The days are shorter so if you plan a longer ride you may need to have lights if dusk closes in or you get into bad weather.
If you are like me then you don't particularly like riding in poor weather. it makes for poor training but that is just my personal opinion.
Group riding in autum/winter is fine if everyone has full mudguards, especially a long flap on the back wheel. Without them, well, riding is frankly unpleasant.
Hence my own preference for solo training rides in this time of the year.
I can then plan to ride if a good day suddenly appears and if I ride without mudgaurds then it is just me and the bike that can get filthy.
A lot of off season training work can be carried out on the turbo but it is useful to just get a taste of road work every now and then. it keeps you in touch with the reality but not when the roads are wet and slippery. Off season training goals are not achieved with a broken collar bone or wrist if you happen to have an off on a wet drain cover or hit that hidden pothole due to the dark shadows or lying water.
A few of rules that I try to adhere to:
Wait for those days when the sun appears and the rain clouds disappear.
Take you emergency kit - in deeper winter days take 2 spare tubes if not 3.
Water bottle with a carbohydrate mix.
A route that loops around home so that you can bail out if required.
Thursday 24 October 2013
Monday 21 October 2013
A few days off the bike and allow to de train
From fossil beach to
to fossile find! From life boats
to Tiger tanks
back to reality
Tuesday 15 October 2013
Training Ride Tuesday
October to December are for me awkward months to fill out with meaningful training.
They are good months to allow some of the fitness edge to subside. In other words to return to a solid base.
This however can lead to a danger of weight gain if the training intensity and duration is reduced but time off the bike or substantially reduced can have more holistic benefits - freeing the soul of that addiction - to give yourself time to think over how you are going to improve.
The last month PMC still shows a slight increase in CTL (the blue line)
They are good months to allow some of the fitness edge to subside. In other words to return to a solid base.
This however can lead to a danger of weight gain if the training intensity and duration is reduced but time off the bike or substantially reduced can have more holistic benefits - freeing the soul of that addiction - to give yourself time to think over how you are going to improve.
The last month PMC still shows a slight increase in CTL (the blue line)
Sunday 13 October 2013
Saturday 12 October 2013
Reasons for training
Obviously the main reason for training is to become or stay fit, whether that be for racing or any kind of cycling that might offer a challenge.
Overcoming that challenge with fitness is key to enjoyment.
Racing is more than being fit of course. There are tactics and even luck to consider.
However, having that fitness where you are enpowered to make decisions during a race is liberating.
You can hang about at the back for instance knowing that you can pull strong if suddenly the pace increases dramatically or you can bide you time to put in an overwhelming attack at an opportune time and give you best chance for success.
Thats why we train.
Overcoming that challenge with fitness is key to enjoyment.
Racing is more than being fit of course. There are tactics and even luck to consider.
However, having that fitness where you are enpowered to make decisions during a race is liberating.
You can hang about at the back for instance knowing that you can pull strong if suddenly the pace increases dramatically or you can bide you time to put in an overwhelming attack at an opportune time and give you best chance for success.
Thats why we train.
Friday 11 October 2013
De tune for winter training
A little downtime should now be scheduled in these few weeks before the end of the year. There is no real requirement to stress the system out even though you may have a few keen road rides penciled in such as an end of season reliability or festive time trial.
So allow yourself to key things down on the scale. Rein in the intensity of your workouts.
The useful feature of Trainer Road to allow you to drop that intensity easily through the workout editor but allows you to keep the structure of the intervals or stochastic ride profile.
The above shows a very hard workout if attempted at full chat.
So don't do it in November/December! Throttle it back.
So allow yourself to key things down on the scale. Rein in the intensity of your workouts.
The useful feature of Trainer Road to allow you to drop that intensity easily through the workout editor but allows you to keep the structure of the intervals or stochastic ride profile.
The above shows a very hard workout if attempted at full chat.
So don't do it in November/December! Throttle it back.
Thursday 10 October 2013
2013 Season Analysis
Summary of my races:
The season started with fitness at a good level but with critical power (that range between 3 to 10 minutes)at a good level after consistent winter training.
The chart displays a clear peak in July with increases in May, August and September that coincide with good race performances.
The season started with fitness at a good level but with critical power (that range between 3 to 10 minutes)at a good level after consistent winter training.
Sunday 6 October 2013
Weaver Valley CC Autumn Road Race
The final road race of the season and a superb sunny day of the falling leaves.
49 miles of a demanding Cheshire lanes based road race .
I have decided that this was going to be the last BC race with the cost of an extra licence and the fact that the races are not age related.
Lap 1 - The neutralised start got going at almost 30mph behind the lead car!
It settled down though and as we passed the first farm entrance the bike and kit got coated in the first decoration of whatever manure was on the road.
Lap 2 - 6 - Just stayed with the bunch. Hield Lane climb was not a problem.
Final Lap - The pace never really took off and finished comfortably with the bunch.
I would never say that a road race is ever 'easy' but this one did not put me into any difficulty at any stage. I did prepare better this morning with a decent warmup.
It all got me wondering as to why some TLI and LVRC races really do hurt.
49 miles of a demanding Cheshire lanes based road race .
I have decided that this was going to be the last BC race with the cost of an extra licence and the fact that the races are not age related.
Lap 1 - The neutralised start got going at almost 30mph behind the lead car!
It settled down though and as we passed the first farm entrance the bike and kit got coated in the first decoration of whatever manure was on the road.
Lap 2 - 6 - Just stayed with the bunch. Hield Lane climb was not a problem.
Final Lap - The pace never really took off and finished comfortably with the bunch.
I would never say that a road race is ever 'easy' but this one did not put me into any difficulty at any stage. I did prepare better this morning with a decent warmup.
It all got me wondering as to why some TLI and LVRC races really do hurt.
Friday 4 October 2013
Sufferfest ISLAGIATT - Review
One of the new Sufferfest workouts -
The humour of the video is catchy!
I have got 'heavy legs' this morning but hopefully 2 easy days will see me fresh for Sunday morning.
Sufferfest ISLAGIATT
is now available to download and truly feel the effects for over 1 hour and 50 minutes. I am no novice to Sufferfest having used their workouts since 2010 and combined them with the TrainerRoad software since July 2012.
To sum up - a great workout, but it is long and arduous. This first run was made with the intensity ramped down to 80%. This is down to managing my training load in the light that I raced very hard last Sunday and have another furious race this Sunday.
It was a minor struggle to finish but the quality of the video and the soundtrack shines through.
The core of the workout is the unforgiving 2x20 minute threshold sessions but these are surrounded by a demanding warmup and pre and post intervals of exceptional 'nastiness'.
The humour of the video is catchy! 
The 'Village People' appreciation society Dolomite Division for example!
You get a lot of bang for the buck, so recommended you add this workout to your library!
A nice touch is the sound of a bell to get you out of the saddle even for a few seconds and then back down again. This counteracts the habit of sitting in for ever and a day when doing turbo work.
I have got 'heavy legs' this morning but hopefully 2 easy days will see me fresh for Sunday morning.
Can I actually do this at 100% of FTP? Remains to be seen in a few weeks time as these types of workout (Blender another example) are ideal for a weekly challenge especially if you cannot get any road miles in.
Thursday 3 October 2013
Final race of 2013
The season's conclusion is on Sunday with a hard faced BC 3/4 race over the same Great Budworth circuit I last raced in April where I tried a breakaway in the last 4 miles but got caught.
If I survive the first lap and a half then I should be disappointed if I don't hold up well in the bunch.
Final hard training session - the latest Sufferfest
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