Dulwich Hill Bicycle Club

More of a question rather than a proper thread, but what happens to Thursday night training(TNT) now that their is official racing happening on the track around the same time. I assume we will cancel TNT but will we continue it on another day or just leave it until the series is over???

If we do want to continue on another day i suppose Tuesday would be the next most appropriate day but would that then make some of our lives a bit to cramped?

I don't know if there is anyone who wants to continue rollers rather than racing? But in terms of the training regime, if you race Thursday night then generally you would try to do sprints Friday night. Unless you race Friday night also, in which case you will probably just have to neglect sprints for this part of the season.

Tuesday nights is no good as it is heart rates...

Hi Guy's,

I'd like to keep the Thursday nights going. Last night we had 3 of us doing it. The good part is we get that area for free & those who don't race can do a session then some spectating of the RBCC racing. Also I' like to get some of our roadies doing it with us (hint... hint... roadies - it'll do you good )

Cheers,

Lindsay

I was planning to drop in, but ended up playing soccer instead, so i'll have to get down there next week, and hopefully i'll get to the track on Wednesday night.

I think anyone who can turn up with a track bike should be racing...

It's a great opportunity to learn to race the track in a pretty easy going environment...

Training will never be as valuable as racing, nor as fun!

What time does training start on Thursday nights? How long does it go for?

Training will never be as valuable as racing...

Never?

man every one should race!!!

Never?

Nope. never.

Perhaps if, those who cannot do, teach,
then, those who cannot race, train.

I agree with Simon. Racing is the best training.

I strongly disagree.

Proper structured training allows one to target specific aspects of performance and is an essential part of a good racer. If a racer only raced (however many days a week), he/she would never be as good as one who has a mix of training and racing. The keyword of this argument is "NEVER". Never is too strong a term in this context.

A simple analogy is to that of a diet. A balanced diet is always better.

I strongly disagree.

Proper structured training allows one to target specific aspects of performance and is an essential part of a good racer. If a racer only raced (however many days a week), he/she would never be as good as one who has a mix of training and racing. The keyword of this argument is "NEVER". Never is too strong a term in this context.

A simple analogy is to that of a diet. A balanced diet is always better.

I was only joking with you Weiyun, but in truth at this time of the year my riding is made up of a lot more racing than in winter and I am a lot fitter. You just can't push yourself as hard as you are pushed in state titles or at an open when you are training by yourself... and I do push my self incredibly hard in roller sessions and on the mag turbo. I've fallen off a few times this year whilst training. It's actually interesting because the more I race the harder I train. I see how much faster the other guys are and how I can keep up if I go that extra mile in training. So I do.

But it all depends on who you are and how hard you train and race. Some people prefer to race (at club level) in lower grades so they can win every week. That's not necessarily very good training or better than training, but then they probably don't train as hard as they could either....

Hehe... I was stirring you too.

I don't disagree that racing is more fun and is good training. But obviously it's not all. As for the benefits of pushing hard, guess that also depends on what you are training for. For example, it's scientifically proven that FTP improvements can be effectively if not better made through SST (Sweet Spot Training), which is a notch below one's race threshold.

So I went along to training tonight, was a bit different to anything I'd done before. Certainly was all out - I was actually expecting a few sets, no idea why I assumed this.

Also managed to get a flat somewhere between the car and the house or velodrome. Of all the long rides and commuting I have done, the first flat for the bike comes from pushing it to the trainer.

Stayed around for a little while and watched the racing - looked like a lot of fun.

I've fallen off a few times this year whilst training.

Some people prefer to race (at club level) in lower grades so they can win every week.

1. HAA HAAAA

2. Who you talkin' bout??

That's an interesting point about racing in a lower grade. Based on my single win at Heffron and a few losses and being dropped in one, I'd say that there are different things one can learn by upgrading and downgrading.

Riding at the back and getting dropped will get you working very hard to the limit but that's it. Tactics just don't work when physically you are not an equal. But riding one grade lower, the difference is that one can actually put into practice all those things you've read about and can try different moves and see how others respond. In that single win I had, I actually found out what it meant by being in control of a race. Priceless. (I am not advocating that people should not ride in their grade and spoil it for others but just to say that there's a different experience to be gained.)

I'd much prefer to race instead of the roller session or combine a warm up roller then track, thats for sure. I hope to work on that...First races and Heffron other riders remarked: that was a "good work out" , and I thought indeed it was - but that was with Weiyun leading the pack to pain

There is also different types of races that suit different riders. Heffron is windy, Landsdowne is hilly. Waratah Vets have higher average speed but considerably less breaks. Handicap racing in the country is a semi-team effort. etc etc.