You Should Avoid It is amazing how things affect our cycling performance. Little shifts in lifestyle and surroundings that we often overlook can throw a wrench into our spokes come ride time.
We decided to make a list of the 10 most made mistakes.
MISTAKE ONE: NOT GETTING ENOUGH REST
What comes to mind here, is the story of an expert cross-country racer who was quite impressive. He trained hard, very hard, beginning early in the season.
But by mid-summer, he was getting a little slower on training rides and not placing well in races.
His decision: "I must not be training hard enough!" So he upped his training schedule.
More hill work. Longer distances. Interval work on Tuesdays. In the end, hills he used to climb in the big
ring he now struggled up in the granny. Disappointed, he sold all his bikes, gave his gear away, cursed
cycling and took up golf. While this may seem to be an extreme case, it is a textbook example of what happens
when you don't get enough rest. Your body heals while you are at rest. If you have trained properly, taper your
training back as the season progresses and trade sleep and a good diet for the extra miles you think you need to
put in.
MISTAKE TWO: TRYING TO MAKE UP FOR LOST GROUND It's a fact. You cannot make up for lost sleep. The best, and only, option is to get at least 7 to 9 hours of shuteye every night. Use the same trick that many racers use to motivate them to train regularly: Visualize your competitors bar-hopping while you are between the sheets recovering. Your liver and kidneys are most effective while you are sleeping. Without the proper down time, your muscles and mind can't repair the damage from the day's activities.
MISTAKE THREE: MAKING UP FOR LOST GROUND ON THE TRAIL Many riders follow a training program. Racers and most serious riders usually have a very strict plan that dictates what day and how long they will ride each week to achieve their goals. Recreational riders tend to plan their schedules by how much time they can spare. Often, casual mountain bikers will pack all their training rides back to back_or squeeze their rides between other scheduled workouts at the gym. This is bad. By squeezing all your workouts together, all you are doing is wearing your body out. You don't have time to recover, so, in reality, you haven't gained a thing. Let the missed workout go. If something comes up and you can't ride, do what you need to do and consider the day an extra rest period and resume your normal schedule the following day. Remember, one missed day isn't going to destroy your current fitness; it takes about two weeks of inactivity to destroy your edge.
MISTAKE FOUR: ONLY CONCENTRATING ON WHAT YOU EXCEL AT Maybe you shell your riding buddies up every hill only to get blitzkrieged on the downhills. Perhaps you downhill like Myles Rockwell but climb like Elmer Fudd. The skinny ascenders hammer up major mountain climbs, then prefer to descend carefully back home on the road. The latter group shuttle up the mountains and wheel-ski whenever possible. Wake up and smell the stinky inner tube air. It's time to reverse roles! If you are an accomplished climber, but are intimidated by gnarly descents, take one day a week and go shuttling. You will be a better rider for it. If you can't climb, start riding up a local mountain once a week. The first month will be painful, but once you have mastered the grade a few times, long strenuous climbs won't intimidate you. After a few months of role-reversal practice, you will have achieved the coveted "all 'round rider" status. Besides that, you'll be awfully fast.
MISTAKE FIVE: NOT GOING ON GROUP RIDES Group rides aren't only for racers and roadies. The main benefits are twofold. (1) You are forced to ride at a pace that you can't achieve by yourself and (2) you get to see how you stack up against other riders. Riders who are serious about improving their fitness need to push themselves once a week at a very high level. The best way to do this is with other riders. You are forced to push harder and longer than on solo rides_this is the number one way to get fit fast. By comparing yourself to others, you can measure your current fitness, and see whether or not your training plan is working. Steady improvement is hard to gauge. If you are "moving back in the group" you'll know you have a problem right away. An added bonus to group-ride therapy is exposure to the local cycling community and the new friends that often come with it.
MISTAKE SIX: ONLY RIDING HARD Macho madness on the singletrack is common. You know the type; the hulking figure of a man (or woman) who scoffs at going slow and boasts; "I only go hard, every ride! Ha ha ha." Wrong! Vary the intensity of each ride. Your complete physical recovery depends upon it. More importantly, your mental attitude will remain positive if you reward yourself with an easy ride now and then. This means doing 1- to 1.5-hour rides on flat ground with a low heart rate between training rides and after long weekend rides.
MISTAKE SEVEN: ONLY EATING WHEN YOU ARE HUNGRY Eat before you are hungry. It is easy to forget to pop a gel pack or stop for an energy bar while you are feeling good. But, if you wait until your stomach starts to grumble, it is too late. Your blood sugar has lowered, your energy bank is empty and you simply can't catch up to a normal power output. A realistic rule of thumb to follow is to eat an energy gel pack (or a carbohydrate replacement bar) every 45 minutes of riding time if you plan on going longer than 2 hours. For truly epic journeys of four hours or more, stop at two hours and eat a more substantial lunch_an energy bar (one with protein is a good choice) or peanut butter sandwich is a good start. It seems like food isn't that important because we often see pro racers using a gel pack or two in a race and that's it. But remember, those guys are out for 2.5 hours (less than normal rides or training days). Road pros get a bag of meat sandwiches halfway through a 125-mile race. Consider that. If you totally blow it and don't think you can get home, stop for a Coke or Snickers bar. The sugar boost will propel you for at least a half hour, but not much more.
MISTAKE EIGHT: NOT DRINKING ENOUGH And we don't mean in the pub after the ride. It is a simple fact that you have to continuously sip liquid all day. Chances are you plan on riding today, tomorrow or the next day, so get in the kitchen, pour a tall glass of water and drink it. Then get another, and another. The worst possible thing you can do is start a ride dehydrated. A well-hydrated rider can make two hours on a couple of water bottles, but that is about the limit. Take a water pack if you are going out for longer than that. Mix your water with a carbohydrate and mineral replacement product. Go easy; you'll need to replace salt, carbohydrates and electrolytes during the course of a long day, but water is your paramount concern.
MISTAKE NINE: GOING TOO HARD WHEN YOU ARE SICK If you have a simple cold, you can generally ride through it (but never ride with a fever). The key to getting past a minor illness while remaining on the bike is to take it easy. Your body is using energy to fight the intruder, so less energy is available for pedaling. Put off the intervals or epic hill days until you are fully healed. Instead, just spin around and have fun riding easy. When you feel fully recovered, wait a few days before going hard again so you don't weaken your resistance and have a relapse. Relapses are worse than the original illness and can result in time off the bike.
MISTAKE TEN: A NEGATIVE ATTITUDE Everyone has bad days on the bike, so get over it. Even a top pro's normal riding pattern contains many peaks and valleys. Everyone has times when he feels-like king of the world and other times when he feels like he can't get out of his own way. Don't let off days (or weeks) get under your skin. There is usually an underlying reason that you are feeling like such a squid on the bike. Stress at home or work, illness, or life in general can translate into fatigue and affect your performance. All you can do is ride through it and try to maintain a positive attitude. Remember, it's only temporary. If you anticipate a big life experience such as a major purchase, a wedding or a new job, be prepared for a temporary decrease in your cycling energy. If you expect you will be slow for a week or so, it is easier to accept it. Remaining positive will get you through the tough times. If you get down on yourself by saying "I'm weak, I stink, I'll always be slow," chances are it will be a self-fulfilling prophesy.