Topic Title

Just putting this out on the forum. From the last two rides it's apparent from my perspective that we're all pretty fit already (I must be careful about saying "fit," because that means something else to those under 25 - as in The Streets "fit but don't you know it" ).

So, should we approach the Saturday rides slightly different way - should we ride a little slower but make sure we do at least a 4 hour ride - we may have to extend Phil's routes a little. Many cyclists swear that you really shouldn't do intensity at this time of year - perhaps demonstrated by (you know who you are) slipping off the back last week, a chap who is more than capable of kicking most of our backsides in races.

So what do you think?

Personal view...

My approach over the past couple of winters has been to stay clear of high-intensity stuff - anything over threshold - for the first part of winter (ie now). Having all the geeky stuff on board I use power as a measure of this; last Saturday's training ride was average power of 190W. For me this is pretty much spot-on as an average - it's what I'd aim to average on a solo ride (my threshold's about 270W, which is nothing to write home about...).

Where I reckon we would get better results is in riding as a group and maintaining a steady pace; there were times when the ride slowed to social ride pace and others where we were hammering along in the mid-twenties. The paceline session got quicker and quicker until Bennie waved bye-bye and Tim & I sat up. Learning how to really share the work - such as you'd be doing in a TLI race or if you got in a break - is valuable, and you can learn the skills at a steady speed so all you need to do in races is crank it up a few notches.

It certainly feels like many people are starting from a higher level of base fitness this year. Personally I'm happy to stick with 3hr Saturday rides (I need the afternoon for family stuff) and I reckon 3hrs steady, brisk, does plenty of good - and I'm lucky in that I can get out during the week. But for anyone who reckons they want to pack in more miles on a Saturday, then a quick scan of the maps should yield "Training Ride Plus" routes... ...go for it!

I will be out saturday to see what all the fuss is about, but I don't care how fast it is or how far you go as long as I see everyone with mudguards with great big mudflaps on the back

I'll just make sure I stick in your wheel and we'll both be happy

Ok the mudguard issue aside. I think the lineout should be at the end of the ride not in the middle, some riders need to learn to ride tight in pairs before they tackle a through and off, and if anyone wants some extra miles they can ride back to Sherburn with me.

I would prefer to stick to 3 hours (I can always add an hour on if time permits as I did last week). It would suit me if the rides were more steady and even paced at the moment but I would hold my hands up and admit that I may have been responsible for upping pace at certain points. Simply riding in the group is good experience for me. I think that it is important that we do the pace line but should not be too quick - some of us need to learn the skills first. I can see why we did the paceline on the 'A' road last week even it was in the middle. It may be difficult to do paceline later on in ride if roads are not as suitable.

Line out at the end of the ride means if you get dropped you are nearly home and don't have a 25 mile ride by yourself. In my opinion sprints and bit and bit in the middle of a training ride just gets things messy.

I do prefer a steady start and an hard finish (bit of a diesel engine these days, takes some stoking) but I don't do many of the rides so I am happy to go with what the Boss says. For me its just nice to do a group ride now and then, I don't do that many.

As Cam suggested, the reason for doing paceline up the A168 is that it's perfect for it - wide, uninterrupted, no steep hills etc (in fact it's b****y tedious doing it any other way!) and as I asked everyone to switch from steady turns to paceline I said "...but keep the pace the same as it is, we're just doing this to practice the form!" Hey ho. But anyway, it's no biggie.

Would certainly - as the season gets nearer - do sprints and any faster stuff near the end of rides; partly anyone dropped isn't far from home and partly because some people want to just do the steady ride and skip the fancy stuff. Have now had due warning that this is when Darren gets into his stride....

Er, the big guns seem to be lining up for this Saturday. This talking of getting dropped.....yep once we're heading into the season then ok, but it's November. Let's try and ease everyone into this and ramp things up in a few months time.

Surely we should start as a group and finish as a group at this time of year, it is after all only our third ride this Saturday.

Indeed. Actually, I'd like to think we can keep it all together even in March... ...but we'll see.

Meantime, 9am Saturday, Training ride approx 3hrs out via Bramham, Thorner, Aberford and back. A steady brisk ride, a few lumpy bits, a fair bit of flat. Weather forecast not bad (certainly better than my three hours out there this morning) with a hint o' sun and a following wind on the run back to York. All welcome. Mudguards appreciated but if you haven't got 'em you'll have to hope it's dry or risk a bit of verbal.

Hi all
If people want to get a few more preperation miles in i have started riding in from Easingwold really steady just to increase my overall base fitness for a few months and riding back.Just a maater of doing what i feel is right at this time with the idea that when we get a bit further on and the intensity increases then i will drive in again.The training rides are in my mind a way of getting to know the way everyone rides so if people enter races then we will stand a better chance of having some kind of "strategy
" with riders we all know.Cheers Timj

I reckon if we up the rides to 4 hours we will just end up doing 4 hours at the pace we did the 3 hours last week (if you see what I mean)!
Is quite easy to get carried away if you are feeling good & I reckon 3 hours is plenty enough for me at the moment - plus with less daylight, I need the extra hours to go & ride my horses.

The through & off/group stuff is really beneficial for me, I don't really mind where in the ride we do it, but I think it can get a bit competitive (no bad thing) but maybe we need to be clearer/quicker about sorting it out when it starts to go a bit wrong? And all take responsibility for keeping the pace. As a newcomer to it it can sometimes be quite hard to know how much to back off when you get to the front of the slower line - the only thing that will help this is practice. (oh and you lot all yelling at me too of course)

Mind you, if the weather keeps up like it has been this last week then I don't think we'll have a problem going steady.

See you all tomorrow!
(Apologies in advance - I don't have mudguards. Will prepare myself for the verbal torrent, but please no stoning - I only just got my bike fixed)