Spring is coming. We’ve been enjoying mild daytime and cool nighttime temperatures here lately, so sleep comes easily and lasts long. I look forward to the beginning of spring every year, because spring heralds the onset of long ride season.
During winter, I think many of us are prone to cocooning. We curl up in our warm houses, and when we venture out in our layers of cycling gear, the rides are just not as long as they would be at other times of the year. Some of us tough it out on indoor trainers. Others hit the gym for crosstraining. I try to ride as much as I can, but of necessity, the miles aren’t there in the winter.
But with nicer weather, there’s no reason not to get in some miles. The kind of ride I have in mind is the kind that takes at least two hours to complete — so it’s probably a minimum of 30 miles (50 km) or so. It’s done at an easy pace. I like to average around 15 mph for the ride. I’m not racing for the city limit sign, but at the same time, I’m not lollygagging.
The whole point of doing these longer rides is to build up your aerobic threshold. These are your “base” miles, and all the other training you do depends upon a solid base. As always, you can’t just decide one Sunday that you’re going to ride for three hours if your normal weekend winter ride is an hour. Add a half hour to your long rides each weekend to extend them, and to condition yourself gradually. Back when I was a jogger, we used to call these sessions LSD, or long, slow distance. Approach your bike rides with the same attitude.
Then, you can start throwing in some training elements. Every 15 minutes, ramp it up a bit and pedal harder for a minute or two. Cycling coach David Ertl suggests that when you’re 20 minutes from home, pedal at a faster pace for about 10 minutes, and use the remaining 10 minutes of your ride as a warm down.
My own mileage has been lagging of late — I’ve done nothing more than 30 miles so far this year. I need to get in some longer weekend rides. This is probably my favorite time of the cycling year.
I know you used to live in Minnesota, so you know how I feel here (upstate NY). This time of year hope springs eternal. I have been stuck doing 1 hour trainer rides since early November. (We got 77 inches of snow so far this year)
It seems every March there’s at least a couple of days where enough snow has melted and it gets warm enough to do a decent outdoor ride. It is such a rush after months of confinement!
I’ve been back riding regulary for about 2 weeks While I was able to do spinning classes and worked out through the winter I have noticed a significant loss of cardio fitness. HUFFPUFF HUFF, PUFF HUFFPUFF…up the hills around the neighborhood and into the headwind. It seems the only way to maintain my cardio is to ride but I don’t like to ride in the cold as it isn’t FUN.
I’m and newbie with a goal of riding a century and beyond. It’s about 40 degrees this morning and this will be my second time riding 12 miles. Can’t wait for a little warmer weather myself.
Well, I think you’ll be able to handle 12 miles in that kind of weather. It just gets easier from here on out.
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Training for my first century (TOSRV) too. Good luck!
Just got in my first outdoor ride of the season here in Ohio. Starting out slowly riding around 13-14 mph on a 15 mile ride. Have been on the trainer since December 1st so was really nice getting outside.