Do you really need them at all? I can't tell if your harangue is
facetious or an indictment of the antiquated training theory. I want
to race bikes in the spring and I wonder how much I lose by skiing all
winter. Last year it took me about 2-3 weeks to get the hang of
riding and then I was OK going for 6 hours, but 6hrs of what? Mindless
base miles? It's like only doing OD skis and expecting to do well in
a sprint race, right?

Kid from St. Olaf.

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Matt-

I did mean the post to be mostly facetious, but if the shoe seems to fit...

At the collegiate level, I don't think that you'll lose anything by skiing in the winter. I think the aerobic gains to be made are huge and that those gains can be transferred to cycling come spring time.

I always had my first real ride be a race weekend. I do not recommend this route-- by the third race of the weekend I was pretty sure that I would have to spend the entire race standing. If you can get in a couple of ODs, a couple of hill climbing sessions and a couple of paceline-type intervals before the cycling race season starts you should have developed enough cycling specific strength to carry your bomber aerobic base over from skiing and still have the potential to improve as the season goes on and more of your strength becomes cycling specific. The upper body muscle might weigh you down a little but it's helpful once you learn to climb with your arms. It's even better for attracting the ladies, hey, with a skier's core and shoulder musculature instead of a cyclist's you might even be able to attract some of those Carleton chics.

I'm no Tudor Bompa but I say use the easy distance training for recovery from and absorption of your harder workouts. My favorite type of cycling intervals are intervals at the end of a long ride, when you're already really tired. It's good motivation make sure you refuel during the ride and good practice for the finishing sprint because I can't remember ever feeling fresh for a finishing sprint.

LAV

Labels: Ask LAV