With the outdoor cycling season just around the corner, are you ready? Whether your cycling plans include a spring break getaway to the Arizona desert or a tune-up race with your hometown cycling club, here are 4 easy tweaks to fine-tune your off-season road bike training.
Add strength training
If your winter training has simply been spinning or indoor cycling, add strength training to not only break of the monotony of indoor riding, but to build a stronger body once you do hit the pavement. Cut your next cycling workout short by 15 minutes and do a circuit of simple body-weight exercises like squats or lunges, or give this 30 minute strength training workout by Bicycling.com’s Chris Carmichael a try.
Incorporate new drills
It’s tempting to turn on the TV and spin mindlessly for an hour, but to get to the most out of your time on the bike, incorporate new drills and structured bike workouts into your time in the saddle. Try these two workouts (that promise to help you hit the perfect cadence) from Triathlete and Competitor.
Find a fat bike and get outside
Just because there is snow on the ground, it doesn’t mean that you can’t ride. Give fat biking a try! These bikes, with their wider rims and and larger tires, are perfect for snowy trails. Gather a group of friends and rent fat bikes from your local bike shop and hit the trails for a great workout.
Ride your dream vacation route – virtually
Want to ride the Dolomites, the Alps or the Tour de France routes? Innovative spin instruction companies like CycleFilm have filmed these epic cycling routes and designed challenging cycling workouts to accompany them. Our own self-guided cycling routes in Italy, Switzerland and France may not be as epic as the routes in the bike training videos, but you’ll certainly be fit enough to take them on.