Base rides, road or mtb?

jimbonorth

Probably much the same as most people Im doing longer rides in a desperate attempt to get some fitness so I can play at racing in the warmer months of the year.

Should I be doing long mtb or long road rides in the winter?

Mancunianfightingcat

Why not do a mix of the two?

Yesterday I did a round trip of 17 miles to get to some decent forest singletrack and fire roads. I did another 8 miles when I got there. So 25 miles in all. Which of late is one of the longest rides I've done.

I would think the off road stuff took more energy than the on road work, due to the claggy mud I had to plug through!

jimbonorth

Thats an interesting point....maybe thats why so man people recommend roadies in the winter - because of the effort to get the mtb through the clag!

4h zone 2 mtb ride is it even possible!!?!?!?!

pjm-84

I did 145km ride on my MTB today - 75km off road using the South Downs (there and back) and 70km on road linking up with some old club mates and joining a chain gang session

craker

I've recently (in the last year) become something of a runner, and I've absolutely learned how training makes you better. Running is easy to measure and fairly terrain independant.

Do whatever training you enjoy, but if you want to know you're getting faster, have better endurance try to compare like with like and it gives you some target to train against.

shae

pjm-84 wrote:

I did 145km ride on my MTB today - 75km off road using the South Downs (there and back) and 70km on road linking up with some old club mates and joining a chain gang session

and hears me trying to build up to a 10mile ride!

gcwebbyuk

pjm-84 wrote:

I did 145km ride on my MTB today - 75km off road using the South Downs (there and back) and 70km on road linking up with some old club mates and joining a chain gang session

You are now my hero!

I was planning to try the south downs way this year - over 3 days!!!

:oops:

Turveyd38

Easier to keep your HR in some kinda zone on the road, where as a MTB is fun down, Maxed going up, well is for me.

Road also has the advantage of needing less over all time, as road bike comes back without requiring even the chain oiled and I'm not plastered in mud, and you can ride right from your house, rather than bike in car, 15min min drive unload and then ride.


Where as MTB is fun and will always win when time permits.

Shame about those Cars though hey, they really ruin it, I only Road ride late at night when the traffic is none existant.

tris_d

I did a lot of Road racing when I was younger.

Winter was the time you did your long, steady miles... on the flat. This was mainly for building stamina. Speed and power work just before the season start.

Nice long steady rides take 2 days to get into your legs so you will want to space them out! I am a small guy and to keep up with the big lads I had to learn to spin smaller gears. Running a cadence computer I always kept my pedalling cadence at 110-120rpm. Road rides can allow you to concentrate on your pedalling technique without having other technical problems on the trail.

I am just returning to cycling and I was thinking how fit I used to be. It takes time to get seriously racing fit, a number of years rather than months. Having said that it is so much better now than 20 years ago, HR monitors, better nutrition, cross training.

tlw1

for me I like the long road ride as time wise it doesn't steal "too" much family time (off road decent cycling involves a car for me)

As I have got today off I am either going for a long road ride or Llandegla

lastwords

I live in the midlands and have an 18mile cycle route that starts from my door it is a mtb route and about 75% offroad the best thing i have found to help me train and improve is the garmin edge 205 i bought from halford £99.

I first rode the course then i set it so i race against my own time, it has a virtual partner function wich tells you how far ahead or behind you are from yourself. If i improve i set that time as the one to beat next time.