Road Cycling Essentials

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Had a bit of an 'off' today. My own stupid fault really. Decided to cycle into work on my usual 30 mile commute so set off at 06:00am. When I stepped out the front door of the house it didn't feel as cold as it has done before but both cars in the drive were frozen solid. Roads felt a little slippy in the street but then it usually does as we are in a cul-de-sac on a hill and it always seems slippier in our street. Anyway, took it easy down to the main road and once I got on it then it seemed ok. Even the short stretch of back road I have to navigate along for a few miles after about 5 mins of leaving home was ok, slippy but ok.

About 40 mins into the ride I was thinking 'Ok, feels fine now' and looked down at my computer to see how my time was and the speedo was reading about 18mph when I lost the front end completely on a shallow bend on the short stretch of cycle path I was on at the time. No time to unclip, the force of the fall did that for me and I went down really hard on my shoulder, skidded up the path a bit and watched my bike as it did the same. Got up and as you do - checked the bike over for any damage. It was fine apart from some scrapes on the rear QR lever and the outer leading edge of my crank. Then I thought 'actually, that was quite sore!!'. :eek:

Decided to walk the remaining length of the cycle path until I could get back on the road and even walking on that stretch was almost impossible to do without slipping. Didn't continue on my usual route along another back road as this part of the route now suddenly seemed to be worse surface/ice wise than any previous part had been so bit the bullet and got onto the dual carriageway and cycled up a steep incline with nutters in cars whizzing past at warp factor 9, figured the main road would be a better bet with cars already travelling on it so the ice should not be as dodgy as an untreated back road.

As I said, my own fault really, should have been sensible this morning and took the car and it just goes to show that even if the roads are 'ok' the cycle paths tend not to be 'ok' at all in freezing weather!!. Hoping my journey back home tonight at 18:00hrs is a bit more uneventful!!. Shoulder still quite sore, more Ibuprofen required.
 
ShiWarrior said:
I'm off out tomorrow for my first club run, any tips ?
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I Take:
-food (energy bars, banana, etc)
-water (2 bottles if you can, 1 with plain water and 1 with an isotonic drink)
-at least 1 spare tube, preferably 2
- tyre levers
-pump (im sure somebody in the group will have one, so you dont always need a pump, but it's best to take it if you have one)
-phone
-some money (some clubs have a coffee/cake stop but even if they dont its still handy to take some money with you.)
-arm warmers/leg warmers/buff (unless you're wearing long sleeves anyway)

Make sure you have a mudguard on your back wheel and it's properly lined up to stop any spray into the face of the guy behind you.

If you're struggling, dont be embarrased to sit at the back in the slipstream. It's much better for the group if you take it easier on yourself rather than push yourself and completely run out of puff miles from home.

If you've never ridden in a group before, it will take a bit of getting used to: cycling so close to the wheel in front, all the hand signals and shouts, etc. You'll soon get used to it though.
 
Draeger said:
Had a bit of an 'off' today. My own stupid fault really. Decided to cycle into work on my usual 30 mile commute so set off at 06:00am. When I stepped out the front door of the house it didn't feel as cold as it has done before but both cars in the drive were frozen solid. Roads felt a little slippy in the street but then it usually does as we are in a cul-de-sac on a hill and it always seems slippier in our street. Anyway, took it easy down to the main road and once I got on it then it seemed ok. Even the short stretch of back road I have to navigate along for a few miles after about 5 mins of leaving home was ok, slippy but ok.

About 40 mins into the ride I was thinking 'Ok, feels fine now' and looked down at my computer to see how my time was and the speedo was reading about 18mph when I lost the front end completely on a shallow bend on the short stretch of cycle path I was on at the time. No time to unclip, the force of the fall did that for me and I went down really hard on my shoulder, skidded up the path a bit and watched my bike as it did the same. Got up and as you do - checked the bike over for any damage. It was fine apart from some scrapes on the rear QR lever and the outer leading edge of my crank. Then I thought 'actually, that was quite sore!!'. :eek:

Decided to walk the remaining length of the cycle path until I could get back on the road and even walking on that stretch was almost impossible to do without slipping. Didn't continue on my usual route along another back road as this part of the route now suddenly seemed to be worse surface/ice wise than any previous part had been so bit the bullet and got onto the dual carriageway and cycled up a steep incline with nutters in cars whizzing past at warp factor 9, figured the main road would be a better bet with cars already travelling on it so the ice should not be as dodgy as an untreated back road.

As I said, my own fault really, should have been sensible this morning and took the car and it just goes to show that even if the roads are 'ok' the cycle paths tend not to be 'ok' at all in freezing weather!!. Hoping my journey back home tonight at 18:00hrs is a bit more uneventful!!. Shoulder still quite sore, more Ibuprofen required.
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ouch!

sorry to hear that mate, hope your better soon, is the bike Carbon? if so i recomend getting it checked over?
 
touch said:
I Take:
-food (energy bars, banana, etc)
-water (2 bottles if you can, 1 with plain water and 1 with an isotonic drink)
-at least 1 spare tube, preferably 2
- tyre levers
-pump (im sure somebody in the group will have one, so you dont always need a pump, but it's best to take it if you have one)
-phone
-some money (some clubs have a coffee/cake stop but even if they dont its still handy to take some money with you.)
-arm warmers/leg warmers/buff (unless you're wearing long sleeves anyway)

Make sure you have a mudguard on your back wheel and it's properly lined up to stop any spray into the face of the guy behind you.

If you're struggling, dont be embarrased to sit at the back in the slipstream. It's much better for the group if you take it easier on yourself rather than push yourself and completely run out of puff miles from home.

If you've never ridden in a group before, it will take a bit of getting used to: cycling so close to the wheel in front, all the hand signals and shouts, etc. You'll soon get used to it though.
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Thanks

Think im doing only 40 mile round trip in the morning with a cafe stop in the middle

i have no mud guards but im going to be at the back anyway, if the pace is too high im going to tail off as i dont want to over do it and dislike the ride and not go back again

i'll have one bottle and one pump, i'll put a hydration drink in one, or would it be better to put an energy drink in instead?

and ill take money and a couple of natural bars incase



Oh and not sure what to wear, i dont have a lot of stuff

thinking about putting on long sleeve base layer with my ss jersey over the top and a fleece ontop of that if its really cold

i do have arm warmers, would that be warmer than a base layer?
 
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Wear the base layer, the jersey and the arm warmers. That should be ok. Have you got gloves?

For 40 miles you should be ok with one drink and some bars. Some of the guys I ride with don't take anything for that sort of distance! I always have a carb drink, an electrolyte drink and some gels as well.
 
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ShiWarrior said:
i'll have one bottle and one pump, i'll put a hydration drink in one, or would it be better to put an energy drink in instead?
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As long as you eat enough, i think a hydration drink would be better. Best to stick to what you know tho, if you find you dont like whatever drink you get, you'll be stuck. Plain water would probably be fine, especially if you have a coffee stop halfway.
ShiWarrior said:
and ill take money and a couple of natural bars incase
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Yeah, it's better to take too much and not eat it all than run out.


ShiWarrior said:
i do have arm warmers, would that be warmer than a base layer?
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I dont think they would be any warmer than a base layer, but I prefer arm warmers because they are easier to take off if you get warm.
 
Draeger said:
Had a bit of an 'off' today. My own stupid fault really. Decided to cycle into work on my usual 30 mile commute so set off at 06:00am. When I stepped out the front door of the house it didn't feel as cold as it has done before but both cars in the drive were frozen solid. Roads felt a little slippy in the street but then it usually does as we are in a cul-de-sac on a hill and it always seems slippier in our street. Anyway, took it easy down to the main road and once I got on it then it seemed ok. Even the short stretch of back road I have to navigate along for a few miles after about 5 mins of leaving home was ok, slippy but ok.

About 40 mins into the ride I was thinking 'Ok, feels fine now' and looked down at my computer to see how my time was and the speedo was reading about 18mph when I lost the front end completely on a shallow bend on the short stretch of cycle path I was on at the time. No time to unclip, the force of the fall did that for me and I went down really hard on my shoulder, skidded up the path a bit and watched my bike as it did the same. Got up and as you do - checked the bike over for any damage. It was fine apart from some scrapes on the rear QR lever and the outer leading edge of my crank. Then I thought 'actually, that was quite sore!!'. :eek:

Decided to walk the remaining length of the cycle path until I could get back on the road and even walking on that stretch was almost impossible to do without slipping. Didn't continue on my usual route along another back road as this part of the route now suddenly seemed to be worse surface/ice wise than any previous part had been so bit the bullet and got onto the dual carriageway and cycled up a steep incline with nutters in cars whizzing past at warp factor 9, figured the main road would be a better bet with cars already travelling on it so the ice should not be as dodgy as an untreated back road.

As I said, my own fault really, should have been sensible this morning and took the car and it just goes to show that even if the roads are 'ok' the cycle paths tend not to be 'ok' at all in freezing weather!!. Hoping my journey back home tonight at 18:00hrs is a bit more uneventful!!. Shoulder still quite sore, more Ibuprofen required.
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i alway stick to main roads when its really cold ! :) hope you're ok tho!

so i've done over 400miles on my triban3! :)

tyres seem to be doing ok - had one off but i bet no tyre could have gripped on that part of the road! and no punctures yet! bike is CRAZY dirty, but then again i should expect that because i commute 5 days a week.

I'm just thinking of putting some lube on the chain/cassette/derailleur and leaving it until the weather improves.

crud road racers do the job too! :) my butt was dry after 10 miles in heavy-ish rain! :) just need some cycling glasses now and ill be getting better front/back lights next week :)
 
grudas said:
bike is CRAZY dirty, but then again i should expect that because i commute 5 days a week.
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That's no excuse. Rinse/wipe down your bike after every ride, and run your chain through an old towel (designate it as your chain towel) or something to clean it. I do that every ride and my bike stays clean despite doing 27m 5x/week, plus weekend rides. Don't relube it after every clean though, just do it every so often. Lube on the outside of the links is wasted lube and just attracts dirt.
 
[Damien];23234037 said:
That's no excuse. Rinse/wipe down your bike after every ride, and run your chain through an old towel (designate it as your chain towel) or something to clean it. I do that every ride and my bike stays clean despite doing 27m 5x/week, plus weekend rides. Don't relube it after every clean though, just do it every so often. Lube on the outside of the links is wasted lube and just attracts dirt.
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its a bit pointless in my eyes? dirt on paintwork etc won't really damage my components so all i care about is it running smooth?! which it does :) yes my bike would look nice and clean which is what i like but i ran my bmx the same way during nov/dec/jan and cleaned it properly when the weather got better.
 
Vonhelmet said:
Wear the base layer, the jersey and the arm warmers. That should be ok. Have you got gloves?

For 40 miles you should be ok with one drink and some bars. Some of the guys I ride with don't take anything for that sort of distance! I always have a carb drink, an electrolyte drink and some gels as well.
Click to expand...

Well, the drinks taste good, so im ok with either
arm warmers over the base layer? I certainly wont be taking the arm wamers off, my body hates the cold weather and if thee a bit of cold, i literaly freeze

yeah i have some gloves, i wear padded mitts with wind proof gloves over the top, that works quite well

touch said:
As long as you eat enough, i think a hydration drink would be better. Best to stick to what you know tho, if you find you dont like whatever drink you get, you'll be stuck. Plain water would probably be fine, especially if you have a coffee stop halfway.

Yeah, it's better to take too much and not eat it all than run out.



I dont think they would be any warmer than a base layer, but I prefer arm warmers because they are easier to take off if you get warm.
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i have about 3 natural bars left, so i'll take them with me, i'll probabally use my high 5 electrolyte & Magnesium tabs
 
Sounds like you're fairly well set. I'd strongly recommend against attempting to ride 40 miles in a fleece though, if that idea is still on the table.
 
20120905_120728.jpg


my new bike :) loving it. big change from mountain biking
 
grudas said:
i thought about it! but there's not much dirt on the chain or cassete! :)

ill get a chain cleaner next month :)

here's some mess(most of it looks to be brake dust + water) i need some better brake pads too!
]
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Just get a dampish rag and wipe the frame/forks/rims down is what I'd do. Keep an eye on the chain and oil when it feels dry, wiping the excess off with a rag.

Keep an eye on the small wheels on the rear mech, put a small sharp object against then and back pedal the bike to remove any crap from them. Wiping the chainrings can help keep crap out the chain too. If you can be arsed take the rear wheel off and run the rag between the cogs on the cassette, you can use the fact the cassette moves one way but not another to get a good technique going.
 
Vonhelmet said:
Sounds like you're fairly well set. I'd strongly recommend against attempting to ride 40 miles in a fleece though, if that idea is still on the table.
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whys that mate?

I had a fleece on a few weeks ago, when it was freezing cold, glad i had it on for the first part, but on the return journey i took it off and i was fine, that was about 20 miles at most though
 
Maybe it's just me, but if I went and did our sort of standard Saturday 40 miles and 2500ish feet of climbing in my fleece I'd be absolutely wringing.
 
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