you just mean your bike was the wrong shape and size goan ....
matt -read many different theorys but i can sit at 195bpm for most of a spin class so i dont doubt my max on the bike is higher than 200 but i just cant push it there for my legs wanting to blow up. that is my reasoning for basing my max on my running max
tinribz has the right idea for what hes doing !
Holy cow Tinribz! That sounds like what I should be doing!!
Well, did my first interval session this evening......already feel faster 
Do you commute? Easy way to get the base miles in - if I just ride straight to and from work every day I get 150kms/week. Add in w/end rides (actually on the MTB) I get around 200kms thru winter.
Down under, we are getting into spring now, so starting to take the long way home couple times a week to increase the mileage and ride the MTB to work and go for a ride from work too.
Unfortunately, the boring hill reps and intervals have to be done to really get race fitness. Try to find a good route to keep them interesting - ideally a partner is good for this as the competition between you will give the incentive to keep it up i.e. "got beat him up this hill today", "gotta outsprint him this time", etc
the R&R/week off has to be down to let your body actually benefit - 4th week is good, can spread to 6th week as you get stronger/fitter, but if you feel crappy (not just tired, but like you can't do anything let alone ride) before that, listen to your boday and take a few days off, and make sure you eat well to get over the hump.
Also, make sure you don't do all your rides based on Road/HRM - it's easy to get disillusioned and bored, plus MTB skills need to be trained just as much as fitness does - too many people neglect them; no point being able to cruise up hill at only 60bpm @ 30km/hr only to go down at 180bpm @ 20km/hr cos you are crapping your pants at how "hard" the descent is cos you've got so used to everything being flat tarmac. sounds obvious, but...
If i'm doing a bike only race/event then i'll still do some other stuff to make sure I am not just riding but the basic rule of training specific to your event holds.
For a major multisport race I'll be knocking on 30-35 hours a week for the 2 big weeks I have planned and a light week is about 18. Adventure race season its a bit less scientific - loads and loads and loads of incredibly long treks (20h+) with immense amounts of climbing carrying a decent pack loaded with red wine and coal (for the hut fire of course).
However for bike stuff i'd echo the commute comment for time in the legs in winter. Put in some short intervals every now and then. Then start to put together a bit more structure. Also do some non-biking core work as well as while its no cardio it will significantly help. Base miles cannot ever be underestimated, as can being well rested and not overtraining. Its taken me about 8 years now of racing to get to the point where I don't over train !
matt -read many different theorys but i can sit at 195bpm for most of a spin class so i dont doubt my max on the bike is higher than 200 but i just cant push it there for my legs wanting to blow up. that is my reasoning for basing my max on my running max
I'd say your right and your max will be higher than 200, in which case its worth doing another max test. No point training to zones if you know they might be out.
Nowt too structured.
Aiming to go well in the 'Grand Masters' next year.
Basically I train every day, something like this.
Sun; Long & fast road ride
Mon; XC run
Tue; MTB 2 hours, a mix of fun fast and techy.
Wed; MTB long distance
Thu; XC run
Fri; XC run
Sat; am short fast MTB. pm xc run
Etc etc.
I don't commute on the bike. The problem I have is it's 60 miles each way.
I have identified some villages that look OK to park the car in & cycle the rest of the way, but I haven't got round to doing that yet!
Do you not get knackered from never having days off oldgit!? I have to have at least one day of not riding/running.
If I suffer any problems it's usually Thursday and Friday that give.
I find that cycling, especially the long ride irons out any aches or pains. But basically that schedule is for when I've no other commitments.
I think also that because I've been doing both on and off since the early seventies and never suffered any 'issues' as a consequence of cycling and running it has become the norm. I suppose I've been lucky, I've seen guys come and go over the decades. That said I'm not a contender.
100k round trip (very hilly)commute 5 days a week - sometimes substitute for a drive and an MTB ride after work.
hopevalley youre lucky to have a decent commute, I'm only a mile from work and I need my car every day.
Used to have a nice commute many years ago, Leighton Buzzard to North London 37 miles each way didn't need to do anything else.
hopevalley. That's outrageous. How long's it take?
FWIW I do 2 x 10 miles x 5 commuting
Maybe twice a week extend that on the way home to a couple of 2 hour off road rides.
Short ride 1.5-2 hours on Saturday
Long ride on Sunday (3-5 hours on or offroad)
And a couple of 1 hour interval sessions on the turbo a couple of evenings.
But I don't race!
Finally took the plunge and ordered that mountain bikers training bible. Think I should of ordered a dictionary to go with it
5 days commuting - between 35 and 65 miles a day - try and alternate a week of taking it easier on a higher cadence whilst stretching out the distance / time with weeks of higher intensity but maybe shorter distances. Not especially structured but the Garmin 705 and it's virtual partner has been fantastic with keeping track, setting targets and generally logging my progress. As long as I listen to what my body is doing and ease off if necessary, keep my diet okay and just generally be sensible I haven't had problems thus far. My fitness has improved dramatically over the last year as a consequence...
Well the books just turned up looks like I've got some hefty reading to do.
Let us know how you get on with it.....
Well i'm injured at the moment won't be back on the bike for at least another couple of weeks but it will give me time to read it 
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