Acronyms And Terminology

Acronyms and Terminology

CYCLOPATH

An unstable individual, unable to adjust to society without repeated and lengthy excursions on a bike. You want to become one of them.

TITS

Time In The Saddle. Obviously…

This is the single most important component of cycling. The more TITS you get, the better you get. There is nothing to beat it. There are no short cuts. A lot of TITS does not guarantee that you will be a great cyclist, but it does assure you that you can keep up with the bunch, and that you enjoy cycling. Many cyclists never become actual cyclists and remain weekend warriors, simply because they don’t get enough TITS. Try not to be one of those. Make a decision and allocate the time. You will not regret it.

LSD

Long Slow Distance or Long Steady Distance.

This form of cycling should make up the bulk of your TITS. This is what is called base training, without which it is impossible to move forward, or improve. Only with a solid base is it possible to start any form of hard riding or racing. Base training is TITS spent at a heart rate between 50% and 75%, as measured by the Karvonen method. This a way to measure effort based on available beats per minute. More details later on.

There is no pre-determined distance for base training. That depends entirely on where you are in your training schedule, how far you are from the next peak, and of course how much time you have available. The idea is to try to keep the heart rate low, even on the climbs, making full use of all the gears available, and slowing right down if necessary, in order to keep the heart rate in the correct zone.

LTD

Long Tempo Distance

This is different from the LSD above, in that the pace is higher, and therefore the effort is greater, with the resultant higher heart rate. LTD rides can and should only be undertaken when there is sufficient LSD TITS under your belt. The idea of tempo riding is to keep the heart rate between 65% and 80%, and being able to stay in this zone for periods of more than ten minutes at a time.

This is particularly used during bunch rides, where riders take turns at the front of the peloton.

It is important to understand that the biggest enemy of cyclists is wind resistance, and is the overriding reason for bunch riding.

The heart rate moves higher when riding at the front, and goes down when riding inside the bunch. The essence of bunch riding is to ride faster by taking turns in front. More details later on.

VPL

Visible Panty Line

A Visible Panty Line is always bad, but under your specifically tailor-made lycra shorts, it is positively criminal. Cycling shorts and padding manufacturers go to extreme lengths to make sure you are as comfortable as possible for long periods, while keeping your acidic body fluids away from your tender areas. Inners are seamless for your cycling comfort. Don’t spoil that and your appearance by wearing underwear under the lycra. You will be shown up as a novice.

FTP

Functional Threshold Power

Functional Threshhold Power is a test done on a stationary bike or Watt bike to see how long you can hold maximum power output. It is a killer test and a sufferfest. This is used to measure your fitness level in conjunction with recovery rate, but also used to increase the ability to endure riding in an uncomfortably high effort zone.

The other meaning for FTP is ‘F$#k This Pace!’, when you’re about to get dropped from the bunch and are contemplating the reality of a lonely ride home. You simply can’t maintain that level of effort, and are cursing yourself for not training enough, and you’re gonna face meditation on rule #5 once more.

PLE

Perceived Level of Exertion

PLE is an alternative method of training which concentrates on how you feel rather than heart rate or power-based training methods. This is the way you feel on any given day during training. Some days you just don’t feel up to the hard work-out that you had planned. Take it easy. On another day, you may feel really strong during a climb. Go harder. Unless of course you are in a bunch on a training ride in a controlled bunch. When this happens, go to the front, tell the group leader how you are feeling, and rejoin the group at the top. The difficulty with this type of training is that it presupposes that you are in touch with the way your body feels on any given day. Not everyone is.

HTFU

Harden The F#*k Up

Also known as rule No5, as referenced in the ‘Velominati’ and ‘Vélogique 40 commandments’ list of cycling rules. This phrase is used by others to somebody in the bunch who starts complaining about the pace, the weather, or the bike, and is told in no uncertain terms to look up rule No5, and meditate on it. It should be said in jest, as in many a true word, so as not to offend the individual.

PDA

Public Display of Affection

This phrase is often used in its plural form. It takes on more significance when talking about people you already know, and infinitely more if they are both cyclists whom you have known previously and are in your current circle. It is a no, no for the couple involved, at the beginning of the relationship, at least until the relationship is more mature. Because, Heaven forbid, things don’t work out, and the affected parties find themselves single again.

MAMIL

Middle Aged Men In Lycra

This a relatively new term, and is used tongue in cheek mostly by women and patrons of coffee shops, upon the arrival of a group of cyclists seeking some caffeine fortification during or after a ride. Most cyclists feel much younger that their years when they are out cycling, and don’t consider themselves ‘middle-aged’, even when they well past that age. Cycling regularly, keeps you young, at least at heart.