Questions from an Urban biker.
14
Member
259 days
Cholopolitan posted 32 weeks ago.
When I was in the city (Baltimore), I looked at all of the biking around town as bonus. There were areas you could get to for solid riding, but in terms of an acutal "workout", it's better to get a trainer and bust out some intervals... There are tons of specific work that can be done on the trainer that can't be replicated on roads with stoplights.
Also, the city riding can be in chill-mode without "needing" to get a workout in.
"No body misses you before 8am." -Leroy Bonkers
319
Member
533 days
Ironmom posted 32 weeks ago.
I think all the city commuting miles are definitely bonus miles that help out in the long run. I had a crazy summer with not nearly the time to train that I had hoped for. I only got in two bike rides over 50 miles. But, I bike commute everywhere, sometimes on a tandem or even tandem + tag-a-long with my kids. I think all those miles really added up, because I had consistently good bike splits this year (including a PR at Oly and half-Ironman distances). 30% of my time on the bike this summer was around town.
As for your regular training, I'd say mix it up with some trainer time to work on more consistent riding without stopping. Also, if you can do longer rides on the weekends, especially earlier in the morning when there's not much traffic, you can maybe use those 9 miles as a warmup and then put in an hour or two of uninterrupted miles before you hit the city again.
Blue Skies,
-Robin-
Hey all-
I was just wondering what you guys thought about a few bike-related things. Here is my situation: I'm going to school at SLU (in the heart of St. Louis) and am ~9 miles away from any road that doesn't have stoplights every block. When I bike, I constantly am starting and stopping and struggle to get into any rhythm or consistent HR zone.
1. Any suggestions for keeping HR up when faced with so many stoplights? I take the most open roads I can find, but it is still hard.
2. Is all this starting and stopping detrimental or beneficial to my training?
3. How do you guys feel after a solid bike workout? I don't use a HR or power meter or anything; I like to be in touch with my body during workouts. I've run long enough to know how hard I am working when running, but I just started cycling ~1 year ago and am pretty lost as to how fast I should bike, how hard I should push up hills, etc. Any ideas to help me find a good training zone? What does it feel like for you when you're in the right training zone?
4. Anyone have experience biking in the city? Any training tips?
5. I ride my bike everywhere on campus, and end up doing 35-40 miles a week between going to class and friends apartments, etc. All trips are less than a mile. Are those miles doing anything for me as far as training goes?
Let me know your thoughts on any/all of those. Thanks so much guys!