It’s difficult to believe the Noosa Classic is now less than three months away. Yes our first Gran Fondo event for Queensland is just 12 weeks away, on Sunday August 26.
With that in mind it’s now high time to be locking a training plan into place, to be slowly building your weekly kilometre count so you are best prepared for your chosen event distance – the 45km Social Classic, 120km Challenge Classic or 160km Maxi Classic.
First to briefly backtrack – in our last training article we looked at four tips to help get you off to a solid start. These included ensuring a proper bike fit, servicing your bike, making a plan and setting & sticking to goals. For more on those points you can read the article here.
Taking Your Training Inside
With cooler weather starting to hit many parts of southern Australia, today we have some tips for those who are turning to indoor training as a viable alternative to build and maintain fitness.
Which Indoor Trainer?
First for those new to the indoor training scene the good news is this … there are a myriad of options to choose from! With trainers ranging from basic entry level offerings right through to the best of the best – the Technogym MYCYCLING smart trainer as reviewed here – buyers face a major decision in choosing the perfect machine for the job. To make things easier Bicycling Australia recently published a comprehensive Smart Trainer Buyers’ Guide – for full details you can read that here.
Investing in a high quality indoor trainer and using it regularly will be highly beneficial for your Gran Fondo preparation.
Set A Goal
Regarding indoor training we have some good news for you! The general rule of thumb is that 1km on the trainer equates to around 2km out on the road. This is due to the fact there’s less start/stop, minimal coasting and no drafting. A combination of stationary training and real life road or track training can dramatically boost your overall performance if you set a goal and stick to it.
Three months out from the Noosa Classic we’d recommend steadily increasing your weekly kilometre count to at least match and then eclipse your chosen event distance.
Stay Motivated
One of the hardest things in winter is maintaining that warm-weather fitness you worked so hard to attain. Arrange regular rides with friends, real life or virtual, set weekly or monthly goals on Strava, sign up for a distance or monthly altitude challenge. You can even set reminders via apps such as Zwift Mobile Link which will help motivate you to stick to minimum training hours each week.
Go Overseas, Without Leaving Home
With literally thousands of regular virtual bunch rides on platforms such as Zwift, there are simply no excuses not to ride during the cooler months.
With the incredible technology most of us now have at our fingertips, it’s entirely possible to spend quality time on the bike without leaving the comforts of home. Combine a smart trainer with an online training platform and you can (virtually) ride the world.
Ride overseas from the comfort of your home! A screenshot of a ride around the London loop on Zwift.
Get Out When Possible
“Pro hours?” That was the reply a friend gave when asked if he wanted to ride the next day. With many of us either working from home or enjoying the positives & negatives of flexible working hours, a ride between say 11am and 3pm is sometimes possible. ‘Pro hours’ can be a lot more comfortable than earlier or later in the day – there’s generally more light, warmer temperatures, and often much less traffic.
Whatever your method – be it setting goals on Zwift or Strava or making a pact with ride buddies – stick to your individual and weekly targets as you build strength and form in the lead up to the Noosa Classic on August 26
