, fig newtons, sesame snaps, shot bloks, cliff bars, sharkies or a drink with calories in it like Vega Sport, Gatorade, Eload, etc
Bring a wide range of food choices as you may not “feel” like eating something but you MUST.
Drink 3/4 to a full water bottle or water with electrolytes in it if you are a heavy sweater.
If your ride is less than 2 hours, then you don’t necessarily need to eat again on the ride but you MUST eat another 250-350 calories as soon as you get home to replace the lost sugar during the last hour. If you miss this 30min window after exercise, your glycogen stores will have a difficult time rebuilding which means that your next ride is going to hurt. AFTER you eat your post ride snack, eat a regular healthy lunch/meal complete with carbs, fat and protein to repair your muscles.
If you are riding for longer, you will repeat the above schedule EVERY 45 minutes. Set your watch to an alarm if you have to. The same “after ride eating schedule” applies to the long ride.
If you haven’t changed a flat yet, now is the time to add learning and practicing it into your training schedule this week! And yes there will be a test but it will be on the road when you least expect it.
