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  • Anyone else training for the Tweedlove international? How's it going?
  • hughjayteens
    Free Member

    Am popping my Enduro race cherry this year at the ripe old age of 38 and with 7 and a bit weeks to go am planning on starting to train a little more seriously. A busy work and family life and a lot of grim weather means I haven’t been out on the bike as much as I’d hoped, but I have been filling in with much more spin classes which I feel are helping my fitness quite a lot, but I’m unsure if being able to go flat out for 45 mins in a spin class will be of much benefit on an all-day enduro race?

    With my limited time, has anyone got any tips on how I could best utilise it?

    I can get to the gym every lunchtime for 45-60 mins and they have well run spin classes every day plus circuits classes and boxing (which I am currently doing twice a week plus 2 spin classes)
    I am hoping to squeeze in either an early morning or evening midweek ride of 90 mins or so and I ride most Sundays for 2-3 hours.

    I suspect that it will be lack of skillz rather than fitness which will decide my race result, so I think I should use the Sunday session to hone my technical abilities at places like Aston Hill (where I make my own mini Enduro by blasting down (1-2 mis) and cycling back up the super steep patch (6-8 minutes) as many times as I can (usually 7 or 8) and then use the midweek ride as a steady but fast paced one interspersed with spin and circuits classes?

    Does that sound sensible?

    Oh, and I’ll be buying a Full Enduro Fluro outfit to match my bike of course..

    hels
    Free Member

    You could throw in some longer rides, you will be riding 4/5 hours each day – and try doing two hard days in a row. Fitness is great, but if you fall to bits after an hour then not that useful ! Will also bring out any bike position or repetitive issues that may not be apparent on shorter rides.

    julzm
    Free Member

    I’ve just done Vallelujah and did two tweedlove enduros last year as well as some PMBA ones. I’ve been training for months on endurance and strength as well as technical skills, drills etc. I still found Sunday very tough physically.

    Few points to note, stage 2 for us was Zoom or Bust up short sharp climb , down a long fire road and then into the Fort full section. I’d completely underestimated the length of the stage. For EWS last year they did a similar stage to this but starting from the mast – about twice as long. We “only” climbed 4500ft on Sunday – International likely to be good bit more than that.

    Advice would be try to up your endurance rides as much as possible, intervals are probably a must. Be prepared for long transitions under time pressure. If you can climb at a decent rate that will certainly help. Arm and core strength will help as long descents require good form all the way down to get the best result. Spin classes do help but go for the climb ones (G cycle up here) rather than the sprint ones (RPM).

    There’ll be plenty others who have much better advice than me but I expected Sunday to be easier physically (not technically) – weather, mud and cold made a big impact in that but my fitness could still have been much better.

    Northwind
    Full Member

    2 days heavy riding in a row is great advice tbh, the number of people that fold up halfway through raceday because they overdid practice… I’ve done this myself, realised on race day that I’m busted after the day before.

    Since you’ve not done an enduro before, do you have one planned before the big one? Training aside that could make a big difference, just from familiarity and racecraft. It’s a lot like just riding your bike but it’s not quite and small difference can spin you out. There was a lot of this going on at the weekend- people who’d dressed solely for the ride and were freezing to death in the stage queues, frinstance, so when they got into the stage they were stiff and distracted, folks who got flustered at the start of stages and took off in bottom gear. Sounds daft but it’s so easy to do…

    howsyourdad1
    Free Member

    Intervals my man

    legend
    Free Member

    You need to get some upper body and core work in there too unless you can consistently get to steep trails. Massive fitness in your legs and cardio won’t be worth much if your arms can barely support you, and they are likely to be tested!

    tom.nash
    Full Member

    Find a hill and get used to climbing it; a short enduro here in the Tweed Valley will be a good 1100m climbing. EWS last year which i expect the International will be similar to was: day one 55km/1400m, day two was 20km/785m. The Scottish Open was 40km/1300m. If you do practice and race its tiring..! 😯

    BoardinBob
    Full Member

    I am hoping to squeeze in either an early morning or evening midweek ride of 90 mins or so and I ride most Sundays for 2-3 hours.

    From personal experience, double that weekend ride time. Look to be doing 5 hour rides. Doesn’t have to be at the same pace as your shorter ride, but look to get some long days in and expect to be out on race days for 5 hours at least each day.

    (where I make my own mini Enduro by blasting down (1-2 mis)

    Find bigger hills. At the Tweedlove EWS last year, the longest stage was taking the fastest riders 12 minutes, and 17 minutes for the slowest. Riding 1-2 minute trails can’t train you for that pain!

    hughjayteens
    Free Member

    Eek – maybe I should’ve kept pottering along in my blissfully ignorant world!! Am nervous now….

    Thanks for all the input – will certainly make an effort to get a longer ride in on Sundays – happy to start super early and make the most of the increasing daylight.

    Upper body and core is fine and technical, steep climbs have never been an issue. Have done several weeks in the Alps and Portugal over the years where we’ve spent 7 hours+ in the saddle each day and legs have always failed before my hands. Time is my biggest enemy so I just need to use it wisely.

    Unsure finding bigger hills is going to be easy living near that there London but I can certainly try and get an uplift day in at BPW or similar before the event.

    I was hoping to do some local Enduro races but the one I had my eye on has just been cancelled so I’m on the hunt for another! Does anyone know of any happening in the next month?

    Thanks again

    balfa
    Free Member

    I’m doing the international too but have done almost no riding the last 3 months due to injury. Hoping to be back on the bike soon but have no specific training planned other than trying to get 3 or 4 rides a week. I’m lucky enough to be able to combine some of these into commutes though. Having down some of the Tweedlove Enduros before, I think it’s worth trying to find some trails similar to the off piste found in the Tweed Valley. It’s worth practicing these in wet conditions too. Not sure where else you would find trails like that though. Stage 2 at the king of the hill this year was entertaining in the wet after 400 people had been down it!

    Nobeerinthefridge
    Free Member

    Aye, it’s the steepness/scariness/lack of any sort of grip/madness that makes me nervous, rather than my fitness!

    kimbers
    Full Member

    I was hoping to do some local Enduro races but the one I had my eye on has just been cancelled so I’m on the hunt for another! Does anyone know of any happening in the next month?

    Thanks again

    check out qecp, dont think day/night is sold out yet?

    WES next weekend at CYB, while not local!, is a good challenging 1 day race, definitely recomended

    oldejeans
    Free Member

    I’d say that best training for riding in the Tweed Valley is riding in the Tweed Valley. Stamina obviously helps but having the right technique for steep, rocky, tight, loose, rooty, muddy off-camber deathchutes can help you finish stages before you run out of puff, or crash.

    kimbers
    Full Member

    plenty in wales, lakes etc to train you for international

    off piste practice really helps

    any kind of endurance training is good though,

    proutster
    Free Member

    hughjayteens
    Upper body and core is fine and technical, steep climbs have never been an issue.

    Based upon my experience this weekend at Vallelujah, I think that going down those technical, steep climbs will be better practice for a Tweedlove event 😀

    hughjayteens
    Free Member

    kimbers – Member
    check out qecp, dont think day/night is sold out yet?

    WES next weekend at CYB, while not local!, is a good challenging 1 day race, definitely recomended

    QECP is the weekend before Tweedlove so possibly risky and I probably won’t get a pass she who must be obeyed for two weekends away back to back!

    Sadly am already away with the family for the next weekends so can’t do the CYB or Afan events – what is it they say about poor planning…?!?!

    Will be able to get a ride in this Sunday so will make it a super early start and up the length to 4-5 hours and try to make that a regular one.

    Thanks for all the input. Might treat myself to a Garmin so I can track my efforts more accurately!

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