Ride the Rockies 2013 Training: Building Aerobic and Endurance Base

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I'm off to a pretty good start toward my goal to ride 2,000 before the start of Ride the Rockies 2013 on June 8. Since January 1, I have logged 190 miles on my Cyclops Fluid2 indoor bicycle trainer (and right now seriously debating whether to go log 10 more to make it an even 200!). At this time last year I had only ridden 75 miles on the trainer.

If you are planning to enter the lottery for Ride the Rockies be sure to follow me on Twitter (@REAL_BEEFMAN) this Saturday night, Feb. 2. I will be attending the route announcement party in Denver and tweeting the route as it is announced (approx. 7:30 p.m. mtn time).

Even though I find spinning my wheels and going nowhere exceedingly boring there are many benefits of riding indoors. For one thing, winters in Colorado make it difficult to get in consistent workouts on the road. But this is also a good time for building a solid aerobic and endurance base. And riding on an indoor trainer allows you to get a quick but effective workout, on your own bike, any time of day or night (here are some great tips on How to Ride Inside from Bicycling.com).

I try to keep indoor training interesting by varying the intensity and length of workouts and setting goals to push myself. I also pay close attention to RPMs. I usually try to keep my cadence above 90 in order to train my legs to spin faster instead of push harder. Studies have shown pedaling at higher speeds with less force preserve glycogen in the fast-twitch muscle fibers and burns fat more efficiently.

As I move into the second month of training I plan to add in some single-leg drills to improve my "perfect circles" technique. I know that's something I need to work on to become a more efficient cyclist. This year I'm all about cycling smarter, not harder!

Ride on!

Daren