Triathlon Training: Do You Really Need Long Bike Rides? | Tri To Disagree

Long bike rides. A staple workout, often the cornerstone of any triathlete's training program. But do you need them or are you wasting precious hours grinding out a long ride? Let’s debate in Tri To Disagree!

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[gtn]

Do long bike rides have a place in your training plan? 🚴

[andrewmcalister]

My Saturday 3-4 hour ride is an important part of my mental health.

[marcuswills]

For me, James hit the nail on the head in the last few seconds. I simply ride my bike at the weekend because I enjoy it and I can spend some time with friends. Its the only time of the week where my training is completely unstructured, no zones, no specified time/distance, just go out and enjoy riding your bike. Fundamentally, that's why we do Triathlon.

[DigininjaRobin]

I did my first IM on a couple of 70.3 rides and one 100 km. The IM bike was horrible, I was uncomfortable and completely messed up my fuelling. For my second I didn't do loads of long rides, but I did some, topping out at 100 miles. These helped me work out how and what to eat which made a big difference. I also sorted out pacing, I knew what I got round the 100 miles at so used that as a guide As part of a bike fit I changed my saddle and I knew that was good for the distance.

I think the biggest thing I got from the long rides was the knowledge that I could do the distance and feel comfortable at the end of it after all the changes.

So I don't think you need to do loads of them, just enough to know you can do the distance and know how to do the distance.

[Thezuule]

My long rides are a lot less about training and a lot more about exploring around and enjoying myself in my free time. Yes, I need them. Not everything needs to be a means to a PR in a race. I'm just happy to be out on the bike. Love my long rides. I'll do them three times a week if I have time.

[patrickflanagan]

I'm middle aged and done a 360 km 5000m race three times.Ive won my age group twice. I ride every day HITTs, Threshold and just Tempo no more than 60 km each.
My mate did long training rides, well over 150 km for the same events but reckoned he sufferd because of them.
In the end I thought it all came down to nutrition and saving energy and boy I was broken at the end of each event 😂

[DavidFritzIII]

James… im never wasting my Saturday if I am out on the bike with a smile on my face :) The long ride is so great for my mental health and probably the most fun part of cycling. I’ll get more gains if I’m doing something that makes me happy even if I could probably have gotten more “gains” with a bit more structure and or focus…

[ricardor]

This would depend on the size of the bike leg, the position you are prepared to accept at the end of the ride.
I could happily do 3 hour rides and I could compete quite well out to a 120km bike leg. Then if I did ironmen I would need to extend my long ride out too 6 hours every 3rd weekend and have the other weekends 3 too 4 hours long depending upon the intensity of the workout, and this change as too the time period until the race and the length of the run after the bike.
Fatigue is an important thing too train for, in preparation for the race, as well a nutrition, hydration and the experimenting with different patterns of consumption of product.
In the 1990's I did alot of long slow riding with speed and heart rate caps, which increased the time on the bike, as the years moved on I moved away from this method and my race performance suffered and when I returned back to this method my race times improved.
I think this can be an individual thing for myself as I know others who used the shorter for intense efforts and we both achieved a similar outcome
Preparation is everything, as a individual for a acceptable

[emmag]

I focus on short distance but still do longish bike rides (2.5-3.5 hours) every week. Although the bike leg is only 40km, the total time I'm racing is over 2 hours so I think it makes sense to do sessions of a similar length of time.

[JIMMYHIBBS]

Gave up long rides (except for actual long ride events) last year, and focused on more regular shorter (actually on the rollers) last year, and never felt better ... 45 mins on the rollers is 45 minutes actually riding, whereas half a road ride is rolling down hills, stopping at traffic lights, etc ... done many a 100 mile since, and not noticed any difference ... worked on getting more efficient, so that the bulk of my long rides is done with less effort

[MatheMattical]

These segments are really good. I know some of the arguments for/against probably go against what each host honestly thinks, but I think it’s valuable, because you hear those arguments made everywhere on the internet. Good to put some of them to rest! Or good to hear that what used to be the “right way” has been disproven

[mattnelson]

Yes, I think you can race long distances without training at a longer distance. One's enjoyment and mental health aside for now, my thought is that if you want to show up on race day and perform well, you must regularly be able to do 75% of race distance during training. If you want to struggle through the distance, any training will do.

[lwittrock]

There is a a need to do the distance but agree not continuously or all that frequently. The benefits go beyond simply proving you can do the distance. Given the time it takes to complete a long ride, helps you better plan your hydration and nutrition needs on the bike, among other things, like learning very quickly if your bike is set up correctly for you, and is your kit the right kit to keep you comfortable the entire distance. When I trained, and still do for a big race, I include a long ride, maybe once in a month. Once you've your reached a certain level of fitness, experience, you can do less long rides and even eliminate them, although it depends on your comfort level, experience, etc. For newbies I definitely encourage a long ride while building your skills, experience, etc., while learning and growing If you want to compete at your best and if you want to be competitive.

[andrecrispim]

who doesn't need a 5h ride on a sunday?! if its not for mental health, then its for strava trophies😁

[MR-whwp]

I used to love long rides but then they turned into a grind. I think it depends where u live and who u share the miles with. Maybe one day ill enjoy them again.

Ps, i enjoy these chats. Keep them coming

[dansn]

Hated the 5/6 hour rides in the run up to IM Wales last year, but once on the course and seeing people dropping like flies, realised they were necessary for that event. For a relatively flat IM course I’m not sure weekly 100+ mile rides would be needed

[Max]

I love the debate format. I don't have a specific idea for the topic of argument, but it'd be really fun to see more where the two presenters genuinely disagree :)

[MaxHeadspacemm]

All I can say is that my fastest Ironman and my fastest shorter time trials happened when I did a 100 miler every Saturday all summer.

[sebastienbrochard]

Had about 5-6 rides increasing from 4 to 6 hr to prep my first IM, in the last 8-10 week leading to it ... just nice ! ☺️

[דולבקרני-רש]

Question for the next time: should the distances of triathlon should be changed? Shorter distances or maybe making the swim a bit longer and the cycling a bit shorter?