Enjoying The Ride

I've been sitting on a post I'd written about 3 weeks ago about training. I'd been tweaking it a little since I wrote it and was waiting for a good time to post it. Then I read this article and then considered that I'm not quite ready to really give advice on training. One reason could be that it's advice from a beginner racer and another would be that I want to beat Ken in at least one race next season, so I don't want him to know ALL my secrets.

On the subject of training I came across these videos:

Typical Pre-Ride Conversation

Typical Training Racer Discussion

and this article:

The Knitted Bike (lol)

Training in particular seems like a very touchy and personal subject for most people. Everyone has their own training regime and some people even want to impose that regime on others. What some people fail to realize is that everyone is different and therefore what may work well for them, may not work well for others. Also I've seem some people go a little overboard with their training and seem to forget why they are training in the first place. It's OK to be serious about it...but it shouldn't take over your life. Training for racing is hard work and very demanding but it's good to take a break every once in a while and just enjoy riding your bike. Right after 'cross season finished up, I just went on nice slow and steady rides...no pressure, no heart rate monitor and no plan. Just going on those rides reminded me why I love riding my bike. During the holidays and partly because I need to give myself a break to let my back get better...I have not touched a bike in a few weeks...being off the bike has made me so much more anxious to want to start next season.

I tend to read of a lot of books, forums and articles on training and equipment. I also talk to a lot of different people who train in different disciplines. There isn't a single book I'd recommend everyone go out and buy as the Holy Grail of training because I don't believe there is one. To find an effective training strategy, I think you need to use a combination of all resources at hand. You also have to be willing to give everything suggested an honest try and be prepared to make adjustments to it. I found that after every race it was much easier to focus my training and make adjustments because it's right after a race that you reflect on what you need to focus on during training on to become a better cyclist.

Another subject is the use of heart rate monitors , powers meters and CompuTrainers. Although these devices are ultra cool (I'll still be getting a power meter one day of these days), they aren't totally necessary to becoming a better cyclist. Just like having a full carbon frame loaded with Dura-Ace/Super Record isn't going to instantly vault you into the Cat 1/2 ranks. They are all tools and you still have to work hard to get your desired results.

Just like many other cyclists, I find myself wondering how to keep my base during the winter. Also like many cyclist, I worry that I'll lose fitness over the winter and start back at square 1 next season. One thing I know for sure is that continuing to train at the same levels to make up for the lack of riding by pushing myself into exhaustion will only result in injury and burnout. During the next few weeks away from work, I'm planning on just relaxing and enjoying myself. It's been a long year with many life changes and I think it's a good time to take a break, reflect on the year past and then go into the New Year refreshed and excited to start another season of racing.

As promised, here are some of the resources I refer to constantly:

Resources:

• The Cyclist’s Training Bible by: Joe Friel
• Cyclocross: Training and Technique by Simon Burney
• Endurance Sports Nutrition by Suzanne Girard Eberle
• The Paleo Diet by Loren Cordain and Joe Friel

Online links:

http://www.cyclingtipsblog.com/

http://www.bikeforums.net/forum.php

http://forums.roadbikereview.com/

http://blog.bikeridr.com/ (A shameless plug, I know...but I find a lot of the stuff posted very useful)

...And all the links on the side bar.

I hope everyone has a good holiday and looking forward to seeing everyone back out at the races next year.

A Season in Review

It is now December and I have decided to take a bit of a break from the bike. Partially to avoid burnout and partially to help my body recover from the beating I gave it for 9 months straight this year.

When I look back, I would have to say that this season was a huge success. I’m really glad I decided to get into racing and I do not regret the experience at all. What I’m really happy about is that I was able to finish the season with no major accidents or injuries.


To sum it up by the numbers, my overall season would look like this:

• ~4800 kms
• ~200 riding hours
• 19 races
• 4 top ten finishes
• 3 racing disciplines
• 0 DNFs

I would say that is a good start for my first season of racing. But I don’t think a lot of that would have been possible without the support of my team and my friends. Always great to have people cheering you on from the sidelines, it totally makes you forget about how much your legs hurt. The cycling community has also been incredible and really changed a lot of the perceptions I had with bike racers. I’m already looking forward to racing again next year.

There were also a lot of resources that I used during the racing season that I wished I had discovered before. I’ll post them up here for anyone that is looking at getting into racing or improving their overall bike fitness. There were so many things to learn that I had not even thought about before, like proper athletic nutrition and racing tactics.

This season I’ve also met some truly amazing people and witnessed some amazing things. There are also a good number of cyclists who maintain blogs as well and I do like reading through them every now and again. Reading about some of the adventures that some of the riders have been on are really a good inspiration to just get out there and ride your bike.