...is what the current stuff is called in the building trade. It's really not good for riding bikes - there's been an entertaining thread on the Veloriders forum which has contained everything from "Only minus eight? HTFU!" through to reminders from ride organisers that five people fell off on the last one they organised. Basically getting out on the roads means choosing your days carefully, and then taking it steady out there - even zero degrees air can wreak havoc on your breathing kit, and in my experience can be a pretty reliable way of converting a cold into a rattling cough.
So, if you ticked the "road racing" box on your 2009 membership form but didn't, and are planning on starting in 2010, what can you usefully get up to at the moment?
All of what follows is in the spirit of sharing stuff that seems to work for me - I'm not a coach!
First off - get membership sorted out for BC/LVRC/TLI depending on what you intend riding. You can't send entries in until you've got a membership number, so get 'em sorted. With BC you'll need Silver membership and a race licence. For the other two, membership is your race licence. All the info you need is on the web; any queries, post them here.
Next, if you've got a turbo or rollers, make use of it. Pretending you're out on the road doing long steady distance can be very soul-destroying, so do shorter sessions but with a purpose. Work on some of the specifics you'll need for racing (leg speed work as an early stage of sprint training; big gear / low cadence work to build muscular endurance; threshold work - 2x20mins at TT pace) - you can get a lot of benefit from 60-90min sessions and you shouldn't go too gaga in the process. I've never used gyms but I'm guessing it must be possible to use static bikes there for the same purposes.
There's a whole heap of info out on the net (http://www.flammerouge.je/ being one of my fave sources) and in books by Joe Friel / Pete Read etc.
When we had our gathering in Brigantes a few weeks back we said we'd get together again in January once the various race calendars were firmed up. They're pretty much sorted now, certainly for the early part of the season, so how about another pub night soon? Does Sunday 10th Jan suit people?
Exceptionally inclement weather....
Moderator: Moderators
There were about 14 of us at Brigantes last night - looks like we should have "Team Clifton" for some races this year. We've set up email lists for each of BC, TLI and LVRC events which people can then use to circulate "I've entered this..." emails, sort out lifts etc. If you didn't make it to the pub but would like to be kept in touch then pop a posting on here saying which you're interested in and I'll add you to the list.
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like my bike
- Posts: 697
- Joined: Mon Mar 06, 2006 3:19 pm
- Location: The East
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like my bike
- Posts: 697
- Joined: Mon Mar 06, 2006 3:19 pm
- Location: The East
Normally I'd say stick me on the list but I'm so demotivated right now I'd say the only list I should be on is not the T.L.I. / B.C. ones but the C.R.A.P. list.
Bloody weather is really starting to p*** me off!!
And before anyone posts that that is the only place I should ever be put - I've pre-empted you!
Bloody weather is really starting to p*** me off!!
And before anyone posts that that is the only place I should ever be put - I've pre-empted you!
You're not alone, Dr D. I've been through the "well rested, feels like I'm going quite quick" phase of weather-limited training and am now well into the "feels like going backwards, please, no more snow" section.
I keep telling myself it's not as bad as last year's perpetual frost, but I'm not sure...
I keep telling myself it's not as bad as last year's perpetual frost, but I'm not sure...
