Rowing as a Fitness Indicator for Beginner cycling Club Run?

[Alan_Schenk]

Hi all

Possibly an unusual question, but thought I would ask the brains trust.

I'm considering getting a bike and beginning with a club, doing club runs on the weekends. Most cycle clubs have various groups of differing levels of fitness, for example my local club's website indicates that a typical saturday morning run would be for 40 miles with 4x groups with average speeds of: 19+ mph, 17-18mph, 15-16mph, 13-14mph for each group.

So, my question; based upon my erg performance, is there any way of determining if I could achieve any of the required sustained averages, before turning up on a bike and making an arse of myself? I imagine it is difficult to translate, but thought I would ask anyway.

Regards

Alan

[G-dub]

A more accurate and relevant way to determine it would be to get on that bike and give it a go!

[Alan_Schenk]

Thanks for that...I would never have thought of it!

[Dangerscouse]

I'm not sure that there is a reliable indicator but I know people that use a rough guide that the bikeerg is twice as fast as a rower.

[Citroen]

A more accurate and relevant way to determine it would be to get on that bike and give it a go!

^This

Go along, join the 13-14MPH group and see how you get on. There's more to group riding than pure performance, there's a whole bunch of etiquette and road craft that you need to learn.

For pure performance you'll want to sign up for next year's time trialling season (if it isn't as curtailed as this year's).

[Ombrax]

Alan, I agree with Citroen's take - how are your bike handling-skills, especially when riding with a group?

There's no shame in mistakenly starting with the faster guys and getting dropped, but one thing you don't want to do is have to worry about causing a crash. Riding with a bunch of other folks around you can be tricky, so be sure you have a good feel for that at less challenging speeds, before moving up to the racer-boy group (if you decide to give that a try).

But here's a tip - if the ride involves stopping for ice-cream, it's probably a bit too slow for you. ; )

Have fun!

[Gammmmo]

A more accurate and relevant way to determine it would be to get on that bike and give it a go!

^This

Go along, join the 13-14MPH group and see how you get on. There's more to group riding than pure performance, there's a whole bunch of etiquette and road craft that you need to learn.

For pure performance you'll want to sign up for next year's time trialling season (if it isn't as curtailed as this year's).

I have a bit of experience with cycling. The above advice is good. Cycling clubs don't generally "drop" people who ride in groups who aren't quick enough unless that is set out at the beginning and tends to be for racing types. When you get your bike why not spend a few weeks riding on your own just getting used to the handling of it and you'll have an idea of your speed and distance ability. You'll also get used to your bike and riding with others is a skill in itself to do safely and quickly. IF you were slower and struggling you'd just not take your turn at the front because that will save 1/3 of your energy.

It is not easy to work out how good you'd be on a bike given ergo scores as ability to draft the rider in front, aerodynamics and training specificity are all big variables. That said, the two sports can co-exist quite well to a point.

[mromero680]

I've found the rower to be good cross training for cycling. The only thing that's hard to replicate on the rower is climbing. I usually row about six months and then ride six months. Fitness is great when I switch but the hills take some extra conditioning and only more riding helps.

[Cyclist2]

I also have some cycling experience, about 10 years squeezed in between serious years of rowing. What Gammmo and others have said is all true. I never did stop erging even in the height of my bike racing. For indoors exercise, I'd rather erg than get on a stationary bike, although I did use the rollers quite a bit to work on balance. I believe the erg had a lot to do with my cycling fitness and vice versa. They are definitely complimentary.

mromero680, I change the drag factor to replicate hills. I use cycling workout DVDs or YouTube on the erg and when they increase the gearing, I reach over and bump the lever up to 8 or 10 until that interval is over, then bump it back down to 3 or 4. No specific DF, just bump the lever to match what the workout is doing.

[rtbrouwer]

I have quite some experience in both erging and cycling. Erging is always constant when it comes to the amount of effort you have to put in. if you put in 300 watts you get a 1:45.3 pace, it's that simple.

Cycling however is a completely different ballgame. I've had cycling races at 26 mph avg. at 230-240 watts avg. On a recent ride however I was putting out 400+ watts to maintain 20 mph in a strong headwind. Untill I rotated off the front and started riding in the group and my watts dropped to 200-ish... My experience is that if you are experienced in riding in a group (not even racing) and the pace is pretty constant that anything up to 20mph is fairly easy, even without being in shape. If you are in shape then anything up to 24 mph is doable. It becomes hard when there are a lot changes in pace and when racing/positioning comes in to play. Or when you are riding a 25+ mph breakaway etc.

Like the others said. Get comfortable in a group. Learn how to ride and follow group etiquette. If you are an experienced erger, fitness won't be your issue.