PHOTO: Riders work up a sweat at Carmichael Training Systems. Cameron Chambers, a member of the CTS athlete services team and 24-Hour Mountain Bike National Champion, writes about indoor training, why it's important and how to get it done.

Editor's note: This article appeared in the January/February 2011 Issue of Peak Region Cyclist Magazine, distributed for free at bike shops throughout the Pikes Peak Region.

By Cameron Chambers
Carmichael Training Systems

I like to ride bikes. I like to feel wind over my body and the acceleration that comes from folding into a tuck and slicing through the air as gravity pulls you down. I like to feel my muscles fighting and winning when the ride turns uphill. I like when a steep pitch nearly puts you over the edge but instead you find momentary recovery when there is a slight reprieve in the gradient. I like the first sandy scramble of the Palmer Trail, after nearly wanting to hack up a lung you make that initial switch back and recover to charge the next rise and the next.
One thing I don’t like is being cold, the kind of cold where your feet stopped feeling like they are part of your body 45 minutes ago. You try to ride with your fingers balled back into your palms for a slight bit of relief. You pound the pedals to get home but that makes the wind sting deeper. That kind of cold destroys any enjoyment that you hoped to capture, and you cannot get in a good workout because you are merely in survival mode.
Sure I have all the gear to get myself out into some nasty weather, and you can adapt to be able to ride in temps that make your relatives think, “I always knew there was something wrong with that kid.” But sometimes all my clothes are dirty from a previous adventure, and sometimes I don’t have time to spend 30 minutes dressing and prepping to go fight Ol’ Man Winter, and sometimes I just plain wuss out. There are a few rides any winter when you can afford to sweep it under the rug and skip riding that day. But if you are not careful those days add up and so do the calories of the holiday season, before long something else can be adding up and it is not your power at threshold.
Inevitably every winter there is a time when I just have to bite the bullet and prop that bike up on an indoor trainer and replicate the motion and the effort that carries me on my warm weather adventures. So I have devised several tips and tricks that can help the time pass and make sure you are ready to go have fun outside at the first opportunity.
First game plan is to enlist your buddies. There is strength in numbers when it comes to indoor trainer rides. It is way too easy to blow off that hour of power and opt for an hour of TV and leftovers. If you know your buddies are in the same boat and they are going to be there waiting for you and worse yet getting stronger than you your motivation will take a serious shot in the arm. Once you are all there together laughing at the absurdity of riding bikes and getting nowhere you will be thankful it’s not just you and old movies. One benefit of stationary pedaling is that it is a great time to get a friend who is new to riding, at a different fitness level as you, or just likes a different style of riding than you prefer and invite them jump in your trainer group. I have a buddy who went from a casual rider to a hammerhead never missing an inside session, he went on to have a great race season the next year and even knocked out a double century on all dirt.
Make your inside rides short and sweet. This is not a time to drone out endless “base miles.” Get on board with a purpose and hammer out intense interval sessions. At CTS our indoor training DVDs are a great example of how to get on with a mission and then make it count. Our new 3 pack “Performance Series” all come with set of intervals designed to target a specific energy system and get you the most out of your time. This type of workout is highly engaging which helps the time pass by so you don’t just stare and the clock ticking off the seconds. The winter is a great time to work on your weakness. If you are the kind of rider that blows up the first time you head over your Lactate Threshold then now is the time to batter up against your VO2 max to push that ceiling higher and develop a new type of strength that your riding is now missing. Or are you the guy that can summon accelerations all day long but your buddies ride away from you on long steady climbs. You need work on your power at threshold which means longer efforts at or just below your Lactate Threshold, what we at CTS call Tempo and Steady State intervals.
Don’t neglect your bicycle just because you are not riding it outside. Working in bike shops all my life I have seen gruesome cases of corroding bicycles literally being destroyed by the buckets of sweat their owner pours out over them. Be kind to your bike and your shop mechanic. Even with a fan pointed on you and a towel handy to wipe up with you are still sweating all over your bike then invest in a “bike bra” that straps from your seatpost to your handlebar and catches the sweat before it attacks your bike. These often come with extra water bottle holsters and a spot for your remote along the side. On top of this you need to continue to clean and lube your chain. Go sparingly with the lube, don’t make a mess but don’t ride along sounding like the gate into grandma’s backyard either.
Last on my list is actually the most important component to your training. Have a goal for yourself that makes all this training, sweating, and discomfort worth while and meaningful. It doesn’t have to be a race. You can be getting ready for a long weekend in Moab in the spring, or preparing for Ironman St. George in May. Whatever you choose for your goals surround yourself by reminders of the pot of gold at the end of the tunnel. Everyone should be on a championship quest within their own life. It does not matter what the goal is but it does matter that you have one and are taking the steps to make it a reality.
When the sunshine comes and you peel back the layers of clothing you can reveal a stronger, faster version of yourself. Indoor riding may well need to be part of your regimen in the coming months to reach your goals. It doesn’t have the fun factor of ripping down singletrack or accelerating around a switchback in Cheyenne Canyon, but it can do the trick for topping off the fitness and preparing you for the good times ahead. You need a group to join? Come look me up.


Cameron Chambers (riding in the dirt above) is a pro mountain bike racer and winner of the US 24 Hour Mountain Bike National Championship. These days, when he’s not out-riding everyone in the office, he’s an integral member of the Athlete Services team at Carmichael Training Systems. For information on coaching, camps, and performance testing, visit www.trainright.com, call 866-355-0645, or follow CTS on Facebook at www.facebook.com/carmichaeltrainingsystems.