Where did you get this from? Cos i call bullshit!
That's close to 150km a day, without any rest days, and that's just riding, not including all the other conditioning work you have to do to ride at his level.
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XC Training
- Thread starter topher
- Start date
That's close to 150km a day, without any rest days, and that's just riding, not including all the other conditioning work you have to do to ride at his level.
I would say I am a casual mountain biker, with a regular 40+hr job and two young kids. Sometimes it is very hard to escape the schedule and the kids to put in extra mountain biking milage to get better.
Middle of last year I purchased my first ever road bike and started to commute to work about 2/3 days a week (45km/day). I try to have easy days and then hard sprint days, averaging ~33km/hr. In October I did the 250km Fitz and finished pretty comfortably.
I have realised lately that I do not love riding on the road but neither do I hate it. To me it just seams not a technical challenge (apart from races/crits).
I almost treat it like a gym session. Not that I have ever used a gym.
However, what I do love is the extra fitness it gives me. Every time I go out and hit the trail on my mountain bikes it absolutely is amazing, especially how much speed you can carry all round. I think the more fit you are the double the fun you have mountain biking, and the more focus you can put in technical skills. Instead of slowly cooking at the end of a 30km trail I am still blazing along and still having an awesome time compared to before not really enjoying it and wanting to finish.
So in summary. TLDR; if you are a casual mtb rider or above I would highly recommend getting a road bike. As per most of the suggestions in this thread.
Even if you have to also get and wear lycra.
Middle of last year I purchased my first ever road bike and started to commute to work about 2/3 days a week (45km/day). I try to have easy days and then hard sprint days, averaging ~33km/hr. In October I did the 250km Fitz and finished pretty comfortably.
I have realised lately that I do not love riding on the road but neither do I hate it. To me it just seams not a technical challenge (apart from races/crits).
I almost treat it like a gym session. Not that I have ever used a gym.
However, what I do love is the extra fitness it gives me. Every time I go out and hit the trail on my mountain bikes it absolutely is amazing, especially how much speed you can carry all round. I think the more fit you are the double the fun you have mountain biking, and the more focus you can put in technical skills. Instead of slowly cooking at the end of a 30km trail I am still blazing along and still having an awesome time compared to before not really enjoying it and wanting to finish.
So in summary. TLDR; if you are a casual mtb rider or above I would highly recommend getting a road bike. As per most of the suggestions in this thread.
Even if you have to also get and wear lycra.
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IIITAK3NIII
Likes Dirt
This guy does an average of 1400km a week, he is training for RAAM 2013
If you did the 250 fitz comfy you are more than a casual rider
Shrekmeister
Likes Dirt
a school teacher has to do something with his school holidays they get so many.....
nthego:
RED_RACER
Likes Dirt
Back to 2hrs a day now!a school teacher has to do something with his school holidays they get so many.....
Shrekmeister
Likes Dirt
Art Vanderlay
Hourly daily
Stick to the mtb bike. If you don't enjoy the road bike, you won't be able to stick to it. I contemplated a road bike, but I just knew it wasn't for me....I do have a wind trainer which I get on a few times a week. Its not the best thing. Through the winter however it is handy. I couldn't think of anything worse than road riding on a cold, wet winters day. But mountain biking in the mud & slosh on a cold, wet winters day is great fun!
A road bike may help my fitness a little, but I am not going to enjoy it. Just my 2 cents
Find someone to go with, one of those roadie types that is right into it..
The roadie allows you to do something structured based on heart rate, that can be a good motivator too.
cleeshoy
Eats Squid
My previous "cheap a$$ roadie" gave me no motivation whatsoever especially when riding next to the wife's S-Works roadie. However picked up a new roadie yesterday and am now actually looking forward to taking it out for a spin or 2 (or 3...)
taitt
Likes Dirt
Should probably clarify. I have a decent little Bianchi sitting in the shed, so the bike isn't the problem. Although the training is great and does pay off, it's just hard to do when I have the MTB sitting next to it looking more fun, and the weather is as shitty as it has been. A bit of motivation through a training partner may be the way to go. Anyone in Brisbane looking for a road training partner or know of any decent groups riding weekday mornings and weekends?
Commuting and building up the road rides worked for me. As did having a group to ride the River Loop once a week. Now I am so used to doing it I don't need the group anymore, but it definitely helps.
Whereabouts in Brisbane are you? How fast / fit? There's several group rides, often organised by shops. I've never done those though.
As mentioned above, once you start seeing / feeling the difference when in fitness when you do go out on the MTB, it makes you more motivated to fit in the road riding when can't mountain bike.
taitt
Likes Dirt
Probably average about 34kms on a single 30km river loop, or around 30/31ks on 70+ km rides. What splits would you all recommend doing when training for XCO? ie. Days on Roadie vs MTB? Bit more perspective may be helpful I guess.
IIITAK3NIII
Likes Dirt
I use Strava on the road bike, It motivates me heaps because it makes riding competitive. It's also a great training tool for Personel bests etc. Otherwise ride with other road riders. Just remeber the fitter you are the more fun you will have on the mtb.
Yeah I'd hit the road and also do some trails on regular intervals. Spin class, interval training will also work.
Riding on the road will improve you fitness but won't help you improve your technique off the road so you should ride regularly off road when you can.
To be efficient on the road it is more about constant high cadence, while on the trails it is a different kettle of fish so I'd search from some training drills you can do to improve MTB on a road bike.
Also don't forget about nutrition and recovery rides. It plays a big part.
Good luck training.
Ride more and let the muscle memory take care of the rest!
Riding on the road will improve you fitness but won't help you improve your technique off the road so you should ride regularly off road when you can.
To be efficient on the road it is more about constant high cadence, while on the trails it is a different kettle of fish so I'd search from some training drills you can do to improve MTB on a road bike.
Also don't forget about nutrition and recovery rides. It plays a big part.
Good luck training.
Ride more and let the muscle memory take care of the rest!
I like to find nice road rides to do, ie through bushland areas, near water etc so there is always something nice to look at. These areas often have nice climbs and windy downhills that aren't too dissimilar to riding offroad.
Otherwise get some Paris-Roubaix or TDF DVDs and watch some of those guys go, always makes me want to ride!
Winno
Likes Dirt
My training;
When I started running, my performance on the bike increased hugely - I can ride easier and further, I can concentrate for longer, I enjoy the ride more, I can eat climbs, I recover quicker.
Running is more intense and makes my heart work so much harder. It also works my lower legs much more that any time on the bike does.
Try that and see how you go.
- I commute on my mtb commuter bike 16k's each way (slicks and 44/11-28 gearing) every week day.
- I pay particular attention to pedalling technique (pushing FORWARD at the top and PULLING back at the bottom) so that my power delivery is as even as possible throughout the cycle - I can hear it in my rear derrailleur pulleys and it's surprising how much faster you can go, so much easier.
- Every second day, I push a bigger gear to build strength.
- Every other day, I spin as fast as I can without bobbing on my seat to keep heart rate up.
- Fridays are an easy spin/recovery day during the commute -which can be hard when others are passing you on the bike path.
- Every second week, I run 4kms 3 days of the week and don't skip the hill work.
- Every other week, I run 4kms twice that week.
- At this stage and because of family commitments, I ride the trails mtb every second weekend but it's usually 4 - 5 hours.
- I snack and hydrate before/during each ride.
When I started running, my performance on the bike increased hugely - I can ride easier and further, I can concentrate for longer, I enjoy the ride more, I can eat climbs, I recover quicker.
Running is more intense and makes my heart work so much harder. It also works my lower legs much more that any time on the bike does.
Try that and see how you go.
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Dowlo
Likes Bikes
Winno, that's a good workout.
I only manage 2 to 3 rides a week. 27ks on our Wed night ride, 30 to 40 on Sat ride and if possible I'll do a 20 to 30k ride on Sunday. I've found my breething has become a problem over the last month. Asthma has for some reason kicked in so it's put a bit of a dampener on my training.
I do however like the idea of doing a little running to help increase the riding ability. I think I'll give it a go.
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I only manage 2 to 3 rides a week. 27ks on our Wed night ride, 30 to 40 on Sat ride and if possible I'll do a 20 to 30k ride on Sunday. I've found my breething has become a problem over the last month. Asthma has for some reason kicked in so it's put a bit of a dampener on my training.
I do however like the idea of doing a little running to help increase the riding ability. I think I'll give it a go.
Sent from my GT-N7105 using Tapatalk