Pushing Myself

I have not written much recently because there has not been much to report. I have been on the bicycle, but as I explained in my last report a couple months ago, the bicycle is on a stationary trainer in my garage due to my time constraints.

But I have gone out on the road a couple times since the last report. I have stuck to riding up Old La Honda Road. This is because I have been recording my time up the 3.5 mile hill as a measure of my fitness level. Overall, it is a medium-length ride of 41 miles that I can do in less than 3 hours.

The last two times, I matched my personal best, thus proving that riding the trainer is a productive workout. This time, I was determined to push myself harder than I had before.

For a while, I had been thinking about how I have gone from being a beginner-level cyclist to an intermediate-level. Yet, it feels like I have not gotten much stronger or faster for a long time. Eventually I realized that I probably have to increase the intensity of my rides.

When I first started serious riding over two years ago, I could not make it up the hills. I would push myself just to keep going at a slow pace. I would often have to stop to catch my breath before continuing. Sometimes I would run out of energy and have to abandon the climb and turn around to coast back down. Through relentless pursuit of the summit, I became strong enough to always reach the top, and now I practically never stop to rest along the way.

It struck me that the reason I have not gotten stronger lately is because I need to push myself to the point of exhaustion like I would be at when I was a beginner. Only then would my body respond and improve my fitness level. Even though I always push myself, I need to push myself even harder. I need to burn so much energy that I feel like I may not make it to the top.

Back to my last ride. From the outset, I started strong. Usually I keep just a little in reserve to be sure I get to the top. This time I decided to keep a fast pace regardless of how tired I got. I started panting pretty soon, but I did not let that bother me. At the halfway mark, my leg muscles were burning, but I did not let up. At the two-thirds mark, my legs felt weak and were begging me to lower the pace so they could recover. I ignored that strong temptation.

I reached the top panting and feeling totally spent. I made it in 24 minutes 30 seconds — a full two minutes faster than my previous best time. It may not sound like it, but that is a major improvement.

I confirmed my status as an intermediate-level cyclist. I passed about 15 other cyclists on my way up. But I was passed by two elite-level cyclists who were keeping a casual conversation going with each other while effortlessly zooming by me, as I panted.

Although tired at the top, I recovered pretty quickly and paused only long enough to put on my jacket for the trip downhill. I had plenty of energy to keep a fast pace on the mostly flat route back home. Again, passing more people than the number who passed me.

So even if very long rides rarely fit into my schedule this year, I should be able to make up for that by increasing the intensity level. That actually takes as much mental strength as it does physical strength. But the results I am seeing should be motivating enough to do it.

Winter Training

Having been mostly home-bound the past couple months, I did not have the chance to go on long cycling adventures like I did earlier in the year. Having worked so hard at improving my fitness level, I thought I should find an alternate way to stay in shape. It would be a shame to lose all my gains.

It looks like I have found the solution — a bicycle trainer. This is a device that I attach to my bicycle that converts it to a stationary bike. It is basically a simple stand that holds the bicycle upright by the rear axle, and provides resistance to the rear wheel.

All the time I have attempted in years past to ride an actual stationary bicycle resulted in my becoming bored to the point of mental pain. My hope was that since I am using one of my actual bicycles, I would have some familiarity and comfort, leading to a better experience.

Although skeptical, I decided to give it a try. The fact that I did not have to buy a new trainer (my friend Rom lent me his since he was not currently using it) made it easier to start the experiment.

Click on either picture to see the full-size image.
Here you can see my bicycle set up on one side of the garage. I have placed the front wheel on some wooden planks to keep the bicycle level. In the second picture, you can see a close-up of the bicycle attachment to the trainer. It is being held by both sides of the rear axle, and a resistance cylinder is pressed to the tire.

It was probably good that I was expecting the experience to be boring, because I was able to put up with it and get a good workout the first time I tried it. I found that I could pass the time by listening to my MP3 player while riding. (I will do a future report on what exactly I listen to when I ride.) The trainer itself has 5 resistance settings, plus I can further adjust resistance by shifting gears on my bicycle.

I eventually found a routine to get a good workout in a one hour session. I start with 5 minutes of low intensity (medium gearing, medium cadence), then follow with 10 minutes of medium intensity (high gearing, medium cadence), and then 5 minutes of high intensity (high gearing, high cadence). I then twice repeat the sequence of medium/high intensity. Then I finish with 5 minutes medium intensity followed by 5 minutes low intensity.

I set up the bicycle in the garage instead of in the house for one big reason — sweat. My workout requires enough effort that I am dripping with perspiration for the last half hour. I did not want the bother of keeping it from getting on the carpet indoors. Plus the garage is much colder than the inside of the house, so I don't start sweating until later into the workout. It is a good indication that I am getting a good workout that I am sweating profusely even in a 50°F garage.

But the real indicator of the value of the workout would be by whether I am keeping my level of conditioning. I found that the few times that I have been able to get out for short rides, my legs were stronger than they would have been had I not been using the trainer. My hill-climbing strength seemed to have remained at the level it was when I was riding regularly. However, my flat ground strength seemed to have increased. But maybe this was just in my head, since this type of riding is what the trainer simulates the closest.

Last weekend, I had the chance to measure my fitness somewhat objectively. I did a longer ride from home, and the route included Old La Honda Road. As I have mentioned before, this is the benchmark climb for most Bay Area cycling enthusiasts. My time of 26 minutes 20 seconds up the hill matched my personal best. This time pegs me as an "intermediate" level rider. A cyclist fit enough to race competitively would do it in under 20 minutes. Beginner-level riders would probably take 35 minutes or more. Anyone not in shape probably could not make it up the hill at all.

So I am declaring my bicycle trainer experiment a success thus far. I have maintained my fitness level despite not having the time to bicycle outside as much as I used to. I have been able to adjust my schedule so that I am able to ride the trainer for one hour before work 3 days a week. (I am finding that I need to have a couple rest days in my schedule to allow my leg muscles to recover.)

The next season of centuries and double centuries will start in another month or so. Time-wise, I am not yet in a position to plan to do any of them. It's good to know that fitness-wise, I am keeping the same level. So I do not need to plan this far in advance which organized rides I want to do — I can make a last-minute decision, thanks to my trainer.