What does it mean to be cycling fit? Well, in the absence of any other definition I'd say it's an indication of how easy (or difficult) you find it to turn the pedals.
Fitness is an interesting word. In the context of physical exercise it implies the state of health and physical condition. But more generally it also implies a level of capability to a task, and for cycling commuters the task is pretty straightforward: getting to work and back with a minimum of fuss.
So for cycling commuters, riding fitness is the ability to easily complete the daily return journey. But I reckon there's also got to be a bit allowance—you've got to have a bit more left in store for when things don't go your way. Maybe you've got a howling headwind the whole way or you need to make a significant detour or the day turned out extra hot or cold—it's at those times that you need the reserves to push on. When you can put in the bit extra and it doesn't leave you gasping for air, then you're probably cycling fit.
You'll probably get there just by riding back and forth to the salt-mine, because it's basically about getting your legs to do the work. But you could speed it up a bit by giving your legs a bit of extra work to do and it needn't be difficult—here are a few ideas:
On work days
Look, every trip to and from work doesn't need to be a maximum level workout but maybe once or twice a week you could extend yourself a bit:
1. Change your wheels
Get onto a different bike: swap your road bike for a mountain bike, your hybrid for a single speed. Go for any change that will get you out of your comfort zone and working a bit harder.
2. Race yourself
You can't change your commute route: it's a fixed distance, so why not make it a time trial? (All right, you probably do that every day, but there are still a few riders as lazy as me.)
3. Take the long way home
Actually you can change your commute route. If you're perpetually late to work like me you'll take the fastest route but on the way home if you've got a quiet evening ahead what's wrong with taking an extra half hour or so and finding some challenging hills or just some extra distance?
4. Change your heart rate
Use a heart rate monitor, take a baseline measure then maybe once a week take another reading and work to constantly improve (or at least stay above the baseline!)
On weekends
Sure you can fiddle about with your regular ride to work but I reckon more benefit comes from adding a bit of variety on the weekend.
5. Head for the hills
Go mountain biking. Not only will the workout put plenty of power into your legs, you might also improve some of your general riding skills.
6. Work on your speed
Maybe join a cycling club or find some mates who will stretch your pace a little. A bit of pack riding experience won't hurt your general riding ability either!
7. Work on your endurance
Do some of the shorter Audax rides. If you're commuting more than three times a week you should be able to easily cover a distance two or three times your daily return journey without any extra training.
8. Work on your cadence
Hit the local velodrome, choose a comfortable gear and spin away until you find that beautiful sweet spot. If nothing else, this will help you ride more efficiently.
9. Load-up
Fit a kiddie seat, trailer or hitch-bike and load-up a small child (borrow someone else's if you haven't got one of your own) and hit the road. That's quality time with the family plus you'll find out how well you climb hills with 13kg of squirming toddler on the back!
10. Go nowhere
You won't catch me doing this one—far too dull for my attention span—but you might want to get on an exercise bike or indoor trainer, or maybe even take a spinning class at the gym.
11. Cross-train
If your joints are up to it, get off the bike and go for a jog. Anything that works your legs is going to help strengthen them. Again, I find I get a bit bored jogging but it might suit you. Just watch out, if it becomes a habit you might find yourself in training for a triathlon…
I'm actually not a fan of messing with the to/from work ride. I do it to maintain a level of fitness, but also to get to work ... where they pay me to be awake and alert and thinky, not tired and a bit vague from exercise :-)
Well I never have time to alter the "to work" route—I'm almost always late enough without that sort of caper! That's why I reckon that if you're going to take the long way you should do it on the way home.
Timboy's idea reminds me of something I'd forgotten to mention: you don't need to own a single speed to get the benefits, you could go "virtual" single speed simply by deciding not to change gears. Eh, but I don't do this…
My favorite way to practice is hitting my local velodrome, setting myself a pace that im happy with and setting myself a goal, how many laps can I do? I normally go on 3rd gear at a medium pace for about 15-20 laps per session. My local velodrome is 335 meters the whole way around so 15 laps equals to around 5.25km. Its quite a good workout and it will strenghten your legs.
Comments
One of my favorites is strength endurance commuting.
If you have gears, rise as close to the 53-11 as possible while maitaining a cadence of 50-60 rpms for twenty minutes on your commute. Warm up/down for 5-10 minutes spinning a small gear.
Try this two or three times a week for three weeks. rest for a week spinning light gears.
After the month is out you'll be surprised how strong you have become!