Executive Summary
The graph above demonstrates the effectiveness of training both indoors and out. A full 75% of my training for the Dirty Dozen was done inside – focusing on both Heart Zones@ training above threshold, as well as power exercises on the Keiser m3. Once per week, rides were done locally to continue with the same approach outdoors, and every 2 weeks a portion of the actual DD hills were ridden to test and validate our methods. The efficiency gains garnered through training this Cycling Fusion™ way …

Yes the “Plus Two” does mean 2 more insanely steep and leg punishing climbs than just twelve. The official Dirty Dozen has always had 13 climbs, but there is one climb that is both long and gets above 16% that “isn’t counted”. I had the pleasure of doing my final training ride last week with the founder of this punishfest, Mr. Million Mile Man himself, Danny Chew (center of the pic, without the Global Ride kit). When I asked him why it wasn’t included, he said it …

I know that Indoor Cycling is meant to represent Road Riding for the most part, and I love riding my road bike…but to tell the truth, I secretly feel like Mountain Biking is more fun (not much of a secret now, I guess). I always feel like I’m a little kid when I get on a mountain bike; it’s just a joyous experience. However, a steady diet of MTB can be kind of rough on the body, not to mention the bikes. Hence, I started road riding …

As shown in the last post, I’ve been able to manage a slower speed, thus reducing the required Watts/Lb for the Dirty Dozen. However, I still need to be able to train at significantly high power levels for the number of minutes each hill will require at those lower speeds. Having excellent recon on these climbs from our filming last year with Global Ride, as well as some training rides, I now have reliable % grades and distances to simulate the training indoors. But… will the Keiser …

As I begin writing I’m looking at the title and I’m compelled to mention the obvious. What ever happened to riding for the fun of it? Does that go without saying? Perhaps, but it should never go without. The day riding stops being fun, when all the smiles turn to grimaces, and the thought of a hundred different ways to spend time on 2 wheels doesn’t put a spring in my step will be the day to move on to the next obsession.

While there are lots of local races throughout the season, there is only one “in my back yard”. So naturally, I like to do either the Saturday MTB race, or the Sunday Road race. I did both one year, and well…let’s not go there. Since I took the entire year off my normal MTB schedule, and our Road Team won last year’s Tour de Strongland team category, it seemed like the right thing to do, even though it was the longest, “experienced” race route of the group.

Training for improved climbing is one thing. Training for the Dirty Dozen is another. Given the fact that probably less than 1% of the hills one normally climb are as steep as those of the Dirty Dozen, it doesn’t make sense to train for this level of power requirement. That is, unless you actually want to survive the 5 plus hours in November as you climb more steep ascents in one day than you normally do in an entire season. Throw in the fact that I …

Actually, my butt isn’t as sore as I thought I would be. I’m sure it’s the very methodical 10% increase in volume and intensity that I’ve started since the beginning of my training using Heart Zones training methods, and a variety of training tools to not only monitor my progress, but also to “keep me honest”.

Sure it was sunny on Saturday, that wasn’t our team training day. What’s worse than training in the cold? How about training in the cold, wet and dreary. These are the days of early spring in the Pittsburgh area. You can see a short video of our ride Sunday by clicking here, or view the embedded one at the bottom of this post.