Flat. That’s the best way to describe Florida. Some of our team members (Diana, Jodel, & Z) needed to train for an upcoming ride in the Georgia mountains. An alternative when a hill is not readily available can be training in the lowest harder gear which provides more resistance.

The Training Approach

The day started at 8:39 am and hot, a normal July day in Florida. The approach for today’s training began with a warm up in an easy gear (80–100 pedal rotations per minute). After a few miles, it was time to start pushing. The low gear, high power, and low cadence in intervals of 20/10 were today’s training approach to simulate climbing hills. The members were grateful this was just a training ride. Pushing it today meant 20 minutes in the low gear. That low/hard gear training was achieved by using the big star in the front and one of the smaller cogs in the back. Though not pursuing or recommending cross-chaining, the members used the lower harder gears to work as close as possible to hill climbing simulations. After the initial 20 minutes of riding with Z in the lead, pushing the speed and power as much as possible with a low cadence, the team took a 10-minute break. That’s one interval down. Next interval, Jodel took lead. Same focus – pushing the speed and power as much as possible with a low cadence making it as hard as possible in the lower harder gears. 20 minutes of round 2 done. another 10-minute break. Next up, Diana. Round 3 was the same approach. The riders could feel the burn! after this 10 minute break, the riders took it easier for a cool down before their stop. This training ride was tough. It was fun in the sense that everyone had a feeling of accomplishment. Of course the team enjoyed their own special concoction of coffee at Starbucks. Next week – real hills!

Event Day Statistics

This is the course charted by one of the team members who participated in 32-mile route.   Ciao, TeamOne