From: moore@cs.utah.edu (Tim Moore)
Subject: Re: How often do you ride?
In-reply-to: naru@eng.umd.edu's message of Mon, 27 Jul 92 14:14:33 GMT
Organization: University of Utah CS Dept
Date: 27 Jul 92 09:23:16

In article <1992Jul27.141433.23067@eng.umd.edu> naru@eng.umd.edu (Naruhisa Takashima) writes:

   I've recently purchased my first real road bike, and I'm interested in 
   participating in races.  

Another blow against the evil empire :-)
     
     The question I have is how often should I ride or
   how much should I ride before entering my first race.
   To give you some insight, I consider my self in shape but I've not ridden a
   bike seriously for over a year.

If you want to race, join a club in your area. Ask around at bike
shops for a club that welcomes novices. You will learn to ride in
close proximity to other riders on club rides. Also, club riders will
be able to advise you on the ins and outs of the racing scene in your area.

   Also, I've just read the book written by Phinney/Carpenter, and
   they recommend that a novice racer should  ride it least 10 hours a
   week.  To me this sounds like a lot.

It is a lot, but it can be done. If you ride the same amount every
single day (not recommended), it's one and a half hours a day.

   Although I can make time for it, I'd like to enjoy other activities
   as well. (e.g. tennis, roller blading, etc.) If I want to race do I
   have to give it all up? 

Have to? You'll want to, and your home life too! :-)

   Does every USCF lisenced racers ride this much (or more)?
   (Note, Although I want to be competitive, I'm not aiming to be a national champion.
    Winning a Cat 4 on once or twice would be nice though :))

   If you could tell me your experience, I would really appreciate it.

Unfortunately, even the Cat 4s ride a lot. Our district (Utah) has a
reputation for being competitive. This is my first season, and I've
been struggling to maintain 10 hours a week. I've been hovering around
8 - 12 hours a week for a month or so and am finally starting to be
competitive in cat 4. I got my best result so far last friday, placing
6th / 40 in a criterium. So either I really suck or the other Cat 4s
must ride as much if not more than I.

I've adopted some of the interval workouts from the Phinney/Carpenter
book; they seem to work well for me. This is what an ideal riding week
looks like for me:

Mon: Several pyramid intervals (5-10-15-20-25-30-25-20-15-10-5), 1:30 total
Tue: High gear / low cadence hill intervals, 1:30
Wed: Moderate ride with some accelerations, 1:30
Thu: Criterium + ride to and fro, 2:00
Fri: either rest or easy, 1:00 ride
Sat: Race or long ride with club, 2-3:00
Sun: Longish easy ride, 2-3:00

This totals 10 - 13 hours.

You can do less and still have fun, but if you really want to do well
in the novice categories and move up, 10 hours is probably a minimum.
Earlier this season I was only doing 8 hours a week max. I could stay
near the front in crits and flat road races, but I had nothing left at
the end. I also got dropped regularly in hilly races. Now I feel a lot
better at the finish (need to work on those sprint tatics, though)
and I don't get dropped (as often :-) in the hills. 

   Thanks in advance,
   Naru Takashima

--
Tim Moore                    moore@cs.utah.edu {bellcore,hplabs}!utah-cs!moore
"Wind in my hair - Shifting and drifting - Mechanical music - Adrenaline surge"
	- Rush
From: budn@hpmwtd.sr.hp.com (Bud Noren)
Date: Wed, 22 Jul 1992 15:28:57 GMT
Subject: Re: Barry Tompkins (Was: Re: ESPN & TdF)
Organization: HP Santa Rosa Site (NMD MTA MWTD)