Long slow rides……benefits?

part of the conversation was when one of the older lads said he had been talking to a local club rider.
he asked what kind of training he did, my mate said non, he just rode his bike.
the club rider said that was stupid, everyone should have a training plan to get fitter and healthier.
my mate told the club rider, that even if cycling was bad for you, he would still do it, cos he loved it so much.

i reckon he is right too. i ride cos i love it, rather than for health reasons too………..

This bit +1

I do long slow rides because some days that’s just what I want to do.

Everyone should have a training plan??… thats a bit odd. Why if you have no race or fitness goals would you bother.

I used to (attempt to) be really analy retentive about training plans, every week planned out, etc. Took me untill this winter to realise it really wasn’t working as I rarely stuck to them for longer than a few weeks. This winter’s plan:

* 4 weeks 1 slow/medium evening ride
* 4 weeks 2 slow/medium evening ride, commute some days
* 4 weeks 2 slow/medium evening ride, commute some days, sunday club run
* 4 weeks 2 slow/medium evening ride, commute some days, sunday club run, 1 fast group evening ride.

Currently on the border between month 2 and 3. Deperately need to figure out what to do about a bike for the winter club runs as the tourer is just too slow and pondorous and the summer bike would be a faff to convert.

I find “riding more” a far more motivational goal than anything else and TBH at this level it’s probably as specific as it needs to be. The only training session I might incorperate is the 2x 20min @ FT. Any shorter intervals and I reckon SSing takes care of them.

To the OP. My basic understanding of training is that if you only have a limited time (2/3 rides a week) you might as well go hard since you’ll recover between rides anyway. If you are riding 5 days a week you obviously can’t go flat out everyday so you add volume through steady rides.

I think as I’m guided by time available I’ll do short rides when time is limited, and longer rides when I can.

The key for me I’ve decided, is knowing about training “modes” in the first place – it then becomes easy to decide whether I’m doing intervals, race-pace threshold or z2 depending on how much time I have / how my head is.

i get both types into one ride…..steady pace to that days trail followed by high intensity for an hour so, then a steady pace home. Always enjoy the variation 🙂

Riding benefit is mental and physical. You ride for a long time, is hours tolerating being on bike. Certainly focuses you and overtime your body gets really good at being efficient with the food you take over such period.

Remember av/s is not key, effort and work is. Which is defined by terrain, conditions and type of riding.

I’ve always done long rides as they’re part of seeing stuff, something that doesn’t happen at warp speed.

….is hours tolerating being on bike.

As an aside – This has always mystified me – I can’t get anyone to admit long rides have their moment of discomfort (so assume its just me) but with Saddle / position sorted I don’t get sore, or an unbearable perenal ache, but after a couple of hours or so need to stand / shift about as I just get ” uncomfortable”. Common sense tells me this is natural as sitting on a relatively hard surface and suffering vibration is bound to cause some issue. Plus there’s a Cavendish quote that goes something like “if you can’t stand pain, you shouldn’t be on a road bike”.

I’d just like someone else to admit that long rides aren’t comparable to 3 hours sitting on a sofa for my own sanity (although I can’t sit in the cinema for more than 90 mins without aching sit bones).

the club rider said that was stupid, everyone should have a training plan to get fitter and healthier

My training plan is…
go for a long steady ride every weekend (where possible)

had a target of 1000km last year, 1000miles this year, and i’ll make it maybe 2000km next year (I don’t count sub 2km commuting/shop/pub runs). probably peanuts distance for some, and out of reach of others.

With a properly sorted saddle and position you should be able to sit on a bike for a day without any particular aches. I’ve sometimes taken an hour or so to get really comfy, especially on multi-day rides, but once warmed up seldom have any soreness. My Brooks B17 makes a big difference.

I might get a bikefit one after Christmas is over, at the very least it’ll put my mind at rest that my position is sorted (although by seeking advice / posting a few pics on here / my own experience its seems I’m in the ball park)

I could ride all day (5-6 hours) no problem. I’d just be shifting about a bit after hour 3.

On my (now deceased) winter/commuter bike, I spent so much time on it that it felt like a glove. Fit may not have been technically perfect, but it was so comfortable to just ride and ride. Did up to 8,000 miles a year, so can’t have been all bad! (Well, other than the poss damage to my heart as a result of pushing too hard too often.)

Am noiw at almost zero miles a year and slowly getting back into it. The only goal is enjoyment.

Seems a lot of like minded folk out there .Read the new post i’ve just put up .Must say getting 2 of my mates into riding at 57 has been a good experience too.I always said if i started taking it too serious i would knock it on the head .Solo round the Quantocks Sunday managed to avoid the crowds , time alone with my thoughts bit special if you ask me .

Strava kinda proves that lots of people want to be fast on their bike.
So I would guess thats what their ‘Plan’ is to improve.

Long slow rides are fine on occasion. But sooner or later I find myself picking the pace up on the home stretch.
Even here in the hilly S.Wales, an average on a road bike less than 14mph is very slow.
For a mtb anything from 7-11mph is decent.

@ton – yes indeed, @druidh hit the nail on the head at the start of the thread. I average 10 kmph off road – a 5hr ride at that speed is great and you build base fitness, get used to being on the bike for that length of time, plus get out and about, cover some decent ground and hopefully enjoy the countryside.

As for the “club rider” you have pre-selected your sample there, someone who has joined a bike club is going to more interested in training plans, heart rate, distance, power output, blah balh blah. He has those things because he is interested in them and that’s his motivation (being a little bit of a bigot you need to do something like that to make road biking interesting)

I ride because it’s fun and I love the outdoors. Yes it has the benefit of being healthy which is important but that’s secondary.

for what its worth here’s my training plan its the same as every year–
ride bike as often as poss with/without some people, get scared/wet/sweaty from time to time, drink some beer after ride occasionally having to much sometimes leeding to mishaps
think you’ll find that covers all trainig requirements
G

Sorry but I’ve skimmed some posts

there are 2 seperate questions

I have 5 hours to ride is the best thing I can do a long steady ride. no probaly not.

If i ride for 5 hours at a lowish pace will i get faster?

Yes

My final commnet is that road riding got rather stuck on lots of long slow rides a few decades back. people road for huge numbers of miles a week relively slowly. Even though there goal was to ride under the hour. this didn’t maje sense. So i wonder if things are starting to swing to far the other way….

Best????

best as in

Is the greatest gain in fitness from 5 hours training one long slowish ride. As opposed to several higher intensity sessions

or am i missing something

ampthill – Member

or am i missing something

Yes – maybe if you’d bothered to read the rest. Lots of sports studies have concluded that training at low intensity with many different sports / activities has benefits.

Maybe read the rest, or google it, but in summary if you only do your 5 hours slowly all year, no it won’t help you, but in certain conditons out of season / over the winter it will.

All this ‘training for something’ baffles me. If you are out on your bike, enjoying being in the moment, grateful to be experiencing the world around you, maybe catch yourself singing, then that’s the point.

You are starting with an assumption that the goal is to get the “greatest gain in fitness”.

Slow rides = better views.

😆

Go slower, get faster

It sounds impossible but this is the basic starting point for HR training. I started off by doing long Zone 1 and Zone 2 rides. It was slow, boring and tortuous at times. What happened over a period of months was amazing. In a nutshell I was still riding in Zone 2 but I was zipping along compared with when I started. By going slower I’d made my body more ef?cient. It was like a light being switched on: if I can go this fast in Zone 2 then just how fast could I go in the higher zones?

Fletcher, who’s an exercise physiologist, is adamant that by going slow you will get faster. The Evesham-based coach even has a mug on his desk emblazoned with the words ‘slow is the new fast’. But he has some sage words for anyone who thinks that HR training is like waving a magic wand. “Training is boring. Anyone who says they can make base training sessions more entertaining and can introduce fun is kidding you. Just accept it that those long, steady rides on the bike will be boring but they will bring results. There are no shortcuts and no quick ?xes.”

Because discipline for these slow rides is so important, it’s probably a good idea to ride them on your own, without the temptation of trying to keep up with faster mates, or rising to the bait of village sign sprints or traf?c light grand prixs. Key session: 3hrs in Zone 2. Stay in the zone and stick to it. Don’t be tempted to push on the hills.

full Bike Radar article[/url]

Yes – maybe if you’d bothered to read the rest. Lots of sports studies have concluded that training at low intensity with many different sports / activities has benefits.

Maybe read the rest, or google it, but in summary if you only do your 5 hours slowly all year, no it won’t help you, but in certain conditons out of season / over the winter it will.

If i ride for 5 hours at a lowish pace will i get faster?

Yes

If you’d read my post you’d see that I agree

You are starting with an assumption that the goal is to get the “greatest gain in fitness”.

fair point

ampthill – Member

If you’d read my post you’d see that I agree

If you’d written it using less confusing grammar and layout it might have been easier for me to spot that.

Otherwise fair point.

without the temptation of trying to keep up with faster mates, or rising to the bait of village sign sprints or traf?c light grand prixs.

I must say I find it difficult as other rider sail past wondering if I’m a duffer despite my glowing red Castelli gear. 😀

Although as for the increase though – very true. Last year my Z2 average went from 24kmph to 26.5kmph over 3 months. I completed a 100k doing the first half in Z2 where possible and the rest at my own riding pace in 3.39.

For my first years Road riding I consider that a good result.

One thing I haven’t seen mentioned yet is that long, slow rides help increase your mitochondria count.

Great for rebuilding base fitness. Plus if you have a stressful job why beer up, get up early and rape your lungs.

Lots do this- not good for longterm health.

Great for rebuilding base fitness. Plus if you have a stressful job why beer up, get up early and rape your lungs.

Lots do this- not good for longterm health.