BC Bike Race 2016 - advice needed

[Juz1970]

hi folks. (have posted this in General MTB as well)
I have committed to the 2016 BC Bike Race, which is going to mean a complete overhaul of my fitness/bike riding technique over the next 12 months.
I am after any tips/advice from those who have ridden in the event in regards to terrain, gearing advice, but most importantly where to find similar climbs/terrain around the Sydney area.
I realise it's pretty damn unique riding over there but keen to pick the brains of any one who has ridden it previously and how they trained for it.
Not aiming to win, just to be fit enough to complete it and have fun each day of the event.
Thanks in advance.
Cheers,
JW

 

[SlowManiac]

Awesome! Totally jealous!

I have not ridden the BC bike race but I did do the Cape Epic this year. The BC bike race is meant to be a lot more technical so I won't comment on that but maybe I can comment on riding and training for a stage race.

For training I think consistency is key. In my case this meant regularly doing 300-400km weeks with a fair bit of road riding. I commute every day so that made it a bit easier. As much time on the mtb as possible as well to get really comfortable with your bike. I am sure you can get away with less but the fitter you are the more you will enjoy it!

For hill training I'd do the Oaks - Ingar - Andersons trail (100km with 2000m of climbing or so) or the cascades trail is really good too for hill repeats. Also did some road hill repeats.
Pretty sure the BC BR website has some training programmes on it too.

As for the race - I reckon just take it easy especially at the start, it's easy to get carried away and kill yourself.

Skills-wise - what about doing a skills course? a few of my friends have done them and have gotten a lot out of it.

Enjoy, I have a tentative plan to ride in 2017.

 

[climberman]

Mate looks epic.

I did the 2015 Cloudride (trip report - http://forums.ski.com.au/xf/threads/monaro-cloudride-2015-report-and-summary.70374/) this year which was different, but also a multi day scenario with plenty of climbing. Looking at the daily profiles you have some FARKIN steep climbs to train for. As Slow Maniac said, consistency in training I found really paid off. I used a basic outline from Joe Friels' "The Mountain Bikers' Training Bible" and found it useful and a way to give me some structure in my training as I'd never done anything like that before. I reckon it might be worth a look. I also found recognising that 'rest is a part of training' worked well for me - I am over 40 so recovery, illness avoidance, life responsibility shit needed to be managed.

Training specifically steep climbs usually means fire trails in the broader Sydney region. Getting good at rocky loose steep hills helps more with smooth hills than smooth hills will help with loose hills! Find some and run loops. Get good at spinning. Over a year you should see some great time and hill skill improvement.

Don't hit the snooze button - I fkn hated getting up so many mornings when it became training not riding but I was so thankful for every bit of training I did while out on the Cloudride. Set a programme and stick to it as far as possible but don't beat yourself up over every niggle or mishap that gets in the way.

Spend time getting at one with your gear.

Looks fun, enjoy it.

 

[Juz1970]

Thanks folks. I too am over 40 so yep, will be taking a long-term view of the training. And thanks re the tips on hill climbs around Sydney and the training program. Am currently tackling the Today's Plan software for the Convict 100 (44km version) and plan on adding a few 50km and then 100km races over the next 12 months on top of the regular training.
As was mentioned - life will definitely get in the way with two kids under 4 years of age but am pretty set on making it there and finishing in one piece!
Thanks again.
Cheers,
JW

 

[Cúl-Báire]

I also found recognising that 'rest is a part of training' worked well for me - I am over 40 so recovery, illness avoidance, life responsibility shit needed to be managed.

I fkn hated getting up so many mornings when it became training not riding.

Set a programme and stick to it as far as possible but don't beat yourself up over every niggle or mishap that gets in the way.

Some very valuable quotes here, and if I am to be totally honest these little titbits are probably the best advice you'll receive. Ultimately we (generally) aren't professional cyclists so life gets in the way of our ambition, which can often lead to compromised recovery and subsequently compromised training - the sooner you come to terms with that notion the better. Set a plan aim to follow it, and follow it well but don't stress if you don't hit sessions here and there - also don't be afraid to change things up, or do something different if you are feeling a little beat down. :dance:

P.S. I am extremely jealous, I'd planned to do Trans Rockies a few years back but of course life got in the way. :noidea:

 

[Juz1970]

Thanks again everyone - i think definitely not worth freaking out about being at my "fittest" but rather just being ride-fit and able to enjoy each day of the event.
Cheers
Juz

Some very valuable quotes here, and if I am to be totally honest these little titbits are probably the best advice you'll receive. Ultimately we (generally) aren't professional cyclists so life gets in the way of our ambition, which can often lead to compromised recovery and subsequently compromised training - the sooner you come to terms with that notion the better. Set a plan aim to follow it, and follow it well but don't stress if you don't hit sessions here and there - also don't be afraid to change things up, or do something different if you are feeling a little beat down. :dance:

P.S. I am extremely jealous, I'd planned to do Trans Rockies a few years back but of course life got in the way. :noidea:

 

[rsquared]

hi folks. (have posted this in General MTB as well)
I have committed to the 2016 BC Bike Race,
JW

Awesome. BC Bike Race looks amazing and is my No 1 event on my bucket list.

Consistency and early preparation is key.

As has been said, we aren't professional cyclists, we have lives so I prefer to go off general training guidelines for big events like this. Couple of general tips:
- Start building your base early (which you are by the sounds). Gradually increase the time you spend in the saddle each week by 10 - 15%. No more. Increase too quick too early and you run the risk of injuries which will then affect your training consistency.
- Schedule in recovery weeks every 3 - 4 weeks. You don't get fitter by continually thrashing your body week in, week out. Recovery is where improvement happens.
- Keep preparation general at the start and then ramp up specificity closer to the event. Get a road bike if you don't have one already, it's great for general base fitness. Make sure you keep up your mtb technical skills during this time though. Increase the ratio of mtb to road as you get closer to the event.
- Don't hit the hills too early. Again, build up the base strength and fitness before putting your body through a lot of hill work. You will avoid injuries again by doing this.
- Get some strength & conditioning work in off the bike. This will include strength work such as squats, deadlifts etc but should also be some specific mobility & maintenance work to keep you injury free. Rolling & stretching is great but I love yoga as well for maintenance.
- Make sure you have your bike dialled in and fitted correctly for you. As you ramp up the km's, a incorrectly fitted bike will cause you big problems.
- Do a couple of big back to back training days or events in the lead up to see where you are at. Backing up day in day out will be the hard part and this is where maintenance is key.
- Make sure you break up lower intensity base training with a couple of weeks of high intensity, hill climb interval sprints or a race every couple of months to sharpen you up and prevent plateauing.

Good luck. Would love to be there as well!

 

[Juz1970]

Thanks!!
Cheers
JW

Awesome. BC Bike Race looks amazing and is my No 1 event on my bucket list.

Consistency and early preparation is key.

As has been said, we aren't professional cyclists, we have lives so I prefer to go off general training guidelines for big events like this. Couple of general tips:
- Start building your base early (which you are by the sounds). Gradually increase the time you spend in the saddle each week by 10 - 15%. No more. Increase too quick too early and you run the risk of injuries which will then affect your training consistency.
- Schedule in recovery weeks every 3 - 4 weeks. You don't get fitter by continually thrashing your body week in, week out. Recovery is where improvement happens.
- Keep preparation general at the start and then ramp up specificity closer to the event. Get a road bike if you don't have one already, it's great for general base fitness. Make sure you keep up your mtb technical skills during this time though. Increase the ratio of mtb to road as you get closer to the event.
- Don't hit the hills too early. Again, build up the base strength and fitness before putting your body through a lot of hill work. You will avoid injuries again by doing this.
- Get some strength & conditioning work in off the bike. This will include strength work such as squats, deadlifts etc but should also be some specific mobility & maintenance work to keep you injury free. Rolling & stretching is great but I love yoga as well for maintenance.
- Make sure you have your bike dialled in and fitted correctly for you. As you ramp up the km's, a incorrectly fitted bike will cause you big problems.
- Do a couple of big back to back training days or events in the lead up to see where you are at. Backing up day in day out will be the hard part and this is where maintenance is key.
- Make sure you break up lower intensity base training with a couple of weeks of high intensity, hill climb interval sprints or a race every couple of months to sharpen you up and prevent plateauing.

Good luck. Would love to be there as well!

 

[lordofthechainrings]

try riding a stage race or two in Australia for training, or finding weekends when you can race twice, even a road race on one of the days.
in your base riding period try to avoid any intensity at all as accumulating lactic acid can possibly have a detrimental effect on some of the aerobic benefits of endurance riding. The bigger your aerobic base is and the more you build your aerobic "engine" the better your ability to recover will be.

 

[Cúl-Báire]

try riding a stage race or two in Australia for training, or finding weekends when you can race twice, even a road race on one of the days.
in your base riding period try to avoid any intensity at all as accumulating lactic acid can possibly have a detrimental effect on some of the aerobic benefits of endurance riding. The bigger your aerobic base is and the more you build your aerobic "engine" the better your ability to recover will be.

I agree with half this post, and strongly disagree with the other part…

Plenty of stages races in Australia, even road “club tours” could be a good source of training, one of our local clubs puts on a tour of 3 races over 3 days all 70 to 90km in length over different courses, meant to be fantastic racing.


The part I don’t agree with is: “in your base riding period try to avoid any intensity at all as accumulating lactic acid can possibly have a detrimental effect on some of the aerobic benefits of endurance riding”. This is an extremely old school train of thought and one that is based more on myth more than research – if you really want to nerd it up there are a number of studies that indicate this statement is inaccurate; there are also a number of studies that suggest substituting a traditional “base” period with high intensity can be more beneficial to performance gains, year to year.

One such example: http://www.trainingscience.net/?page_id=117


The biggest key is finding what works best for you, for some the traditional long slow distance route works, others intensity works – I know an athlete that has had great success using reverse periodization. For myself I find the diet of Hunter / Coggan inspired 2 x 20min intervals lead nowhere – however shorter more intense intervals <8min, balanced with longer easier rides lead to impressive gains.

“Many ways to skin a cat”

 

[Juz1970]

Thanks everyone for all the advice!!
Cheers,
JW