Cycling Training Tips

• Plan a short mileage day or rest day to follow the high mileage day. It should be at least 1/4 of the length of your long ride and ridden at a leisurely pace to help loosen up your muscles after the long ride of the week

• The final high mileage day of your training program (the week before the event) should be at least 75% of the length of the planned event.

• If you are training for a single day event or ride, your longest ride should be 10 to 14 days before the event. Then cut back on your rides the 3 days immediately before the event - short, low intensity rides (spinning) to keep your muscles from tightening up.

• Keeping track of your training is an important part of any training program.

• Good nutrition and planning your eating strategy can make a difference. You will need a good carbohydrate and you need to avoid eating in the 4 hour pre-event interval.

• It is important to stretch only after the muscle to be stretched has been actively warmed up - either with 5 or 10 minutes of exercise or in the post exercise period.

• For cyclists, the most common muscles requiring post exercise stretching or massage are the hamstrings, quadriceps, and shoulder muscles.

• Pedaling on descents [instead of coasting] helps blood continue to circulate rapidly through your legs as muscle contraction helps clear pooled blood from the muscles and returns it back to the heart.

• Many times there are several hills or mountains in a row, and pedaling down the first descent can make the next climb seem a little easier. Your legs feel fresher because light to moderate pedaling downhill has helped clear out the lactic acid that accumulated during the climb. You don't get the heavy, sluggish sensation that occurs when you work hard up a climb, coast down the other side, and then try to ride hard again.

Following are a series of training tips and training aids used by cyclists to improve their personal performance.

AERO BARS
A nice way to take the pressure off your hands, add another position to your options on a road bike, and increase your average speed about 1 mph without any additional effort. For distance cycling, this is the one accessory that will add the most to your performance.

CLIMBING
A hilly course offers an alternative to an interval ride, and will give you some variety at the same time. And riding a tough course will help you develop the mental attitude needed to face those hills in a race.

GROUP RIDES
Riding with others is an easy way to push yourself. Riding with a group pushes can help push up your over all average speed, as well as offering opportunities for sprints and acceleration training.