"off the bike" training

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i've heard & read alot about alot of different intervals in this forum and they seem to be the main topic of discussion. but, i have a question about 'off-the-bike' training. i've been reading alot about plyometrics. my question is this: how much benefit do plyometrics have in relation to overall cycling & racing? i know with, for example, football players, plyometrics help with speed & explosiveness. do they have the same effect with bicycle riders? would they be a good off the bike training excercise?
my other question is this: i recently rode my first century. rode about a 5hr ride. i'm disappointed though, because i couldn't hang with the lead group. they dropped me right before the turn-around. talking to some fellow riders, they said that my problem was the 'yo-yo-ing' i seemed to do alot of. which i will admit was probably my biggest problem. but also my lack of a good 'base.' what exactly constitutes a good 'base?'

Plyometrics only help explosive sports such as football or pure sprinting sports. People that ride on the track and more specificly match sprinters and kilo riders will lift heavy and do plyos the same as a football player might. I cant help you on the long distance question

Hi

A good base generally means lots of miles at an endurance pace on the bike. Road cyclists benefit more doing most of their training on the bike, but it won't hurt to add a couple of days on the gym at the beggining of the season, especially for young people who are still growing and developing. You'll notice that fit road cyclists have a very specific type of body. For example your girlfriend would prefer more building up of your upper body... but well that's up to you to decide !

Regards

thanks for the replies. i appreciate the feedback.