Road Cycling
- Thread starter FrenchTart
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Do we still use coal mines in this country?
Doping still alive and well...
Quite astonishing. By all accounts they usually get ~50% of competitors completing the race which is surprisingly low in of itself but when rumours get around that there is testing at the end of the race, less than 30% finish. Shocking.
Quite astonishing. By all accounts they usually get ~50% of competitors completing the race which is surprisingly low in of itself but when rumours get around that there is testing at the end of the race, less than 30% finish. Shocking.
Point 1 slightly superfluous to use Total time as a calculation... Not only is it hard to judge the effort the same. But factoring in traffic, junctions etc can be really hard too!
The starting part, 5km of mostly flat the road bike was 4 minutes faster than the mountain bike. Even using old numbers that's 19mph vs 15mph average... The steep climb part does have a good segment for comparison with the road bike and mountain bike being 6 seconds faster than it, but also your average HR is higher, as is your maximum HR during the ascent, so you rode it harder on the MTB. The same distance as the climb, but for the descent is 1s difference (note your starting HR difference!). Pretty similar efforts on the last part home including the last hill you like to smash.
So although the total ride time is 5-6 mins difference I'd say you rode the MTB harder. The road bike probably made that time up at the start of the ride when you where travelling faster for a similar/less effort. The hilly parts you likely rode a similar effort but the times are so marginal there's nothing to tell between them otherwise...
Ahaha yeah, lets just say that she isn't 'short of a few bob' having a home in the UK & south Portugal. Has 2 Stages smart bikes as well - 1 in each home!
I think doping is the sort of thing that you either can or cannot fathom. There is a guy in the reddit thread on this justifying his doping by basically saying "it allows him to finish these events" and other BS. People are very good at telling themselves whatever they need to in order to dope. I imagine that its quite widespread in certain areas to the point where its just normalised.
Never underestimate how seriously amateurs take sports and never underestimate how rampant it is in certain sports. If you went down the average "proper" gym you would find loads of guys juicing. They aren't even competing, let alone at any serious level.
Work on the basis that people cheat at board games with friends and family and that should probably tell you how many people would dope for an advantage in a local amateur race.
Signed up for my first event. Should be one hell of a challenge at 166km and 3800m ascent but hoping it gives me motivation to put the work in!
granfondolanucia.com
Bienvenido al Gran Fondo La Nucía
¡2ª edición del Gran Fondo La Nucía! El evento ciclista más esperado del año. ¿Estás listo para desafiar tus límites en un recorrido épico?
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Who are people using for home insurance?
I was with marks and spencer underwritten by Aviva but the cost to renew is up 25%!
You just declared max bike value with M&S which I put at £5000 but again, difficult to put a value on a bike which isn’t off the shelf…
I only have summer & winter which are of any value. Perhaps £2k and 5k respectively but cost to replace like for like would be 12k+ now as prices are stupid…
I was with marks and spencer underwritten by Aviva but the cost to renew is up 25%!
You just declared max bike value with M&S which I put at £5000 but again, difficult to put a value on a bike which isn’t off the shelf…
I only have summer & winter which are of any value. Perhaps £2k and 5k respectively but cost to replace like for like would be 12k+ now as prices are stupid…
I've been with Admiral , try them . just swicthed to M&S LOL
switched as you don't need to declare house contatens and it just covers up to certain amount.
with admiral I had contents with bikes and one bike was at 5k, other 2k, away from home etc and was around 20£ a month i think
Soldato
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I went with deviated bike insurance with Bikmo. House insurance wouldn't cover cost of bikes, so had to bite the bullet that way 
I rode up #23 Wheatleaf on Saturday, which is brutal! Only a 6/10 according to Simon Warren, but I guess that's because it's not all that long. (Took me 7 mins) But you get a while of 7 or 8% or so, then just when it's hurting it cranks up to maybe 11 or 12% (I'm guessing a little) and then just as you're thinking you might need to walk it lessens... but only back to about 8% 
**EDIT** Looking at gradients on Strava, I've drastically understated things. It has periods of 16 and 17+, ave of 9.4%.
I've not seen it before on Strava but it told me I set a 2nd best 5 min power PB. Interesting as I'm at the lightest I've ever been, so likely my best w/kg ever. (4W/kg for 7 mins). Also odd, knowing this, but it was my slowest effort out of 3.
**EDIT** Looking at gradients on Strava, I've drastically understated things. It has periods of 16 and 17+, ave of 9.4%.I've not seen it before on Strava but it told me I set a 2nd best 5 min power PB. Interesting as I'm at the lightest I've ever been, so likely my best w/kg ever. (4W/kg for 7 mins). Also odd, knowing this, but it was my slowest effort out of 3.
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Just on the back of my post about signing up for my first Gran Fondo. Had a few questions for those of you most experienced.
When training for a marathon in running there are a few base guidelines around volume etc. is there similar for cycling?
Is it needed to aim for a minimum volume per week either in hours or distance? On average of course catering to recovery weeks.
As I’ve never ridden with anyone other than my wife. Is it worth getting out for group rides to practice riding in a bunch?
Any specific free plans to try and follow? I’ve mentioned before but Garmin massively over estimates my FTP which makes their training plans a bit rubbish.
When training for a marathon in running there are a few base guidelines around volume etc. is there similar for cycling?
Is it needed to aim for a minimum volume per week either in hours or distance? On average of course catering to recovery weeks.
As I’ve never ridden with anyone other than my wife. Is it worth getting out for group rides to practice riding in a bunch?
Any specific free plans to try and follow? I’ve mentioned before but Garmin massively over estimates my FTP which makes their training plans a bit rubbish.
My advice fwiw
If you have a power meter or a smart trainer then the Garmin Gran Fondo plan would be a good structured plan. I also find their ftp estimates to be reasonable. You can also manually adjust in the Connect app.
To begin with building time on the bike is probably as important as anything. Not sure how long your Gran Fondo is but if its 100m/160km its a long time on a bike. At least 6.5 hours for a beginner. Bodies take time to adjust to that and I would progress steadily from an hour in half hour increments.
Fueling over long distance is also really important. I'm useless at it. Better to eat little and often but over that distance you are looking at 3000 kcal. Hot climates also need careful fluid management. Aren't you based in Spain - in which case you willl be necking a bottle an hour or so. I'd be having electrolyte in one bottle and energy mix in another.
Group rides are useful for learning ride etiquette but unless you are racing my expereince with sportives is that you are seldom grouped that tightly except for the start.
So in summary - time on the bike - but build steadily. Fuel and water strategy and maybe the odd group ride as you build the distance. Rid'ng long distances solo can be boring.
Even 30mins daily will help a lot with endurance.
I used to sweat a lot on the bike and had to hydrate a lot.. much better now and that is with help of daily commute with no water - 45mins one way for me .
From what I recall your Fondo has quite a lot of elevation , so more training the better...food and water.
If you can find a group to train with or just cycle with that will help. Learn a bit how to stay on the wheel and draft .
And deffo don't kill yourself doing it...do not push all the time
160km sounds a lot but it ain't
Even 30mins daily will help a lot with endurance.
I used to sweat a lot on the bike and had to hydrate a lot.. much better now and that is with help of daily commute with no water - 45mins one way for me .
From what I recall your Fondo has quite a lot of elevation , so more training the better...food and water.
If you can find a group to train with or just cycle with that will help. Learn a bit how to stay on the wheel and draft .
And deffo don't kill yourself doing it...do not push all the time
160km sounds a lot but it ain't
Cheers guys. I'm not overly worried about the distance. I've done much longer duration based events with running, so fueling/hydration i'm fairly comfortable with. From a guess i'd say i'm targetting 8-9 hours given the elevation.
I'd say looking at my history, i've averages around 2x 1hr rides a week for the most part. In December i had a decent couple of 2-3hr rides ad then trailed off in January as work for bad and February as the roads at my parents were too busy and i didn't enjoy it as much. As you say time in the saddle is probably a big factor. I definitely get uncomfortable on anything >2hrs and find myself shifting around a lot. I considered finding a bike fitter, but since i've got a fixed stem/handlebar (for the looks!) there's only really stem height and saddle i can play with without starting to spend big and i think i can explore those myself, my thinking on yesterdays ride was that both are a bit low.
The leg strength is definitely the big one. Looking at my power curve from 2023/2024 it drops down quite a bit after 1.5hrs. Admittedly i can probably count the number of >2hr rides on both hands!
The Strava estimated FTP sounds much more likely. Garmin thinks it's 280w which i think is a bit high. I know i can change it manually but then it kind of ruins the ability to see progression and it's nice it auto calculates! I'll admit i've never done a formal FTP test, but with the Garmin training it thinks holding 240w is relatively easy!
@bastic Yeah, 3700m of elevation over 166km. Yesterday i did 44km with 485m elevation so more or less 1/4 of the distance but with an 8th of the elevation. It's definitely the hills i need to be stronger on. As mentioned, i'm hoping it gives the incentive to drop the weight! Plus i've got to October so a good amount of time to get better.
The other concern i have is speed. I'm not a particularly fast cyclist (was never a fast runner either!) and yesterdays ride was around a 24km/h average pace. I'm sure when entering the event i had to put an estimated pace and the lowest category was 25-28km/h so i'm not even fast enough for the bottom threshold and that's without factoring in the distance/elevation! Obviously speed should improve with training (another reason i think a plan might help me) but it does worry me a little!
"During the march, those who cannot follow the set pace and are overtaken by the green flag will be out of the race, so they must slow down and drive with caution without hindering the rest of the road users who pass through them and complying. traffic rules and traffic signs."
That deffo might apply to me!
Hmmm, the other concern is Jersey size. Apparently it has to be worn during the event. I'm generally between sizes a lot between L-XXL depending on brand, and especially with the hope of losing weight that could change again. The brand is Gobik, i'm wondering if i should try and order one ahead of time to check sizing. Last thing i need is something not fitting during a long ride!! The other assumption is that the quality of a "free" Jersey will be considerably less than that of a bought one, given their website shows prices around €80-€100 and the event is only €45! So could be wildly different anyway. Or am i overthinking things here?
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Jerseys - it varies but the one I got for doing the Maratona a few years ago was great - Castelli made and also got a cracking gilet which I still wear! Retail prices for cycling clothes are crazy. Decathlon is fine for jerseys. Shorts worth spending a bit more and fit is all. I personally like Santini.
Speed - always elevation dependent. I a lumpy ride you will struggle to maintain 15mph average. I had an ftp of 280w at 76kg at my fittest a few years ago and the Maratona and etape were like 12mph averages! Endurance is more important. Speed comes the more you ride and the lower your weight. Some events do have a broom wagon but you have 6 months to get in shape.
Bike fit might be worth looking at. You won't probably notice issues doing a couple of 1 hour rides a week but if you are upping this to 6-10 hours then it will expose any issues you have. The other aspect I cannot stress enough, especially if you are in your 50s like me, is stretching and conditioning. 10 years ago all I needed to do was ride and ride. Now I have to be a lot more careful about recovery and muscle imbalances. It's dull but so worth it!
Yeah, i quite like the Danish Endurance jerseys from Amazon, or Siroko which are Spanish based do really nice ones which fit me well.
I think that's my concern on the minimum speed, especially as there's a broom wagon which if you fall behind it then you're eliminated. Not that i'm overly bothered about that. If i do the event "unofficially" i'm good with it. Something i wish i'd done on a Mountain Ultra marathon over here where i just missed a cut off at 40 miles and gave up, rather than continuing for my own benefit.
Have found a bike fitter relatively locally. Language is an issue, but hoping it can be worked around.
I'm relatively young at 37, but stretching/strength is something i massively neglect and find it's causing issues. Especially since my foot issue i think i walk weird to compensate and minimise pain and that's created a lot of tightness/inbalances. Something i need to work on. My plan is to dig out my dumbells from the storage unit and put then on the roof terrace as there's not much space inside.
24kmh avg is good. would say way above avaregy cyclist
i would be happy with that to be honest .
what cassette at the back and front you got ?
maybe consider bigger ?
seems u got it, and only overthinking
power curve is good as well
i would be happy with that to be honest .
what cassette at the back and front you got ?
maybe consider bigger ?
seems u got it, and only overthinking
power curve is good as well