Road Cycling Essentials

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Shamrock said:
I quite like this quote by Henri Desgrange:

“I still feel that variable gears are only for people over forty-five. Isn’t it better to triumph by the strength of your muscles than by the artifice of a derailer? We are getting soft… As for me, give me a fixed gear!”

:D
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I guess he didn't live in sheffield.
 
Gah. One of my front lights, a basic Cateye one, has been playing up lately. It's been difficult to switch on or off or switch it between flashing and static. So, a bit broken really. So, I did what any self-respecting man would do. Oh, yes. I ham-fistedly dismantled it and broke it properly, so now it doesn't work at all.

Damn.

Off to the shops, I guess.
 
Hi All,

I've been lurking on this thread for a while now but thought its time to introduce myself as I guess I am now a cyclist!

So after 15 years of little exercise and prompted by my brother who had been cycling for about a year I decided last November to acquire a road bike through the cycle to work scheme, all good to this point!

There was also some mention of a trip to France in July which I signed up to without really thinking it through! So here it is I am now signed up to the Etape Du Tour 2013 with six months training from a base of about zero!

I have however been really enjoying it so far, with work commitments meaning most evening training is on the turbo but I have been able to get out on the weekends and managed 100k this weekend with 4750ft of climbing so although nothing compared to you 100 milers (very impressive by the way) I am starting to see progress!

Anyway first sportive this weekend (Burgess Hill Classic over the South Downs) and the weather is looking up :) so far it has snowed every time I've gone out.

So who wants to scare me more than I am with their tales of long long mountains?

Sorry for the long post and thanks for reading.

Simon.
 
If you train appropriately then Alpine climbs are in many respects easier than ones over here because you can get in to a nice rhythm and just eek out the kilometres.

Focus on dropping weight (if you have any to lose) and developing your threshold power. Sounds like you're making good progress though!
 
Yeah, 4750ft in 100km is pretty impressive anyway, especially for someone new to cycling.

Edit: Also, the only difference between 100km and 100m I've found is how much more attentive you have to be to food/water and how much you have to pace yourself. After doing my first 100m on Sun I was surprised at how not that tired my legs were when I finished (so hungry though...). Even the ride to work Mon morning was fine because in the process of pacing myself on the 100m, I hadn't pushed myself as hard as I would on a shorter ride.

I've only been cycling for fun, and on a proper road bike myself since last Sept. Before that I'd just commuted to/from work on a hardtail MTB.
 
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On Trainer Road, does it pick up your speed? when i had a go the other day it had my power and my cadence, but no speed. I was wondering if i had it setup wrong of thats just the way it is.

Its really awesome to see your power output, i got 1076 watts on the 6 second sprint during the 3LC warm up. I dont know how accurate that is but still pretty fun to see the numbers going up and down
 
One More Solo said:
If you train appropriately then Alpine climbs are in many respects easier than ones over here because you can get in to a nice rhythm and just eek out the kilometres.

Focus on dropping weight (if you have any to lose) and developing your threshold power. Sounds like you're making good progress though!
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Thanks - weight is the one thing I don't have to worry about at 57kg;) unfortunately although that means I have little fat I also have little muscle! In fact i'm trying to eat more due to the calories I'm burning.

I was planning on building up the legs just through cycling hill repeats, big gear sprints etc but would you recommend any off the bike exercises as well?
 
[Damien];23835301 said:
Yeah, 4750ft in 100km is pretty impressive anyway, especially for someone new to cycling.

Edit: Also, the only difference between 100km and 100m I've found is how much more attentive you have to be to food/water and how much you have to pace yourself. After doing my first 100m on Sun I was surprised at how not that tired my legs were when I finished. Even the ride to work Mon morning was fine because in the process of pacing myself on the 100m, I hadn't pushed myself as hard as I would on a shorter ride.
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Agreed, my legs felt tired but not too bad the next day and I felt fresh on the turbo this morning. Next time out my nutrition will hopefully be a lot better and my energy levels subsequently more consistent - once it drops off it's very hard to get back.

Kimi said:
On Trainer Road, does it pick up your speed? when i had a go the other day it had my power and my cadence, but no speed. I was wondering if i had it setup wrong of thats just the way it is.

Its really awesome to see your power output, i got 1076 watts on the 6 second sprint during the 3LC warm up. I dont know how accurate that is but still pretty fun to see the numbers going up and down
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No, no speed on Trainer Road. If you think about it it's a fairly meaningless stat.

WriteThatD0wn said:
Thanks - weight is the one thing I don't have to worry about at 57kg;) unfortunately although that means I have little fat I also have little muscle! In fact i'm trying to eat more due to the calories I'm burning.

I was planning on building up the legs just through cycling hill repeats, big gear sprints etc but would you recommend any off the bike exercises as well?
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You should be flying up the hills at 57kg then! I'd definitely recommend hill repeats and core exercises above everything. I neglect the latter and my back often goes before my legs when I'm pushing a heavier gear uphill.
 
WriteThatD0wn said:
There was also some mention of a trip to France in July which I signed up to without really thinking it through! So here it is I am now signed up to the Etape Du Tour 2013 with six months training from a base of about zero!
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I suppose it's do-able, but the Etape is hard. Go expecting to suffer and you won't be disappointed.

So who wants to scare me more than I am with their tales of long long mountains?
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I went to the Pyrenees last year and climbed 5 Cols, including the Tourmalet. If I can give you any advice it's to pace yourself - a 22KM climb will not be over quickly - and get used to eating while climbing on the bike. Make sure you eat and drink regularly, every 45 mins to an hour should be OK.

Get out of the saddle every so often to give your bottom and 'man area' a rest.

Enjoy the descents! ;)
 
WriteThatD0wn said:
weight is the one thing I don't have to worry about at 57kg

I was planning on building up the legs just through cycling hill repeats, big gear sprints etc but would you recommend any off the bike exercises as well?
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57kg?!?! You can have some of my 90kg if you want. I've got plenty spare...

As for exercises squats/deadlifts will definitely help beef up your legs and lower back.

One More Solo said:
Agreed, my legs felt tired but not too bad the next day and I felt fresh on the turbo this morning. Next time out my nutrition will hopefully be a lot better and my energy levels subsequently more consistent - once it drops off it's very hard to get back.
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Yeah, I wasn't chucking gels down me quick enough for the first 40-50m so by the time I was near reaching Macclesfield I felt my power dropping off significantly. Luckily I passed a petrol station so I nipped in for a quick chocolate/energy drink boost then started shoving the gels in at a faster pace. After that (and the fact that the Macclesfield - Congleton section was mainly downhill) I was pretty much ok.
 
WriteThatD0wn said:
I was planning on building up the legs just through cycling hill repeats, big gear sprints etc but would you recommend any off the bike exercises as well?
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To get better at climbing hills, you need to climb hills. There are no short cuts IMHO.

Find the longest hill where you live, start at the bottom and ride to the top. Then go to the bottom and repeat.
 
WriteThatD0wn said:
would you recommend any off the bike exercises as well?
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Squats, lunges (forward and rear).

If you don't got to a gym then you can do various bodyweight exercises for squats that make it more intense. E.g. 21 squats broken down in to 3 sets of 7 reps.

7 full squats
7 from full extension to half way
7 from bottom to half way

or other variances such as bouncing at half way for 20 seconds, use your imagination.
 
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