Beginning cycling training need help!!!

[HarryTheDog]

Thanks, my brother is 14 and our eventual aim is to cycle real long distance like 100 km

So same as may kids really 62.5 miles. As its the summer holidays try going out for a ride every other day ( rest days are important)and upping the mileage every time. Just be sensible and try to plan a fairly traffic free route. If you are still tired 2 days later just take a extra day off. Try not to leave the gaps between rides too long or else you will start to lose the fitness gains you have. 50-60 miles is a fairly standard club ride around here so once you have got to 60 miles try upping the average speed. Some people like to stop halfway for a snack etc but it is supposed to be better to go non stop. To begin with as others have said its all about your base cycle fitness , getting the miles in. Take lots of water/squash and some food, phone and cash for emergencies, spare inner tube,pump,tyre levers and if really keen a chain tool and spare link . Also tell someone where you are going, my daughter used to scare the life out of me by not saying anything then returning late afternoon anouncing she had just done 90 miles.

 

[ruby123]

So same as may kids really 62.5 miles. As its the summer holidays try going out for a ride every other day ( rest days are important)and upping the mileage every time. Just be sensible and try to plan a fairly traffic free route. If you are still tired 2 days later just take a extra day off. Try not to leave the gaps between rides too long or else you will start to lose the fitness gains you have. 50-60 miles is a fairly standard club ride around here so once you have got to 60 miles try upping the average speed. Some people like to stop halfway for a snack etc but it is supposed to be better to go non stop. To begin with as others have said its all about your base cycle fitness , getting the miles in. Take lots of water/squash and some food, phone and cash for emergencies, spare inner tube,pump,tyre levers and if really keen a chain tool and spare link . Also tell someone where you are going, my daughter used to scare the life out of me by not saying anything then returning late afternoon anouncing she had just done 90 miles.

Thanks

 

[Ticktockmy]

You do not need a power meter. All you need to do is ride your bike, keep riding it and slowly up your distances. With that, stamina and distance come.

Other wise.. join a club.

A lot of Clubs will more than likely have a policy of no unaccompanied children under 18 child protection policy ( CPP), you would be wise to find out if your local cycle club has a youth section which will have appointed a club officer to oversee the CPP .Iif you go on you tube and do a search for GCN they have lots of videos on training and lots of useful tips and you can win some nice prizes. Try your local library see if they have any books on Cycle training my local one has lots on cycling and how to improve. But the only real way to improve is to ride and ride some more. Set yourselves targets to achieve each week, start with flat routes then find routes with some easy hills. practice balancing your cadence (how fast you spin your pedals) with a useful gear setting, I have found that youngsters stay in too high a gear rather than use a lower gear at a higher cadence.

 

[Globalti]

As the Dad of an 18 year-old who started cycling very young I can confirm that you definitely do not need a power meter.

However there is a significant difference between you and an oldie like me; your body is awash with testosterone meaning that any training you do will be quickly rewarded by muscle growth although you must take care not to overdo the exercise in limited muscle groups. Cycling is very specific in the muscles it exercises because you are clamped rigidly into a machine, which controls your leg movements precisely so you also need to exercise the muscles that give support to your ankles, knees and hips. For this I suggest some walking on rough uneven ground; if there's a steep hill near home go and walk up and down that a couple of times a week. Walking will also be a good refresher to stop you feeling stale with cycling - look after your mind as well as your body.

Joining a club is a good idea as you will be mixing with older riders and learning cycling lore and wisdom from them. Go and buy a small book called The Escape Artist by Matt Seaton, which you will love reading as it's the story of a young man who became obsessed with cycling.and it explains a lot about cycling etiquette and has the best explanation for leg shaving. It's a true story and has a tragic twist at the end.

Out riding you will have less stamina than older riders but you will be a vigorous climber and sprinter, especially as you probably only weigh 50 kgs or so. Be wise, shelter in the pack, bide your time and then be near the front for the final sprint to the cafe, which you will win easily. Make sure your cleats and pedals are set up securely because my own son has crashed twice when he has come unclipped during big efforts. Learn to look after your bike, keep it clean and take pride in its mechanical perfection. Change tyres and brakes that are less than perfect.

Be aware that your body is using energy to reproduce cells and grow, so you need lots of sleep and good food. It's no use getting up late, necking a bowl of cereal (which is basically starch coated in sugar) then going cycling; you will have missed the most important meal of the day and will be one meal down on your buddies as well as being fuelled only on sugar, which will burn off in an hour. Go to bed early, turn off the phone or tablet, get up early, have a good cooked breakfast with carbs in the form of brown toast or porridge and protein in the form of eggs and bacon, then go cycling.

All of this advice is what I have learned from seeing my own son struggling with energy levels.

 

[ColinJ]

However there is a significant difference between you and an oldie like me; your body is awash with testosterone meaning that any training you do will be quickly rewarded by muscle growth.

I suspect that Ruby is actually awash with oestrogen rather than testosterone!

 

[ruby123]

A lot of Clubs will more than likely have a policy of no unaccompanied children under 18 child protection policy ( CPP), you would be wise to find out if your local cycle club has a youth section which will have appointed a club officer to oversee the CPP .Iif you go on you tube and do a search for GCN they have lots of videos on training and lots of useful tips and you can win some nice prizes. Try your local library see if they have any books on Cycle training my local one has lots on cycling and how to improve. But the only real way to improve is to ride and ride some more. Set yourselves targets to achieve each week, start with flat routes then find routes with some easy hills. practice balancing your cadence (how fast you spin your pedals) with a useful gear setting, I have found that youngsters stay in too high a gear rather than use a lower gear at a higher cadence.

Lol like froome, he rides at a really high cadence

 

[ruby123]

I suspect that Ruby is actually awash with oestrogen rather than testosterone!

Lol no i'm a boy

 

[MichaelW2]

The Cyclists Tourist Club or CTC or whatever they are called now are a non competitive group who organise group rides at fast and slow paces every weekend. The easy rider pace is steady and a good introduction to longer distances. You will learn loads about roadcraft as well as good local routes from the old codgers and codgeresses of CTC and they always welcome new and young riders.

 

[Globalti]

Local routes? CTC will take you on day trip to Timbuktu and back! My experience with my son is that he enjoys shortish but interesting rides; long rides just become a drudge because he has less stamina than older riders. A good wheeze is to take the train somewhere and ride back or vice-versa depending on wind direction, which provides a good target for the day rather than just repeating the same old circular routes.

 

[Ticktockmy]

Local routes? CTC will take you on day trip to Timbuktu and back! My experience with my son is that he enjoys shortish but interesting rides; long rides just become a drudge because he has less stamina than older riders. A good wheeze is to take the train somewhere and ride back or vice-versa depending on wind direction, which provides a good target for the day rather than just repeating the same old circular routes.

CTC or Cycling UK as it now called has in the main stopped being a touring club and seems to have become a charity based organisation which seems to have lost its way, however the local groups provide shortish day rides. British cycling would be better for the younger road rider. ant there website provide free training programs for all levels including beginners.

 

[Globalti]

Agreed, we went along for a period of time to our local track at Nelson and enjoyed ourselves a lot. GtiJ learned about group riding while we parents had a ball racing around the track trying to burn each other off. There was a group called Cycle Sport Pendle attached to the track, who have excellent coaches for young riders.

 

[graham bowers]

The Cyclists Tourist Club or CTC or whatever they are called now are a non competitive group who organise group rides at fast and slow paces every weekend. The easy rider pace is steady and a good introduction to longer distances. You will learn loads about roadcraft as well as good local routes from the old codgers and codgeresses of CTC and they always welcome new and young riders.

Not necessarily just weekends - depends on the group. For example, the Derby group has rides Sunday, Tuesday evenings and Thursday.

 

[ColinJ]

Lol no i'm a boy

Oh, fair enough - in that case references to testosterone do apply then!

 

[bozmandb9]

I am 15 years old and want to start training to go on long cycles, also to improve my stamina and speed on the bike. I have looked up training programs and in almost all you need power meter which are very expensive! I was wondering if someone could advise me on a training program where I don't need one and which includes how long I should ride for, what types of rides should i go on for each day. Please help!

Hi Ruby, I run a team for your age group, and I'm a coach. What I'd highly recommend, is to find your nearest local club which has Youth coaching. You will be in the 'Youth A' (under 16) age category. As you begin, the best thing you can do is to just get out there and practice. If you're interested in competing, you'll find lots of advice, training and coaching available at little to no cost when you join the right club.

At your age, races are only 25-50 minutes long, so you're best working on speed endurance, rather than pure endurance. If you get into cycling, and do well, you'll find there's a lot of support and resources at the right club, so do look around, and try to find one with a team that you might be able to join, and good training provision.

If you don't want to race, but just want to do long rides, then still join a club, but you don't need to worry so much about training provision, and can join social rides. I would highly recommend that you get all the training you can though, to improve your cycling skills. There's a massive amount of difference between being able to ride a bike (whether over a long distance of short), and being a skilled cyclist, with great control over your bike, ability to handle it really well, potentially avoid accidents/ crashes. You're still young enough to learn how to cycle really well.

 

[ruby123]

Thanks