Modern life has robbed you of some key cycling skills.
The indoor training boom has produced many cyclists who are aerobically fit but may lack confidence and control out on the roads, or struggle with the unpredictable gradients of ‘real’ climbs.
Working from home has also left many cyclists with back pain, which may be hampering your comfort on the bike.
As winter turns to spring and summer, and you emerge from hibernation, an exciting array of social spins and adventures await. But first you need to get road-ready.
Whether you are an experienced rider whose skills have been blunted or a seasonal cyclist emerging from a winter of indoor training, we reveal 10 key tips that will help you embrace the gloriously unpredictable world beyond your front door.
1. Rebuild road-ready power
If you’ve been training hard indoors, your power output may be good, but it won’t be refined for the subtle side-to-side movement experienced when riding outside.
“On the trainer, your bike is locked into a fixed position,” explains coach Richard Rollinson of CPT Cycling. “This helps your power development as your pedalling action is isolated to a circular pedal stroke. But it does not develop power outside of that motion.”
In the real world, your bike shifts from side-to-side whenever you accelerate, stand up on a climb, or blast around a corner.
“This ‘side-motion power’ will take many weeks to develop on the road,” he adds.
How to fix it
The best action is always preventative.
“Try to ride consistently on the road all year round, even if it’s every two weeks,” says Rollinson. “And indoor riding doesn’t have to be on a fixed trainer: riding in a velodrome or using rollers will work this ‘side motion’ too. You can also place your turbo on a ‘rocker plate’.”
But for an immediate fix, nothing beats the unique conditioning provided by riding on the road, so try to build up your outdoor mileage by 10% each week to regain your road-ready power.
2. Get fit for group rides
While some turbo trainers cleverly adjust resistance levels to simulate riding in a ‘group’ in virtual worlds such as Zwift, real outdoor group rides are usually far less predictable.
“A virtual group ride can actually be tougher in some ways, as there is less of a drafting effect compared to the road,” explains Rollinson. “But in a road group there is also a much greater volume of work over your threshold whenever you hit the front, follow riders, or make accelerations.”
How to fix it
Prepare for the repeated spikes in power needed for group rides outside with some drills.
“Increase the time and effort you spend over your threshold,” suggests Rollinson. “You can do this by increasing the amount of sprints, anaerobic efforts or VO2 max workouts in your training plan, increasing the amount of intervals in each workout, increasing the length or power of these intervals, or reducing your recovery time between the intervals.”
3. Fortify your mind
A regime of short turbo rides can leave you vulnerable to anxiety when you head out for longer rides on the road. Indoors, you can quit any time. When you’re miles from home, you need to master your mind and keep riding.
How to fix it
“Re-frame how you approach longer road rides,” advises sports psychologist Professor Andy Lane. “A 100-mile ride can be broken down into 10 chunks of 10 miles. With short rides, when you ask yourself, ‘Can I do this?’ the answer is, ‘Yes’. This is also the mindset you need on the road.”
Positive self-talk can also help to fend off doubts. “In hard moments, say: ‘Patience – we are here for a while’,” says Lane. “You can also use imagery to replay previous long rides and remember how it felt to cope.”
4. Rebuild your core strength
Maintaining your aero position on the road requires stronger core muscles than on a static trainer.
“All those postural muscles don’t get exercised as they would on the road,” warns cycling physio Bianca Broadbent of Fit Your Bike
How to fix it
Restore your core strength with Broadbent’s cycling-specific abdominal exercises. Aim for 3-5x 30-second efforts twice a week.
Suspended mountain climbers
Attach a suspension trainer to a door, place your feet in the loops, then push up into a full plank position. Draw one knee towards your chest, drive it back, and then repeat with the other knee.
Plank walks
Starting in a low plank position, move one arm at a time to push up into a straight-arm position. Then reverse the move by taking each arm down so your forearms are back on the floor.
5. Build a battle-ready body
Turbo training takes place in a controlled environment. This is great for monitoring your fitness targets, but it doesn’t sculpt the strength required to excel on the road.
“Outdoor cycling involves balance on two wheels, but when the bike is fixed on a trainer this element is removed,” says cycling physio Nichola Roberts. “This reduces the load on our key cycling muscles and allows us to adopt positions we can’t sustain outdoors.”
How to fix it
“Do more outdoor riding to restore control and balance,” says Roberts. “On a turbo trainer, it’s difficult to get the nuance of outdoor climbing – getting out of the saddle, pulling through the arms to maintain your body position over the bike, and stabilising your body as you pedal. But it is also important to build strength off the bike.”
Try Roberts’ programme of cycling strength exercises twice a week:
Single-leg Romanian deadlifts
Holding a kettlebell or dumbbells by your sides, lift one foot behind you and, keeping your back straight, slowly pivot forward at the hips, until you feel a stretch in your hamstrings. Pivot back and repeat with opposite legs. Do 3x 8 reps on each leg.
Swiss ball planks
Perform a high plank (arms straight) but with your feet resting on a Swiss ball. Aim for 5 holds, increasing the hold time as your strength grows.
Swiss ball press-ups
Set up as above, but this time perform 3x 10 press-ups instead.
Bulgarian split squats
With your right foot supported behind you on a chair or step, bend your left knee down until your thigh is parallel to the floor. Keep your chest upright and your left knee aligned with your left foot. Aim for 3x 8 reps with each leg.
Weighted step-ups
Stand in front of a step while holding two dumbbells. Drive one foot up onto the step, then press through your heel as you bring the other foot up. Reverse the movement. Repeat, alternating legs. Aim for 3x 10 reps with each leg.
6. Refine your technique
How to fix it
“Brush up on your technical skills with some specific sessions: improve your climbing with hill repeats, practise adjusting your body positioning during descents, try moving from drops to tops as you ride along the flat, and practise your cornering,” advises Roberts.
Road cycling is a skill-based sport, which requires regular technical practice. “Riding indoors does not develop these technical skills,” warns Roberts. “These include cornering, descending, the importance of body positioning and unity with the bike.”
Follow our tips below for a quick outdoor skills refresher.
Climbing
Focus on gear selection to ensure you spin at an energy-saving higher cadence (ideally 70rpm or more). Mix seated and standing efforts to manage the load on your muscles.
Cornering
Always brake before the bend. Stay wide as you enter the corner, cut through the apex of the bend and exit wide. Remember to manoeuvre your bike by leaning, rather than steering with your handlebar.
Braking
Too much indoor riding can erode your braking skills. Remember to lightly feather both brakes, although prioritise the more powerful front brake. On descents, focus on your front brake and shift your weight backwards to prevent your rear wheel slipping.
Vision
During indoor rides, your eyes are simply staring at a wall or screen. On the roads, the faster you go, the further you need to look in order to anticipate any obstacles or bends.
7. Patch up your pacing
Pacing indoors is much more straightforward than navigating the shifting terrain, wind and weather of outdoor rides.
“Indoors, there’s no simulation of inconsistent winds and different rolling resistances between your tyres and the road surfaces,” says Rollinson.
How to fix it
“Doing regular interval rides outside will teach you to adjust your effort and gears to varying terrain and weather,” explains Rollinson.
On longer outdoor rides, you could harness your power meter, heart-rate monitor or cadence sensor to stick to the right pacing for you. When riding indoors, however, it’s best to limit your use of ERG mode (which adjusts the resistance to keep you within a target power range).
“This reduces your reliance on pacing to feel,” warns Rollinson. “Outside, you have to adjust your effort and gears to stay on track with your intervals.”
8. Boost your balance
Cyclists need good balance to corner at speed, avoid obstacles and maintain an aero position, but this skill is diluted by indoor riding.
“Balance relies on coordination between your skeletal system, your visual system and your vestibular systems,” explains Broadbent. “And these don’t all get exercised when riding indoors.”
How to fix it
Start drip-feeding balance exercises into your daily routine.
“Practise standing on one leg while brushing your teeth or waiting for the kettle to boil,” suggests Broadbent. “Also try doing arabesques: stand on one leg and, keeping your back straight, slightly bend your knee and lean forwards through the hip as far as you can, as if you were picking something up off the floor. Control your return to the starting position. Do this little and often (3x 12 reps at a time) until you can progress to doing it with weights.”
9. Restore your drafting skills
Spending hours training indoors won’t develop the sharp focus and technique required to follow a wheel during group rides outside.
“You need to avoid clashing wheels, but also remain close to increase the (aerodynamic) efficiency,” explains Rollinson. “There’s a continual fine line with this and a high amount of skill.”
How to fix it
Regular group rides will naturally develop the pacing and confidence required to follow a wheel, so join a local club or meet friends for social spins. Avoid crossing wheels with the rider in front, and look up ahead so you can prepare earlier for any upcoming obstacles.
“The most important skill is regulating your speed to keep the gap in front as consistently small as possible,” says Rollinson. “If you brake a lot as the rider in front slows down, you increase the need to reaccelerate.”
For a refresher course in steady pacing, head to your local velodrome or hit some off-road trails.
“An indoor velodrome is a double win as you will be following wheels but also riding a fixed-gear bike which encourages you to brake progressively by slowing your cadence,” says Rollinson. “Riding off-road also helps with group riding as it encourages you to minimise braking time before corners, and to carry more speed, so there is less need to reaccelerate.”
10. Regain confidence in group rides
A winter indoors can leave you feeling anxious about riding in a group or race scenario. Those other bikes seem much faster and closer than they did before.
How to fix it
The secret is to skewer your anxieties before you venture outside. “Use imagery to see yourself cycling with others,” suggests Lane. “Hear the sounds and really feel the strain on your muscles.”
Immersing yourself in this imagery will serve as a mental rehearsal so you feel more prepared when you ride with others.
“Then, during the ride, stay focused with cues, like what skills you need, where you should look, and what you should think about in different scenarios,” suggests Lane. “Challenge any negative self-talk and repackage it as positive. For example, instead of worrying about riding with other people, say: ‘I will enjoy their company and draft off them’.”