For those of you that commute to/from work on your bike - do you use a structured approach, substitute these rides for your “planned” rides, hammer both ways, cruise both ways, hammer one way and cruise the other?
I would like to start commuting to/from work on my bike next spring and I’m trying to put a plan together as to how I would use that as training. I live 15 miles from work so it would give me two 45 minute sessions per day that I commute. Is there a good way to use that time as my regular workouts or should this just be “extra” time/miles?
Any experience/feedback that you could provide is much appreciated, thanks!
Depends on the time of year and goals. During pre-season/base1/off-season or whatever you call it when you are far away from a race, I just ride in zone 2 to and from. As my season gets closer, I make sure that I get in 3 intense workouts per week (on 3 different days) and do the rest of my training in zone 2. Usually I’ll keep my commutes at zone 2 and use other workouts as my intensity, but sometimes I’m trying to get to work quickly so I’ll just ride around zone 4 and count that as one of my 3 intense workouts for the week.
If you have lots of stoplights/stopsigns on your commute, it’s pretty tough to use it as a real workout. I have a pretty open ride to the office, so it’s not bad.
It also sucks if you have to carry a heavy laptop back and forth; but 15 miles isn’t too bad if you have a decent backpack.
My commute is 15 miles as well, and I hammer both ways (and run at lunch.) I might take the ride home easier if I’m feeling exceptionally tired that day.
I used to have the same amount of commute and would do a
Long ride on the weekend. During the week I would ride moderately to work and faster home. The consistency brought my 70.3 speed up drastically from 19mph to 22.
I think there is or was a site devoted to getting points for commute racing, which would be a fun and easy way to get faster.
Panniers and fenders are awesome for commuting no matter how lame they look. It is awesome to crush somebody on their morning training ride while you commute to work with a lunchpale dangling from your handlebars.
I used to have the same amount of commute and would do a
Long ride on the weekend. During the week I would ride moderately to work and faster home.
This ^^^^^ is the way I approach it. It sucks to go to hard in the morning commute because even though I shower when I get to work, I usually sweat for awhile after the shower and feel like I still need another one.
For those of you that commute to/from work on your bike - do you use a structured approach, substitute these rides for your “planned” rides, hammer both ways, cruise both ways, hammer one way and cruise the other?
I will share my experience. Your mileage may vary.
I commute on my P3. I don’t have a separate commuter bike. I have a really tight schedule. Commuting is really the only way to get a ride in during the week. By car my work is a highly frustrating 45 mins to 1hr away. By bike it’s almost exactly the same amount of time. I’m very thankful my work provides really nice showers. I try to wake up a bit early so the sun is coming up during my ride right when I’m on this beautiful canyon road, and make the first ride a hilly ride. I end up at work early, grab a shower and coffee. It’s such an awesome start to a day. The ride home completes the loop, and is shorter and flatter but more of a tempo ride. I try to keep it around 18-22mph and do a long false flat and a hard hill at the end that allows me to avoid traffic. I also try to stick to roads where there are long stretches of time between waves of traffic.
I come home and take the dogs for a run as my brick.
The hard part is having to sit in a chair for 8 hours before the next ride. I would prefer the ride home to be harder, but I’m usually so stiff it’s quite difficult. I do try and stretch, but there’s only so much one can do. Because of this I do not commute two days by bike in a row. The ride home is harder too because you have the mental weight of a long day on you. It’s a mental challenge to put the running shoes on and keep going. It’s good to be really familiar with a direct, fast way to work and a nice long enjoyable route- in case you are late or need to dash home for an emergency. It’s also good to be very careful of what you eat for lunch. I had some great Thai food at lunch yesterday and I thought I was going to loose it on the way home. I do not use panniers. I use a Timbuk2 cycling backpack, the smallest one I could find. It’s enough to hold my clothes, a TYR chamois towel, and my wallet, badge, keys, etc. When choosing a backpack make sure it does not ride upwards when you are in aero position. This timbuk2 stays put. Unfortunately I don’t see it on the Timbuk2 site. REI has a good selection to try on. They are usually all black. I bought some reflective strips for the back of mine. I clip a blinking red light to the side of it for a “side marker” light. I leave a pair of shoes at work, and sometimes a pair of khakis. Don’t forget the lube. I leave a tube at work.
Stay safe out there