Bodywork: Spin Yourself into Shape

By Matthew Segal

The Group Dynamic It's the strongest of incentives: peer pressure. Sign on for a tour with a group of like-minded strangers and you'll find your training focus becomes considerably sharper. Herewith, eight great organized rides for the upcoming season. On the Road April 19. Cashiers, North Carolina. Tour De Cashiers. A 52-mile huff that gains 5,000 feet of Blue Ridge Mountain elevation. Limit 500. $20. Call 800-903-4401. May 3. New York, New York. Bike New York: The Great Five Boro Bike Tour. A 42-mile rumble through Gotham's boroughs. No limit. $24. Call 212-932-2453. June 13-21. Columbia, California. Sierra to the Sea. A 425-mile slog from northern California's mountains to San Francisco. Limit 110. $375. Call 408-264-2568. July 19-25. Des Moines, Iowa. RAGBRAI. An epic crusade over 470 miles of plains. Limit 8,000. $90. Call 800-474-3342. Off the Road July 4. Durango, Colorado. Kennebec Pass Ride. A 55-mile test that includes a grind over an 11,480-foot pass. No limit, no charge. Call 970-247-0747. July 17-19. Homer, Alaska. Seldovia Ride. A 40-mile self-supported tour on gravel roads. Limit 20. $60 (includes flight from Homer). Call 907-271-3273. August 9-15. Watersmeet, Michigan. Northern Exposure Fat-Tire Bicycle Tour. A 285-mile ride that averages 50 rugged miles a day. Limit 125. $275. Call 517-394-2453. September 5. Biwabik, Minnesota. Labor Day Mountain Bike Weekend. Various "middle-chain-ring yahoo rides." No limit. $5. Call 800-688-7669. — Cristina Opdahl

If you want this to be the riding season when hills are actually fun and group rides are exercises in leading the pack, you'll need a gradual approach. "You really have to be patient at the start of the season," says Tyler Hamilton, 27, who races for the U.S. Postal Service Cycling Team. A Tour de France rookie last year, he finessed his fitness with such acumen that in a late-season race up Mount Washington he broke a 17-year-old record. Push too hard too soon and your body will wear down instead of getting stronger. With this in mind, Hamilton has devised a seven-week plan that staggers your effort. Follow it through — feel free to use a stationary bike if you can't get outside — and you'll be in form fine enough for any cycling excursion.

WEEK ONE
Saddle time: 4 hours (Wed., 1 hour; Sat., 1.5 hours; Sun., 1.5 hours)
Time to get reacquainted with your bike. "Just spin in an easy gear, one that almost feels inefficient," says Hamilton, adding that this means staying off the big ring the first few weeks. The idea is to tax the muscles of your legs — and your derriere — enough to toughen them but not enough to exhaust them.

WEEK TWO
Saddle time: 6 hours (Tues., 1 hour; Thurs., 1 hour; Sat., 2 hours; Sun., 2 hours)
This week is about getting accustomed to extended rides, so head out for longer sessions, still mostly on the flats, over the weekend. Keep the intensity moderate, spinning at about 100 rpm. To maximize your output, says Hamilton, "concentrate on pedaling in circles — not just pushing down and pulling."

WEEK THREE
Saddle time: 8 hours (Tues., 1.5 hours; Thurs., 1.5 hours; Sat., 3 hours; Sun., 2 hours)
Step up the pace throughout the week to prepare for your longest ride yet — three hours. You'll want to use the big ring, but don't abandon efficiency. "When you hit a hill, stay in the saddle, put it in an easier gear, and try to spin up it," Hamilton says. Keep your upper body quiet, rely on your legs as your engine, and you'll be surprised how long you can cruise without becoming exhausted.

WEEK FOUR
Saddle time: 10 hours (Tues., 2 hours; Thurs., 2 hours; Sat., 3.5 hours; Sun. 2.5 hours)
This is a pivotal point where you start feeling your oats, which is why you also should start heeding your heart rate. For the shorter rides, keep it at 75 percent of maximum; 70 percent on longer rides. (To ballpark your max, subtract your age from 220.) You may feel like you can do more, but in order to keep fatigue at bay in future weeks, keep a lid on it.

WEEK FIVE
Saddle time: 9 hours (Tues., 1 hour; Thurs., 2 hours; Sat., 2.5 hours; Sun. 3.5 hours)
After building a decent mileage base, try some strength-endurance intervals. "They're kind of like weight-lifting on a bike," says Hamilton. On Thursday and Saturday, spin easy for 30 minutes and then head up a hill that takes about five minutes to scale. Staying in the saddle, climb in a gear big enough that you can manage only 40 to 65 rpm, and keep your heart rate just below 80 percent of max. Repeat five times, spinning easy for five minutes between intervals and 20 minutes afterward.

WEEK SIX
Saddle time: 8 hours (Tues., 1 hour; Thurs., 2 hours; Sat., 3 hours; Sun., 2 hours)
Do strength-endurance intervals on Thursday, but on Saturday start VO2 intervals. For these, spin easy for 40 minutes, pick up the tempo for 15 minutes, and then ride as hard as you can over the course of three minutes. Follow each bout with five minutes of easy spinning, and repeat the cycle five times. It increases your heart's blood-pumping (read "oxygen-carrying") capacity, enabling you to ride hard longer before sucking wind. "If you do these right, you'll be extremely tired," says Hamilton, so finish up with 30 minutes of easy riding and go easy on Sunday.

WEEK SEVEN
Saddle time: 7 hours (Tues., 1 hour; Thurs., 2 hours; Sat., 3 hours; Sun., 1 hours)
Drop the strength-endurance intervals and do another round of VO2 intervals on Thursday and Saturday. Come Sunday, spin easy for an hour and call it a day. If you're gearing up for a specific event, slate it so that you can taper during an eighth week, dropping down to, say, Week Two levels with a truncated VO2 interval one day. Or if you just want to maintain the fitness you've built, divvy up about six hours throughout the week and throw in no more than one day of VO2 intervals. Whatever type of riding you plan to do, you'll enjoy it more if you show up in shape.

Illustration by Jason Schneider