Committing to a bike race such as the Desert Challenge, sets us off on a path of discovery. A discovery of ones inner strengths and by association of course, weaknesses. At the risk of stating the bleeding obvious this event is one of physical and mental attrition and it could be argued, basic survival given the environment in which the race is run. What I’m faffing on about is our fitness and the ability to complete the event without being stretchered off the field. The main goal here, certainly for me is one of completion…100%. Of course we can all daydream of a podium finish and there are many out there entering this event who could conceivably do just that, but for me as a newish non competitive bicycle rider, the idea of just making it to the start will be of some reward but to cross the finish line is the goal.
This notion of discovery can also be one of information overload. Type into your search engine for bike fitness, will lead to nothing short of an avalanche of information, advice and many other ways to relieve ones hip pocket of hard earned cash in the pursuit of personal fulfilment or podium glory. So, what to do?…well the logical thing to do is ask someone who has experience in these matters as a starting point and then combine that with some reading materials. Hopefully you, as I am, are in the lucky position of having friends who are experienced and successful in this field. I have the good fortune to call a number of previous competitors and winners… my SDBC family and in due course have casually brain sucked relevant information from them. While I’m not claiming this to be a scientific process I have gleaned enough from all of these sources to come to a few personal conclusions which you might find useful if not obvious.
- I think it’s a forgone conclusion that the setting up of the bike to fit you is very important. After a short period I spent some money on a bike fit and don’t regret it at all. Riding a bike needs to be efficient and comfortable. Without these two aspects covered the SDBC will certainly be more painful than it will be. While there are different nuances on what a fit should look like the, basics are the same and form the foundation on which everything else hangs off. My recommendation is to, as I did, employ the services of an experienced, dispassionate professional bike fitter who will provide the setup that works best for you and your bike.
- My next recommendation is to assemble the kit that you intend to race with as early as possible. This allows for absolute familiarity with the various components…clothing, backpack, shoes, tools, accessories etc. let alone the bike itself. As an example I bought 4 bladder backpacks to use during the race. Having done that I use them all of the time even on short rides and as a precaution have used all four to make sure there are not any issues with stitching, leaks etc. I also perform as much of if not all of my bike adjustments with one multi tool that I can carry with me on the day. In short you need to be independent and comfortable with race weight for the race week as quickly as possible. Using and riding the bike correctly needs to be a habit and become ingrained at a subconscious level.
- Training…well its pretty hard to ignore the basic tenet of…there’s no excuse for not having lots of “Bum Time”, also known around the traps as…just get on the bike and ride it mate. We’re going to have to sit on our fat bikes for around six hours a day for five days straight quite often in very ordinary conditions, so at the very least you will be toughening up your derriere. Of course this is not the only thing, but riding often, gives us a fitness and resilience base from which to rise from. Technology is pretty hard to ignore also. I set myself up with a Garmin 530 and Powerpod power meter. With inputs of speed, cadence, heart rate and power and the inbuilt training algorithms from Garmin and Strava it’s pretty straight forward to establish a training regime that produces, by all accounts, positive fitness results.
To expand a little on the fitness point. I’ve spoken with quite a few experienced bike riders of late from different genres of bike riding and one common thread of conversation centres around cadence…how fast you pedal and pedalling technique with clipless pedals. As a novice rider these are probably the hardest adaptations to deal with.
Clipless pedals allow the power stroke to continue past simply pushing down to move forward. The technique of pushing and pulling needs time to develop into a non thinking habit…so practise! practise! Oh and you will have a prang at some point when you either forget to or are unable to clip out as you come to a stop…..trust me Im a mechanic.
So a good learning technique for clipless pedals I’ve found is riding using one leg. Unclip one and cycle for 500metres and then swap over. Do this often enough and it all falls into place.
High cadence is the long distance riders best friend. It reduces the load on your leg muscles. It places the emphasis on your heart and circulatory system fitness rather than your legs. Not saying you shouldn’t have fit legs but aerobic fitness is probably more important here. As a newbie my cadence started very low. There was a tendency to push hard and slow on the pedals to get along where light and fast is the way. Pushing hard for long distances will shred legs and cramping will be a killer. As one friend put it, as it was put to him… you can get cramps in your legs but you cant get a cramp in your heart. Not sure I agree totally with that….isn’t a cramp of the heart a heart attack?…lets not think about that…moving on.
So the figures to actively pursue seem to be around 90rpm on the flat sections 100-110 downhill and 60-70 on steep climbs with an associated effort to attain a reasonable clip of speed. Ideally faster than your opponents if you’re that way inclined or as a minimum, faster than sweep time of 12kmh. Again consistent and regular practising maintaining higher cadences will eventually raise the cadence which you feel comfortable at maintaining.
So having said all that what are you waiting for…its Bum Time!
When my legs hurt, I say: “Shut up legs! Do what I tell you to do!” – Jens Voigt
David Griffin