By Arnie Baker, M.D.
The only way to get finished is to get started.
As an introduction to training on your bike, the following is a list of general hints to keep in mind during the course of your training regimen, whether you are a beginning or seasoned cyclist, or are training indoors or out. Come back to this list for a quick reference occasionally as a way of initiating a review of your overall program. The tips will help keep you on the right track.
- Get a plan, set goals, and figure out what you need to get there.
- Keep a training log, either paper or electronic.
- Use your bike computer to track feet climbed.
- Periodize your week, training differently during different sessions.
- Learn to work harder on hard days, easier on recovery days. Plan for recovery.
- Work on different aspects of fitness in different workouts.
- Climb, climb, and climb. Learn to love climbing.
- Work on aerobics, endurance, and strength.
- Work on strength with heavy gears and one-legged riding.
- Pull and push with the same-side hand and leg when climbing.
- Establish a breathing rhythm when working hard, especially when climbing.
- Ride with riders both stronger and weaker than you are.
- Play intensity games with friends.
- Improve your riding technique and skills though practice and from coaches.
- Ride with relaxed, bent arms and with your knees in.
- Train in different riding positions.
- Use a heart rate monitor.
- Wear a helmet and gloves. Keep your equipment safe and in good working order.
- Check your position on the bicycle, especially your seat height.
- Rely on food, not pills or supplements, for your nutrition.
- Maintain hydration; drink before you are thirsty.
- Keep carbohydrate solution in your water bottle.
- Optimize your weight.
- Redirect the stresses of your life.
- Have patience in your program.
- Do not try new equipment or foods for the first time on event day.
- When your group is warming up, or cooling down, ride in a smaller gear than just about everyone else to learn to spin better.
- Learn to work hard on a stationary bicycle trainer. Zwift and other smart trainer apps can really help.
- Practice skills such as pacelines, regularly.
- Watch good riders and how they flow without doing any more work than necessary. Try to learn from them.
Curious as to why ride with your knees in?
Mostly just aerodynamics and looks. A few years ago there was an article on on this site telling how most riders whose knees jut out when pedaling is because your BB/cranks are too narrow. I see lots of people, mostly males that pedal knees-out and do just fine. It looks odd but they don’t seem to be in any discomfort.
My mantra is do what works for you, everyones body is different and what works for the person next to you may not work for you. This is why I recommend taking a “professional fit” (most shops are barely properly trained) with a grain of salt. I had fit and it sucked. Shop kept putting me more and more upright and lowering my saddle height and this just did not work. But after decades of cycling and “listening” to my body I’ve learned what works best for me, aggressive geometry is very comfortable for me. I tried an S-Works Roubaix, the fit mentioned above, and it was too relaxed for me. I ride back to back centuries on my SuperSix and am very comfortable.
https://www.roadbikerider.com/do-you-really-need-shoe-wedges-or-is-your-q-factor-too-narrow/
https://www.roadbikerider.com/knee-pain-knee-alignment-and-pedal-stance-width/
For most riders aerodynamics is not an issue, except when going down hill since significant gains don’t happen until you are averaging in the high 20 mph. Knee position is mostly valuable for biomechanics. Keeping your knee (and hips via bike fit) is more efficient – produces more power/force than with your knees pointing out. Of course comfort is also a factor in body position.