Teaching

Coaching is really a fancy name for a teacher. Here at ALP Cycles Coaching, we like to think of ourselves as "cycling teachers". We do more than give out training plans. We teach you how to become a better cyclist; something more than just a person who can ride a bike fast.

This past week, Coach Alison has been putting her cycling teaching skills to work.

First up was to guide the High Altitude Colorado Cycling Camp. Saddle hours were put in, elevation was gained, dirt roads were ridden and red blood cell count was raised. All of this accomplished while learning how to ride, how to train and how to recover at elevation.

Campers Ted and Will refueling before the climb up Super James.

Next up was the 2010 Inaugural Skills Clinic. Coach Alison rode along side 60 other riders and taught them skills such as riding in a pack, how to move up in a pack, being efficient in the pack and then she finished it off with techniques on how to climb better.

AP talks to a group about "keeping your spot" in the peloton.

Climbing a hill efficiently leads to staying with the leaders.

Post ride margs always keep the coach happy. Great job to the Get Some women for putting on a great clinic.

To continue with the "cycling teacher" theme, Coach Alison will ride with the young ladies of the Flatiron Flyers cycling club tonight. We will preride the famous "wall" climb of the Morgal Bismark race.

ALP Cycles Coaching: Cycling Teachers-more than just a coach.

Training at Altitude

The High Altitude Colorado Cycling Camp is underway. As a "helper/ride guide" of the camp, I have learned many things. Mostly, riding and training at high altitude requires a different thought process and mind set to training. A process not many people or coaches really understand.

Most people understand that yes, there is less oxygen at 6,000ft and yes, the air is dry at 8,000ft. But what does all that mean to your training as an athlete? How does riding at elevation help you improve? How does sleeping at altitude make you faster?

I grew up at 8,000ft in the Fraser Valley, Colorado. Before I started bike racing, I took the high altitude for granted. But now, after years of bike racing and training at sea level, at 4,000ft, and at 9,00ft, I have learned MANY lessons. These lessons I am happy to share at camp with the campers. The campers are tired, but riding strong (isn't that what a camp is all about?), and they are looking forward to each day and the new route they will explore in the Rocky Mountains.

Results speak louder than training

It doesn't matter how hard you train, how well you eat, what sacrifices you make or how much of an athlete you claim to be if you can't "lay it down" on race day.

Training well and racing well are two totally different things. Just as you have to be smart with your training, you have to be smart with your racing. Because it doesn't matter how much fitness you have if you waste it during the race. You have to know when the right time to expend energy is, and you have to know when the right time to save energy is.

Bike racing isn't always about who the fittest rider is. It's often about who the smartest rider is. Be fit AND smart...then your deadly.

To Eat or Not to Eat

I (Coach Alison) just finished racing the SRAM Tour of the Gila (where I got a stage win and finished second overall). Everyday of racing, I started to notice a common theme.

Eating.

Eating is normal in a stage race. What you do or do not eat during not only a one day race, but during a stage race, can have a MAJOR impact on your personal race outcome.

Nutrition is key in athletics, especially in an endurance event that goes on day after day.

Usually, during a stage race, we talk about eating, eating more, "I'm still hungry", "I'm tired of eating", etc. But this particular race situation lead to talks about NOT eating. Most notably, not eating to be skinny and thus to climb better.

Eating and being skinny is a touchy topic amongst cyclists. Power to weight ratio is a big deal when it comes to the outcome of a race. Everyone wants to maximize their own power to weight ratio in order to ride faster and more efficiently. But when does this power to weight ratio obsession become too much? When do you know if you have taken it "over the edge" and started to do damage not only to your cycling career but also to your own body? OR how do you know when it's time to drop a few pounds to really maximize your own training and racing?

The simple answer, know what your personal cycling goals are. If they are to be a pure climber who can do nothing else but ride uphill fast, then get as lean as possible. If your goal is to be a good time trialist, then you need power on flats to rolling hills and you may need to be a bit bigger than a climber. If you are a sprinter, you need fuel to fire up your fast twitch muscles.

Remember, life is more important than cycling. Cycling is supposed to create a healthy body and a healthy lifestyle. It's not supposed to damage one.