Group Riding

I went out for a ride with the local cycle club (CCB) on Sunday. They were very friendly and I was encouraged to join the “A” group as opposed to the “B” group. This group has a higher average speed and towards the end they race home so it is possible (read probable) to get dropped. My major concerns with going out with this group were: will my poor group riding skills cause problems for everyone and will I get dropped early. Well, pretty much both happened but I don’t think either were cause for major concern. Group riding requires a
number of skills which just cannot be learned when riding alone: Pacing, riding in a close group and drafting are all skills that take a while to be acquired. Pacing was the biggest issue for me as I foolishly ended up leading the group three times. The first time up front I was paired with a relative novice and we went out way too fast and rapidly tired ourselves out. The second and third occasions I was with an experienced rider and they managed the pacing for me which was very helpful. The third time was towards the end of the ride and it completely wasted me, as we finished our turn, I got dropped on a hill and was helped back to the group. I accepted the inevitable and told the group to leave me behind on the next hill which they duly did. I managed to convince a riding buddy to stay with me as we had 10Km to get back to the finish and then a further 10Km to get home and I was shattered and needed help. A total of 115Km at around 30Kmh which was not too fast by my standards so I think the last few weeks off the bike have taken their toll on my fitness. This gives me a great goal now – to stay with the group and maybe get involved in the sprint to the finish. As I rode home, I realised that there were a good number of riders in the group who never took the front; a lesson learned there!

Biting the Bullet

Right I have decided to bite the bullet and address my swimming: I am slow, I have poor technique and a low level of endurance. Apart from that I am a great swimmer! I will swim 1500m in sub 30 mins next year. That is my #1 training goal. To that end I am following the Swimsmooth 11 week program. A simple training plan tailored for people of my ability who want to target 1500m/1900m Triathlon swims. Knowing how bad I am at going to the pool, I had originally thought the 11 week program will take me 22 weeks but so far I am still on schedule after 2 weeks. Admittedly I am not doing much other training so it is easier to get pool time in. Once I finally get back on the bike and treadmill properly then I am sure it will get harder. So far so good: I actually like the swim sessions and I am motivated to go to the pool, the sessions are varied and appear to be making a difference to my stroke already. I am now intimately familiar with Popov and 6/3/6 drills! I did a 200m time trial last week so I will be keen to see how that time improves throughout the period of the course.

The swimsmooth website has a downloadable console called “Mr Smooth” which demonstrates their ideal stroke and a valuable visualisation tool for all swimsmooth students! It event works on your iPod so I can take it with me everywhere.

Here is a screenshot (with acknowledgements to SwimSmooth!):