Having had a few problems recently fitting much training in, this week I've been busy trying to find a bit extra. I've bit the bullet and started doing some intervals since I've not been doing anything like that up till now. Basically i've been doing hill reps - riding repeatedly up the same local climb.
This week i've mainly been going up the Back o'Hill by Stirling Castle. So starting at the bottom by the fire station roundabout i time the climb from the lamp post at the bottom to the lamp post by the entrance to the grave yard where it flattens out. The climb is a steady 10%+ with the upper section 15%+ (Garmin gives gradient stats!). Its about 0.4 of a mile and the elevation gain is about 170ft. I did it a few times last year when I was going pretty well so had an idea what time I should be getting up in. First session this year I was well off the pace, although to be fair the climb was covered in sleet and barely ridable. Todays session was a huge improvement though. Times are almost up there with last year, and I managed 8 reps without collapsing! 8 reps all under 2mins, and best times last year were around 1.50ish
Other climb I use quite a bit is the Logie Kirk climb up to Sherrifmuir. Although I ride the climb several times a week going to and from work, I've only managed one interval session up it this year. The climb is a lot longer, taking almost 5 minutes, and its significantly steeper for longer. This one I start by the telegraph pole at the graveyard entrance, and finish at the road junction. 6 reps of it and you're done! Best times on the Logie Kirk last year were around 4.30, so maybe need to do a proper session up there next week.
The training is giving my old Trek 1000 a bit of a battering, but its still going well. The new wheels from Dave Hinde seem really good. They're pretty standard training wheels - Mavic Open Sport on Tiagra hubs. I gave them a wee true up myself after their first few hundred miles, and they seem really solid. 32 spokes mean truing is possible for a novice like me and costing £100 delivered I think they're great value. The bike is going well, although without mud guards its pretty manky! Pic at the top taken at the top of Sherrifmuir this afternoon.
This weekend theres the Dick Londragon RR on Sunday, and hopefully I'll be going a bit better than the Super6 at Gifford! Its a great wee circuit and hopefully the weather will be good again. Not going with any great expectations as I'm still kind of unsure of my form, but hopefully i'll get round without suffering to much.
Interesting stuff rob! I have used logie kirk before- timed it from the church door all the way up to the car park-7 and three-quarter minutes or so. After a while I was finding it too steep though and wondered whether I wouldn't be better doing something longer and steadier to build up my power. All in all though, there are some great climbs round here.
ReplyDeleteYeah 7+ mins is quite a long time to try and ride flat out. The section of the Logie Kirk I've used is a bit shorter so I've got a better chance to sustain a max effort. I find the steep gradient good as then I've no choice but to put in a big effort. If you want something longer and steadier I've used the climb up Sherrifmuir from Greenloaning for reps before. No where near as steep, but you can attack it. Either way it'll hurt!
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