How to Become a Year-Round Cyclist

When asked how to improve as a cyclist, Eddy Merckx famously replied, "Ride more!"

If you want to improve as a cyclist, your number one resolution should be to exercise consistently. If you want to live a long and healthy life, your No. 1 resolution should be to exercise consistently. If you want to reduce stress and get more enjoyment out of life, your No. 1 resolution should be to exercise consistently.

Over Thanksgiving I had brunch with the friend who got me started riding when we were in our 20s. We would start training on Super Bowl Sunday, build up to the spring centuries and a double century, ride a tour together in the summer and then take the fall and winter off.

Back then we could easily burn off the fat we accumulated while not riding and get back into shape without too much effort. Not anymore! Now, we both ride year-round.

More: 4 Tips for Planning Your Cycling Season

Benefits

Your aerobic endurance is the foundation of all of your cycling. Whether you enjoy club rides, touring, centuries or racing, you need good endurance, which is developed by riding lots of hours at the classic long slow distance or conversational pace.

Further, if you exercise regularly and consistently, then you can significantly slow the aging process of the cardiovascular system. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends that adults get at least 30 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise five days a week year-round to reduce the risk of the big three killers: cardiovascular disease, stroke and Type II diabetes. Regular exercise also helps to manage your weight, which helps reduce the risk of these diseases. Regular exercise also has psychological benefits, reducing stress and anxiety and relieving depression.

Set S.M.A.R.T Objectives

Turn your general resolution to exercise consistently into objectives that you can act on. You can control your general preparation, training, equipment, etc. for events this year, but you can't control the outcomes of the events, which depend on conditions and competition.

Your objectives should incorporate factors that are within your control—they should be S.M.A.R.T.:

• Specific
• Measurable
• Attainable
• Realistic
• Time-oriented

For example, your objectives for this month might be to ride or cross-train aerobically for at least 30 minutes five days a week, to spend 30 minutes doing general strength training twice a week and to stretch for 15 minutes four days a week. The objectives are:

• Specific: Exactly which activities
• Measurable: Amounts of time
• Attainable: Given the your current physical condition if the you put in in the time
• Realistic: Given your work and family life, averaging a total of 4.5 hours a week is realistic
• Time-oriented: During specific month (or specific weeks within a training cycle)

Many of us choose to set bigger objectives; however, remember that you should be able to achieve them each month if you do the activities. Your goal is success!

More: How Many Centuries Can I Ride This Year?

Set Annual Objectives

To help you maintain your fitness year-round extend your S.M.A.R.T. objectives to annual objectives. You shouldn't try to maintain peak fitness all year--even the pros have a break and then rebuild their base endurance--but for fitness and health you should stay active. Four programs are structured to motivate you to ride year-round and to recognize your achievements. The programs reward consistent performance throughout the year.

? 62.3+ miles monthly rides: The Randonneurs USA (RUSA) P-12 award recognizes riders who complete a ride of 100-199 km (62-124 miles) in 12 successive months. A rider can start any month of the year and then must continue for 11 successive months. The rides can include rides organized by RUSA clubs as well as individual rides on RUSA-approved routes. The rider must carry a card, get signatures at designated points, and complete each ride within a specified time limit based on a minimum speed of 15 km/h (9.3 mph) and 30 km/h (18.6 mph) including off-the-bike time.

? 125+ miles monthly rides: The RUSA R-12 is similar, recognizing riders who complete a ride of at least 200 km (125 miles) in 12 successive months.

? 90+ miles monthly rides and cumulative mileage: The UltraMarathon Cycling Association (UMCA) Year-Rounder recognizes rides of 90 miles or longer. Statistics are kept in the Century category (rides of 90-149 miles) and Long ride category (150 and more miles). Awards are made based on total cumulative annual distance of at least 3,000 miles. Riders who complete a ride of at least 90 miles in every month of the calendar year earn the Year-Rounder award. Because weather may be a problem, two make-up rides are allowed for missed months. The rides can be either organized events or personal rides with documentation. In either case the rider must average at least 8.33 mph including off-the-bike time.

? 100+ miles monthly rides and cumulative mileage: Big Dogs Ultracycling tracks and ranks cumulative mileage from rides of any length and the Century Challenge recognizes riders who complete a century in every month of the calendar year. The rides can be either organized events or personal rides and are submitted on the honor system.

Participating in one of these programs is also a great way to prepare for a larger challenge during the year, such as riding a series of brevets, RUSA-approved rides of 200-600 km (125-373 miles).

More: An Introduction to Randonneuring

Base Endurance Exercise

By riding year-round, baseline endurance training brings about certain physiological changes, which do not take place when you train harder! Ed Burke, Ph.D., the author of Serious Cycling, lists these benefits of base training, which I have annotated. Endurance training improves:

• The endurance of the cycling muscles by increasing the number of mitochondria.
  • The mitochondria are subcellular structures in the muscles where aerobic energy is produced.
• The respiratory system, providing more oxygen to the blood supply.
• The efficiency of the heart so it can pump more blood to the muscles.
  • Endurance training improves the stroke volume, the amount of blood pumped per heartbeat.
• The capacity of the liver and muscles to store carbohydrates.
  • Your body can store approximately 1,800 calories worth of carbohydrate as glycogen. You can exhaust your glycogen stores during several hours of hard riding. Through endurance training you can increase your ability to store glycogen by 20 to 50 percent!
• The neuromuscular efficiency of pedaling.
  • Power is a function both of the strength of the muscles and coordinating the firing pattern of the nerves to activate the right muscle fibers at the right time so you go forward with less wasted energy. Endurance training is a great time to work on pedaling with a rounder stroke and spinning smoothly at a higher cadence.
• The capacity to burn fat during long rides.
  • Through endurance training your fuel mix on endurance rides shifts to more fat and less glycogen, sparing precious glycogen stores. Note that this doesn't automatically result in weight loss; that is a function of calories in and calories out.
• The thermoregulatory system by increasing the blood flow to the skin.
  • Your skin is your largest organ and ability to dissipate heat will pay off later in the season.

Source: Ed Burke, Serious Cycling, Human Kinetics, Champaign, IL, 2002

But What About Intensity?

Some coaches recommend high-intensity training as the fastest way to build fitness. However, endurance training brings about the metabolic changes listed above, which don't happen with high intensity training. Without building a proper base first, you risk overuse injuries with hard workouts. Further, two large-scale recent studies of runners suggest

• Runners who exercise regularly live longer than those who do not exercise, and
• Runners who consistently train hard erase that gain in longevity.

For these reasons your base training should be done at relatively low intensity. You should be able to carry on a conversation the whole time. Here are three methods to gauge the intensity:

• Rate of Perceived Exertion of 2-3 where 1 is a very slow walk and 10 is a flat out sprint for a few seconds.
• Heart rate of 76 to 87 percent of Lactate Threshold
• Power of 56 to 75 percent of Functional Threshold Power

How to Ride Year-Round

You are convinced of the benefits of cycling year-round and then you look out the window. Here are some tips on how to ride even in the winter:

? Stay Warm: Dress in layers with a wicking layer next to your skin to wick the sweat away so you don't get damp and chill. You can also adjust the layers as the temperature changes. For more see my article on 12 Tips for Staying Warm During Winter Bike Rides:

More: 12 Tips for Staying Warm on Winter Rides

? Eat and Drink Enough: The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recommends consuming every hour 0.3 gm of carbohydrate per pound of body weight (0.7 g per kg)—you may need more in the winter because you are also using fuel to stay warm. You are probably sweating less, but still need fluid. Drink to satisfy your thirst.

More: 9 Nutrition Tips for Winter Cycling

? Pace Yourself: You are riding for fitness and fun! If you ride at a moderate aerobic pace you'll improve your endurance and if you eat and drink enough you'll have the fuel to finish the ride.

? Stop to Warm Up: Make the ride more enjoyable with a stop or two for a hot drink and lunch.

? Ride Tactically: Each of the programs allows you to pick the day(s) when you will do your qualifying ride(s). If possible, choose the first tolerable day in the month to complete the ride in case the conditions are bad the rest of the month.

? Ride Regularly: To maintain fitness you need aerobic exercise at least three days a week and for general health five days are better.

? Vary Your Weekend Exercise: Rather than trying to exercise about the same amount every weekend, vary the volume. For example:

• Week 1: 7-hour ride for RUSA P-12
• Week 2: 1.5-hour active recovery outing (20% of length of week 1)
• Week 3: 3.5-hour ride or other aerobic activity (50% of length of week 1)
• Week 4: 2.5- hour ride or other aerobic activity (35% of week 1)
• Week 5: 7-hour ride for RUSA P-12

? Cross-Train: You need to complete specific rides for each program; however, get out and have fun in other ways on other weekends.

Stick With It

Only about 10 percent of resolutions survive a year! Setting S.M.A.R.T. objectives, posting them where you will see them every day, sharing them with others and participating in a structured program will help you to stick with it. Believe in yourself, remember that you are exercising for greater fitness and health and enjoy your time on the bike!

More: 12 Common Century Ride Mistakes