Physical Training

[Applications for The Otesha Project]

Hi Water Workers, this is an invitation to talk about training your body for those amazing days of pedaling under the open sky. You can find some info on our Bike Tour Resources page, including a set of stretches and suggestions on how to build core strength and specific muscle groups needed for cycling. But, this is a chance to talk to each other about how your training is going. You can share tips and stories here. If it's been hard to get started or find the time, you can be each others' cheerleading squad!

So . . . what's training been like so far?

[Laura Harris]

Ok, I'm going to get the ball rolling and hope that you guys don't leave me hanging...

So I've been trying to cycle 20km a day when possible.  It doesn't happen everyday.  So far I've been able to fit in doing 50km twice a week.  The longest ride I've done so far is 65km.  None of these are on a loaded bike - that is about to come.  I'm finding that hot, hot days in Montreal make it hard to do a ride that takes the whole day.  My plan for the next few weeks is to cycle up Mont Royal (steep, steep hill for those who don't know the city) a few times a week to build up a bit more strength in my legs.  Its daunting!

Also, I've looked over the training page thing with stretches etc, and I've tried doing them a few times.  I really lack motivation when it comes to doing something on my own - I'd much rather have a partner spurring me on.  I'm doing a few exercise classes which work on muscle strength, so hopefully that will have a similar effect.

In summary, training is coming along at a good pace, but sometimes I lack motivation to do hard things.

Ok.. now its your turn to share!

Love, Laura

On Fri, Jul 20, 2012 at 2:43 PM, Applications for The Otesha Project <otesha.ap...@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi Water Workers, this is an invitation to talk about training your body for those amazing days of pedaling under the open sky. You can find some info on our Bike Tour Resources page, including a set of stretches and suggestions on how to build core strength and specific muscle groups needed for cycling. But, this is a chance to talk to each other about how your training is going. You can share tips and stories here. If it's been hard to get started or find the time, you can be each others' cheerleading squad!

So . . . what's training been like so far?

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "2012 Water Works Tour" group.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msg/2012-water-works-tour/-/3FR2YcfcvH8J.
To post to this group, send email to 2012-water...@googlegroups.com.
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to 2012-water-works...@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/2012-water-works-tour?hl=en.

[Marina Neytcheva]

Laura, sounds like you're doing an awesome job training! I can relate to the idea of sometimes finding motivation to come by, but I also think heat has been an issue for me. It is difficult, and perhaps unwise, to go on long rides in humidex advosiroes and smog warnings (we've had a few of those in this neck of the woods).

As to my training, I was doing all right, I think. Didn't have problems doing 50k, but I also hadn't really gone out fully loaded. Shortly after our phone conversation, I decided to take advantage of a cool day, so I went for an 80k ride, with somewhat loaded paniers. It was all well and good, except that my knees started hurting, and I haven't been able to ride much since then (or at least, I was advised to let them rest for a bit). I think my problem was that my seat was too low, so if I can give everyone one piece of advice, it's to make sure that your bike fits you well! Also, I think going out fully loaded is a better/faster way of discovering fit problems than going on long rides without much of a load, so maybe try that. As important it is to test our gear, I think it's just as or more important to test our bodies and make sure we're good to go in a month.

Hope this helps, and keep up the great work Laura!

Marina

To post to this group, send email to 2012-water-works-tour@googlegroups.com.
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to 2012-water-works-tour+unsub...@googlegroups.com.

[meriza_mb]

Hey guys!

Laura and Marina, sounds like you are both doing a good job of listening to your bodies! I think that's especially important now that we are only a month away from our tour. (yay!) It's important to train but it's also important to allow our bodies to recover fully before September so that we aren't going into it with injuries or strains.

Personally I have not done a lot of long bike rides, but I bike enough every day to know how my bike feels. I just got my bike tuned up and a few small adjustments (raising handlebars one inch, new chain, new cassette) made a HUGE difference. So I would definitely recommend getting a full tune-up if anyone hasn't already.

Marina, I hope your knees are feeling better! I also had knee trouble in the beginning of the season. My problem was that I was pushing myself too hard, aka staying in too high of a gear when I should have been easier on my knees. My friend who knows a lot about biking mentioned that you should always stay in lower gears at the beginning of your biking season in order to ease your knees into biking. He said even if your leg muscles can take it, the small muscles in your knees are probably being stressed. (It's hard to be good about your gears in Montreal when the cool thing to do is ride a fixy-lol) My knees felt a lot better when I made an effort to stay in the lowest gear possible at all times.

I'll let you all know how my ride with a full load of gear goes,

Mériza

[tnjm]

Hey Everyone,

 

You all seem to have some really great advice and spending some quality time with your bikes.  I am having a bit of trouble finding time to ride a lot as my job keeps me busy pretty much 24/7.  But I have been trying to fit in a few short rides when I can or short work outs.   Today for instance I rode about 34 Km to the internet so I could tell you all about how my training is going and reply to some other posts!  I biked a lot in the spring and last fall, a little bit in the winter, and I have been spending a lot of time on my feet and walking uneven trails so I'm hoping that counts! However, due to limited training time all together I have yet to ride on a loaded bike.  I carried a few things into the office with me today (some food, my notebook, and extra water) and will have a bit more on the way back (packages and mail for my girls at camp!) but nothing compared to the tour yet.  I am however getting lots of experience on two lane highways up here in northern Ontario, they seem scary at first, but they're really not that bad, and spending a little bit of time on our gravel road.

 

The advice that you guys have offered sounds great to me, it's things I have heard from some of my biking friends as well.  I'm still trying to find the perfect seat adjustment and still playing around a little bit with my gears.  My tid bit of advice for now are water is key, making sure you're hydrated before as well as during your ride, and stretching after, helps be a little kinder to your muscles. =)

 

I can't wait to meet up with you all in exactly 1 month today!  Happy riding to everyone.

Michèle