How much base training? Well this will depend on how many seasons racing you already have in your legs but it's generally a good idea to do at least two months of steady miles with resistance training in the gym before progressing to the specialisation phase.

We’ll be covering gym Work in later articles too but briefly, it’s really important to not get sucked into the “bodybuilding mentality” when you visit the gym. Body building exercises are for body builders to build bulk. Functional strength exercises are for sports people wanting to build functional speed and strength. What does this mean? Simply, stay away from any gym machine.

Focus purely on free weights using them in a dynamic whole body exercise that challenges your whole body neurologically. The reason for this is simple: cycling involves large groups of muscles working together to produce stability and lots of power. Muscle isolating exercise (leg press, leg extension etc) build bulk and disconnect groups of muscles from each other robbing you of power. Matt Brindle’s Functional Strength DVD is an excellent source of functional exercise that you can introduce into your base building programme with fantastic results. 

Also, when riding base training you can throw in a very limited amount of high intensity efforts (above 90% of HMR) to keep you fresh. These efforts should be very brief (1-2 mins), done at a higher cadence 100-140rpm and very limited (only a few a week). The reason for limiting these high intensity efforts is that they undo some of the effects of base training by destroying the high number of intricate and complex vascular capillaries that you are working so hard to build up in your base training.

Another technique you can focus on is spin-ups where you rev out your cadence to your maximum for a minute at a time. Some sprinters can top out at around 200 rpm but for a roadie if you can spin up to 160 rpm for one minute you are doing very well.

Again, limit the time and frequency. Spin-up are great for building leg speed and peddling technique and are less damaging to your vascular capillaries network than the high intensity efforts. Both exercises will help keep your legs “fresh” as pure base riding will blunt your speed as you build your aerobic capacity. Remember though that you are to focus primarily on building your base.

A base training plan includes at least one day each week for an extra extended long endurance Ride where you ride for several hours. This continues to build on the endurance development that you are doing through the week. Very often, these long rides are done in a group setting.

Group rides are fun, and learning to ride in a pack is an essential skill for every cyclist interested in safety and competition.  We encourage you to get in at least one group ride per week. Most of these rides are scheduled in the weekend.  However, please keep these important tips in mind in order to maximize your training:

• Train smart and be sure to ride how you feel.  If you are tired, be sure to sit in or even drop out if necessary, to avoid smoking yourself!  If you are feeling strong, ride harder and enjoy taking your time at the front of the pack as needed.

• Quite often group rides can Turn into mini-races at the most inopportune times, so be careful to train smart!

• Occasionally in the plans, you will find “optional” main sets within the long rides that include extended periods of time out-of-the-saddle.  I am a big believer that in order to be able to use our ability to stand and generate power as a true “tool” in our cycling toolbox, we need to practice it routinely and get used to the feeling of being out of the saddle for extended periods.  When you get balanced and comfortable standing, you will have one more important “tool” available to you during your key events during the season.

• On those days when you are feeling strong and it is appropriate, a group ride can be an excellent opportunity to not only develop your basic endurance, but also your bike handling skills, group riding etiquette, as well as develop your anaerobic endurance via periodic surges in speed and intensity, as well as planned and unplanned sprinting!

All of this being said, perhaps THE most important point to remember about group riding is:

• When you are in a group, unless YOU are dictating the tempo of the group, you are essentially at the whim of whatever the group does.  If that happens to coincide with what you need or want, then great!  If not, you could be making a training error by attempting to hang onto the group. 
• It is always YOUR CHOICE to either stay and hang on, or drop off the back.

Be tough, yes, but also be smart! We get better as cyclists through a combination of focused specific workouts that address certain aspects of our fitness in a progressive and periodised fashion, in combination with endurance rides that enhance our aerobic fitness AND allow us to recover!

Bottom line: Use group rides when they can truly HELP YOU as a cyclist, and avoid them at every other time.