Strategic Cycling Fuel Reserves

Last week a new cycling season kicked off. This season is a close rival to the regular cycling season and could be just as important. I’m talking about the Strategic Cycling Fuel Reserves season. Some like to describe this season as the off season where you do less riding and more eating thus putting on a few pounds that will have to be ridden off during the spring and summer.

That’s way too harsh of a description though. I like to think of it more as a time where you store the fuel that you’ll need for those long rides in the summer. If you think about it this season is critical to your safety out on the road months from now. No one wants to run a calorie deficit on a long ride and not have a reserve handy as a back up. You just can’t skip this season.

I think I’ve just about got this season down to a science which is broken down into split phases.

Sugar Phase
This phase kicks off a day or so before Halloween. It’s important to remember to start off slowly and work your way up in order to avoid injury. A good way to do this is to start sneaking Halloween candy from the stash you plan on handing out to the Trick or Treaters. On Halloween you can increase your intake of candy by making sure you go through your kids bags to check for open wrappers and other diabolical things that could be done to the candy. Obviously, you will need to consume any questionable items to make sure no one else could hurt themselves on it. It’s just the right thing to do. It’s kind of funny how smarties and sugar babies always pass the parent inspection but the Twix and Peanut Butter cups have such a high rate of open wrappers. Coincidence? I don’t think so.


Pie Phase
The Pie phase is the most critical in your Stragegic Cycling Fuel Reserve season. Most people look forward to Thanksgiving for the turkey and stuffing. At our house it’s for the pie. In fact, every year the Saturday before Thanksgiving we have a neighborhood pie night at our house. Here’s the concept, invite everyone you know to your house and ask them to bring a pie. Basically, it’s a pie pot luck but casseroles aren’t allowed. Then grab a plate and start sampling. Some years we’ve had well over 100 people smash into our house for the gathering. Of course if you are the host of the party you don’t want to offend anyone by not trying their pie. Ahhh, good times. Even though it’s called Pie Night some people end up bringing cake and other non-pie items. This allows me to do Pie Intervals. The effectiveness of this training is amazing. The routine of pie intervals is “Pie, Cake, Pie, Repeat. This night builds up some serious reserves.


Chocolate, Pie, Cookie and Egg Nog Phase
This is the last phase of the season. As work winds down for the year the amount of goodies around the office tends to increase. As much as you try to resist it’s impossible to pass on the baked goods if you have to sit in your cube and smell them. To add to this phase, cookies, pies, and egg nog seem to multiply around the house. Not that this is a bad thing mind you. It just multiplies. It must all be eaten.

So as you enter this critical cycling season remember reserves are an important thing to have. I hope you enjoy the season, it should be a good one.