Hi all,
Another great month for racing. Well done to Duncan Biggs
for smashing the Outlaw full in a staggering time of 10:22:07, wow! Great triathlon-ing from Richard Carus and
Becki Prowse at GeoPark Adventure sprint tri, really tough conditions in the
sea and a relentless course. And Laura -
our Laura - won the Olympic distance at GeoPark Adventure. Results!
A great event for Torbay, we’re glad everyone is supporting Brendon,
Helen and the rest of the Geopark Adventure team with this great event. In fact, Laura is writing a blog about the
race and would really appreciate any thoughts or feedback you have- get in
touch!
In addition, Pete has run another ‘weekend warrior’ training
camp for ironman athletes Duncan Biggs and Mark Wilson that included a sea
swim, video analysis and 130km ride and more. Next week, Pete will welcome
Patty to Teignmouth and Dartmoor to join some others for a week’s, tailored, Ironman
70.3 training camp. Exciting!
Okay, with monthly updates out the way, let’s get on to the
informative stuff (hopefully, anyway!). And this week, (with all the perfect
sunny cycling weather we’ve been having), we decided to write about a
challenging element of cycling, that is…you guessed it…climbing.
Clued Up Climbing
Living in Devon, we’re not exactly strangers to the hills
and climbs on the bike. With Dartmoor on our doorstep, we’re actually a little
spoilt for choice.
But still, we decided to consult the “100 greatest cycling climbs: A road cyclist’s guide to Britain’s
hills” by Simon Warren and picked 3 that we think are worth a shot this summer
(2 of them are local!). Will you take on the challenge of these three climbs?
Perhaps you’ve already completed them- let us know!
Haytor Vale, Bovey
Tracey Devon
This is one of the warrior camp rides. Haytor Vale climbs up
the eastern side of Dartmoor and reaches a 12% gradient at the top. Awesome.
Widecombe-in-the-Moor
Another local haunt (also a warrior ride), Simon Warren
grades Widecome at 7/10 compared to Haytor’s 5/10. Apparently Chris Boardman
completed the Widecombe climb in 4 minutes 10 seconds!
Box Hill, Surrey
Described as the Alp d’Huez of the south east, Box Hill is a
popular favourite of many cyclists. Beautiful countryside, challenging but not
extremely testing, and definitely worth a visit.
Whether you take it easy and simply make it to the top, or
opt to make your legs, heart and lungs burn, here is a bit more information
about clever climbing…
Climbing technique
1. Effort: work into the climb, don’t go all out at the
bottom and blow the doors off at half way.
2. Cadence: Work your legs and your lower back. 3. Go hard
at the brow of the hill and keep pushing, don’t ease off too much at the top.
4. ‘Sit’ position: Keep
your shoulders relaxed and the weight off your arms. Sit by pushing the sit bones of your bottom
into the saddle
5. Stand or Sit: You need powerful pedal strokes. Sometimes a
sharp incline at a hairpin is better done with a standing surge, stretch the
back and legs, but don’t slow down!
6. Gears: Try not to mash the gears as you change. Ease off when shifting until your gear is
fully engaged.
7. Mental: Think positive and tackle the hill head on.
The Glutes
When cycling, we mainly aim to work our legs and lower back.
One of the main parts of the body working hard when climbing is the gluteus Maximus.
Located in the buttocks, the gluteus Maximus (or ‘glute’) is
regarded as one of the strongest muscles in the human body. It is connected to
the tailbone and is responsible for movement of the hip and thigh.
Fuelling Your Climb
As cycling goes, climbing (especially at a high-intensity)
will probably burn more calories than flat road leisurely cycling and therefore
needs fuelling effectively. That said, the amount of calories you need to fuel
your ride depends on a number of factors, including your efficiency as an
athlete and the intensity of your climb.
Whether you need 10 calories or 10 000, here is a portable snack
idea that is particularly good for fuelling gruelling climbs on the bike
(without opting for energy gels or power bars).
Cherry Chocolate
Sticky Bites
1 cup uncooked sticky rice
1 and a half cup water
2 tablespoons cream cheese
2 tablespoons cherry preserves, or jam
Fold in
A quarter cup bittersweet chocolate chips
Top with
Half a teaspoon coarse salt
Method
1. Cook the rice and allow to cool.
2. In a small food processor, combine the rice and the other
ingredients. Pulse until you have a coarse, sticky mixture and transfer to a
medium bowl.
3. Fold in chocolate chips.
4. Wrap into individual shapes.
Recipe taken from
“Feed Zone Portables: A Cookbook of on-the-go food for athletes” by Biju Thomas
and Allen Lim.
So, hopefully, now we can all be a bit more clued up when it
comes to climbing, and do some great hill training in August!
Happy Triathlon-ing,
Pete and Laura x
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