Road Cycling Essentials

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I went out for a ride this morning with a few friends. Found it difficult at times, even with a new 30T cassette on the back.

http://www.strava.com/activities/127110842

Bit worried about my trip to Belgium in a couple of weeks now as that's more than twice the distance and climbing :(

I had a GoPro mounted on my handlebars and managed to get a video at the start of the ride. I have others too but after around 30 miles the mount snapped and sent the camera bouncing off the tarmac. Not great but thankfully the camera belongs to British Cycling so I'm not too worried.

Vid here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHb_dQytGyc&feature=youtu.be it's a bit boring though.

Hit 3,000 miles for the year now too :)
 
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That's not my bike, it's an eBay listing.

Same as the one I had, other than mine was a 105 double.
 
So yesterday morning I paid a visit to Rapha's new HQ to collect the kit they very generously gave to me. Had a nice chat with their head of customer service and also briefly met the founder Simon. Seems like a nice place to work with a good atmosphere, full of people passionate about cycling. Every Wednesday morning you get the option to go for a ride instead of working!

So here was my goody bag complete with a hand written note. Such an amazing gesture. (Yes I chose a pink jersey!)

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oli collett said:
Don't think I can do that until the end of the month, unless I get a chance during my week off around Easter!
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I would like to attempt it with you although it will be tough!
 
I took my new bike out this evening for her maiden voyage. Just 20 miles, and all fairly flat, but I wanted something fairly easy and which I could compare to previous runs. I averaged 17.5mph, which I think is an improvement for me on that circuit. I got quite a few achievements, though only on the back half of the ride, but that's no surprise, I've hammered the early segments on the ride when I've been doing short runs last year, so I'm probably at my limit on some of them, or wouldn't want to ride much harder on them going into a 20 mile ride.

Anyway...

The bike feels pretty good. The saddle is more comfy with proper shorts on, rather than just jeans, so I've only got the colour to worry about now! The Tiagra shifting is unbelievably good, coming from 2300, and feels absolutely wonderful. It's so light and quick. The brakes are much more powerful than the Tektro ones on my old bike - I practically threw myself off when I stopped at the end of the road at the start of the ride.

The only real problem is the stupid silver stem. Every time I looked down at my computer, there it was, shining up at me. Urgh. I'm definitely going to have to swap that for a black one.
 
well picked a set of sram apex brakes..

should be a nice upgrade!

maybe in the future I'll get the rest of the groupo.

my bike is a real Frankenstein now! sram, shimano, campognolo.. haha
 
Starting to feel a bit stronger now. Definitely ahead of 2013. Its amazing what a few weeks with an increased volume do. Yesterday I was out with a lad thats much stronger than me but I hung on not too badly. There was a Roubaix esque section of about 8 miles where we were straight into a 20mph wind which wasnt fun but I feel like my stamina and power is improving.

http://www.strava.com/activities/127070638
 
Good ride for me yesterday too. There was quite a strong wind coming from the south so decided to try and cheat it by heading West for 35 miles and then back tracking home. Worked well, and there was only a few short sections of either head/tail wind.

Happy with that speed over 70 miles too, looking forward to better conditions and getting stronger and more aero, should see some good times this year!

http://app.strava.com/activities/127107923
 
Really impressive speeds. I'm looking forward to finishing my weight loss so I can start concentrating on training/improving speeds more (at the very least, getting some rest days in :p).
 
Soaking wet and very windy 33 miles this morning.

Now back home and watching the carnage of the Tour of Flanders on tv - mental how many crashes, punctures, mechanicals etc etc - this is brutal stuff.
 
booyaka said:
Soaking wet and very windy 33 miles this morning.

Now back home and watching the carnage of the Tour of Flanders on tv - mental how many crashes, punctures, mechanicals etc etc - this is brutal stuff.
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Can't wait until it starts kicking off. Should happen very shortly :D
 
30-40 miles (kind of) everyday, for over 2 miles constantly up the hill (with this wind its a great workout :D).

Question: Where do you guys buy your gear? At local sport shops or online?
 
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