Training for Club run

m00nd0g

Hi I have been riding for a few years now.
3 rides during the week of 30miles.
Perhaps forty on the weekend.
I now want to ride with a club but fear I am not fast enough.
I eat well but probably not at the right times to aid performance.
How might you suggest I get faster?
Should I decrease my mileage during the week and increase speed?

Anonymous

m00nd0g wrote:

Hi I have been riding for a few years now.
3 rides during the week of 30miles.
Perhaps forty on the weekend.
I now want to ride with a club but fear I am not fast enough.
I eat well but probably not at the right times to aid performance.
How might you suggest I get faster?
Should I decrease my mileage during the week and increase speed?

You will be fine, just don't go out with the fast boys if your club has different ability groups. When you ride in a group you will not use as much energy as riding on your own, so do turns on the front and get on someones wheel when in the group.
Upping the mileage, eating well, plenty of water and good sleep will make you faster and fitter. Your performance will be upped when you go out with a club, it is different to riding on your own.
Good luck and get out with a club, you will not regret it.

jgsi

dmclite wrote:

m00nd0g wrote:

Hi I have been riding for a few years now.
3 rides during the week of 30miles.
Perhaps forty on the weekend.
I now want to ride with a club but fear I am not fast enough.
I eat well but probably not at the right times to aid performance.
How might you suggest I get faster?
Should I decrease my mileage during the week and increase speed?

You will be fine, just don't go out with the fast boys if your club has different ability groups. When you ride in a group you will not use as much energy as riding on your own, so do turns on the front and get on someones wheel when in the group.
Upping the mileage, eating well, plenty of water and good sleep will make you faster and fitter. Your performance will be upped when you go out with a club, it is different to riding on your own.
Good luck and get out with a club, you will not regret it.

or ... instead of sticking with your comfort zone... do go out with riders who are quicker and try and stick with it... ok you may get dropped.. ( you may not) but you will get challenged and in that way .. a little bit quicker and more resilient each time.
It is going to take a bit of mental fortitude if you do end up on your own to repeat this process on a regular basis.
At least you wil have a pretty good idea of how far your fitness has come or needs to make up.
Just my thought... I just get the impression you want to improve

m00nd0g

Yes I want to improve.
Perhaps a TT next season and perhaps a sportive later this year.

MikeWW

If you apply yourself you will be amazed how quickly you will improve.
As others have said you will be fine with a club run and even going with some of the faster guys won't do you any harm
I was 46 last year when I first got on a road bike and was out on a closed circuit for a training session with a mixture of Cat2/3/4 riders 5 days later. Got annihilated to begin with but can mix it up with them now without a problem (although they are moving through the cats and I'm still a cat 4)

Gav888

See if you can make your weekend ride the same length as the club run so you can at least cover the distance, then work on speed whilst maintaining the distance. If you have the time to put in you will get there soon enough.

softlad

You shouldn't need to be training for a club run. Club runs by their nature are usually social rides - not balls-out pain-fests. Just turn up and see how you get on.....

dennisn

softlad wrote:

You shouldn't need to be training for a club run. Club runs by their nature are usually social rides - not balls-out pain-fests. Just turn up and see how you get on.....

I agree that you shouldn't need to be TRAINING for a club ride / run.

I strongly disagree with the statement that club runs are social events. To be honest I can't really remember the last time I rode with a group of 2 or more that didn't turn into a
hammerfest, with great honors and glory for the first person to reach the turnaround or convenience store for a water stop. That's pretty much why I ride alone these days.
I don't want to be part of some "training ride" where someone gets hurt, or worse,
because of a group of macho guys who seem to need to prove to just about everyone else how fast they are. I completely disagree with these impromptu "races"(if you will)
on public roads without any concern for rider safety. Race at the races, period. At least there you stand some chance of avoiding traffic as marshall's are usually in attendance.
Racing around with your buddies on a daily basis idiotic.

freehub

Some club runs ARE social events....

Some faster ones are not, but tbh even chaingangs I go on are social sometimes.

dennisn

freehub wrote:

Some club runs ARE social events....

Some faster ones are not, but tbh even chaingangs I go on are social sometimes.

I agree, sometimes. I'm just very against "impromptu racing", for lack of better words.
It's a very risky thing and I don't want to hear about anyone getting killed out there
while trying to keep up, and possibly taking unnecessary risks to do so, on some "club training ride". It's my pet peeve if you will. Race at the races only.

freehub

Well I have to admit on quite allot of club runs some of us end up "racing" up hills, great fun.

secretsqizz

when did this turn into club run racing and dont do it and all?
I thought geezer just wanted to be able to keep up at some stage in near future reading between the lines with a fast group and a bit of training towardeth that towit....

m00nd0g

Sure I have been riding for several years.
I can hack the mileage.
My concern is can I keep the pace.

dennisn

secretsqizz wrote:

when did this turn into club run racing and dont do it and all?

Sorry, just voicing my opinion. Forum you know.

jibberjim

m00nd0g wrote:

Sure I have been riding for several years.
I can hack the mileage.
My concern is can I keep the pace.

The majority of club-runs only "race" certain parts of their ride, generally on the long up hill portions where having the people who can climb in 6 minutes ride at the pace of those who can ride it in 8 would be frustrating for everyone, annoying the fast people, and making the slow people work even harder out of a desire not to hold the group up. So hills become races, with a rest at the top to regroup.

Otherwise the pace is normally very easy. I'm sure you'll have no problem with the pace. Go and find out!