Road Cycling

Yup, biding the time when I can switch to the 30mm I got for summer on my commuter from these 28mm I've ridden through winter.

Just need the time to put tyre inserts in, mainly for experience as I ended up with a spare Large (30mm+) set rather than actually needing them in my alloy commuter wheels... Then when the time comes to fiddle with the main ones in the expensive carbon wheels I'll have a few tricks and the 'knowledge' (LBS fitted them originally).

I'm off to Florida next Tuesday and not back until last day of the month... 2.5 weeks off the bike! Goodbye to my winter Zwifting fitness and the form I've carried so well...! Just hope I can avoid too much weight gain, I'd held onto my 75kg this winter - it normally goes up a few kg and I lose it again in the summer! :o :rolleyes:
 
Roady said:
Yup, biding the time when I can switch to the 30mm I got for summer on my commuter from these 28mm I've ridden through winter.

Just need the time to put tyre inserts in, mainly for experience as I ended up with a spare Large (30mm+) set rather than actually needing them in my alloy commuter wheels... Then when the time comes to fiddle with the main ones in the expensive carbon wheels I'll have a few tricks and the 'knowledge' (LBS fitted them originally).

I'm off to Florida next Tuesday and not back until last day of the month... 2.5 weeks off the bike! Goodbye to my winter Zwifting fitness and the form I've carried so well...! Just hope I can avoid too much weight gain, I'd held onto my 75kg this winter - it normally goes up a few kg and I lose it again in the summer! :o :rolleyes:
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you may find that recovery actually improves your fitness.. :)
 
Love when this happens. Yesterday, I drove up to Bakewell (we're having a family holiday, just a little south of there) to ride a 30 mile loop, taking in #33 Winnats Pass -
BY4Sdic.jpeg

When I got to the AirBnB and update my Top 100 Climbs app, I was delighted to see I've accidentally also completed #30 Monsal Head! A nice surprise!

A similar thing happened last Family Hol last year in Brecon. I went out before breakfast (my family tend to wake much later than me) and rode up a hill. It turned out to be #91 Llangynidr Mountain :cry:
 
Went out for a little post ride work yesterday. Turns out finishing work at 1530 isn't quite the boon I had imagined for cycling after work as middle of my ride it was rush hour and the roads I was on weren't very fun.

Though I had a nice/happy moment when I got home. There's a little hill, only ~500m at 8%, that I've done 10 times according to strava. I set my PB back in 2022 a week or so after becoming a parent so I was in pretty decent shape, comparatively speaking. When I went up it yesterday knowing I don't trust my fitness as much at the moment I just went into my granny gear and rode up it, not really tying to be fast, just wanted to get up it. I felt pretty rubbish half way up with my chest feeling super tight and nose streaming from pollen and generally felt like it was a weak effort. Got home to find out that it matched my best time from 3 years ago. (1:49)

Really need to find the time to have my asthma review because if my chest wasn't hurting I think I could've smashed that without really trying.
 
Junglist said:
Went out for a little post ride work yesterday. Turns out finishing work at 1530 isn't quite the boon I had imagined for cycling after work as middle of my ride it was rush hour and the roads I was on weren't very fun.

Though I had a nice/happy moment when I got home. There's a little hill, only ~500m at 8%, that I've done 10 times according to strava. I set my PB back in 2022 a week or so after becoming a parent so I was in pretty decent shape, comparatively speaking. When I went up it yesterday knowing I don't trust my fitness as much at the moment I just went into my granny gear and rode up it, not really tying to be fast, just wanted to get up it. I felt pretty rubbish half way up with my chest feeling super tight and nose streaming from pollen and generally felt like it was a weak effort. Got home to find out that it matched my best time from 3 years ago. (1:49)

Really need to find the time to have my asthma review because if my chest wasn't hurting I think I could've smashed that without really trying.
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I find that lunch rides are okay, traffic wise - I go out at 1 for a 20-22k.

after work 1830 and on is quieter, before that it's too busy imo.
 
Junglist said:
Went out for a little post ride work yesterday. Turns out finishing work at 1530 isn't quite the boon I had imagined for cycling after work as middle of my ride it was rush hour and the roads I was on weren't very fun.
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Yep. Parents picking up their little darlings are some of the worst culprits and generally traffic from that time onwards is pretty rubbish. Luckily 90% of my rides are on country roads so its not too bad but sometimes I can be held up for ages when I come back into the town.

Junglist said:
Though I had a nice/happy moment when I got home. There's a little hill, only ~500m at 8%, that I've done 10 times according to strava. I set my PB back in 2022 a week or so after becoming a parent so I was in pretty decent shape, comparatively speaking. When I went up it yesterday knowing I don't trust my fitness as much at the moment I just went into my granny gear and rode up it, not really tying to be fast, just wanted to get up it. I felt pretty rubbish half way up with my chest feeling super tight and nose streaming from pollen and generally felt like it was a weak effort. Got home to find out that it matched my best time from 3 years ago. (1:49)
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Yeah, these things baffle me too. I will sometimes go out for a nice gentle ride and find that I PR or close to PR a bunch of segments. I think sometimes its being so much fresher that despite taking it easy you are simply fresh enough that easy is actually quite a lot of power. When you have done a hard ride, 250w might feel like hard work. When you have taken it easy, that 250w doesn't register in the same way.
 
Junglist said:
Went out for a little post ride work yesterday. Turns out finishing work at 1530 isn't quite the boon I had imagined for cycling after work as middle of my ride it was rush hour and the roads I was on weren't very fun.
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Much like grudas, I'm selective about when I head out or come home, to avoid bad times in the pretty hostile ~3 miles closest to home. Ordinarily, I'll avoid 0730-0900; 1500-1600; 1700-1800. Unless I'm desperate to get out.

I'm struggling to recall last time I had a lurgy in recent years since covid late September '22, but out of nowhere and not knowingly being around anyone infected, I've come down with something that started with nose and throat on Tuesday evening to now give me the odd dry chesty cough... Just in time for my new ebike arriving Weds lunchtime! Medium eGrade Bolt (only £1249 at PaulsCycles) feels really comfy (I'm 177cm with short 82cm legs), for now still got the supplied 40mm Nanos on but will switch them out probably to my 35/40mm Marathon Supremes for now, officially will take 47mm. The Mahle "my smartbike" app is decent, far easier than using the iWOC button, but a 20min ride used over 50% of my '18 Mi A2 battery last night. :eek: Had to ride home without recording, not that I had gone far, just wanted to see what the ~250W turbo was like on on 15Kg bike.

Make the most of this weekend folks, it's going to get cooler and wetter.
 
fez said:
Yeah, these things baffle me too. I will sometimes go out for a nice gentle ride and find that I PR or close to PR a bunch of segments. I think sometimes its being so much fresher that despite taking it easy you are simply fresh enough that easy is actually quite a lot of power. When you have done a hard ride, 250w might feel like hard work. When you have taken it easy, that 250w doesn't register in the same way.
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Yeah, i went out yesterday for the first time in ages. My legs felt heavy and i generally felt unfit. Got home and my average speed was around 3-4kph slower than my usual average, and yet somehow i'd got a 2nd fastest time on a segment i do all the time!
 
Martynt74 said:
I'm pretty sure you've just been talking about your 40mm adventure bike being great and now you're looking at replacing it with this.

Love this logic but you make me sound grounded!
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not replacing it ;) n+1 that would do the exact same thing my adventure bike does but titanium..
 
AndyCr15 said:
Love when this happens. Yesterday, I drove up to Bakewell (we're having a family holiday, just a little south of there) to ride a 30 mile loop, taking in #33 Winnats Pass -
BY4Sdic.jpeg

When I got to the AirBnB and update my Top 100 Climbs app, I was delighted to see I've accidentally also completed #30 Monsal Head! A nice surprise!

A similar thing happened last Family Hol last year in Brecon. I went out before breakfast (my family tend to wake much later than me) and rode up a hill. It turned out to be #91 Llangynidr Mountain :cry:
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Awesome! Enjoy your trip!

The Tumble not far from Llangynidr but have to admit I've not done Llangynidr (yet - done the Tumble 5 times)! If you go that way then Pengenfford is Brecon side and worth checking out - can be ridden both ways.

grudas said:
I keep looking at this https://gloriacycling.com/products/all-road-force-axs-xplr?variant=48866949398812

if I can clear 1700 ish or so from my argon18 I somehow need to man maths it and turn that into 3k :D
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Double that difference and you'll have the cost saving we made going to Disney 15th-29th rather than 13th-27th! :o

Had fish with my chips at work today - so feel like I'm in Holiday mode already with the hot sun streaming through the windows! :cool:

Hopefully get out this saturday with the club, enjoy the last of this fitness/form and possibly the good weather. But lets see what May brings! Have a good weekend/rest of month/life if I don't make it back here!
 
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AndyCr15 said:
Love when this happens. Yesterday, I drove up to Bakewell (we're having a family holiday, just a little south of there) to ride a 30 mile loop, taking in #33 Winnats Pass -

When I got to the AirBnB and update my Top 100 Climbs app, I was delighted to see I've accidentally also completed #30 Monsal Head! A nice surprise!

A similar thing happened last Family Hol last year in Brecon. I went out before breakfast (my family tend to wake much later than me) and rode up a hill. It turned out to be #91 Llangynidr Mountain :cry:
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Did you enjoy Monsal Head? There's an annual hill climb held on it which usually draws a good crowd.

Enjoy the holiday @Roady - my first activity back is usually named "Post Holiday Fat & Slow" :D
 
#Chri5# said:
Enjoy the holiday @Roady - my first activity back is usually named "Post Holiday Fat & Slow" :D
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Thanks! Always fat & slow post holiday... And the crazy HR for those first couple of rides back...!

First time in America ate so much I gained 5.5kg
Second time in America got food poisoning and lost 3.5kg
First time in Jamaica other half figures out she's pregnant (after drinking lots of rum)

The trips since have been better/non-eventful so fingers crossed for more of the same! Think last time took a few days to settle post-travel and it was 2kg gain (which I'll take again for 14-15 days off the bike!) ;)
 
Managed to avg. nearly 32kph on my local 30k loop. Probably would have managed 33/34kph if it wasn't for all the bloody traffic and traffic lights!

Caveat is that its reasonably flat with only 370m of climbing.
 
Yesterday morning I went out and ticked off 3 of Simon Warrens climbs. I was very pleased with myself. Each one, of the 5 or 6 people I follow to do the climb, I finished middle of the pack for times too.

#34 Rowsley Bar
#35 Curbar Edge
#31 Bank Rd Hill

Throw in the two from Wednesday and #32 Riber from Saturday to make 6 :cool: and takes me to 25 of the 100 now complete.

This morning was a gentle 13 mile loop, very beautiful countryside but I hit a pothole at speed and popped both inner tubes! I was just glad the wheels were okay, it was a mighty whack!

wvmrJAg.jpeg
 
talking about hitting potholes..

40mph down a hill into a sharp "dip" on a road, caused my bars to slip in stem, sounded like the frame cracked but I had a marked the position before and they moved by maybe 1mm. Hate british roads. If I had anything other than 40c tires I'd have had a flat for sure.
 
Good to see nobody so far has posted sliding over on greasy tarmac, after the first rain yesterday for many parts of the UK in weeks/months.

I'm still waiting to take my new egravel for its first decent ride, all I've done so far is one 1 mile ride around the block the day it came and then a very steady 5 miles on Thursday evening, as I've been full of a cold since the morning it arrived.

Been having a little look at what 40-47mm tyres are out there for mainly tarmac rides that have low rolling resistance and decent puncture protection, so far I think I'm most likely to take the 35/40mm Marathon Supremes off my hybrid to replace the supplied 40mm Nanos.
 
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