Non bike based training?



Tomabad

New Member
Jul 9, 2009
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I am planning a 600 mile trip around France but I will not have had access to my bike (or even an excerice bike) for 6 months. Can anyone help with how I might be able to prepare/train without either of these two?

Any help very much appreciated. T.
 
Tomabad said:
I am planning a 600 mile trip around France but I will not have had access to my bike (or even an excerice bike) for 6 months. Can anyone help with how I might be able to prepare/train without either of these two?

Any help very much appreciated. T.

Tell us little more. What type of a rider are you? Recreational wanting to keep a decent shape, competitive who wants to perform at his best at all costs?

Do you sometimes cross train (by your own will, not because you are forced too?).

If you were to be given access to a bike, what sort of training would you do during these 6 months?

What sort of equipment will you have access to?
 
Six months ago I was doing four rides a week (three pre-work and relatively light) and a longer ride at the weekends (maybe three/four hours).

The planned ride is non-competitive and I will be riding solo. I will will be wanting to push myself in parts but I intend to do much of the ride at a 'recereational pace' (will also be carrying kit/some essential supplies etc).

In terms of what's available I am in the mountains in Northern India and available resources will be improvised or just making use of the natural relief of the land. ie walks/steps etc.

I know getting straight back onto the bike will be a challenge but I was wondering if there is anything to lessen the shock to my legs/body.

Many thanks again

T.
 
Tomabad said:
I am planning a 600 mile trip around France but I will not have had access to my bike (or even an excerice bike) for 6 months. Can anyone help with how I might be able to prepare/train without either of these two?
I think that distance riding is mostly an aerobic event ...

I was going to suggest that you swim or run as much as possible, but your venue in northern India probably precludes that ...

I was also going to suggest that you do as much fast walking in hilly terrain as time permits ... with-or-without a day pack.

OR, that you find some stairs to climb ... I think that the more time you can spend climbing stairs, the better.

BTW. Since it sounds as though you will be at altitude, you will probably have some aerobic advantage for much of your sojourn through France which should last for a week-or-so after you return from altitude.
 
Tom,

How much training time will you have (if any) between the end of this cycling non-availability period (trip to India) and the beginning of the 600miler in France?

And also, do you typically experiment (like I do) neck and butt pain usually when you get back to cycling after prolonged period off bike?

Typically, how long does it take you to gain back cycling fitness after prolonged periods off bike?
 
You may end up being fed up with all my questions and few answers. So let me try to issue some recommendations given the info I've gathered so far.

OK.

1 - Running

Tom, have you ever thought about learning how to run? Because while you may think of these 6months as being a period of non-productivity, at least cycling wise, I see there a great opportunity to progressively get into the world of Running. Especially if you feel that this situation may occur again in the future, running comes with a lot of freedom. You can run everywhere in the world.

After this gentle conversion, you may envision doing some duathlon once in a while. Note that duathlon represents a great compromise between recreational cycling (which for some might not be challenging enough) and the nasty world of competitive cycling (which can at times be really really nasty e.g. Criteriums). The duathlon/triathlon community is basically very friendly, it's a familly and friends sort of mood.

As a running *primer*, I have an approach with which I had a lot of success in the past. Listen to this.
- 5min of light jog 3x / week. Doesn't sound to difficult does it?
- You increase by 5min per week (week#2 = 3x10min; #3 = 3x15min etc) Don't skip any step please
- You have to listen to the feed back you articulations are going to give you. It is particularly true with the front part of the lower leg (sorry for lack of anatomy, I am a frenchy. In french we call this portion Perioste). This is where pain usually shows up first with newbies. If it happens, then don't increase by 5min for this week.

- Once you reach 3x30min, keep increasing by 5min for 1 of the workout. This will become your long run. You can let it go up to 90min, even 120min if you are really gifted for running. Again, articulations are your coaches there. This is the major constraint to take into account.

At the end of this regiment, you can consider yourself as a runner. 'Course, you have to pay a visit to running shoes specialist (to find out if your leg profile is straight, slightly inside, or outside). Buy at least 2 pairs, and change every 3 months. Don't do anything other than running with 'em.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

2- Cycling (off bike)

As far as cycling is concern now. The type of performances you will have to achieve during your trip isn't that difficult to get even with prolonged period off bike. If there's anything, you are going to have to be more conservative than usual with the Pace.

You have to make sure that the pace you take allows for burning Fat as metabolic. And this will happen if you ride relatively slow. Already one week into your trip, your body will tell you if you can increase the pace or not. So first week (into the trip), be careful. Ride slow. Then if you feel your body agrees to it, then increase the pace.

In order to stay fit cycling wise without riding, I'd say you could include some daily training such as Squats with no weight (that'd be my #1 choice). If I was facing the same challenge I'd probably try to go up to sets of 50. Do them full (go really low).

My main off season preparation (for cycling) involves mostly climbing stairs (on a machine). So like others have suggested, if you could climb anything, that will help. I found out recently that carrying a back pack kinds of trigger the same sort of neck pain that I get from cycling. So if you want to avoid neck pain, and if you need to carry a back pack, then think of it as a training tool that may help avoiding neck detraining (if such a thing as neck detraining exists!).

- - - -
So to recap, if you feel like giving this learn-how-to-run strategy a try, and if you can climb anything 2 times a week, along with some squats done in the morning, then I believe you will be ready for this 600miler no problem.
 
Thank you so much for the great advice and taking the time to respond - it is very much appreciated.

It seems that a combination of squats, stair and other aerobic exercise will be the best in the absence of a bike (I am also prepared for some pain though).

Thanks again all and warmest regards

Tom.
 
Elliptical trainers work similar muscles, if you can get on one of these twice a week that will help. If you are a very strong rider there will be no way you can maintain true cycling fitness. But if you have access to a elliptical trainer, do hard wind/hill sprints, squats, and work hard on your core, you could come back stronger than ever after a few months back on the bike.
 
I don't think its a good plan, you'll get saddle sores for sure, that could ruin all your holidays. Also rethink your supplies for the ride... you'll need a lot, not just a few as you posted ( if you are planning on riding independently )