Max-Effort Training, Hot Takes, and More - Ask a Cycling Coach 407

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TOPICS COVERED IN THIS EPISODE:

(4:03) Hot Takes: Shaving one’s legs is the worst tradition in cycling

(18:25) When should you go harder than your workout?

(30:28) Hot Takes: Kids snack food is the best for long rides

(43:29) Does Adaptive Training give you credit for extra training?

(47:16) Hot Takes: Shoe fit is just as important as bike fit

(1:02:02) How to get faster without a training plan

(1:15:08) Hot Takes: Racing when its cold is harder than racing when its hot

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Ask a Cycling Coach podcast is a cycling and triathlon training podcast. Each week USAC/USAT Level I certified coach Chad Timmerman, pro athletes, and other special guests answer your cycling and triathlon questions.

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1 Like
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The look on @IvyAudrain 's face when Chad said it was “okay” to wear bibs more than once between washes. :rofl: (Sorry Ivy, that was rough)

Women know better and guys think that they can get away with it. No we cannot.

8 Likes
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I don’t get the big deal particularly during indoor training season. Every episode all these tips to get faster. Want my tip? Don’t do laundry everyday. :smile:

3 Likes
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:face_vomiting:

Wash your bibs/shorts. Especially indoors :grimacing:. The saddle sores!

Fizzing for the Cape Epic coverage

Are you going to do any post stage check ins @Jonathan ? Also, another teaser for Jonathan’s bike without any confirmation. Is it an S Works? Does it have 120mm flight attendant? Is it shredly? Or, have you not been able to get one yet?

5

When Jonathan repeats what he has said many times about rating workouts should be copied out (circa 25mins&45 mins) and made a ‘sticky’ in this forum :wink:

6

There is a reason they have it near the top of their official support article:

  • How Should I Answer Surveys?

  • Don’t overthink it. Consider the overall difficulty of the ride and not how you expected it to feel.

And I have it on top of my own expanded chart:

  • image

But like any good TrainerRoadie… many of us look beyond the KISS principle :stuck_out_tongue:

2 Likes
7

last accident I got into I pretty much totalled my shoes, and while I was waiting for the driver’s insurance to come through and pay for a sweet replacement I borrowed a pair from my mum. We’re usually pretty identical on size, but they were ever so fractionally too narrow in the toes and holy hell if I didn’t know about it after a couple of hours. Genuinely some of the most unpleasant k’s of my life.

tl;dr: you probably cannot get away with it.

2 Likes
8

@Jonathan seems like such a chilled bloke unless he’s on the start line at a bike race, but he also gave me
The vibes of ‘don’t talk to him while he’s doing the big shop’ this week.

You’d be in the supermarket see him getting some ridiculously green bananas and say hi and get a hard stare and a curt nod as he’s in the zone.

2 Likes
9

Everyone needs their privacy and down time.

1 Like
10

I’m not sure this really matters, but I’m not convinced the calorie counting was quite right in the Salami sandwich vs Choc chip Clif bar. I dumped @IvyAudrain’s macro count into a spreddie. %s are by calories.

4 9 4
protein fat carbs calories
Salami sandwich 13 8 20.5 206
Choc chip clif bar 10 6 43 266
25% 35% 40%
15% 20% 65%
11

When Jonathan said shaved legs are worth 15 watts what did he mean? I’m not a leg shaver. If I shaved my legs tomorrow would I add 15 watts to my FTP? That would be substantial. Or would it save me 15 watts of work over an hour? That would be meaningless.

12

Kilojoules = amount of work (energy expended)
Watts = workrate (energy expended per unit time)

The 15 watts are the savings due to improved aerodynamics. Effectively … “I’d need to be producing 15 more watts to maintain this speed if my legs were hairy”

2 Likes
13

Thats also based on some Specialized testing. They also reference the “Chewbacca” scale, so if you have more/dense hair you’ll see a bigger benefit.

2 Likes
14

Ive never shaved before but looking at that and the Swissside vid and other sites I think I’ll give it ago this year. My best TT where I was comfortably faster was an early season 25 miles (40km TT) when my hairy legs were covered up. I’m probably an 8 on the Chewbacca scale :joy:

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15

Just one more advantage of my Don’t Own A Bike And Never Ride Outdoors Policy.

My legs can remain as Mother Nature intended.

:grin:

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16

So many questions:

How about real world riding though… tail wind, side wind, headwind… all at varying wind speeds. What about on the bike when you are fast going down & slow speeds during tough climbs, does it calculate varying speeds? Is it an “average” of real world riding or straight headwind at a certain speed? In a wind tunnel?

17

100% agree with @Jonathan about caffeine and soda. Pepsi and Coke taste the same. Original Maurten is tasty but the caffeine version is downright horrendous, almost gag worthy.

1 Like
18

It tastes like Chemical warfare in my mouth. Not a fan. Clif gels with the same amount of caffeine have a bit of the same taste, but not nearly as bad.

1 Like