Opeyquinn

Hey everyone,

First off, i am starting biking this summer, with the rising prices of gas and me driving a large truck i have had many reasons to start biking, but i started to get my itch of biking on a trip over to Norway. I am looking for some help! i need someone to help get me started, i need some assistance on creating a training regime to help me get on the right track.

For the most part the past four years have been centered around high school sports, football, soccer, wrestling, and baseball. so luckily i am in shape. i am very excited to start this new sport, and my main goal at this point is to train hard enough to make it on to my college cycling team, i understand that its going to be a very hard thing to accomplish BUT i am sure i will be able to train hard enough to make this goal attainable.

What i am asking of anyone reading this is to give me any kind of information or insight on some good ways to ease into training and get onto the right track. Most of all i need to figure out and organize a weekly training plan, feel free to leave any ideas, suggestions, or comments.

thanks tons.
-CTQ

alexva

Tuesday - Friday: Bike.
Saturday: Rest.
Sunday: Bike.
Monday: Rest.

Pugsly

base miles. just ride.

https://www.expertvillage.com/video/6...tive-miles.htm

hendrick81

Ride as much as possible

brianappleby

unless you plan on racing, the best training you can to is "just ride", which has already been stated.

If you're interested anyway, pick up a copy of Friel's Training Bible for a good start.

BA.

Opeyquinn

i would like to start racing later, but i am just getting started, so apparently i need to start doing base miles, last night i did... 12 and a half miles in about an... hour and fifteen mins, its was a good base to see where i am and how much i can work on cutting down this time. so i will start getting more and more miles under my belt at this point

but to answer your question of racing, i would really like to start racing when i get to that point in my maturity as a rider...

-CTQ

dmb2786

Friel's book also says to just ride consistantly in your first year, so just keep riding and don't worry too much about advanced training plans.

Opeyquinn

i plan on riding for the first couple of months (from now tell end of summer) to be riding about 3 hours a day... i've taken the advice of everyone here and have started just riding, just got back from about an hour road ride.. hopefully by... Wednesday i will be able to push up to about 2 hours per ride.

When i do my rides, should i stay in a very low gear to work my legs? right now i am riding just plane flat land for around an hour or so. so should i keep it at a medium gear? or stay in a lower gear?

is it more about reps on the cycle? or working muscle memory? sorry to all if my questions are dumb or obvious in any way. thank you once again

-CTQ

Richard_Rides

Keep your RPMs up and make sure your seat is at the correct height.

Opeyquinn

Alright, sounds good. As for my seat height i have it right now at the moment my seat is high enough that so when my foot is extended downward it is just at the point where my leg is almost fully extended? is that the right hight or should i go into my local bike shop and have them help me adjust it to the correct height??

-CTQ

Spookykinkajou

Keep raising the seat until it feels too high, or your hips start rocking side to side, even slightly, to compensate for the height, then lower the seat back down a touch to where you pedal smoothly with no rocking of the hips.

No one here will be able to tell you exactly where this or that should be set. There are websites out there which greatly help with measurements to give you an idea of where to start. Check out competitive cyclists fit calculator in the road bike section of their site.

As far as training goes, like many said, base miles. you need to dramatically increase your current level to be able to handle the rigors of training hard for something competitive like a college cycling team. A structured training regiment may be effective, but I think at your current level you can get away with just riding as often as possible. Get the bike set up properly. One day of each week try extending the longest distance you went the previous week while maintaining the same pace.

Opeyquinn

I am planning on riding hour rides, two to three times a day. hopefully that will be a dramatic effect. doing this for the last few days, my legs are starting to feel it, but most of all my butt is just killing me, this morning i hopped on the bike and i felt like someone had kicked me about one hundred times while i was sleeping! haha! but i am going to guess thats just part of biking and biking seats. and solutions?

I have been riding in normal shorts, seeing that biking bibs are a bit spendy, any good places around Oregon that has discounted apparel or just plane used gear?? I live in Portland so i am sure there has to be SOME kind of places like that in this area.
-CTQ

LanceFanBoy

Training Bible is a read good purchase for anyone getting into training and it'll get you excited to get really into it. Def worth it.

now go ride!

MONGO!

Don't worry about training until you have your base miles (1,000) until then just ride and have fun.

Opeyquinn

This is more for just portland people, i live smack in the middle of SE and finding good roads to ride on is a little difficult without having to worry about maybe being swiped by a car, anyone have any good places to go ride for long distances around Portland or maybe slightly outside of it? just for my base miles?

-CTQ

MONGO!

As for your butt issues, multiple hour long rides in a day is too much, it takes time for your body to adapt to riding a bike, the pain you feel is bruising of the soft tissue around your sit bones, the solution is let it heal before riding.
I'd suggest skipping a day or two before you get back on the bike, you'll feel a lot better.
In the meantime shop for some padded bike shorts.
https://www.velowear.com/

My regular rides are up and around (laps) of Mt. Tabor, The Springwater corridor and Sauvie Island.
Not much traffic to deal with there, if I ride to Sauvie Island I go via St. Johns go over the bridge and up 30.

You cna find some good roads to ride here:
https://www.portlandonline.com/TRANSP...ex.cfm?c=34809

Flak

Like others have said. Just ride. You need base miles before your body is capable of absorbing real training. Otherwise you'll be setting yourself up for injury (trust me, did it last year running).

Read this somewhere in someones sig that i think is appropriate. "Speed work is the icing on the cake, and you don't have a cake yet."

Opeyquinn

Went to REI today and bought a pair of cycling shorts, cant believe the difference. I am going to be doing the spring water corridor tomorrow morning... so that should be a good long ride for me and should add on a quite a few miles to my base. Surprisingly my legs feel fantastic for the first 4-5 days into this.

My question at this point is, does anyone have any good advice on eating before and after a long ride?? How early to you eat before going on a longer ride?

-CTQ

Pugsly

carbs before and during, add protein to the mix after. I try to make sure I do a gel every 45-60 minutes while riding.

Some folks swear by chocolate milk after they ride, I have to admit that I like it too.

Opeyquinn

gels... like those ones the sell at Sporting good places that are by the check-out stand normally? those things are actually worth while?? i thought they were just another gimmick Powerbar came out with, while you brought up gels what about the energy jelly beans? Huh gels, never thought of it, i'll try and grab one for my ride.

Chocolate milk to me seems fantastic just about anytime of the day. maybe not before or during a ride but i do find myself loving chocolate milk. haha i will Definitely try that tomorrow afterwards.

thanks again,

haimtoeg

Gels are pretty good and there are many flavors, textures and makes to choose from, find what works for you. Sports Beans are pretty good, they also give you something to chew on, unlike gel.

sfcrossrider

Thanks for a great link. Sums up a training schedule perfectly. If you're not Cat3 (or above), or expert (CatA) in cross, or xcmtb I would take at least a day off (Friday).

sfcrossrider

+1

It's strange to meet a stranger who has the exact cycling diet as you... strange.

Opeyquinn

Dude, lost in translation, Cat3? CatA? Whhahahaaa????

-CTQ

caloso

Experienced racers.

Gels and bars are great, but real food is better and cheaper: bananas, cookies, Payday candybars, fig newtons, PB&J burritos.