Road Cycling Essentials

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Russinating said:
Just got back from the Bath 100(km). Not too bad, happy with myself. My tracking reckons it took 4hr 56m, official times will be made available tomorrow. Made it up the final ascent without dismounting as well, despite it being hell.

http://www.endomondo.com/workouts/45757716
http://app.strava.com/rides/6029087
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Only 2000ish calories? Have you got your vitals entered correctly? That doesn't sound like it's enough to me.

And nice one! Did a 100km ride today too :)
 
Just treated myself to a Garmin 500, saddle, pedals, and a new stem. The wife is going to kill me come statement day :D
 
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Shadowness said:
Had a great time earlier doing my first ever event, the Shakespeare Spring 100 (km).

Pretty pleased with my time too, I was told I finished in the top 30, so pleased with that.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/163618357
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Good going - you weren't that far behind me. I did it in 3 hrs 30mins.

The start was freezing; I was wearing light clothing for the warmer weather later and was suffering for the first 5 miles pretty bad.
A good ride though, two steep climbs and the rest pretty flat :)
 
My ride buddy froze his nackers off in shorts and a jacket.

Me, I was wearing the full winter kit. Toasty. Just how I like it.

Looks like a lot of you were out on the hills this morning.
Good effort chaps. The cheddar will be gone by summer. ;)
 
SDK^ said:
Good going - you weren't that far behind me. I did it in 3 hrs 30mins.

The start was freezing; I was wearing light clothing for the warmer weather later and was suffering for the first 5 miles pretty bad.
A good ride though, two steep climbs and the rest pretty flat :)
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Saw you at the start but I was quite a way towards the back so couldn't get your attention.
Good time there, those two hills were on the steep side!

I missed the turn at long marsdon, so ended up cycling though the centre of Stratford & along the A3400.
Rode to & from the event so managed to clock 100 miles for the day at 5 hours 47 mins.
 
It's nice to see so many people taking advantage of the clear weather today by getting out on their bikes. I only managed 56km this morning, but there were loads of cyclists out, as well as joggers too - though I suspect the latter was due to it being the Croydon half marathon today. I managed to get through a ride without losing all feeling in my feet for once, which was a bonus. I just hope that the weather forecast for the next week is wrong, and we get more days like today...

Berger said:
Need to increase my distance, I really want to have a crack at the Blayney to Bathurst in three weeks time, the short course is 70km.

21km this morning quite easily, I find I can cruise at about 25kmph riding alone without using too much energy.

Think its do-able or would I be in for a world of pain?
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If you can do 21km easily then you'll most likely be able to do a 70km ride, however I would imagine you'll be pretty knackered at the end. If you have time, try to do a 50km ride at the weekend and see how you get on. If you struggle then you know the 70km ride is going to be a "world of pain", as you put it.

Berger said:
Also any recommendations for a mini pump to ride with suitable for road tyres, my MTB one won't give enough pressure.
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I have a Topeak Road Morph with Gauge which I've used to inflate a tyre to 110psi after a road-side tube replacement - the description says it'll go up to 160psi and that seems believable, but I wouldn't want to actually try it. 110psi wasn't too difficult to achieve, and having a gauge was more useful than you might think. The downsides are that it's pretty expensive, and getting additional brackets can be tricky, as they tend to go out of stock very quickly. The bracket is very secure, as it uses a plastic clip and a Velcro strap, though it does cost you a bottle cage as it can't sit alongside one as some brackets allow for. Oh, and it's also quite long, so check to make sure you can mount it on your frame (it's too long to fit on my 26" wheeled hybrid, for example).

Some people swear by CO2 pumps, and while they're certainly more convenient, once you run out of canisters you can't use the pump. It's something I'd rather not worry about, hence the manual pump.
 
Just done my 5 laps of Richmond Park and home (42 miles) with my new pedals and every so slightly small shoes which I took from my Dad's bike he doesn't use and added 1.6MPH to my time. 16.4MPH average now over 42 miles.
 
Shadowness said:
Only 2000ish calories? Have you got your vitals entered correctly? That doesn't sound like it's enough to me.

And nice one! Did a 100km ride today too :)
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Endomondo says 3450 and Strava says 2059 so I don't know which to trust. Both have exactly the same inputs (70kg, 5ft 7in) although Strava also asks for max heart rate which I've put as 190.

I also can't see your Garmin page for your 100k!
 
The Tour of Flanders was held today. Tom Boonen (OPQS) won the sprint from a 3 man break, while Cancellera sustained a triple fracture of his right collar bone following a collision in the feed zone. His Classics season is finished for this year.

Good race, but I feel sorry for Fabian.

I washed both my bikes, but didn't go out - can't get rid of this flu and I feel zapped :(
 
One More Solo said:
Idiot spectator, you'd think he would at least have the decency to see if he was alright.
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To be honest, the rider is at fault for mounting the pavement. The pedestrian isn't an idiot, he just got spooked.

I watched that crash live and thought 'Well he took a chance and it didn't pay off. That's racing'. A moment later, Sean Kelly said pretty much the same thing. And he knows what he's talking about.
 
George Hincapie said:
To be honest, the rider is at fault for mounting the pavement. The pedestrian isn't an idiot, he just got spooked.

I watched that crash live and thought 'Well he took a chance and it didn't pay off. That's racing'. A moment later, Sean Kelly said pretty much the same thing. And he knows what he's talking about.
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He was riding in a cycle lane by the look of it, but as you say thats racing.
 
Mmmm lycra, so comfy compared to just wearing baggy non cycling shorts!

My Evans ordered turned up, took two weeks all told on their free delivery, they didn't dispatch for 3 days after ordering despite it all being in stock.

I got a pair of Altura Gel shorts, Foska Hovis Jersey and some Specialised Gloves, I had been using my MTB gloves and top up to now, but had to look the part.

Apart from feeling like you have cacked your pants when you put them on due to the padded bit, the shorts are nice and comfortable when on the saddle, quite a lot of extra padding compared to what I am used to!

Glad I went for the XL Jersey, almost a perfect fit, I would have liked a zip pocket on both sides of the vest to even things up, put my keys in one and phone in the other then, ends up a bit lopsided otherwise.

Shorts and top combined took two and a half minutes off the 21km loop I did yesterday too ;) That or I was just trying a bit harder....
 
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Did my first Audax ride yesterday, I cycled 74 miles in 4 hr 50 mins (including 2 lengthy stops for tea and cake and 2 smaller stops for a bit of food and to answer the questions), but was a 100km Audax. I tracked it on Strava using my iPhone but the battery ran out before the end which was frustrating, even though it was on 100% before setting off.

Quite enjoyable, but the amount of old dudes in mega tight lycra was a bit off putting!!

One thing I did notice was the amount of bike snobbery that exists in cycling. At every checkpoint a lot of people were having a good nosey around all the bikes parked up.
 
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