Go The Distance

3 March, 2016 By Administrator in Sports & Fitness Comments Off

There is nowhere better than the saddle of a bike to do some serious thinking. On my recent trip down under I got to thinking about the fact that good old fashioned ‘miles’ is a pretty inaccurate way of describing how tough a day’s riding will be. Some factors, such as headwinds, are very hard to take into account but the most obvious other variable is the amount of climb. Surely, I thought, it would be possible to come up with a fairly simple equation that combines distance ridden with climb to give a unit of measure that allows comparison of rides in all terrains.

Ladies and Gentlemen (drum roll), I give you…… the Terrain Adjusted Mile (or TAM).

To calculate TAMs you start with the distance to be ridden and add (or subtract) miles according to the actual climb against a ‘normal’ value. This ‘normal’ value, and how you convert any shortfall/excess into miles is bound to be contentious but I reckon the following works for me:

‘Normal’ climb is 50 feet per mile. The adjustment is 1 mile per 150 feet (either plus or minus). Here is how a 100 mile ride looks, based on 6 different amounts of climb:

Miles ridden	100	100	100	100	100	100
Feet climbed	1000	2000	3000	4000	5000	6000
Standard climb	4000	4000	4000	4000	4000	4000
Difference	-3000	-2000	-1000	0	1000	2000
Mileage adjustment	-20	-13	-7	0	7	13

TAMs	80	87	93	100	107	113

Or, to put it another way: A 100 mile ride with 3000 feet of climb is the same as a 50 mile ride with 9500 feet of climb.

I’m going to try this out on the next trip (Camino and Portugal) – I’ll work out each day in TAMs and see how this compares with a subjective ‘how hard was that ride?’ test.

The Long and Winding Road

6 January, 2016 By Administrator in Cycling challenge, Sports & Fitness Comments Off

The longest-standing record in cycling (and probably in athletic endeavor of ANY kind) is the Highest Annual Mileage record, or HAMR. Or rather is WAS! In 1939, Tom Godwin (a Brit) rode an astonishing 75,065 miles and for most of the last 76 years it looked like the record would stand forever. However, on Monday an American named Kurt Searvogel (aka ‘Tarzan’) notched up his 75,066th mile since starting his attempt on the record on January 10th 2015.

I don’t want to belittle Kurt’s efforts (they are truly incredible ) but:

His final tally will probably only exceed Tommy’s by about 1000 miles despite having access to the very best kit the 21st century has to offer. Tommy Godwin set the record long before Lycra, carbon composites, high intensity LED lights and 22 speed gear sets.

Kurt has been riding in the US, where he can chase the good weather. He has mostly been riding in Florida and I can tell you from a recent trip out there – it isn’t the same as plugging away through a British winter!

There is obviously no way of making a meaningful comparison between the two efforts. Kurt is the new record holder and deserves to bask in the glory but what Tommy Godwin achieved remains, in my book, the greatest cycling feat since the dawn of time.

Kurt better enjoy his moment in the spotlight because it may be brief. Until April another Brit, Steve Abraham, was snapping at his heels when a prat on a moped knocked him off resulting in a broken ankle. Steve kept riding but, having lost about 6 weeks while it mended, the attempt was effectively dead in the water. The beauty of the HAMR is that it doesn’t have to be a calendar year, so Steve re-set his trip meter in August and effectively started again. This means that, at the end of this new 12-month period, he will have been riding 200+ miles per day for 19 months!!! The man is clearly bonkers but you can’t help admire him. Anyone whose response to a broken ankle isn’t ‘bollocks to that – I think I’ll stop’ but ‘OK, I’ll just cycle an extra 36,000 miles’ is clearly pretty determined and I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see a new record holder come August.

If all of this has pricked your conscience, or you have already resolved to up the mileage a bit this year, take a look at Bike Adventure’s longer-distance ‘epic’ trips. The US Pacific Coast Highway, New Zealand Middle Earth Tour or London to Venice (or even London to Dubrovnik) would all make a splendid 1200+ mile contribution to your own personal HAMR in 2016!

End of Season? – Five turbo sessions to try.

3 November, 2015 By 7pxadmin in Sports & Fitness Comments Off

With advances in sports science and testing many of the old rules we have come to rely on for performance development may no longer apply.

Science laboratories and sports institutes around the world are publishing new research daily questioning the relevance of existing theories.

Among the most common of these is the relevance of long training rides. Whilst they have a place in any training regime they are no longer to be considered in isolation, more miles doesn’t necessarily mean better performance. Psychological milestones, the 100 club for example, are relevant targets for motivation but have limited physiological effect.

It has been proven however that 20 minute high intensity intervals i.e. above 90% effort help to develop anaerobic capacity (the maximal point at which adenosine triphosphate (lactic acid) can be resynthesized by the body) by as much as 28% where moderate intensity long miles will not. Continuing from this max efforts (100%) of 20 to 60 secs will develop vo2 Max (your body’s ability to absorb, distribute and utilise oxygen).

These intervals can be added into road sessions but are more commonly used during indoor training sessions on turbo trainers or in spinning classes.

To discover more on the relevance of high intensity training and its relevance in cycle performance take a look at British Cycling’s Insight Zone.

With the autumn and winter upon us now is the time to think about indoor training to support your Bike Adventures trip. Listed below are 5 Turbo Training sessions to mix things up. Try to add one or two sessions a week to compliment your road riding.

If you are off to Bhutan this autumn with Bike Adventure’s on their Mountain Bike trip I will see you there. I need to get on the turbo!

NOTES TO AID TURBO SESSIONS

Rear cassettes come in numerous forms (9/10/11 rings) of differing teeth ratios, the sessions below are based on 10 ring cassettes but can be adapted to match your setup. Always use the larger ring as your start point for warm up and progress from there.

It is more appropriate to manage turbo sessions by RPE (rate of perceived effort) and specifically % MHR (percentage of maximum heart rate) where possible.

Maximum heart rate can be approximated using the calculation 220 – Age = MHR. However more accurate results can be achieved through specific heart rate or vo2 testing.

FOR YOUR GUIDANCE:

TRAINING ZONE		%MHR	RPE
RECOVERY		<60%	0-1 EXTREMELY EASY
ZONE 1:	BASIC ENDURANCE	60-65%	1 VERY EASY
ZONE 2:	ENDURANCE	65-75%	2 QUITE EASY
ZONE 3:	TEMPO	75-82%	3-4 MODERATE
ZONE 4:	THRESHOLD	82-89%	5-6 HARD
ZONE 5:	VO2 MAX	89-94%	7-8 VERY HARD
ZONE 6:	NEUROMUSCULAR	94-100%	9-10 EXTREMELY HARD

THE TURBO SESSIONS DETAILED BELOW SHOULD BE FOLLOWED AS CLOSELY AS POSSIBLE BUT YOU MUST TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION YOUR HEART RATE RECOVERY, YOU MAY NOT ALWAYS REACH THE TARGETS SET HIGH OR LOW. MAKE ADJUSTMENTS TO ACCOMMODATE YOUR ABILITY.

TURBO 1 – PROGRESSIVE GEARS

Progressive Strength and resistance session – Hill Simulation – Cadence 90rpm – Effort 60 to 90% progressive

12 min – Ring 1 (Largest)	60%	ZONE 1
11 min – Ring 2
10 Min – Ring 3
9 Min – Ring 4
8 Min – Ring 5	PROGRESSING TO
7 Min – Ring 6
6 Min – Ring 7
5 Min – Ring 8
4 Min – Ring 9
3 Min – Ring 10	90%	ZONE 5
5 Min Recovery – Ring 1

75 Min Total (this session can be simply progressed by increasing the start minutes and decreasing accordingly with ring change)

TURBO 2 – MINUTE MADNESS

High intensity sprint intervals – Cadence 90rpm – Effort maximal at interval

5 Min – Ring 1 (Largest)	Warm up	65%	ZONE 1
5 Min – Ring 2	Warm up	70%	ZONE 2
5 Min – Ring 4	Warm up	75%	ZONE 2

2 Min – Ring 5	Recovery	75%	ZONE 3
1 Min – Ring 10 (Smallest)	INTERVAL MAX EFFORT	100%	ZONE 6
Repeat 10 times

5 Min – Ring 4	Cool Down	75%	ZONE 2
5 Min – Ring 2	Cool Down	70%	ZONE 2
5 Min – Ring 1 (Largest)	Cool Down	65%	ZONE 1

60 Min Total (to increase the intensity of this session simply change the warm up and cool down rings accordingly)

TURBO 3 – SIT/STAND

High resistance technique intervals – Cadence 90rpm – Effort maximal at interval

5 Min – Ring 1 (Largest)	Warm up	65%	ZONE 1
5 Min – Ring 2	Warm up	70%	ZONE 2
5 Min – Ring 4	Warm up	75%	ZONE 2

1 Min – Ring 10 (Smallest) – standing		85%	ZONE 4
1 Min – Ring 8 – seated – INTERVAL MAX EFFORT		100%	ZONE 1
1 Min – Ring 5 – Recovery		75%	ZONE 3
Repeat 10 times

5 Min – Ring 4	Cool Down	75%	ZONE 2
5 Min – Ring 2	Cool Down	70%	ZONE 2
5 Min – Ring 1 (Largest)	Cool Down	65%	ZONE 1

60 Min Total (to increase the intensity of this session simply change the warm up and cool down rings accordingly)

TURBO 4 – AEROBIC

Progressive aerobic intervals – Cadence 90rpm – Efforts at % Max Heart Rate

10 Min – Ring 1 (Largest) Warm up	65%	ZONE 1

2 Min – Ring 6	Progress to 70%	ZONE 2
6 Min – Ring 6	Hold at 70%	ZONE 2
2 Min – Ring 7	Progress to 75%	ZONE 3
6 Min – Ring 7	Hold at 75%	ZONE 3
6 Min – Ring 8	Hold at 80%	ZONE 4
Repeat 3 times

2 Min – Ring 4 – Recovery	65%	ZONE 1

90 Min Total (to increase the intensity of this session simply increase the times of the held efforts)

TURBO 5 – RUSSIAN STEPS

High Intensity short intervals – Cadence 90rpm – Maximal Efforts

5 Min – Ring 1 (Largest)	Warm up	65%	ZONE 1
5 Min – Ring 2	Warm up	70%	ZONE 2
5 Min – Ring 4	Warm up	75%	ZONE 2

15 Sec Max Effort / 45 Sec Recovery Spin – Ring 9		100% / 75%	ZONE 6 / ZONE 3
20 Sec Max Effort / 40 Sec Recovery Spin – Ring 9		100% / 75%	ZONE 6 / ZONE 3
25 Sec Max Effort / 35 Sec Recovery Spin – Ring 9		100% / 75%	ZONE 6 / ZONE 3
30 Sec Max Effort / 30 Sec Recovery Spin – Ring 9		100% / 75%	ZONE 6 / ZONE 3
35 Sec Max Effort / 25 Sec Recovery Spin – Ring 9		100% / 75%	ZONE 6 / ZONE 3
40 Sec Max Effort / 20 Sec Recovery Spin – Ring 9		100% / 75%	ZONE 6 / ZONE 3
45 Sec Max Effort / 15 Sec Recovery Spin – Ring 9		100% / 75%	ZONE 6 / ZONE 3
7 Min – Ring 4 – Spin recovery to allow for maximal effort		70%	ZONE 2
Repeat 2 times

5 Min – Ring 4	Cool Down	75%	ZONE 2
5 Min – Ring 2	Cool Down	70%	ZONE 2
5 Min – Ring 1 (Largest)	Cool Down	65%	ZONE 1

58 Min Total (to increase the intensity of this session simply add additional Russian steps)

Europe – Why not enjoy an active vacation?

13 October, 2015 By 7pxadmin in Sports & Fitness Comments Off

Throughout most of Europe you can cycle from one village to the next within a matter of minutes and you can do this on minor roads and cycle paths.

This means you pack in a whole host of sights within a single tour. Accommodation, restaurants and civilization in some form or another are normally close by. Whether touring alone or on an organized trip there is always the reassurance that help, civilization and communication are constantly close at hand. Cycling allows you to explore the scenery and culture. Mixing with the locals will give you a great insight into how they live.

By travelling through the different regions and countries you will be able to taste a whole variety of foods. You will be getting your daily exercise quota plus more most days, so taking advantage and experimenting with the many different cuisines should not be too much of a problem regarding weight gain and lycra stretching.

By bike you can experience the true charm of Europe. Europe is steeped in history, has a range of different terrains and many parts have a very relaxed way of life, which will often make you re-evaluate your own lifestyle.

The increase in cycling throughout Europe and all over the world means that cycling routes and places accommodating bikes and cyclists are constantly growing.

Whether you like dry dusty landscapes or hill climbs with mountain backdrops or lakes, Europe has it all to offer. Various different parts of Europe offer different climates and the seasons have a huge effect on this too. The only problem is that you can never guarantee the weather.

Planning your route can either be down to you, or you can let us help you. If you are unsure about going it alone then why not book a place on any of our wonderful European trips. Our guides are all experienced and have a vast amount of knowledge of the routes, the sites, the regions and cycling in general. Believe me they are fabulous company and a great deal of fun, which means that often they can really enhance your experience. Europe is also great if you are restricted by holiday times, as travelling is not too far or long, leaving you with plenty of cycling days.

Remember if booking a tour to book early to ensure your place, then please ensure that your passport is current and will still be valid when your trip is due. Last minute passport obtaining is just a stress that you do not need, be assured of that. Make sure you have currency changed up or some way of obtaining the correct currency on route and remember to check the currencies for different countries before you set off. Make sure you have insurance and your European Health Insurance Card before you depart and then it is time to go and enjoy Europe.

I’ve just turned 40 – I’ve discovered Lycra – what’s to do….. GET ON YOUR BIKE!

8 July, 2015 By 7pxadmin in Road Cycling Holidays Comments Off

It’s that time in one’s life when it feels like the good years are behind you, but the great ones are ahead. You need a challenge, something to show yourself that you’ve still got what it takes to bring muscle power and will power together. But you also want to give back to the world around you.

A charity bike challenge is just what you need.

If you are reading this, the chances are you own a bike, love to get on your bike and relish the idea of a challenge on your bike!

One of the most popular challenges for most people looking to do a charity bike ride is the Land’s End to John O’Groats – otherwise known as the LEJOG (or JOGLE if you want to do it in reverse – cycling backwards is not a requirement!)

It’s not a challenge to be sniffed at – it’s a trip that takes in just over 1000 miles of some of the most beautiful countryside of the British Isles. You will cycle through North Cornwall, cross the River Severn, taking in the scenic views of Herefordshire, and on into Northern England and up to the Scottish Border. Pass through the hills of Southern Uplands, and, if you have the energy to lift your hands off your bars, wave to ‘Nessie’ as you near your final destination – John O’Groats. Phew! But it’s not all in one go; at the end of each day there is a bed and a hot meal waiting for you.

So you may not complete the trip in 44 hours, 4 mins and 20 secs as done by Gethin Butler in 2001 but by riding with Bike Adventures you will be in very safe and experienced hands. Our trip durations range from 9 days for very experienced cyclists, through 15 days to a more leisurely 21 days for those with time to relax and enjoy the beautiful British scenery.

Bike Adventures have been running the LEJOG tour for over 14 years and can help you every step of the way in getting your charity challenge off to a racing start. From the initial advice about training plans and the best way to go about fundraising, to having the best tour guides in the business, we are there to assist you.

So, what are you waiting for? There’s no time like the present and no present like time, so ‘Get on Your Bike’, choose your charity and tick the LEJOG challenge off your bucket list: https://www.bikeadventures.co.uk/bike-tours/road-cycling-lands-end-to-john-o-groats/

Cycling Holidays for 2016

14 April, 2015 By 7pxadmin in Road Cycling Holidays Comments Off

It may seem as if we are only in the early stages of 2015, but thinking about your adventures for next year can be great planning. If you’re already thinking about your cycling holidays and like to plan ahead then read on….

The team at Bike Adventures have been out around the world trying out new routes, testing out the beds in the new accommodation and seeing the beer and wine are up to scratch. Now this is a not as much fun as you might think, it is a role we take very seriously – at the end of a long days cycling the last thing you need is a warm beer and a dodgy B&B. The route itself also takes careful consideration, much exploration and often hours extra in the saddle to find that glorious country road with a shady avenue of trees or a slight detour to fit in a valley view that will give you a memory and photo that takes you back there for years to come.

Some of the many things though that make our holidays special is the other riders, friends for life are made, the tour guides who have an insatiable passion for cycling and sharing this with their fellow guests and the people you meet on the way – when we stop for refreshments or to bed down you can be sure we have picked that spot because of the great hospitality and shared love of the local countryside – we meet many characters along the way. Some of our routes may have been running for more than 10 years and the team still enjoy riding them now more than ever.

The popular routes do become favourites and are often on a ‘must do’ list of classics for a lot of riders, if you missed out on your bucket list tour this year or the date clashed with Auntie Clair’s wedding then no worries, drop your details into our email list box on the left and be the first to set eyes on the cycling holiday calendar.

10,000 Miles

13 March, 2014 By 7pxadmin in Sports & Fitness Comments Off

Mary Chapin Carpenter to save you Googling it.

The jet lag from NZ is slowly fading and I am getting up now at an approximately normal time. I should just about have things sorted by the time I get on a plane to Florida and screw everything up again.

With the improved weather I am, at last, able to get out on the bike and have managed a respectable 300 miles over the last 10 days. I cannot deny that this has been painful and my lack of fitness has never been more apparent – from last September to my return from NZ I have probably ridden fewer than 1000 miles and boy does it show.

This cannot continue, so I have set myself a goal. As goals go it is quite a big one – to cycle 10,000 miles during 2014. To put things into context, the best I have previously manged is about 9,800 in the year I cycled across the USA.

I know the maths is pretty obvious but this requires cycling, on average, 27 miles every single day of the year. Even more depressing, this means that, by now, I should have already cycled almost 2000 miles whereas I have actually done just 450. Bugger.

A jolly good start will be my little jaunt to Florida on Monday. We have 7 solid days of cycling with a promise of flat roads and warm weather. I am hoping I can notch up the best part of 500 miles. After that, who knows, but at least my humiliation if I fail will be recorded via this blog.

road cycling

Go The Distance

The Long and Winding Road

End of Season? – Five turbo sessions to try.

FOR YOUR GUIDANCE:

TURBO 1 – PROGRESSIVE GEARS

TURBO 2 – MINUTE MADNESS

TURBO 3 – SIT/STAND

TURBO 4 – AEROBIC

TURBO 5 – RUSSIAN STEPS

Europe – Why not enjoy an active vacation?

Throughout most of Europe you can cycle from one village to the next within a matter of minutes and you can do this on minor roads and cycle paths.

I’ve just turned 40 – I’ve discovered Lycra – what’s to do….. GET ON YOUR BIKE!

Cycling Holidays for 2016

10,000 Miles

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