Need help!

[Hi there,i'm not an expert or anything but have been at this game for 18 years now so i'll try to offer some help to you.At 15 you don't need that much training really.I wouldn't advise anything more than 40 or 50 miles max for any ride but most of your rides need only be around 25 or 30 miles as at your age your races shouldn't be over that distance.As far as intensity again nothing too serious is needed,maybe some intervals and sprints nearer to the start of the season would help.Most of all enjoy what your doing and don't worry too much about structured training until you are over 18 or you are in danger of being a star underage rider but then being burned out once you reach the junior and senior ranks.Hope that helps,enjoy.QUOTE=smartman213][font=Palatino Linotype]I'm pretty new to cycling I havnt raced yet and have only been riding a road bike for a couple of months. I have an old Soma Cosmipolitian bike that fits me almost perfectly. I bought an indoor trainer and a good odometer and HR monitor. I really want to race this spring and after another couple weeks i'm going to start ridin with the local cycling club. I figure that will give me the expierence of group riding i will need for some mass start races in the spring and summer, but anyways to get to the point, i would appriciate any training tips or plans anyone could offer me. Im 15, 6 foot, 185lbs, and i just got done with cross country season so my aerobic condition isnt too bad.[/font][/QUOTE]

I hear what your saying about not overtraining, but im a pretty serious competitor and am racing in at least on Lance Armstrong Junior Olympics race and am tryin to get a spot in the National development program thing. So its kinda important to me to be in top shape come june. Does anyone else think i should just stick with easy work outs like was suggested or should i bump it up a little.

185 lbs seems pretty big after a cross country season? Do you lift a lot of weights?

June is a long way off, plenty of time to lay an awesome foundation. Good luck with your goals, getting with a racing team that has some juniors will help big time. Other than that just stay focused and listen to your body.

My first suggestion is just getting time in the saddle, in other words, don't do anything that will cause you to not get in the miles. But regardless of what I think your training should be, the more important thing you should be doing is hooking up with your local club and in turn they should be able to steer you to a coach. A good coach is worth more than anything you're going to get from these forums. And a bike club should be able to line you up with one. Or, look on the USA Cycling website (www.usacycling.org). They have all the certified coaches listed there.

One last point, USA Cycling and their coaches are always on the look out for riders in they're teens. So don't be hesitant about approaching a coach.

bAx said:

185 lbs seems pretty big after a cross country season? Do you lift a lot of weights?

June is a long way off, plenty of time to lay an awesome foundation. Good luck with your goals, getting with a racing team that has some juniors will help big time. Other than that just stay focused and listen to your body.

Yeah this year i switched from 3 years of football to cross country so yeah im still workin on goin from lineman to endurance athlete...ive lost 35 lbs in 4 months and keep losin more and should be down to 160 or so by spring. I have been layin off the liftin sense i switched over to Cross country, just like with the cycling bulk muscle isnt a good. Im signin up with the local bike club right after i get my USCF liscense so hopefully ill be ridin with the group 2 weeks from now. How about a power meter, how helpful would it be for me and how much does a decent one cost, im tryin to save up for a new bike instead of riding my antique that i have now.

I know Polar has a HRM/Power meter for around $700. But it's probably not something that should be high on your list of priorities. Unless you have wades of cash sitting around.

I just got myself a new bike, being as broke as I am my options were limited. I shopped on ebay for a while, then I came into some extra cash, I bought an awesome bike, or it has been so far. It's a Scattante from Supergo.com. It weighs 17 lbs and has Ulterga 10spd.

So a good bike and a ton of bikes are the two most important things you need now. I've got some pretty lofty goals myself this year too, so right now I'm averaging over 1000 miles a month and increasing.

Are all power meters $500+, im really on a tight buget and already need 1000 or more for a new bike...