I commute to and from a train station for work each day and would like to use this time to improve my fitness (I typically finish near the back of any CX or XC race I enter)
Morning:
13 miles from house to train station
2 miles from train station to work, mostly up a gradual hill
Afternoon:
2 miles from work to train station, mostly downhill
13 miles from train station to house, including a steep 2-mile climb (3-4 minutes to descend, 35-45ish minutes to climb if I'm carrying stuff)
I use 2 bikes, an 8 kg Roubaix road bike (more in the summer since I'm in Washington state) and a 15-25 kg Fargo that I converted to a commuter (rear rack and panniers and 'stuff' make up the extra weight)
I also have a single speed cross bike that is pretty light and fun to ride. i can include that in the training/commuting if it is worthwhile.
I typically ride a bit with my wife on the weekends, but those are very casual rides. I have time on weekends to knock out some serious gravel miles though after my ride with my wife.
Food-wise I'm on point (already working with dietician) so I'm looking at trying to "ride smarter". I have a heart rate strap and a Garmin that does heart rate, cadence, speed, mileage, elevation but no power meter or anything like that.
I guess my main questions:
1. Should I work hard during the ascents (hill climbing is probably my weakest fitness point because i'm heavy - powerlifter turned injured and fat former powerlifter) or should I try to take it easy during the climbs
2. Should I drop the idea of riding 4 or 5 days per week since i have to do 2 separate rides each day, or is it possible to structure "easy" rides in there with "harder" rides without overdoing it?
3. For the purposes of training, would it be smarter to "load up" the cargo bike on Mondays with week's worth of food and clothes for work (thereby making Monday morning a 'killer'), or just carry a little bit each day?
4. I can drive to the train station to cut out a substantial amount of volume on some days. That would leave me with, basically, a 15-minute commute twice a day on days I drive to the train station
so yeah, help a brother out here. I've been commuting for over 2 years and have seen very little improvement in my fitness and I'd love to change that.
Morning:
13 miles from house to train station
2 miles from train station to work, mostly up a gradual hill
Afternoon:
2 miles from work to train station, mostly downhill
13 miles from train station to house, including a steep 2-mile climb (3-4 minutes to descend, 35-45ish minutes to climb if I'm carrying stuff)
I use 2 bikes, an 8 kg Roubaix road bike (more in the summer since I'm in Washington state) and a 15-25 kg Fargo that I converted to a commuter (rear rack and panniers and 'stuff' make up the extra weight)
I also have a single speed cross bike that is pretty light and fun to ride. i can include that in the training/commuting if it is worthwhile.
I typically ride a bit with my wife on the weekends, but those are very casual rides. I have time on weekends to knock out some serious gravel miles though after my ride with my wife.
Food-wise I'm on point (already working with dietician) so I'm looking at trying to "ride smarter". I have a heart rate strap and a Garmin that does heart rate, cadence, speed, mileage, elevation but no power meter or anything like that.
I guess my main questions:
1. Should I work hard during the ascents (hill climbing is probably my weakest fitness point because i'm heavy - powerlifter turned injured and fat former powerlifter) or should I try to take it easy during the climbs
2. Should I drop the idea of riding 4 or 5 days per week since i have to do 2 separate rides each day, or is it possible to structure "easy" rides in there with "harder" rides without overdoing it?
3. For the purposes of training, would it be smarter to "load up" the cargo bike on Mondays with week's worth of food and clothes for work (thereby making Monday morning a 'killer'), or just carry a little bit each day?
4. I can drive to the train station to cut out a substantial amount of volume on some days. That would leave me with, basically, a 15-minute commute twice a day on days I drive to the train station
so yeah, help a brother out here. I've been commuting for over 2 years and have seen very little improvement in my fitness and I'd love to change that.