Miscellaneous Training

• Form -
  • Always seek best form possible. It's useful to check it often, and it feels great to hit a position that really works. There's always room for improvement, and constant reminders and dedicated focus are useful. Think of yourself as being as elegant and efficient on the bike as possible. Remember also to constantly relax every part of the body. Worst offenders : shoulders, arms, hands; but also face : eyebrows, eyes, mouth and jaws. Back. Every bit however small makes a difference.
  • Keep high pedalling rate (75-90 rpm in most cases).
  • Pedal with whole leg. Involve calves (by rotating ankles), it relaxes. Do not overstretch by allowing feet to rotate upward too much though.
  • Stay well aligned, especially when standing up.
  • Keep flat back, try even to arch the back.
  • Up on the bike : sway the bike from side to side, but not excessively. Stay aligned and don't twist around. Keep arms loose. When climbing hard, pull on the arms, don't push. When climbing very steep grade, it can help to stand very upright. Otherwise, keep crouched position, almost as if still sitting. If hands in the drops, just rest the thumb on the drops, with minimal pulling action from other fingers. Keep arms & shoulders low and relaxed.
  • In most cases when standing, keep upper body position the same as if sitting. It can help to feel saddle brushing by the legs to ensure proper position. Do not lean on the arms.
  • Sometimes, when standing, if properly tilting the bike, legs feel like they're hardly moving at all or making an effort. Bike is moving around them.
  • Steep climbing: literally pull on the handle bar with the arm on the side of the leg that's pushing. Even involve upper back muscles, as if you were doing seated rows in the gym. Look for the feeling that your thumb is lifting up from the top of the handlebar, while other fingers make contact and pull from underneath. This needs to be done smoothly though, not in a jerky way, to keep an elegant constant rhythm.
  • If climbing seated, also pull on arms, as if pulling body forward, and stretching the back.
  • Relax arms : let them rest on the handlebar as opposed to grabbing it. Feel the relaxation in the shoulders, upper back. Good climbing arm position : elbows bent, tucked in, hands resting on the handle without bending the wrist.
  • Better to keep hand grip narrow on the handlebar. Bent elbows inward as opposed to outward. Do not look like you're doing push ups.
  • Good standing arm position : thumb in the drops, fingers to the side of the handlebar, elbow bent, arms aligned from the front. Keep waist back over the saddle, don't shift the whole body forward.
  • Do not put weight forward on the handlebar. Tenses up the arms and slows you down. Don't put weight on front wheel.
  • Keep shoulders and elbows as low as possible, without spreading elbows out. Don't do push-ups ! The arms should really feel like they're for balance.
  • Try to stay as flexible and loose as possible. It's easy to tense up as things get harder, but that's where it's most important to put extra effort in staying loose.
  • On long flat stretches or when fatigue settles in, it can help to stand on the bike.
  • Push with mostly with glutes, not lower back.
  • Switch positions regularly, even on the flat when it's not warranted. When possible don't hesitate to let go of the handlebar and sit up straight. Great back relaxation!
  • One way to accelerate can be to shift to lower gear but pick up rpm, like downshifting on a car to get better acceleration. Conversely switch to higher gear before standing up.
• General -
  • Breathe deeply, neither too quickly nor too slowly. Do not hold or contract breath. Do not match breathing pattern with pedal stroke if it's not right.
  • Start slow, always keep in mind the whole duration and difficulty of the ride, so as not to overdo the effort too early.
  • Visualize also the whole training cycle, upcoming goals etc.
  • On a long climb, don't assume too much where climbing ends. Don't work up your hope of relief too high. Reaching a false summit can really blow your morale, esp. if you've put your last effort into it.
  • Drink frequently. Do not hesitate to refill as often as possible.
  • Eat regularly. Try to eat about 1/2hr before hard effort, so it's good to anticipate the climbs with nutrition.
  • Stretch arms occasionally, esp. left triceps.
  • On a long ride, small matters of confort are essential. Do no hesitate to stop to adjust clothing, relieve oneself etc.
  • Have a good vision of the whole season and the purpose of a specific ride. Do not hesitate to pull back on intensity when necessary, especially when favoring an injury or in times of heavy training. Do not let competitive impulses derail from goal.
• Dowhills, Paceline -
  • Don't tense up on the downhills. Stay firm but not contracted, especially in the legs.
  • Downhill turns : release brake once in the turn. It can help to breath in when breaking, breath out while releasing in the turn.
  • Extend arm that's inside the turn, pushing slightly on the handlebar, so the bike leans into the curve. flexing the arm on the outside.
  • Feel aerodynamic position. Tuck arms and legs in.
  • Take full advantage of periods of recovery.
  • When it gets really hard, relax. Think of previous successes.
  • In a paceline, ride 1/2 wheel behind next rider. Feel the direction of the wind (e.g. on the ears) to know where to be placed.
  • Don't accelerate pace when moving in front of the paceline. Merge to the left when leaving head position.
  • Control speed by being more or less aerodynamic. Get up to slow down, crouch down to accelerate. Use this to avoid braking in paceline.
• Nutrition -
  • Do not eat excessively the evening before a big event. Avoid junk food at all costs ! Bad nutrition can contribute to poor sleep, also feeling heavy and tired on the bike. Also avoid potentially dangerous foods, such as raw eggs on pasta.
  • Good foods to carry : Fig or Cereal Bars, Cliff Bars, Power Bars (although they can melt in intense heat), Bagel Sandwich. Do not eat sugary food exclusively (if at all).
  • Eat early. It is common early in a ride to feel that you don't need food, but force yourself to eat for the later miles. Hunger can hit all of a sudden and be devastating. The same goes for drinking.
  • On a long ride, be careful not to eat a single type of food (e.g. energy bars). Some variety is needed, both to get more nutrients and to not get disgusted with eating. So for example, a salted sandwich is a must. Bananas, cookies, low-fat ice cream are good.
  • For long rides, HammerNutrition products perform miracles (Sustained Energy or Perpetuum, E-Caps). I have not tried to ride on that alone however (although I hear it works great) partly because I haven't quite figured out the proper dosage yet.
  • It is actually very difficult to eat properly: after a while, most of the food that's offered on the rides feels disgusting (perhaps because too sugary) and one has to force oneself to ingest anything. This is where Sustained Energy can help. Also, be careful not too overeat or overdrink at any point (particularly lunch), better to eat more progressively to avoid feeling bloated, especially before a hard climb.
  • Make sure to always have water. Do not rely purely on Gatorade for hydration (in fact I'm staying away from Gatorade entirely now). Coke can really help, and can be put in the bottle.
  • Weight loss takes time and patience. Even in full training, it takes a very aggressive food discipline to lose weight, and even so it takes time. The evening meal seems to be the most difficult point. Don't overeat on that one, even if it means waking up in the night hungry. Also, a particular diet only works for a certain time, so it's important to change every once in a while. If not, unexpected weight gains may occur.
  • Do not try to lose weight too hard either, especially trying to do it quickly before an event. This can cause to feel weak and sluggish, and the body definitely needs food to recover from the hard training.
• Long Distance Riding -
  • A slow start: like in a marathon, it is critical to commit to a relatively easy pace through the first part of the ride. This is harder than it sounds. It's extremely tempting to get caught up into the excitement of the race, competition with other riders, etc. For me particularly, when I'm in shape, I can't resist showing off my climbing skills and dusting people in the hills. But early efforts can be payed dearly later!
  • Needless to say, you don't train for a Double Century the way you would train for a short race. The emphasis is on endurance not so much speed. In fact it may hurt to be too trained for speed, as naturally you'll tend to push towards that, and speed work promotes injuries. (However, some speed work really does improve the quality of Long Distance rides, and the long distance pace will feel that much more comfortable if you've trained for a much higher intensity effort.) Remember, the first miles should feel easy, much easier than on shorter faster rides, and all you have to monitor that is your sensations (although some people might use a HR monitor), which of course is too subjective to rely on, and is thrown off by the fact that you're caught up in the excitement of the event.
  • Believe it or not, these simple rules are what even the most experienced riders struggle with. So don't pace yourself off of others around you either, they may not know what they're doing, or be of very different ability.
  • So in a double century, the goal should be to finish the first 100 miles as fresh as possible. If things are good past that point then start pushing.
  • That said, the ability to recover in cycling is simply amazing. Often, my low point is around the halfway mark (I call this the "mid-ride Blues"), and I've sometimes hit moments of despair and near DNF, but toughed it out, and found myself with amazing energy only a few hours later. Don't give up, unless you really need to! In fact those spectacular recoveries make for some of the best memories. There is some amount of struggle that you should be prepared to go through.
  • Now, if you happen to have one of those miraculous days where everything just falls together, go for it!!! Unleash your power, give it all you've got, those days are too rare to be missed. You train and you train, hoping that everything will fall into place some day, but that's quite unpredictable, so don't let it pass when it happens. Beware though, you may still pay this with an injury later on, but the thrill of a superhero day on the bike is probably worth the risk. Personally, I found this rare state on my first Heartbreak (2002) and at Eastern Sierra (2004).
  • Stick to your plan (if you have one). Great commitment to what you set out to do. Don't let other riders distract you from your goal. If they're too fast and are going to throw you off pace, swallow your pride and let'm go! It's a long way to the finish, many things happen over 200 miles.
  • Survival mode: on these rides you sometimes come to the realization that your unique goal should be to finish, whatever it takes, "survive the day". Forget about speed, forget about everyone else, concentrate inward, concentrate on finding the most efficient riding style, making progress but monitoring energy. Be extremely focused, receptive to how your body and mind are holding up to the effort, constantly adjusting as you go.
  • Association/dissociation: there is debate over whether one should be concentrated on the effort, or whether it's sometimes better to let the mind wander and forget about it in a way. Personally, I tend to be very focused, although occasionaly a chat with other riders can make long miles go by. But I am usually very receptive to the emotions of the ride, try to focus on every minute of it, and therefore like to stay away from distractions. Obviously this is personal style.
  • Many miles into the ride, if you happen to be exhausted, gone is all your flamboyant style! It becomes very hard to relax, stay loose, have proper form, which then only makes the problems worse. Particularly, I find that, at the end of your rope, it becomes near impossible to climb off the saddle on steep gradients (smaller gears so you can still spin can save you here!). The tension and fatigue become nearly unbearable, particularly in the upper body (surprisingly). Also, even on lower gears, the cadence is simply gone, and it becomes impossible to spin good RPMs. It is particularly important to practice good efficient form in training, so it's sort of wired into your body even in these cases where everything's falling apart. As impossible as it seems in those moments, try to stick to good loose form.
  • A few things I've felt only on Double Centuries:
    • It is common not to sleep well the night after. You expect to crash because you're so tired, but actually, the excitement is still so high that often it's impossible to sleep (especially after a really good ride). During the night, you may find that your heart rate is still incredibly high. You're reliving the ride in your mind, endlessly. I've heard that aspirin can help bring things back to normal.
    • The day after, expect to be unbelievably hungry. You need to eat every 1 or 2 hours, otherwise you'll faint. The hunger comes very suddenly, and it's so scarily urgent that you don't want to get caught with no food available. It's to the point that you get sick of eating, and don't know what kind of food to ingest next.
    • In spite of this overeating, with near clockwork regularity, I lose 3 to 4 pounds precisely 4 days after the ride. The first time, it really surprised me, but it happens almost every time. What's odd is the delayed reaction...
• Training Cycle -
  • Do not obsess with excessive mileage or hours. It's generally better to ensure proper rest, and not overdo it. I've tried six day weeks, but eventually found that roughly every other day works best. The need for recovery increases as you get older.
  • Do not compromise stretching and rest. It is as important as training. Never try to gain training time by shortening stretching time, or eating too much into sleep.
  • The goal is to peak with a long relaxed ride roughly two weeks before a major event. This ride should feel fully in control, "easy". For some reason, the ideal mileage for me on such a ride is 140, both for physical and psychological reasons.
  • Beware of the temptation to do more once you've reached the "perfect" peak ride. Do not increase workload stupidly just because you feel great. Things can unfortunately take a wrong turn very quickly in training.
  • Essential to keep the intensity down on long rides. Have targeted speed sessions maybe once a week, only if really feeling fine. Long rides should feel as comfortable as possible. Another strategy is to alternate Long/Slow vs. Short/Fast on Weekends. Beware though that speedwork, although very beneficial to Long Distance riding, can quickly lead to injury.
  • Each ride has a purpose, and it helps to define it in order to stick to it (even if the goal ends up to deliberately go free-form). That doesn't mean there's no room for improvisation, but smart planning of intensity, distance, etc. over the week (and over several weeks) is crucial.
• Taper -
  • Taper is a must, although how much tapering is needed for cycling is a matter of debate. In some cases a long endurance ride the last week will be great preparation, in others stopping almost entirely before competition can be fantastic. It probably depends on how much training has happened in the months leading to the event. This is different than running, as recovery from cycling is much faster.
  • Good sleep is a must, starting a few days before competition. Hard to control ...
  • Tapering is the most painful part of the training cycle. During the taper, it is typical to feel :
    • injured
    • sluggish, ill
    • loss of motivation
    • over aggressive
    • losing fitness and not being ready
    • depressed
    The rides during that period typically become unpleasant. It is common to feel either overeager and nervous (causing a higher pace than is required, leading to potential injury), or on the contrary totally un-motivated and bored, leading to lack of concentration, poor form, and risk of injury. Once you're no longer riding 200%, it's tempting to stop riding altogether, or to ride in a very careless manner, as well as neglect other aspects of training such as stretching, nutrition, etc. It is essential to loosen up, it's probably a good idea to invest in other activities so as not to get too nervous, but at the same time not lose too much concentration while riding.
  • I don't know what the ideal balance of taper is. In some case, stopping entirely for a week has led to great results, in others, training till the last week-end has worked too. I think it depends on the amount of preparation leading to the event : if it has been a long hard preparation, then taper is a must, if rather undertrained, then preferable not to taper as much, if at all. This is different from running a Marathon where taper is an absolute must, mostly because recovery from running is so much more difficult than from cycling.
• Injury -
  • Injuries completely suck. They've marred my cycling over the last few years. I hate them I hate them I hate them! But I'm slowly starting to accept that as part of life. It feels like I will never ride painless again.
  • I haven't come up with efficient strategies, though I've tried many. It is not an exact science. Each person is going to respond differently, and even one person's response will vary through time.
  • The biggest debate is over: rest, or train? Too much, not enough?
  • In some cases I've tried extended periods of rest, which not only drive you NUTS, can take very long before seeing improvement, but also hard to resume training once you feel better, without falling directly back into the injury.
  • In other cases, I've decided to ignore the pain to a large extent, keep training, keep pushing. This can work, but in the long run am I just digging myself in a deeper hole? One paradox on the long rides is that after quite a few miles (sometimes 100!), the pain eventually disappears, probably as the body really warms up. But usually it'll come back either after the ride or a few days later, and possibly increase.
  • Things I've tried:
    • Ice - generally works shortly after a ride and when the pain is most acute or the injury is fresh. For older injuries or more chronic pains however, I suspect it makes things worse.
    • Heat - particularly massage painful areas under very hot water. I think this is always good.
    • Stretching - very important, but how much? I've had issues with both not stretching enough or conversely trying to overstretch. Definitely need some form of daily stretching.
    • Physical therapy - don't know about that one. Some exercises are good, but for the most part I've found it to be an expensive waste of time. Also, they're not necessarily geared for athletes, and often want to teach you things that you already know inside out (stretching etc.)
    • Massage - yes, but it's risky. It can fix you, it can break you. Lately I've been staying away. If you do find someone who's talented enough to make a difference, stick to it. If things are roughly stable then be careful, a deep tissue massage could throw things off.
    • Chiropractor - good for certain things, especially a quick injury (like knee tendonitis) that you're trying to control quickly. No benefit to my back though.
    • Doctor - in my case, because my injuries aren't serious enough for surgery or something, this hasn't proved much help.
    • Prevention - definitely some musculation exercises, abs, leg, back, and possibly swimming or other cross-training (unfortunately my swimming form isn't good).
  • Some people say they've adjusted their saddle height, or changed pedals, or whatever, and all their problems went away. I certainly haven't found that miracle solution, and I don't know how you really go about it, since it's so much trial and error. Or maybe I just haven't found the miraculous bike fitter yet, although I've tried a few.
  • Warm up thoroughly, esp. when favoring an injury. Use knee warmers when necessary. Same on the back, wear warm underwear in cold weather.
  • To recover from injury, rest is required, but doesn't necessarily mean total rest. A few really easy days are sometimes more beneficial than stopping altogether.
  • Back pain : a few low intensity rides, with a very careful positioning on the bike (flat back, don't crouch over), seem to more beneficial than taking days off. Swimming however can hurt back, although not always.
  • Knee pain : very careful alignment. Find the sweet position, and make frequent position checks while riding.
• Weather -
  • Riding in the rain : warm up even more thoroughly. Rain definitely favors injuries, as it is hard to stay warm. Extreme caution and low intensity. Computer usually dies in humidity. Clean bike thoroughly after ride.
  • Also rain favors flats.
• Simple Mechanics -
  • Change tube :
    If back wheel, put back : small (right) - front : small (left). Deflate completely. Place levers away from the valve. Take off the tire and the tube. Partially inflate new tube. Put back tire one side only. Starting at the valve, insert tube into tire and second side onto wheel. Put back wheel and finish inflating.
  • Changing wheels :
    Always shift your derailieur to the highest gear before removing your rear wheel. This is absolutely the easiest way to do it because it places the chain on the outside cog. The chain also needs to be on the big chainring so the rear derailleur is not wound-up which leaves lots of slack in the chain. With practice you should never have to touch the chain when you remove the rear wheel. Depending on your bike, you will probably need to pull the rear derailleur back as you lift the back of the bike to let the rear wheel drop out. To put the wheel back in, pull the derailleur back and put the skewer end between the upper and lower lengths of chain. Drop the bike down on the wheel with the chain aligned over the outer cog. Let the weight of the bike down on the wheel and pull it back as far as it goes. Clamp the quick release with a lot of force. Note - Hand pump operation : Engage with lever down, lock by pulling lever up. Careful not to overpump, or twist valve around.
  • Clean the bike regularly. A good thorough cleanup makes a tremendous difference to how smooth the bike feels in riding. Pay attention to pedals (and shoes), computer, and of course chain etc.
  • Good idea to clean pedals for every ride.
• Check List -
  • General :
    • helmet, cycling shoes (+walking shoes if necessary), cleat pads
    • jersey, pants, knee warmers, jacket, arm warmers (if needed)
    • full water bottles
    • food (energy bars, fig bars ...)
    • cell phone (recharged)
    • sports watch, 2 watches for long rides
    • tubes and repair kit (in saddle-bag)
    • hand pump on the bike
    • ID (in saddle-bag), name tag necklace
    • sun glasses, gloves if needed
  • For long rides or events :
    • foot pump
    • front light, back light - extra batteries
    • for Planet Ultra rides: ankle reflectors
    • Sustained Energy, E-Caps
    • spare tire if available
    • coffee in a thermos, or Starbucks drink
    • breakfast (usually bread with jam & yogurt), extra food
    • extra water
    • money (in the saddle-bag)
    • route sheet (if possible one extra)
    • extra light attachment, extra light
    • small towel
    • small flashlight
    • small screwdriver
    • optional camera
    • extra clothing
    • driving directions, maps
    • event directions (start time etc.)
    • secure race items (tags etc) on bike or jersey
    • tooth brush, hair brush, deodorant
    • scissors