Taking workout with you on the bike

How complicated are these?

Write it in pencil on small sheet of paper and tape it to your top tube just behind the stem. 

You got it! Have fun

Pretty much how it works. I used to have to write every single step down in my swim sets but now I'm able to bypass a fair amount of it because it's all become familiar and repeatable. Do your illustrated w/o enough and you'll no longer need to write it down. Also, I don't agree that the 20 min continuous ride is THE main set, it's just a part of the main set. 

Suzanne was helping to prioritize sections of the workout. And in this one I see the 5 x 3:00 as the main part with 20:00 as a second part to that. Everything else is warm-up, recovery and cool-down. The first 30 minutes is to get you ready to go quite hard for the 3:00 intervals, and there is a later hard build up to help with that. None of this first 30 min has to be very exact. The 5 min between the sets doesn't have to be exactly that either. Just a good recovery between the sets. For me, could be anywhere from 5'-20' between depending on how I feel and the time I have. Not a big deal. Since the 20' section is more broad in how hard to work, I see it more as a secondary main set instead of primary even though the work time is longer (20' vs 15'). Now back to the 5 x 3', the work to rest within this section will matter and I see this as the more important set in this type of design. Do hit 3' on and 2' for the recovery. Within this part of the set, the timing does matter because while you can most certainly make it "hard" regardless of how you space them out the aspect of your fitness that is being worked can change.

As you gain more experience with workouts you'll learn what parts are important and what is more flexible. So again, I look at that and see the 5 x 3'(2') hard and the 20' moderate-to-hard, and that's the heart of what to remember. The other parts are spelled out for you to help give a good warm-up, between set recovery, and cool-down. The specifics of these parts aren't as crucial so long as you are able to execute the main sets as well as possible. What's in there tends to work fairly well in accomplishing that.

If you have to write it down it's too complicated.  Just ride.

Yeah, that sounds normal on the intervals. HR always lags behind and it does take some time to recover from them.

I think most are fine riding extra too. With some more practice you'll get the hang of route planning and matching it up with expected speeds, that is if you want less. The issue that would come up is being more tired than planned and not able to execute other workouts later that day or over the next day or so as well. This was probably more like 20' extra of easier riding which isn't really going to add much fatigue.

I agree with this in general, and I think Suzanne was trying to politely say something similar (the details for the warm up don't matter.  The main sets do.)

I disagree with the "just ride" part.  Only my opinion, but I think that's fine for someone with your experience, GMAN, because you know how hard you need to ride and how much to get results.  I've experienced a number of beginners who simply don't have any frame of reference, so they don't push intervals hard enough to see improvements.  That's where some structure accompanied by a system for prescribing intensity becomes more important.

The other benefit of the intervals, as basic as they may seem, is that it gives the rider something to look forward to. I'd happily do a 20 interval workout if it makes the time go by.

To the original query, I wanted to second the suggestion of a Garmin with custom workout options. I use this feature a TON for running and also for biking.   Usually by the time I have entered the workout I have memorized it, but whatever

Happy riding!

Originally posted by AdventureBear  PS Someday the 5 x 3' will be part of the warmup...the main set will feel even harder.

Just how hard do you having people do the 3' intervals in such a case?

I do something like the pattern listed earlier for the first set, but well up in Z5, which is why I was thinking that was the primary part of the main set. I probably could have clarified more with "very hard" instead of just leaving it at "hard". Then the later 20' would be additional sweet spot work as that tends to be somewhere around the Z3/Z4 border (and it can still be rather challenging after busting hard on the first part!). I tend to see more work at done at this level if it was the primary part and less of the earlier work. That many shorter interval seemed like a lot to get things warmed up for the later part. I like taking more than most and that would be well past what I'd do.

Originally posted by brigby1

Originally posted by AdventureBear  PS Someday the 5 x 3' will be part of the warmup...the main set will feel even harder.

Just how hard do you having people do the 3' intervals in such a case?

I do something like the pattern listed earlier for the first set, but well up in Z5, which is why I was thinking that was the primary part of the main set. I probably could have clarified more with "very hard" instead of just leaving it at "hard". Then the later 20' would be additional sweet spot work as that tends to be somewhere around the Z3/Z4 border (and it can still be rather challenging after busting hard on the first part!). I tend to see more work at done at this level if it was the primary part and less of the earlier work. That many shorter interval seemed like a lot to get things warmed up for the later part. I like taking more than most and that would be well past what I'd do.

I agree with this.  5 x 3' with 2 min active recovery seems like a pretty standard VO2 type workout, and is definitely part of the quality work of that workout if not more important than the 20 minute effort, depending where you are in your training schedule.

My Timex Ironman GPS watch has five interval timers which is normally plenty for what I do.

Was watching the TdF a couple of days ago and they showed a couple of the riders sharing a small laminated route card that they give to all the riders everyday.  Thought it was interesting that with all the technology they have at their disposal they still rely on paper maps at times.

Mark