CGC Winter Bike League Purpose and Expectations
The following should not take the place of your own common sense, nor should it replace advice from doctors, lawyers, clergy, wizards, or spouses.
My goal is to clearly state the purpose of why we are having a Winter Bike League, which lends truth to riding the way we will. Also, several folks want to know exactly what is expected of them while we’re all working our asses off to get stronger, faster, and more proficient in the sport we love so much, so I’ll put some “rider expectations” on the table for all to see. If all this sounds like what you want for the next few months, read on. If not, we’ll wave as we go by when spring brings you out of hibernation.
Purpose of CGC WBL
The purpose of Central Georgia Cyclists’ Winter Bike League is not so much for specific workouts each day but to provide a progression from week to week. It is designed for training to race on the weekends. You should be riding during the week to compliment the more challenging rides on weekends, and if you are not riding during the week you should have realistic expectations of what you will get back from the time you are investing toward your fitness level. A high level of cardiovascular fitness is the result of a large amount of training, i.e., quality time on the saddle, and not from short blasts of maximum effort once a week. Fitness takes time. Visions of grandeur are wonderful, but leave them at home when you join our rides.
Listening to your body is key in any sport, so keep a rider’s diary of your ride time, effort expended, diet, sleep cycle, and general fatigue levels to relate performance to these variables. This will pay dividends later when you find that you can track the peaks and valleys in your training. Taking some time off the bike is worthwhile if you do over-train, but keep in mind that a week off the bike puts you a week behind while two weeks off the bike will put you nearly a month behind. Sometimes you need to go slow in order to go fast so don’t worry if the rides are not “fast enough” for you. The roads are open to all comers, so by all means go to the front and pull until you’re satisfied. We’ll be happy to draft behind you.
Heart Rate (HR)
In order to track the intensity level of workouts and your overall “feeling” of fitness while riding, the CGC WBL rides will be based on heart rate as a measure of how hard you will be working. Basing your efforts on your maximum heart rate is an effective method as not everyone can afford a power meter, and the science is pretty straight forward on the how, why, when, and where if you keep track of your heart rate. (Note: There are many books available on this form of training and I highly encourage everyone to educate yourself and not just take my word for it that it works.) Your HR combines the variables of resistance, gear choice, cadence, and overall fitness into one number. If you have a power meter to keep track of the workload, we’ll all be very jealous of your bling but don’t want to hear of how you can light a household for 5 in all your studliness. Go to the front and pull, I say.
You need to determine your maximum HR. I recommend seeing your doctor and discuss your overall fitness before proceeding with determining your MHR. 1) You can use the less than perfect method of 220 minus your age to find max HR (MHR), or 2) if you have a HR monitor you can ride with a partner in order to ensure safety while determining your MHR. If you chose to ride with a partner, do a nice 15-20 minute warm up while riding toward your favorite hill. The climb should take at least one minute to ascend (Hwy-224 out of Perry towards Hawkinsville and use the 1.2 mile climb into Hayneville). Keep a steady effort as you begin the climb, not a steady speed, using a gear you have to push fairly hard. Do this for half the climb while getting your HR up and into that uncomfortable, leg-burning zone of acid build up. Just when you want to give up, grab another 2 gears and push as hard as you can the remainder of the climb. You should be at max effort. That number you see through the black spots and stinging sweat should be your MHR and will be the number to use for the following calculations. Oh, that riding partner should probably have a cell phone and know CPR. Really.
Once you know your MHR, max hear rate, you need to determine the approximate Lactate Threshold heart rate, LTHR, which is anywhere between 80-85% of your MHR. LTHR is where anaerobic respiration is producing exactly the amount of Lactic Acid your body can remove from muscles and reprocess in the liver. If you exceed your LTHR for several minutes, the fire in your muscles will soon stop you from pedaling your big wheel. Note that your LTHR will be different from sport to sport as different muscle groups are being worked. You’ll get a pretty good idea of what your LTHR is on the first few rides if you are keeping a riders-diary as I do. Hopefully you’ll see trends begin to form, as I have seen over the last 3 years, that let you know when to go hard and when to ride easy for a day or two.
Are you in the zone?
There are many recommendations on how many “zones” to use for tracking your heart rate when training, but I personally use only 4 zones as described in “The Complete Book of Long-Distance Cycling” by Edmund R. Burke, PhD, and Ed Pavelka:
Zone 1 – Less than 65% of MHR, to promote recovery and use of fat stores.
Zone 2 – 65-80% of MHR, to build aerobic endurance.
Zone 3 – 81-94% of MHR, to reach LTHR ~ where the greatest aerobic improvement occurs.
Zone 4 – 95-100% of MHR, to build anaerobic capacity for short bursts like sprints and all-out climbs.
Here’s your focus for each WBL ride:
Now that you have found your MHR, calculated your 4 zones, and have also determined your LTHR it will be your focus during each ride to “stay in the zone”. Which zone? For CGC WBL rides, we each want to stay in that 81-94% of MHR for Zone 3 for the majority of the ride but will obviously have periods above that during climbs and in rides when we have attack zones. We will warm up while gradually going from Zone 1 into Zone 2 for the first few miles (2-5 miles). We will cool down the last few miles while going gradually from Zone 3 down to Zone 1 for a few miles. This is what I call “active recovery” and is necessary to flush your body of that last bit of lactic acid while cooling down. It is also a good idea to have some extra water left at the end to begin replenishing lost fluids. (Recommendation: use a recovery drink or food within 30 minute – 2 hours to help re-build those muscles!)
You will need to find the gearing during each ride that keeps your HR in the appropriate zones. Every rider is different, but improvements can only be made if you have a plan and stick to it. Adjust the numbers to what your body tells you, and listen to what it tells you. Over training is easy to do if you think, “If some is good then more is better.” Negative ghost rider………… Remember to take a few days of easy riding in Zone 1 to burn fat and ease into Zone 2 for a bit, but resist the urge to go into Zones 3 & 4 if you’re on a rest day.
Ride during the week!! We all need to ride during the week to compliment the hard efforts we’ll do on the weekend. I ride twice a week on the mountain bike and use those days as intervals, but I also ride twice a week for 2 hours each minimum on the road bike – either on the trainer or doing laps at various places. Don’t expect to be able to keep up if you are only riding on the weekends. That’s not riding, that’s self-induced cruel and unusual punishment.
WHAT IS EXPECTED FROM EVERYONE ON CGC WBL RIDES
1) Have realistic expectations. Get out of it what you put into it.
2) No whining. Creative discussion is encouraged, however, if it will improve anyone’s fitness.
3) Obey all traffic laws.
4) DO NOT CROSS THE YELLOW LINE. Never.
5) Always wear a helmet. No helmet, no ride.
6) Ride 2 abreast and no more. We do dual pace-lines from time to time but only on roads that have low traffic flow. We will go single file from time to time as traffic safety dictates.
7) STEADY TEMPO #1 – Climb at a steady tempo with the group unless we’re in an attack zone. Adjust your gearing to keep your HR in the zone. Riders on the front need to pedal down hills and not coast. Riders in the pack will have to feather the breaks a bit to stay in line.
8) STEADY TEMPO #2 – When a person pulls off the front and it is your turn, glance at the speed you’re doing and keep it steady. Don’t “jump” and accelerate when it’s your turn to pull. If you have a lot of energy, stay on the front for a while and “get some.” I need the rest.
9) PACE LINE – Keep at least 12 inches between your wheel and the person in front, if you are comfortable with that distance, or up to 2 feet between wheels.
10) PACE LINE – If everyone is required to pull during a rotating pace line and you don’t feel comfortable doing so, that’s cool. Please stay out of the way as we are rotating, however, and just sit on but “in line” with the riders that are falling back and not “in line” with the riders who are moving forward. Confusion may ensue otherwise.
11) PACE LINE – NEVER over-lap wheels!!
12) Drink and eat when you’re at the back of the line instead of while you’re on the front pulling.
13) We will stop for and help out with mechanicals so we can get back rolling quickly.
14) Bring a map and study the roads beforehand.
15) Bring extra tubes. Bring a pump. Know how to use them.
16) Be courteous and conscience of the communities we’re riding through during pee breaks.
17) Don’t litter. It’s lighter now that you’ve eaten the goody within, and it’ll wash out easier than those white sweat stains on your kit, so pack it out!
18) Wave at passing traffic with an open hand showing 5 digits. Don’t tell them they’re #1 unless you got to. Get a plate number, use your phone, and let law enforcement handle it.
19) Watch out for fellow riders traffic-wise and health-wise. If you see a problem, speak up!
20) Please wash your kit from time to time. Breathing is hard enough without your help.
21) HAVE FUN!! RIDE HARD!! RIDE SAFE!!
See you on the next CGC WBL ride.................S
My goal is to clearly state the purpose of why we are having a Winter Bike League, which lends truth to riding the way we will. Also, several folks want to know exactly what is expected of them while we’re all working our asses off to get stronger, faster, and more proficient in the sport we love so much, so I’ll put some “rider expectations” on the table for all to see. If all this sounds like what you want for the next few months, read on. If not, we’ll wave as we go by when spring brings you out of hibernation.
Purpose of CGC WBL
The purpose of Central Georgia Cyclists’ Winter Bike League is not so much for specific workouts each day but to provide a progression from week to week. It is designed for training to race on the weekends. You should be riding during the week to compliment the more challenging rides on weekends, and if you are not riding during the week you should have realistic expectations of what you will get back from the time you are investing toward your fitness level. A high level of cardiovascular fitness is the result of a large amount of training, i.e., quality time on the saddle, and not from short blasts of maximum effort once a week. Fitness takes time. Visions of grandeur are wonderful, but leave them at home when you join our rides.
Listening to your body is key in any sport, so keep a rider’s diary of your ride time, effort expended, diet, sleep cycle, and general fatigue levels to relate performance to these variables. This will pay dividends later when you find that you can track the peaks and valleys in your training. Taking some time off the bike is worthwhile if you do over-train, but keep in mind that a week off the bike puts you a week behind while two weeks off the bike will put you nearly a month behind. Sometimes you need to go slow in order to go fast so don’t worry if the rides are not “fast enough” for you. The roads are open to all comers, so by all means go to the front and pull until you’re satisfied. We’ll be happy to draft behind you.
Heart Rate (HR)
In order to track the intensity level of workouts and your overall “feeling” of fitness while riding, the CGC WBL rides will be based on heart rate as a measure of how hard you will be working. Basing your efforts on your maximum heart rate is an effective method as not everyone can afford a power meter, and the science is pretty straight forward on the how, why, when, and where if you keep track of your heart rate. (Note: There are many books available on this form of training and I highly encourage everyone to educate yourself and not just take my word for it that it works.) Your HR combines the variables of resistance, gear choice, cadence, and overall fitness into one number. If you have a power meter to keep track of the workload, we’ll all be very jealous of your bling but don’t want to hear of how you can light a household for 5 in all your studliness. Go to the front and pull, I say.
You need to determine your maximum HR. I recommend seeing your doctor and discuss your overall fitness before proceeding with determining your MHR. 1) You can use the less than perfect method of 220 minus your age to find max HR (MHR), or 2) if you have a HR monitor you can ride with a partner in order to ensure safety while determining your MHR. If you chose to ride with a partner, do a nice 15-20 minute warm up while riding toward your favorite hill. The climb should take at least one minute to ascend (Hwy-224 out of Perry towards Hawkinsville and use the 1.2 mile climb into Hayneville). Keep a steady effort as you begin the climb, not a steady speed, using a gear you have to push fairly hard. Do this for half the climb while getting your HR up and into that uncomfortable, leg-burning zone of acid build up. Just when you want to give up, grab another 2 gears and push as hard as you can the remainder of the climb. You should be at max effort. That number you see through the black spots and stinging sweat should be your MHR and will be the number to use for the following calculations. Oh, that riding partner should probably have a cell phone and know CPR. Really.
Once you know your MHR, max hear rate, you need to determine the approximate Lactate Threshold heart rate, LTHR, which is anywhere between 80-85% of your MHR. LTHR is where anaerobic respiration is producing exactly the amount of Lactic Acid your body can remove from muscles and reprocess in the liver. If you exceed your LTHR for several minutes, the fire in your muscles will soon stop you from pedaling your big wheel. Note that your LTHR will be different from sport to sport as different muscle groups are being worked. You’ll get a pretty good idea of what your LTHR is on the first few rides if you are keeping a riders-diary as I do. Hopefully you’ll see trends begin to form, as I have seen over the last 3 years, that let you know when to go hard and when to ride easy for a day or two.
Are you in the zone?
There are many recommendations on how many “zones” to use for tracking your heart rate when training, but I personally use only 4 zones as described in “The Complete Book of Long-Distance Cycling” by Edmund R. Burke, PhD, and Ed Pavelka:
Zone 1 – Less than 65% of MHR, to promote recovery and use of fat stores.
Zone 2 – 65-80% of MHR, to build aerobic endurance.
Zone 3 – 81-94% of MHR, to reach LTHR ~ where the greatest aerobic improvement occurs.
Zone 4 – 95-100% of MHR, to build anaerobic capacity for short bursts like sprints and all-out climbs.
Here’s your focus for each WBL ride:
Now that you have found your MHR, calculated your 4 zones, and have also determined your LTHR it will be your focus during each ride to “stay in the zone”. Which zone? For CGC WBL rides, we each want to stay in that 81-94% of MHR for Zone 3 for the majority of the ride but will obviously have periods above that during climbs and in rides when we have attack zones. We will warm up while gradually going from Zone 1 into Zone 2 for the first few miles (2-5 miles). We will cool down the last few miles while going gradually from Zone 3 down to Zone 1 for a few miles. This is what I call “active recovery” and is necessary to flush your body of that last bit of lactic acid while cooling down. It is also a good idea to have some extra water left at the end to begin replenishing lost fluids. (Recommendation: use a recovery drink or food within 30 minute – 2 hours to help re-build those muscles!)
You will need to find the gearing during each ride that keeps your HR in the appropriate zones. Every rider is different, but improvements can only be made if you have a plan and stick to it. Adjust the numbers to what your body tells you, and listen to what it tells you. Over training is easy to do if you think, “If some is good then more is better.” Negative ghost rider………… Remember to take a few days of easy riding in Zone 1 to burn fat and ease into Zone 2 for a bit, but resist the urge to go into Zones 3 & 4 if you’re on a rest day.
Ride during the week!! We all need to ride during the week to compliment the hard efforts we’ll do on the weekend. I ride twice a week on the mountain bike and use those days as intervals, but I also ride twice a week for 2 hours each minimum on the road bike – either on the trainer or doing laps at various places. Don’t expect to be able to keep up if you are only riding on the weekends. That’s not riding, that’s self-induced cruel and unusual punishment.
WHAT IS EXPECTED FROM EVERYONE ON CGC WBL RIDES
1) Have realistic expectations. Get out of it what you put into it.
2) No whining. Creative discussion is encouraged, however, if it will improve anyone’s fitness.
3) Obey all traffic laws.
4) DO NOT CROSS THE YELLOW LINE. Never.
5) Always wear a helmet. No helmet, no ride.
6) Ride 2 abreast and no more. We do dual pace-lines from time to time but only on roads that have low traffic flow. We will go single file from time to time as traffic safety dictates.
7) STEADY TEMPO #1 – Climb at a steady tempo with the group unless we’re in an attack zone. Adjust your gearing to keep your HR in the zone. Riders on the front need to pedal down hills and not coast. Riders in the pack will have to feather the breaks a bit to stay in line.
8) STEADY TEMPO #2 – When a person pulls off the front and it is your turn, glance at the speed you’re doing and keep it steady. Don’t “jump” and accelerate when it’s your turn to pull. If you have a lot of energy, stay on the front for a while and “get some.” I need the rest.
9) PACE LINE – Keep at least 12 inches between your wheel and the person in front, if you are comfortable with that distance, or up to 2 feet between wheels.
10) PACE LINE – If everyone is required to pull during a rotating pace line and you don’t feel comfortable doing so, that’s cool. Please stay out of the way as we are rotating, however, and just sit on but “in line” with the riders that are falling back and not “in line” with the riders who are moving forward. Confusion may ensue otherwise.
11) PACE LINE – NEVER over-lap wheels!!
12) Drink and eat when you’re at the back of the line instead of while you’re on the front pulling.
13) We will stop for and help out with mechanicals so we can get back rolling quickly.
14) Bring a map and study the roads beforehand.
15) Bring extra tubes. Bring a pump. Know how to use them.
16) Be courteous and conscience of the communities we’re riding through during pee breaks.
17) Don’t litter. It’s lighter now that you’ve eaten the goody within, and it’ll wash out easier than those white sweat stains on your kit, so pack it out!
18) Wave at passing traffic with an open hand showing 5 digits. Don’t tell them they’re #1 unless you got to. Get a plate number, use your phone, and let law enforcement handle it.
19) Watch out for fellow riders traffic-wise and health-wise. If you see a problem, speak up!
20) Please wash your kit from time to time. Breathing is hard enough without your help.
21) HAVE FUN!! RIDE HARD!! RIDE SAFE!!
See you on the next CGC WBL ride.................S
posted by CGC at 9:20 PM
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