Maui Velominatus Dave is tapering for this Saturday’s Cycle to the Sun. It is more mass start, time trial to the sun as there is nothing like 3.3 km of continual climbing to sort everyone out by their power to weight ratios. After 2 km of climbing there is no pack and no draft. Everyone climbs as hard as they can and almost everyone is riding alone.
Dave has been training like a bastard. He doesn’t have a coach but he does have a power meter and an analytical mind. As we talked about his up-coming race he could not contain himself any longer, “I don’t know how you and Frank can train without power meters. They are fantastic. They make your bike an extension of your body.”
What? I had never considered this as a possibility. Isn’t this something we all want; the rolling centaur? This is a feedback loop: the brain to the legs to the cranks to the strain gages to the head unit to the eyes to the brain. The bike is getting involved here. The bike is telling you how hard you are riding it. Dude.
Presently I’m just riding with a V-meter. I’ve used heart rate meters and cyclometers but got tired of seeing how slow I was. I wanted to simplify; I wanted an unadulterated ride. Also, I obviously didn’t want to formally train anymore, just do rides that I barely made it home from. Is that training? To quote Roy Knickman*, “you are what you train.” His admonition is something Abandy should take to heart; if all you do is train in the mountains, that’s all you are going to be good at. I might have been just training to barely make it home but really it was not training. Training should be more work and less play.
We all need cycling goals. We all need something to get fitter for, even if the goal is as simple not to get shelled as quickly on that same climb.
Let us be very clear on the idea of training rides versus other rides. A training ride may not be too much fun and most importantly there should be a clear plan for what will happen, see Rule #71. This is where the power meter has to shine; it is the most reliable, direct and accurate instrument for monitoring effort on the bike. The prices are coming down and the model choices are going up. Here is a nice amateur guide for them.
The head unit stays at home on the weekend group ride to the café and back. That ride is why you did the training ride(s) earlier in the week. Don’t try to mix the two or you will be abused. We do the training rides so we can drop our friends on the weekend, that’s what friends do. And nobody wants to be accused of staring at their power meter when they should be looking where they are going, no matter how well they ride.
I am intrigued by the concept of the bike becoming more of an extension of the body through the power meter. Does this violate The Rules? Does this make you a stronger cyclists?
*Who is Roy Knickman? American Hardest of Hardman of the 7-Eleven and La Vie Claire era, FFS.
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Nice, thoughtful piece Gianni, as usual. "Extension of the bike"? That's what a good pair of shoes and good cleats are for. That, and a well-thought out, suitable and efficient position. I have a basic computer that records the usual stuff. Maybe I'm a technophobe as well as being past my training-to-race days, but I can't imagine ever wanting that much data. Hell, on recovery rides I tape over the screen so I'm not tempted to see the numbers, but just enjoy the simplicity of the ride.
I'll admit it one of my bikes has a power meter. It is a Stages meter so very subtle. I enjoy to review the data post ride when I should be working. I don't let it dictate how I ride, just review the data afterwords. In the dead of winter up here in Canada on the trainer it makes for good entertainment when linked up to the Sufferfest on TrainerRoad. That being said I want to vomit when I hear a bunch of mediocre 40-50 year old triathletes quoting their watts/kg and FTP values etc..
Jogging is running without a purpose. EVERY ride on the bike, however, has a purpose, be it to suffer, to get stronger or to get somewhere using a superior form of transportation. Do power meters violate the rules? That depends upon how well you need to train properly. Regardless, you always ride with the V. And Roy Knickman, he remains a classic.
I finally get my points of contact dialled in so my bike becomes an extension on my body - hands to bars, shoes to pedals, ass to saddle - now you want me to add my brain to the mix? I ride to unplug that very feature. I can see the value of having a power meter if you are racing or riding at an elite level. For me, I ride to clear my mind, to feel the road, and let my senses and reflexes take over. If I need a kick in the ass it will be from the rider passing me or a steep pitch taunting me.
Nice one, Gianni!
Hmm, seems like the Soul Riders are first to chime in here! wiscot & Tobin - yup, I ride to just get out, feel the wind in my face, and have some fun. Maybe I'll get the bug to compete (again) in the future, but these days I'm just riding for the sheer pleasure of ridin' cool bikes.
I like to know kilometerage - end of year, how much I'd done in a particular month, how long chains, tires, cassettes are lasting - so I use a simple cyclometer, but keep it in my jersey pocket.
And herein lays another clear example of the contradictions of this sport. The courting of technology (power meters which can result in riding like a certain maillot jaune wearing bike-humping spider) and the romanticism of the classic ways (sans casque and clutter free handlebars).
A power meter can, perhaps, create a deeper connection with the bike in that it allows the rider to more accurately dial in their performance. But at what cost? Arguably, meeting the man with the hammer is an important part of the path of the Velominatus. Something that using a power meter can keep a rider from experiencing. Sure, you're entering the pain cave, but you're bringing a flashlight so you can see the end of the tunnel.
Is it a valuable training tool so that you can effectively improve your riding - undoubtedly. However I agree with Gianni that when it comes to "the ride"... you leave that shit at home (or in your jersey pocket for later reflection)
I'll leave you with this image from the dawn of the "how many watts is he putting out" era we are now in. A "Doctor" sitting in the team car doing the math to let a uni-testicled texan know that he doesn't have to chase down the rider in front of him because if he just sits there and spins a certain wattage he will eventually reel them back in makes for REALLY FUCKING BORING RACING! And leads us back to the spider humping a lightbulb.
When I started riding 25 years ago it was like this - "I was coming back on my 160km ride and the winds came up and I got caught out and bonked 30km from home, took me 1.5 hours to get to town with no calories left, I was totally cooked, I will watch the winds closer now as I was hallucinating by time I got home, but it was a great ride" I would not trade those days for anything. Nowdays it might be like this for a young cyclist: "you are doing an endurance ride for 5-6 hours so you should ride at x% of your FTP and eat xxx calories per hour throughout the ride to ensure you don't deplete your glycogen stores (aka ensuring that the man with the hammer does not arrive). I think the power curves can really accelerate the learning for new riders and within a couple of years they will have what might have taken 5-6 years of experience before ...
@wiscot
"Extension of the bike" I was sort of astounded to hear that phrase myself. And I have no experience with one but I am sort of captivated by the notion of the bike telling you how you are going. First thing is the actual need to train for something, like a Keepers Tour or some Italian trip. I guess I hate training so I need a very strong incentive to decrease my suffering on a big ride or rides.
There is no denying the enhancement a PM does to training. It is however just a tool in a bag with others. You will never win a race or a bunch ride just by watching your wattage. If I wasnt training (racing), I wouldn't have a PM that is for sure and when not on a training ride as Gianni says, the PM is ignored. The thing about PM's I reckon is they are primarily a data collection facility for post analysis since you rarely have the luxary of setting the pace for 90% of the time in a race/bunch ride.
As to rule #74... I belive a Garmin 500 on the stem complies so I don't see the conundrum unless you are sporting an iphone, or the Garmin 810/1000 out front.
@Puffy
Hmm