I’m getting back into cycling and training after a 4 year break (various reasons). I kept my subscription going as I knew one day I would be back and that moment has finally arrived.
Things have changed a fair bit since I started with TrainerRoad the big one obviously the AI component.
I’ve created a plan but will replace some indoor training rides with outdoor rides when the weather is good. Training outdoors isnt really an option as it’s too tough to stay in power targets.
I’ve currently got the intensity set to balanced and have an event in the diary for April (Lakes Loop it’s a mini Fred Whitton I’ve labelled it as climbing road race?).
Have I missed anything? Is there anything else I need to do other than get the rides in and let the system do its thing?
I assume that most of your riding data from the past few years has already synced over to your TR account. Is that right?
If so, you should be ready to go! Just do your best to follow the plan as best as you can. If you decide to ride outside when you have an indoor workout scheduled, you can easily right-click that workout in your calendar and select “Solo Ride,” “Group Ride,” or whatever better suits your intentions that day.
In terms of your A race, what will that ride be like? Are there sustained climbs, and how will you be pacing them? Are you planning to race competitively and attack/follow moves up the climbs? If so, the Climbing Road Race is probably a really solid choice.
If you’re going to simply ride the course hard and put in a good, solid, steady effort, the Gran Fondo plan might give you training that’s more tailored to that type of ride.
I’ll just be looking to try and go faster than a couple of times I have from previous years. The climbs are steep and always over FTP a lot of the time as im a heavier rider.
Also swapping indoor workout with outdoor, don’t forgent to check if TR correctly associated your completed outdoor ride with your planned outdoor workout (sometimes it doesn’t). And add post-workout survey (easy-medium-hard) so that TR could correctly adapt your future training plan.
Ahh, okay. You’re not planning on trying to ride those above your threshold, are you??
Do you have any options to get lower gearing on your bike?
If you’re not going to throw in surges above FTP during the climbs, but rather riding them steadily and as sustainably as possible, I’d recommend switching that event to the Gran Fondo discipline.
I think he said he’s not going to be following a structured workout while outside, so the TR advice is to NOT associate the ride with the planned workout.
A few things to potentially be aware of. Your PM on your bike and your trainer are likely not aligned. This can cause outdoor rides to be given higher or lower IF than your indoor rides and those same power zones. If your PM reads high, your activities will appear more intense and supsequently tell the system that you’re stronger which will result in an increase in FTP Detection and an inmcrease in work load. If you do mostly indoor, this isn’t an issue.
Update all your firmware. 4 years is a lifetime in software.
I know the Lakeland Loop route very well, you’ll need to hold power above threshold for a good chunk of Hardknott, not sure if you’ve ever ridden it before, but if not it’s very steep at the bottom, bit of a lull in the middle where you can ease off , then mental steep at the top, where you’ll really be pushing hard, so it’s not a pure steady sustained effort, more like three different efforts rolled into one.
Wrynose from that side isn’t too bad until you get to the final kilometer or so and then it ramps up quite steeply, watch the descent, it’s quite dangerous. Other climbs that are sustained are Cold Fell from Ennerdale Bridge which often has the added bonus of a stiff cross headwind which makes it a slog and Whinlatter, steepest at the start and then you settle into a steady plod with a kick up at the end.
I think both Speciality plans have their merits, if I had to choose, I think I’d go Climbing Road race to help deal with the surges over threshold on the steep sections, but either should work.
In the past I have added a couple of extra gears, but when you get to the hairpins at Hardknott all planning goes out the window and it’s just grit your teeth.
On a separate note is there anyway to see your ride data when looking back at a ride with some power smoothing. I find it so hard to see what is going on.
Thank you for you considered response, I do know the climbs fairly well the last time I attempted Hardknott it was raining and out the saddle my back wheel spun out and I ended up giving myself a dead leg on the stem.
I think I will stick with climbing road race as I also think it will be a bit more helpful for the general riding I will do in the Lake District.
Oh damn. If the route of my A race next year doesn’t change, there’s a 1.4km climb averaging nearly 17% (gravel). I’m looking at getting a new drivetrain for this race because I don’t think my 1x will span the range of gears I’ll need.
You’ve probably already considered this, but just in case, be sure you have the right tires for the steep terrain too. I did a gravel race once with the right tires for most of the fast gravel, but when I got to 3 super steep loose over hard climbs, I ended up walking all three due to slippage, and it destroyed my race.
Absolutely this; my default rear tire is a Power Gravel 47. It seems to have solid traction and good puncture resistance. If it’s muddy on the day, I might opt for something knobbier. At 2024 Canadian Gravel Nats aka “Mudfest 2024”, I was able to keep pedaling up the steep muddy parts whereas I was seeing a lot of riders needing to push sections.
This thread got me thinking, never ridden in the Lakes but had some good times this year in Wales, turns out the Fred Whitton is on my birthday next year … hmmm
