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EN Bike Workouts w/o Power Meter

aarmauaarmau
in General Training Discussions

The weather is finally nice here in Iowa so I love riding outside as opposed to my trainer. The problem is how to structure these bike workouts while riding outdoors. The courses I ride have hills and strong wind so it is hard to gauge HR/Zone/etc. while dealing with elements. What is the best way to go about these workouts without being stuck indoors. Do you just go by feel?

Comments

  • Al TruscottAl Truscott
    The hills and wind give you an opportunity to work hard - use the hills as your intervals. try to replicate the feeling you got on the trainer of working hard, and see what that does to your HR (allowing for a lag at the start of an "interval" to let it catch up to your work level). Use the wind to help you practice riding steady, shifting down as needed to keep the effort level constant.
  • Jeff UnruhJeff Unruh
    Aaron,



    What I have seen after a few seasons with a PM are as follows.



    1. Watts are very easy to create going uphill. What feels hard going uphill (assuming a short hill - say 1' max) is probably pushing you close to 130%+ of FTP.

    2. Riding into the wind is much like riding uphill - watts come easy and they are great for long FTP efforts.

    3. Longer downhills (gentle decline but lasting 2-3') can be a challenge to get the watts up. RPE is higher for me downhill -- especially if sustained for several minutes.

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