Training as a 13 Year Old

[15wilsonwu]

Now let me introduce myself first.
My name is Wilson, I'm 13 and I only started cycling last year
To be specific, I started in June. Back then I could only do a maximum of 30km but since then, i've improved in a steady rate. Currently, most of my rides are above 60km (Mix of hills and flats) and the furthest i've ridden was about 120km.
I started this topic to motivate starters and people new to cycling and of course, for the experienced riders to criticize, help and improve me (If you want to).
If you wouldn't mind, it would be nice for people with a similar age as me to post their training rides as well to compare and motivate each other.

"Willy"

[15wilsonwu]

Here's a ride I did today.

Mt Dandenong and 1 in 20

Now that I'm home i can do a full report.
The way to Mt Dandenong scared the living sheet outta me, well, half of it. The first part was all relaxing and stuff but the second part was truly terrifying. The cars were literally passing by with 1mm of space left between us, i had to ride on the gravel in fear of being knocked over. Oh, I was on Canterbury road.
When I got to Mt Dandenong Tourist Road, everything got a lot better. The cars were less aggressive and the climb was magnificent.
I started to pant, well, semi-pant about half way up there (dont judge me )
It was my first time going up a "proper" mountain, so I was kinda shocked by the scenery
When I got to the top, I was quite literally freezing despite the fact I've been riding for like an hour or so. I didn't bring any arm warmers or jacket cause I didn't in ANY WAY expect that the temperature would drop so dramatically. I then decided to have my lunch to warm myself up, BIG mistake. As most of you would do, I went to the cafe with the most cyclists so I can be more confident with leaving my bike out there.
I had a sausage roll and a latte and to be honest, the roll was sheet. The coffee was good though
Remember how I said it was a big mistake? Well here you go. On the way down, i swear to god it was like -500 degrees, the water molecules in my skin was literally hardening my skin to a level where I cant even move my arms ( exaggeration applied )
On the way down (still), i decided to go via Mountain Highway (1 in 20) to reach the bottom instead of continuing on Tourist Road and GOD I WAS SHOCKED. You probably already know why, but if you don't, let me tell you. Descending through it was like descending in the French Alps, the roads were smooth, the scenery was staggering, theres hardly any cars and the best of all, the corners was just... Ummm, find a word yourself .

The way back was a lot better than the way to Mt Dandenong, probably because it not really a main road.

Heres a link to my ride
http://app.strava.com/activities/37204303" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[gabrielle260]

Hey Wilson, just read your post to my 12 yr old who was pretty impressed!
We have just come back from doing Amy's ride in Ballarat - very hilly!
Also - great post, by the way!
Andrew

[15wilsonwu]

Hey Wilson, just read your post to my 12 yr old who was pretty impressed!
We have just come back from doing Amy's ride in Ballarat - very hilly!
Also - great post, by the way!
Andrew

Haha, cheers mate. Congrats on the hills!
Im sure you skipped the food part, have ya?

[g-boaf]

You are going very well with this.

Do you do any specific training methods or follow any particular plans? I'm thinking of a book like Time Crunched Cyclist:
http://www.dymocks.com.au/ProductDetail ... PXPILaz4ok" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

There is almost a companion book Cyclists training bible:
http://www.amazon.com/Cyclists-Training ... 1934030201" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

That might give you some ideas on what you could try next. I got the first book yesterday and have been reading it, there are some interesting ideas in it, shorter high intensity training. Speaks a lot about training with power, eg, 300w for 3min x7 (with rest/slower sections in between).

[15wilsonwu]

Ride on monday - http://app.strava.com/activities/37493075" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Easy ride today - http://app.strava.com/activities/37660674" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[15wilsonwu]

You are going very well with this.

Do you do any specific training methods or follow any particular plans? I'm thinking of a book like Time Crunched Cyclist:
http://www.dymocks.com.au/ProductDetail ... PXPILaz4ok" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

There is almost a companion book Cyclists training bible:
http://www.amazon.com/Cyclists-Training ... 1934030201" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

That might give you some ideas on what you could try next. I got the first book yesterday and have been reading it, there are some interesting ideas in it, shorter high intensity training. Speaks a lot about training with power, eg, 300w for 3min x7 (with rest/slower sections in between).

Naa, i just try to get more kms into my legs, I dont really use any sort of plans.
The Cyclists Training Bible seems to have some pretty good reviews, i think I might give it a go.
You migt wanna check out CycloCore on youtube, its based on short but high intensity training.

[g-boaf]

I'm doing similar to you - but I wish I'd use higher intensity training. In the weeks over Christmas, I've made some big improvements, my power level I used to have trouble doing over 5 minutes, I had a target to do that over 15 minutes. I'm doing that power level over 30 minutes now.

I didn't do anything special, it was just longer intervals in higher gears than normal while trying to keep up the same cadence as before - meaning faster.

[theprophet]

Hey bro,
I'm 15 just recently and i have decided to take training seriously I probably do similar length rides. I am always up the 1 in 20 and climbing the devils elbows. Recently did some of the 7 peaks up to falls creek from mount beauty and tawonga gap and mount buffalo. Anyway at the moment I have been doing interval workouts and form workouts and 1 long ride a week it has been working pretty well. I live in croydon so if you ever need someone to talk to or ask advise just message me and I will be happy to help.

keep on riding