Training for a ride like Bliss In The Hills

[Chidambaran Subramanian]

I have a query from riders from Delhi on how to train for Bliss. They mostly have flats in their area apparently

I never 'train' myself and even when I think of it, I am indisciplined Suggestions welcome

Regards

Chiddu

[Venky]

A way that some flat landers train for hills is to do big gear intervals with cadence in the range of 45-65 to build muscular endurance. You can start with 5 min intervals 5-6 times with 5 min easy spinning in between and then build the time spent in high gear over a period of time. The effort need not be too high for the muscular endurance workout. Z3 to low Z4 is adequate. 

Can be done outdoors against headwinds or false flats or indoors on the trainer with resistance turned up to near max. 

[O p e n d r o]

I'm probably the only guy who don't train on a bike - indoor or outdoor. This is what I do:

So, the followings are what I do.

Air squats - this builds the quads which we need for climbing - either just climbing on a trek or climbing of a bike, it does not matter.

http://www.livestrong.com/article/211859-how-to-do-air-squats/

I started this regime since last week. I do 500 squats a day in a single session. It takes about 13 to 15 mins, roughly about 40 squats per minute and, little of breaks in between. It is like 300 without pause - about 8 to 9 minutes and a couple of minutes rest and another 200. I plan to do a couple of 1000s every week. Doing longer in a stretch will also help in building the cardio strength.

BTW, this is the same exercise I give to people, including ladies, who are not into any fitness, before we embark on any long treks. Those who do at least 200 plus daily for two weeks have been able to tackle even treks like Kudremukh which is 19 km to and fro in a single day.

Core exercise. This will be required while on the bike for long hours and in steep climbs.

http://www.bicycling.com/training/strength-training/how-to-train-the-most-important-core-muscles-for-cycling/slide/9

I just started with the planks (for back and shoulder) for about 3 to 4 minutes daily, catapults (for abs) and boat. I will be doing some push ups as well.

I don't need to train on the bike because of the pedaling skills I picked from years of cycling (including my childhood days when I used to ride 18 km everyday, 6 days a week to school). I just need to build the right muscles.

Try this for a two or three weeks and see how you feel.

[Opendro]

BTW, I also do yogasana once in a while. I don't know the names of the asanas as I picked them from wife, mostly based on how I liked. A brief reference can be the starting points in https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUgtMaAZzW0&index=28&list=LLvYEm8C4ayJvsTiwimZl5BA and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTknvzGsGE0&index=29&t=1s&list=LLvYEm8C4ayJvsTiwimZl5BA

[santosh kumar]

Is there any way, we can train for reducing saddle sores?? Apart from actually getting more hours on the saddle?

One thing I remember from earlier emails from Opendro is, make your legs strong enough to take most of your weight, so that the bum and shoulders don't take too much of it. But for long rides like BITH, the legs too are sure to get tired.

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[O p e n d r o]

If legs are tired, it is a sure DNF. Often, for those who are well prepared, legs are not the weak point. Other issues such as sleep, saddle soreness, back and shoulder problems, handlebar palsy are the issues.

A stronger leg will mostly save both your shoulders and butt. Take care of the butt for the first 24 hours - wash with clean water a couple of times even if you don't have nature's call. Since I often enter the ride without long practice rides, the first 24 hours sweat is what makes the tender parts sore. Sweats after the fist 24 hours don't cause soreness for me. It is like those sweats on the face after first 24 hours - which are not very acidic in nature. This may not hold true for people who sweat out on regular basis.

BTW, Chiddu mentioned somewhere about not wearing jacket during rain. Getting drenched is not the only issue during rain. Often, we go out without mud guards. Sand mixed inside the padded lycra shorts will cause havoc. I had ridden on three continuous days of rain during the Kolhapur 1200k brevet ride. I had very bad chaffing inside.

[berkeleydb]

Paying attention to bum positioning on the saddle is a big factor for preventing saddle sores. Minor tweaks to bike fit can make a big difference there.

And arm/shoulder strength also makes a difference. On longer rides, as arms/shoulders get tired, one tends to slip forward in the saddle.

When the body starts getting tired, it's the mind that needs to be alert to maintain proper ride techniques... doing longer rides itself should help train the mind. (That will also help to get familiar how your body acts at various stages, so you will know what to expect when.)

-{db}.

[Chidambaran Subramanian]

Other aspect is sleep management. I have seen riders will themselves to ride throughout. I find it impossible to stay awake throughout

[Prashanth Chengi]

A big no-no is staying on the saddle and coasting. Many people think they'll benefit by resting, i.e. coasting downhill etc, but when they stay on the saddle, almost all of the body weight is borne by the butt.  I recommend spinning constantly, and if a break is totally necessary, lift the butt off the saddle and transfer the weight on to the legs. This also provides an opportunity to 'air' the butt :)

/Prashanth

[berkeleydb]

Ahh... interesting point. Air butting... yeah, sounds like a technical term too. :)

Good point re: sleep management. One really needs to manage the sleep / rest aspect on long rides. I will post on the LEL thread as well about this. Different riders might be matched fairly well in terms of overall physical conditioning, but when they need to get rest/sleep might vary. So riding in a group can be tricky in that sense. There will be different thresholds that the body hits at various stages of a long ride. Making sure one has a sense for those thresholds, & knowing when one needs to rest/sleep, is important.

-{db}.

[Chidambaran Subramanian]

Moving around the seat helps reducing chaffing. I have noticed one thing. I have been able to last 300km on regular shorts  on my road bike. But on a fixie, where there is less scope for moving around, the tolerance level is lesser. Of course it could depend on the saddle as well.

-{db}.