There is no doubt that for most cyclists, the best way to train for riding long distances...is riding long distances. Not rocket science I admit but in the modern world of sports science we are fond of complicating that which is not complicated! As Fred Trueman was so fond of saying in his own inimitable style about English cricketers, "the best practice for bowling...is bloody bowling!"
Simple then you might think. If you want to ride the 81 miles of the Etape Caledonia Col, get on your bloody bike and put some miles in. Believe me, I would if I could. However, there are various obstacles in the way of this genius theory.
Firstly, I am not a pro cyclist and the real world tends to take up quite a lot of my time. Spending four or five hours on my bike at a time is just not an option for me most weeks. I will need to factor some long rides into my training schedule at some point but for now, I have to make do without.
Secondly, I live in Scotland. And it is winter. The weather is certainly a factor!
Thirdly, I have vowed to try and train six days of the week. It is not feasible to spend each of these training sessions riding my bike. It is dark most of the time I am not at work for a start.
So what do I do instead? I spend time with the hoover and the dirty laundry obviously. What?? Yep, you heard right. I undulge in one of cyclings secret tortures...the turbo trainer session.
I spend my time in our utility room, along with the aformentioned household items. Here is an image of my home gym(!) It is the coldest place on earth but as you will see, that is not all together a bad thing.
A turbo trainer is a device designed to allow you to ride your bike without going anywhere. Most of you might think that that kind of defeats the purpose but I will try and explain. It allows the rider to have all of the benefits of an exercise bike (like you would find in a gym) but maintaining their own familiar bike and position (us cyclists are very precious about this, I will expand on this more in future posts).
It has major advantages. It is indoors. You can do it at any time of the day or night. You don't need to get wrapped up warm. You can exercise for the whole time you are riding the bike (no coasting or free-wheeling).
It also has disadvantages. It is veeerrrrryyyyy boring. Sitting on a stationary bike in a cupboard is not the most exciting of pastimes (I watch DVDs on my laptop to relieve the boredom). It is a sweaty business (with no wind to cool you down, the temperature soon ramps up). It gives you a sore arse (due to not changing position). There are some other odd effects experienced by male participants but I shall leave these to the imagination...
I usually manage three or four sessions in the cupboard per week. I am currently combining this with gym sessions, spin class, the odd run and actually getting out for a bike ride when I can.
So, next time you go to fetch your hoover, give a thought for those of us locked in the cupboard...
Cheers,
Col.
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