Question: Is a power meter worth owning? I have been seriously training for the last couple years using heart rate and cadence. I want to make the best use of my time and effort and improve my fitness for racing. — Mike D. Coach Fred Matheny Replies: I like a power meter (watts meter) for serious training…
Question: I have been riding for 2 years and my goal is to finish the 109-mile El Tour de Tucson in less than 5 hours this November. My coach has been prodding me to begin training with power, so I purchased a PowerTap recently. However, the software seems to be lacking. What software you would recommend for power…
Question: I read one of your recent training articles on power testing, and now I want to test myself. I have a power meter but not much time. Are there any “quick and dirty” testing protocols that I can use every couple of weeks? Coach Fred Matheny Replies: If you have a power meter, testing is…
Question: I’ve read numerous articles about the importance of warming up. But often, after I warm up for our monthly club time trial, the start is delayed 15 minutes or more. How soon after warming up should I begin the race to achieve maximum benefit from the warm-up? Clearly, warming up creates a “window” of…
Question: In Supercharge Your Training, you talk about intervals where you go hard for 10 seconds and easy for 20 seconds, repeating the pattern many times. My question concerns effort and gearing. Do you recommend shifting to a bigger gear for the 10 hard seconds, then back down for the easy 20? Or should I simply use…
