8 Essential Tips to Accomplish Your Biking Resolution

It's a new year and you made some resolutions just after that ball dropped. Hopefully one of them was to get some cycling in this year and complete a century event. Perhaps you're going for the 30-40 mile option, or the 60-70 mile option, or maybe you want to complete the whole 100+ miles. Great...do you have a plan?

I've done hundreds of cycling events in my life time from short 20 mile rides to over 620 miles from San Francisco to San Diego. Each had one thing in common: a plan.

Like any journey, if you don't know where you are going, you'll never get there. To help get a fun plan in place for 2010 here are 8 Essential Tips to Accomplish Your Biking Resolution:

1. Pick an event. Set a goal
One of the most effective things for keeping that resolution is to set a goal. For cycling there are events of just about any distance available. Take a look at a time line and your goal. Don't be afraid to stretch yourself, but also keep in mind the time it will take to train yourself from where you are today to the goal you want to accomplish. If you plan on completing a 100 mile ride but haven't ridden 10 miles then picking an event that is at least 3 months out is a good idea. However, if you have been putting in 100 to 150 miles per week for the last 2 or 3 months then selecting an event that is a month or so away isn't out of the question. If you need some suggestions on century events, click here>>.

2. Register
Registering may be the most important part. Talking about it is one thing, signing up is the commitment to yourself. Write it down on a calendar and look at it often. Also, tell all your friends and family. Nothing like a little motivation from those who love you.


15% OFF Registration (until 1/31) for the San Diego Century Bicycle Tour:
Kick off your resolution by registering for the ride on May 22, 2010. Use discount code SDC10JAN to receive 15% off registration for any distance (37, 66 or 103 miles) by January 31, 2010. We hope it's an offer you can use to kick off 2010 and to pass on some great Southern California riding to your friends! Click here to register>>



3. Create a Training Plan
Once you have registered it's time to count out the weeks to your event. This is what you'll use to create a training plan. Let's use the San Diego Century Bicyle Tour as an example. The ride is on May 22nd. If you start training this weekend it gives you 18 weeks to get ready. This is plenty of time. If you want to ride 100 miles by May, start with a 20 mile ride this Saturday. Make Saturday your long day of riding and starting adding 5 more miles each Saturday. Get in 5 days of cycling per week. I'll outline more details in the next tip. A great resource for getting started is the free training plan from the team at Trek. Their program starts this weekend, just in time to kick off your bicycling resolution! For more information on the Trek training plan and group rides, click here >>.

4. Build Up Steadily
Start slow and build up your mileage steadily, especially if you haven't been putting in a lot of miles per week. Slowly add to that 20 miles you start with on Saturday, and gradually add miles during your shorter rides during the week. Here are some suggestions for rides during the week that you can tailor to your own schedule:

MONDAY - Start with 30 minutes at an easy to medium pace, and add 10 minutes every other week.

TUESDAY - One day a week you should ride hard or use intervals. Intervals are short burst of hard efforts say 85 to 90 percent of your maximum capability. Warm up first and then begin 5 sets of 30 second intervals with 10 minutes rest between. The following week make it 45 seconds, then a minute, etc. Build this up to 2 minutes with longer rests between.

WEDNESDAY - Start with 30 minutes at an easy to medium pace, and add 10 minutes every other week.

THURSDAY - Add hill climbing for one of your weekly workouts. Find a route where you can do an hour of hill climbing. Every few weeks add 5 to 10 minutes to your hill climbing session.

FRIDAY - Off

SATURDAY - Start with 20 miles and add 5 miles per week. This is a great day for riding with a group in your area.

SUNDAY - Off or easy ride


For more information on a free training plan and rides from Trek, click here >>.

5. Get a bike fit
A proper bike fit is essential to helping your muscle adapt to the amount of time you'll be spending on the bike. The best advice about bike fit is to get it done by someone who's been trained on how to fit a bike properly. Many bicycle stores have specialist trained on bike fitting. It's well worth the $100 to $250 cost if you are training for a century. If you're purchasing a new bike this is often included in the package.

If you can't get the bike fit right away, here are a few tips for things check out on your own: Seat height is the most important. You don't want to be too high with no bend in your knee when at the bottom of your stroke. A slight bend is good. You also don't want to be too low with your knees bent too much at the bottom of the stroke. Position yourself on your bike with your hands in the drops of your handle bars. If you feel a strain in your back it's possible you are too far forward and need shorter stem or smaller bike. A bike fit specialist can help you get your bike in the position you need for comfort with higher miles on your bike.

6. Buy High Quality Riding Apparel
Good cycling shorts or bibs are critical for comfortable longer distance riding. Don't go cheap. is Again, good cycling shorts or bibs. Spend the extra on name brand apparel. Buy a few pairs of shorts or bibs. Wash them after every ride and be sure to let them dry on a hanger. Jerseys should be able to breathe so don't get anything too heavy. Be colorful so vehicles can see you. A snug fit is better. Clothing flapping in the wind will slow you down. Don't wear undergarments under your shorts. This will cause friction which leads to blisters and other discomforts. Apply a lubricant like Body Glide and Chamois Butter to your body and chamois. A light T-shirt is can help to wick away sweat in cooler weather. Performance fabrics for jerseys and socks are a good idea. Lastly, ride with gloves. They absorb sweat, and help prevent scrapes in the event of a fall.

7. Educate Yourself
You'll find your body changing as you are on the path to accomplishing your resolution. It's important to educate yourself on what it will take to keep your body healthy, energized and injury free. Nutrition, Recovery, Stretching, and Hydration all play a role in successfully accomplishing your riding resolution. Important areas to consider for your training are your cardiovascular fitness, muscles and soft tissue.
· Cardiovascular - If you are just starting, or just getting back to longer bicycle rides then your lungs aren't used to providing lots of oxygen to your body for long periods of time. 100 miles will take you about 6 to 7 hours to complete if you can average 15 MPH (How hilly the course is will have a huge effect on this time). Your lungs and cardiovascular system will improve as you slowly build up the mileage and time on the bike. Blood will flow through your system and carry oxygen more efficiently as the weeks go by.
· Muscles - Your leg muscles may not be used to going round and round for 6 to 7 hours yet. It's not only your legs that will get a workout, but your back, abdominals, arms, shoulders and neck. Longer duration cycling highlights the benefits of a bike fit that helps your body adapt and find a comfortable position for the amount of time you'll be spending on the bike. Check out a weekly massage to help with recovering from your rides. You can also self massage with a massage stick or tennis ball to aid the muscles in recovering more quickly.
· Soft tissue - here we are talking about the parts of our body that touch the saddle or seat of the bike. It takes time to get used to having pressure on these areas. In a sense you need to build up your endurance here as well. Bike fit, high quality cycling shorts and changing your position in the saddle all help to bring comfort to your longer rides.

8. Always be Prepared.
As you add in mileage each week you will need to make sure you have time each day to get in the training. The dedication is sometimes hard and it's always helpful to be prepared to ride and work out when you can. Always have a training bag with you when you travel. Most hotels will have a stationary bike. Line up the spin classes and gyms with bikes in your area. Start biking to work a day or two during the week. Bring your bike and training gear with you to be ready for training opportunities!

Enjoy the path to accomplishing your biking resolutions!

by Mike Henderson
Mike's Blog: Finding Way to Help Others
Photo: Mike Henderson