Last weekend, I caught up with Dave and we did a relatively tough 45 miles around north east Monmouthshire. It’s fantastic cycling country. Quiet roads, stunning scenery and quite a cycling test, on ‘roller coaster’ roads. These roads destroy any rhythm and require constant gear changing to maintain cadence. It was a tough test for Dave, but I was impressed how well he coped.
There’s no question that since he started riding a bike in November, Dave’s progression has been good. Those early sessions focusing on good technique, rather than piling miles in are now paying off. They’ve given him a very good base on which to build mileage at a decent average speed. Something he will need to do every day during the Red Cycle, even on the shorter days, to enable an ‘early’ finish to maximise recovery for the following day.
At this stage, the focus is now less on technique and more on building a good base of fitness and miles. There’s no question that Dave now has the techniques to ride a steady 80+ miles but he doesn’t quite yet have the fitness nor an appreciation of bike nutrition. His weekly sessions for the last month have been including not only heavy hill intervals but some tempo and threshold efforts. These push Dave to work higher in his heart rate zones (i.e. he’s working harder) but also have the effect of upping his average speed. They are also relatively short and so fit in well with his work commitments. Many riders believe riding long distances is all about riding long slow steady rides. Whilst some longer slow rides are required, the shorter, harder tempo and threshold sessions really build a sold aerobic base and take less time.
The next stage of focus for Dave is his bike nutrition. He’s been consistently riding 35-50 miles now week in, week out. Thanks to the support from Sponser UK, who are supplying the bike nutrition for the Red Cycle, Dave has been using a mix of carbohydrate/protein energy drink whilst riding. He has also started using Sponser’s recovery drinks and I understand has developed quite a taste for the chocolate flavour! However, Dave needs to work on taking in enough food whilst riding. He’s got the technique now and his fitness is building, but unless he eats more whilst riding he’s really going to struggle with putting in rides of 60, 70 miles plus. This will be even more apparent riding day in, day out. Good nutrition on and off the bike will be crucial for a successful Red Cycle challenge. I see quite a few riders who drastically underestimate how much food they need to eat for rides of 70 miles plus. A rider needs to take in between 60-90g of carbohydrate each hour. That’s the equivalent of at least a flapjack and an energy gel every hour, together with drinking a carbohydrate energy drink. Dave ate just 1 energy bar of about 40g of carbohydrate on last weekend’s ride and that’s woefully insufficient.
Part of the strategy to work on this will be a long steady ride of approx 70 miles in the Brecon Beacons in late June. We’ll have a support car with us and Dave will be forced to stop and take in carbs. I’m sure he’ll be amazed at how much he needs to eat but it will be perfect preparation for what he’ll need to do each day on the Red Cycle. We’ll do a few of these long days and later in the Summer, we’ll do a few mini camps of 2 days back-to-back riding with a support car. Not only will these rides form part of Dave’s training plan of long steady rides at the weekend, building mileage, but will also simulate the daily routine on the Red Cycle.
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