Road Cycling Essentials

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Roady said:
50/34 rings with 12-26 (I think). To me the top resistance should be something you really struggle to turn except when standing and grinding hard, but I guess that's not what a Turbo is for! :D

My legs are ok as did no real weekend riding and 2 easy days commuting as well as a rest day today (to drive to the post office depot after work). Same opinion as you - get a baseline before I've done no real training towards it - so I see gains when I do! :D

Came up with a target for myself this year: http://www.strava.com/routes/1405522
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I'm sure you'll do that easily, though cat 3 climbs can be a bit painful :p

Jonny69 said:
Very different type of muscle usage though. The aerobic slow twitch for running is quite different to the anaerobic type for heavy lifting. It's DOMS, it's just a different type of DOMS :p

Lol @ shins. Shin splints affect people in different ways and, as well as being distance related, it's also affected by the surface you run on and your running technique. Increasing the distance is usually what gets novice runners. Start out small and increase your distance slowly. If you've never really run much before, don't go from 2.5k, then straight to 5k and then start running multiple 5k+ during the week. This is what causes most leg injuries. Really give yourself a gentle lead in and increase the total distance by no more than about 10% per week. Sounds tedious, but it really gives your body a chance to toughen up if you do it that way, and it keeps you injury-free in the long term.
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I kind of did exactly what you shouldn't do and went straight in at a 5k (well, 0.1 miles short due to the route being a bit wrong). I know that's a really bad idea but heyho, it's done now.

I might get one more run in (or two at the absolute most) at the same distance but then next week until probably March I'll be on an enforced break from cycling, gym and running so hopefully in that time I'll recover and my legs will toughen up a bit.

physichull said:
Might be of interest to you:

http://road.cc/content/buyers-guide/141931-2015s-hottest-disc-equipped-road-bikes
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Cheers. I had a quick look at that earlier. Some very tasty bikes, though some with some very horrible price tags :eek:
 
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Roady said:
The distance should be ok, the majority of it is on fairly fast A roads so I'll defo be doing it one lazy summer sunday afternoon. The climb I know from driving it (a friend used to live in Dorstone) and there's loads of pubs along the route if I need to stop for a breather! ;)

There's another climb there up a no-through-road but nobodies made a segment there... Yet! ;)

Edit: Found it!
https://www.strava.com/segments/6470079 and the top part of this one https://www.strava.com/segments/2615092

Should be almost 1000 ft of climbing in 2 miles :)
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Yeah, you don't need to rush. Take you time on the flats until you get the climb out of the fay then see how you feel for the rest.

Those two segments do look tough combined. The second part doesn't look like the greatest of roads mind you.
 
topgun06 said:
Edit: Just "street viewed" that climb. Very nice :)
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topgun06 said:
Those two segments do look tough combined. The second part doesn't look like the greatest of roads mind you.
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FrenchTart said:
I'm sure you'll do that easily, though cat climbs can be a bit painful :p
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I know the road past Arthurs stone (used in the route) as had a friend who lived around there, the road surface should be ok as it's regularly used - along with it working well on a loop which is a nice run back to Hereford. Although I did have a car back then which sometimes couldn't get up the final hill to his house lol... :rolleyes:

The road in the segments is a no-through road that climbs to a mast (past where my friend used to live) so I've driven part of it and walked the rest... But not for a good number of years! :eek:

The distance (~30 miles) is what I'll be aiming for on my weekend rides. My parents live 27 miles from Hereford and my girlfriends live 32 miles away another direction, so the distance will be one I can combine into visits we regularly make (I'll get a lift home!). I can then hopefully combine riding into the weekends easier! (that's the plan anyways) :D

As you can tell, I need some serious climbing practice first lol :eek:

Came across this which I may use as a basis around the TR work.
 
Your girlfriends? Lucky devil :p

My post should have said "cat 3 climbs" btw :)

Trainer Road has a number of training plans inbuilt that are similar to that. I'd recommend them as it will save you trying to work out an appropriate training session that maps to one of those things. It also starts with an FTP test so you're good to go...
 
FrenchTart said:
Your girlfriends? Lucky devil :p

My post should have said "cat 3 climbs" btw :)

Trainer Road has a number of training plans inbuilt that are similar to that. I'd recommend them as it will save you trying to work out an appropriate training session that maps to one of those things. It also starts with an FTP test so you're good to go...
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Her parents are plural but she is a singularity - I don't get the complexities of some English grammar so it was a not-so-educated guess lol (I'm a farm boy remember - where I grew up is real ooooh-aaaar territory!) :p

I think any CAT climb is gonna be a good target for me to aim for (and will utterly destroy me until I'm conditioned!).

The structure from TR, can it be used similar to a '4-week-plan' as in the link? I'm a bit late to start my '12-week winter training plan' ;)

topgun06 said:
Girlfriends :p

30mi should be easily doable. What is your max so far?
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On the road, around 16 miles. I've a 14 mile loop I do - last couple of times I've felt I could do it again at the end.

I've done further on the trainer but don't think that counts really! ;)
 
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If you feel you can do the 14mi loop again then I really don't think you would have any problem doing the 30 mile route you speced out. Yeah its twice as far with more hills, but even if you do feel crappy after 20 miles you will make it to 30. We're capable of much more than we think fitness wise.
 
Roady said:
The FTP you guys are putting out is gonna put mine to shame! :(
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You can't compare your trainerroad FTP to someone elses if you're using virtual power - it's meaningless. There are way too many variables for meaningful comparison. Turbo, bike, tyre make, tyre size, tyre pressure, how tight you fit the wheel to the turbo etc etc.

I ride with a guy that uses TR and has the same turbo as me, and TR consistently shows that he's significantly more powerful than me. But on the road it's the total opposite.

All that matters is that your set up is consistent so you can compare yourself to yourself.
 
grudas said:
on that note.. those that ride everyday, how do you deal with bum pain? padded shorts, saddles etc don't help! it just seems to rub on a different part of my bum haha.

but it is getting quite bad.. ! which is annoying the crap out of me
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Bike Fit fixed majority of my issues, although I still got them when using the TT bike even after being fitted, but seems to be saddle related as replaced with an ISM and even the hardest turbo sessions in my worst shorts are fine now!

But it may be also that if you're constantly getting sores, then you're just not giving your body time to heal and could do with some time out of the saddle.
 
Apostrophe after the S then ;)

Edit: no, even that isn't correct. Girlfriend's folks' works, but talk about grammar and punctuation mess :p
 
FrenchTart said:
Ah, fair enough.

Check out these pages. I don't think you need to be logged in:

http://www.trainerroad.com/training-plans

http://blog.trainerroad.com/which-training-plan-is-best-for-me/
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Thanks mate, I'd seen the training plans (and was heading there for the 'casual' to start with). I'll have a read through the blog too! :)

tedmaul said:
You can't compare your trainerroad FTP to someone elses if you're using virtual power - it's meaningless. There are way too many variables for meaningful comparison. Turbo, bike, tyre make, tyre size, tyre pressure, how tight you fit the wheel to the turbo etc etc.

I ride with a guy that uses TR and has the same turbo as me, and TR consistently shows that he's significantly more powerful than me. But on the road it's the total opposite.

All that matters is that your set up is consistent so you can compare yourself to yourself.
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I'll be taking all figures with a pinch of salt anyway - TR is going to be for some structure to help me train with some kind of aim/purpose and the virtual FTP will only really be used to estimate my progress/fitness :)

I guess I'm still not 100% sure of what I'm doing and the easiest way to learn is to compare against someone else! I mean I'm not sure if the type of training I'm doing/planning is/will really making a difference, but in reality any and all cycling will make a difference! ;)

topgun06 said:
If you feel you can do the 14mi loop again then I really don't think you would have any problem doing the 30 mile route you speced out. Yeah its twice as far with more hills, but even if you do feel crappy after 20 miles you will make it to 30. We're capable of much more than we think fitness wise.
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I'll figure out a 20 mile loop with a little more climbing in it first to check! One of the easiest things to do (I think for me) is climbing practice (hill repeats) alongside some TR structure to help me pace myself. I always tend to 'race' rather than 'pace'! :p:rolleyes:

Jonny69 said:
Apostrophe after the S then ;)
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*slap* :p ;)
 
Surely you mean *s'lap*? :p

As tedmaul says, you can't really compare your FTP against other people with virtual power (and to some degree even with regular power meters) but all you need to concentrate on is comparing it to yourself. Do a bit of sweet spot training and you'll soon notice massive improvements in all aspects of your cycling. Don't *only* do sweet spot though as it's important to have a rounded training plan (hence the training plans).

I'm really bad and don't follow a proper plan. It's something I plan to change after my break.
 
FrenchTart said:
Surely you mean *s'lap*? :p

As tedmaul says, you can't really compare your FTP against other people with virtual power (and to some degree even with regular power meters) but all you need to concentrate on is comparing it to yourself. Do a bit of sweet spot training and you'll soon notice massive improvements in all aspects of your cycling. Don't *only* do sweet spot though as it's important to have a rounded training plan (hence the training plans).

I'm really bad and don't follow a proper plan. It's something I plan to change after my break.
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Don't you s'Tart! :p

I'm similar, as mentioned before I got really conditioned to riding my commute (with no climbing) and nothing else... Noticed huge gains changing to road bike (ie weight loss, increase in speed & recovery times) but then plateaued. I got more into my cycling, did some weekend rides, got my turbo but noticed no huge gains in my speed (really) as my commute has been the only real constant I've measured.

I'm hoping the structure of some kinda loose plan along with measuring my FTP will aid me in my aims this year of being out on the roads more for much further distances. Due to my time constraints I don't want to be out riding for 4-5 hours every weekend just to 'see progress', so I figure some local hill repeats/CAT climbs will be an easier thing (time wise) for me to do. :confused:

It'll only be a matter of time until I buy a CX/MTB anyway as there's lots of places for that kinda riding around here, I have friends into it and tons of land/hills around my parents farm I can enjoy (and wouldn't go near with a 700c tyre!) :D
 
FrenchTart said:
I'm sure you'll do that easily, though cat 3 climbs can be a bit painful :p
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Depends on gradient more than anything else, I reckon. The Rake in Ramsbottom is a cat 4 but it's got a section at 25% which feels like you're gonna die. Conversely, a climb I did on the way to Holme Moss to watch le Tour is a cat 2 but it's not very steep, just really long, so you can just spin up it.
 
Roady said:
Don't you s'Tart! :p

I'm similar, as mentioned before I got really conditioned to riding my commute (with no climbing) and nothing else... Noticed huge gains changing to road bike (ie weight loss, increase in speed & recovery times) but then plateaued. I got more into my cycling, did some weekend rides, got my turbo but noticed no huge gains in my speed (really) as my commute has been the only real constant I've measured.

I'm hoping the structure of some kinda loose plan along with measuring my FTP will aid me in my aims this year of being out on the roads more for much further distances. Due to my time constraints I don't want to be out riding for 4-5 hours every weekend just to 'see progress', so I figure some local hill repeats/CAT climbs will be an easier thing (time wise) for me to do. :confused:

It'll only be a matter of time until I buy a CX/MTB anyway as there's lots of places for that kinda riding around here, I have friends into it and tons of land/hills around my parents farm I can enjoy (and wouldn't go near with a 700c tyre!) :D
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S'orry ;)

I think if you follow the training plans on Trainer Road you'll get the most cycling improvement for your time buck. This will leave you with more time to enjoy the fruits of your labour - at least when you're not recovering from the horribly painful sessions at least :p

ShiWarrior said:
Just come back from the Doctors, he said I might have Glandular fever :(
no biking for me still then :(
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Sorry to hear that :( Any idea of a likely period before you can get back on the bike?

Vonhelmet said:
Depends on gradient more than anything else, I reckon. The Rake in Ramsbottom is a cat 4 but it's got a section at 25% which feels like you're gonna die. Conversely, a climb I did on the way to Holme Moss to watch le Tour is a cat 2 but it's not very steep, just really long, so you can just spin up it.
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Yeah...that's a fair point. I certainly struggle a lot more on the ridiculous gradients than I do on the longer climbs (in the UK at least).
 
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