Road Cycling Essentials

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Just watched the highlights - looked like a great race, although Sky failed to deliver once again. Getting a bit fed up with their conservative tactics.

Had a great ride out yesterday - 110 miles with 5 friends in lovely sunshine and stunning scenery and a bloody good lunch :) 8500ft of climbing so quite happy with 15mph moving average

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/73849748
 
Yeah, the Etape Du Dales - http://www.etapedudales.co.uk/

Please do not treat your entry lightly, remember to respect the challenge.* The Etape du Dales route is an extremely*difficult 112 mile ride and requires an excellent level of fitness.* It takes in the major climbs in the Yorkshire Dales and that means steep and technical descents as well. The course has good signage but you should be aware of the route and terrain.
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It's a tough one - did it last year, but was my first 100 mile ride so only a bronze time. Hoping for silver this year :)
 
joemo13 said:
Anyone else disappointed at Cav's perfomance yesterday?
Today was my clubs reliability ride, and it was a nice sunny warm day!
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I was. Mark needs to sort himself out, Matt Goss is a better climber and almost as fast in sprints. I've heard rumours that he's been using a possible move to Sky to boost his salary negotiations with Cuddly Bob. On recent performances Bob would be well within his rights to say "Sod off to Sky then, Goss is our new sprinter and Renshaw will lead him out."

I don't accept the argument that his focus is the TdF - that's nonsense. He won M-SR in 2009, so he's capable when his mind's in the right place. The start of his season has been a joke; he needs to give his other half the push and concentrate on racing.

He had a bad start to last season, and came good at the TdF and Giro, so it would be silly to write him off completely, but I think he's getting distracted.
 
As I am here, I thought I'd give you all a chuckle. I had my first tumble today. Thankfully, all that's bruised is my pride!

I changed one of the cleats on my shoes last night. Today a friend came around to collect me for a ride, at the second junction we got to after leaving my house I tried to clip out, as it's always busy. The new spring in my cleat was stiff (Speedplay Zero) and I couldn't clip out - fell sideways, and managed to protect the bike with the exception of a small scuff on the shifter, and a small scuff on the rear QR.

It was a busy crossroads and some of the looks from motorists were priceless. My friend had the good grace to wait until we'd started riding again before laughing his ass off!

I'm pleased I've got my first one out of the way! :)
 
Sagalout said:
Just watched the highlights - looked like a great race, although Sky failed to deliver once again. Getting a bit fed up with their conservative tactics.

Had a great ride out yesterday - 110 miles with 5 friends in lovely sunshine and stunning scenery and a bloody good lunch :) 8500ft of climbing so quite happy with 15mph moving average

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/73849748
Click to expand...

Very impressive mate :)

What's with the 'Max Cadence'? 246 RPM? Really? :)
 
OK, had a bike fit last night and it was excellent, really made a difference to me.

On the down side, my S1 is completely the wrong shape for me if I want to do any real distance so I'm looking at a new frame. Here are my options at the moment:

Specialized Roubaix
Colnaglo CLX 2.0
Trek Madone
Scott CR1
Giant Defy Advance
BMC Pro Machine


Basically I need a seat angle of about 73 degrees, a top tube of 540mm to 550mm and a head tube of 150mm to 165mm.
 
First day this year i've commuted on my bike roadie so thought i'd add a photo to the thread

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Well my knee would appear to be a bit of a mess. I rode in on Friday, but very gently so as to keep it moving but not upset it. It was pretty stiff over the weekend but fine by Monday. I had to do a few local chores because I had the morning off but nothing strenuous and I just took it easy. It immediately started playing up again, pulling on the top outside of my calf and making my knee stiff and sore. So it's definitely the cycling causing it. I'm going to have to stay out of the saddle for a few weeks :(
 
Rubbish. This morning was my first ride for a week to give my knee a rest too. Was fine, but then my morning commute is all downhill so the test will be going back...
 
Little update on my touring bike situation:

I've been browsing classifieds for a week or two now, but nothing in particular has popped up. I got in touch with a Kona dealer in London and he was incredibly helpful, but he doesn't have any stock in and I would have to place an order to get one...which I don't want to do without first trying it!

I'm in no hurry, but hopefully something will come around by mid-Easter so I can start getting ready for some summer tours. Alternatively I've considered building it myself, but I have no idea how much that would cost in comparison. Lots of people say that it is the more expensive route, but is it really if you buy mostly 2nd hand components?

The other thing is, I'd have to be happy with the frame etc before I built it, otherwise it's just a money sink. I don't know really, think I'm just going to keep scouring the classifies and if nothing comes up by Easter, I'll try and travel further afield to check some shops out.
 
Well 6 weeks after my run in with a car, my bike and back are finally fixed (with a couple of bike upgrades thrown in):
p1000658s.jpg


Can't wait to get her out for a quick 30 mile spin tomorrow then a nice hilly 80 miles or so at the weekend! :D
 
Had too much on today but will be sloping off tomorrow at some point for a quick 30 mile training loop on the road. Weather looking good so far. I'll stop and grab a couple of pics if I can find a nice spot along the way. :cool:
 
hit a granny yesterday.. :) at least she said sorry and admitted that it was her fault for crossing red light without looking..
 
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