talbert

I was hoping to monitor my progression over the next few years and I want to do this by comparing TT speeds. What's a good/avg distance to use as a training benchmark for a TT? I know TT's in races come in all shapes and sizes, but from a benchmark perspective...

I was thinking 20K? What do you guys think?

JohnKScott

I use a 10 mile route for mine. Why 10? Not really a good reason. Exept I can do a couple mile warm up (probably not enough) and a couple mile cool down and finish my ride in the time parameters I have in the morning.

Plus I can hurt myself plenty in that 10 miles.

Probably not a lot of help. But I figured I'd throw a number out there...

DrWJODonnell

No less than 10k. But then again, why not just race the same TTs from year to year. watch your progression there for different distances.

YMCA

Do you have a local TT series?
That would be the obvious choice.
Agreed, 6-10 miles (10k-16k) are perfect as gauges.

SpongeDad

I tend to do 2 or 3 20 minute intervals as part of my consistent week to week workout. For me that's about 7 miles. That gives me a lot of data to look at when trying to asses my progress, or lack thereof.

It also helps that I have a convenient, flat out and back course (4.1 miles each way) that I can do that on.

MDcatV

I use 20K for no reason other than I have a route that I can start at the bottom of a hill, take 1 right turn, turn around, take 1 L turn (this is actually disruptive) and finish at the top of a hill.

careful getting to pedantic on comparisons and correlating them to fitness gains. things change each time like wind velocity/direction, the # of cars you need to pause for, etc.

rizz

Here are my two favorite tricks:

1. Pick a distance that you can ride consistently without having to stop which should also have predictable wind conditions.
2. Ride at a distance so that the time can be used as a rough baseline for longer distances in which you plan to compete. If you are going to do 40ks, why not train at 10k or 20k? Takes you 30 minutes for a 20k? Aim for an hour in the 40.

merlinextraligh

Gold standard is 40k. Sub one hour used to be pretty impressive. Today, lots of people can do it, but it's still an accomplishment.

However I wouldn't reccommend doing one every week.

EvilGoodGuy

Personally, I find a hill climb to be a better test of my current fitness than a flat time trial. Our local time trial series uses a rolling 16.6k (10miles) route; however, wind can easily alter your time by 1 or 2+ minutes. The difference between 1 or 2 minutes, in terms of fitness, is huge. The Cat 1/2 riders are finishing in 20minutes and the Cat 4/5 are finishing in 23 or 24minutes. However, I can ride the hill climb with little concern about the weather conditions. It's also included in the time trial series two or three times a season so I can compare my time to other riders' times.

Bob Dopolina 

+1.

OR you can do it by time. Say 20 minutes.

Ride 20 min at what you perceive as the fastest pace you can handle for that time and see what distance you cover. Use the same route so it is an accurate comparison for each time.

This you could handle once a week or every second week as a regular part of your training.