Making the mos of the club run

ianspeare

How do you build the Sunday club run into your training plan? Is it all about getting the miles in the tank or something else? Group riding techniques etc? Would it be better to go an independent ride to concentrate on specific techniques?

imposter2.0

Treat the club run as a club run. Not sure what your training plan is, or aims to achieve, but if you want to do some other kind of focused training, then do it on a different day, or don't go on the club run...

joey54321

being honest i think the club run can be pretty poor training, but I don't have the motivation to do solo 4 hour rides which (imo) have the potential to be much better training. The club run is more fun, sociable and still a good way to get out for several hours. I have just started to ride my 14kg fixed bike with heavy winter tyres on to make sure I am getting the most out of it in terms of training. I normally come back wrecked and it means that you have to be doing some work 100% of the time.

Apart from that I try and make sure i get out for a 90min-2 hour solo ride at some point in the week (as well as other intense/interval based sessions).

Herbsman

Imposter wrote:

Treat the club run as a club run. Not sure what your training plan is, or aims to achieve, but if you want to do some other kind of focused training, then do it on a different day, or don't go on the club run...

this is mos def the best advice

BenderRodriguez

Imposter wrote:

Treat the club run as a club run.

Most club runs I have ridden were as hard as many road races! Perhaps the best advice is to choose a 'club' that rides fast enough to give you a good, varied work out. Also, the importance of the development of group riding skills should not be forgotten. I would say that the dreadful lack of such skills in many low level events these days is down largely to the fact that most riders no longer serve an 'apprenticeship' riding club runs.

The only real change in the club run system I have seen in recent years is that many more serious riders no longer like to take a cafe stop. This can be worked around. For example, by having a sociable 'warm up' ride to the cafe, with the racing lads continuing at the cafe stop for a higher intensity session. Or all meeting up for a 'social' and steady ride home after getting some serious miles in. Taking a spare under vest to change into can make such a stop off much pleasanter!

BenderRodriguez

joey54321 wrote:

being honest i think the club run can be pretty poor training, but I don't have the motivation to do solo 4 hour rides

If you aim just to ride '10's you probably don't need 4 hour rides. If your bag is hilly 100 mile plus or Alpine 'sportives', you might need to do rides of more than 4 hours, if only to better understand how to pace yourself, feed and so on.

For me the bottom line is that club runs can be a good laugh, and why loose that for another turbo session, simply so that you can hopefully go a few seconds faster in some totally inconsequential time trial?