BikeMax

And another one.. (sorry it's back to front) Entire workout (193 watts): Duration: 6:05:35 Work: 4221 kJ TSS: 371.8 (intensity factor 0.782) Norm Power: 219 VI: 1.14 Distance: 201.83 km Min Max Avg Power: 0 659 193 watts Heart rate: 53 244 122 bpm Cadence: 29 141 87 rpm Speed: 3.6 80.5 33.2 kph Pace 0:45 16:40 1:48 min/km Hub Torque: 0 36.6 8.5 lb-in Crank Torque: 0 100.6 21.5 N-m Sixth Hour: Duration: 1:00:11 Work: 590 kJ TSS: 54.8 (intensity factor 0.74) Norm Power: 207 VI: 1.27 Distance: 41.542 km Min Max Avg Power: 0 597 163 watts Heart rate: 77 155 117 bpm Cadence: 29 141 88 rpm Speed: 3.8 80.5 41.5 kph Pace 0:45 15:47 1:27 min/km Hub Torque: 0 26.4 5.9 lb-in Crank Torque: 0 63.6 17.8 N-m Fifth Hour: Duration: 1:00:02 Work: 706 kJ TSS: 57.7 (intensity factor 0.759) Norm Power: 213 VI: 1.09 Distance: 27.889 km Min Max Avg Power: 0 486 196 watts Heart rate: 70 179 116 bpm Cadence: 35 141 83 rpm Speed: 9.6 66.7 27.9 kph Pace 0:54 6:15 2:09 min/km Hub Torque: 0 35.5 10.8 lb-in Crank Torque: 0 100.6 23.3 N-m Fourth Hour: Duration: 1:00:01 Work: 731 kJ TSS: 62.7 (intensity factor 0.792) Norm Power: 222 VI: 1.09 Distance: 29.342 km Min Max Avg Power: 0 498 203 watts Heart rate: 70 192 119 bpm Cadence: 33 141 86 rpm Speed: 11.5 66.7 29.4 kph Pace 0:54 5:13 2:03 min/km Hub Torque: 0 34.6 9.7 lb-in Crank Torque: 0 73.4 23.0 N-m Third Hour: Duration: 1:00:01 Work: 725 kJ TSS: 66.8 (intensity factor 0.818) Norm Power: 229 VI: 1.14 Distance: 30.144 km Min Max Avg Power: 0 659 202 watts Heart rate: 53 244 121 bpm Cadence: 35 141 86 rpm Speed: 3.9 64.4 30.2 kph Pace 0:56 15:23 1:59 min/km Hub Torque: 0 31.1 10.1 lb-in Crank Torque: 0 74.3 22.6 N-m Second Hour: Duration: 1:00:01 Work: 721 kJ TSS: 65.3 (intensity factor 0.809) Norm Power: 226 VI: 1.13 Distance: 32.733 km Min Max Avg Power: 0 612 201 watts Heart rate: 93 204 161 bpm Cadence: 34 141 89 rpm Speed: 3.8 56 32.8 kph Pace 1:04 15:47 1:50 min/km Hub Torque: 0 36.6 8.4 lb-in Crank Torque: 0 82.3 22.0 N-m First Hour: Duration: 1:00:01 Work: 742 kJ TSS: 61.1 (intensity factor 0.782) Norm Power: 219 VI: 1.06 Distance: 39.239 km Min Max Avg Power: 0 601 206 watts Heart rate: n/a n/a n/a bpm Cadence: 32 141 91 rpm Speed: 7.4 54.6 39.3 kph Pace 1:06 8:06 1:32 min/km Hub Torque: 0 30.2 6.5 lb-in Crank Torque: 0 82.8 21.8 N-m

As long as you get the intensity right - MTB is fine.

This chart shows fitness building (dark blue) over time as a result of training load (grey line) and then freshness (or not) as a result of resting (blue bars) So you can see for example that there is a big dip in freshness as a result of a very large training load and then there is the associated increase in fitness showed as a sharpish increase in the dark blue line. You can see the fitness decaying a little at the present time as the rider rests a little this week for DC. The top lines are peak powers at various durations.

A "middle finger salute" as you put it is never a good option, and is unlikely ever to result in anything other than the cyclist feeling better about having let the motorist know how he feels. How can you really feel that an aggressive and inflamatory gesture is likely to lead to an improvement in motorists behaviour towards cyclists in the future, or to improve the safety of cyclists on the road ????

No - you are correct. All ading an easier gear will do is allow you to ride a higher cadence for the same power output and speed. In a race this may be an advantage if, for example, somebody attacks on a climb and due to the fact that you are at a higher cadence, it is a little easier to respond quickly. On top of that I find that I just do not like grinding up Red Hill at 60 rpm when I could be at 75rpm. Getting dropped on a hill is a fitness issue - gearing will not change this (will you tell him or will I ?)

Leg strength has no bearing on what gear you can push - the limiter is your CV fitness. In a 39 x 23 combo you may find that in order to climb a hill at or just below threshold, you are limited to a cadence of 60-65 rpm whereas if you put on a 39 x 25 combo then you may be able to ride the same power at a more comfortable cadence of nearer 75-80 (estimates only) Most of the climbs in CT (not that steep) require me to be in a 34x23 or thereabouts in order to stay under my threshold power (280-300w) and keep cadence over 75rpm I think that the guys will often race with a harder gear due to the fact that the extra motivation and adrenalin will see people push a little harder than when training - we alsmost always see peak power outputs achieved in racing as opposed to training.

Do you mean Shane (Jansen Van Vuuren) or Shan (Wilson) - both Bowmans ?

Yes - the optimum duration for training to raise threshhold power is 20 mins and over - so the 2 x 20 with say 10 min rest is a manageable but effective session.

Now is the perfect time to increase fitness without having to be freah or rested for racing. Plenty of "Sweet spot training" - all good quality at moderate to hard tempo and above. It is a good opportunity to work on threshold power - try the classic 2 x 20 hill intervals at threshold power.

Yes - be careful if you are looking for an accurate power meter. Issues withe the i bike include; 1. needs regular calibration due to the fact that the frontal drag affects the reading - if you change position on the biek the power will vary (from hoods to drops for example) 2. Misreads in bunches due to the effect the draft has on the wind speed accelerometer 3. Does not like rougher surfaces and drops power - resulting in skewed averages 4. There have been lots of reports of the unit moving while riding - leading to power misreading They are apparently addressing these issues slowly but the method for calcualting power (not reading directly) is flawed. In general, it is a compromised device and a PT std comes in at not much more money for a reliable and accurate device with great back up I am in the business, and and am a big Power Tap fan and hence have looked these units carefully.

Tough call - without some sort of direc measurment you are just guessing. I have had some of my best sessions when feeling sluggish and some por ones when feeling fresh. Maybe you need some sort of check and balance to see how you are actually performing (distance marker on a climb or some such) Many times when you feel poor or tired, the best bet is to go home and rest and try the next day but there are certainly times when to do this means missing a very good session.

There are a good few who can - for example Robby was 2nd at Red Hill last year behind only Darren Lill. That is one.....you got about 3 to 4 oaks left. Dave Garrett (was SV until last season) Mike Jones Neil Bradford Mark Moir Robby Branko Guy Le Ray Cook I could go on - there are plenty of 30+ riders able to ride with Elites and be competitive. Many athletes are in their prime at 30/31/32

No

There are a good few who can - for example Robby was 2nd at Red Hill last year behind only Darren Lill.

Marius - stop talking crap (if you took a few less recovery rides and trained harder...) AL, it is unlikely that your legs would be feeling like this from the training load you describe. Are you generally feeling tired and demotivated etc or is it just your legs ? Sounds likely to be some other problem than the training load - diet, stress, sleep, illness , allergy ??

100% agree - which bringsus full circle back to the cat system in the UK etc - ability and not age.

To improve your race times in the most efficient way you are better off riding your bike. Cross training is always going to be a compromise of sorts.