Outdoor group rides and coach jack

Coach Jack Features and Questions
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Hi Alex,

I’m currently working on creating my next training plan, and I’m following your recommendation of Base+, Serious Italian, and big climbs. I don’t have any specific events coming up, nor am I planning to race competitively in the near future. I might do a century ride or two for fun, but I’m not fully committed to any events yet.

My main goal is to consistently ride with Group A. For context, there are two groups in my area:

Group A: Avg. 20 mph for a 45-mile ride
Group B: Avg. 16 mph for a 35-mile ride

The difference in pace between the two groups is significant. I usually ride with Group B, but I’ve tried riding with Group A, and I usually hit the wall. It ends up feeling like a threshold ride the whole time (and it’s definitely not pretty).

As I’m putting together my plan, I’ve noticed that on Saturdays (my long ride day), the base block is focused on Sweet Spot work, while the peak block includes hill climbs. Unfortunately, there aren’t many hills near me, but I could do hill climb workouts on my indoor trainer if necessary.

Here’s my question: How should I plan for these types of workouts while still participating in group rides? It’s hard to control the intensity of group rides, and I’m trying to balance structured training with the unpredictability of those rides.

I know that Group A is generally my threshold or tempo zone, while Group B is more Zone 2, and I can push it a little higher without overexerting myself. But if I push too hard with Group B, I risk dropping them, which is something I want to avoid.

Would love to hear your thoughts on how to best integrate these training sessions with group rides.

Thanks!

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I read this yesterday but this is a tricky question and hard for me to even figure out what the right questions are for you to help. My gut feeling is if you can fully recover from the group A training (mostly about good sleep) then it’s likely more beneficial to work harder. @Robert_UCL What are your thoughts?

I am on vacation but will try to provide more thoughts in the next 2 days.

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3

Hi Serave84,

I have exactly the same thing. The A group is going fast and definitely puts me in zone 5. The B group is an easy zone 2 ride.

So I use these groups as they are. I join group B for the easy zone 2 rides and the A group for a more fartlek zone 5 interval.

It also depends on the rules of the group. Some groups have very strict rules. These groups make it harder to use a group.

But it seems like your group is okee with riders, riding their own plan. In my first years of riding with the A group I used to get dropped too. For the long rides (110km), that wasn’t a problem because the B group was following the same route. So I just pedalled easy until they picked me up. For the short rides (90km), I meant that I had to pedal home alone. Sometimes that’s okee, sometimes it is hard.

Make sure you are well fed and decide if pedalling home alone is okee for you. You will notice that throughout the season you will get dropped less. It is a good way to learn to save energy too. Let the other in the A group do all the work and do a less as possible.

If the training is to hard, just join the A group once a month. Remember: your training an not be so hard, that you are not recovered to do the next training.

Join the B group for you zone 2 rides and experiment with the A group. If they are nice, they will appreciate the effort you are making and keep you out of the wind.

Have fun, Coach Robert

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