Basic advice

1. Train hard
2. Train specific
3. Train no harder than you can recover from


1- That means becoming friends with pain. When you're having a decent day on the bike, dig deep for short periods. When you think there isn't anything left coming over the crest of a hill and you're in oxygen debt, grab another gear and stand up.

2- Your training should match your goals. Getting drop on the short steep dirt climbs in the saddle when you need 350 watts for 1 minute? Don't train at 150 watts for 3 hours on flat ground.

3- The body only gets stronger when it adapts to stress. If you train hard then don't recover well, back off. Work as diligently on your recovery skills as you do on pushing yourself in training. Old saying by a famous cycling coach.

Never stand when you can sit
Never sit when you can lay down

Best rest is sleep or at least lounge with feet a little elevated. Lots of water 24/7.

Easiest way to get fast on a bike is to lose weight. A grand tour champion that's 5-10" might weigh 155lbs and be 2.5% body fat. That means cutting out empty calories, fewer beers and basically being OK with being mildly hungry more often.

 

THIS is why I never wanted to race. I love biking so much, but you really have to be dedicated to compete at all. I always push myself when I ride, and I try to ride often - and that alone is enough to constantly improve and get more fit. However if you want to compete the advice above is the only way.

Also: high altitude training.

 

Yesterday, I raced for a total of 115 minutes and had a 30 min warmup. Thats 145 minutes and my Garmin said 70 miles.

Racing is fun, nothing else like it.

 

This frame is too big for me, but I'm tempted to buy it just to strip the parts and sell the frame on eBay.

Schwinn Peloton road bike.

 

To much roadhomo in this thread. Need more man bikes.

This bike kicks Hustlers *** up and down the trail every weekend.

 

Jeff has retard strength.

 

That's not an awful bike for $400.

 

853 and STI Ultegra. If it were a 55cm frame I'd make an offer immediately. I just don't know if I want to bother stripping the parts off.

 

Jeff, really digging that hardtail! Single ring up front too. A bit too long of a stem for the kind of riding I like to do, but for XC and climbing i'm sure it tracks great.

 

I'm riding it the way it came other then the fork. Switched that out when I relized I was having to slow down way to much on the bumpy stuff. Got a hell of a deal on a recon gold to. Need some big side **** up front, that is my next buy.

Sir hustler is just jelly of my ride skills with only 1.75 legs. He is buying clips to try and keep up. I'm sticking to flat peddles till I can find a Dr that can make me a brace that works with clips.

 

You also did the BMX thing for years and I've been out on the MTB roughly 10x in my life at this point.

 

This is for sale locally, it's my size, and I have enough to cover it from my turbo sale:


I am not buying it.

 

Emilio, any chance we will see Quarq power meters for sale at 949 Racing?

 

I'd buy a 949 jersey...and a power meter. Can you get a power meter for a 105 crank or must it be Dura-Ace or SRAM?

 

Speaking of Surly...

 

I would ride that bike.

 

That looks like a sugar sand special.

 

Hustler, usually you swap out the whole crank and BB with a SRAM one.

 

I just sold my beloved trek T1 track bike today. need more cash for miata mods....