Bradley Wiggins shares his top tips for maximising your bike ride
1. Ride with the wind
Most cyclists find the wind is what makes a ride tough, rather than the hills. Hills only crop up occasionally; the wind is a constant. This is where route planning matters. Work out how the wind is blowing and select a circular route, with the outward leg going against any wind, so the breeze blows you home as you get tired. This matters even more in winter because of wind-chill – avoid turning into the wind when you are already sweaty, as that will make your body temperature drop. Find smaller roads with hedges and bends rather than wide, exposed main roads.
2. Tyre maintenance
Pump up your tyres to the recommended pressure. This will make the biggest difference to how the bike feels and how fast you can go. If you can get a track pump with a pressure gauge, do so. Similarly, lube your chain regularly and make sure the wheels are running true.
3. Clothing matters
Get shorts with a padded insert, as they make a big difference to your comfort. And make sure none of your clothing is flapping in the wind. Again, that will slow you down. Always carry a rain jacket unless it’s sizzling. If you have to stop for a puncture or a cup of tea, you will cool down.
4. Positioning
Try to achieve a compromise between riding tight in the gutter, where you can’t easily go round any potholes and drains, and sitting a little further out where you have more options. You may feel safer close to the road edge, but some cyclists feel you have less presence on the road and traffic is less likely to slow down and give you space. On some well-used roads there is a line in the tarmac where truck wheels have smoothed the surface out. Putting your wheels there will make riding more comfortable.
5. Get in gear
Don’t just use the highest gear you can. You may go a little slower on a lower gear, but if you are pedalling more quickly and more smoothly, you will go further and faster in the long term, with happier legs. When you arrive at a hill don’t attack it in the highest gear you can manage unless you are utterly confident you can turn the gear all the way to the top. Instead, select a lower gear to start with, remain in the saddle, then change up if you are comfortable.
6. Know when to brake
On descents, brake before the corners, rather than when you are already turning. Lift your inside foot to 12 o’clock and put a little weight on the outside foot to lower your centre of gravity.
7. Look at lorries
If you are worried about cars and lorries whizzing past your elbow, get into the habit of listening as a vehicle comes up behind, and turn your head to look back at it as it approaches. It’s been suggested that this will make the driver more likely to pull out or slow down. Try it and see.
8. Fuel up
If you are doing more than just going out for a quick spin, make sure you have enough food and drink, or the money to buy them en route. And think beforehand about where you are going to find a garage or village shop to fill up. The last thing you want is to find you have somehow ended up going further and longer than you expected, but without the fuel to do it.
9. Be friendly
Acknowledge any cyclists who come in the opposite direction. I don’t know why we all do this, but it’s a custom; part of being on the road together.
10. Zone out
Switch off your mobile phone and enjoy the surroundings. That’s what you are there for after all.
• Bradley Wiggins’ autobiography, In Pursuit of Glory, is out now (Orion, £18.99)
How to measure your heart rate
Heart rate is the number of beats your heart makes per minute. At rest this may be 60-80 beats per minute (bpm), but this is individual and some highly trained cyclists may have resting heart rates as low as 30bpm. However, when working at maximum effort your heart rate may rise above 200bpm.
A basic generic formula for working out expected maximum heart rates is to deduct your age from 220 (eg for a 25-year-old the expected maximum would be 220-25=195), but this varies widely, and you should try to get an accurately measured value.
Early use of heart rates to determine exercise level simply recommended various percentages of that maximum. A more tailored method is to base your target heart rate on your “heart rate reserve” – the difference between your maximum and resting heart rate.
But there is an even more useful value – threshold. This is the maximum level you can sustain for an hour. The simplest way to determine your threshold is to ride as hard as you can for one hour, and then note your average heart rate for the ride. If you’re not ready for the whole hour, just ride at a pace you can only just maintain for 30 minutes. Use 95% of your recorded average heart rate as your functional threshold.
Test yourself at the end of the final active recovery week of each training block so that you can adjust your training to take account of improvements in your fitness. (Remember to warm-up with ten minutes gentle riding and warm-down with a gentle five-minute spin in an easy gear).
• Extracted from Cycle For Life, by Nicole Cooke (Kyle Cathie)
Source: Read Full Article
