Andrey Shumilov: bicycle in Ecuador against Veliky Novgorod
Release name: "ON A BIKE IN 40 YEARS//Andrey Shumilov"
Andrey Shumilov got on a bike after forty, moved to Ecuador and runs a blog about amateur cycling. With Ilya, they jokingly compare Ecuador and Veliky Novgorod as a place for a cyclist. The conversation turned out to be about how races and clubs in Latin America are organized, what training at altitude gives, how much life and equipment cost, and why an amateur needs a trainer.
Guest
The author of the blog "On a bike in 40 years", an amateur road racer who used to live in Yaroslavl, and now lives and races in Ecuador.
Useful from the issue
- The main skill of a beginner is to sit on a wheel
Get closer to the beginning of the starting corridor, and if the pace does not hold, go down in groups and look for wheels on the strength. This significantly improves the result in the first races.
- High-altitude training works
After eight months of living at 2500 meters, Andrei's FTP on the coast has grown from 250 to 295 watts. Before an important race, he now spends a month in the mountains.
- Race in the mountains without acclimatization — for experience
At the start at an altitude of about 2500 meters and above, the rider from the plain obviously loses. Either come in advance, or go without counting on the result.
- Choose a coach consciously
There are different approaches — strictly scientific or based on experience and live communication. Andrey changed coaches to understand what was right for him.
- Few rivals in the category is not an indicator
The victory, where there are three people in the age group, says little about the form. It is more objective to evaluate yourself on startups with full-fledged competition.
- Learn the language with a teacher
Apps and books moved Andrey's Spanish slowly. The breakthrough happened after three months of tutoring, so he advises moving to start with courses.
- Equipment abroad may cost more
In Ecuador, due to duties, prices for bicycles and uniforms are about a third higher than in the USA and Europe, although food and life are cheaper.
Why "in 40 years" and what are the good of both countries
Andrey explains the name of the channel simply: many of his subscribers came to the bike around the age of 35-45, at an age when someone changes jobs and someone buys a motorcycle. He tried to rename himself, but returned to the neutral option, which does not go into pure sports.
The advantages of Ecuador for a cyclist, according to Andrei, are the year—round season, good roads, the popularity of cycling and the terrain: there are almost no flat places, even on the coast 600-800 meters are gained in a quiet two hours. Ilya defends Novgorod in response: seasonality makes you miss your bike and recharge for the summer, the flat terrain is suitable for heavy riders, the asphalt is good, you can leave the city in 10-15 minutes, and the races of Moscow and St. Petersburg are not far away. Minus — there are few highways in the city, about fifteen people.
How does racing work in Ecuador
The starts in Ecuador are early, usually at seven in the morning. Major national races gather thousands of participants and turn into a show: issuing numbers at the stadium, a bike shop fair, music and invited professionals who ride outside the competition. Andrey found Peter Sagan on the track, for example. A slot for such a race costs about a hundred dollars, but it includes a set of uniforms, so the entire peloton rides in the same. Regional races cost 20-30 dollars.
There are usually three distances: a long 120-150 km, an average 60-80 km and a short about 40 km for beginners. Age categories go in steps of ten, sometimes five years. A separate industry is photographers on cars and drones who take pictures of everyone in a row, and the service finds your shots by number. The prizes are modest: money is rarely given, more often a cup and something like a multitool. Andrey himself rides medium distances and chooses about four main starts per season.
There are also two—day amateur races: on the first day, the time trial in the ascent is about nine kilometers, on the second - group. Mountain starts take place at an altitude of about 2500 meters and above, and a rider from the coast has a hard time there without acclimatization.
Mountains, heights and an increase in FTP
Andrey lived for eight months in the mountains at an altitude of about 2500 meters, but went back to the coast because of dry eye syndrome. He felt the effect of the height on himself: FTP, which was about 250 watts in the mountains, rose to 295 on the coast, and he still cannot break this record. Now he is climbing the mountains for a month before an important race.
The longest continuous climb he has ridden is from 2500 to 4000 meters. Andrey dreams of going to neighboring Colombia for a climb about 80 km long.
Bike shop clubs and co-rides
Bike shops serve as the center of cycling life in Ecuador: everyone has their own club in Strava and chat, weekly weekend trips and large joint trips with other clubs. Membership is usually free, for long trips they may ask for a small fee. In the store you can just sit in the afternoon, drink coffee, watch the races on TV and talk.
On weekends, group rides for 80-100 km with escort vehicles gather in the city, and at a specific gathering point — a sports bar at a gas station - you can join any group at six in the morning. Andrey also talks about training with a local rider who played for the national team: he trained with Olympic champion Richard Karapas, eats regular cookies in training instead of a sports pit and keeps cadence around 80, not 90.
Pedaling technique and beginner tactics
Andrey was surprised that strong Ecuadorian amateurs do not believe in circular pedaling: according to them, large muscles simply press down, and an attempt to pull up with the other leg can interfere. He himself did not close the question for himself, but gives a point of view.
About tactics, he says that he has no personal experience of teamwork: at his races, everyone rides for themselves. The main skill for a beginner, on the advice of his first coach, is to be able to sit on a wheel. You need to get closer to the beginning of the starting corridor and, if you don't keep up the pace, go down in groups, finding the wheels within your strength.
Coaches, knowledge base and training
Andrey maintains an open knowledge base — a document with articles on the theory of cycling. Once he renamed the channel the Cycling Academy and started publishing highly specialized materials, but the audience stopped responding, and he returned to the previous format: there are no more than a fifth of riders among subscribers, the rest are just cyclists.
He changed coaches consciously to see different approaches. The current coach works strictly scientifically, while senior mentors provided more life experience and live communication. Now Andrey himself is studying a certified course on physiological adaptation in endurance sports, followed by sports nutritional science. He calls the choice of a coach one of the main decisions in an athlete's life.
Prices, language and disadvantages of Ecuador
Products on the market are noticeably cheaper than Russian ones: for a dollar you can buy more than two kilograms of bananas. Medicine is more expensive, utility bills are small, Andrei advises to mortgage rent for two from 400-500 dollars. But equipment due to duties costs about a third more expensive than in the USA or Europe: for example, Specialized Tarmac in Ecuador costs a thousand dollars more than in the States.
Andrey learned Spanish seriously only with a tutor who explained the words with a pantomime, and advises everyone who moves to start with courses or classes. Among the downsides is street crime: once on the descent, they pulled the phone out of his jersey pocket on the move, but thanks to the recording from GoPro, the phone was returned. It is better not to go to some empty tracks alone. At the end, Ilya talks about his season: in Novgorod, he is assembling a FATRACING team, will hold a large gravel race and small cyclocrosses.
Timestamps
- 00:00Zatravochka
- 01:13Why is the channel called "in 40 years"
- 02:29Ecuador vs Novgorod: advantages
- 08:27Cycling in Ecuador
- 26:55Community and social circle
- 31:09Cons of mountains and an increase in FTP
- 33:27Coferides
- 35:28Champions' technique
- 38:56Andrey's knowledge base
- 41:30Tactics in races
- 43:01Coaches
- 50:11Prices in Ecuador
- 58:17Disadvantages of Ecuador
- 1:00:25Ilya's plans and the FATRACING team
- 1:05:10A moment of motivation
Mentioned in this episode
Strava · Specialized Tarmac · Canyon · GoPro · Tour de Selishchi · Richard Karapas · Peter Sagan