Any experienced cyclists on SB? Need some info on cadence/hr trainer

So I've been working my butt off on the bikes lately. I have been riding 4-6 times a week. I ride a mix of road and mountain. My mountain bike rides are all on fairly technical single track, lots of decent climbs, etc. My road rides are somewhat hilly. I would classify myself as an experienced novice rider. I'm trying to get more serious about my road riding and have been working hard on building speed and distance. I'm currently hitting a plateau and am looking for advice to get through it. Right now, I'm able to run 30-40 miles averaging between 18-19mph and then I hit the wall. I mean I just die and getting home from that point is usually pretty miserable. I usually ride hard on every ride and it always seems to catch me at around this point. I don't do the same sort of mileage on my MYB, but have been putting in 45-85 minute rides without real issue. Of course I get fatigued, but not like on the road bike. As I have been upping the hours, my recoveries have been quicker after the climbs and my speed on the climbs has increased. For the road work, I'm interested in doing more intervals and varying the intensity of my workouts and was thinking of adding the Polar CS200cad to my road bike as a training aid. It monitors heart rate, cadence, and will help you train in specific zones/ workouts. I like the idea of having predetermined workouts and zone monitoring to keep me in line. Does anyone have experience with this unit, or my predicament? Any advice or alternate suggestions?

Thanks in advance,
Ryan

Polar products are excellent, if a little pricey. I think HRM's are the best thing for training. Just make sure you understand how a program of intervals and other structured training works. Sound like you just go out and pound every day and that's not going to work in the long run. There a TON of info out there for training for fitness and/or racing. This is a good book for race training and you can get some good tips on fitness training too:
Amazon.com: The Cyclist's Training Bible: Joe Friel: Books.

Thanks neil. Just ordered that book. You are right, I've just been hammering until I can't hammer any more and I think I bumping into the law of diminishing returns.

From your post it looks like you have omitted one thing that is as important as proper nutrition, Rest and Recovery.

Take a day off and sleep. Whatever will allow your body and mind to recover. It also allows your mind to absorb what it has learned from your sessions

Another thing you might consider is deliberately varying both the intensity and content of your routine both from ride to ride and within each ride. Something like interval training.

Worked for me. Today I dug out my old Huffy that I was riding a year ago just to see how much change there had been in my fitness. A year ago I went through the radar down the street at 13mph. Today, on the same bike I did 19mph. Plus, a year ago I could only hold the speed for just enough time to get through the radar area. Today I held it for several blocks before and after. Actually I have only been working on this since late February.

Climbing was something I dreaded. Now I look forward to hitting the hills. When I got my new bike a couple months ago I was on the bottom ring of my front crank to get up the hills. Last week I did the whole hill on the top two rings.

So, the method works. Try it you'll see.


Oh yes, the current issue of Bicycling magazine has a good article on the subject. Muscle & Fitness routinely addresses the subject(don't have to want to be a freak to use their proven training methods)

One more thing: From my research and experience and the counsel of the personal trainer at the gym a heart rate monitor is not recommended. Use the Difficulty of Breathing and Talking method or something similar. There is a lot of variance between people. Learn to listen to your body and respond to what it is telling you. A computer on your bike is useful. A heart rate monitor is not.

I know that I'm pretty late to the party on this one.... but anyway.

Something that helped me was to make sure I had energy gels with me and those electrolyte jello blocks.

I used to "bonk" about the same mileage that you did and I think it was depletion of glycogen/energy stores.

I carry my energy gel (Hammer Gel) in a small flask now (buy in bulk), taking some when I start my ride and then every 45 minutes or so on the ride. It's made a world of difference for me and my longer rides. Your perspiration levels may drive your frequency for recovery drinks or electrolyte gels though.

Dear "Hit the wall Soulmate",
I know exactly how you feel. I have been hitting the bike aggressively for some time and have been unable to pass the desired goals. For my 50th, I did my first triathlon and was only beaten by the team with Parkinsons.
As a result, my wife , who is obnoxiously fit and races regularly, purchased me a power meter. Now that is all well and good and I struggled to interpret *** did it all mean. But in actuality it has been terrific. I purchased a Garmin Edge 705 originally because I have the directional sense of a cadaver, but again, heart rate, cadence, distance etc were an improvement ,but my challenge was improvement and PACING myself. Which I think maybe something we share. In addition, I found that I have been committing a very common mistake, ie when I feel great I beat the heck out of my ride, and when I feel blah, I just putz about....WRONG.
As it's a touch cooler here in Boston, so my wife purchased me the Cycle Ops pro beam trainer to train indoors and which has built in work outs, including testing yourself to determine your power threshold. As a result, we've put together a series of workouts to develop endurance and strength. It's going to take hard work, but sounds like you're committed to it.
Finally, I must add , that plenty of guidance comes from her membership to Endurance Nation and Training Peaks ,( both online sites, so check them out), from which you can purchase and download work outs. Very good value.
Anyway, good luck. I know the feelings of frustration and exhaustion all too well ; in fact I think that's them knocking at the door right now.

HBO MD, thanks a lot for the info, very helpful. I should hook you up w/ my dad. He's in Kingston, MA and always looking for people to ride with. Just got him an indoor trainer for Christmas. Anyway, happy riding

I know this is an older thread and I'm about to veer off course a bit, but if anyone is still checking - what indoor trainers would you recommend? I have a road bike and am just looking for a good product to use when I can't get outside. Thanks!

It depends on how much you want to spend! You can't go wrong w/ the Cycle Ops trainers. I have the fluid trainer and its pretty good. I hate riding indoors and would rather do a spin class than chug on a trainer, but they are pretty good. You can get tons of workout dvd's to keep in interesting. The integrated/interactice ones can get realllyyy expensive really fast.

Oceandvr:

I know this is an older thread and I'm about to veer off course a bit, but if anyone is still checking - what indoor trainers would you recommend? I have a road bike and am just looking for a good product to use when I can't get outside. Thanks!

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My choice for motivation, social and physical training reasons was a local spin class. I think that unless you are unusually motivated a home trainer won't provide as much reward as is often advertised.

As for which one? The best idea is to visit a store and try them. They range from very inexpensive to those that hook up to the internet and allow online competitions. It all depends on what you want and what you can afford.

Good Riding!