Tips for training after years off the bike.

[ALTAS]

Hi All,

I am after some training advice!
I am female, 22 years old, 165cm tall & 60kg. I am generally fit as I do moderate-intense exercise about 5 times a week of various types.
I use to compete in cycling mainly track but some road, however have had about four years off the bike, I still ride here and there, more so in summer.. I am keen to get back into it and would like to compete again in road cycling..

When I go for a ride now I feel unfit in terms of "bike fitness" and hills are killing me !

I would love some advice on training to getting me back into it..
Thanks

 

[lanierb]

Hi Altas, The best thing would be to start out with some "moderate" pace rides of 1.5-2hrs. Don't push too hard but don't go easy either -- about 70% effort. It might feel easy at the beginning of the ride but by the end of 2hrs of a more or less constant effort you should start feeling pretty fatigued. It's best to have as few breaks as possible so a course with as few stoplights as possible would be best. It will feel long at first mentally but it isn't really long and you'll get used to it quickly. Also you could easily start out doing this 4 times per week and go up from there.

As you gain fitness, start to push it harder on the hills but back off again on the flats and downhills. You can then start adding in rides that are a bit higher intensity. Go pretty hard for an hour then back to moderate pace for another .5-1hr to complete the ride. Once you've done that for a few weeks you can start adding in harder intervals (e.g. 5 or 20 min intervals). This whole process can take a few months but will put you in good position to do a lot of things (long century rides, short races, etc).

 

[An old Guy]

1.5 to 2 hours a long ride for a person who has not bicycled much for 4 years.

Just riding around is good enough. Ride when you can. Takes a break when you need to. work as hard as you want. Get as tired as you want.

If you like to ride with a group, find one that suits your needs.

Really not that hard.

 

[ALTAS]

Thank you for your advice, and I can handle 1.5-2 hours with my fitness at this stage so I will do that and I guess work on getting a bit of a base behind me before getting into the more specific training of hill efforts etc.
Again, thanks and I appreciate your replies