Steps to improving bike fitness

Sounds like well on your way. I assume you have a training plan and using it for bike time/?

I do some intervals/hill training, but my biggest gains came from just getting more time in. Good luck.

I'm in a similar boat as you, my last race fatigue from the bike hindered my run.  I have another HIM at the end of this month so I'm hitting the bike hard and getting as much time in the saddle as I can.

I see you're in Kansas City?  There has got to be a few bike clubs or shops in town that have organized rides, you should try and hit them up.  While I'm always a little concerned riding with a big group of people I don't know, I do a couple shop rides each week and I use them as a motivator to get out and get some miles on.  Also keep in mind you don't have to ride hard to improve bike fitness.

Ride lots.

Mark

You're probably not going to improve in 30 days. But you can do a lot in the next month that, carried forward, will make you improve.

Ride lots. Sometimes easy, sometimes hard.

I would say we don't have enough info to really tell you how to improve.   How many hours/miles per week are you logging on the bike right now ?   How is your current biking training structured?  All easy? all hard?  any long rides?   How many hours do you have available to bike each week?

Saying "bike more" is usually the best answer but it's not always possible so making sure you're getting the most out of the time on the bike is critical. 

So what does "ride more" mean? ... Is it purely a mileage thing? Or number of days per week? 

Is it better to get a lot of short rides in throughout the week or do it all in a couple of long rides? Or both? 

I agree with this statement but many people have different definitions of 'easy' and 'lots'.

If 'easy is Z1, I disagree and believe in Bryan's expression "where fitness goes to die". I think some people associate "lots of time in the saddle" with spending many hours just casually pedalling.If Easy is a ride with a mix of  Z2 and  Z3, I agree

A cheap way to know is to get a HRM, upload your files and look at how much time you spend per zone.If Z3 and Z4 are not properly represented, improvement will not be ideal.

One thing for sure, do Jorge's plan and you won't spend much time in Z1 :-)

1. Ride your bike

2.  Ride your bike some more

3.  Take an EZ day and run/swim.

4.  Ride it like you stole it.

Seriously, you just need to ride.  No wonder gadgets, just ride and ride hard.  If you ride 4-5 days a week, only one needs to be easy, and that "easy" is not the same as running easy.

If you need a little more structure and assistance in finding the right workouts (I usually do), I suggest using TrainerRoad and Sufferfest videos.  You'll be cursing me while riding, but thanking me when you rock the bike leg of future races.

There are no "best steps to improve right away."  Cycling takes years to improve.  Just keep at it.  Consistent training will provide positive results over time.

Trainers are great however I only use it to maintain, not improve.  Not to mention that 2 hours on a trainer is sheer hell.

I wouldn't worry about all of the gadgets at this point.  Some of the best cyclists I know use computers that only show speed and distance, nothing else.  When you develop as a cyclist, additional gadgets can be helpful.

For me, mountain climbing is by far the quickest way to see improvement on the bike. Since KC doesn't have mountains, you'll need to improvise.  I would map out a 25-30 mile course with the biggest/steepest hills in your area.  Try riding that course once or twice a week.  You'll see improvement quickly.  Do this in addition to your normal training.

I agree. I tend to think of it more as lots of moderate and sometimes hard. I'll try to spend time at the easy/moderate point and push up into moderate when I can.

Typcially folks mean more miles per week.  How you split that time up largely depends on your schedule and goals.  If you're doing long course stuff then you really need to have some sort of long ride in there.   If you're doing all short course stuff then lots of shorter rides will work but there is always a benefit to the long ride...

Keep in mind that more miles/hours each week doesn't always equate to greater training load.   You could be doing 5 hours a week all in Z1/Z2, while I could be doing 4 hours a week with a mix of some Z2 but lots of z3 and z4 work and I would  have a higher training load (i.e. doing more "work").  

Another one of his is to never ride less than IM pace. Do note that is "never less than", not "at". It's a minimum. Stay over it. And that includes your long rides. When you think about the effort level an IM bike split should be done at, it does make sense.

Only exceptions I can think of are during warm-up, cool-down, and recovering between hard intervals.

This is exactly the philosophy I have used for HIM training. Unless I'm warming up, cooling down or recovering I'm pushing the pace above my HIM race pace. It does seem like common sense, but it certainly wasn't how I trained on the bike 2 years ago. Getting stronger on the bike isn't complicated but that doesn't mean it's easy!!

My first two years I did only sprint distance, but my rides were always in the 20-30 mile range.  I rode mostly hard, sometimes easy.  But 'easy" only lasted a few seconds after a climb at I recovered, drank some water etc.  This whole "ride more" thing is quite simple.  Don't overcomplicate it.  I don't use Power meters, HRM's etc. I just jump on and ride, that's all you need to do.

If you're doing a sprint tri in thirty days I would say you only need a week, maybe a week and a half to taper.  That being said, try to get in at least 3 rides a week from now until then and make each ride at least twice the sprint distance.  On the weekend, go for a 30-40 miler.  Go out at a solid effort, if you have the ride really slow on the way back because you're spent, so be it.

That may or may not equate to a dramatic improvement over you last race but you will find that the ride in your next sprint will be easier given the miles you put in beforehand.

The nice thing about cycling is that there's little risk of injury (other than crashing etc.).  You will be sore, tired etc. but have get your protein in after that tough ride, swim or take a day off the next day then get back at it.

As others have said, riding more is always a bonus, but focus helps as well.

try some of the backbone workouts...

2x20' hard

5x5' hard

stuff like that. Start with equal rest to the set, then start trying to go down in rest time.

Thanks for the feedback.  I just updated my training logs.  I admit, I've not been putting in the time in the saddle because my schedule.  I'm not comfortable riding alone so early in the morning so it's been easy for me to overlook the riding time in favor of running but I paid for it this weekend.  THat's why I got the trainer.  Most of my rides include quite a bit of hills.  Not many long rides.  My race ride was fine util I hit 19 miles, which matches up to where my training has been.

This is helpful. The reason that I was thinking of getting the meter is because I think I am too prone to being lazy and just pedalling easy.  I think a sensor would let me keep better track of my RPMs to help me keep working hard.  Sounds like I need to get some of those video's too.

This makes tons of sense.  I think this, and also the saddle time is my problem.  I do have lots of hills in my area, but I will be the first to admit that I will ride easy after climbing the hills.  

So, all I need to do is a) ride more and b) ride harder!  Ha!