How are you climbing?

It is sometimes useful to have an idea of your fitness level. Most athletes use some sort of measure to determine this; it could be VO2 Max (if they have access to facilities to measure it), resting heart rate (although not a good measure by itself and best used simply as a guide to check recovery), weight (the less I train, the faster I am downhill!) grade for racing/handicap, pinch test etc. For most of my cycling life there has really just been the one constant that I have always been able to check my fitness level by; The Thommo Factor.

If I beat Thommo either I am going really well, it was a time trial or he is just out of the Alfred again!

For most people, though, that is not a good test because if their skill and fitness level is not similar to Thommo’s then The Thommo Factor doesn’t work. Better to have some other form of constant that they can measure their fitness by.

For a few years now, when I have wanted to improve my fitness I have done hill intervals up the Yarragon-Leongatha Road. I have found these to be the most effective way to build some strength once I have an established base. I use a heart rate monitor as a guide and try to do the efforts at my anaerobic threshold and then coast downhill during the recovery phase for a set time before doing it over and over again. They are not a lot of fun, but they get me fit quick!

Some years ago, when the Council sealed the Mt Worth hill I started using it for my intervals. It is not quite as steady a climb as the Yarragon hill and it is not nearly as long, but it is more sheltered from the wind and closer to home. Being more sheltered makes it a more constant test with fewer variables. I found that if I was going pretty well I could get up in just under 10 minutes for the climb (from the start of the hill to the gravel), which is actually a bit longer than what I would do in my interval sessions (8 minute efforts and 2 minute rests). Over time, that became my fitness test.

The Council has now extended the seal so it takes a bit longer to reach the gravel. The other day I was too tired to get out of bed for the normal Thursday morning ride so I decided to go out in the afternoon and climb the Mt Worth hill. It was a less than ideal day as there was a fair headwind at times because the wind was coming from the north-east at 22kph. Still, I laid down a time and it was better than I expected, 10min 28sec to the end of the seal (and 9min 30 to where the seal used to finish).

Riding home I thought that it might be interesting to have a spreadsheet on the club website so people could track their times and compare with other riders. It would also give people something to aim for when some of the big (small?) boys set their times. I am suggesting that it be an honesty system where you record your time, together with the weather conditions and some other related information. I have prepared the attached spreadsheet. As the first rider to record his time, then that means I currently hold the record! I know that that won’t last long though.

We need some simple rules:

• Riders must wear helmets and ride road bikes in accordance with UCI rules (no track bikes or tricked up Parlees that are under weight!)
• The honesty of the rider has to be relied upon. Any dodgy times will be apparent.
• The weather conditions at the time of the ride can be obtained here and here.

Obviously the website manager will need to manage the spreadsheet and it will be a little bit more work than what he already does but hopefully it adds a bit of interest for members.  (The web master is thinking of another tracking system). 

Peter Finlayson