Beginner Training

i8contador

Good Morning All

As a fairly sporty 30 years old, and a daily commuter (15 miles a day) I recently decided to start getting a little more serious re my cycling. I am now extending a couple of my journey's home during the week to approx. 20 miles, and head out on Saturday mornings for 30 mile rides.

To get better (ultimate goals to do centuries, that type of thing) is the best policy simply to keep riding and slowly up the mileage (I hear 10% a week is a good rough guide)?

I am keen and don't mind a hill. I currently ride mostly around South West London, and a lot in Richmond Park. I ride a Specialized Allez.

Any tips/ideas would be welcome!

Thanks

slowbike

Thats what I did - my commute is similar (20miles round trip) and includes a single (sodding!) hill that I don't like - but a year in and it's not so much trouble any more...
Trained up from Jan for a sportive ride - 85miles - furthest I'd ridden previously was 58 - just went out and rode - made sure the training rides were a mixture of gradients but mostly with harder hills than the sportive circuit.
Its more fun if you can ride with someone else ...

Nice bike btw ... (same as mine!)

i8contador

Good, it feels like I'm on track just got to stick with it (easier said then done in the rain!). Am also thinking of switching to the clip in pedals but I am sure I would fall over on a daily basis :-)

slowbike

I did about 900miles on the standard pedals and thought it was fine - got SPDs for Christmas and I've only come a cropper once when I slowed down too much without unclipping ...

I think there is a noticeable difference between the standard pedals and clips and I'm pleased I've got them now.

IShaggy

The 10% rule generally only applies to running as it is fully weight bearing leading to more injuries. For cycling, your daily commute should have given you a reasonable amount of base fitness, so just go out and extend the distances how you see fit.

For your long rides I'd definitely recommend getting out into the Surrey Hills - much more fun and quiet roads.

You also should consider adding some tempo/interval effort into your training. The long rides will build endurance, whilst the tempo/interval efforts will build strength.

And get some clip-less pedals/shoes as soon as you can. A little bit daunting to start off with but you get a much better power delivery and you feel connected with the bike (in a good way). You'll kick yourself for not doing it sooner. As for falling off when clipped-in - if it does happen, you'll most likely be stationary at the time so the only thing that really gets hurt is your pride. I never fell off when I started to use clip-less pedals. It was only when I got more confident and started doing track-stands at the lights that I has a couple of slow-mo tumbles.