training rides
Early Season Training
The AIDS/LifeCycle may seem far away, but there are only 17 more weekends for training. The bad news is t
hat there’s no time to lose. The good news is that there is plenty of time to train up!
So far this year, if you’ve been following one of your local train ride groups, you’ve probably done relatively short rides averaging less than 30 miles each. For our group, last Saturday was our first hill climbing ride — about 1,000 feet of climbing on gradual hills with some steep climbs. And if you can do that, with just a bit more training, you can do the entire ride.
Here are some tips to keep you fit as the season progresses.
First, stick with the training rides. If you are trying to solo the training season, consider the many benefits of a group ride. Riding with others will keep you committed and teach you lessons you didn’t even know you needed to learn.
The gist is: if you’re skipping official training rides, you’re cheating yourself out of an awesome experience. (See post.)
Second, gradually add in solo rides. This early in the season, you probably need to add in only one or two weekly rides, or 30 miles max, in addition to your weekend training rides. Your extra rides don’t have to be hard, but they have to get your body used to the stresses of riding. Commute to work or the grocery story by bicycle, if you can. Pick up some miles at a cycling class or on a trainer. Here are some tips for adding in extra miles.
If you’re lucky, those extra miles can be done with others, but I recommend riding by yourself regularly. This gives you a chance to cut out the chatter and focus on the skills you’re learning and the effects they’re having on your body.
Third, don’t let the increasing distances and amounts of climbing intimidate you. On the ALC, an average day is 80 miles of riding with 3,000 feet of climbing on average. Everyone will have challenges on the ride, but each person’s challenges are different. Some will dread Day 2, with 109 miles to go. Some Day 1 with blustery chill pushing up 5,050 feet of climbing. But in the end, no one is alone on the ride, and everyone committed to doing so will finish.
Remember that you are an athlete. By abandoning a more-sedentary lifestyle to pedal for others, you are as much an athlete as any professional and cycling is as much your sport as it is theirs. Own it.
Love
Your Bear
Time Warp: Interacting with Training Ride Leaders
Riding in a training ride group can be like a time warp. The riders up front see the course as fast and want to push themselves. The riders toward the rear see the course as challenging and want to maximize their experience by taking it all in. The former may finish a ride in 3 hours, where the latter may take 5.
Even among the two groups, riders differ. Variations due to skill, nutrition, weather, temperature, road conditions, traffic, and patience (with self or others) can lead to vastly different experiences for riders on the very same ride. With so many variables, every single ride is different for every single rider every time. So how do Training Ride Leaders keep riders from both groups (and riders who fall into neither group) happy on a ride?
Training Ride Leaders must remain mentally between the two groups in order to help all riders accomplish their goal — cycling 545 miles from San Francisco to Los Angeles. While riders see only the road in front of them, TRLs see magic: a network of riders and skills that mesh together into a fun and exciting experience for everyone.
TRLs work best when focusing attention on one rider at a time. The AIDS/LifeCycle trains TRLs in safety issues, basic cycling skills, and nutrition. TRLs are volunteers who have ridden at least one ALC. In offering advise, TRLs bring this experience to bear, and can help you when you are struggling or help you improve.
TRLs take both your self-reports about your condition and other factors into account. For instance, TRLs will consider: the condition of your bike, your apparent riding skills, how much you’ve ridden before, whether you’ve been eating or drinking, your dress (which is more important than you realize), whether you prepared for the ride as required by the ALC, and your general physical health. TRLs also consider the needs of the other riders.
On a ride with 15 people, there may be only 2 or 3 TRLs. So out on the road, TRLs may be stretched thin. Ideally, TRLs will check in with each rider. But due to unforeseen circumstances, you may not see a TRL during your entire ride. So keep the TRLs’ phone numbers handy in case you run into trouble. Also, keep the route sheet and your phone’s map feature handy in case you get lost.
If you follow the course and safety instructions, you’ll find that independence on the bicycle is liberating. Half the fun is the adventure! As you’re riding, you will notice that other riders are having different experiences. If this concerns you, ask the TRL why. The answers are usually instructive and will make you a better rider.
TRLs can only give advice; they cannot tell you what to do. Still, consider their advice carefully. It is usually based on experience and training. And when you complete your first ALC, sign up to be TRL. It is an incredibly gratifying experience.
Love,
Your Bear — 3 time TRL.
Bear's ALC Page 