Cyclists - a little advice please

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Diver0001

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Background:

I've been cycling back and forth to my work. It's 12km from door to door and I do that in about 30 min so I guess that puts my cruising speed at about 24km/h. This morning I had to hump my way into a force 4 headwind all the way there and after work I wasn't looking forward to the ride home. As luck would have it someone on a race bike passed me just after I left and I managed to catch up to him and used his slip stream. He was cycling a lot faster than I usually do but I managed to keep about 1/2 metre behind him for the 10km that we cycled the same route. We made just under 30km/h, which for my bike is pretty fast. (I have a 24 speed mountainbike with tires 3 fingers wide and a shock absorber in the front fork tht all conspire to keep my speed down in the mid-20's if I cycle any distance on it). That's when the thought occured to me that cyclist must have something like a VDOT tht they track.

I normally run. I cycle because I have to get to my work anyway and I'd rather not waste the time in the traffic jams. When I run I track my VDOT to see if I'm progressing or not. With running it's easy because there's no mechanics at play and conditions don't usually affect your tempo too much.

But how to cyclists do that? Is there a sort of VDOT score that I can track to see progress over time?

So... reading back, that's a long lead in to a short question. Can anyone help me?

R..
 
Yeah, I found that too but I didn't understand a damned thing they were saying except that he refers to Daniels who was a running coach.

R..
 
Looks proprietary and I'd rather know what's being calculated under the skirt than to just strap on a computer and hope for the best.... :D I'm sure you, of all people, can appreciate that. :)

R..
 
Looks proprietary and I'd rather know what's being calculated under the skirt than to just strap on a computer and hope for the best.... :D I'm sure you, of all people, can appreciate that. :)

R..

:rofl3:
 
The latest trend is in Power meters. They basically measure output and you can use that metric in combination with efficiency metrics to cater your workouts and track progress. All of this is dependent on onboard computers and software. Definitely on the upper-range of competitive cycling when you start using these tools. Other than that, I think most people just use mileage, cadence, HR, and average speed as training guides. There are so many factors in each ride that I think would make something like a Vdot value hard to apply to cycling. For instance (as you discovered), doing a ride solo vs. with 2 or 3 others makes all the difference in the world.
 
Well I do have a HR monitor that I use for running but it hasn't occured to me to put it on for cycling to work..... I guess if I used my average HR muliplied by the time in minutes that it took to cover the distance that I would see a trend over time. At least that way the effect of weather would be averaged out and I'd just have to not record days like today when I manage to find a volunteer to cut the wind for me. Is that a reasonable idea?

R..
 
Competitive cyclists don't measure VDOT. In fact, I don't even know what that means. Performance in cycling is measured in how many watts you can produce for a given time, and the only way to measure that is with a power meter which is VERY expensive. You CAN monitor performance if you use your HRM and bike computer, but you need to know your max heart rate. There are any number of postings on the net to help you determine that or you can pay to have your VO2 max and heart rate tested. Look up Joe Friel on Amazon: he wrote a great book on training for cycling. Keep riding!
Neil
 

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