Check out our newest post on the Training Peaks blog:

https://home.trainingpeaks.com/blog/article/recovering-from-a-broken-collarbone-part-2

Check out our newest post on the Training Peaks blog:

http://home.trainingpeaks.com/blog/article/recovering-from-a-broken-collarbone-part-1

This may be the most frequently asked question I field from the athletes I work with and can be the bane of most cyclist’s existence.  When the tarmac points uphill, how can you get to the top faster?

1. Lose Weight

Cycling, and more so climbing/descending, cannot escape the realm of physics.  The heavier an object is, the more force it takes to push it forward.  When the object is  being pushed up an incline, the force needed to move it increases exponentially as the gradient of said incline increases.  For our purposes, the object being pushed includes you, your bike, your bottles, your kit, etc. and the force needed to move it is you turning the pedals and producing enough power to keep forward momentum going.  If your power to object weight ratio are low, guess what?  You aren’t getting up that hill fast, my friend.  This is also called “watts per kilo” and is one of the most important and telling objective measurements of how strong  a cyclist is when going uphill.

If you can maintain your current fitness, but lose weight, you will be able to climb a heck of a lot faster.  There are a few ways you can lose weight and make the “object” lighter.  The easiest and highest return on investment is of course losing body weight.  Second, depending on how deep your pockets are, you can lose weight off of your bike by upgrading the frame, wheels, and components to lighter versions.  Tertiary, you can dump your bottles and fuel before the end of the last climb (so pro) to lighten yourself even more.  I don’t recommend doing this however because littering is no good, and you more than likely don’t have a team car following you to pick up your bottles.

2. Get Stronger

Say you are already super skinny and have the best of the best and lightest stuff available.  You won’t be able to necessarily lose weight, unless you can invent a lighter than water replacement.  In this case (and not only this case!), you need to become stronger.  Becoming stronger for climbing entails:

• Having a very strong core to be able to deal with the low cadence and high torque pedaling style of steep climbs.
• Being able to maintain around lactate threshold intensity or higher for the length of the climb at varying pedal cadences and both sitting and standing.
• Being able to change your hand position (flats, hoods, drops) to stress different muscle groups at different times to keep one group from over-fatiguing.
• Possessing mental fortitude, because lets face it, climbing can really hurt.
• Being able to raise both hands in the air at low speeds without falling over after you drop all of your closest rivals (okay, maybe).

The best time of the periodization period I have found to work on bike specific strength with my athletes are the offseason, base, and initial build phases where you can dedicate time off the bike and in the weight room (for some athletes), as well as utilize the trainer’s ability for low cadence and high torque exercises.  Check out the Muscle Tension Effort exercise in this post for an idea.

3. Practice, practice, practice

The old adage holds true in this case: “The only way to improve at something is to practice it!”.  So, if you want to improve upon your climbing, you need to climb more.  Seek out hillier routes and push yourself out of your comfort zone.  Put the bike in your car and drive to the more hilly/mountainous areas surrounding you.  Just get out there and point the bike uphill!

Enjoy the descent.

For more information on GC Coaching and how we can help you improve your fitness, please visit www.gaffneycyclingcoaching.com

In part 1, I spoke about training for a gravel grinder.  In part 2, I want to spend time discussing the myriad of bike tires available to those looking to participate in a gravel grinder as well as give some tips to make your selection easier.

Tires

Selecting the correct tire is crucial to having the ability to climb loose pack, power through mud, and zoom on the pavement.  Tires have many areas to consider, but for the purpose of this article I will speak about 3: mounting, tread, and width.

Mounting

• Tires can be mounted to wheels 3 ways via a clincher, tubular, or tubeless system.
  • Clincher – The most common.  With this set-up, you have the wheel, tube, and tire all separate from each other.
    • Pros – Low cost, ability to change a flat.
    • Cons – Unable to run low pressure and greater risk of pinch flats.
  • Tubular – The “pro” choice.  With this set-up, the tire is sewn around the tube and then glued to the wheel.
    • Pros – Ability to run the lowest pressure, virtually no risk of pinch flatting.
    • Cons – Price, impossible to change a flat in < 3 days due to needing to re-glue, did I mention price?
  • Tubeless – The new kid on the block.  With this set-up, the tire is held directly to the wheel with no need for a tube and utilizes a tire sealant.
    • Pros – Ability to run lower pressure compared to clincher, but with very low pressure the risk of rolling the tire off the wheel increases.  No risk for pinch flats.
    • Cons – Price, poor mounting technique, sometimes the tire will “burp” if a sharp turn is taken, or if there is a strong lateral force placed against the tire, which will reduce the tire pressure substantially.

So, what mounting system you choose depends on a lot of factors, but the majority of the riders I know and have spoken with go with a clincher system.

Tread

• Tire treads come in 3 varieties: file, mud, and all terrain.  Each of these varieties have many more sub-varieties, but let’s save that for a later post in the Fall #crossiscoming.
  • File Tread – Think of a metal file in your high school’s shop class and you will get the idea.  This tread features many shallow and closely packed bumps that facilitate SPEED.  These are best used on dry, flat, and grassy/packed dirt courses.
  • Mud Tread – Think of a traditional mountain bike tire with the deep and prominent bumps that are spaced far apart.  This tread type is good for muddy and wet conditions (you are so smart if you guessed that!).  I have also had success in using mud tires on a course featuring lots of elevation gain over loose packed gravel/sand as it digs deeper into the surface and maintains traction better than the file / all terrain tread.
  • All Terrain Tread – Think of a hybrid between file and mud tread.  Usually, these tires will feature a file tread in the middle and mud tread on the outside.  This will allow you to cruise on the flats, but still have the traction needed for the turns.  If you can’t decide what type of tire you need, or if the gravel grinder you choose is not crazy extreme, these are the best of both worlds.

Width

• The wider a tire is, the greater the contact patch becomes which yields increased traction over many conditions.  However, as the contact patch increases, so does the rolling resistance which can slow you down on the fire roads and pavement when you want SPEED.  Tire width can also be limited based on what your bicycle frame can support, but most will easily support a 32mm tire which will be plenty wide enough for the majority of gravel grinders.

As you can see, the process of selecting the right tire can be a daunting task.  But, with the right knowledge of the different mounting, tread, and width options available to you, as well as what your gravel grinder event dictates, you will be able to walk in to your local bike shop like a boss!

The gravel grinder is exploding in popularity all over the United States for good reason; they are a ton of fun!  And with the right training and skills work, they can become even more enjoyable.  This post will discuss the areas of training the gravel grinder athlete should focus on, as well as give a few workouts I like to prescribe to the athletes I work with to prepare them for anything race day can throw at them!  As always, be sure to consult with your physician before embarking on any new exercise routine.

Area #1: Endurance

Having a solid cardiovascular foundation and a strong aerobic system is crucial to accomplishing gravel grinders.  The events are purposely made to be very challenging to the competitor and range from 50 to 150 miles, feature mixed terrain that can include single track and sections that are impassable by bike, as well as a decent amount of climbing.  All of these factors add-up to WAY more time in the saddle than most people think.  A common mistake I have seen with gravel grinder newbies is doing all of their training on their road bikes; riding 50 miles on the road is vastly different from riding 50 miles over gravel, mud, sand, grass, etc.  With that being said, I would add at least 25-33% of your total time to complete the event distance on your road bike to give you an idea of how long it will actually take you on race day.  If you can get some wider tires onto your road bike, or if you have a cycl0-cross or even gravel grinder specific bike, get out on some fire-roads and secondary roads to get an idea of how much slower you actually go when not riding on silky-smooth tarmac.

Endurance Booster – Sweet Spot Intervals

• Be sure you warm up for at least 15 minutes before starting these intervals.
• Start with 3 sets of 5 minutes at your sweet spot zone with the goal of building up to 2 sets of 20 minutes, or longer if your event is >75 miles and/or features a lot of elevation gain.
• Rest for 50% of the active interval length between.

Further Reading: What is sweet spot?

Area #2: Being able to grind it out

Since gravel grinders are done on mixed terrain, it is important to be able to stay seated, with your weight back on the bike, and be able to grind it out at a low cadence to maintain traction and keep moving the bike forward.  So, you must practice either climbing while over-geared or utilizing a trainer in a massive gear at a slow cadence to mimic this.

Strength Booster – Muscle Tension Efforts

• Be sure you warm up for at least 15 minutes before starting these intervals, and if you have any joint pain stop immediately.
• Start with 3 sets of 6 minutes with the goal of being able to perform 3 sets of 15 minutes.  It is crucial for these that you keep your cadence between 40-55 RPM and you push a really big gear.  I usually don’t give my athletes any power or heart rate zone goal and instead advise them to focus on the “push, scrape, pull” of the pedal stroke to keep a constant force on the pedal which will help maintain traction when you need to do it for real.
• Rest for 50% of the active interval length between.

Area #3: Bike handling and driving

Some events feature more difficult terrain than others, but all gravel grinders will feature some unstable surfaces where you need to let the bike do what it wants to keep it upright.  So…

• Never use a white-knuckled death-grip and let the bike bounce and move as it wants.  The more you try to over correct it, the slower you will go and the more you risk ending up on the ground.
  • Improve this skill by riding 1 handed at first, then progressing to no hands.  You should have the majority of your weight going through your hips normally and these drills help you learn to shift your weight back.  Start on the road before trying it on the dirt.
• Practice bunny hopping to clear sticks, holes, and other unforeseen things in the road.  You never know what a dirt road will present you with.
  • Improve this skill by first popping your front tire and then rear tire onto a curb to get the feeling of lifting the front tire with your arms and your rear tire with your feet.  Once you can do this, grab a piece of foam or plastic bottle and practice clearing it with both tires at the same time.  Once you get the hang of this, gradually increase the height of the object.
• Practice leaning the bike into turns instead of turning your handlebars and steering the bike into them.
  • Improve this skill by finding a car-free and safe place that features a 90 degree turn.  Practice entering the turn at the middle of the road, hitting the apex of the turn, and then exiting while drifting back out to the middle of the turn again.  Remember to keep your inner pedal up!  Start off slowly and gradually increase the speed at which you enter.  Start off on the road before trying on the dirt.
• Practice stopping suddenly in case you need to avoid a hazard, or another cyclist.
  • Improve this skill by learning to shift your weight backwards while simultaneously squeezing the brake levers.  The further back your weight is, the less chance there is of you endoing.

Stay tuned next week when I will talk about the gear and equipment to consider when participating in a gravel grinder!

Are you thinking of participating in a gravel grinder event this summer?  Let GC Coaching help you get race ready!  For more information on GC Coaching and how we can help you improve your fitness, get in touch with us!

In part I, we discussed more concrete ways to get yourself ready to ride outside including some tips on clothing, bike and drivetrain maintenance, and what to expect soreness-wise for those first couple of rides out.  In part II, I want to speak more on the subjective aspect and hopefully help some of you overcome the fear associated with riding outdoors by sharing what I do to keep myself safe and sound when riding.

Fear, its (literally) all in your head

The number one reason people tell me they don’t want to ride their bikes outside is due to fear of being hit by a car.  This is of course a reasonable fear to have as the news is full of sad stories of cyclist being struck by vehicles and getting injured, or worse.  I have been struck once myself and have had multiple close calls by either the driver not paying attention, or me losing focus of my surroundings.  However, with proper education of both cyclists and drivers, I believe we can cut down on the amount of cyclists being struck as well as disassociate ourselves with some of the fear of riding outside.  Fear is not a bad thing though as it creates a heightened sense of our surroundings, which leads me to tip #1…

1. FOCUS – If I had a dollar for every time I came across a cyclist, or worse, a group of cyclists, who were oblivious to the fact that there were other cars and cyclists on the road, I would have retired a long time ago.  When you are riding outside, please be aware of your surroundings at all times.
2. Ride to the right / single file – When riding outside, always ride as far to the right as safely possible.  When riding in a group, ride single file whenever you are on a busy street and whenever there is a car back.  It is okay to ride 2 abreast, but only when you do not impede the flow of traffic.  I only ride 2 abreast when I have a wide enough shoulder to do so.
3. Choose your roads – If I am going to be traveling somewhere foreign to me, or I just want to ride on some new roads, I use 2 things to figure out my route: Strava Routes and Google Maps.
   1. Strava Routes is fantastic because it will automatically navigate to roads that are most used by its users, which usually means they are safe and bike friendly.  You can also easily transfer the created route to your Garmin, or bring it up on your cell phone for turn by turn directions.
   2. Google Maps is good because they maintain a database of dedicated bike trails, dedicated lanes, and bike friendly roads.  All you need to do is access the “bicycling” map via the menu.
   3. If you are totally brand-new to riding outside, I suggest practicing in a parking lot, or on a bike path.  This will help remove all distractions so you can focus on keeping upright.
4. Choose your time – The best time of the day to ride is midday and before or after rush hour during the week, or early in the day during the weekends.  I have found this to be when there is the least amount of cars on the road.  I also try to avoid the morning and evening rush hour traffic like the plague as the drivers tend to be far more aggressive and are usually doing a few things at once, i.e. not focused!
5. Use lights/bright clothing – If you live in a busy area and you don’t have a choice but to ride on busy roads, you need to stand out against the traffic and be noticeable.  I suggest investing in some bright lights for both the front and the back of your bike as  well as wearing some bright colors to stand out from the traffic.  Anything that will help get you noticed by other drivers will be advantageous.  Check out the Varia by Garmin, the technology is really cool!
6. Respect the rules of the road – Bicycles are road users, so they need to adhere to all the rules that cars need to.  That means stopping at all red lights, checking both ways at a stop sign, not passing other cars in traffic, not weaving in and out of traffic, etc.  If you wouldn’t do it in your car, you should not do while riding your bike either.
7. Be predictable / Use signals – Ride in a straight line, use your hand signals, etc.  Be as predictable as you can be to the other drivers to keep yourself safe.
8. Be calm – No matter how safe and predictable you ride, unfortunately some drivers will give you a buzz (drive close to you), beep, yell, whatever, from time to time.  When this happens, try to remain calm and not antagonize the situation further.  Now, I am not saying lay down, but 2 wrongs don’t make a right.

So, with a little bit of education, good habits, and wise choices you can drastically increase your safety on the bike and decrease your chances of being another statistic.  Of course, rule #1 is to always HAVE FUN out there!

Further Reading:

Hand Signals – 

How to not get hit by cars

Bicycle crash statistics – US DOT

The snow has melted away…The street sweepers have been out getting rid of all the nasty salt and sand from the Winter…The road shoulders are starting to appear again…The temperature is on the rise…The race calendar is starting to take shape…SPRING HAS SPRUNG!  This can be an exciting time for the veteran cyclist who understands how to make the transition seamlessly from the trainer to the road, but can be equally terrifying for the beginner who may have only begun riding their bikes on a trainer this Winter and/or have been participating in Spin classes and have an interest in riding on the roads.  However, with some advice, tips, tricks, and maybe a few hacks, there is no need to be fearful of getting outside.

Gear

Gear is perhaps the most misunderstood, confusing, and above all, overly chronicled thing in cycling today.  Even to this day, I sometimes mistakenly overdress (and especially underdress) in the Spring!  Gear really should not be this way though and if you break it down into it’s most basic parts it becomes easier to understand:

• Clothing – I wrote a previous blog post about dressing in the cold, but how much or little clothing is very subjective as some people naturally run warmer or colder than others.  I can tell you this though, if you have been riding indoors and are used to 68 degrees F, 50 degrees F with a head wind is going to feel REALLY brisk, so dress according to how your body heat naturally runs, but also what you are used to exercising in.  Also, I would suggest over-dressing initially, but make sure the clothes have zippers to allow air in if you overheat, and it is also a good idea to invest in some arm/leg warmers that can easily be slid off if the temperature climbs during the ride. Or, if you are really trying to get hardcore (or just embrace your inner-Belgian), try some leg embrocation.  PSA: Remember to put your bibs on BEFORE your embro!  I made that mistake once, and that was one too many times for me …
• Bike
  • Tires/wheels – I run tires that are more robust earlier in the season (think Conti Gatorskins) as the roads tend to be more pothole riddled and generally feature more sharp things that can puncture a tire.  I also run shallower and more robust wheels than can take a bit more abuse.  Basically, run tires and wheels that can take a beating and get you home – Leave the shiny new Zipps for the Summer time.
  • Frame – Just like salt will eat your car and rust the metal on it, salt will do the same thing to your bike and especially it’s components.  So, make sure you wash your bike frame after each ride in the early spring to prevent the salt from corroding anything.
    • Fenders can help keep you dry and warm if there is a lot of road melt, or if you are riding after a rain storm.  These are easily clipped onto your frame.
  • Drivetrain – The drivetrain consists of the chain, cassette, and chainrings, with the chain being the most important aspect of the system.  Make sure you keep your chain clean and well-lubricated.  I suggest using a “wet” lubricant earlier in the season when the weather tends to be, you guessed it, wetter, and transitioning to a “dry” lubricant in the late Spring/early Summer.  The chain is also crucial because it will wear the other parts of the system faster if’s not replaced on a regular basis.  So, do yourself a favor and either take your bike to a local bike shop on a consistent basis, or purchase a chain wear indicator and measure it yourself.  Doing this regularly will save you a lot of money as you won’t need to replace your chainrings and/or cassette as frequently, plus it will prolong the life of your bike’s drivetrain.

Body Positioning

Riding a trainer puts the bike in a fixed position.  Riding in a fixed position is NOTHING like riding a bike outside with all of the changes in the road, taking turns, and the side to side movement of the bike under you while you are pedaling.  This is why you may notice it being more difficult to keep yourself balanced and pointing the bike straight ahead during the first few outdoor rides of the season.  You can work on this indoors by riding on rollers, or outdoors by trying to maintain a set distance from the road line.  Doing this will retrain your brain quickly and prevent your bike from swerving as much.  Remember, nobody likes a squirrelly rider…DON’T BE THAT GUY OR GAL!

You also tend to ride for less time on a trainer and can sit up to take pressure off of your middle back and neck muscles during rest periods.  Riding outdoors is when athletes tend to ramp up their volume and practice their aerodynamic positioning.  This can cause aches and soreness in your middle back and neck especially, but also your lower back and hips if your hamstrings are tight.  Give these stretching exercises a whirl if you experience neck soreness or back soreness post ride.  It is also a good idea to slowly ramp up your training volume to give your muscles time to become stronger and to prevent excess muscle soreness.

Finally, as mentioned in the first paragraph, the trainer keeps the bike in a fixed position which decreases the engagement of the stabilizing muscles in the hips and core.  This can cause some riders to experiences deep hip, groin, or knee pain initially.  This should improve over the course of a week or so with consistent outdoor riding, and ideally some core stability work.  If not, give your doctor a ring, and as always, get a professional bike fit.

Stay tuned for part II where I will discuss road safety as well as overcoming the fear associated with getting outside for the first time.

Let’s take our relationship to the next level and talk about something a little more, shall we say, intimate…Saddle sores!

What are they?

Saddle sores are an infection under the skin caused by bacteria or fungus.  They are broken down into 3 stages with each one being exponentially more painful and dangerous than the previous:

1. Skin abrasion
2. Folliculitis
3. Abscess

How do they initially appear and progress?

A skin abrasion is caused by your skin rubbing across your chamois and/or from saddle pressure exerted directly on your sit bones (ischial tuberosity, #jeopardyquestion) which irritates the underlying skin.  A skin abrasion can also be caused by salt crystals that have formed via dried sweat.  Basically, the dried salt crystals act like sand paper on your poor bum and irritate the skin.

If you don’t put something on the skin abrasion (I will discuss this later) the bacteria can continue to fester and eventually lead to folliculitis; inflammation of a hair follicle.  This is when a saddle sore begins to get painful and when you REALLY need to start addressing it.

If you continue to ride and not treat the folliculitis it will progress to an abscess.  Now, depending on how quickly you can get to the doctors they may not have to lance and drain it.  With that being said, if you have any type of abscess, infection, or really painful bump “down there” and are reading this, GO TO YOUR DOCTOR!

How do I treat them?

If you are at the skin abrasion or even the beginning folliculitis stage, you can successfully treat the skin and resume your normal riding.  Early intervention is key to a successful treatment!  Here is what I recommend and have done myself at various points in my riding career:

1. IMMEDIATELY remove your bibs post-ride.  So, no sitting around in the coffee shop or drinking beers with your buddies before changing.
2. If you can, take a shower ASAP and use some antibacterial soap.  If you cannot take a shower, bring some tea tree oil with you and apply it to the affected area with a cotton ball.  Doing this will kill the existing bacteria and prevent any more colonies from forming.
3. After you have disinfected the skin, put a salve that ideally contains some antibacterial as well as skin healing ingredients.  I personally use Doc’s Natural Recovery Ointment and have had great success with it.
4. Repeat these steps after EVERY ride until the saddle sore resolves.  Better still, apply the tea tree oil and healing salve multiple times a day.

How do I prevent them?

Prevention of saddle sores is the best defense against them:

1. Get a professional bike fit and ensure you are riding the correct saddle.
2. Wear properly fitting bibs and ensure you wash them after every ride.
3. Change your bibs if you are going on an epic ride half-way through to cut down on those pesky dried salt crystals.
4. Use a chamois cream before your ride.  I use Gooch Guard before every ride and have not had a sore in a long time.  When using chamois cream, a dime will do you!  Make sure you apply it to your sit bones, “undercarriage” for lack of a better term, and wherever your thighs will rub against one another.  Some people will also apply it directly to their chamois as well.

So, what is a saddle sore?  An infection caused by bacteria or fungus that is introduced under the skin via a skin abrasion.  You can prevent them many different ways, but don’t fret if you end up with one.  Most everyone I know that rides has had their fair share of saddle sores and I have dealt with many over my career.  The key is addressing them ASAP and not waiting until a simple skin abrasion progresses to an abscess and requires medical attention.

There are a few boxes that need to be checked off before we can say your base phase of periodization was a success and you are ready for the build phase.  One of these boxes that I like to ensure is checked off for my athletes before progressing them is aerobic coupling.  Aerobic coupling is looking at how much fluctuation in heart rate there is when maintaining a steady power output.

Example of being aerobically coupled

Being aerobically coupled means there is less than a 5% increase in heart rate for a given power output.  Here is an example of what aerobic coupling looks like:

The red line is heart rate, and the purple line is power.  This athlete performed 2×20 minutes at Tempo Zone.  As you can see, the power and heart rate stayed consistent for the entire 20 minutes.  The first 20 minute effort was performed @260w with a heart rate of 160 BPM (power to heart rate ratio = 1.625).  The second 20 minute effort was also performed @260w with a heart rate of 164 BPM (power to heart rate ratio = 1.585).  So, the heart rate did climb slightly, but the decoupling rate was only 2%.  This athlete is ready for their build phase.

Example of being aerobically decoupled

Now, check out this athlete’s workout:

This athlete also performed 2×20 minutes at Tempo Zone.  So, a few things jump out to me right away and are pretty clear to see.  1. The heart rate (red line) is nowhere as consistent as the coupled athlete’s was.  2. During the rest period, the heart rate really never went down.  3.  The second 20 minute interval you can see a gradual increase of heart rate while the power stays steady.  So, by the numbers, the first 20 minutes was performed @195w with a heart rate of 147 BPM (power to heart rate ratio = 1.323).  The second 20 minute effort was also performed @195w with a heart rate of 157 BPM (power to heart rate ratio = 1.242).  This athletes decoupling rate is >6%.  Back to Sweet Spot work, buddy!

How can I determine my aerobic coupling?

I like to have my athletes perform a 2×20 minute effort at Tempo Zone with an 8 minute rest, ideally on their trainers so they can focus on a consistent output and not have to deal with changes in grade.  Then, once you have the data…

1. Divide the power by the heart rate for the first interval.
2. Divide the power by the heart rate for the second interval.
3. Subtract the first interval’s power to heart rate ratio from the second interval’s power to heart rate ratio.
4. Divide this number by the first interval’s power to heart rate ratio.

So, for the second athlete’s aerobic coupling test I did…

1. 195/147 = 1.323
2. 195/157 = 1.242
3. 1.323-1.242 = 0.081
4. 0.081/1.323 = 0.061 = 6.1%

So, are you ready to progress to the build phase of training?  This depends on a few factors, but I like to make sure my athletes are aerobically coupled before progressing them to the higher intensities and greater training stresses that the build phase holds.  If you are aerobically coupled, congratulations!  You may Pass GO and collect your $200 dollars.  However, if you are aerobically decoupled, I recommend spending more time working in your Endurance, Tempo, and especially Sweet Spot Zone so you can reach new heights during your competitive and peak phases.

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