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While I regularly enthuse about the use
of turbo-trainers, especially for intensive,
measured training, I have no doubt that the
endurance base for next year’s racing will
be best attained through road riding.
As this endurance base is built during the
winter months, it is difficult for most
riders to do as much roadwork as they would
like to. Some are happy to fit lights on
their bikes and train in the evenings and
there is a 25 mile Wednesday evening club
run which leaves the Coach and Horses at
Lubenham at 7pm and ends up there for a pint
and a curry.
Many riders consider night riding
dangerous, so they are totally dependent on
weekends for their roadwork. What if it’s
cold, or wet, or windy? Have you got good
winter cycling gear – if you haven’t, you’re
unlikely to make the most of the outdoor
training opportunities. None other than
Geoff Cook, Alex Wise’s coach, numbers
neoprene overshoes among his top 3 cycling
innovations of the last 20 years. I find the
relatively recent availability, at a
reasonable price, of waterproof, breathable
gloves, a great step forward. A good
endurance base is a much more likely route
to racing faster than that upgrade from 9
speed to 10 speed Ultegra and the carbon
fibre seatpost. Mudguards are also a
worthwhile investment – they save you
getting an unduly wet backside.
So now you can get out and ride every
Saturday and Sunday right through the winter
– so there’s another excuse for poor
performance next season that you can’t use!
It’s obviously dangerous to go out in
very heavy rain, very strong winds, or in
icy, snowy conditions, but don’t take the
day off - do a turbo session. If you want
some ideas for turbo sessions, give me a
call on 0116 2792756 or E mail me at
dbirch@betula.freeserve.co.uk.
Your strengths, weakness and planning
your training
In the October 1st issue of Cycling
Weekly, there was finally something of value
in the ‘Fitness’ section – namely a
‘strengths and weaknesses’ quiz, the results
of which should be of use for helping you
plan your training for next year. Be sure to
concentrate on training to reduce your
weaknesses.
For each question, score yourself 1 if
you ‘strongly disagree’ through to 5 if you
‘strongly agree’.
- I usually pass more people on climbs
than pass me
- I follow a wheel without having to
concentrate excessively
- I enjoy riding on courses with a fair
amount of climbing
- I can hammer up short steep hills
- I recover quickly after a hard effort
- I usually pass more people at the end
of a race than pass me
- I can usually maintain my intensity
during long climbs
- In can go hard shortly after my last
hard effort
- I drop more people than drop me on
short steep climbs
- I pass more people than pass me during
repeated hard efforts
- I am confident riding close to other
riders
- I prefer long events to short ones
- I corner fast and with confidence
- I don not usually ‘blow up’ late in a
race
- I can out sprint most of my peers
- I am confident in my endurance at the
start of a long race
- I accelerate over the crest of hills
- I accelerate rapidly
- I don’t fall or get into trouble very
often
- I remain strong during repeated hard
efforts
Some of the questions relate to road race
skills – but you’ll know how good you are at
these those things if you do club runs or
other group rides.
- Add up your score for numbers 1, 3, 7
and 17 – these relate to climbing
- Add up your score for numbers 6,12, 14
and 16 – these relate to endurance
- Add up your score for numbers 5, 8, 10
and 20 – these relate to lactate tolerance
- Add up your score for numbers 2, 11,
13 and 19 – these relate to technical
skill
- Add up your score for numbers 4, 9, 15
and 18 – these relate to power
If your score on any of these is below 5,
it’s a definite weakness, if it’s between 6
and 14, you need to work in that area and if
it’s 15+, you can consider it a strength.
If you need some training drills aimed at
eradicating any of these weaknesses, please
let me know.
Dave Birch
December 2005
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