Actual Training

There has been something of a break in the blog which I know is not really the idea but it has been for a very good reason. I have actually been riding the bike on a regular basis which is leaving little time for writing, what with family life and work as well.

Here are my weekly mileages for this year:

As you can see, things are beginning to ramp up quite nicely. This has been down to a couple of useful lessons.

1. Just get on the bike! It is all too easy to wimp out and say "I'll do it tomorrow" or "I'm not really in the mood" but once I get going I tend to enjoy the rides so I have to focus on the outcome and not the preparation.
2. Rollers aren't (too) evil. I'm getting used to riding on them now and I can put in an hour session quite easily. This has been after everybody else has gone to bed so it is a little lonely but I have had The Infinite Monkey Cage to keep me company.
3. Don't get too focussed on training, go out for a ride occasionally just because it is lovely out there.
4. The C2C is a very hilly ride and I had better get my backside up some hills or I am toast

In support of number four, I was looking at the stats from the training so far and I realised that I was doing nowhere near enough hills. As I live in a relatively flat part of the world with only the Chilterns to gain altitude this is going to be a continuing struggle. This chart shows my distance and elevation, with the blue line being the target for the C2C. All of my rides have been too flat.

So, I took the chance over the weekend to try out hill repeats. This is the idea of finding a good length hill and going up and down it multiple times to improve your hill climbing ability and recovery. One of the hills near me is Aston Hill which is a great steady hill. If you look at the Strava segment you can see it is quite long but at a good steady 5% so it is spinning instead of stomping. My four loops were completed in around nine minutes each, which is a little bit long for this type of training but I enjoyed the climbs.

Did this session improve my climbing? Well I'll have to keep trying them and see but I can certainly feel the benefit of hitting four sessions a week. I'm keeping the average around 15mph and the distances are creeping up. Yesterday was hard as I was rushing against the sunset but it sure beats being in a gym when you get views like this.

The windmill at Brill, Oxfordshire at the end of  a bright spring day

Time to Get Going

Let us just take a minute to recap what is going on here. Following a day on a hired bike in the Lake District I somehow agreed to cycle the Coast to Coast in a day event in June 2015. Never having been a road cyclist before (I'm a very casual mountain biker) I set myself a budget of £1000, found a road bike and started getting out there.

Here is a summary of all of my recorded riding in 2015:

I'm not starting this year completely from scratch but it has been a very lazy winter, the only exception being a 33 mile ride at the end of January. Having taken some time out for a family holiday It is now time to get on it.

With an eye on the target of doing the 150 miles of the Coast to Coast in 12 hours I am aiming for an average moving speed of 15mph. Looking at this chart showing Elevation vs Distance vs Duration you can see that I have hit this average a few times but not on anything over 40 miles so there is plenty of work to do.

I'm now in week 4 of the plan and I'm already having to be a bit flexible. With all of the wind in the last few days I skipped a couple of rides so instead of resting today I completed a two hour ride. It was really good to get out again and I am setting a decent pace I reckon. I even managed to reel in a very serious looking rider on Aston Hill, though they were probably on a recovery ride.

I've also had a chance to try out my new (second hand) rollers  The rollers were certainly a challenge to start with but once I got the confidence to let go of the wall I quickly got the hang of it. I can see why they scare people but if you try to keep a solid core and don't faff around they seem to be OK. The worst thing is the tedium, so I'm hoping the weather improves and I don't have to rely on them.

Things I have learned this week

It's been quite an educational cycling week, here are some highlights

1. When experts say you usually need to replace a chain and a rear cassette together they aren't joking. I thought I could get away with just the chain but as soon as I put any serious pressure on the pedals the gears started hopping all over the place. 
2. Local Bike Shops are really handy. I took my mountain bike into the LBS for a new rear cassette and bottom bracket to be fitted and came away with both of those, a re-trued rear wheel, some other minor fixes and a promise to look at the fit on my road bike. Props to Two Wheels Thame, I'm sure I'll be back in again.
3. Mudguards are really handy too. They are a monster faff to fit, look a bit rubbish and can be divisive in online communities but after getting caught in rain and hail today I came back looking mostly clean. I'll remove them as soon as the roads dry out but for now they are staying on.
4. Skipping rides is very easy, especially at this time of year, and takes a real effort to avoid. However, getting out there is very rewarding and the benefits of regular riding are worth it in the end. 
5. Malt Loaf is edible... who knew?!

Right, that's your lot. I'm changing now to a weekly format so you don't get fed up with me but hopefully there should be some interesting learnings as the distances and frequency ramp up.

Training by Numbers

As I sit here getting ready for the first training session in my plan the thought enters my mind that I should try and track the improvements I make. As mentioned before, I love a good chart and that means collecting data. I also believe that heart rate training zones are an important part of any plan and that means heart rate data.

First up is to calculate my minimum and maximum heart rate. The minimum is a fairly simple task, taking my heart rate before I get out of bed in the morning. I can keep doing this and keep a rolling average. At the moment it sits at around 52 bpm. Calculating the max heart rate is a little more complex though.

There are lots of formulae floating around the Internet, from the very simple 220 - Age through to the more complex 210 - (Age/2) - (0.05 * Weight (lb)). Here is a quick summary of my scores:

Calculation	MHR
Simple Age Based	184.0
BikeRadar	187.2
Miller	186.4
Londeree	180.7
Jackson	182.8
Whyte	182.2
Combined	181.4

This gives me an average of around 183, so lets use this number. Knowing the max and the min I can now start to work out the training zones, and again it gets complex. A fairly rough guide is to use 10% wide zones, so 60% to 70% is the weight loss and endurance zone. 70% to 80% is the cardio zone. However, British Cycling use a more complex zone setup (from Bike Radar):

Zone 1 (60-65% of maximum heart rate): For long, easy rides, to improve the combustion and storage of fats.
Zone 2 (65-75% of MHR): The basic base training zone. Longish rides of medium stress.
Zone 3 (75-82% of MHR): For development of aerobic capacity and endurance with moderate volume at very controlled intensity.
Zone 4 (82-89% of MHR): For simulating pace when tapering for a race.
Zone 5 (89-94% of MHR): For raising anaerobic threshold. Good sessions for 10- and 25-mile time-trials.
Zone 6 (94-100% of MHR): For high-intensity interval training to increase maximum power and speed 

Plugging in all of the numbers then gives me a very rough guide to my training zones

Zone	HR min	HR max
Z1	110	119
Z2	119	138
Z3	138	150
Z4	150	163
Z5	163	173
Z6	173	184

I know from experience that keeping it below 120 bpm on the bike is a pretty easy ride so this feels about right. With these zones in place I can now think about applying them to my training, at least in the early days while I get a feel for them, and for that I need a heart rate monitor.

I already own an ANT+ HRM so this would be the obvious choice, except Strava doesn't support ANT+ on Android ( I know, how stupid, but check the forums and feel the anger of the ANT fans). I also have an Endomondo Pro license, but as this is different to the subscription based Premium license I don't get so many nice features. I also find Endomondo tends to wander off track leading to inaccurate results.

I've looked at various Garmin devices but they would all put a serious dent in the £1000 budget so I'm going to have to come up with some combination of monitoring. If you see somebody rolling past with two phones, a cycle computer and a calculator it is probably me. Don't try to stop me, I'll be in the zone.

The Training Plan

Any fan of Red Dwarf will remember the scene where Rimmer makes a revision timetable that takes so long to create that he loses revision time. He then has to re-write the plan, taking up more time, leading to another re-write and so on and so on. Eventually he is left with no time to revise and a very pretty revision chart.

This is me when it comes to cycle training.

I love all of the conflicting information around training approaches. Do you get a power meter or go on feel? How do you calculate your maximum heart rate? How do you best gain endurance, speed, climbing ability? I could spend hours researching all of this and walk away without a single decision being made; but with a warm feeling of having done "something".

Then add on my recent addiction to GCN and their YouTube Channel where I can spend hours "learning" really useful information like the Top 10 Things Not To Wear When Cycling and it is a miracle that I came up with any plan at all. But here it is in all of it's glory.

The mighty training plan v1.0

This was created from a mixture of a Brevet Sportive Training Plan, my experience from going from couch to 10km runner, a lot of fingers in the air and fitting in with existing commitments. It has three main themes:

1. Periodicity - The plan features four week blocks where the effort increases and then reduces in the last week, This allows your body to recover
2. Escalation/Recovery - The times and distances slowly build with each four week block before winding down before the event to preserve energy
3. Variation - The plan mixes endurance, technical and easy rides and is supplemented with cross training (football) and core/flexibility sessions

Of course, just like Rimmer, I'm almost certain parts of this plan are going to go out of the window when reality hits. The second week is interrupted with a holiday and there is snow in the forecast. But, with only 20 weeks until the Coast 2 Coast there is nothing for it now but to get on my bike and start riding.

Pushing Too Hard

One of the many rules around training is the idea that you should only increase your mileage by 10% each session. The idea is that you give your body a small challenge, it adapts during recovery and then at the next session you push it a little bit more. I applied this quite happily when building up to my first 10km running race so I knew it would work again on the bike.

I was putting in plenty of 20 mile rides to get used to the bike and iron out any problems with the equipment. These included some hills, some training in Zone 2, some social rides, it was all going rather well. When Ben popped up with an 80 mile ride in the Cotswolds in 18 days time I quickly started to work out how I could ramp up to that distance.

Sticking to the 10% rule it would take 15 rides to increase my distance from 20 to 80 miles. There was no way I was going to achieve that as a casual cyclist so I wimped out, found a shortcut, and agreed to come along for 60 miles instead. This should still take 11 rides, but with only two weekends spare I would have to push it a little.

So the next weekend I headed out with another friend, Tim (also taking part in the C2C) for a bit of a training run. I should have known I was in trouble when I arrived at Tim's garage to see it full of bikes, including a Time Trial bike. Turns out Tim was quite a keen cyclist and the following 37 miles were a great exercise in how to sit on somebody's wheel. An average of 16.3mph had me gasping.

Hoping to do things at my own pace I headed out again the next weekend for my first 50 mile ride solo. With no wheel to hang on to and several punctures this turned into four and a half hours of grind, more than double the previous weekends time. I finished exhausted, barely able to turn the pedals, though I did overtake somebody pushing a shopper up a steep hill.

Now I was out of time and the big weekend had arrived. Having already done 50+ miles solo I was happy with doing 60 miles in company. The pace was a little slow as we set off but soon the miles were rolling by. You can read a full description here. We reached the pub in good time and this was where I was due to split off after lunch to take my shortcut. But we all know what happened after a beer and a bit of bravado.

I ended up completing the full 87 miles (yes, 7 miles longer than planned), again crawling into the finish in a complete state. Did I complete my challenge? Yes, and I am pleased I did, but I cannot recommend escalating your distance this quickly. At the time it wasn't a fun experience and I am probably quite lucky that I didn't injure myself.

Next time: The training plan

Early Learnings

One of the joys of cycling is the huge amount of equipment that goes with it, and the many unwritten rules and conventions that create the culture. Obviously the first thing I did was take a trip to my a local bike shop to break some of the rules.

I bought myself some proper clipless shoes, a new cycling jersey and a saddle bag (Rule #29). I had some baggy MTB shorts (Rule #18), a helmet (with visor Rule#35), gloves, lights and tools already.

My first few rides were pretty simple affairs, under 20 miles,  but they certainly ironed out a few kinks. I was getting a puncture on every single ride which I originally put down to old inner tubes perishing while being sat deflated for 3 years. Replacing the tubes didn't really help though and I was getting fed up getting super greasy changing tyres at the side of the road.

A quick chat with the hugely useful Cycling UK community on Google+ directed me towards some excellent Continental Grand Prix 4 Season tyres which have been brilliant, no punctures or slips. I also purchased a proper track pump and realised I had been seriously under inflating my tyres which might also have been contributing to the punctures.

Looked clean but the filth kept returning

Next up was some proper bike cleaning. The chain lube had dried out and become a paste with the dust that had settled. I tried hot soapy water and that didn't work. Next I bought some proper degreaser and that made things a lot better, but there was still a lot of muck coming out of the chain. In the end I went old school and put the whole chain into a jar of white spirits. This worked really well and is going to be my first choice from now on. This was made far easier with the addition of a slip link into my chain.

Perhaps the biggest fear of new cyclists is around clipless pedals and the risk of falling over at every single junction. I was quite used to having baskets on my pedals and not putting my feet down while riding so I actually found this quite easy at first. I went for a very forgiving setup on the Keo Look pedals and I never had much of a problem unclipping... until I stopped on a steep hill, tried to get started again and missed the pedal, ending up sprawled across a country road.

From that experience (and the twisted ankle that went with it) I learned to not stop on hills and also how to change the rear cassette on a bike. Quite a simple job with the right tools and the new 12-27t 9 speed cassette has made the hills a bit easier than the original 12-25t. I was originally tempted to go larger but this would have required a new derailleur and also would have broken Rule #5.

Having 27 teeth on the rear cassette (blue) gave an extra bit of
leverage for the hills compared to the 25 (orange) but widened
the gap between gears.

With the new gear ratios in place I started to find hills a little easier, and increasing fitness made 15-20 mile rides pretty easy. Now it was time to start cranking up the distance. Ben had a plan for an 80 mile ride and I had very little time to train.

Finding a Bike

One of the conditions I set myself on this adventure was a very strict budget. I figured I could complete the entire challenge with an outlay of no more than £1000. That was for everything, registration on the event, clothing, bike, travel, equipment. Some experienced riders might scoff at such a small budget and could probably spend that on wheels alone but I had no idea if this was going to be a successful project or not and couldn't justify any more.

A quick bit of research suggested that a more relaxed geometry bike might be more suitable, something called a Sportive bike. A quick Google brought up some interesting info, including this useful sportive buyers guide but it quickly became clear that my budget would have some consequences. Full carbon was certainly out, as was anything beyond bottom of the line bikes. Even working through eBay came up with various well used examples from Trek, Cannondale and Giant which would stretch the budget.

And then, in one of those rare but beautiful eBay moments when an item nobody else has discovered meets your budget and desires, I found my bike. With no bids at all was a Genesis Aether 20. A quick review showed it to be a solid entry level sportive style bike from a British manufacturer probably worth around £1000 new and ridden less than 100 miles in 3 years. A cheeky last minute minimum offer and it was mine for £350.

Collection arranged I headed around to pick up my new bike. The owner wasn't in but his wife seemed all too happy to get the bike out of the hallway. The tires were flat and dust had settled all over the chain but it was otherwise in perfect condition. I carefully drove it home, stripped off the rack and mudguards, pumped up the tires and took it for a ride.

I didn't have the proper shoes so I just balanced on the clipless pedals, wobbling along with the all too narrow handlebars and impossibly thin tires. I hit a straight stretch, cautiously lowered myself down onto the drops and there it was again... that amazing feeling of riding on the wind. The image of my old orange racing bike came flooding back and I cranked through the gears, thighs burning, eyes streaming. I can't remember when I named my bike Jenny, but I was certain from that point on that we were going to be friends.