Training & Nutrition - Training ideas/workouts for the newbie??

Okay.......I'm in the military (Coast Guard) and I love cycling. My issue is how to train in a regular gym when I have no access to my bike. What are some good "cycling" workouts to keep myself in good riding shape when I'm gone for days at a time. Do I need to concentrate more on endurance ( treadmills, stairclimbers, etc..) or do I need to do more leg specific routines ( leg press machines, squats, etc..) to keep'em strong, the last thing I want is to become like some of my peers that can bench 400 lbs. My goal is to become more efficient with speed and stamina for my first ever race next year (basically just to keep up). I do what I think I need to do but it is without direction so I feel I am setting myself up for failure. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated....Thank you.

I would think a stairclimber will closely work the same groups if a stationary bike is not available.

So where is Coffee Brown when you need her? :)

I'd guess that her suggestion would be to learn about heart rate monitors as an effective training tool. I'm reading up on them now (I'm also new to this), and this will definitely be an element of my program, at least in terms of the endurance/fitness element.

If your gym has a stationary cycle or spinning machines, then I'd think about working on your stroke so that you are efficiently working throughout the cycle, and not just mashing on the "down stroke". Sounds simple, but it's really fundamental. You can never be too smooth.

I'd also be interested in what power exercises would be effective in the gym, but I also suspect that there's less agreement on this. Being a geezer (I'm 53), one thing I always fit in is leg extension work to build the quads - mostly because this helps take strain off your knees.