The training doesn’t stop at Blackpool Youth Cycling Association (BYCA) just because the days are shorter and the weather wetter.
After their first season training on the new closed road circuit in Blackpool at Palatine Leisure Centre, the club nights have moved indoors for some cycling focused training.
"The indoor sessions are great for maintaining out of season fitness for those not currently racing in the NW Cyclo Cross series" said Club Chair Dave Martin. "They also are really good for keeping club members in touch during the cold winter when some of the younger riders may not be riding much."
After a trial period last winter using half the sports hall at Palatine proved very popular with members, the club decided to hire the whole hall for this winter with Blackpool Council offering very favourable terms.
The sessions, which will run every Wednesday from 7pm to 8pm, follow a similar pattern each week with an average of 25 members taking part supported by Local Go-Ride Coach Tom Leivers and club volunteers. CAYV members are also on hand to help with the session with most now achieving their Gold Level.
After an initial group warm up the members are divided in to four smaller groups who then spend ten minutes on each activity before moving on to the next with a cool down at the end. The activities include;
● Rollers and turbo Trainers
● Watt Bikes
● Concept2 Rowing machine
● Circuit Training.
"The activities are staggered so a sprint based one such as rowing (distance in 1 minute) and Watt bike (dist in 2 mins) follow a more endurance based one like rollers and circuits," Say Go-Ride Coach Tom Leivers.
"We record the results for the Watt Bikes and rowing and also a 1 minute skip to give a total each week. This gives members an indication of their improvements over the winter. You can see them trying each week to just try that little harder to get a few meters on their score. The time on the rollers is particularly useful so riders can feel confident enough to use them for training at home and for warming up prior to races. Within a few weeks we can get most riders using them unaided."
After the clubs success in last seasons CDNW series with 3 riders coming 3rd in their categories the club is hoping these winter sessions will continue their medal winning ways.
For further details, contact Go-Ride Coach Tom Leivers, or visit www.go-ride-byca.co.uk
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