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Talk of the Town has partnered with local bike shop Cycle Asylum to get you to the finish of the BUCO G2C mountain bike race from Makhanda (Grahamstown) to Port Alfred on 6 November 2022… with a smile on your face! In every edition until the race, you’ll find your training programme for Monday to Sunday of the coming week, as well as tips and information for cyclists and supporters.
Below are introductory guidelines for your training, as well as Week 1-5 of the 6-week G2C training programme. It’s designed for fun riders, but will also work for more serious cyclists planning to improve their personal bests, or even compete for a category position.
Talk of the Town is out on Thursdays and available at outlets in Kenton, Alexandria, Port Alfred and Makhanda.
The Cycle Asylum is at 88 Albany Road, Port Alfred. Open Mon-Fri 8-4.30pm. Sat 9-12. Call 072 727 7382 or 046 624 8358.
G2C STRENGTH AND FITNESS TRAINING PROGRAMME
The Zero to G2C Hero training plan is for a rider aiming to do 3h30 for the 75km race. You may adapt this programme for the shorter 53km route (adjust your riding time to match your intended finishing time).
KEY NOTES
Whether you are planning to do your first race or improving on your previous performance, these key notes will help you achieve your goals.
- CONSISTENCY
Cramming your training into the last few weeks will be detrimental to your performance on the day. Likewise, doing too much in your first few sessions without being able to recover will slow down your training. - GOALS
Make sure you know how long you realistically intend to ride (time wise). The training plan is based on hours. - AEROBIC (ENDURANCE) RIDING
You should spend most of your ride in your aerobic state. This is 50%-80% of your maximal effort. This training plan will help you build your endurance and help you ride for longer more comfortably. For most of us, this is the “zone” in which we burn fat and teach our bodies to be more efficient. - INTERVALS
You can add intervals (short, intense bursts) to make the sessions harder, build strength and increase road speed. Short bursts up steep hills, riding at a certain intensity within a set period (e.g. 30 seconds or one minute) are good tools. The intensity raises your metabolic rate and heart rate much higher than steady state training, so you burn more energy and get fitter, faster.
PERCEIVED EFFORT AND TRAINING ZONES
It’s helpful but not essential to use a heart-rate monitor to estimate what training zone you’re in. If you don’t have one, here are some guidelines based on how each zone feels.
ZONE 1 (easy): Feels like getting up to make tea when you’ve been sitting on the couch.
ZONE 2 (moderate): Easy to ride, slight exertion, all-day pace riding and able to hold a conversation.
ZONE 3 (hard): You can only talk in short sentences and are breathing heavily, but not going flat-out. Not asble to maintain this pace for long periods.
ZONE 4: (difficult): As hard as you can turn your pedals around: this is all-out effort, where you are giving everything.
* Warm up for 10 minutes before you increase the intensity of your ride.
WEEK 1 (19-25 SEPTEMBER 2022)
* Training time in Week 1 is 6 hours. This is your base – “time in the saddle” – to build endurance and strength. Manage the time you have available in the week and make sure you have adequate recovery between sessions.
* Make sure your equipment is in good working condition and that you hasve spares when you are out riding.
* Nutrition and hydration are key when riding. Aim to drink 750ml of water every hour of riding.
MONDAY
Rest
TUESDAY
1.5 hours: Over flat terrain aim to ride at 50-60% of your maximum heart rate (Zone 2)
WEDNESDAY
1 hour: Over flat terrain, aim to ride at 50-60% of your maximum heart rate (Zone 2). Stay seated as you pedal at a low cadence in a hard gear.
THURSDAY
30 min: Give your legs a rest. Strengthen your core by doing sit-ups, pushups, pull-ups, plank.
FRIDAY
Rest
SATURDAY
2 hours: Over varied terrain ride at 50-60% of your maximum heart rate (Zone 2). Keep your gearing light.
SUNDAY
1 hour: Over varied terrain ride at 50-60% of your maximum heart rate (Zone 2). Stay seated as you pedal at a low cadence. Best do this on a steep hill.
WEEK 2 (26 SEPT – 2 OCT 2022)
MONDAY
Rest
TUESDAY (1 hour riding time)
Over flat terrain aim to ride at 50-60% of your maximum heart rate, or Zone 2
Get in 10 minutes in Zone 3
WEDNESDAY (1 hour including warm-up and cool-down)
No planned base training but get in 8 x 10-second sprints at your max (warm up first and cool down afterwards).
THURSDAY (1.5 hours riding time)
Over flat terrain aim to ride at 50-60% of your maximum heart rate, or Zone 2
Get in 2 x 10 minutes in Zone 3
FRIDAY
Rest
SATURDAY (1 hour riding time)
Easy ride that includes 5 x sprints at your max
Keep your gearing light during most of the ride
SUNDAY (2.5 hours riding time)
Over varied terrain ride at 50-60% of your maximum heart rate (Zone 2) most of the time
Get in 20 minutes in Zone 3
WEEK 3 (3-9 OCTOBER 2022)
This is an 8-hour week of building endurance and strength. You may switch days around to suit you, just make sure you have adequate recovery between each sessions. Aim to get in one ride this week that is 70% of your race day distance. Remember to warm up and cool down on your rides to reduce injury.
MONDAY
Rest
TUESDAY (1 hour riding time)
Over flat terrain aim to ride at 50-60% of your maximum heart rate, or Zone 2
Do 5 x 10sec sprints
WEDNESDAY (2 hours)
Over varied terrain aim to ride at 50-60% of your maximum heart rate, or Zone 2, most of the ride
Get in 20min zone 3
THURSDAY
Rest
FRIDAY (1 hour including warm-up and cool-down)
On a steep hill – plan to repeat this hill 5 times. Takes you less than 2min to climb 5-10min recovery between each effort.
On the hill zone 4 (max)
SATURDAY (1.5 hours riding time)
Easy Ride – no planned training. Keep your gearing light during most of the ride.
SUNDAY (2.5 hours riding time)
Over varied terrain aim to ride at 50-60% of your maximum heart rate, or Zone 2, most of the ride
Get in 10min zone 3
WEEK 4 (10-16 OCTOBER 2022)
6-hour week aimed at building strength. You may switch days around to suit you. Make sure you have adequate recovery between each sessions. For these strength workouts, use your bike’s gearing and steeper terrain to help.Remember to warm up before and cool down after your rides to reduce injury
MONDAY
Rest
TUESDAY (Ride time 1 hour)
Stay seated for most of the ride. Aim to ride in zone 3 on the climbs and use a hard gear going up. Recover on the down hills
WEDNESDAY (Ride time 2 hours)
Over varied terrain ride at 50-60% of your max heart rate (Zone 2) most of the ride.
THURSDAY
Get in some core work: planking, sit-ups, pull-ups, pushups, squats
Stretch and recover.
FRIDAY
Rest
SATURDAY (2 hours riding time)
Easy ride – no planned training. Keep your gearing light during most of the ride.
SUNDAY (1 hour on a steep hill)
Plan to repeat this hill 5 times. It should take you less than 2 minutes to climb. Give yourself 5-10 minutes recovery between each effort (i.e. easy pedaling on a flat stretch).
On the hill you should be in zone 4 (your maximum).
WEEK 5 (17-23 OCTOBER 2022)
8-hour week aimed at building strength. You may switch days around to suit you. Make sure you have adequate recovery between each sessions. You may switch days around to suit you, but make sure you have adequate recovery between each sessions.
TIPS
- Keep the momentum going and use your motivation to pay more attention to your diet.
- Eating heathily will aid your recovery.
- Remember to warm up before and cool down after your rides to reduce the chance of injury.
MONDAY
Rest
TUESDAY (ride time 1 hour)
Stay seated for most of the ride. Get in 5 x 15-second spin-ups (where you are in a light gear and spin your legs as fast as possible – i.e. less force, more spinning. Zone 1-2 ride
WEDNESDAY (2 hours)
Over varied terrain ride at 50 – 60% of your max heart rate (Zone 2) most of the ride but get in 2 x 8 minutes in Zone 3
THURSDAY (1 hour)
Warm up well – ride easy for 15min and then:
Get in 3 x 2min in Zone 4. These should be your maximum effort for the full two minutes. Recover between each interval for 10 minutes.
FRIDAY
Rest
SATURDAY (2.5 hours)
Aim to get a hard ride in – spend most of the time in Zone 2 but also get the following effort in:
2 x 15min Zone 3
SUNDAY (2 hours)
Easy ride using light gears. Keep in Zone 2 most of the time but do 1 x 5 minutes in zone 4.
WEEK 6 (24-30 OCTOBER 2022)
6-hour week aimed at building speed and tapering. You may switch days around to suit you, but make sure you have adequate recovery between each session. If you have been following the programme, you should have some good miles in your legs and some muscle tension after the efforts. After this week, there is one week to taper and take it easy before the race day.
TIPS
• Keep the momentum going and use your motivation to pay more attention to your diet.
• Eating healthily will aid your recovery.
• Remember to warm up before and cool down after your rides to reduce the chance of injury.
MONDAY
Rest
TUESDAY (ride time 1 hour)
On a steep hill – plan to repeat this hill five times. Choose a hill (or section of one) that takes you less than two minutes to climb. Take 5-10minutes recovery between each effort (i.e. easy pedalling on a level section).
On the hill you should be in Zone 4 (max).
WEDNESDAY (1 hour)
Easy ride, light gears – Zone 1-2
THURSDAY (1 hour)
Warm up well for 15 minutes and then:
Get in 2×10 minutes in Zone 3. Recover between each interval for 10 minutes.
FRIDAY
Rest
SATURDAY(2.5 hours)
Last long ride before the event: Zone 2 over a varied terrain. If you can, simulate (or ride on) the race route.
SUNDAY (2 hours)
Easy ride using light gears: Keep in Zone 2 most of the time. Get in 4 x hill efforts in Zone 3.
WEEK 7 (31 OCTOBER – 6 NOVEMBER 2022)
• You may ride easy during the race week if you are racing on Sunday.
• Don’t do any long strenuous efforts – all the work is done and anything you may do this week will just make you tired.
• Make sure your bike is in good condition to complete the event. After all you have done the hard work and don’t want to be let down.
• Make sure you eat healthily as your diet will make a big impact on your ride. Nutrition is important. Take something with to eat during your ride to keep energy levels topped up.
• Pace yourself during the event and know your limits.
• Enjoy the challenge, enjoy the ride!
