Road Cycling - What do you do for training?

Hey, I am a junior rider who has completed a stage race and looking to complete a century very soon. I ride 250 plus miles a week and average at least 18 miles per hour over the whole week. I don't mean to brag I just wonder if this is considered good training. Out of the week three of the days are maxium effort and the rides vary in length, the longest 3-4 hours the shortest 1 and a half- 2. I love to ride that much and plus my team makes it fun but I wonder what other people do to train for competetive riding. Anybody?

Give the couch an azz masage while sucking beer and pizza.

Originally posted by pokey
Give the couch an azz masage while sucking beer and pizza.

Pokey, since that's your advice, I'll assume that you've had experience doing that and have had good results too? no?

For me, riding for fun and training rides are the same thing; I'm always trying to improve but don't usually have a specific event coming up. I alternate rides to shift concentration from hill training to increasing average speed over distance. I'm preparing for a race in September right now so I'm a little more structured with that in mind. The book "The Complete Book of Long-Distance Cycling" has goal specific training programs in it that I find useful as a framework for myself. The focus of it is that it's not just the miles you put in but the specific work that is accomplished during those miles that propels you toward a specific goal.

i totally agree with you! thanks for the feedback....by the way not old enough to drink and would rather be riding...

I try to ride about 800 miles a month. I am content with 600. Besides picking up the cadence once I awhile, I like to hit the hills and do some serious climbing. New Hampshire- you have an opportunity to do some great climbs, I think..
The reason I like hills, I ride to tour.. Touring to me means long serious rides. Some year would like to cross the United States. I have toured three times- September will make my fourth. Longest tour so far was over 600 miles in 9 days.. In 5 nights out this September I will do 450 miles crossing Nevada.
I think hills gives you the endurance for long tours..

Originally posted by cyclezealot
In 5 nights out this September I will do 450 miles crossing Nevada.

!!!! what's your route going to be? I'd love to spin with ya for a while if you come though vegas :D

Vegas Cyclist. Be great to spin with you. Our tour is not going through the South end of Nevada. We are doing the OATBRAN tour. You can find it on the web under "Bike the West." The tour crosses from Lake Tahoe to Utah, near Great Basin National Park and on into Utah.. A supported tour.
Across U.S. 50 , often called the "Loneliest Road in America." That is why I choose it. Maybe little traffic. Vegas cyclist, Ever get up to Reno area. Hope late September will be prime time for the high desert as the sponsor assures us. They feed us 17 meals, put us up in hotels/ camp, carry our gear, and provide sag support all across Nevada, guve ys a t shirt and jersey, carry us and our bikes back to Lake Tahoe..
Route includes the cities of Carson City, Fallon, Austin, Eurkea, Ely, and Baker( Great Basin National Park.)
I am really looking forward to it. Cities in route sound interesting. Old mining towns from 19th century. Plus few people and little cars. The route was featured in Adventure Cyclings magazine last fall. Have seven major climbs. Heah, everyone is invited.

hey c-zealot - can you give me the link to that ride?! i've got a free ticket on america west from getting bumped from a vegas-->chicago flight and some vacation time......are the stars aligned correctly?!

When I was in college, I used to train by going out and trying to gain a lap on the various city busses as they drove their routes. D Route was a killer... darn those Pullman hills! :mad:

Other than that, I've often gotten great workouts from riding in city traffic. You know the old saying... "train with people who are faster than you are..." ;)

Riding with mountain-bike groups is on my menu also. I think it helps with strength, particularly if you avoid using the granny gear when everyone else does.

http://www.bikethewest.com/OATBRAN.html

Hello RiPhRaph... Great news. I think this tour will be awesome. Think three from my cycling group are going.. You check on the intinery, I think it sounds fascinating. Few more had wanted to go, but they raised their prices, because they had to put us into an extra night's hotel. I think It still sounds fascinating.. And they say the jersey's are very colorful. That is a selling point.! Hope to see you there.!