Making Lemonade

For those who have clicked on this title hoping to get the best lemonade recipe they have ever seen, this is not the post for that. Sorry!

This blog post like so many articles and press releases in recent times is based on Covid-19 and how this virus has put many of my cycling goals on hold potentially until 2021, but that does not mean I and us as a cycling community have to stop developing and becoming better athletes and people.

Now on the outset I was hoping to return to racing in 2020 and start back in the racing peloton in April, this has now, and rightly so, been put on hold as restriction on mass gatherings and public events has resulted in cancellations of everything not just bike racing. I still have that burning desire to push myself and develop as an athlete and now faced with an extended period without any events and races now may be the best time to improve as an athlete and work on building a strong base from which I can become a better and hopefully faster athlete.

Although no government legislation has come into play as yet stating cycling outdoors is banned I have taken the decision to carry out 90% of my cycling indoors or at least within the confines of the house, using the garden when its too hot to use the garage. I have taken this decision based on two factors, one is as a population if we can stay in then we must to stop this spread, and two I feel I can train more effectively indoors without interruption, technology permitting. Along with using my indoor trainer, a Tacx Neo, I have signed up to use Zwift. I have only ever used Zwift on a free trial basis meaning I only ever did it on the cheap but since restrictions were put in place I did like most and headed straight for the membership sign up page. Having trained inside for most of the winter months in the UK I am now questioning myself why I didn't sign up sooner it makes indoor riding so so so much easier than the usual stare at a wall and drill yourself into the ground.

Since joining I have had my arse handed to me in two races, failed to get a KOM but I am loving it. I have signed up for an FTP increase training programme on the platform and hoping to see where I am at 3 week intervals along this journey. Now for the eager readers of this wanting to know where my starting point was it was an FTP of 277W at a weight of 77kg giving me a W/kg value of 3.59. Yes I am aware this is neither Tour de France winning or beginner level for most but it is MY starting point and given I have never really 'trained' before I am really excited to see where I can go with this. I may stress my main focus is to work on the power side of the FTP equation as currently I feel this is where I will see most gains and this is also what will develop me as an athlete, yes with more training load I will lose a few lbs but this is not my concern as of yet.

Having started a new job in September 2019 as a graduate civil engineer I am now experiencing the life of a cyclist with minimal hours to train, but this is achievable and if anything gives a new set of challenges which is always exciting. This means I have around an hour a night to train and with one rest night during the week this means around 5 hours of indoor riding per week with a weekend of longer rides, or 'free-rides'.

Why not come along for the journey I hope to be posting more regularly on here and developing this blog, maybe even a foray into YouTube if there is the interest. For now stay safe and give this post a like if you enjoyed it and leave a comment if you have an advice or simply want to connect with myself.

Stay safe, stay indoors!