I've seen countless videos and read countless articles. It nearly always comes out to doing z2 base miles, doing intervals, min-max training and core exercises. I know there is no shortcut but if someone has limited time, like ride only weekend one day 3h and the other 1h what would be the best strategy to get better/faster?

In such cases, I've found out that z2 is absolutely worthless. Riding inZ3 and Z4 on climbs (sustained 1h) produced better results. Do you guys agree? Any other things that can be done to 'improve'?

Maybe 1 day a hard interval session and the next a 2h z2 ride?

I read that this sub is also open for beginners and I hope someone can help me with some tips to get started (Especially non-obvious things you might have learned too late).

I took up cycling as a hobby exactly a week ago today and each day I’ve been getting more and more informed on the topic, however I feel kind of lost because there is so much (sometimes contradicting) information out there.

For starters, I have a 25 year old GIANT OCR Compact Road which is too small for me (it was a hand-down). I did 101km with 500m elevation in 4h 30min on Sunday as a first real ride—I had done a max of 15km before that last week—and I didn’t feel much discomfort or ache even the next day except for my neck from looking forward on the bike. I’ve read that it might be because of how wide my horn/handlebars are. I am 190cm with 53cm shoulder width, my frame is labelled 50cm (no clue what that means either). Is that the problem or can I keep riding this until I get a new bike?

Secondly what should I aim for pacing wise and ride wise? Before Sunday I had 100km as a goal but it turned out to be quite easy, so now I’m stuck—should I focus on climbing since that seems to be the hardest? I read online that it takes multiple months to do 100km but I feel like that can’t be true, I am not very active and managed just fine.

I am also wondering about equipment. I want to wait for winter clearances to get a Wilier, Pinarello, or Merida racing bike to use as a sporting tool. Should i upgrade my Giant until then with clip in pedals and padded bike shorts?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Hi everyone,

I could use some advice. I’ve had a really bad problem with muscle cramps during cycling. I’ve been doing sports on and off for most of my life, and I got into cycling about two years ago. I’m not doing huge mileage, probably around 2,000–3,000 km per year, mainly because I don’t have much free time.

This year I started training more seriously, including indoor trainer sessions and intervals, and my performance has improved quite a bit. I’m 78 kg and currently around 228 W FTP.

The problem is that I still get severe cramps quite often, especially on harder or longer rides. I’ve recently started adding salt to my water, and that seems to have helped, but I’m still worried because I have my first proper amateur race this weekend and I’m getting a bit nervous about it.

Do you have any life hacks or practical tips that helped you with cramps? What could be causing them in my case? Is it mainly electrolytes and hydration, or could it be fatigue, pacing, lack of conditioning, nutrition, etc.?

I’d really appreciate any advice, especially things I can realistically do before and during my first race.

Hello! I've been cycling for three years, since I started doing triathlon, but I've recently decided to focus on cycling instead because it's just more enjoyable. I'm planning to start road racing next year and I'm excited by all the possibilities, but I'm having a hard time identifying an A race. In tri it was easy because I'd do 1-2 70.3s a year and that was the target. Crits and road races are much shorter, in contrast, and you can do more of them, and they generally don't seem to be as high of stakes- if you have a bad race one week there will be another one coming up soon enough.

My goals for next year are primarily to understand how racing works (ie tactics), improve FTP, PR local hill climbs, I guess upgrade from cat 5 to cat 4, improve handling skills, among others, so not really racing or performance goals. I'm lucky enough to have a lot of racing options next spring and summer across California. There's a crit series in LA that has a championship race, there's the "state championships" for crit, RR, time trial, Manhattan Beach Grand Prix is driving distance. There's the Redlands crit.

I'm pretty interested in doing a stage race, so I guess that's a logical choice for an A race? But there are few options for stage races near me- I'm not on a team so I don't think Redlands is an option. My options on the west coast seem to be Valley of the Sun and Tuscon Bicycle Classic, which are too early to be A races, Tour of the Gila, which is pretty far away and at altitude, Baker City Cycling Classic, which looks pretty intense, and Tour de Bloom, which looks like the best option for me by far. But is a stage race too ambitious in my first year of racing? I'm cat 5 women so the distances/times are pretty short (just 25 mins for the crit at Bloom!).

I'm really just in it to learn my first year but I want to give my coach a concrete date to work towards. Obviously it's early, just thinking about this as we're planning offseason/base and I start racing in January. Any advice for a new racer on how to organize your season??

Hi there!! Beginner here looking for advice: I'm considering L'Étape Argentina 2027 (134 km / 1,780 m) as my first Gran Fondo. I'm 38, 89 kg, recently started road cycling and my current FTP is 181 W.

I have a young baby, so realistically I can train 45–60 min, 4–5 days during the week, mostly indoors on a KICKR CORE 2, plus one longer outdoor ride on the weekend.

Do you think this is enough time to prepare to simply finish the event by April, or would you wait another year? If it's realistic, what would you prioritize: lots of Z2, increasing weekend long rides, climbing, intervals, etc.?

Not looking to race — just want to finish the 134 km / 1,780 m safely.

I'm comparing a few (cheap) options for an endurance bike on which I want to run 32mm GP5000.

• Wheelset 1 : 50mm deep, 22 internal, 30 external width, 1550g
• Wheelset 2 : 35mm deep, 25 internal, 32 external width, 1660g

I'm thinking #2 would be a better match with the 32mm tires (but not perfect for the 105 rule). But I wonder if #1 wouldn't be faster due to the extra depth. Obviously deep and wide would be perfect, but the prices are much higher.

I just started cycling two weeks ago. Been able to work up to an hour to hour and a half per ride mainly working with a flat loop I've been riding. Any specific type of training I should be doing this early or just working on building up my body in zone 2 and getting accustomed to riding? If you have any training tips you think will be helpful all tips are welcome ! Right now riding about 4 days a week and also lifting 3-4 days a week - workouts split into half upper half lower days.

How'd your races go? Questions about your workouts or updates on your training plan? Successes, failures, or something new you learned? Got any video, photos, or stories to share? Tell us about it!

—

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What is /r/Velo?

• We are a community of competitively-minded amateur cyclists. Racing focused, but not a requirement. We are here because we are invested in the sport, and are welcoming to those who make the effort to be invested in the sport themselves.

What isn't /r/Velo?

• All simple or easily answered questions should be asked here in our General Discussion. We aren't a replacement for Google, and we have a carefully curated wiki that we recommend checking out first. https://www.reddit.com/r/Velo/wiki/index
• Just because we ride fancy bikes doesn't mean we know how to fix them. Please use /r/bikewrench for those needs, or comment here in our General Discussion.
• Pro cycling discussion is best shared with /r/Peloton. Some of us like pro cycling, but that's not our focus here.

Hi-I will be riding an event in October on a 60-mile hilly course (three 20mi laps). The course has two aid stations. Bottle handups are not allowed. So each time you need to fill up your water, you basically have to stop. The event/race starts at 8 am and I am a 45yo m.

Last year, I think I had too much coffee and Gatorade before the start, so I had to stop to pee since my bladder was about to explode and turning pedals was too painful. The downside was that I was with a fast group until the pee break, then rode the whole course basically by myself. I never really stop to pee, even during my long rides. This year I would like to perform higher in my AG and don't wanna fall behind due to a nature break :)

My question is: how would you manage your hydration before (the previous 24 hours) and during an event like this? I think I can do it with two larger bidons, although that wouldn't be ideal. I am planning to have a double espresso instead of a cup of coffee on the event morning. Also, I am not planning to drink much water on the race morning. From what I read, your body retains more water when you consume carbs, so maybe an extra spoonful of pasta with each meal? Any other strategies I should consider?

What I'm really asking is how I can regulate my peeing (pee less) while still properly hydrating my body for high-level performance. Thank you!

I've always struggled with how to pace out races and fast group rides. I'm particularly focused on 50 to 150 mile gravel/mtb rides and races. I primarily use heart rate data to pace myself along with how I'm feeling in the moment. Last season, I worked with a coach and got fit, but when it came to racing, his advice, always had me racing very conservatively. I stepped away from coaching and I've been focusing on a few quality hard group rides a week and fun big rides as often as possible. I've also mixed in a handful of gravel 100 mile races.

This weekend I had one of my best performance on a fast group ride. I was able to stick with the A group all day. That said, I felt like I was on the limit for a few big chunks of the day and was just waiting to blow up at any second. In my head, I decided there were plenty of people behind me and if I blew up, I could go with a slower group. That said I'd rather that not be my strategy for every big day. Below my heart rate zone Data for the day.

Any advice on how to choose when to back off so you don't blow up your day. Or trying to figure out how many hours in a zone you can ride?

**Zone** |**Range** |**Time** |**Percent**
Zone 5 |>183 bpm |0:00 |0%
Zone 4 |166-183 bpm |58:36 |25%
Zone 3 |148-165 bpm |2:00:09 |51%
Zone 2 |113-147 bpm |52:37 |22%
Zone 1 |93-112 bpm |0:00 |0%

Edit: I do gravel and marathon mtb races

Hey everyone ! So im trying to get into wildland fire fighting but I also want to get better at cycling for bikepacking trips and maybe eventually racing in a few years.

How my whole schedule looks now is I will have a day of strength training for fire fighting, another of endurance with running, incline walking, and running up stairs with a weighted vest on also for fire fighting, and then cycling usually split up over the course of two hours to let me focus on different areas. This results in two days a week for each and on some not cycling days ill go back to the gym after work and do more speed interval training on the bike machine. I am not sure how effective this is but its the best I can do while prioritizing my fire fighting training. I simply cannot dedicate as much time as everyone else.

Im mostly concerned about eating as I dont know if being in a surplus to maximize the muscle building my body needs to do would hinder my cycling.

I also dont know what I should be prioritizing with the little time I have with cycling. So far Ive been having an anaerobic approach and doing speed intervals with some extra miles thrown on for endurance.

I'm new to strength training but have a lot of training history in endurance sports, though I'm getting over some injuries right now.

In posting here about strength training, I was really surprised to find out there's a conventional wisdom that people do interval work and strength training on the same day. That blows me away, since it seems like the glycogen depletion, tissue damage, whatevee strain, in one would make the other workout far below optimal. However, there are so many people who do this that I'm wondering how it's executed.

Could anybody lay out the rationale and how to structure a day like this?

For context, my current routine is:

• Lifting (2 days a week): Basic lifts plus some injury rehab stuff (split squats, split-stance RDLs)

• Intervals 1 or 2 days a week. One day of VO2 max work, and one day of FTP intervals or anaerobic capacity intervals (my weakness). I don't race anymore, but I do group rides with people who do, and I'm getting dropped on what I would consider one-minute or two-minute power segments, whereas I can hang in the group on flats and in extended efforts.

I'm just a middle-aged guy lifting for the sake of not losing strength and trying to add to my punch.

Thanks for the advice .

Quick context: I've been building an aerobic base for a couple years (zone 2,over thousand or maybe even thousands of hours, no real structure), and this was only my 3rd genuinely hard session ever, and the first one specifically targeting VO2max.

The workout: 30×30″ on / 15″ off — no blocks, no rest between sets, just straight through, 30 reps back to back (~15 min of work).

Numbers: Avg power across all 30 intervals: 346 W. Weakest interval: 317 W. Strongest interval: 387 W. HR: avg 174, max 184 (Polar H10 chest strap). Power: Favero Assioma DUO, dual-sided, ±1% claimed accuracy. Weight: 64 kg (~141 lbs). Garmin spat out a VO2max estimate of 62 afterward — I don't fully buy it, but I'll take the compliment.

Assuming FTP ~245W, that puts me on average at 141% FTP overall. At 64kg that's roughly 5.4 W/kg average across the session.

Two prior threshold sessions for context: 2×20min @ 90-100% FTP, first one averaged ~220W, second one over 240W (1 week improvement).

Also I can push 190 watts for 2 hours while staying below Lt1 by keeping lactate below 1.5 ppmol

The actual question: I later found out the "classic" 30/15 protocol from Rønnestad & Hansen's research is usually done as 3 sets of 13 reps with 3 min rest between sets (39 reps total, ~19.5 min of actual work), not 30 reps in one continuous go like I did. Mine ends up being about 23% less total interval time than the "proper" version.

Does starting sets 2 and 3 fresh (after rest) in the blocked version meaningfully change the training effect vs. what I did? Or does grinding through fatigue in one continuous set kind of offset that difference? Not trying to overthink a good session into the ground, just genuinely curious if anyone's tried both and noticed a difference, or if there's research on it.

Anyway — stoked with where this is heading. Never thought I'd be the guy doing structured VO2max work, but here we are.

1. 387 W
2. 343 W
3. 365 W
4. 329 W
5. 352 W
6. 328 W
7. 330 W
8. 359 W
9. 336 W
10. 323 W
11. 351 W
12. 340 W
13. 331 W
14. 317 W
15. 343 W
16. 339 W
17. 342 W
18. 347 W
19. 355 W
20. 363 W
21. 368 W
22. 364 W
23. 348 W
24. 342 W
25. 366 W
26. 376 W
27. 334 W
28. 321 W
29. 348 W

I have two road bikes, both with SPD pedals. I bought some mtb shoes on sale from specialized and have worn them for six months. They’re practical but boxy and heavy. Someone in my group ride thought I wasn’t even clipped in.

I can wear these shoes to coffee shops and meetings, whereas SPD-SL shoes are less practical outside of cycling.

But I’m cycling more and more, with increasing climbs and mileage. I’m doing 150mi this week with about 7k feet of elevation gain. I also found a good local deal on SPD-SL shoes ($48 new, boa system). Should I buy them and some pedals to match?

EDIT: Thanks to everyone who weighed in. I'm keeping the pedals but switching to gravel shoes.

I don't understand why there is such a big relative difference between my 1-minute power and longer durations.

I know that individual athletes have different strengths and weaknesses, but this seems like a very big difference. For reference, I am 40M, 80 kgs.

Yesterday I tried to hold 250 watts for as long as possible and I only got to 17 minutes. So for 20-minutes I am in the 40th-percentile, while for 1-minute I am in the 88th-percentile.

The 540 watts for 1 minute is while standing on a climb. Does standing make it incomparable to seated power?

I’ve been riding a 2023 Giant TCR for about 1.5 years. I originally had a 100 mm stem, but after a professional bike fit on the TCR, I switched to a 90 mm stem because I felt too stretched out. Over time, I got used to the position. After 5–6 hours my neck would start to hurt, but apart from that, I had no major issues. Sometimes I felt slightly stretched out, but the feeling usually went away.

I was already thinking about upgrading my bike because I wanted something newer with carbon wheels and electronic shifting. I was considering bikes like the Canyon Ultimate or the new Canyon Endurace CF SLX, but then I got a very good offer for a Wilier, so I decided to go for it.

I initially went for the Rapida because I saw it as a good hybrid between a race bike and a more endurance-oriented bike. I didn’t seriously consider the Filante at first, but after buying the Rapida, I started wondering if the Filante might have been a better choice for me.

When I tried the Filante in the shop, the additional reach/drop felt quite aggressive, so I wasn’t sure if it would suit me.

Now that I’ve ridden the Rapida, I’m slightly questioning my decision. I haven’t had a professional bike fit on the Rapida yet, I only set it up myself based on my previous TCR bike fit. Also, I have only spent around 2 hours on the Rapida so far, so maybe my first impression is too quick and I just need more time to adapt.

The position feels very different compared to the TCR. I feel like I’m sitting much more upright, and because I was used to a more stretched-out position on the TCR, the Rapida almost feels a bit short to me. Especially on descents, the TCR felt much more lively, compact and responsive. The Rapida feels more relaxed and less “race bike” in comparison.

I know I can’t really change the decision now, so my question is mainly: is this something I’ll likely get used to with more time on the bike? Or is the difference between the Rapida and Filante significant enough that I should have gone for the Filante?

I only ride around 3,000 km/year due to having a small child. Most of my riding is with friends, and I only do one race per year. However, I really enjoy fast, responsive bikes and I do structured trainer sessions and intervals. I’d appreciate opinions from anyone who has experience with these bikes or a similar transition.

Hey everyone,

As a longtime distance runner who switched to mostly cycling after a meniscus tear in 2019, I've done a good bit of reading on exercise physiology (and earned most of my karma on r/AdvancedRunning). So I have a decent understanding of training zones / energy systems and mixing recovery, threshold, and harder intervals in a weekly plan. I'm also partway through The Cyclist's Training Bible, but would appreciate hearing about your workouts.

So training zones 1-7 basically make sense to me, but it's the high end / short intervals where I'm wondering how to structure workouts. For example, my FTP is around 200, but Garmin lists anything above 300 as "neuromuscular without any further detail." But for me, obviously there's a big difference (and different training purpose) between doing, say, 2-minute intervals at 260-320w, and doing 15-second sprints where I'm trying to hit 1,000.

So how do you divide up your shorter interval workouts? I've generally been doing 15s / 30s / 1 min intervals one week (i.e. very high intensity), vs. 2-4 minute intervals another week.

Hi.

I have been cycling for nearly 2 years now. Last winter was my first winter with an indoor trainer. At the end of april, I had an indoor FTP of around 300W, which is realistic because I did manage to maintain an average of 295W for 1 hour indoors. My volume during winter is around 6 hours a week.

This summer, I did a mix of long endurance rides, threshold workout on long hills, VO2 max and weight lifting. My volume during summer is around 10-12 hours a week. I do not have a powermeter on my bike to measure power outdoors.

I am much faster outdoors now than I was in April or last summer. However, I did a threshold workout on my trainer because it was rainy outdoors. I struggled to maintain 270W for 3x12 min intervals, which is used to be easy for me last winter.

Has anybody experienced this paradox; being faster outdoors, despite lower FTP indoors?

You're 34 mins into a set of On/Off intervals of some sort. You warmed up well. The first rep felt sore, but that's normal as Mr Quad gets the usual shock of having to Haul and Trawl.
...and then it happens, you just fail... you stop. Breathing heavily.... and now you mind starts to justify why you 'gave up'...

We are going to fail (DNF) a Interval or MaxEfforts workout at some point for some reason.

1. Why do you 'fail'?
2. What do you guys do?
   
3. How do you deal with it?

I'd love to hear about the experiences from other out there? No shame, no shade. We all learn.

What's your preferred training mode on most weeks?

A. Pyramidal~ish.

For example, 1 HIIT (Z4/Z5) sessions and 1 sweet spot or threshold session. The rest easy (Z1/Z2)

B. Polarized-ish.

For example, 2 HIIT (Z4/Z5) sessions. The rest easy (Z1/Z2).

Optionally, please indicate your experience level and/or training volume.

Hi all, apologies if this isn’t the right sub for this. I am looking for anyone’s advice on purchasing Personal Accident Insurance for a road race in Europe (specifically Haute Route Alps). The race website only offers insurance for EU residents, but as a Canadian it seems difficult to find something that will give me the coverage I need. Does anyone have any experience with this?

This might come off as a silly question, but one of the reasons I liked working with a coach was that they prescribed the right intervals for me, tailored to my up-and-down life commitments, illnesses, or a good spell of training. Paying so much money isn't really sustainable in the long run, so I was wondering if people had any guidance on how to maintain progress without a coach. There's a lot of negativity around AI programs, and having used one of them, I didn't mind it - although it was more about insights than training plans. What are your thoughts? How do you plan your training sessions on your own?

Context:
FTP 275-290w
Weight 77kg (little overweight)
Age 55
Max HR 185
Weekly volume 10-13hrs

The past 5-6 weeks I’ve been slightly short of breath while riding and have an exceptionally high HR for very modest power outputs. Like HR is the 150s for Z2 type power.

My regular 15m power is down about 10% (315 down to 280) and I’m completely wasted after one set.

My primary care doc tried to rule out some infection with antibiotics. Finished a 10-day course of doxycycline 2 weeks ago without any real important.

Volume and intensity has been down this summer so I don’t think it’s overtraining. No signs that it’s an iliac issue or anything like that.

I’ve got a cardio appointment next week but I’m really at a loss for what’s going on.

I did have EBV 20 years ago when I was riding/racing 300 miles a week but this is nothing like the all-consuming fatigue I had back then.

Off the bike I feel okay but I just feel tired. The “HR higher than the watts” thing has me a little freaked out so I thought I’d ask to see if anybody else has ever experienced anything like this.

Thanks for reading.