Devise a Training Programme. I do my own, and I m generally less than impressed with what people write in magazines. I ll write a piece on this soon, but for now please remember that no matter how serious you are, you must spend at least one day a week off your bike, and even more than this at the beginning. The reason is simple. Training basically damages you, and the constructive improvement only comes when you rest.
Rest is therefore an intrinsic part of any effective training programme.
I emphasise this, because in triathlon I saw so many women cracking up through over training . This simple and effective programme will work for just about everyone - including you oldies. I got my parents to start pedalling, and they now go over the mountain passes here in the Alps, and recently they even managed the 100 mile trip around Lake Geneva. It may be obvious, but if you want to race you must actually go out and do it. We women know all about being nervous to the point of not even starting.