Top 10: Cycling Tips for Intermediate Cyclists

The "Top Ten Cycling Tips" articles are coming out now, just in time for some ad revenue from the Hairy Legged Freds at the Sportive season. Freds need love too, but they are not the primary target of this article. Here's the thing about these articles, they're all the same recycled garbage. So basically they are the same article just with slight changes. I've come to expect nothing but lazy reporting from journalistic hacks just punching the clock. How I yearn for the bygone Golden Age of investigative journalism. I'll put ten different, non-beginners lacking common sense tips here.

Top 10 Cycling Tips for the Intermediate Cyclist.

I'd consider myself on the upper end of Intermediate-ness when it comes to cycling knowledge. I've gathered this knowledge from YouTube, talking to others and experience. The ways I can see myself improving are Power Training knowledge and Race-craft.

1. Learn to Descend at Speed.

This one annoys me to no-end. There is nothing worse than a cyclist in the middle of the road descending like a granny. This forces others to take risks when going around said cyclist. Maybe they're faster climbers than descenders, maybe they've started first on a "re-group at the top" ride, maybe they're just cunts.

Descending is a skill. It evolves with knowledge, practice and confidence. You must be brave enough to be on the outside of the curve, then clip the apex on the inside and return to the outside line. The wind in your ears will make your brain think that you are going too fast. The G-Forces effecting the electrolyte mix in your bladder, may convince you that you're going to have more than one accident. There's many resources on YouTube on how to return to sea level, swiftly and safely. GCN have the best instructional videos. Maybe one day, you'll be able to descend the Shay Elliott, into Laragh, sitting on the Top Tube like I can ;)

2. Advance your Clothing Wardrobe.

After your first season, you probably have some basic base layers and shorts. You should pad out your Armoire with more modular layers of clothing. For example, use arm warmers and a base layer vest in preference of a long sleeve base layer. This way you can remove the arm warmers when climbing, to remain cool. Then put them back on for the descent, so you don't get cold.

The transition from beginner to intermediate happens over the course of the winter. The demands that winter riding places on your body, will require more clothing resources. Unless you're Chewbacca, you'll be requiring thermal base layers. Personally, I use Skiing thermals under my kit. A lot of my winter gear, I get from Lidl and Aldi. Do you want to destroy some Rapha gear when you roll over the black ice? For winter rides, the order in which I apply my clothes is as follows;

1. Heart Rate Monitor,
2. Thermal leggings,
3. Football socks,
4. Leg warmers,
5. Normal socks,
6. Bib shorts,
7. Thermal long sleeve base layer top,
8. Arm warmers,
9. Buff,
10. Thermal long sleeve jersey,
11. Skull hat,
12. Shoes
13. and Gloves.

I roll up a rain jacket in my middle jersey pocket. I also have neoprene overshoes at my disposal.

3. Learn How to Service and Maintain your Bike.

Sure it's great to support your local bike shop. But having your own basic tool set and knowledge on how to clean and service your steed, can save you a lot of time and money in the future. Last year, I learned some basics. How to;

• Replace a Handlebar and Stem.
• Align the shifters.
• Wrap bar tape.
• Replace a Crank arm.
• Size and replace a Chain.

This year I have learned how to replace the internally routed cables on my bike. I had "an experience" indexing my rear derailleur with the new cable. Had I asked a bike shop to do the same job it would've cost me €60. This first time I needed to buy the Park Tool Cable Cutter. I seen that as a capital investment.

The next things on my maintenance radar is all bearing related. Bottom Bracket replacement, Pedal axle servicing and Wheel servicing. With lots of YouTube tutorials available, we all have no excuse on learning how to properly service our bikes. Then we can always be prepared. We can help out our buddies when their knowledge lets them down.

4. Understand Training Periodisation and How it Works for you on a Weekly Basis.

I suppose you are aware of the StravAsshole guy. I used to be that guy, starting at the back of the group then making my way to the front. Wanting to drill it when it was my turn on the front. I was inexperienced, young and restless. I wore the shouts of "Steady" like badges of honour. I learned.

Everyone else smashes themselves during the week with intervals. They've made the hard yards and accumulated the TSS values. They just want to talk shop and banter on a steady ride. This ride, for most riders, is their recovery ride. If you've tried out the Strava Training Plans, you'd notice that the weekend rides are mostly earmarked for "Endurance Riding". This should be standard practice for most riders. Use the weekend coffee rides for active recovery. Use the weekdays for hard intervals. Sip your caffeinated beverage of choice safe in the knowledge that you are in your bunch's good graces.

If you've missed your week's training, arrange with some other individuals to do intervals on the weekend. Create a separate bunch to accomplish this. Should your schedule not be 9-5, Monday to Friday. Perhaps you could use your resources, boards.ie, meetup.com, club IM or forum, to engage like-scheduled individuals.

5. Get a Power Meter and Learn how it Functions.

The price of Power Training is falling. The insights that training with a Power Meter gives a cyclist are fantastic. You'll learn how efficient you are. Discover if you're generating Torque or Power. Aquire the ability to recreate races or climbs that have been captured and analysed for training input. Power Meters show the energy expanded in KiloJoules, this correlates almost one to one with the amount of calories that the rider has burned. It will enable you to pace yourself in breakaways and on long climbs.

The main benefit is that it is an objective measure on your cycling ability, as opposed to Heart Rate training's well documented variability. You can build a Power Profile. The Power Profile will enable you to see where you are strong, where you are weak and where you rank in the world. The power profile can determine what kind of rider you are naturally; Sprinter, Puncher, Pursuiter or Steady-State rider (Time Trialist and/or Steady Climber).

The book "Training and Racing with a Power Meter", by Hunter Allen and Andy Coggan, PhD, is a must read for any Power Meter user. It will make you wise to the ways of Power Training.

6. Foam Rolling and Flexibility Work.

Not even Jesse Pinkman screams "bitch" to me like a grown man afraid of a foam in a cylindrical form. Foam Rolling is great for your mussels. Not everyone has a masseuse available. Doing myofascial release yourself is a good option. It hurts the first few times you find the trigger points. Do not let this deter you. Persevere with the pain, breathe and rock on the trigger point. After your muscle are unknotted, the foam rolling will become an easy process. This will reduce your risk of silly and preventable injury.

If someone refers to me as a female Dog for doing flexibility, I would respond by questioning them on how they survived the last 65 million years. Improving your flexibility will enable you to ride in a more aerodynamic position for a longer duration. You will be able to lower your bike's stack height, and get a longer stem. It will also help you feel more comfortable on a sexy, low slung race geometry frame. You won't be complaining that the position is "too stretched out" like these other puppy litter creators. Improving flexibility will also aid in injury prevention. Simple things such as stretching regularly and doing yoga count towards your flexibility work.

7. Core Strength training.

Developing a strong core is one way to boost your cycling performance off the bike. Being able to lock-out your core and pedal through your glutes for an extended period of time is a fantastic advantage to possess over the competition. A strong core, is not an underwear model-esque six-pack. It will support a good posture. A good posture will result in greater testosterone production (for guys anyway). Testosterone helps with recovery through protein synthesis. With that extra testostrone, you could grow a Bradley Wiggins circa early 2015 beard. I like the workout from KellysCycling.com.au, I have been following it and I feel that it has helped me improve. The great thing about the core work is that you can do it when your legs are tired, you are sick or injured.

8. Scrutinise your Diet and Question the Status-Quo in order to Shed Useless Weight.

Having trouble shifting a few stubborn kilos? Do you not have enough energy to exercise. Your diet needs to fuel your life on and off the bike. You need to consume enough calories to have the energy to train and improve. You need to lose weight, in order to raise your Watts per Kilo.

For most of our lives, we've been told to drink the fluid from the mammary glands of another species of mammal, AKA Cow Milk. No other species does this. Cow milk is full of hormones, designed by Charles Darwin, to turn 40kg calves into 400kg beasts. We've been told that the output from the menstrual cycle of a bird is good for humans, AKA Eggs. By this logic, we should be eating fried used tampons with our Steaks. We've been told to consume corpses of dead animals. We're encouraged to damage our metabolism by eating low amounts of carbohydrates and high quantities of fat. Our elders and educators have instructed us to follow this path. Bear in mind, that they also told us that St. Patrick banished the Snakes from Ireland. A quick Google on this will reveal the one truth we all need to know, "We've been lied to for our entire lives".

In the summer of 2013, I went on a Paleo diet, I lost 5kg, but I felt like a nutcase the whole time. After I introduced carbs back into my diet I packed back on the weight that I had lost over the following six months. The next summer, I started to reduce the animal products from my diet. It's been almost a year and I'm 7kg below where I was when I started. My cycling has improved a lot, in part due to my Power improvements, but also because my Watts per Kilo is much higher.

My starting point was switching from Cow Milk to Soy Milk, then to Almond Milk for my breakfast cereal. Then I started choosing the Vegetarian and white meat options on the Lunch menu in the office. Then for my dinners I've been leaving out the meat portion, and increasing my brown rice intake. My path continues... But if you'll pay ridiculous money for a 30 day fad diet, why not a high carb, low fat diet for 30 days?

9. Get your on the bike nutrition dialed.

This one requires much experimentation. But unlike the building Power Profile, this is fun experimentation. Have fun with the things in your pockets (you won't hear that at mass on a Sunday). Bring a bunch of different types of bars with you on your rides. Try using Gels, Dates, chewy Bananas and Sultanas too. In truth, the list is very large. This will add a dimension to your shopping. I like stocking up on Nutri-Grain bars when they are on offer in Tesco. The outcome of the experimentation should be your discoveries regarding:

• How much water does it take to aid in digestion of the food. Too dry and you'll consume most of your water, which could become a problem on long solo rides.
• What quantities of foodstuffs do you require. How is this related to the KiloJoules reading from the Power Meter?
• Does anything make you slower by requiring lots of blood to digest, or upset your stomach?

10. Consider some Upgrad€$.

There's nothing that signals the transition from rookie to intermediate quite like upgrading your equipment. When it's raining and you need that extra motivation to ride, having a fancy bit of kit sitting there judging you, may help. Options include Cycling Computer, Sensors, Wheels, Tyres, Frame, Group Set, Kit, Helmet and/or Gabba Jacket. Some upgrades may yield the nebulous "free speed" that wind cheating aerodynamics offer.

I hope that you've derived some knowledge from the post above.

The recycled garbage tips that you can see every where.

I'll bow to public demand, and worship the God of Public Opinion and paste the summaries of the tips you see everywhere. The latest rider to put his name to such a list was Welsh cyclist Geraint Thomas in The Telegraph. "Welsh cyclist Geraint Thomas" you say? Well I want this article to stand the test of time, and dips in his form, so it'll be politically correct when he's not doing well and not "British cyclist Geraint Thomas". It'd be hilarious if he had a brother named "Thomas", who was better than him. Then people would say "G is good, but Ger Ain't Thomas!" That joke is the intellectual property of Daragh over at daraghbland.com.

1. Gearing: Have the correct gearing on your bike, Compact, or Triple, with a 28, 30 and/or 32 tooth cog on the back. As long as you can maintain 80-100 Cadence most of the time.
2. Basic Clothing: Decent pair of cycling shorts and jersey.
3. Hydration: Have two bottle cages with two 750ml bottles of Electrolyte mix.
4. Bike Fit: Get a bike fit from a professional, so you don't get injured. Mark out the bike fit.
5. Food: Bring enough food to avoid bonking. Luke Says: You'll bonk once, and only once!
6. Routine: Commute on your bike.
7. Hygiene: Wash your kit and ass to avoid saddle sores. Keep your living environment clean to avoid illness.
8. Intervals: Do some basic interval training to improve.
9. Pacing: Start slow, or finish slower.
10. Off the Bike Nutrition: Eat more low-GI foods, cut out the junk foods.

Again, the disclaimer is implied, if you're offended, ask yourself one question... "Is my inability to handle the truth contained in this article related to my need to maintain the status-quo and comply to my Western masters standards, to make them rich off my sheepishness?" The answer is probably "Yes".