Dear Julie
Our Thursday Sport Training Sessions and Rides
April 20, 2006
Dear Julie:
I'd like to encourage you to try at least one Thursday evening ride from Herschners, and see if it is to your liking. If you classify yourself as a "sport rider", like to ride the roads (upright road bike) and want to do more of it, this is an opportunity to do that. If you have training goal(s), you should share it(them) with me and others on the rides, and we can make adjustments to the routine.
Here are some things to remember, based on what we did last year--our first year with this kind of training ride:
- None of us are experts or professional bike riders. We all have differing levels of training, experience, and physical fitness. We share a passion for bike riding on the road, enjoy riding in a group, and seek to become better riders. Most of us ride 3-7 times a week or more; Thursday is just one of other solo and group rides each week we participate in during the riding season. Some of the riders are triathletes, and swim and run too. Mostly, we see ourselves as sport riders, as opposed to social riders or racers. Our competitive spirit is always restrained by our cooperative spirit.
- The goal of the Thursday ride is NOT to go fast, but to learn to ride together. Any group of riders larger than one will have those who are stronger than the others. In a race situation, where the purpose is to see who is the best/fastest/strongest, the less strong/physically able WILL be left behind (dropped). BUT, this ride is NOT a race situation. So, the trick, then, is for the group to find the highest effort level possible that still keeps the group together--which means the stronger riders will need throttle themselves (lower their effort level) and/or take longer pulls at the front, and the not-as-strong riders will need to push themselves (raise their effort level) and speak up when the effort level is putting them into the red. Since the goal is to stay together (as in a team time trial), it doesn't matter how fast the group goes, but how well they are able to accommodate different levels of physical fitness and abilities. If riders are getting dropped, it means the group is doing something wrong, and needs to make adjustment(s). You will often hear me and others say: "If you want to ride by yourself, you can do that any time--you don't have to join a group to ride alone. And if you feel a need to race, there are better places to do that." So don't feel you will be holding anyone back--where is there to go anyway?
- This is a group ride, which is different than riding solo--different in several ways:
- If you can average 16 mph on an out-and-back or circuit solo ride of about 25 miles in which your cruise speeds vary from 14-20 mph as a result of wind, hills, etc., then you should do well in a group ride that would average 18 mph and vary from 16-22 mph. This is because of the benefit of drafting off other riders. In a drafting situation you should be able to maintain at least 2 mph above what you can maintain solo. But don't get hung up on the numbers. If you want to think numbers, better to think in terms of how long you can maintain a high level of effort. Such as, using a heart rate monitor, can you maintain an effort level at 80% of you max heart rate for 20 minutes? Or, can you stand on the pedals on a climb for 5 minutes at an effort level of 80% heart-rate max? Things like that. Then judge your improvement in conditioning by increases in the amount of time you can maintain a high level of effort.
You will find the hills are going to be the greatest challenge--and the greatest challenge for the group to stay together. But if you get good on the hills and look forward to them, you will do well. So, on your solo training rides, seek out the hills and ride them hard.
- If you are not used to riding with other riders in a drafting situation (pace line), you will be uncomfortable at first, but, like most things, the more you do it, the better you will get and the more you will learn to feel comfortable doing it. I find there is great sense of accomplishment to ride with precision with other riders, taking turns doing the work and sharing the benefit of the draft, and thus, going faster and easier than when one hangs out there in the wind by oneself. These Thursday rides are for learning how to ride close to others, and to get lots of practice doing it.
- You can gain from the experiences and knowledge of other riders, or at least get to know other people in the area with an interest in sport riding. [I know people from the Thursday evening ride hook up at other times during the week to do workout or social rides together.] I often get ideas from other riders about diet, training regimen, ride routes, etc.--everyone is willing to share from their biking knowledge and experiences.
- If you can average 16 mph on an out-and-back or circuit solo ride of about 25 miles in which your cruise speeds vary from 14-20 mph as a result of wind, hills, etc., then you should do well in a group ride that would average 18 mph and vary from 16-22 mph. This is because of the benefit of drafting off other riders. In a drafting situation you should be able to maintain at least 2 mph above what you can maintain solo. But don't get hung up on the numbers. If you want to think numbers, better to think in terms of how long you can maintain a high level of effort. Such as, using a heart rate monitor, can you maintain an effort level at 80% of you max heart rate for 20 minutes? Or, can you stand on the pedals on a climb for 5 minutes at an effort level of 80% heart-rate max? Things like that. Then judge your improvement in conditioning by increases in the amount of time you can maintain a high level of effort.
- The distances traveled are usually between 25 and 35 miles. The ride is non-stop (excepting traffic stops), so one must have the endurance (and enough food and water) to last an hour and a half in the saddle. [In extremely hot situations and water is being exhausted, we would make a water stop when necessary, since that darn team car is never around when we need it!] Normally there is a warm-up period where, as we travel out of town, the speeds are slower and we "spin up" and visit while riding double. As we get into the ride and on the country roads we usually form a single or double paceline and increase the speed as we work and draft together. Coming back into town we'll slow up and spin to "cool down" and chat some more.
- It is assumed riders have the ability to be self-sufficient on the bike: eating, drinking, navigating, etc. on the go. To the novice this can be disconcerting--taking a drink of water at 20 mph twelve inches behind the rider ahead. But this is all part of the training.
I am thinking this year of structuring our rides a bit more than last year--making them truly training rides with genuine training goals and objectives, and to spice things up a bit. For instance, one week we might concentrate on climbs and finding the best effort the group can maintain on a long (1/2 mile around here) climb. Another week we might buddy up and practice drafting in pairs. Another thing we might do is a "fox and hounds" exercise, where a solo or pair of riders ride off the front (fox) and the pack (hounds) works together to chase them down, then rotate and do it again. On a particularly windy day, we could ride crosswind and practice riding in an echelon formation:
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Whether you are male or female you will "fit in" and enjoy these rides if you are mostly interested in improving your bike riding skills, especially riding in a group. While everyone who comes out on Thursday enjoys being outdoors and riding bikes, most of us get the greatest pleasure from the serious side of our riding--that of setting and reaching training goals which improve our physical conditioning and bike riding skills. So, if you truly are looking to ride and be challenged, this ride may be for you? Come out and see.
Jack
Jack Friess, Ride Host
Heartland Bike & Nordic Ski Club