Road Cycling

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Guess who accidentally connected the hoses up to the wrong sti levers? :p

Gears are set up now though and bike is ridable. Will order replacement hose end things and swap it all over eventually but for now I'll live with the dodgy set up.
 
Got a bit depressed this evening before going out. I had a look on the April MTS and Climbing challenge to see where i lay amongst the guys I'm following. 9/9 and 6/8 respectively :( All you guys with your daily commutes fairly add up the kms.

Still after tonights wee jaunt around the countryside I managed to climb up the placings slightly :D Did feel it a bit chilly though as i had to stop briefly for a pee :eek:

https://www.strava.com/activities/282807326
 
Derek W said:
Got a bit depressed this evening before going out. I had a look on the April MTS and Climbing challenge to see where i lay amongst the guys I'm following. 9/9 and 6/8 respectively :( All you guys with your daily commutes fairly add up the kms.

Still after tonights wee jaunt around the countryside I managed to climb up the placings slightly :D Did feel it a bit chilly though as i had to stop briefly for a pee :eek:

https://www.strava.com/activities/282807326
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Non commuter here and just shy of 5k on the climbing challenge. Taking a rest night tonight so no ride, reckon I'll hit 9k for the challenge before 20th April. Living at the top of a 150m climb and being a single man with nothing to do but ride my bike is awesome :p :D
 
Derek W said:
Got a bit depressed this evening before going out. I had a look on the April MTS and Climbing challenge to see where i lay amongst the guys I'm following. 9/9 and 6/8 respectively :( All you guys with your daily commutes fairly add up the kms.

Still after tonights wee jaunt around the countryside I managed to climb up the placings slightly :D Did feel it a bit chilly though as i had to stop briefly for a pee :eek:

https://www.strava.com/activities/282807326
Click to expand...

As a non-commuter with a wife and kids I don't really take any of those challenges seriously...

Set your own goals, make yourself happy. This is supposed to be fun.
 
^Exactly.

With my week off I'm half way through the climbing challenge and up to 750km in April. Loved the riding this week, could not have picked a better week to be off work :)

Out tomorrow then heading to France to watch Paris - Roubaix on Sunday. 320am ferry!
 
xdcx said:
Non commuter here and just shy of 5k on the climbing challenge. Taking a rest night tonight so no ride, reckon I'll hit 9k for the challenge before 20th April. Living at the top of a 150m climb and being a single man with nothing to do but ride my bike is awesome :p :D
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Vonhelmet said:
As a non-commuter with a wife and kids I don't really take any of those challenges seriously...

Set your own goals, make yourself happy. This is supposed to be fun.
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daveski said:
^Exactly.

With my week off I'm half way through the climbing challenge and up to 750km in April. Loved the riding this week, could not have picked a better week to be off work :)

Out tomorrow then heading to France to watch Paris - Roubaix on Sunday. 320am ferry!
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Don't get me wrong, when i said 'depressed' it was slightly tongue in cheek as I know certainly for the commuter folk I'm following that appears to be the only cycling their doing. Short sharp stints. With me I know if i do 25miles I'll predominantly be doing double the climbing cos of the landscape around me, hence jumping up a few places after tonight's run.

I have set my own goals within those challenges but its nice to see where i am against some of the more experienced riders who are doing 50+ miles at 20mph avg speed etc. This time last year I was doing an average speed around 12 - 13mph (after just getting the bike), I'm now up to 14 - 15mph average speed. So I'm seeing my own progress so believe me I'm still happy with what I'm doing :)
 
daveski said:
Good to hear.

Round here you have to do 25 miles before getting to any decent hills.
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I'm hoping to achieve two goals at the weekend (still undecided whether i go out tomorrow at all). Cycle to Loch Lee and back which is a 42 mile round trip which was one of my goals last year (cut things short by 8 miles :() and if i achieve that I'll have done over 100 miles in a week for the first time.

Later on this month I'll be exploring some new routes when i have a week off work so hoping to put in some serious miles then as well.
 
Derek W said:
I'm hoping to achieve two goals at the weekend (still undecided whether i go out tomorrow at all). Cycle to Loch Lee and back which is a 42 mile round trip which was one of my goals last year (cut things short by 8 miles :() and if i achieve that I'll have done over 100 miles in a week for the first time.

Later on this month I'll be exploring some new routes when i have a week off work so hoping to put in some serious miles then as well.
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I really like rides of 40-50 miles. It's a really good distance for me. If I had more time I'd push it up more to around 60, but for now 40 or so is good. I can get to all sorts of places on a 50 mile round trip, there's loads of different terrain and loads to see within that sort of distance. I guess I'm quite lucky with where I live, in that if I head North I can do a 50 mile ride with 4000 or so feet of climbing, and if I head South I can do a 50 mile ride with barely 1000 and just hammer away on the flat.

Looking back at my Strava since I started cycling, the most miles I've ever done in a week is 122, which isn't all that much. I'll have to go nuts one week this year and go for 150 or something. Get the mrs out of town with the kids and do a couple of metrics and whatnot :p

I'm actually on 85 for the week, and I'm planning a flat loop on my single speed for Sunday which would take me to a bit over 100 for the first time this year.
 
LOL does anyone else polish there bike with GT85 after cleaning or am I weird?

Sprayed some on an old sock and rubbed all the frame down the paint has that awesome showroom sheen back :O
 
I know a few people that do that. I used to use car detailing spray on mine! New bike is matte so I need to resist the urge to try and shine it up!

Looks like my new tyres are lost in the post. My last two Yodel deliveries were "left in a safe place" which meant left on my doorstep in full view from the street all day :rolleyes: I think this package was sent via Royal Mail though :(

Talking of cleaning, I looked at my hybrid and MTBs drive trains tonight.... I should be ashamed but it does show that MTB Tourney can take some real abuse and just keep going!

Ride looks unlikely tomorrow but I can live with that as I should have a fairly heavy day in the saddle on Sunday.
 
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arknor said:
LOL does anyone else polish there bike with GT85 after cleaning or am I weird?

Sprayed some on an old sock and rubbed all the frame down the paint has that awesome showroom sheen back :O
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Guilty as charged...

Use morgan blue polish on my carbon frame though.
 
Vonhelmet said:
I really like rides of 40-50 miles. It's a really good distance for me. If I had more time I'd push it up more to around 60, but for now 40 or so is good. I can get to all sorts of places on a 50 mile round trip, there's loads of different terrain and loads to see within that sort of distance. I guess I'm quite lucky with where I live, in that if I head North I can do a 50 mile ride with 4000 or so feet of climbing, and if I head South I can do a 50 mile ride with barely 1000 and just hammer away on the flat.

Looking back at my Strava since I started cycling, the most miles I've ever done in a week is 122, which isn't all that much. I'll have to go nuts one week this year and go for 150 or something. Get the mrs out of town with the kids and do a couple of metrics and whatnot :p

I'm actually on 85 for the week, and I'm planning a flat loop on my single speed for Sunday which would take me to a bit over 100 for the first time this year.
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I'm looking to aim for around about the 40 mile mark for tomorrow but the weather is putting me off slightly combined with I've just marked out a 50 mile ride on virtually the same route but with a few climbs near the end! Bearing in mind my furthest run was 36 miles I'm 'scaring' myself with the prospect of either route :(
 
lordrobs said:
Ride looks unlikely tomorrow but I can live with that as I should have a fairly heavy day in the saddle on Sunday.
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I was wrong! https://www.strava.com/activities/283058548 Snuck in a quick one as the predicted rain hasn't arrived yet.

Looks like my average speed of 18mph over a short ride is here to stay as I've managed to sustain it for the last 4 rides, happy with that TBH!

A guy pulled out in front of me and was a bit slow but I didn't pass them for a bit as I was intrigued by the bike he was riding. It looked like some kind of ghetto single speed conversion. It was hard to tell exactly but it looked like a regular sized cassette with spacers either side of a single sprocket with the rear mech held rigidly in place by a framework of threaded bar and wing nuts!
 
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Vonhelmet said:
If you can do 36 then you can do 50 with a bit more food inside you and maybe dropping the pace a bit.
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I'm not so sure, quite like going at a higher pace to push myself but know I'd have to reduce it to make the run. Here's the route I planned this morning.

https://www.strava.com/routes/2112865

The 2500 ft elevation gain is a little daunting as well as its about 1000ft more than I've previously done! :eek:
 
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