“Why does that guy have a beard and long hair? That’s gotta make him less aero…” In episode 53 of the Ask a Cycling Coach podcast, we sat down with Clif Bar Team Rider Pete Morris and received the question above. For all you long-haired bearded riders out there, let’s get to the bottom of…
kJ to Calories Conversion: How many calories do I burn cycling?
Answer: Divide the amount of kJs by 4.184 then divide by .25. Calories burned cycling are dependent on your Gross Metabolic Efficiency, but for most people, it’s between 20-25%. That means for every Calorie you burn produces around 1.045 kilojoules. For practical reasons, most cyclists approximate 1 kJ is equal to 1 Calorie. In…
Is It Time to Ditch Your Evening Cycling Workouts?
Sometimes working out late at night is the only option, but evening workouts have the potential to negatively affect your training. This begs the question: are cycling workouts done just before bedtime even worth doing? It’s a struggle many cyclists are familiar with: finding time to train during daylight hours can be tough. Jobs, family…
How Aging Athletes Can Get Faster (Yes It’s Possible)
Let’s cut to the chase: if you’re not seeing improvements within your season as an aging athlete, adjustments must be made. This is keeping in mind that training, and thereby training adaptation, is cyclical in nature. So the magnitude of improvements will be largely dependent on what level of athlete you already are. Nonetheless, there…
How to Break Away and Make it Stick
Although not every race is won by a solo breakaway, multiple breakaways or breakaway attempts always form the outcome of a race. To make sure you’re at the pointy end of the race in the final kilometer, you need to have a specific type of fitness that allows you more than one shot at a…
516 Workouts in 519 Days — This is What Dedication Looks Like
Mitchell Quinn never misses a workout. Rather, he rarely — very rarely —misses a workout. Nearly 50 days into 2016 and the multi-disciplinary rider hasn’t gone a single day without getting on the trainer — that’s not even the most impressive part of his story. Since September of 2014, Mitchell has been riding consistently every…
How to Build a Race Day Pacing Plan
Most bike races and triathlons are endurance events that require you to pace your effort. To make sure your next race is successful, create a pacing plan and follow it with precision. In every bike race your energy should be viewed as an hourglass. The harder you work, the faster the sand falls to the…
How to Measure Recovery with Resting Heart Rate
Cyclists who ignore metrics like Resting Heart Rate (RHR) to measure their recovery are leaving a lot on the table. This simple approach to quantifying recovery takes little time or effort, it can guide your decision making, and it might even give you that little bit more you need to win. Overview Power meters enable riders to precisely measure their…
New Triathlon Base Training Plans
Our triathlon training plans have been used to prepare athletes around the globe for their winning performances, but up until now they have only focused on one-third of the triathlon equation: cycling. This is all changing, starting with our new Base triathlon training plans, which include comprehensive swim, bike and run instructions. Overview Our original Triathlon Specialty…
100 Miles of Nowhere with TrainerRoad
The 100 Miles of Nowhere event can be described as a “race without a place.” Organized by the Fat Cyclist, hundreds of cyclists will ride 100 miles on unorthodox routes to raise money for kids whose parents have cancer. This year, TrainerRoad supported #100MoN by creating a special workout for its participants. For the last twelve…