After several weeks of the weather forcing us to ride our bike trainers instead of the road, I was less than enthusiastic to do my 2.5 hour bike ride last Saturday morning. Then, I had an idea: What’s my first important triathlon of the season? Rev3Tri’s Quassy in Middlebury, CT. We had heard the bike course was grueling. So I thought, Hmmm, I’ll create a trainer workout that simulates the Quassy course.
Now, without a computrainer (the $1,700 price tag is prohibitive for us right now), this simulation is not an exact science. But, with a little bit of time and creativity, it is possible to create a simulated course for a basic trainer. In my case, I went to the Quassy website, looked up the bike profile, and then spent about 30 minutes creating cues for my trainer ride that would mimic the ascents and descents of the ride, along with the very minimal flat sections in the Quassy course. Then, I created a music playlist to go with it. (Much thanks to my FB and twitter friends for offering up some really AWESOME suggestions!)
Since I was doing a 2.5 hour ride, I loosely guestimated that each mile on the course was equivalent to about 2.5 minutes – give or take. As you can see from the elevation profile, the grade for the ascents and descents makes it possible to determine the relative intensity of the climbs. I used both small and big chain rings to mimic the hard push for the “climbs,” and the quick lightness of the “downhills.” On the cue sheet (see a copy here: Quassy trainer sim ride), I kept the minutes whole, as I didn’t want to worry about 30 second or 20 second intervals in the timing, so it’s not precise, but the ride is certainly in the spirit of the Quassy course. What I came up with was a challenging 2.5 hour ride that included a variety of different “terrain,” which helped the long ride to nowhere pass quickly. To orient my body toward climbing, I raised the front wheel of my bike about 6 inches.
The day after doing this ride, I was a touch sore, and could feel the glow from an honest, hard effort. Since we don’t have many hills here in Southern New Jersey, this simulation ride should help pay dividends on my cycling prowess once the season gets underway.
Like a treadmill, riding on the trainer is only as effective as you make it. Designing a workout such as this one can help you get the best out of the time spent in the saddle. The key advantage of a trainer, over riding the roads, is that you never have to stop for cars or stop signs. It’s great for building endurance, doing intervals, drills and other types of workouts that are not impossible on the road, but can get tricky.
Have you created a custom trainer ride? Please share it! After all, the next long ride in the garage is just a snow storm away…
