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My message for the day: if ever you find your saddle pointing slightly off to one side, don't assume that the seatpost is loose and has rotated slightly in the seat tube. It may in fact be about to do something quite a bit more dramatic.

Yes, it was sudden. I had just put my tyre sock on the bike, so I had looked at the offending part. I saw no cracks. I rode just 2kms and went around a big downward curve at 53kmh. After the curve I noticed the saddle was very slightly skewiff. I checked it 3 or 4 times 'on the move' before slowing to round another, sharper curve at about 25kmh. As I rounded it I stood and then accelerated to exit. I was in a mood to keep up the pace today. However when I went to sit on the saddle it simply collapsed. And yes, I managed to fall off and yes, it hurt.

For the record it was a 16 year old 3TTT 25mm post on a Look KG76. I should have kept a closer eye on it, and cleaned it more often, looking for cracks. I knew that aluminium does let go suddenly, and now I can attest that when it splits it does it in a blink, like a knife through butter. High fatigue items with no redundancy (ie single point of failure with no other support) should be on your list of must-checks.

There are more images here, for the curious.

Labels: what breaks

It looks simple and it is - and it isn't.

Most of us learn to ride a bike as kids - without toe straps or clipless pedals. (I'm an exception - I didn't regularly ride until I was about 16 years old, with toe clips and straps very soon thereafter.) Years of riding without a mechanically-enforced connection with the drivetrain teaches your legs to push down (and probably to 'grip' the pedal a bit by wrapping your foot slightly around it) but not to pull up. There's no solid connection, so you naturally don't even try to pull up. But as soon as you do get clips and straps or clipless pedals suddenly a whole new world of pedalling efficiency opens up. The big problem is re-learning how to pedal.

Essentially, you should pedal by pushing down hard from as early in the 'power stroke' as you can, then by pulling across the bottom of the stroke (as if wiping mud off your shoe) before smoothly switching to a 'pulling up' phase which ends just before top dead centre (TDC). And so on. Smoothly, all the way around.

In fact your pedalling is likely to be anything but smooth. Indeed many of the top racing cyclists get along quite well by mashing the pedal, so don't feel too bad. Still, theoretically there's power to be gained by getting it right - and biomechanically it's probably a lot easier if you do it smoothly and evenly.

Think about it. Smooth, even power throughout the pedalling action (barring TDC). Thought number 2: do it evenly with both legs. Thought number 3: don't grind away in a huge gear (likely to injure and almost certainly not efficient - and definately not the gear for quick, responsive acceleration in a bike race!). Instead spin with suppleness that lets you accelerate easily without losing control by spinning madly out of control.

This is a good article (from Pez) on the relationship between spinning and pushing a bigger gear, more slowly. The arguments are a bit technical - but if I could summarise the whole debate, you may get slightly better energy efficiency from very low revs (say 60 rpm) but potentially it fatigues your muscles more quickly (like pumping iron, it just wears you down). But spinning too fast (say 110+ rpm) will sap your energy, even if it may preserve your muscles from early fatigue in the process. My advice - aim to vary your cadence to suit what you are doing, whilst favouring spin over slog. So aim for 80-100rpm most of the time. As you get fitter and gain more suppleness and control in your pedalling you'll find the 'sweet spot' for yourself.

Rule of thumb: if you can't accelerate then you are probably in the wrong gear and need to go up or down.

Labels: Pedalling

Think of this blog as my attempt to inspire you to race. I am looking at the non-racer, the recreational rider who is quite fit and interested in the sport of cycling but for whom racing is 'something I can do later' or 'something that's just a bit out of my league'.

Firstly, never put off to tomorrow what you can do today. I first 'enquired' about bike racing when I was 16 and riding perhaps 100km a week, including 60-80km 'fun rides' on the weekend. Having not been involved in competitive sport in any organised way before - I was a total bookworm -I lacked the confidence to give it a go, so I put it off - for about 8 years, in fact!

Secondly, you never know until you give it a go. In my case I only gave it a go after much encouragement by other riders. Luckily I lived fairly close (10km away) from Sydney's premier cycling resource - Centennial Park. So for about 8 years I frequently rode to and around the Park. Just by riding around with other riders I got fitter and faster. I found that I could chase and catch other riders and that I had an undisovered urge to improve and even to race. I still didn't think I could do it, but the thought entered my head that I had a chance. Eventually I found another rider at the same level and we (at the urging of another rider - as it turned out the president of one of Sydney's bike clubs, Randwick-Botany) made a commitment to try a race together at Heffron Park. We were placed in D grade. He won and I came 2nd. Now for him that 'proved' enough and he didn't race again. But for me I was hooked. I came back and won D grade the following week and went from there.

That was more than 20 years ago and I'm still racing. You'll never know unless you give it a go - and there's a grade for everyone. Just get some miles in your legs firstly - say 80-100km a week - and find somewhere where you can ride with a few others. It will improve your fitness and your bunch riding skills. You'll need a bit of both, even in the lowest grade.

Last time I set the scene.

In brief, I outlined my personal approach. Go riding, enjoy it and find some buddies to encourage you. Then leverage that fitness and skill to start racing. Of course there's lots more to it than that.

For instance, what are your goals? Ask yourself why am I doing this? Is it that you want to stay fit and healthy in the long term, and to get out there riding regularly you need extra motivation? Or is it to simply try out racing, just because you'd like to? Try to understand why you want to do it and feed off that motivation. Remind yourself why on those hard days when you question the whole idea. And review your goals regularly. You may want to find out how good you could be, given whatever constraints you may have. (I always had to work (or thought I did), for example, so doing more miles was always a balancing act.)

Goal setting helps you achieve something definite. Just ambling along seeing what happens may lead you somewhere interesting but it probably won't be exactly what you wanted to do, or be the best that you want to be. It may be great and exactly what you wanted. Or it may be so disappointing that you drift off and do something else.

By aiming at achievable goals you do a few things. You are taking aim, and aiming at something improves your chances of hitting it. You are also building a set of stairs, small steps that will make it easier to climb to a higher place. If you aim at the top rung straightaway you may actually get there - we all have our 'top rung' dreams - but by setting out intermediate goals you will get there more reliably.

Let's make a list.

1. Your first goal may be to start your first race.
2. The next to finish the race.
3. The next to finish with the lead pack.
4. The next to place.
5. The next to win.
   

You may find that you achieve several of these quite quickly, and that's very important. It's reinforcing to actually achieve your goals, it helps you to stay motivated and to want to do it again. Feed off that feeling by keeping achievable goals!

The beauty of bike racing is that these steps fit perfectly with the system. Whether you call them grades or categories, there are always rungs of the ladder. Plenty of people find their niche on one rung and just enjoy their racing in that grade forever more. They may go higher and then settle back. They may just find a balance that suits them. Some people enjoy the tactics, some like to win. Some like to help others win. It's diverse, what we all enjoy and what keeps us riding. And the racing is varied, too

Road races can be 50km, 100km or 260km, or 2,000km in a 3 week tour for that matter. Criteriums can be 30km or 100km. Track races may be short sprints or endurance pursuits. It doesn't really matter what your personal strengths are because there's a niche for everyone. A big strong male or female rider may power along in a time trial and then get dropped on a climb. A wiry, thin rider may struggle on the flats and in the sprints but cream the big guys on the climbs. And in between there's an infinite range of possibilities. Now that's variety and that's bike racing.

I know we can get fancy about training programs, but my program is clear, simple and unemcumbered with jargon.

• Ride as much as I can to get a decent base (adapting the body to cycling again)
• then build up to race speed with extra 'intensity' rides
• then race some summer crits and track.

What does this involve? I've moved from well under 100km a week over winter to a regular 100+km a week for 3 weeks at about 26kmh, followed by 3 weeks of 130km+ at 28kmh. Now I'll lift to 150 at 30kmh, then 200km/week at 30kmh or higher. Doesn't sound like much - and it isn't - but it's enough to get the heart, lungs and legs back in the swing of things. I've ridden bikes for over 30 years, so I have some adaptations that allow me to get back into it without too much effort, but if you are a newbie to cycling be aware that slow and steady progress is best. I think I saw a 5 week guide to riding the Sydney to Wollongong ride recently, where in those 5 weeks you work up to 2 x 1 and a half hour rides on the bike each week. Now that's certainly enough to get you to Wollongong, but in what state? Euphoria at the achievement coupled with cramping and a general feeling of physical exhaustion, I'd imagine. Far better to at least double that to 10 weeks, more if you can, and work up to steady 2-3 hour rides at around 26-28kmh. It'll still be a stretch - on that course 90km feels like 120 - but you'll do it far more comfortably.

My rule of thumb - do 3 times race (or ride) distance per week for at least a month to adapt to the effort required. Let's call Sydney to Wollongong 100km as it's mostly uphill, except that last sweet bit. So you should be doing 300km/week in order to have adapted sufficiently. Less than that will see you suffer - which is fine, we can all achieve 'stretch goals' at times - but you will have pushed a bit too far and will risk injury or crashing through inattention. Underprepared, you will also be 'crawling' those last kays when you should be enjoying them!

Labels: training

Bike racing is so confusing. BMX? MTB? Road? TT? Track? And what about the bike itself? Do I have to buy a bike for each discipline?

Well everyone is different, and yes there is more than one style of bike - let alone rider. We can exclude what I don't know - ie BMX and Mountain Bikes - and concentrate on road, crit and track bikes for now.

Firstly, don't worry too much about buying lots of bikes, or even the best bike. Try to grow with the sport, try a few things and get a feel for it before committing too much dosh. Road is the easiest way in and your average road bike will suit many criterium circuits too. So a good quality road bike is your best bet. Remember this rule of thumb: you will get 90% of the lightest, coolest and fastest bike gear for 50% of the price. My point? To get that last 10% will cost you heaps. It's what an economist will call the law of diminishing returns. To an elite althlete it matters, but they will have sponsors, too. But if you really just want 'the ultimate' then sure, go for it. But remember that a $2500 bike will do almost everything just as well as that smick and snazzy $5,000 job. It's your cash, you decide.

As you work your way up the grades you will also realise that a few key bike modifications will may your racing faster, more enjoyable and maybe even safer. Start with the lightest frame you can afford. Then swap components as you grow with your sport. In this way your $2,500 bike can be upgraded easily to match - perhaps even better - that more expensive purchase.

You can swap out just about anything - drivetrain, saddle, bars - and as everything wears out in time anyway, why not upgrade? But your biggest 'bang for the buck' will come from a wheel upgrade. It's the first change I'd recommend. Lighter wheels will often roll better, will have better hubs as well and will accelerate more easily - especially uphill. Beware of deep rims, though, as these often will be uncomfortable in crosswinds an on bumpy surfaces. Of course if you find yourself enjoying time trials - TTs - then the deeper aero rim will help you, so it's a worthwhile investment.

These tips pretty much work for road or track by the way. In either discipline spare wheels are always handy. Train on the old heavy wheels, race on the lighter, smicker ones.

OK, so that's it for now. Always keep things in perspective. It's nice to have a 'Sunday' bike, but a 'training' bike will come in handy, too. When you take your first - sadly inevitable - spill on that 'Sunday' bike you may suddenly wonder why you invested so much money on nice paintwork or fancy components. Perhaps a good, serviceable but still fast bike isn't such a bad choice after all. They all need to be pedalled in any case!

More soon, but if you want to read on now I have also written much more on this subject in my guide to bike racing.

Labels: Upgrading

OK, so you made it to the start line with your bike, your licence and your race number. What happens next to our newbie crit racer?

1. OK, they call your grade. Nervously you line up with a bunch of older experienced riders, some young enthusiastic guys, some kids and a few women who look like they've raced before. They may call your name off the startlist now. You check your tyres again and try to keep your heart from racing. Before you know it...
   
2. Get ready, go! This is when getting your foot into the cleats fast first time matters. Something to practice. Just don't panic if someone makes a jackrabbit start - get your foot in and get going
3. OK, you are underway. Get on a wheel, any wheel, and try to pick who looks safe to sit on (or 'draft'). The regular racers will have good bike skills. Don't get in their way but do watch and learn from them. The older guys are probably crafty, sit really close but safely, dodge potholes, rarely do a turn and never attack until the finish line beckons...
   
4. You settle in. They are doing turns up front. The first 6 riders are swapping off, seamlessly, so as one peels off (to the left, taking shelter from the wind coming from the right) another cruises up with little effort. This seems to go on for a while and you sit happily up the back just getting used to the corners and cornering with 20 other riders around you
5. Try not to brake for corners. The guy on your wheel sounded annoyed when you hit the anchors 'for no *?*$*&*? reason!'. Momentum is important, so let's not lose it by braking when it's not strictly necessary. It just takes some practice to corner so faaast!
6. OK, another lesson, don't cross wheels. That guy in front just moved across like that and almost took my front wheel out. Leave a gap, and sit to one side or the other of the rider in front
7. I feel guilty sitting here at the back, so I move forward. I ease into the group of 6 doing the turns and someone leaves a gap, allowing me in... I take the hint and get on a wheel
   
8. I now follow the riders as they move forward until only one rider is ahead of me and another is on my left. As the rider in front finishes his turn (it was short, they barely got to the front and they were done!) I feel an urge to surge forward but the guy behind me calls out "steady!" so I ease off. It's harder work out here in the wind and before I know it the guy behind calls again, irritably, "go left!". So I do
9. As I go left (remembering the wind is coming from the right, btw) the rider on my wheel accelerates gently to take my place and I take the hint to ease off a bit. Before I know it he's coming off the front too and I'm heading backwards!
10. I try to keep track of where I am and as I get back level with the guy I followed last time I look to see if there's a gap. Magically, there is! I just move across into the gap and get onto that wheel again. So I've done a turn. Apart from a brief period in the wind I was actually on a wheel (or in the draft) pretty much all the time. I do a few more turns for practice and then drop back a bit to recover. That brief period up front is harder than it seemed to be at first, when you've done it a few times in a row
    
11. Another lesson. As I go back to the rear of the bunch someone - probably the guy 7th from the front in the Discovery jersey - has attacked hard on the right. He surprised the 6 riders doing turns - I think he attacked just as a small hill started, too, so they were slowing as he was going. He took a flyer up the side. It's shaken the lead riders up and they have reacted individually to the challenge. Gaps are forming between riders.
12. We were going at an easy 33kmh (still faster than I ride on my own, mind) before this happened, and now we are chasing this guy at 40kmh. I'm not sure I'm fit enough for this! I feel as though my heart may burst, my lungs are burning, I'm panting heavily and my legs are on fire!
    
13. Apparently some people feel like me. Some hesitated before chasing ('no, you first. Please, after you...' kind of thing) whilst a couple of others jumped straight up to the breakaway. So now there are 3 of them working together just off the front. 5 riders are chasing them and I'm stuck waaay down the back with the rest. OK, I should have stayed up front.
14. I'm stuck behind a wall of hesitaters and it takes a while to get to the front. I feel strong so I do a long turn and it takes a while before someone else helps out. Gradually we catch the 5 in front of us but the 3 others are now out of sight. We seem to ease off, which is good as I'm waaay over my regular riding speed and heart rate.
15. Our speed settles and we grind away, taking turns again and whittling back the lead. We almost have them when the bell rings... last lap!
16. We don't quite get to them on that last lap. They sprint and take the podium spots and I sprint with the main bunch and end up 7th. Good enough for a first race, anyway. And I have learned a few things about anticipation, teamwork, bike skills and what it takes to race.
    

OK, whilst that's an entirely fictitious account it weaves elements of my real experiences into the story. If you are a newbie to bike racing I hope that it gives you some insight into what it takes to start racing... next up I'll discuss tactics in more detail. I also have also written much more on this subject in my guide to bike racing.

Labels: Race tactics

Wow, your first criterium! It took me a while to build up to it, which was good in a way as I had lots of fitness and bike skills to draw upon in my first race. If you want to do well then preparation is important. You will get back what you put in, obviously, and it's not as simple as it may look.

Before you start racing you need some miles (or kilometres, if you prefer) in your legs. You may also need to check with your doctor first, just to be sure you don't have any physical maladies that heavy exercise may exacerbate. Just riding around is enough, no need to get carried away with 'training zones' yet, but focus on improving endurance, hill climbing or speed with each ride. The more miles you do the fitter you will be, and variety is important. By not shirking obstacles (like hills) you will adapt to the strength required as well as build up your endurance.

My rules of thumb are that you should be comfortable doing 3 times the race distance every week in training for at least a month beforehand; and one of those weekly training rides should exceed the race distance by at least 10%. So for a 30km crit you'd target 90kms a week for a month with one individual ride per week of at least 33km. By 'comfortable' I mean to say that riding that distance gives you no cramping, no persistent pains or other worries. Your bike should be set up so that you are comfortable, have control and look like a racer. OK, don't worry too much about the look.

Write your miles down. Write down how you feel. Log heart rate data, either from a HRM watch or just by using your finger on your wrist or carotid artery. Write a diary, or maybe a blog!

If you break your beginning races up into components you will find a few common elements or features. Let's start by analysing short, fast criteriums (in a low grade to begin with) and work from there.

1. For a criterium you need a road bike. One with curvy 'dropped' handlebars and a pair of brakes will do - yes, you need to use the back brake too!
   
2. You need a bike with 2 lightish but stiff wheels, as flexy wheels in tight corners are not good as they feel soft and squishy
   
3. The bike itself could be around 8 or 9 kg in weight but extra kilos on the bike are not that much of a problem as crits are usually pretty flat. Light wheels will assist your acceleration more than a light bike. In any case you shouldn't stress about the bike. Your fitness will matter more
4. Having said that, the bike should be well maintained and unlikely to break under load!
5. Remove extraneous objects before the race - like streamers, plastic gear guards, bells, toolkits, books, magazines - and keep 'em for later
6. Pump up the tyres. 100psi sounds good but whatever you see written on the tyre will be a good guide. A harder tyre is a faster tyre, within limits (don't over-inflate!)
   
7. Join a bike club and get a racing licence. In Australia it's around $170 a year but varies with each club and your age. You get 3rd party insurance with that and a cool licence to prove you are a racer. Consider health insurance as falling off at speed may be costly
   
8. Crits go round and round so you'll pass the pits several times. If you puncture (or have a 'mechanical') you will be allowed 'a lap out' but unless you are fabulously prepared and have a buddy following you with spare wheels it's unlikely you'll be able to take advantage of that in your early races. You can often leave spares at the start line anyway, just let someone know to watch 'em, in case they 'walk'
9. Assuming you have followed my earlier advice and have trained at least enough to have sufficient endurance for the event in question, arrive at the racing venue with plenty of time in hand (30mins minimum, preferably an hour)
   
10. If you haven't already done so, get your licence from the club secretary. If you haven't paid, pay now
11. If you have your licence, look for the entry desk. It could be under a marquee. It could be in a club house. There may be a queue of fit looking lycra-wearers to guide you. Queue up and pay your entry fee (could be $5-$10, more for open races). You will be graded, probably in a low grade at first. They will give you a race number (cool!) and may hold your licence untill you return said number after the race. Race numbers are often colour coded to show grade
    
12. Put your number on (usually pinned low on your jersey and slightly to the side where the judges sit (it pays to check out local custom here).
    
13. Pay attention to what's happening as races are often organised in unusual orders. Like A grade (fast guys) first, then B grade, then C and D combined, or totally in reverse. Local customs apply - don't miss your start!
    
14. If it's OK to do so, roll around and warm up on the course. Don't start cold in any case!
15. Don't miss the start!

More in the next post on the race itself...

Labels: Criteriums

Well it could be about the bike, if it matters that much to you. Let's face it, it's hard work racing - sometimes it can be just as important (or easier) to you to just cruise, get fit(ter) and not worry about racing. Maybe just dabble but don't commit.

I have some problems with this myself, which I'll share now. Dabbling is great. I dabble in Art. But I'm always wondering 'whatif'. What if I had committed to art? Or music? Or writing? Or cycling, for that matter? Life is about decisions and compromises and living with the results. By total immersion you may well achieve your potential, but it's unlikely that you will achieve anywhere near your potential by dabbling. Of course you can always rationalise these decisions and worry about it all later, but I wanted to make the point - dabbling is not going to help you to achieve at the highest level.

It's a sliding scale, though. Maybe your life allows you to dabble 20% of the time in cycling, and maybe that's enough time to reach 80% of your fitness potential? Just be aware that this trade off is your choice, so don't come to me in 20 years time saying that you could've been a pro if only you'd committed yourself... phew, glad that's out of the way. I never really wanted to be a pro, I just wanted to win club races!

So - given that we are dabbling here, not immersing - we are going to maximise our efforts and results and minimise our time. That's the thrust of my argument. Let's get the best result for our buck. Which brings me to bikes. You don't need the flashest gear to win a race. (It may be motivating to have flash gear, but it won't be a bigger lever than your fitness and skill level.)

My winningest bike was an $800 Shogun in 1984. I had a great run on that bike. The headset kept unwinding, the wheel bearings were rubbish and the crank bolt kept loosening off at the worst times. But some locktite and a bit of nous fixed the reliability and a set of lighter wheels had that bike flying. What was good about it? It was pretty cheap and drew no attention. It worked - the gears changed, the wheels turned, it steered. It was light enough, certainly for criteriums if not the steepest mountain passes. It proved to me that the bike was not the problem, nor was it the solution. My fitness and attitude were both the problem and the solution. I could improve my fitness by riding everywhere as often as possible and my attitude was 'let's give it a go and give it 100%'.

Let's stop here for now. More later.

Track, as in Velodrome. A place for bike racing, but bike racing with no brakes and just one, fixed gear. So what gives with the lines?

Obviously we have black and white start/finish lines. We also have markings (usually red lines, perpendicular to the track) for the common pursuit and time trial distances. Distances are also marked out on the side of the track. The flat, often blue-painted zone right at the bottom of the track is the duckboard. It can be absent, or it can be plain concrete (ie not blue at all). Some people refer to it as "the blue" or the "Cote d'Azure", but it's really not a place to take a holiday. It's not for race riding either, although you may use it to come off the track after a slow down lap and you cross it to get on the track. In time trials and pursuits long sponges (not your conniving relatives, I mean foam rubber sponges) are placed across the duckboard to discourage short cuts. You can often get away with a short cut in a scratch race though when diving underneath a slower rider (but it's not encouraged and if attempted during a sprint will almost certainly incur a disqualification). There can be a nasty edge rather than a smooth transition from duckboard to track, too so keep away - it can get a bit hairy if you get stuck in that transition zone, especially if you are on the duckboard at speed and try to get onto the banking before a turn. It's a good way to fall and bring down the pack.

Labels: track, velodrome

Is more always better than less? Up to a point, sure. Ride LOTS! But yes, there is a limit. It's hard to say what's too much but listen to your body. If you feel bad, especially if you are putting in the miles and not improving, or if your heart rate is staying up when it should go down (at rest, say), take a break, lower the intensity and see if that helps. Another clue is when you can't get the heart rate up - like you used to hit 192bpm but now a maximum effort still feels like a max effort but you only hit 182. It would be nice to correlate that with workload - maybe you aren't actually working as hard as you thought- but if true then you may indeed have overtrained.

But don't kid yourself. If you have built up a base level of miles over a few months - say at least 100-200km a week - and then do some hard interval sessions on top, it is unlikely you have overtrained. Maybe. But not likely. Sudden intensity without base miles may injure you, but not overtrain you. However if you were doing 500-700km a week and laid on more on top of that then yes, overtraining is a possibility. Take a break, just in case. A week of slow riding won't hurt you!

To be a bit more scientific about it - and I'm not a coach, this is just my somewhat informed opinion - optimum training intensity varies by just a few percent between individuals, so there are some rules of thumb we can all follow to keep us improving. Such as:

• It is generally believed for example, and we have ample evidence to justify this belief, that maximum aerobic improvement occurs at around 85% VO2 max, give or take a few percent
• That's about 90% of your max. heart rate. So regular training above this level will increase the potential for injury without a corresponding lift in your cardiovascular adaptation - which is to say you are trying too hard, could become overtrained or injured - so back off a bit
• Now lower levels of exercise - say 55% max HR for 60 minutes or even 65% max HR for 45 minutes - may modestly improve, and at least maintain, your overall conditioning... but...
  
• Whilst that may be enough for you to stay in C grade, what if you want to get better, faster? Long steady distance training, say 50 to 70% of max HR for hours on end, will do little more than maintain status quo. Yes, it could burn off fat - a good thing. Yes, it will build endurance...
• But if you are looking to increase your top end (maybe to avoid being dropped in your frenzied local crit, or to attack and break away, win and go up a grade) you need to hit the high notes. That's the 85-90% max HR mark.
• It's finding a balance between too much high-intensity training and not enough that's hard. And why you pay big bucks to the experienced coaches to get that sort of result.
  

Of course we don't want to spend big bucks, so it's down to YOU. Hopefully in the above are some clues to improving your condition without injury.

Labels: training

It's good to just amble along, ride when you feel like it and maybe race occasionally. But guess what? If you get away with it you are very lucky. Just "ambling along" will not boost your fitness, and riding when you feel like it will not build endurance or power. You have to have a dig - test yourself against your maximums - to make improvements. And you have to do it regularly enough that what you gained one day is still there to build on today. Even if all you want to do is a recreational ride, you are better off getting regular sessions in place than 'starting all over again' every time you ride.

I'm not a coach, a nutritionalist or a physiologist - but I do ride, and I'll tell you what I believe.

• You must ride 3 times a week - minimum - to maintain your condition
• If you want to safely and comfortably race 30km then you must train for 3 times that distance every week for a month (so 90km a week for 4 weeks is the bare minimum for a 30km crit)
• Whatever you do in excess of that rule of thumb will give you the endurance and power to compete more comfortably (to counter attacks, even make attacks) - it's up to you how much more you can do!
  
• Intervals on top of base miles will build speed and power
• Train your weaknesses, not just your strengths
  
• Whatever strength you gain in one session will be 90% gone within a week, so do regular sessions to maintain that power (ie the torque you can apply through those cranks)
  
• Your endurance probably declines more slowly, but after 2 weeks you'll get that "starting all over again" feeling, so avoid long gaps between rides
  
• Regular miles not only help you build endurance but also ward off injury.
  

To get more technical about it, a focused training program can - indeed will, if you stick at it and don't get sick or injured - increase your VO2max by 15 to 30% over a 3-4 month period . If you stick at it consistently for 2 years or more you'll see up to a 50% improvement. Consistency is the key. Think about it - you learned to crawl, then to walk and it took years to really get the hang of it. And once you did learn to walk yyou kept at it, day in, day out. So why would you expect to jump on a bike once in a while and just go fast? In fact you need to train your mind as well as your muscles, and to build firstly the endurance and pedalling skills before getting the most out of your cycling. You do that with a plan - a plan to do ride regularly!

Labels: training

Enhance your cycling - set some achievable goals and go racing!

Think of this blog as my attempt to inspire you to race. I am targeting the non-racer, the recreational rider who is quite fit and interested in the sport of cycling but for whom racing is 'something I can do later' or 'something that's just a bit out of my league'.

Firstly, never put off to tomorrow what you can do today. I first 'enquired' about bike racing when I was 16 and riding perhaps 100km a week, including 60-80km 'fun rides' on the weekend. Having not been involved in competitive sport in any organised way before - I was a total bookworm -I lacked the confidence to give it a go, so I put it off - for about 8 years, in fact! What a waste.

Secondly, you never know until you give it a go. In my case I only gave it a go after much encouragement by other riders. Luckily I lived fairly close (10km away) from the premier cycling resource in Sydney, Australia - Centennial Park. So for about 8 years I frequently rode to and around the Park. Just by riding around with other riders I got fitter and faster. I found that I could chase and catch other riders and that I had an undiscovered urge to improve - and even to race. I still didn't think I could do it, but the thought entered my head that I had a chance. Eventually I found another rider at the same level and we (at the urging of another rider - as it turned out the president of one of Sydney's bike clubs, Randwick-Botany) made a commitment to try a race together at Heffron Park. We were placed in D grade. He won and I came 2nd. Now for him that 'proved' enough and he didn't race again. But for me I was hooked. I came back and won D grade the following week and went from there.

That was more than 20 years ago and I'm still racing. You'll never know unless you give it a go - and there's a grade for everyone. Just get some miles in your legs firstly - say 80-100km a week for a few months - and find somewhere where you can ride with a few others. It will improve your fitness and your bunch riding skills. You'll need a bit of both, even in the lowest grade.

So that's my motivation out of the way - what about yours?

My personal recommendation is to just go riding, enjoy it and find some buddies to encourage you. Then leverage that fitness and skill to start racing. Of course there's lots more to it than that.

For instance, what are your goals? Ask yourself 'why am I doing this?'. Is it that you want to stay fit and healthy in the long term, and to get out there riding regularly you need extra motivation? Or is it to simply try out racing, just because you'd like to? Try to understand why you want to do it and feed off that motivation. Remind yourself why on those hard days when you question the whole idea. And review your goals regularly. You may want to find out how good you could be, given whatever constraints you may have. (I always had to work (or thought I did), for example, so doing more miles on the bike was always a balancing act.)

Goal setting helps you achieve something definite. Just ambling along seeing what happens may lead you somewhere interesting but it probably won't be exactly what you wanted to do, or be the best that you want to be. It may be great and exactly what you wanted. Or it may be so disappointing that you drift off and do something else.

By aiming at achievable goals you do a few things. You are taking aim, and aiming at something improves your chances of hitting it. You are also building a set of stairs, small steps that will make it easier to climb to a higher place. If you aim at the top rung straightaway you may actually get there - we all have our 'top rung' dreams - but by setting out intermediate goals you will get there more reliably.

Let's make a list.

1. Your first goal may be to start your first race.
2. The next to finish the race.
3. The next to finish with the lead pack.
4. The next to place.
5. The next to win.

You may find that you achieve several of these quite quickly, and that's very important. It's reinforcing to actually achieve your goals, it helps you to stay motivated and to want to do it again. Feed off that feeling by keeping achievable goals!

The beauty of bike racing is that these steps fit perfectly with the system. Whether you call them grades or categories, there are always rungs of the ladder. Plenty of people find their niche on one rung and just enjoy their racing in that grade forever more. They may go higher and then settle back. They may just find a balance that suits them. Some people enjoy the tactics, some like to win. Some like to help others win. It's diversity that makes the whole cycle racing scenario work. We all do what we enjoy and that keeps us all riding - and racing.

And the racing is varied, too

Road races can be 50km, 100km or 260km, or 2,000km in a 3 week tour for that matter. Criteriums can be 30km or 100km. Track races may be short 200m sprints or 4km endurance pursuits. It doesn't really matter what your personal strengths are because there's a niche for everyone. A big strong male or female rider may power along in a time trial and then get dropped on a climb. A wiry, thin rider may struggle on the flats and in the sprints but cream the big guys on the climbs. And in between there's an infinite range of possibilities. Now that's variety - and that's bike racing.

Rob's Unsettling Guide to Road, Criterium and Track Racing... Or From E Grade to B Grade in however long it takes. Maybe even A grade...

This page brought to you by GTVeloce.com, theSPIEL.com, KlausenRussell.com and over 30 years of cycling pain and discomfort.

So you have your bike, you are motivated and have done a bit of riding. How can you now make the leap into racing?

Make a plan. Set some achievable goals. Stick with it, work at it. Ride with others, especially racers. Catch that regular bunch that rides from the bike shop to the cafe. As your fitness and bike skills increase you'll gain strength, resilience and confidence. You'll gauge the right moment from how you feel when the cafe bunch climbs a big hill or when the pace picks up from slow to stellar. Are you struggling off the back, comfy or cruising?

It's always best to train for a few months first, lay down the groundwork for a season of racing and then build racing into your intensity training plan. Don't jump in and hope for the best. It won't work, at least not for everybody. But sometimes, perhaps when you are young and fit, or simply haven't had your first over-use injury, it seems just as effective to skip the long steady distance training and use some early season races as "training" intervals. You'll struggle at first but determination and experience (knowing where to hide in a bunch and use your nous rather than your legs) will get you to the end of the race. But beginners don't know where to put themselves out of danger, safely in the bunch. Instead they will either over-reach themselves or get stuck on the wrong end of the elastic band... and get spat out the back. So don't be tempted.

Get your miles (or kilometres) in first. Build slowly but steadily. Now this is easier said than done if you are working 5 days a week, or it's winter and snowing... which brings me to a training alternative that's safe from traffic, can be done in any weather and yet is effective...

Indoor Riding. I do most of my training indoors now, simply through lack of time in my day. My preference is to be out on the road, but there are risks on poorly-lit roads at night and I don't want to die. Not yet, and certainly not in a bike race.

Firstly, you need to get a training benefit for your effort, so plan your indoor work. Balance strength and endurance efforts, set targets and be prepared to sweat. (A heart rate monitor may help keep you on target.)

If you are unfit, go easy. Don't exceed your limits. I have seen, although the reasons weren't apparent at the time, a rider pull out of a race, red-faced and puffing. He had been an excellent racer earlier in his life, but with a growing family he had stopped training, put on some weight and grown unfit. He just raced each weekend. After pulling out of the race he sat down and talked to a friend. He didn't look well, but he looked OK. It's not unusual for a rider to pull out of a criterium.

An old friend sidled up and sat down on the log with him, just to check that all was Well. "Don't tell my wife", he said. "But I think I'm having a heart attack". And his friend didn't tell his wife, either.

And later that day he had another heart attack at home, which his wife did see and off to hospital he went. Luckily he recovered.

What am I saying? Don't ignore heart attacks? Do tell your wife when you have had a heart attack? Don't race unless you have trained? All of the above? Yep.

So, make your initial effort comfortable and build up the miles with low resistance work. Start with just 10 minutes easy work, maybe 3 times a week. Then do the same 5 days a week and add at least one road ride. When you are regularly training for at least 100km a week, or the indoor equivalent, try something like my current routine.

(You can put a cycle computer on your back wheel if you want to accurately measure the distance - but don't fool yourself by setting the resistance too low and having an over-easy 100km ride!)

It can be boring pedaling in the garage. I like to read magazines during endurance efforts and then drop the mag and focus on the strength and sprinting work. Set the resistance of your trainer (no matter what type, unless it's not adjustable!) to a level where you are simulating a reasonable road effort. I find that with my magnetic trainer I need to set the resistance at about 75% of max and then adjust the effort using the bike's gears.

So start slow in a small gear at low resistance, warming up for, say, 10-20 minutes, reading or watching TV or whatever and then assess how you are feeling. If stressed, slow down and cool off. If you are just starting at the business of bike racing then 10-20 minutes is all you need for now anyway. Don't rush it. And see a doctor first if you are overweight or indeed just over 35 or so and haven't been exercising regularly - just in case.

Once you have a few more miles in the legs, pick up the pace a little and raise the gearing. Continue to warm up for another 5 minutes before doing an interval at, say, 60% effort (check your pulse and judge an 60% effort by doing the usual 220 minus your age calculation and mutiplying that by 0.60 - but be alert to how you feel and back off if you feel strained). The interval can be for as long as you like, depending upon fitness, but start with, say, 20 secs and build from there. Don't exceed 60%, ease off if you are going harder and rest in a lower gear for about 2 minutes. Then repeat at 70% or higher, depending upon fitness level. If you do this for the next 10 minutes, before easing off and cooling down over the last 5 minutes, you will have had a reasonable 30 minute ride. Remember, do less than this if you are just starting.

Do this routine 3 days a week, plus a steady-effort distance ride of at least 30km and you'll be ready to start racing after about 2 months of incremental improvement. Don't rush it and face possible disappointment. Your first racing experiences should contain enough positives for you to want to come back and do it all again.

Variations on this same training theme are endless. Try extending the intervals, or increasing the effort to 85%. Add some sprints (really just short, sharp intervals). Lengthen the session and do it more frequently. (Currently I use the above indoor routine 5 days a week, for a minimum of 30 minutes and a maximum of 60. My intervals include 95% efforts.)

Remember to document every ride, indoor or out, so you can plot your progress. Write down distance, intensity, time spent, number of sprints and so on.

Fitness - what is it good for?

Well, if all you want to do is to start in a bike race, fitness is measured as the ability to get you and your bike entered in the race and waiting at the start. Not hard, but that's an art in itself!

Here's a tip! Train in a bunch, if you can. Skills rub off, and you'll be pushed to go a bit harder, a bit further.

But what if you want to actually finish a bike race, say your first race? Then you need to do some research. How long is the race? 30 km? Then I would suggest building up your training (gradually!) so that you are doing at least one unbroken 30km ride, plus several smaller rides totalling an additional 60km, each and every week without undue effort. That's 90km each and every week. (You can take a day off once in a while to freshen up, but to seriously improve your cycling efficiency you need to be riding, not resting. One rule of thumb is that your strength gains from any one ride are 90% lost after just 4 days. So leaving it 5 days between rides is doing little to help your improvement in cycling specificity, even if at least it burns off some calories...)

If you are comfortable with that amount of riding, and it may take 2 or 3 months for you to get to that 'comfy' point, you will have the miles in the legs to see you complete the race. Probably on your own, after being dropped before halfway. But you will finish!

But what if you want to finish with the main field, the 'bunch' or 'peleton'? Do some research. Check the results, see how long it takes for those riders to finish their 30km race. Lower grades riding a 30km flat criterium would normally finish under the hour. Probably averaging 33 to 35km/h. So now I would say to you, keep up your 90km weekly routine but add some speed work. Set some targets - say, to complete your training week with an average of at least 25km/h; or to average 30km/h over a 10km course.

When you have reached your average speed targets, raise the bar a little and push yourself. Don't forget that indoor training is valid, but it is easy to achieve higher averages when you choose lower resistance. So don't cheat yourself.

If you are able to average around 25kmh for the week and have been reaching that 90km weekly total with relative ease, chances are that you will indeed 'survive' and stay with the bunch throughout the race. Several things are in your favour.

• Firstly, determination is paramount. You will not get dropped. You haven't done all this training just to get blown out the back of the race, have you? If you are not committed, you will be thinking how much easier it is just to slow down...
• Secondly, it's easier in a bunch to do some speed work. The lead riders will break the airflow first and you can shelter in their draft. One of the joys of cycling is the fact that the effort whilst drafting is as much as 30% less than riding on your own. So staying with that fast bunch is actually easier than grovelling in their dust...
  

On the other hand, you will earn displeasure from your fellow racers if you just sit in the draft all day. You'll get a reputation as a 'wheelsucker'. Instead, when you feel up to it, move forward with the natural flow of the bunch.

If the wind is from the left you will find riders sheltering slightly to the right of the first rider, the next rider slightly to the right of that rider and so on. If the wind is from the right the riders will shelter to the left. If it's a headwind then just go with whatever everyone else is doing. The key thing is that the bunch is a dynamic situation. The lead rider will back off slightly as the second rider comes alongside, and drop back. The next rider will move forward and the new leader will do a short 'turn' before again dropping back. As the leaders drop back they shelter the previous leader, so you get a circular motion as the participants take turns up front, sheltering each other as they drop back as well as when moving forward. The overall effect is a higher speed for the bunch overall.

Ah, in a perfect world! We'll discuss what goes wrong in the real world in a moment. For you, the beginner, the third most important thing in your favour is that you are a beginner and in all likelihood the bunch will let you wheelsuck, at least for now. And you will probably get lots of advice, some of it shouted at you in haste. Make a mental note to raise such issues as discussion topics after the race.

Here's a tip! Train with riders a little bit better than you, in terms of fitness or skills. Remember, skills rub off, and you'll be pushed to go a bit harder, a bit further by more experienced/fitter riders.

And the fourth thing in your favour is that we all tend to underestimate ourselves, such that at the end of the race you will look back in amazement that you covered such a distance at a speed you had never averaged before. That's racing for you.

So, what if you still get dropped? Analyse why. Was the speed higher than expected? If so, reset your training goals. This may also be the time to ask the clubmembers whether there are group training rides. If so, join in, as they are certain to raise your pace.

Or did the race surge at one point, where the pace lifted markedly? You probably got a surprise. Maybe in your next race you will be on the lookout for such such surges, or 'attacks'. As well, you can train for those higher level efforts by increasing the number and intensity of your intervals. So in your regular training, after warming up, you may try a maximum effort surge of your own, gradually increasing the length of such surges as your fitness improves.

There is a training technique called 'fartlek', don't ask me why, although I think it was an Eastern European running-training concept, and it involves spontaneous high-level efforts at random moments. It can be that you commence an interval every time you see a telephone booth, or a bus stop, or whatever. My personal favorite used to be a sprint at every second power pole. It certainly gets the pulse rate up!

If you implement at least most of these suggestions you will soon find that you are able to comfortably finish your race. You are still in "E" grade, and you still haven't won, but you are knocking on the door.

Racecraft for beginners. Hopefully, with a bit of luck, training and commitment you have made that initial leap and are now racing with some confidence in a lower grade, improving with every race. Whilst no two races are ever the same, there are some common features that you may like to think about. And some tips that you need to know.

Firstly, be it road or track, drafting (a.k.a 'sitting on a wheel' or 'wheelsucking') is the go. The closer you get, the better the advantage, but you have to be aware of the danger. You need to practice at every opportunity and get a feel for what is and isn't a reasonable risk. If you keep to the left or right and slightly behind the back wheel of the rider in front of you, the risk is minimised, for starters.

You also need to judge the wind direction and peel off to the left or right as appropriate. The riders behind you will be sheltering (as you were) in the lee of the prevailing wind. So as you complete your time at the front you maintain that protection by drifting down the unprotected side of the bunch. Don't dive away quickly, just ease off and allow the next rider to come up alongside as you drop back.

In a well-organised group the next rider at the front will do as you did and you can then shelter on their wheel. The bunch takes on a circular flow as riders drift back whilst rested legs move forward, protected from the wind.

Sometimes the bunch chooses to rotate in the wrong direction, particularly so in the lower grades, by mistake, or in criteriums where wind direction on one side of a course is (obviously) going to be the opposite on the other side. Don't panic - just go with the flow. If you get a chance to change the pattern, do so when it causes no breakdown to the flow of the group.

This rotation of the lead rider ensures that legs stay fresh and the overall speed stays high. You will be expected to 'do your turn' (sometimes called 'bit and bit') and will risk displeasure if you refuse. Such refusals are to be expected later in the race, when legs are tired and tactics are sharpening prior to the sprint. If you get a reputation for not doing your share, expect to see elbows come out in the sprint, for wheels to move across your path and for other riders to 'back you off'.

Backing people off.
It's a useful revenge tactic, and it gets rid of undesirables (likely winners are one example). It works like this: you have the wheelsucker (used in the pejorative sense) on your wheel and have drifted to the back of the bunch. Hopefully the bunch is hammering, i.e. going hard, so that the 'elastic band' is stretched. What you do is just let the elastic break, and you and the targeted rider fall off the bunch. If the target is alert they will try to get past you and back to the bunch (dragging you back). You may choose to block them, or just plan your move so that the target is almost alongside and pinned against the edge of the road. They must then either 'go bush' to get around you, or back right off and then pass behind you before chasing back to the bunch.

Now, the backed-off rider won't like your tactics, but as long as you don't do something dangerous, like brake hard for no other apparent reason, then it's both safe and legal. In fact it happens by accident all the time. The rider in front has had enough and calls it quits without warning, leaving whoever is behind them cursing as they attempt to chase back to the peleton. So you could act innocent, if you dare!

(Innocence isn't an option if you back them off, then either block every move they make or, even more transparently, attack and drop them before rejoining the bunch. But if you are that strong a rider you'll probably get away with it anyway!)

Bunch riding has to be predictable for it to be safe, and doing your turn in a safe manner is vital. If you accelerate too fiercely as you take your turn you risk breaking the (virtual) elastic band that binds the following rider to your wheel. Perhaps you are making a break, in which case, fine. Go and ride on your own, see if I care!

However if you want to ride with the bunch, just draw alongside the leader and they will drop back. You do the same when it's your turn to drop back. All of this is relative, of course. If the bunch is hammering, trying to catch a breakaway, then the speed will be higher and you will need to adjust. When you pull off the front you won't ease off as much because you need the momentum.

You also need to be aware of the end of the bunch. Look around, but don't wobble as you do so. Keep smooth. When you reach the last rider they may assist by saying something pertinent, like "last wheel!", but there's no guarantee. Just don't miss that last wheel or you'll have managed to drop yourself.

In fact it may be preferable to slide in after about the sixth rider, rather than go all the way to the back. Often the seventh rider wants you to do exactly that, to slip in front, as they are happy for the rest. Or it could be the tenth or the twentieth rider who wants to let you in; if you keep an eye open for the opportunity, just slide into the gap when it presents and take the wheel. Just don't barge in and expect the seas to part. Sometimes you'll get in just fine, other times it will be a clash of wills, elbows and curses.

If you want to take a decisive part in a race, not just sit in and observe, the first six positions are the prime positions. If you slip too far back you can easily miss the break when it happens. Whilst many attacks will fail, particularly if the bunch is fast and motivated, there's no guarantee. You may have some insurance in the form of teammates, but only at the higher levels of the sport is this sort of teamwork expected. If the bunch hesitates before reacting to an attack you may find yourself on your own, back in the pack, kicking yourself for being too far back when the real attack went.

The elastic band that binds a fast moving bunch together can also snap for no particular reason. Perhaps one rider's inattention, a bad corner, a fall, a crosswind... or a combination of these will split the field. So any excursion you may make to the rear of the bunch is taken knowing the risk of the bunch splitting is very real. Even if the elastic doesn't break, the stretching will wear you out. The pace is more even up at the front, whereas down the back there's a delay before news of the need for speed reaches you; they may be attacking up the front but you are still cruising down the blunt end. So you need to work really hard to match that pace plus a bit more to make up for the delay. And when the pace settles the opposite effect occurs, where the backoffice doesn't slow down in time and the riders in the middle have to compress, or get rear-ended. It's a dangerous time, when the rear catches up to the front.

So it's safer at the front, it's smoother and you can see what's happening, so you are better informed. Better still, if a fall happens, the chances are that it will be behind you.

The rules of bunch riding vary according to the size of the pack. In a peleton of 100 riders you probably won't even see the front, let alone get up there and do a turn, so you just have to face facts and get used to that 'trapped' feeling. If you bump elbows, handlebars or legs. Don't panic. Keep it smooth, stay upright.

On the velodrome the safety-first policies of the bunch are even more important. With no brakes, the elastic band analogy is all too real. You need to exercise judgement when swinging off the front (always by going 'up' the track) and you have to consider the likelihood or otherwise of accelerations very carefully. Sure, you can put backpressure on the pedals and slow a bit, but bike racing is about the conservation of momentum, so let's not slow down unless we really have to! It's a game of second-guessing the next move...

So when do you want to make the next move?

Some riders never make the 'next move'. They may not be fit enough, or they may lack confidence, or perhaps they just want to preserve themselves for later in the race. That's fine, but eventually you have to make a move, even if it's just in the sprint. (Unless you have no ambition at all, other than just finishing.)

The possibilities are endless, but there are some key strategies for attacking during a criterium.

The first lap. Hit them hard, before they have warmed up. Of course, it helps if you have warmed up first! I have found that the older I get, the longer it takes to warm up. I need at least a few kilometres under my belt, and preferably about 10, before attempting an 80% effort. And I have found that warming up in the gear that you will race in gives best results. However you must be careful to start the warmup very gently, to avoid injury. Try starting in the small ring, get some heat into the legs, then get into a race gear and gradually build your pace. At the end of your warmup, do 2 or 3 short intervals at 75% effort, then ease down. You will lose the advantage if you wait too long at the startline, so be very aware of when the race starts and time it well.

This early breakaway will give you confidence. It's unlikely to succeed, unless a small chase bunch comes after you and you jump on and it stays away. However the psychological edge may be all you need to get you thinking positively for the rest of the race. Of course, if the race is short and you are very fit, and if the course itself is twisty or wet and allows you to get out of sight, why not give it 100% and take advantage. It might work.

The first third. Attack after you are thoroughly warmed up and still fresh. It helps if the bunch is languid and easily surprised, but you can also plan your escape for when certain opportunities arise. If you can, get the strongest rider in front of you and the weakest or least experienced behind. Start pushing the pace when doing your previous turn, so that the pace is quite high and the weaker riders are suffering a bit - but no so they are dropped. Let the strong rider do their hard turn and then watch them drop back for a rest, as is to be expected. You will still have that weaker rider on your wheel and when you would be expected to pull off instead you put pedal to the metal and snap the elastic. The weaker rider may not chase you immediately, instead they'll hesitate and give you a gap. You are away. In theory.

Reality will soon strike you, in that there's a long way to go, so you need to be fit, the road wet and/or the course very twisty, or you'll just get mowed down by the bunch. Or, if a few hard riders break clear and join you - hey, you may have a breakaway!

Alternatively, wait for someone else to make this sort of move. Then, using the 'weak rider on my wheel' theory, attack and bridge across, unchased. Wait until the initiator has a good break, so that the sprint across the gap is daunting but just achievable. The gap should be big enough to make others hesitate, yet short enough so that you can get across!

The middle to last third. All of the above will be just as applicable in the middle and the last third of the race, except that some riders will tire more noticeably. This gives you more chances to exploit the weak links and break the bunch up. If the bunch is split and a working group of 5 or 6 riders get together, they may well stay away.

The sprint. If you have made the break and there's a small group, remember to save yourself a bit, whilst being super careful not to miss any last lap attacks. Someone down the back may 'go for the doctor' and you'll have to pin your ears back and hammer to make up the gap.

Corners and hills are prime places to attack at the best of times, but at the end of the race they can make or break you. Some riders don't corner as well as others, and sharp corners can cause the back of the bunch to take avoiding action (even brake) as the speed comes off just before the corner. You must be near the front, or the lead riders will take advantage and go for it, leaving you behind the slower riders.

Similarly, momentum can be lost on even the smallest hills, and as the finish approaches and the cat and mouse stuff starts… well, no-one wants to waste themselves with the last few turns at the front, after all. An opportunity will appear for someone to 'take a flyer' from the back and come past like a train, just as the front runners have stalled (even slightly) on the hill. Don't get caught! (Or, alternatively, you should be the one on that 'flyer'.)

Chances are that the pace will come off and someone will have a go, but it will be neutralised. So the bunch will be intact. In which case you must keep, or get up, to the front. And if you aren't still there, sprint up the inside (often the slightest bend or shift in the wind will open up an empty lane) and get to the front. You will have to defend your position, because they all think they can sprint. Again the first 6 places are vital. Any further back and your chances are slim. With 500 metres to go you should be in position, waiting for the first rider to lose their self-control and go for it...

If they go early then we all jump on. If they slow, we all slow. Or another one has a go. We go again. With 300 metres to go we see commitment, riders who believe they really can hold out all comers. Maybe they can. At 200 metres you must have sized up the best wheel to follow and keep with them, no matter what. Unless they fade. You can change horses in mid-sprint, if necessary, but be careful not to change your line in the last 200m.

At 50 metres you launch yourself out from the draft of your lead rider. If you have chosen well, there's nothing they can do, except watch you win. At 20 metres you are powering, but there's a rider on your wheel and they now make their move. You went too early. They beat you by centimetres.

Next time you will come out of the slipstream just a few metres later. You still won't win, because that rider has been doing extra sprint training and some weight training as well. They will hold you off and win by the width of a tyre. That's bike racing.

Labels: Chapter 2 - the race, racing, tactics, training

Rob's Unsettling Guide to Road, Criterium and Track Racing...Or From E
Grade to B Grade in however long it takes. Maybe even A grade...

This page brought to you by GTVeloce.com, theSPIEL.com, KlausenRussell.com and over 30 years of cycling pain and discomfort.

An Unsettling and Disturbing Guide to Road, Criterium and Track Racing in Australia

Bike racing is like running, swimming, golf or any other sport. In fact it's just like anything in life. Put the time and effort in and you'll get better at it. It's a simple equation, really, limited more by your own motivation or commitment than by any theoretical potential you may or may not possess. If you are looking for easy fitness and a sport that won't take up much of your time, stop now - it doesn't exist. Multiple Australian and World Point Score medalist Gary Sutton was once reported to have replied to the question, 'What's the secret to success in bike racing?', with the statement: "Ride lots". Eddy Merckx is reported to have said the same, and it's self-evident really. Let's face it, if you want to be good at something you practise it, over and over... and over again.

OK, so it's simplistic, but not a bad thought. Ride lots. Broadly it's also called training specificity - focus on what you do in your sport and repeat it until your body adapts. That's easy enough: just make the time, ease into it, avoid injury, eat well, sleep lots, learn as you go and enjoy the ride. Then you get on a bike and ride a massive 10km in one day and ache all over the next (don't worry, we all started the same way). Your legs go to jelly and walking afterwards is agony. Your buttocks hurt from that skinny saddle. Your wrists and fingers hurt from braking. You had a near miss with a car. You wobbled a lot. And you didn't even get to go fast. Maybe it's harder than it looks. But don't put the bike away just yet, thinking that you won't do well at this, or that you don't have the time to simply "ride lots", or that it's simply too scary. This is a multi-level, multi-discipline sport with a niche for everyone. As the cliche goes, you won't know if you don't try.

So maybe some sports are easier on the body, are less risky, or consume less time. Maybe. But we've settled here on something that does involve injuries (guaranteed - if you ride heaps you will fall off one day), risk (a given, no matter what you do on a bike) and a commitment of some sort. Hey, you can choose not to train and be happy racing in a lower grade, or not at all, but don't come to me after you've died from a mid-race heart attack and then ask my advice. You get out what you put in.

Bike racing at any level is hard. It's a demanding sport that will suck hours out of your day - probably more than almost all other sports - and draw the sweat from your skin, whilst demanding top aerobic fitness, great lower body strength, quick wits and excellent hand-eye coordination. You need tactical nous, swift reflexes and a will to win. It ain't easy. And that's just C-grade.

On the starting line. This is not intended to be a coaching manual for cyclists. There are plenty of those around, if you look. However it may be thought of as a guide, a prompt, a pointer in the right direction. It may save you some time, it may send you straight to the nearest accredited coach. It may just be an interesting read. You will be the judge of that, and of what you do next…

Let's get tough right from the start. You should set yourself some achievable goals, first-up. To do that you need to know enough about the sport of cycling that you can make a reasonable call on what type and level of racing interests you. Let's face a few facts: the higher the grade or level of racing, the more commitment you need to give, both in time and money. It's not a secret that bikes and bike gear cost money. The training is time-consuming, punctures happen all the time and falls hurt. More likely than not you will be 'dropped' in your first race, and many times thereafter; in fact you won't even get close to winning a race for months, if at all, and as soon as you do start winning you'll get put up to the next grade. So you can then get dropped all over again.

3-time Tour de France winner Greg LeMond once said that bike racing 'never gets any easier, it hurts just as much at pro level as at any other level - you just go faster'.

Of course you can be philosophical about all of this pain and heartache and just focus on the positives: you'll get fitter, build self-esteem and meet like-minded souls. Furthermore, bike racing justifies the purchase of a really good, lightweight road bike replete with all the bells and whistles, plus maybe a track bike, lots of spare wheels and endless copies of great cycling magazines. And it's better for you than watching television. So why not, as they say, just do it. In fact, why read about it. Get out there now and start riding!

Anyone still with me? Thought so. Part of the fun of any sport is having a good read, or even an average one - and bike racing is no exception. In fact there are countless books on the great riders, the great races, coaching manuals, magazines, touring guides, novels... you name it. Well over a hundred years of 2 wheeled history is out there, waiting to be explored. There are videos and Internet Websites galore as well. And if you get two or more cyclists together at any one time then conversation - on cycling - will spontaneously occur. Guaranteed. So why yet another string of sentences on the subject? Well, I have an angle here that hasn't yet been fully explored. This is a 'Realistic' Guide to Bicycle Racing (with an Aussie focus 'cause I live here!), not a coaching manual or even a beginner's book. It doesn't glorify, nor does it diminish the experience or the effort. It's a collection of experiences, tips, anecdotes and suggestions that you may find helpful and/or interesting as you begin to race your bike. It may provide an insight that gets you up a grade, or it may help you plan and manipulate a race to suit your strengths. Maybe it will ring some bells for you, or maybe not.

Reading this will not provide any sort of guaranteed pathway to competitive success at the next Olympics or at the Tour de France. You may not morph into Lance Armstrong after reading it. It's also not suggesting that you will reach B Grade in your local club competition, or even that you will progress any further than E Grade. I can't guarantee that you will finish even one race. However I am hoping that you will enjoy the read, and I'm attempting to share some hard earned knowledge that worked in a basic sense for me. So let's get started.

On with the show.... you need a bike!

Oops, nearly forgot the bike. But remember, as Lance Armstrong once said, it's not just about the bike! Nevertheless it's self evident that you need a bicycle. The question is, which one? (The red ones are quicker, by the way.)

I'm not going to tell you that you need the lightest bike, or the fanciest. You just need to get a good, strong, reliable steed that delivers what you need. But first, some background...

There are 5 main forms of bike racing in Australia, if not the world, namely BMX, Mountain Bike, Road, Criterium and Track racing. There’s a sixth that I know of: you can also play football (read soccer) on a specially designed fixed wheel bike, but getting a team together may be difficult in this country! You can also do artictic cycling, but let's not go there right here... as you can tell by the title of this essay, we are dealing with road, criterium and track racing here - for beginners.

Road racing usually means, ahem, riding on a road, as against riding on a track. These races are out and back or point to point. So you are either going somewhere or nowhere, or back to where you started. If you string several consecutive races together and add up overall times you get a stage race like Le Tour.

Distances vary according to grade, but road races are usually longer than a criterium, and unlike a crit, sharp corners are the exception rather than the rule. So comfort matters more than outright handling, unless you have some technical high-speed mountain descents to consider. Hills are to be expected, so you need to be trained for some climbing and have the gearing to suit the course. Usually you will have 53 (largest, outer) and 39 (smallest, inner) teeth chainrings, although combos of 50/38 (called 'compact') and even 52/42 can be common as well. At the rear you may have an 11 or 12 tooth sprocket as your "big" gear, and a 'granny gear' (no offence, gran) of 21-23 teeth to get you home after being dropped on a big climb. Plus all the other sizes in between (making up a 9 or 10 speed set of cogs, also called a freewheel or a cassette). Expect to race 30 to 60km for most club-level races, 40 to 100km for most open competitions. However you may race up to 230km in a big classic one-day race like the Grafton to Inverell.

Road handicaps and timetrial events are also held, with specialized timetrial bikes an option but not essential.

Criteriums are multiple-lap events that can be held on roads or closed tracks (not velodromes) and are typically shorter and faster than road races. Accelerations are to be expected, out of corners especially. Hills are unlikely but possible, corners are to be expected and excellent bike handling is needed. The bike will not be as comfortable but will handle sharply, with aplomb; the bottom bracket may be higher than for a true road bike and the cranks shorter, so that pedaling through a corner is possible (with longer cranks you may 'bottom out' as you pedal through). Gearing will be like a standard road bike, except that you won't need that granny gear. 18 or 19 teeth are all you need at the back and you'll be unlikely to use 'em.

Track or Velodrome racing involves a specialized bike: just one fixed gear (ie no freewheeling) and no brakes. Gearing from 47 to 53 teeth on the chainring, 14 to 16 teeth on the rear sprockets. A variety of events take place, from scratch races to handicaps, timetrials to pursuits. The racing is usually in the evening under lights and the tracks are short and banked, with the steepest banking reserved for the shortest tracks. These races are very fast and exceptional bike skills are needed.


Three bikes, then? Although not ideal, you can usually get away with the same bike for both road and criterium racing, but track racing requires a suitable, fixed wheel, 'look mum, no-brakes' bike. If you haven't got a clue, stop now and start looking in bike shops, reading magazines and asking around. Join a club, start learning. Get carried away, within reason...

A Loungechair on wheels... or something sporty?

If you want to push the point, in a nutshell you will be looking for a comfortable, easy-handling bike for road racing and a quicker-handling, higher-clearance machine for criteriums. A blend of the two is a nice compromise, and how you arrive at that compromise will be trial and error - unless you instinctively know that you want an unstable, flighty, jumpy road rocket and will settle for nothing less. (I personally have never had more than 3 road bikes, all different in character, at any one time - and found it more a luxury than a necessity.)

Bikes, character? What? In some respects bikes are simply bikes - 2 wheels, frame, cranks, chain, pedals, saddle et al. However there are the wanky looking carbon single piece frames, the conventional triangled tube effect and many variations in between. But that's not really character, as I see it. It may be style, it may or may not be substance... but it's not character!

Character is the way the bike handles, how it jumps, how it leans into a corner... Some bikes are built short and high in the bottom bracket, with steep frame angles to give you 'jump' out of corners, lifting the front wheel like a 500cc racing motorcycle; which is nice, if a little nervous. You don't want that all of the time. You'll find yourself leaning forward, pushing that front wheel down (and thereby encouraging that back wheel to lift again!). Sounds like a good criterium ('crit') bike to me, but not something for the raw beginner!

Other, less steep frame angles give a more relaxed approach, where things happen slower and you can take your hands off the bars, get that energy bar out of your back pocket, change out of that rainjacket and write a note home to mum without finding yourself falling road-wards. Now that's a road bike - it won’t embarrass you at a feeding station. And you can still use it in more intense crits.

Even when you have the frame angles the way you want them, you can still tweak the bike by changing seat height, stem length and height, crank length, gearing… you name it. It will all have an effect of some sort, it's just a matter of what effect you want. After all, it's weight distribution that really matters... and you are far heavier than the bike itself. So don't get carried away with frame angles and stem lengths, not until you have sorted out your position, anyway.

Get some help, and do be careful, won't you? You won't get your bike set up right without proper assistance, unless you are dogged and scientific about it and are willing to make tiny changes, test, change again.... some experienced guidance will get you closer to the mark, quicker. Even after seeking such help, you may prefer to do your own thing. It's a free country. (Depending upon which country you are in when you read this, of course.)

• Firstly, whatever you do, get plenty of opinions, and be prepared to try different ideas. I know one 70 year old who is still adjusting his position after over 50 years of racing!
  

• Secondly, when making changes, make only small adjustments, and each one in isolation, to give your body some time to adjust to that new position. By making big changes and then doing a long training ride I managed to injure my knees and put myself off the road for a few weeks. It's a painful lesson. Don't be tempted.

Sizing things up, or getting framed. You will get the hang of what you need, bike-wise, by looking around and comparing. Feel some bikes, pick them up, sit on as many as you can, do some test rides, and, if you are lucky, buy one that fits you. (At the very least consider whether you can put your foot on the ground when you stop, or can reach the brake levers without effort!) Then ride it and get that immediate urge to change a few things. For which my advice is, don't be rash. If you haven't had a lot of experience on a lightweight high performance bike before it will feel odd. Flighty. Maybe uncomfortable. Too quick in the steering. Too... uncompromising? Or just strange. You may not think so after a few hundred kilometres in the saddle, however. I won't attempt to give you bike set-up advice beyond my own experience, so here are some measurements that have worked for me.

Warning - pinch of salt required! This is just anecdotal - not prescriptive. I'm about 169cm tall, and for riders around that height I'd suggest frame sizes between 51 and 55cm (measured on the down tube, center-to-centre). Remember, smaller frames are lighter and stiffer, but if too small will compromise balance and comfort. And you will risk damage to components as well as yourself!

Handlebars, for frames between 51 and 55cm should be about 38 or 39cm wide, but shouldn't cramp you or spread your arms too widely. Shoulders vary in width, but generally speaking arms should comfortably fall onto the drops without any serious effort. You shouldn't feel 'splayed' when you tuck down into the drops of the handlebars.

Your own dimensions are vital, but I lean towards stem extensions of about 9 or 10cm. You used to be able to buy goosenecks that allowed variation, and some modern examples exist, but are less common now. Too long a stem will feel odd, if not dangerous, when riding out of the saddle. When climbing out of the saddle you have raised your center-of-gravity, and probably shifted it forward as well. So as the bike leans over during a pedal stroke you will feel it 'flop' from side to side, and even more so with a longer stem... trust me, it takes some getting used to!

Cranks are usually about 170-175mm, however you may prefer the leverage of a longer crank, especially for road racing or timetrialling. Riders taller than myself tend towards longer cranks, and lengths from 172.5 up to 180mm are options; but you will find that you lose the suppleness of your spin and may tend towards grovelling in a big gear. Nothing worse, really. There are formulas to determine the supposed optimum, but trial and error is OK too, as long as you don't go to extremes and injure yourself.

Shorter cranks are suited to track bikes and criteriums, where touching a pedal on the banking or in a corner is not a good idea. I was once racing on a street circuit where we were sharing the road with the local Sunday morning traffic. I broke away from the bunch up a short, sharp rise and put a bit of distance into them. So when I arrived at the next left-turn I was alone, without the benefit of a big, highly visible bunch. Ahead of me was a car about to turn right across my path. Many times have I been in this situation – wondering, will that car give way, or won’t it? Well, it did, but not before I was distracted enough to turn into the corner a bit late, sharpening the bend. I was riding my road bike, a Colnago, rather than my regular criterium bike and I completely forgot about the longer cranks and lower bottom bracket.

In an instant, at bottom dead centre of the left-hand crank rotation, my pedal struck the road and levered my rear wheel into the air. The bike went up and sideways in one motion, before settling. I didn't come off but I lost time getting my balance back and found myself heading for the median strip. Rather than turn harder to the left and try to miss it, I went over it, or tried to, anyway.

When I landed I was flat on my back, the bike was up the road and I had (luckily) somersaulted a post and a small bush, to end up facing from whence I had come. The bike was in one piece, just a few scratches and nothing broken. No damage to the rider, just stunned embarrassment.

Wheely interesting stuff. Wheels come in many types these days, with designs varying from the standard spoked style, the aero rim, the carbon fibre bladed 'spoke', the carbon or kevlar disc or a combination of these materials and designs. You should consider strength, lightness and susceptibility to crosswinds, and again fit the choice to your intended use.

Timetriallers and trackies may find the poor crosswind performance of a disc wheel acceptable given the excellent stiffness and power delivery of a disc wheel. Road racers may prefer a compromise, or simply stay with the proven spoked wheel.

Rims come in two basic designs, singles or high pressures. A 'single'or 'tubular' style, where the tyres are all sewn into one piece and the tyre is glued into place is a traditional high performance racing setup, for road or track; whilst the 'high pressure' beaded tyre, like a conventional car tyre, has come to dominate in recent times. More recently we have seen the advent of tubeless rims and tyres, which likely as not will become 'the norm' when prices fall.

Singles rims are very light yet inherently strong, but the u-shaped high pressure rim has improved in strength and weight, whilst offering the easier repair and convenience of a modular design. Singles are probably still preferred at an elite level, but you need to contemplate the added initial expense, the need to carry complete spare tyres with you rather than just spare tubes, and the risks involved in rolling a poorly glued single off the rim.

Yes, I've seen it done. Once in a criterium held on Sydney's scenic Mrs Macquarie's Rd, where the almost-180 degree bottom corner is taken quite fast, and a poorly-glued tyre came straight off. As did the rider. Another time a fall on the track caused a front wheel to twist hard-right in a instant. In the first case the rider got away with just bruises; in the second example, despite the tyre not causing the fall, the rider received a suspension from racing, courtesy of the Cycling Federation. Such is life.

Even if you aren't racing, even a simple puncture whilst training will result in a spare single being slipped on, and it won't be glued on quite like the one you just punctured… although as it heats up it will get stickier and more secure (which is why we leave some dry glue on our spare singles and ensure our rims are well coated, too).

Spokes are still used in the standard wheel and offer a good compromise between cost and performance. If you are light enough you could consider using fewer spokes. The 36-spoke wheel is strong and will withstand potholes and kerbs better than a 32, 28 or a 24 spoke wheel. If the roads you race and train on are fairly smooth and acne-free, and if you are 75kg or less, 32 spoke wheels are fine. Even 28 is OK, but will require more frequent truing of the wheel. And yes, you can get super-strong high-cost wheels with fewer spokes, but these use spokes and rims of advanced, proprietary design. They are great, and will last you a long time, but do cost the earth. Bear in mind that these proprietary designs - each with their patented spoke and nipple designs - require specialised tools and spares.

Track wheels can have fewer spokes because the velodrome is usually pretty bump-free. Also, a track rim will be lighter because it is unlikely to encounter a pothole or a kerb.

You can mix and match wheels, of course, with different types of rim front and rear (stronger at the rear, because more of your weight and all of your power go through that wheel).

Because the wheels rotate, they generate both a gyroscopic effect and a forward (or backward, as the case may be) momentum that keeps the whole show on the road. Heavy wheels may not exactly assist you in moving off from rest, or in climbing a hill, but they will be very stable and, as the weight is concentrated at the rim, will tend to assist in conserving your momentum. Or so I like to tell myself!

You may deduce from the preceding paragraph two things; one, that light wheels are a good idea when climbing hills or accelerating and two, that I will go to great lengths to justify my use of (relatively) heavy wheels. Correct on both counts.

My lightest wheels (24 spoke singles) go out of true or even break spokes after just two or three hundred kays. I proved this by road racing my 24 spokers on rough country NSW roads one weekend and snapping spokes the very next time I went training. Why I went training on them I don't know, but I'm glad they didn't let go during a race!

24 spoke wheels are too flexy to use on my regular criterium circuit, as well. They feel like mush when cornered at speed. But they are nice to look at and are invaluable as spares to my 32-spoke high pressures!

Spoked wheels are fun. They are an intellectual challenge, like chess. It starts with the number of spokes you want, the type of spoke (round, flat, double-butted?) and the type of rim. Then, how to build it? Radial spoking - no crossing spokes at all - look cool and are stiff, making good front wheels for lighter riders. Or one cross, as a compromise? Crossing four is not as stiff as 3-cross but will last longer. No matter what style, they all need to be kept straight and true, whilst also being round. They have to be stiff, so that power is delivered with effect, whilst compliant enough that spokes don't break. Maybe those carbon-bladed wheels are worth the price after all!

If you go with spokes, buy yourself a spoke key so that you can make those minor adjustments yourself. And carry it with you, so that you can take a minor bend out of your rim when the inevitable happens and you break a spoke.

Hubs are cool too. Did I mention that you need to choose hubs? Yep, sealed bearings or normal cup and ball bearings. Lightweight or robust. Small flange (the ends, where the spoke holes are) for less weight, less cost and more comfort, or large flange for stiffness. Track hubs are usually large flange but these days large flange hubs have crept in everywhere, even on the road. What that does is increase stiffness, and improve power delivery. It also makes for an uncomfortable ride on the open road...

Weighty matters. Moving on from wheels to think of the bike overall, the all up weight of a reasonable road bike will fall within a range of 8.5 to 10.5 kilograms, wheels and all. The all up weight of a similarly good track bike will be less: say, 6 to 8 kilograms. The lighter, the more expensive, of course. And remember that there may be a loss of strength as well. Yes, I know, you can spend squillions and get a lighter, sub 7kg bike. It's true - there are sub-1.0kg frames out there, and road components that weigh almost nothing. They are the cutting edge and cost the earth. Just remember that everything is a compromise, both price to performance and performance against longevity...

So buy the best bike you can afford and get it set up as comfortably as possible. Now with road bikes, as with all competition bikes, the lighter the better is a good starting point. But don't get hung up on it. Sealed bearings may weigh more but they'll last longer and need less adjustment. A heavier frame may be a burden but it may be more rigid as well, which is good for sprinting. Irish Tour de France star of the 80's Sean Kelly used to ride a flexy but light aluminium frame up the mountain passes but swap to something stiffer and better handling for the descent. You need to decide your budget and your needs. Kelly was a big man who, as a matter of honour sprinted in huge gears (like 53x12 back then, but he'd probably use an 11 now) all the time. He needed a strong, stiff frame that transmitted that power. A lighter-built climber can get away with a flexy but superlight frame, fewer spokes in the wheels and so on. Can you?

If you are a sprinter, in my experience you need a stiff bike with a slightly 'cramped' riding position, stiff wheels and as light as you dare. (That's me, I like to be uncomfortable, but fast. Well, as fast as I can be, anyway. It may not be you!)

Everything depends… you need to think about the races you will be entering and what will suit. If you are on a budget and will only have one bike, strike a compromise. I used to have a selection of wheels, some stronger, some lighter. And then choose the tyres, some light and fast, others more puncture-resistant, to suit the purpose. Part of the fun of this sport is the calculation, the selection of components to suit both your body and the race in prospect. It's just like Formula 1 motor racing, except a lot cheaper. Hand me those slicks, I think the track is drying!

Of course it's no good racing a super stiff frame if you get dropped on a hill, or for that matter trying to sprint when the bike is flexing all over the place. It's your budget, you know your riding style: your call! And if you have the budget, try all the options, so that you get to know what works best… it's only money, after all. Most importantly, get properly fitted to whatever bike you use, and try to keep all your bikes as close to identical in setup as you can. For shorter events you can make compromises, but as I said before, big differences can equal big pain. Injuries occur all too easily.

Caution - rules are made to be broken! Cautiously, in the manner of a bike rider on slick tyres approaching a manhole cover, and with the intention only to share an opinion, I do have some basic rules of thumb, setup wise. There are many theories, many body shapes and no one answer. So firstly, I recommend that you give your local expert a go, before you experiment too much. Try your local bike shops or the coach at your local racing club. Read lots of books, or try the 'fit kit' approach - cautiously, as no-one is truly 'normal' or 'average' dimensionally.

But if you want, and can accept that these are not carved-in-stone rules, here are my tips.

Take another pinch of salt - a big one! One of my personal rules of thumb is attributed to American cycling hero, shotgun victim and multiple Tour de France winner Greg Lemond, and comes with my apologies to Greg if I have got this all wrong. It works like this for me, anyway!

Basically, get yourself comfortable on the bike in the crouched, on the drops riding position. Look down to the wheel and if the hub of the front wheel is obscured by the handlebars, you have a good compromise between comfort and handling. If the hub is in front of the bars then you either need a longer top tube or a longer stem. And vice versa. Or you have very straight or very bent forks! It's not very scientific, but it works for me.

Remember, everyone is different, and your preference may be totally different to mine. What I am suggesting is that you should be aware of the options, and the effect that subtle changes in position will make. Long road races demand a comfortable position and by making the appropriate adjustments I have found that an uncomfortable bike can be turned into a wonder machine that just floats. For me, that was a flatter back, stretched out a little more. It meant a lot less pain and tiredness after a 200km ride! And no, that's not how I set up my criterium bike!

Another rule of thumb (actually a few rules rolled into one) concerns saddle height. Most people set the saddle height by placing your (shoed) foot on top of the pedal and rotating to bottom dead centre. The knee should 'almost' lock. I've stuck by that, with the following variations that work (with care) in different circumstances. Firstly, don't make radical changes to your position. Work incrementally and carefully to avoid injury. But if you are prepared to look a bit daggy on the bike, lower your saddle a bit more and adopt a position that allows for easy spin. You can't hammer the pedals as easily as in the 'high saddle' position, but with easy, fast spinning you'll whirr like a top and find (a) fewer injuries and (b) faster acceleration. Works for me, especially in crits and on the track. If you go for the higher saddle, extended leg style, you'll limit your spin a bit but feel better at pushing bigger gears... so you'd maximise that with big gears and long cranks. Again, works for me - maybe not you - and was a sensational combo when climbing.

Labels: Chapter 1 - the basis of it all