(Stole this pic from the Sunshine Princess, eating at rest #2)
1) Positive attitude makes anything possible!!
- A positive attitude always seems to overcome a lack of fitness in these situations. If you know the biggest climbs of the route are just around the corner then welcome them with open arms. The minute you tell yourself, or others, that they are tough or you are not looking forward to them they have already beaten you! It's amazing how true this is. The people who were excited about the climbs and had fun on them conquered the climbs with energy to spare.
2) Momentum is your friend, learn to harness it
- Big hill on the horizon? Don't coast into it thinking you are saving energy for the climb. Any energy saved in the 10 seconds of coasting will be more than used up when you have to work 40% harder to make it up the climb. Keeping a steady pace on rollers and on flats into climbs will allow you to spread the effort out more consistently over longer period of time; you'll last longer! Essentially this shortens the climbs.
3) You work almost as hard at the back of the group as the front!
- People often think they are safest at the back of a group or that it easiest to follow there, but this is not the case. The "elastic effect" out of corners which forces you to slow down more into the corner and then accelerate harder out just to stay with the group is at its worst at the back. I even found the elastic effect to happen on the flats with inexperienced riders braking in front and then accelerating to get back onto wheels. Although there is some draft at the back, it's not as good as the increased shelter of the middle of the pack. Get comfortable riding here and you'll find centuries will fly by.
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