Online coaching advice



newlew

New Member
Jul 28, 2013
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I've been cycling seriously for the last 6 months. I have been riding with my local bike shops race team on group rides for the last few months. They have encouraged me to start racing at some point next season, I am really motivated to try it and I've been putting in the training time. I can maintain pack pace yet still get dropped at the end of harder rides on bigger climbs (as expected with my experience). My question is, are the out of town riding coaches recommended by anyone? Is it a common method to use a out of state coach and do weekly phone/ email consults? I really feel I need some direction in the training department and I've learned a lot just be reading articles and forum threads about SST & FTP training. Am I overthinking this being that I'm starting as a cat 5 and should I just keep riding hard with the knowledge I can research or is it advised seeking coaching help? The LBS guys are great and answer any questions I have but I don't expect them to lay out a full training plan for me. Thanks as always for any advice, Mike
 
Originally Posted by newlew

My question is, are the out of town riding coaches recommended by anyone? Is it a common method to use a out of state coach and do weekly phone/ email consults? I really feel I need some direction in the training department and I've learned a lot just be reading articles and forum threads about SST & FTP training.

Mike

Hi ya Mike

I don't currently use an online coach About 10 years ago, before it was the done thing, I worked with a coach who I mostly communicated with through email and it was fine. It was a bit more manual when it come to sending power and heartrate data, i'm sure the tools available now would make it a whole lot more effective.

We have a few very well known and respected coaches ( @Alex Simmons, @ric_stern/RST and @fergie are some I can think of ) who visit here as well as a bunch of members who know a whole lot more about training than I do and are very happy to share their knowledge.

thanks
steve
 
Yes, thanks for the plug Steve.

Yes a coach is a good person to help make sense of all the options out there when preparing to race or ride fast.

Feel free to give me a yell.

Hamish Ferguson
www.coachferg.com
 
Thanks for the confirmation, so much to learn with such little time. I'll will be in touch, thanks
 
Originally Posted by newlew I have been riding with my local bike shops race team on group rides for the last few months.
Who coaches the bike shop race team? That is where you will get the best help.

You are going to spend a lot of time riding/training with the guys on your team. It works best if your training plan works well with those of your teammates.

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Don't get fooled by the fact you can keep up with the pack during your rides. That is the easy part of riding. Sit in the wind on those rides and see what happens.
 
One of the guys actually turned me on to a coach that he used back in Wisconsin. I actually had my first training session yesterday and Wow the things I've learned in just one ride and a few phone conversations. This was definitely the right decision. I rode so hard leading up to the formal training session, killing myself and not realizing what I actually needed.

The guys are not using a coach and are on self training plans but several are discussing latching on to my guy as a group. Thanks for all the help, I'm starting to understand that this is not just spin faster to go faster.
 
Nice, enjoy the experience. Sounds like you have a good person in your corner!

Ride well!