Road Cycling Essentials

platypus · 10 Aug 2011 at 07:29

Well that's my commute done for a while. In bed, foot up, in plaster. Just precautionary at the moment but suspected fracture, and ligament damage around my now cankle

. Got back from casualty at about 4am.

janesssssy · 10 Aug 2011 at 08:35

what happened?

platypus · 10 Aug 2011 at 08:38

Went over on my ankle and got kicked through it playing football.

The only time I've played football this year, and literally the last act of the game, blocking a shot before time was up..

janesssssy · 10 Aug 2011 at 09:14

Ouch, how long untill you can use it again?

platypus · 10 Aug 2011 at 09:28

Hopefully not long, depends on how serious it is I guess, but the doctor in A&E said it'll be walkable in a week, exercisable in three to four. The worse problem is that ligament damage weakens the entire joint, whereas a break is usually less problematic long term :/.

willhub · 10 Aug 2011 at 10:04

zo1d said:
Just thought I'd post a pic of my Cannodale CAAD9, not sure what to do for this winter as I'm planning to buy a new bike next year (probably a supersix) and was going to use the CAAD9 but starting to think it's a bit too nice for that....?

Use it in winter, I used mine through winter, just take lots of care of the wheels and drivetrain, I was lazy on maintenance and cleaning last winter, I could not get my cassette shiny anymore, it was scarred due to corrosion, and the spoke nipples were all seized up with corrosion, white stuff formed around them, I presume salt.

I'm using my Planet X through winter.

Luke_De · 10 Aug 2011 at 16:30

Anybody got an recommendations on a computer? Fell off the other day and some how smashed it, was out of warranty too!

janesssssy · 10 Aug 2011 at 19:39

Edge 800 if you have the ££

SDK^ · 10 Aug 2011 at 19:53

Edge 500 otherwise

Phil99 · 10 Aug 2011 at 19:55

You might even be able to pick up one of the older edge 705's for the same price as the 500. Might be preferable due to mapping. Depends what your budget/expectations are really

janesssssy · 10 Aug 2011 at 20:10

Can some one tell me what to eat the day or few days before a race? Sportive or MTB race. Ive heard of Carb loading but does that mean to eat plain pasta and rice all day stuffing my face?

SDK^ · 10 Aug 2011 at 20:33

janesssssy said:
Can some one tell me what to eat the day or few days before a race? Sportive or MTB race. Ive heard of Carb loading but does that mean to eat plain pasta and rice all day stuffing my face?

Eat 7-10g of carbohydrate per kilogram bodyweight each day to ensure that your cycling capabilities are at their peak

janesssssy · 10 Aug 2011 at 20:49

SDK^ said:
Eat 7-10g of carbohydrate per kilogram bodyweight each day to ensure that your cycling capabilities are at their peak

780g of pasta or rice? :confused:

Thomas. PLease. · 10 Aug 2011 at 21:06

My new bike

First road bike, coming from a hybrid the difference is insane. Can't believe how smooth it is, and the way it picks up speed is just great. Pretty happy with it.

SDK^ · 10 Aug 2011 at 21:13

janesssssy said:
780g of pasta or rice?

That amount is per day. You'll probably find you only have to up your intake by 200g or so.

As for recommended foods - Pasta, rice, cereals, toast, fruit, vegetables, scones with jam.

[DOD]Asprilla · 10 Aug 2011 at 23:49

platypus said:
Well that's my commute done for a while. In bed, foot up, in plaster. Just precautionary at the moment but suspected fracture, and ligament damage around my now cankle . Got back from casualty at about 4am.

Bugger.

Hope it sorts itself out. Bad time of year, but just think ho strong you'll be come April...

willhub · 11 Aug 2011 at 11:10

SDK^ said:
Eat 7-10g of carbohydrate per kilogram bodyweight each day to ensure that your cycling capabilities are at their peak

Seems abit excessive, just eating normal meals is fine unless doing epic rides every day, on rest days I don't even eat much.

Participant · 11 Aug 2011 at 11:14

I'm much, much more hungry when I'm commuting on my bike, and that's only 12 miles per day.

willhub · 11 Aug 2011 at 11:17

I find I don't eat much on the bike, I went for a hardish ride the other day, 50 miles, 21mph avg, 20 miles inbetween was lumpy, all I ate was a single gel. I went through 2 750ml bottles of juice though.

CGrieves · 11 Aug 2011 at 12:05

Robbie G said:
I'm much, much more hungry when I'm commuting on my bike, and that's only 12 miles per day.

I was the same to begin with, commuting 26 miles each way, although I only do it 2-3 times a week. I'd be ravenous all morning. After a month or two, once my body got used to it, I don't feel any hungrier than usual during the day. And that's when my body fat really started to fall off, although my weight stayed just about constant as my legs bulked up.

I've found the three brilliant things about being cycle-fit are:
1. I can eat pretty much whatever I want
2. Hangovers are almost nonexistent (and when they do occur, a good morning ride annihilates them)
3. I've now got the lungs for running again, and I'm almost at the stage where I enjoy it- legs still aren't quite there yet.

I love being fit, but know that I need to be disciplined to maintain it through winter.