Training Rides

[WindingRoad]

I'm sure a lot of you have started going to training rides again now that the weather has slowly begun to cooperate. I did my first today and it was so much fun! I forget how much I like riding faster and really pushing myself. Discovering that I really like hill climbing. I must be getting better at it because I can keep up on the B rides now on the hills. Quite a momentous event for a flatlander

Feel free to use this thread to tell everyone about your training rides!

[nscrbug]

So what makes a ride a "training ride"? I guess what I'm really asking is...would you consider a ride to be a "training ride" only if one were actually training for an upcoming event? Is a training ride just riding at a more spirited pace? Or is the definition of training ride more subjective? Just curious...

Linda

[KathiCville]

This time of year I consider most of my rides 'training' rides. :-) I do the trainer at the gym in the winter, but come spring, when I get back out on the road, I STILL seem to have lots of catching up to do to get back in shape for the longer rides of summer.

I do have a couple of favorite 'short' routes (11-12 miles) near home that I think of as mid-week training rides---I'll push much harder on those than I do when I go out for a longer ride on the weekend where seeing the sights is part of the pleasure.

I'm not training for any races, but I sign up for two or three organized rides between May and October, mainly to give me added motivation for getting out the door. I also have an annual mileage goal that nudges me to the gym or on to the roads.

[indysteel]

At least in my neck of the woods (and Winding Road used to live in Indy, so I assume her experience is similar), our local training rides consist of a marked route--usually 20-25 miles long--where riders gather at a set time to ride hard as a group, typically in a paceline formation. The training rides are sponsored by the local club and maintained and led by a volunteers. There are any number of them all around town on each night of the week. Some are faster and/or harder than others, and some nights are faster than others. The one that's arguably the hardest attracts most of the local "racers." It's hard, not only because it's particularly fast, but because it's an urban route, so the stop lights and signs encourage sprints and some aggressiveness within the pack. They're fun sufferfests if you're into that sort of a thing. They'll make you stronger in a hurry, but you have to have decent handling skills and some grit to get through them.

[nscrbug]

I guess I've never really considered any of the rides I do as training rides...they're just rides to me. This time of year, I'm still in the "building up" phase from having 3-4 months off of riding...but my rides are still usually in the 30-50 mile range. I don't particularly set out to reach a certain average speed or cadence, because in my area the wind will generally dictate that. As I get further into the season, my rides will increase in mileage and normally settle in around the 75 mile mark, with a few 100-milers (maybe 1/month) thrown in as a test of endurance. I don't ride with a club (all too fast for me) or a group, well...ok, I guess I do if you call 3 of us "a group". I could never keep pace with the clubs that ride around here...I've seen them out on the road, been passed by them on dozens of occasions, and they are always riding at 20+mph. My average speed is usually at or below 15mph (lots of urban riding with many stoplights)...so they would be out of my sight literally within minutes. I'm sure the rides those clubs do would be classified as "training rides", since I'm pretty sure most of them are on a team (based on the matching team kits they all wear).

[WindingRoad]

I find training rides are useful for pushing me a little harder than I would normally go. It helps me to gain fitness otherwise I am tempted to stay in my 'comfort' zone. I like to ride with people who are faster than me, it gives me something to work towards. I do plan to do a few races this summer It doesn't have to be that your are training for an event to go to training rides though. They typically are around 20 miles, some here are around 10 as they factor in the hill routes too. I haven't had the nerve to try one of those yet. Most of them are graded so you know what pace the group typically goes and pick one to match you mood.