V-CLUB TRAINING CORNER
We’ve teamed up with Marilyn Trout, certified USA Cycling Elite Coach to answer V-Club members’ training questions. You can view her coach profile at: http://www.trainingpeaks.com/coachdirectory/searchbydiscipline.asp#MarilynTrout
Send your cycling inquiries to Marilyn, and for a limited time, if yours is selected to be answered in our V-Club column, VeloWear will send you a $20 gift certificate that can be used towards any purchase on VeloWear.com. To submit your inquiry, e-mail her at marilyn@mountainpedals.net, and type “V-Club Training Question” in the subject line of the e-mail.
V-Club member David Kulcinski is our 28th winner of a $20 VeloWear gift certificate! His training question follows...
Training for a Coast to Coast Ride
Marilyn,
I am a 64-year-old man, who has gotten back into cycling 2-3 years ago. I mainly commute 15 miles/day with an 18-mile ride after work one day per week. 30 years ago, I used to ride ~25 miles/day with 100 milers on Saturday, Sunday, or both days. Also time trials once a month.
I moved to Colorado and got out of cycling for 8 years. I moved back to California and started cycling again for about a year. Then I had my bike stolen & couldn't afford to replace it. A few years ago, I got another bike and have been riding, as above, since then.
I have it in my mind to do a 100 mile/day coast-to-coast ride for charity next April/May. What kind of training regimen should I do to ensure a safe & pleasant outcome to the ride?
Thank you,
David
David,
When your question came, I couldn’t help but think of some riders that have successfully completed coast-to-coast rides amidst busy schedules and being relatively new to the sport. I believe that if you take the principles that they share and adapt them to your schedule and lifestyle, you’ll be able to enjoy the journey that awaits you next spring on your coast-to-coast ride.
Marilyn
“The distance is easy…it’s the first step that’s difficult.” - DeVrand
I have several thoughts on my Coast-to-Coast rides. Although my preparation varied between the two rides, my “list” of what worked is common to both.
As for training for the 2006 ride, truthfully I didn’t do much. I was commuting to and from work every day, and lifting weights 3X per week. Trying to get in some long rides on the weekends, but the weather in Washington is miserable for the 6 months prior to starting the ride March. On the 2008 crossing I wasn’t working so I wasn’t commuting – but I was doing a lot of spin classes and getting out for long rides as weather permitted.
Training for a Coast-to-Coast is much different then training for a race. A race lasts several minutes to a few hours. A Coast-to-Coast lasts for days. It’s all about saddle time.
This is a list of what worked for me.
- Drop the excess body fat – you don’t want to haul excess weight across the country.
- Get a bike that feels good and fits you well, and that you enjoy riding. Day after day after day after day…. All the training in the world will not compensate for a poorly fit bike.
- Stay well hydrated, water in some places is not always great tasting and warm plastic water bottles doesn’t help, but I like to add Cytomax or Heed to improve the taste, and also for the energy benefits.
- A cross-country ride is not the time to go on a diet. I really learned firsthand how food and energy go hand in hand. You need to eat for the sustained energy output. You will learn very quickly what foods work for you.
- Starting off in reasonably good shape is important, but your body will adapt along the way to its new lifestyle.
- Doing a Coast-to-Coast on a bicycle is an adventure that you will never forget. In order for it to be a positive experience you have to be as mentally prepared as you are physically.
- Bottom line as Lance would say “It’s Not About The Bike” After the first week on the road – It’s about the journey – Not the destination. It’s about the people you meet along the way; it’s about the places you have had the opportunity to experience. It’s about the awesome beauty of our country.
- The more saddle time you have the more you will enjoy the experience.
Hope this helps,
Dave T., Washington
(two Coast-to-Coast rides – southern routes)
I agree with everything Dave said. Losing as much body fat as you can sure helps the process of adapting once on the road. Although we didn't do a lot of long rides before leaving, we did ride very often. Adapting to the long days was easy because of that. Like David Lamb said, once he was into the ride for 10 days he was in the best shape he'd been in since a teenager. Start healthy and stay healthy. My ride partner caught a cold about a week into the ride and was miserable for days because of it. He didn't prepare as hard and was less vigilant during the ride with drinking and vitamins. If possible I would opt to get up early and start the ride while the day is still cool. Sometimes it's a bit tough crawling out of bed, but being finished in mid-afternoon feels so good! Psychologically, ending the ride in early evening made for a very tiring day.
The months before leaving are just filled with questions to those who've done it, riding as much as possible, eating well, watching the excess weight fall off and getting plenty of sleep. I was fortunate to have a very comfortable bike with a seat that fit me well. The only trouble I had once we left was a little neck pain for the first several days. Make sure there's ibuprofen available along the way.
I think route preparation also works into the process of being mentally ready. If you're going with a group that's setting the route up, still investigate everything you can about what's along the way. If you're laying out the route yourself, then use the experience of others and opt for good roads whenever possible. A bad road surface makes for a bad day no matter how strong the tail wind or pleasant the temperature. Take a day off and rest at least one in seven. Enjoy the journey. That is the best part of the ride. Plan the route with that in mind and talk with people when you stop along the way.
Michael T., Colorado
(Santa Monica, CA to Virginia Beach, VA)