Cycling 101

You did it – you just completed Storming of Thunder Ridge! Time to celebrate!!!

Not so fast, says Donna Elder, a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and NSCA-Certified Personal Trainer at the YMCA of Central Virginia. She’s also a seasoned cyclist and ultramarathoner. For a speedy and healthy recovery, follow these tips...

One of the key components of a fun ride is that you finish with energy to spare.   This means that you paced yourself correctly and also started fit enough to finish strong.All of cycling is about pacing.  We pace yourselves eating, drinking, going up the climb and also pushing it over the short hills towards the finish.

All five routes on Storming of Thunder Ridge involve the dreaded “c” word: climbing.

No worries… We asked Hunter Allen, Founder of Peaks Coaching Group and someone who has climbed Thunder Ridge over 100 times and lives only 3 miles from the start of the climb.

One of the most effective ways to maintain your speed and conserve energy during Storming of Thunder Ridge is to ride in a paceline – a single line formation of cyclists in which each rider takes turns at the front “pulling” the group behind them and “drafting” in the slipstream created by the riders in front of them. When drafting, a rider will expend significantly less energy!

You’ll be riding with hundreds of cyclists on the Storming of Thunder Ridge. That’s a lot more riders than your typical Saturday morning ride, so safety is paramount.

Many feet of climbing has a payoff – descending! Yes, those hard-fought inches upward has the reward of a near supersonic descent on two wheels.

So, you’re considering Storming of Thunder Ridge? Great!

Perhaps SOTR will be your first charity ride, first 75 miler or first Century. Or, maybe it’s been a while since you’ve been on your bike. Either way, you should have a plan to achieve your goal.

Yeah, that entails training. You do want to finish SOTR with minimal discomfort, right?

Can I do this ride?

That’s something many riders struggle with when considering an event such as Storming of Thunder Ridge. The answer – in most cases – is yes, you can.