In the last three years and since got back on the bike post surgery. Most of my rides have been simple and repeatable.
Simple and repeatable? Yes. Why? Well there is numerous reasons one could use to say why this works and is a very useful concept for a exercise route. Last fall wanted a route that was a certain distance and allowed me to have something simple to repeat without much thought. See with all the other stuff dealing with it would be easy to blow off the 8-9km loop. But to avoid that created a rough loop that was easy to repeat and was more about the pleasure principle of exercise. An idea I got from reading Christopher McDougall"s Born To Run 2.
Here is the thing from a coaching perspective, simple means it is easy to get anyone to do but also removes overwhelming one with data and other info. And makes it easier to get out at anytime to do it. I know many would dismiss that a short loop would have any value. But here again is the thing even the shortest loop on a bike of 9km has value because of the time in the saddle.
A simple repeatable loop makes it easy to get out and get a ride in. You don't have to think about the route and so on. Now here's where it gets fun. You think a short 9km loop on your 29er won't have much training effect? Ok, then do it as fast as you can and guess what it is harder.
Now here is the next part I would tell anyone from a coaching perspective. When you figure out the loop you want to not have it all flat. Look for some hill to add to it so that way you still have to do some extra work.
Now reality is some of this simple repeatable loop idea is based on pre GPS satellites and easy to find Google Earth Satellite views. This is from the era when one had to measure it by driving a car or ride a bike with a something like the old Cateye cycling computers where you rode a rough route to get what you where seeking. Or you simply figured out a route/loop that you rode for a specified amount of time. But as my Triathlon Coaching Instructor Barry Shepley said many years ago simple is easy to repeat and monitor.
Maybe it doesn't fit today's age of measured routes that include everything measurement wise down to the grade of the hills. But at least to me simple and repeatable is a good method to get out and get the work in.
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