How do you train?

[DanielS]

Just out of curiosity.

When I say 'structured', I mean you have a plan when you go out for each ride, such as 'do 3 hrs, don't go above 160bpm' or 'go out and do 2x20 min at TT pace' and so on.

[Strawburger]

Not structured, rough plan. Tend to increase amount of training as an important event approaches.

Really should start thinking about a plan for next year!

Essentially i train during the week: intervals between red lights on the commute to or from work (not both) and the odd commuter cup race depending on how i feel. Weekend training is either a crit on Saturday or a big hill ride on Sunday. Never both. Rest day is either the Saturday or Sunday depending on what ride i do. No variation to training plan coming up to an event, although i might ride a little harder during the weeks leading up to an event depending on how i feel. I've had some good progress this year sticking to this formula, next year may be different though.

[sli123]

I'm not working at the moment (Mrs. sli123 is earning the big bickies!!) so lots of opportunity for training.
I'm pretty good at doing all the right things for my running but there's a bit of "white line fever" when I get on my bike
It's hard not to go as fast as possible each session
Right now I'm mixing things up pretty well between fast flat rides and good hill rides (where I try not to worry too much about my average speed), changing the distances and having rest days pretty regularly. But I haven't ventured into intervals or similar training.
Cheers,
Stuart.

[TimW]

Retirement and finding fitness again this year means i can get out 6 times per week.
Currently do a 50-70 k ride per day with Sunday off.(weather permitting of course).
.Tim

[twizzle]

Not a highly structured plan as such, but I target training stress levels via the power meter which allows me to plan short/medium term riding to keep the fitness going in the right direction. I have a bunch of 'known rides' now, so I can pick out a weeks worth of rides in advance based on the workload required.

[Wayfarer]

hard.

[ft_critical]

... but I target training stress levels ... I have a bunch of 'known rides' now, so I can pick out a weeks worth of rides in advance based on the workload required.

Great post Twizzle.

[tripstobaltimore]

I follow a very structured plan. I used to train for triathlons, where I was coached and had yearly plans etc. Now that I have moved over to cycling due to not being able to run, I follow a different, but similarly structured plan. I find having a structured plan sent to me weekly (or monthly, whatever) works best for me, as if it is there in writing I will not miss the training. If it's my own concoction in my head I can pretty easily find an excuse to skip a day.

[DanielS]

Interesting responses! Actually a bit surprised that the poll is so even on all options (although N=20)

[ni78ck]

im part of a group that does performance based training, but i only go really hard 1 to two days a week. the rest is recovery. its too hard to bash yourself all the time

[wheels46]

Ex competitive cyclist (road and track) from my teens.

Back on the bike after close to a 30 year hiatus... Guess what I'm saying is I just jump on and go for a ride when the mood/time grabs me (great to be back! )

Wondering if I should be planning, noting or having more stucture with my riding? Saying that I have no future plans to race again at my age (47 on Wednesday)

[ft_critical]

My training works as:

Step 1. Pick my objectives for the year.
Step 2. Pick my main (number one priority) races for the year plus substitutes (because I always miss some due to other commitments or injuries.) Pencil in the number two and three races.
Step 3. Block training into Base, Road and Crit.
I usually figure I need 1.5 to 2mths to work up to a pri one race. I will work out the detail of what I want to do during that period when it arrives. One of the reasons for that is that I am constantly changing as a cyclist (ability, endurance, strengths and weaknesses.) At that time, like Twizzle said, I will pick from a bunch of known courses and training types and slot them in. It will be mostly a one week plan repeated with a taper. Where I am probably not yet up to par is that I don’t really make sure I am upping the effort in a measured way, measuring the increase in effort week by week. This is where a Powermeter does have a slight advantage. What I mean is that it records the efforts. For me I am recording, the conditions, PE, HR, time point to point and recovery. Because I am doing all this in my head/watch, it is a bit error prone and not that exact sometimes.
My Base is pretty unstructured, nearly always working on longer rides and better power at lower RPM. But I really enjoy having an unstructured part of the year, without it my motivation would suffer.

So I didn't vote.

[MichaelB]

I just ride when I can. If the weather is good and I feel good, I go for the hills. Also depends on how I feel on the day, as well as wind, temp and time.

Would like to ride more, but all sorts of other things (work, wife, child, house stuff etc) makes it very unpredictable.

I just ride

[gtfpv cycler]

well . from a beginner at age 42 . i took up running daily to get fit again . decided the knees just had to bare with the pain . i noticed running reduced resting knee pain , started to enjoy it . decided cycling might be easier on the bones . bought a roadie flat bar , so decided to run for 40 minutes one day and cycle the next . it was turn for a run today , got the joggers on ran out the front door and got on the bike instead and done a 20km ride, loving it .
i've only had 4 rides , 3 consisting of going around a 1.5km street circuit 7 times , as fast as i can . and today took a longer ride on the northern road 10km to a roundabout , and 10km back . total 20.5km in 48 minutes .
i thought i was getting a better workout jogging , but found cycling harder , and very different .
jogging i get puffed , and sweat , on a 30 minute run .
cycling i get tired but not puffed , kind've like a steam train running out of pressure , then down the gears untill the pressure builds up , on a very slight tail wind and flat i like the 44kms hour . starting to work it out .
but when i come back i'm not exhausted , but feel like ive burnt leg muscles and more calories than jogging, and use different muscles : eg; thighs .on top of that,the knees are feeling better than ever , i can squat again and stand unassisted . 6 months ago i could not do that, and its nice as i notice other cyclists , we give each other the nodd as we pass i'm wrapped and looking forward to a flat stomach . i hope i can commit to this , and it doesnt lapse into a phase.
tommorow , i think i'll buy a pump , a decent helmet , and maybe ride for leasure on the m7 cycle way .

[gtfpv cycler]

12.5 kays in 30 minutes today . getting a little fitter . along m4 and through glenmore park . glenmore parkway is great for bikes . has a 50km/hr limit , and plenty of bends and hills , cars struggle to drive at 50kms an hour . you can average 40kms hour on this road and top out over 50 , i was doing 52km/hr on it today and waving cars through , but they weren't over taking .
sorry if i'm in the wrong thread to post this . mods remove if i am .
along the m4 i struggle to maintain 27km/ hr though , and a racer cruised past at about 35

[BarryTas]

personally i think you need to keep a balance of group rides and solo training rides for your/my sanity

[cgmorg]

I have just taken up cycling at age 57 and would like to get a trainig routine going - at the moment I still at the very sore bum stage

[gtfpv cycler]

my best time on my 12.5 km route today . 27.55minutes =26.8kms /hr .
inc hills highway, suburb roundabouts and traffic .

[gtfpv cycler]

my 1st 50km ride . 2hrs 03 min = 24.4km/hr . felt good when i got off , after 30kms i felt like a demon . the 2nd half of the route was much higher speed than the 1st half .
milestone for me .
just a question, regular roadies in cycle clubs on drop bar bikes in normal road trips . how long do they ride and what speed do they average ???

[gtfpv cycler]

JUST DID A 40KM RIDE in 90 minutes woohooo thats 26.6 km/hr . the best part, did the last 16kms in 30minutes thats 16kms @32km/hr yeeehaaa . im getting fitter . still trying different things .
the difference today is it's been 3 days since i rode not 2 . i had a 3 km run two days ago , no exercising yesterday .
had a hamburger and hot chips last night for dinner , a coffee and 2 pieces of raisin toast for brekky , a 2hour break then a glass of coke 20- minutes before riding , tried lower gears and found average speed to be similar up hills , which allowed more energy for the high gear return run at speeds between 30 and 45kms an hour .
next i will hieghten the seat , as my pedaling position is now changing for some reason , i'm on the mid sole of foot , wasnt when i started , so i'll up the seat , i'll also look at strap pedals and soon i'll reduce the 32mm tyres to maybe 25-28mm .
but the difference is in the condition of the engine , sometimes it struggles other times it cruises well . haven't worked that one out yet .

[grantw]

I've got a structured plan and am aiming at a specific goal, though I'm working on endurance rather than speed so much.

I find that the big problem with the plan is the time it takes, especially when work or life throws some curly ones at you and you miss a couple of days riding or have to cut back on distance.

Whatever approach you take, you still have to listen to your body and if it's flogged and tired, better to drop the plan than to injure yourself.

cheers

grant

[gtfpv cycler]

true , but where do you draw the line , anyone can ride 100kms in say 8 hours , but isnt speed just as important . endurance must have some speed pushing related to it surely . my routes, i tend to push myself at all distances , 60kms tires me out , because of this i wont ride 100kms until i can push it over 100kms . and right now , i cant do that .

[toolonglegs]

I was super structured (coached & power meter))...but that didn't really work.Mainly because some days I felt good and some I didn't and as the plan is written a couple of weeks in advance it was hard to stick to.
Although it must be noted that I had a chronic sinus problem which would cause havoc with any form.
So I got a nose job and suddenly I wasn't sick anymore...I did my own thing taking into account what I had done with Alex (coach) / learnt along the way from other forums / how I felt ...form went thru the roof.Unfortunately while form went thru the roof my back went thru the floor.Most of you know the story .
So nearly a year off the bike & now I have gone the other way...sold power meter,deleted training peaks,don't even have a speedo...if I can get my back right I will come back very slowly with zero structure,just having fun.If all goes well I will start doing structured training again but with out powermeter etc, but not till at least next year...my RPE is pretty good and to be honest I became a slave to the numbers,now I look at the scenery.