Clifton CC Discussion Board

The place to discuss racing and training.

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by Alice.S Wed Jun 18, 2008 8:52 pm
Hi everybody

Does anybody have any tips for me to get better on the bike? My dad is full of tips but I would like to know if anybody else has any suggestions? At the moment I ride to my stables (at Copmanthorpe) and back which is about 3-4 miles each way and sometimes I take a few detours around Acaster Airfield which makes up about 10-15 miles but I'd like to have a change of scenery. My summer holidays start on the 21st june so I have free time to go exploring. I think I'm worst at hills so it would be good to get better at them. I'm really aiming to have more endurance and some fun so any tips or routes would be appreciated thankyou :D

by Jon G Thu Jun 19, 2008 12:48 pm
Hi Alice

Firstly let me say that there are far more qualified people on this forum than me that will give good advice. But what I would say is and I'm sure others will ask what do want to get from the cycling you do? for example
Do you cycle just for fitness and the practicality of it to get you to the horse riding stables or are there other aspects such as time trialing and road races you would like to enter. Because my one bit of advice really is get out and ride as much as possible because there is no substitute and slowly build your fitness and endurance and have a think what you would like to achieve.

Jon

by Arthur Fri Jun 20, 2008 8:54 am
Good advice from Jon: first work out what you are trying to achieve.

The next step is to work out what you are good at, and what you are weaker at. Not in absolute terms, but in relative terms.

Here's a basic list:

Sprinting
Climbing
Very short efforts ~ 1 min
Short, hard efforts ~5 mins
Longer TT style efforts (20-30 mins)
Long rides all day

Then depending on what you want to do (want to do audax? Don't bother to train sprinting), start working on the things you are *weakest* at.

Exactly what would be a good training plan depends on how you answer these two questions.

by Alice.S Fri Jun 20, 2008 5:12 pm
Thanks for the tips :D I think that I'm probably weakest at climbing and longer TT efforts so will have a chat with my dad about it just good to have some other opinions :D all taken on board

by PhilBixby Fri Jun 20, 2008 5:36 pm
As has been said, base what you do on what you want to get out of it. If your main aim is to make use of free, sunny days of a long summer break then just plan stuff that's going to be fun; maybe get the map out and find places that look like they may be good to visit at distances that will stretch you a bit. Find out when there are things going on which you could ride to, choosing a scenic route, again of a distance that stretches you. Got any friends or reli's you could visit by bike? Pretty much whichever way you go other than due south will have more hills than the surroundings of York. Whatever you do, make sure it's fun and let the improvements come as a side effect (which they will) - *unless* you're dead serious about focusing on TT's or getting into racing. Then maybe throw in some specific rides where you pick up on Arthur's list and call it training rather than just going for a ride. But still make sure you make enjoyment the main thing - time becomes scarcer as you head towards late teens!

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