Increase your Cycling Power over the winter = Faster times on 2009 (Page 15)

Thanks Micawber - good to have an idea of where I stand.  And it pretty well matched my expectations.

Thanks for the update Jorge - I can't access the link at the moment (it's blocked at work).  I'm curious how/why you adjusted the FTP number.  I reran the number and still get 253.  Again, maybe it's explained on the link, and I just have to wait till I get home.

Oh, and if I can improve by as much as 10% for next season, I'll be one happy camper (and if I only manage 5% it's still great).

Neil

If your riding on a trainer, it may be tough to know if the saddle is right for you.  I was told by my fitter that riding outdoors provides a bit of lift on the body and can make a difference on how the saddle feels.  I got a new saddle last winter and rode it on the trainer and it was miserable.  My fitter said he would try another, but encouraged me to wait until I get outside and see if it gets better. 

I don't know if I just broke it in on the trainer of if what he says is accurate, but once I got outside the saddle felt great and though I don't have any rides much over 70 miles, it is comfortable.

FYI, my saddle is the Specialized Team Toupe which does not look comfortable!  Keep in mind that saddles are very personal, but your LBS has an idea from customers what seems to work and what they complain about.

Ok, Q2 for this week is now in the books.  Ugh - I hate mornings, but I dragged myself out of bed so I could do the ride.  Now that I have an FTP, I figured that I'd be able to handle the 2x5min sessions without much of an issue since I had ridden a higher watt for both the 20min and 5min tests.  Wrong.

I found it really tough this morning and my legs were just begging me to let up, and all I could do was alternate between watching the clock and burying my head.  It was all worth crawling out of bed for.

Jorge - accessed the link from home.  Thanks, that helps to explain it a bit better.

One question.  Following these workouts, what should we be eating?  By that, I mean how many calories should we take in vs. the number of calories that we just burned through?

Thanks,

Neil

I don't have a trainer, but I have a Spin Bike at home that I can use.  It is a very basic spin bike, so I don't have any indicator of speed, rpm, etc.  Can I still take part in this?

 If so, I have a HRM, so I guess I would be in the HRM group?

Thanks for doing this,

-Nick

You were not alone this morning.  It sounds like burying the head and watching the time tick off was the norm for this morning.   I was thinking, "2 intervals five minutes each, how bad could it be?"  My legs were yelling at me for getting out of bed to tortue them. 

Micawber - 2008-11-26 5:07 PM I did Q2 this morning as well, and I found it to be a tough session too. I'm still doing short bike commute rides on most week days. I have to admit that, where I used to hammer it during the commutes, there's a lot more soft pedaling since starting these workouts.

You're in Lethbridge!! I can't believe you're still riding outdoors.  Wait, I checked the Weather Network, I can't believe it's not -10!

It's in Jorge's blog, but here it is.

Power:   A = 60-65% FTE, B = 65-70% FTE

HR/RPE: A = 70-75%HR, RPE 2-3,  B = 78-83%HR, RPE 3-4

Lots of rescheduling this week. I should be doing W2Q2 today to work off that turkey dinner and being in the south the calorie count is probably doubled knowing my wife's side of the family! Unfortunately, life got in the way this week so to stay on track and on task I am going to be doing Q1, Q2, and Q3 today, tomorrow, and Saturday respectively. I have felt really good during these workouts. Only notable thing may be some left knee pain last week that was fixed by adding a shim to my left cleat. Other than that I am looking forward to the upcoming suffer-fest that is the BT WINTER CYCLING PROGRAM! Now I gotta go study since we have some kind of "test" in Week 3.

  ↑ How's this look?

 -Chris

To answer both your questions - I would suggest applying some more resistance from the roller to the tire, this should help reduce the spinning.  As for speed, I expect to be faster on the trainer since there are no outside factors, such as wind, to slow me down plus.

With this board being so quiet, I've got to think all our American cousins are still in their self induced Turkey comas!

Happy (late) Thx Giving everyone. I wasn’t around my laptop much yesterday and the fact I got a chest cold well I haven’t been on BT much so let me catch up.

What he said. I applied the recommended resistance by the trainer model and do so every time I get my bike on the trainer. To make sure I get the same resistance I also inflate my tire to the indicated PSI on the tire.

Speed on the trainer is not really relevant for us because depending on your trainer, the resistance, the tire pressure, etc your speed will vary. What we are concerned about is the time you spend pushing at the prescribed intensity.  If you can push 250 watts on your trainer (or ride at z4) for 20 min then you will be able to do the same on the road, and that is all that matters FYI - In my case my speed is always slower on the trainer by 2+ mph due to the resistance of the trainer.

About cadence, go with what feels ok with you, if 95-100 is where you feel comfortable at then ride at that rpms. Just try to replicate the same conditions as much as possible every time you ride the trainer (i.e. same resistance on your trainer)

Happy late T-day and hello to my Northern niegbours

Today's ride is wk 2 Q2 for me, later after a day of splashing with the daughter at the pool.  She is pacing behind me waiting to go now.

I noticed that my legs feel the ride more in different parts then when I ride on the road.  I usally get back from a road ride and my right calf is screaming at me.  My quads are twitcy and everything is tight.  When I get off the trainer my quads are spent.   last ride as I started up the stairs I felt them turn to rubber and reached for the handrail.  A guess on my part is the road riding was more hills and longer times and the trainer is shorter quick burst.  Anyone else seeing a differance in after ride leg feelings?

Joe