DECEMBER TRAINING

            In previous years, I have not started training for the Etape until January. This is a nice approach - Forget about cycling, enjoy Christmas, then shake off the winter blues by getting fitter in January as the days get longer.

            Emails from several etappers have made me wonder. One chap is already riding 100 mile circuits in North Wales, and others enjoying weekly club runs.

            The effects of high intensity training probably do not last for very long, so it may be best to reserve most of your training efforts till later. However several riders are going to attempt the Etape after long absences from cycling, or are even new to cycling. If this is you, a bit of preliminary preparation might be useful.

            If you are starting from scratch, you may want to enjoy a few pleasant rides when the weather allows, maybe to a nearby teashop. Any hills are much more fun when you are dreaming of the Tour de France! You will probably be surprised at how easy it is to increase the length of your rides on successive weeks: 10miles, 15 miles 20 miles until after a few weeks a 30 mile ride is not a problem, and you start contemplating longer rides. This will be a good base for starting your real training next year.

            What may seem like a pleasant tea shop ride at the time, is in fact building muscle, improving endurance and strengthening your cardio-vascular system! Thanks to the tea shop, you are also solving one of the major problems of the endurance athlete - remaining hydrated (tea) and taking in sufficient nutrition (cakes)!

            Maybe you have acheived a good level of fitness already, and you want to enjoy Christmas but don't want to loose too much fitness over the long Christmas break. The answer is simpler than you may think. It has been found that training once a week is sufficient to maintain your current fitness level. This does not necessarily need to be a long training session either - just escaping for half an hour on your bike for a quick thrash when the weather is good and the road conditions are safe helps. Don't forget to carbo load though - Christmas Pudding, Mince Pies ......

Or maybe you'd rather forget this cycling lark till next year. Why not!

LOCAL CYCLING CLUBS

           The New Year may be a good time to think about joining a cycling club. If you are relatively new to cycling, you may want to consider seeking out your local Cycle Touring Club (CTC) group, then joining them for a few day rides. You should be able to get plenty of advice and encouragement from them. The CTC have local groups all over Britain. To find information on your local group click    here.

            If on the other hand you have already reached a good level of fitness, you may want to graduate to ride with the local racing club. Again, most areas have such a club. Some groups are extremely fast, so initially you may find yourself left behind. Don’t be discouraged - you will probably be leaving some of them behind after the Etape!

            Dark evenings and bad weather are always rather daunting at this time of year. There may be a floodlit cycle track near you. For example, there is one in Reading, and as I have recently learned, one in Portsmouth. If the weather is too dreadful and you don't have a turbo trainer, there's always the local gym!

            Enjoy your cycling! - Oh and have a good Christmas !!