This profile is called the Roller Coaster Ride—a mountain biking simulation that captures the twisty-turny, up-and-down, adrenaline-filled vibe of a single-track trail. But before the fun begins, there’s a long, 15-minute grind up a jeep road to get there. It’s a challenging effort, so you’ll want to tap into the mental side of coaching to help your riders stay focused and committed through this opening climb.
This ride is inspired by many of the mountain biking routes near where I live in the Rocky Mountains. Around here, almost every trail begins with a steady ascent—sometimes 30 to 60 minutes or longer—before you reach the good stuff. That’s because the fun trails are “up there.” I live near a ski resort, and with towns nestled in the valleys, you have to climb out before you can enjoy the more flowing terrain. Not all mountain biking is like this, of course, but it provides a challenging and purposeful way to start this indoor ride.
If you’ve ever ridden a roller coaster, you know they all begin the same way—with a slow, tension-building climb to the top before the real thrills begin. So in more ways than one, this ride mirrors that experience.
By nature, mountain biking tends to be more anaerobic than road cycling. But if you’re riding for an hour or more, you still need to manage your intensity or risk bonking mid-ride—or worse, needing to call for a rescue. Mountain bike gearing allows you to tackle much steeper climbs than on a road bike, and it’s not unusual to be faced with a sudden sharp climb right after a screaming descent. The best riders have a solid aerobic foundation and strong anaerobic fitness. That’s why high-intensity interval training is so effective in preparing for these kinds of efforts.
This ride is challenging from an intensity perspective, but like any well-coached indoor cycling class, it can (and should) be scaled to fit each rider’s fitness level. For your more experienced and conditioned participants, this is a great opportunity to dig deep. And if they ride mountain bikes outdoors, they’ll recognize that signature anaerobic burn—and thank you for preparing them with the right kinds of training.
All types of intervals are useful to train for a profile like this: longer lactate threshold efforts, tough VO2 max intervals, and shorter, 1- to 3-minute anaerobic pushes.
This ride also taps heavily into the mental side of coaching, with cues designed to help your riders stay committed to the climb. In short, this one has it all: challenge, variety, intensity, and a whole lot of fun.
ICA members can access the full profile and playlist below. If you’ve downloaded this profile in the past, note that it was updated in 2020, so you may want to grab the latest version for any revisions and refreshed cues.