A Training Guide for the Skinny Tire Festival
A five month training plan for the Skinny Tire Festival
Written by Chip Chilson of Aspen Sports Performance
A Note From Chip
The Moab Skinny Tire Festival has become a world premier cycling event. Beth Logan and Mark Griffith, founders of Skinny Tire Events, have truly created something special. Their wisdom and forward-thinking in both life and cycling combined with the novelty of spending time in and around the beautiful canyonlands of Moab, Utah, brings people and the cycling community together to formulate one of the best riding and life experiences available anywhere.
Here at Aspen Sports Performance, we just wrapped up our own weekend of cycling, storytelling, and wellness at the Roll with Bob Roll event in Moab. So many of our athletes can not wait to come back for the Skinny Tire Festival in March. If any community has shown its ability to come together to support each other, it’s the cycling community. Beth and Mark have raised an immense amount through the festival for local cancer treatment centers and awareness.
Helping to grow their event is an opportunity we would not miss, and we hope you’ll join us.
A 5-Month Training Plan
The coming five months allow for a perfectly formulated training program broken up into 3 Phases.
As we approach these beautiful fall days and transition into winter you may wonder how you can stay cycling fit and active during these next five months between now and the Moab Skinny Tire Festival. Opportunity knocks! Here is an easy plan to help you prepare.
1. Transition Phase & Building Your Base and Cycling Foundation
Timeline: November - Mid-December
Your first four to six weeks are for easy, zone 1-2 heart rate/wattage workouts. While the winter weather works its course, look for easy ways to stay cycling active inside. Some ways we do that are by signing up for local spin classes, utilizing indoor bike trainers at home, or using platforms like Peloton or Zwift for at-home cycling classes.
Commit to doing 1-2 classes each week to hit a little intensity, while trying to keep your training to 5-6 total hours a week.
2. Hypertrophy, Simple Increase with Intensity and Volume Training
Timeline: Mid-December - February
The next two to three months will be your hypertrophy phase - your building phase. This is where you want to put in miles, hit the weight room two to three times a week, and grow your base. Adding another indoor cycling class or two each week to up the intensity.
Start mixing interval training into your routine. The goal during this phase is to increase your total volume. Your weekend rides should bump up from two to three hours to three to five hours, more if you can.
3. Strength Phase. The Final, High-Intensity Block
Timeline: February - Early March
Continue with two to three+ classes per week, increase the intensity of your interval training, and really work to maintain at least thee to five+ hours of volume on your weekend rides.
Weekend group rides are extremely helpful with mirror imaging the fun riding experienced during events like Moab Skinny Tire Festival. We really recommend trying to do some group rides during this phase.
If you are a winter sports enthusiast, feel free to swap out cycling for your winter activity of choice, i.e. nordic skiing, rando skiing, snowshoeing, etc. This plan is easily modified for any sport.
10 Days Prior
Don’t forget to include a seven to ten-day taper just prior to the Skinny Tire Festival March 11th - 14th to be properly rested. During the taper week stay on the bike with very easy, low-intensity spinning. Keep your legs fresh and rested with an hour or two of riding every few days.
Important to remember, Moab offers the very best terrain options for all ability levels. From the flat and scenic Colorado River road to more rolling climbs up to Dead Horse Point State Park and Canyonlands National Park, there is plenty of fun riding for all ages and ability levels to pick from.
The March Skinny Tire Festival will leave you fit and flying with tremendous motivation to launch right into your 2023 cycling season.
Other Events To Consider
Keep your next big goal throughout the summer months to target the Moab Century Tour on September 16th & 17th 2023. After the Century Tour, the Roll With Bob Roll “Healthy Living and Lifestyle” cycling event in Moab is a great way to showcase your season-long, hard-earned fitness, while continuing your lifestyle education. Seminars with leading sports doctors, pro athletes and coaches, nutrition experts, core back and strength trainers, and leading thinkers in the cycling industry will give you lots to incorporate into your coming season and come back even stronger in 2024.
For more information or to ask Chip a cycling training question, click here or check out his website, Roll with Bob Roll.
