Base miles: why slow rides make you faster
Most riders go too hard on easy days and too easy on hard days. Here is how to build an aerobic base that lasts all season.
Endurance is built at an intensity where you can still hold a conversation. Riding in this zone teaches your body to use fat as fuel, grows the network of small blood vessels in your legs and lets you recover between harder sessions.
A simple rule: if you could not speak a full sentence, you are riding too hard for a base day. Use a heart rate monitor or simply breathe through your nose for the first hour.
Plan three to four easy rides per week, one longer ride at the weekend and no more than one interval session. Increase the long ride by about ten percent each week and take an easier week every fourth week.
The payoff comes in spring. Riders with a solid base handle intensity better, recover faster and are far less likely to burn out by midsummer.