Become A Better Cyclist: Ride Like A Roadie
Every triathlete can learn a thing or two about cycling from roadies.
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Despite the differences between tri cycling and road racing, every triathlete can up their enjoyment of the second discipline by learning a thing or two about riding from roadies.
Group rides
Drafting off a large pack of riders may seem irrelevant to tri performance, but group riding is one of the most effective and fun ways to improve your strength and bike-handling skills.
Fitness: Cycling in a pack turns every ride into an interval session. Instead of agonizing over the details of a solo interval ride—time, distance, speed, heart rate, power—simply move to the front of the group, where the wind will boost your intensity level. Slide back into the pack for protection from the wind and the pace becomes a recovery effort. Short climbs and tight corners can quickly turn into an all-out sprint and will give your legs an additional kick that solo riding simply cannot produce.
Skills: For years Andy Potts only rode outside on race day, but even he has started to train outdoors occasionally to improve his bike-handling skills. Riding in a group forces you to maintain a consistent path through corners, take bends at high speeds and ride steadily at all times so you don’t collide with another rider.
RELATED: The Benefits Of A Group Ride For Triathletes
Comfortable Gear
Swap out a few of your tri accessories in favor of comfort-oriented pieces.
Road shoes: The biggest difference between a triathlon shoe and a road shoe is the upper. Tri shoes are often lighter because of their minimalistic closure systems, but road shoes use ratcheting buckles, extra Velcro straps, additional materials or other add-ons to fine-tune the shoe’s fit, breathability and comfort.
Bib shorts: Shorts slide and bunch, which create hot spots exactly where you don’t want them. Bibs act like suspenders for your cycling shorts and keep them in their proper place to maximize comfort. Once you get past the goofy look, there’s no going back to shorts.