- We're back for another Ask GCN Anything,
where you can get to ask us your cycling related questions.
Don't forget, if you've got any questions
that you would like to ask us ready for next week's show,
leave it them in the comment section just down below
or use the hashtag #TorqueBack on Twitter.
Or you could even send us a direct message on Facebook
if you so wish as well.
This week's first question comes in from Giorgio Sterlini,
energy gels and bars are quite expensive
if for just fun spins if you're on a student budget,
what normal foods are good for fueling on the bike?
Alright, that's a very good question.
The idea behind energy gels and bars is
that they give you very quickly absorbable carbohydrates
to help replenish or top up the glycogen stores
that you'll be getting through when you're out exercising.
So in terms of normal food, you want to find something
that is pretty good at doing that same job.
Bananas as a good example, as is dried fruit,
although that is a bit awkward sometimes to store
in your pocket.
But the great thing is that it's actually reasonably cheap
to make your own homemade energy bars if you so wish.
So you want to have ingredients
which are quickly absorbable,
cook them before hand, store them, which you can do
for quite some time,
cut them into nice small segments
and then you can wrap them up and take them out
on your ride, put them in your pockets,
and eat them when you wish.
Now Simon Richardson a few years ago
gave his very own recipe for his über energy bars
which he was very proud of at the time
and still is to this day.
And if you want step by step instructions and a recipe
on exactly what you need to do,
you can watch this next video.
(upbeat music)
- Ready made energy bars are fantastic fuel for cycling
but if you want to make your own however,
you could try this secret GCN recipe.
Now it's based around oats, which are fantastic fuel
for cycling and that's why everyone seemingly uses them
in their energy bars.
Now, there are reasons for that.
Partly because they're a great source of slow release
carbohydrate.
They've also got quite a high proportion of protein in there
and fat as well
so it's a really good all-round source.
- Right, next up is this question of Arjen Kingma,
quick question from the Netherlands.
I'm thinking of going to the Alps this summer
to cycle some cols.
Hence, I would like to do some training for that.
However, as I'm living in the flattest country,
training up hill cycling isn't really an easy option.
Instead, we do have a lot of dykes and a lot of headwind.
And I was wondering is cycling into the winds
for long distances a good replacement for hill training?
Well yes, it very much can be if you've got a long enough
stretch of road with a big headwind,
but there are a few other options as well.
Handily, very recently, we did a video
on this exact subject.
And one of the things that we briefly mentioned in the video
is something called an air hub.
Now I was listening to a podcast recently
with two pro riders from Orica-Scott,
Mitch Docker and Luke Durbridge.
And Durbridge has been using an air hub in training
for the last couple of years, with great effect.
He's been coming on leaps and bounds in some
of the biggest races in the world.
Now I've also seen Michał Kwiatkowski use on in the past
and Andre Greipel already this year.
And what an air hub does is allows you
to get extra resistance at the front wheel
so you can be putting up more power for the same speed.
Now most of us don't need any help whatsoever
in going slower but if you're really serious
about training for climbs on a flat road,
this could definitely be a consideration
because it allows you to put out a lot of power
while keeping the speed low so it'll be nice and safe.
However, there are a number of other things you can do
to train for climbs when you've only got flat road,
so if you want some suggestions,
check out this next video.
(dramatic music)
- One thing, I wish I'd done though
is better utilise some of the terrain
next to my house because local to me
there is an abundance of fire roads and gravel roads
like this one, which all link up
and that's perfect because there's no junctions
and of course there's no traffic as well.
Plus, you've got the extra resistance off-road
which perfectly mimics the kind of resistance and power
that you're going to have to push out
when you're on a longer climb.
So it's easy to do 30 minute intervals
or even longer than that.
- Rapid fire round now and we'll start off with this one
from Yee Dinosaur, is there a weight difference
if you attach equipments on the bike
rather than carrying it yourself?
For example, lights, tools, et cetera.
Well no, there's no difference as far as I personally know.
The only time when an equivalent weight
can make a difference is if it becomes rotational weight,
i.e. it's around the rim,
and of course you won't be putting tools or lights there.
So to me, it makes no difference at all.
I do tend to prefer a saddle bag,
even though it contravenes certain rules
that you can find out there on the internet.
I think it does a great job of keeping your inner tubes
and your tyre levers and sometimes your multitool
in a nice neat package.
I don't like have it all on my back pocket.
And next up, from Daniel v D on Twitter,
why do people find they have a higher FTP on the open road
as opposed to the indoor trainer, and can you mitigate this?
That's a very interesting question.
My understanding is that a lot of the losses
that you experience on an indoor trainer
versus the open road are down to heat build-up.
So of course, when you're out on the open road,
you've got lots of wind blowing in your face,
and also from the fact that you're going through the air
at a certain speed, you'll have some cooling properties
from the air as well.
And on the indoor trainer, even with a fan in your face,
it's quite hard to replicate this
so you're body quickly starts to overheat
and you then don't have the capabilities
of putting out exactly the same power.
There's also a difference in the inertia of many trainers.
So the power stroke is ever so slightly different.
Sometimes a bit like the difference between riding
on a flat road versus riding on a climb,
lots of people find it easier to put power on the climbs
than on the flat road and it's a similar case really
with a trainer so you can mitigate it
by trying to keep yourself as cool as possible,
having multiple fans
and also making sure you're hydrated
and also choosing your indoor trainer carefully,
one that allows you to have a nice power delivery
throughout the pedal stroke should help you
to get as close as possible to your FTP
and your power out on the open road.
Alex Tigton, here is a quick one I've been musing over
since I started cycling.
What is the true purpose of a cycling cap?
Well I'm not entirely sure to the answer of this question.
I'm sure there's some historians out there
that will tell you the true history of the cycling cap.
I would imagine though that in its origins,
it was there to try and keep some of the elements
out of your eyes because riders didn't use helmets
or indeed shades in those early times of cycling.
So we keep the rain out, possibly mud coming up
from the rear and in front of you
and also some of the sun as well.
And it tends to be now when it's raining,
that the pro-riders still use them underneath their helmets
because they do do an incredibly good job
of keeping that rain and spray off your eyes.
Lewis writes, do pro cyclists get back problems
when they are older due to riding so low and aero
all the time?
Well Louis, I wouldn't personally know just yet, obviously.
I'll ask Matt later on today.
In all seriousness though, I haven't heard of anyone
having any major back problems post cycling
but you only have to look at cyclists off the bike
and the way they sit to see
that they do have postural problems
and I am certainly one of those.
So if you are dedicated enough,
I urge you to do some core exercises
to try and kind of straighten yourself up
because you are hunched over for multiple hours per day
as a pro-cyclist and it can reek havoc on your back
so hopefully I will find the time to do that myself
later on in life.
Next up, and finally for the rapid fire round,
from Tims on Twitter,
would you rather ride under the best weather conditions
in the worst traffic or under the worst weather conditions
but no traffic, #torqueback.
Wow, what a question.
I think I'm going to say the worst weather conditions
with no traffic because although that's not much fun,
I would say it's even less fun to be riding
amongst loads and loads of cars and motor vehicles.
So yeah, so that's what I'm going to go with.
Actually, I'd be interested to know
what everyone else's thoughts are on that question.
Let us know your comments down below.
Our penultimate question comes in from Sam Hellebrekers,
if I only have budget for one bike, what type should I get?
Aero, lightweight, or endurance?
Well I would imagine there are a lot of people out there
pondering this exact same question at the moment
as they're about to purchase a new bike.
So the first thing you want to do is analyse the terrain
in which you're going to ride.
Is it mainly flat where you are?
Or is it mainly mountainous?
If it's the former, an aero bike is probably the way to go.
If it's the latter, a lightweight bike
might be more suitable to you.
Although you can get lightweight aero bikes these days.
Also analyse the type of riding that you want to do.
Do you want to go out and actually pin a number on your back
and race?
Or just go really fast on local group rides?
If that's the case, you want to go for an aero bike,
if you just want to enjoy long jaunts
out into the country side and be as comfortable as possible,
then you might well want to get an endurance type bike.
Having these written down, will allow you to make
that kind of decision but you should also look
at your own personal flexibility because aero bikes
do tend to be quite low at the front end
and have quite aggressive geometry.
Now Simon went into quite some detail a year or so ago
about the differences between an aero bike
and endurance bike and lightweight bike
and you can find that video right behind me now.
(upbeat music)
- Firstly what are the differences between them then?
Well let's start with an aero bike.
Now, as well as designed to be aerodynamic
there are other things that set this apart
from our benchmark lightweight bike.
So for example, to help make you more aerodynamic
as well as the actual bike itself, these tend to have
the lowest front ends out there.
Meaning that if you've got the flexibility
in your hamstrings, in your glutes,
then you'll be able to adopt a super aerodynamic position.
- Our last question this week comes in on Twitter
from Matt Doke,
he's training for his first century ride and wants to know
if he should take any days off before the event.
I would say never be afraid of having a day completely off
the bike.
It is very easy to become extremely concentrated,
almost be afraid of not touching the bike
for an entire day.
But even the pros do that.
And especially that is apt one week before the event
because by that point, you should have done
all of the hard work and it's about tapering
and freshening up before the day itself
so to give you a personal example,
if I was doing a big one day race
that I really wanted to go well at,
I would tend to take the Friday off
if it was an event on the Sunday.
And on the Saturday, I would go out for a nice steady ride
with a couple of efforts to open my legs up.
So I didn't feel blocked on the day.
So if you're century ride is on the Sunday,
don't be afraid of having the Friday off.
Maybe even the Monday previous off as well.
And do some nice steadier rides in-between.
And an opening up ride the day before the event.
Recently, Matt and I talked through a preparation plan
for the Maratona Dles Dolomites
which we are both doing later on this year
so that includes the schedule for training
in the months leading up to it
and also what you should be doing
the week leading up to the event itself.
And you can find that right here.
(upbeat music)
It is vitally important that you allow yourself
enough rest in order for your body
to make the necessary physiological adaptations.
Because essentially when you're out training,
you're breaking your muscles down and it is during rest
that your body repairs those muscles
which will hopefully make you fitter and faster.
Don't get enough rest, and what you risk if over-training
or even worse, getting ill.
- Now if at any point during your training period,
you feel overly fatigued and your motivation is at a low ebb
like Dan's clearly is today, it's important
that you take a day off.
Listen to your body and that's especially important
if you're training around a full time job, study,
and a family.
- Well that's it for another week here on Ask GCN Anything.
Don't forget to leave your questions down below
or to put them onto social media.
If you haven't subscribed to the channel,
it is free to do so,
you've just got to click on the globe
which you should be able to find on the screen
somewhere right now.
Okay, two videos which might be relevant
to some of the questions that we've had already,
first up in that corner down there,
is a video we did at the very start of GCN with Matt Raven,
a chiropractor to the Cannondale Drapac squad,
or Garmin-Sharp as it was at the time.
That is how to improve your lower back stability
with a certain Dan Martin.
Meanwhile down here, we did an ask the pros.
How much do they do on their rest days
during the big three week grand tours.
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