Putting a bit of training into your commute

[silkishuge]

Hi,

I think most of the commuters on here put a bit of training into your daily commutes. I think many commute because it is better than getting stuck in traffic, some commute because of the environment, some commute because it is essentially free, for fun, for exercise and some to train.

For me, commuting to work is my training time. I don't have a lot of time to train and the most I can spend on the bike is an hour each way so two hours a day. I don't race, but I train to get faster because it is fun. I like to see my times improve and meet goals I set.

I don't have a structured training regime which many would recommend.
My commute into work focuses on overall time (ie average speed). I ride as fast as I can from point A to point B. I have several check points along the way to make sure I am making my targets. For example, from my home to bottom of bobbin heads has a target time of 19mins and 30s. Up Bobbin heads about 10mins 20s is the target to beat and from the gate house of the national park to Link Rd has a 6min 35s target. Essentially I do a 22km time trial each morning to this point and use what ever is left in the tank to get to work (~7km)..... which isn't much. I chose this route for the ITT because it is free of traffic lights.
My commute home focuses on hill climbing and the average speed of the overall trip is secondary. That means I can use up all my legs on the climb. It is a 3km climb 165m elevation up Kuring-Gai Chase Rd and a TT to the end of the overhead bridge pass the F3. I set a 9 min target time for the hill climb and keep the speed > 31.5 km/h to the end of the bridge across the F3. I usually struggle a lot on a Thursday to make this target but most days are fine.

The targets are adjusted accordingly as I improve. I found that this training works for me and I have dropped my time and increased my speed over the year.

How have you adopted training into your commute? This "structure" of my training regime just evolved with time to what it is. I don't know anything about bicycle training but I know that many people do interval training and hill repeats which I don't do. Perhaps they might be more effective, but I really don't have the time and could not bear sacrificing more of my family time for it.

J

[trailgumby]

If I need to focus on certain training aspects, I'll change my route to emphasise those aspects. Example: steep hills.

I probably don;t need to do a lot with sprinting, as traffic signals provide ample opportunity.

[J-C90]

Yep, my commute is always a race against the clock, or more accurately average speed for the leg. I cant really factor in time or check points as there are a number of traffic lights along the route which bugger up any overall timing, but average speed via my iPhone GPS is good indicator of how I went.

The direct route to work for me is only just over 7km, so I have some longer alternate routes which I use instead to get a bit more riding in! If I'm feeling particularly strong on a day I will sprint the last couple of km's home through the back streets!

[westab]

I have started going the long way simply to increase the distance I ride (I like to do 100km per week) to stay as fit as possible. The longer way helps as it also safer and only requires the first 500m to be on back streets with cars the rest is on shared pathways.

The training I do is two fold- 1) each 10 hour period I try to keep my average above 25 km/h for one and then a rest for one week where anything is good then into is again. 2) Daily when feeling good i try to not let my speed drop under say 20km/h on a given hill or for the whole trip.

"Training" is mainly done in the winter months to break the commutes up as there is often no other soul about. Spring and Summer there are more people about to either pass (rarely) or be passed by (more often).

[MiG]

Something that the majority of road cyclists fail to do is smash it from the lights. Sure it feels hard when you're doing a TT effort on your commute, but damn, most roadies that I encounter accelerate slower than grannies.
I'd imagine it's useful training for crits with tight corners, not just track.

[Mugglechops]

I like to throw in a bit training with my commute. The quickest way to work is 11kms, but the way I go is 25km. Most mornings I the amount of cars that pass me doesn't get above 10.

About once every month or so I do big commute home on a Friday. It helps when you finish at 12.15

This was my last one of 85kms.

[Aushiker]

Hi

I have this year taken up a training routine on my commutes which is based around using my heart rate monitor. Early days yet but I do the Go Slow Go Fast routine daily and the High Intensity Interval Training twice a week. I supplement this on Saturdays with an endurance training ride but that is not commuting.

Regards
Andrew

[Baalzamon]

This saturday yes I'm mad with it being 38 degrees and finishing at 1pm I'm commuting to work. I'm using this as a baseline to determine what time I have to leave home by. Once that baseline is set I will be focusing on heart rate training and quite ironic my route has a few bumps on it that get my heart rate pumping. When it is flat I'll be doing a distance set where I will push hard then recover and repeat.

[Anakist]

I used to go via moving time and average speed on my GPS dongle and phone. Watching the time drop and the speed climb was awesome!

James

[Cruiserman]

I like to throw in a bit training with my commute. The quickest way to work is 11kms, but the way I go is 25km. Most mornings I the amount of cars that pass me doesn't get above 10.

About once every month or so I do big commute home on a Friday. It helps when you finish at 12.15

This was my last one of 85kms.

Nice bit of countryside there, Personally the areas around Yalwal were some of my favourites. Damn I miss my Landcruiser, the walking track was a great way to spend a few hours driving 1.5klms.

[jules21]

i've been doing a longer commute loop, 30km around main yarra trail from the Melb CBD, richmond and kew boulevards, then onto merri creek and capital city trails to brunswick. it certainly helps improve my condition.