Originally Posted by pacesetter
Was most likely because you started training , lifting weights does not make a cyclist faster.
you say years of "only riding" so you did not have a cycling training plan?
I did have a training plan AND a COACH! I'd ride fixed gear in the off season, build a base early season and gradually add intensity and volume. By my first race I'd have an excellent base, had event specific training and was building toward my goal events (usually the state championships). Wouldn't you call that a "cycling training plan?" I have YEARS of training logs without lifting an ounce.
By the time I began lifting weights my cylcing performance was declining and I just figured I had passed my peak and was over the hill (mid 30's). I introduced weightlifting to my above training regime and I began to see improved results the first season. In my last year racing (39 years old) I set personal bests in my Flying 200, Kilo, Pursuit & 40 kilometer time trials. I also set a new personal best max speed in a sprint (on the velodrome) that year.
I know that cyclists resist weights as body builders resist cardio because I *was* one of them. Once I let go of my bias I discovered the benefits of strength training (lifting weights). The results were obvious to me. I say again, I only wish I had known the benefits when I was in my twenties...
I was just like you pacesetter, a skeptic and a disbeliever. I was even critical of teamates that lifted weights. Now I realize how foolish and ingnorant I was. Lance lifts, Tyler lifts... The myth will eventually die as it seems to have in other sports (like baseball) because of fear of being "muscle bound." It may not work for you, but it did for me.
Mo