Cycing 101: Are you ready for the Season? By Cal Zaryski

In the past two weeks I have ridden 1200km and lead 45 cyclists through the beautiful countryside of Solvang, California at our annual spring bike camps. I will outline some common problems and solutions that pertains to all levels of skill and conditioning. For the most part, basic training principles still stand the test of time for this activity, but special considerations must be addressed to make cycling more enjoyable and safe.

Take the Long Way Home!

Supertramp was right in one respect, training for this sport requires many miles of riding, accumulating what the world of cycling terms "saddle time"! Every ride is money in the bank and the larger the account is, the farther and faster you are able to go! The only way to ride well in any bike event ranging from the common 40km time trial to road racing, from cyclocross to mountain biking is to do tons of training on the bike. I suppose that makes sense, but because there are no impact forces, more training stress can be tolerated in comparison to running without the risk of injury. At times, very little effort is required to maintain your speed, which allows for micro recovery bouts. Tail winds, downhills and drafting allows the effort level to decrease and the duration to exhaustion increases. Both of these factors allow for the athlete to spend more time in the saddle.

Hazards

In road cycling, you must be aware of your surroundings and in control of your bike at all times. When traveling at high speeds, anticipation of road conditions and objects in your vicinity is critical. You must always be looking for road debrie, pot holes, soft surfaces such as tar, slick roads from water and oil, road kill and even cattle guards. Not seeing these hazards can be disasterous and certainly reinforces the concept of keeping both hands on the handlebars. Make sure that is you see something, you let those riders behind you know of the danger with the appropriate hand signals.

Ouch

Often most will complain of back, butt and neck pain when they first begin their riding season. Unfortunately, your pain in the butt is a matter of accumulating more miles in the saddle. Yes, maybe your saddle needs to be replaced, but classically it does not help that much. When pedaling easy, or spinning, the majority of your weight is on the seat and handlebars. We all experience a sore butt in this circumstance. When we put more pressure on the pedals, less weight is on the seat and we often have less pain. I suggest standing up frequently to allow for some relief and blood flow to your pelvic floor.

It's all about the Shorts

Some complain of saddle friction discomfort and even saddle sores. If you have a sensitive toush, try wearing two pairs of cycling shorts. If you are not wearing these specialized shorts, I suggest you get a pair. The chamois in the shorts assist in reducing friction and even allow for additional lubrications to be applied. Do not worry about the skin tight look, just do not go to a movie in them! Also make sure to get out of the clothing soon after your ride and wash them frequently to minimize bacterial issues. With copious miles in the saddle, you will even create thicker skin at your pressure contact points. Yahoo, that typically means that you are more comfortable riding longer.

Back Pain

Lower back pain most often presents itself when you ride longer, or when you are pushing hard to either ride fast in a time trial position or climb up steep hills. This pain could simply indicate a lack of back strength or improper back position for your anatomy. Some athletes do not have the ability to remain in a flexed position for extended periods due to lower back inflexibility, vertebral imperfections or other structural issues. In this case, trying to obtain the perfect riding position might be unrealistic, so experiment throughout the season. You need to be comfortable.

Pain in the Neck

Neck pain is very common on those first few rides. Hyper extension of the neck is necessary to see where you are going and is more pronounced when in time trial aero position. To minimize neck pain, off season riding in front of a television can begin the process of conditioning your muscles to tolerate this static hold of your head. Also, make sure that you are not wearing a helmet with a visor. This so called sun blocker just makes you tilt you head up more, rather than use your eyes to look up the road. Take it off.

Move Around

Another common source of pain is in the hand and upper shoulder. A slight adjustment in your bars or a shorter stem allowing your brake hoods to be closer to you (reaching less) can help relieve some discomfort. I find that even gloves do not help that much, but moving your hands around certainly does. My favorite hand position is near the stem in a pronated position but I tend to move around as much as the situation allows. If you are riding in the city, with large groups or on rough road, a hand position near your bakes is best and movement may be limited. Wiggle you fingers and alternate pressure from one hand to the next when forced to maintain in one position.

Round and Round

If you do the math on how many pedal revolutions you complete in one hour, you will be amazed. Let's just save you the time and suggest that your left leg will make 5400 revolutions in that hour if you are pedaling constantly. Now if you decide to ride 4 hours, your knee joint will have to tolerate 21,600 pedal strokes. Pain can result if you not structurally conditioned to ride 4 hours. Start slowly by adding 30 minutes to your longer rides and avoid pushing hard gears too often (up hills or riding into headwinds).

New Equipment

Now that you know that for every hour you ride, there are 5400 pedal revolutions, you need to make sure that if you purchase a new bike, or even new equipment or change your bike set up, decrease your long ride to at least by half your normal time or distance. I made this mistake in the past and it caused 2 months of rehabilitation. Changes in crank lengths, saddle heights and frame geometry are the main causes for knee pain and knee pain is the number one injury for cyclists.

Change it up!

To become a superior cyclist, I personally believe that you need to change your bike. No I do not mean purchase another $5000.00 road bike, but rather, have a mountain bike and a single speed bike for differing stresses and adding variety to your program. For years now I have done at least half of my training on a mountain bike rather than a road bike. Mountain bikes are much heavier and allow me to climb steeper terrain. My long rides will be on the road bike where there is less jarring and stress. Single speed bikes come with a fixed gear forcing you to pedal at all times. To stop, you have hand brakes. Many of my athletes who have been riding these bikes to and from work have noticed improvements in their ability to spin faster and push heavier gears. Physiological testing has shown an increase in their strength and more power output at all thresholds due to a more economical spin. These bikes are great to use when riding with less advanced riders ensuring a great workout regardless on how fast you go!

Gearing

I suppose if you live in Saskatchewan, a rear cog set that ranges from 21 to 12 teeth is suitable, but I can never understand why bikes come stock with such difficult gearing. If you are purchasing a bike, consider one that has a compact crank allowing for easier gearing with a smaller front chain ring. Even Tyler Hamilton, the Athens Gold Medalist in the Time Trial, used this new crank set up in the Tour De France last year. If you cannot spin at a cadence of 80-90 up your local hills, I suggest getting either a new cog set, such as a 12 - 27 or maybe even replacing your crankset to a triple chain ring set up or compact crank with a smaller chain ring. You will be much faster and more economical spinning up these monster hills than grinding away in a large gear. Large gears cause immature fatigue and knee pain. Avoid this at all cost. Just recently in California I road up Lance Armstrongs' favorite climb 15 minutes slower than his best time (39 minutes versus my 54 minutes), using a 39 chain ring and a 25 rear cog. It was horrific! I probably could have been 20% faster if I had a 27 or even larger. Do your homework, make sure you have the gearing necessary for your riding ambitions!

Gear up, Gear Down

Most novice cyclists do not change their gears enough while riding. With every little rise in the road, you should try to maintain a fast leg spin near 90-100rpm. If your rpms begin to slow down, you should shift to an easier gear. It is that simple. Purchase a bike computer with the cadence function to learn when to shift gears and ride like a pro. On some rides, you are constantly shifting. This is definitely the case on the mountain bike. When you gain speed, shift to a harder gear until you cannot pedal any faster and top speed is reached, then hang on and enjoy the ride!

The SCHWAG

Do not worry too much about the latest and lightest gadgets out there that promise to make you ride faster. But do not ignore personal clothing and repair tools. Be prepared for all weather conditions. Rain and even snow can drop in unexpectedly along with cold winds. Always take a spare tube, pump, tire levers, chain break and hex keys with you (that assumes you know how to use them and repair most common problems). Take a course on bike repair or bring your cell phone. Some extra money and identification including an emergency contact number is also a good idea.

So there you have it. Most of these suggestions come from the common questions, concerns and tips we suggested at our cycling camps. Be prepared and enjoy seeing the countryside on 2 wheels.

For more information on CoachCal's Triathlon, Xterra, High Altitude Training and Cycling Camps, go to www.CriticalSpeed.com

Olympic Champion Lori-Ann Muenzer