Road Cycling

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Brilliant ride this evening. 33 miles, 2300 feet of climbing, average of 16mph. First time in ages that I've ridden with some of the guys I usually ride with; I've mainly been flying solo lately. My next door neighbour and one of the other guys have been hammering the turbo and are getting very quick, though I could still hold them off on some of the hills, particularly the ever unpopular Foxholes climb - 321ft in 0.7 of a mile - which I'd chosen to take us up, a decision which earned me a torrent of abuse from [Damien].
 
This wind is annoying me! When is it going to be calm! Only 15 mph NE tonight, which is actually an improvement of late, but it's just frustrating when you can't just go for an easy spin all the way round!
 
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Managed to get a commute in today those gusts though, was surprised to see I still held just over 17mph average.

Sadly my last "free will" commute as my wife is heading back to work tomorrow and I'll be needing to drop eldest at pre-school followed by youngest at the parents. Will only have Fridays now for some time :(

Still, got my trainer the other week so once I have the speed/cadence sensor I can destroy myself anytime
 
hello , totally new to road cycling here but looking for some advice and might provide a chuckle

i bought a cube peloton something on the cycle to work scheme nearly a year ago with the plan of getting back into shape (a full road bike probably wasnt the best idea but thats another story and i think now i can put up with it) i used to ride bmx at quite a good level when i was a slimmer teen and then the odd downhill mountain biking which is why i picked cycling. the bike sat there for 11 months mostly unused...

well in the last 2 months ive been losing some weight , sort of without much effort down to 17 stone from 19 , ive also had some personal problems and issues that have made me want to change my lifestyle so on saturday morning i got the bike out , pumped the tyres up and rode 7 miles at 9am with the worst hangover ever. maybe still drunk , the ride ended when wine came back up through my nose

laughed at myself and decided i wouldn't give up so on sunday i went out in the ridiculous wind and did 13ish miles

monday i did around 25 with a break in the middle (visiting someone)

today i was busy then sat in the sun but did just go out a few hours ago to time myself against some strava sprints close to my house where my lungs where shown up for the useless bags they are. maybe 5 miles

anyway im obviously enjoying it and i feel strava will be a great tool for me to track improvements .

this is what i need some advice with though...

at the moment though im on flat pedals from an old mtb ! , what are some good value for money shoe/pedal combos. ?

and seat. wow , im wearing some padded shorts and my backside is taking a beating. expected when its got 17 stone pushing it onto barely nothing i suppose. what do i do about that ?

last of all whats the best way to getting fitness up ? even on work days i imagine i can fit an hour in on a morning (after nightshift) the plan is to do a 10 mile loop which takes me 45ish minutes then get quicker round it until i can up the miles ? sounds like a good idea ? im trying to avoid hills for now as i really am too unfit to haul 17 stone of myself up a hill at the moment and while i know im using less effort it takes out the enjoyments.

the advantage for when im fitter is im only a few miles from the countryside , and while unfit now im only a few miles from some well signed and paved cycle routes :)

thanks for reading if you have.
 
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I use shimano RO87 and 105 pedals which are a road style(SPD-SL). You can get normal SPD which means the pedals are usually double sided and the shoes they fit to can have the cleat recessed which makes walking around easier.

SPD-SL are plastic and sit proud so wear out quicker if you are walking around.

RO88 is the newer version of my shoe which would pair with R540 pedal. The SPD version would be MO88 and M520 pedals. There are a couple of shoes that have SPD but look like road shoes, these will have RT part numbers instead of RO/MO.


Sore arse will probably get better if you already have the shorts. Takes a week or two to get broken in. Worth checking that the height is ok and that it is level/slightly nose down. Nose up too much will hurt your gooch and not be so nice.

If you only have so much time then aiming to get faster for a set route is fine, I commute and have went from taking 32 minutes to just over 25 on a good day. Short sharp rides are good but a long slower paced ride will get your legs used to miles and if you go for hours then will burn more fat rather than readily available sources of energy. Like a 4-5 hour 60 mile ride.
 
thanks , i will take a look at those pedals/shoes. doubt i would ever be walking about in them

the time limit thing would just be weekdays. and an hour would be the worst case scenario. once fitter i could probably fit a couple in and it not effect my sleep/home duties/work

i definitely to plan to go on longer rides on weekends even if i just take it steady for now

ive found my legs are actually holding up pretty well , probably muscle memory from the bmx days of sprinting towards ramps in high gearing , well and carrying this lump of me about , my lungs though , one quick sprint and im ruined. i did smoke for a few years but packed in a year ago. im sure it will all get better.

certainly feel better in myself for it anyway !
 
Jonny's advice is great. I'd go SPD rather than SPD-SL personally but it can be a bit of a hot topic :p

Is the saddle you're riding on the one that came with the bike? If so I'd consider a cheap upgrade like a Charge Spoon.

Sounds like you've made a great lifestyle change anyhow. I found cycling really helped with tons of things outside of simply getting fitter/losing weight.

BennyC said:
This evenings turbo was a little unpleasant:

https://www.trainerroad.com/cycling/rides/2116353-Dicks
https://www.strava.com/activities/321838614

Riding at/slightly above FTP with little to no recovery did force me to try and pedal as efficiently as possible partly because it needs improving and also it burned less :p
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Be honest - you only chose that workout due to the name, right? :p
 
"andy" said:
and seat. wow , im wearing some padded shorts and my backside is taking a beating. expected when its got 17 stone pushing it onto barely nothing i suppose. what do i do about that ?

last of all whats the best way to getting fitness up ? even on work days i imagine i can fit an hour in on a morning (after nightshift) the plan is to do a 10 mile loop which takes me 45ish minutes then get quicker round it until i can up the miles ? sounds like a good idea ? im trying to avoid hills for now as i really am too unfit to haul 17 stone of myself up a hill at the moment and while i know im using less effort it takes out the enjoyments.
Click to expand...

Saddles are a weird and personal thing, I've only ever really liked an old design that hasn't been produced since about 1998 and a £200 brooks, and even that took 1500 miles to break in properly

just keep pressing at that 10 mile loop, try to get yourself quicker. Half an hour is a good goal to aim for over that kind of distance, a 20mph average. Keep it up and the time will soon tumble.
 
Sorry I've not posted much recently, work has been exceptionally busy with a new project starting.

Cycling is going well, really enjoying it lately. Road bike is going in for a service tomorrow at this place:
http://www.velocitybikes.co.uk/
I went there on Saturday, as they like to take a look at the bikes prior to the appointment, just to make sure no special parts are required. The guy immediately told me that my bike had been assembled incorrectly, apparently the head tube was done up too tight, which could have damaged the carbon forks, but fortunately forks were fine. He said the bearings on the front need regreasing, and replacement chain required. A bit odd, as I've only done 400 miles on this one, but sure enough it was at the level where it could be replaced.

They then told me that my bike was completely wrong for my size, 30 mins later and I'm booked in for a 3hr long bike fit on the 26th. I fully expect them to tell me I need a new bike, which I was planning anyway, but hopefully it will give the exact dimension I need. It seemed a lot more involved than the Retul bike fitting I had done last year.

Still getting quite a lot of abuse on my morning commutes, strangely enough the usual motorcyclists has buggered off, but replaced by irate van drivers. So, I've decided to extend my commute and take the more scenic route......which has been an awesome decision. It's double the distance, and triple the climbing, so should improve my fitness, but I finally see fellow cyclists on my commute, I guess they were scared of the same road. Had a nice race with someone this morning, which was a great start to the day. Most importantly, no shared paths on this route, in fact no pavement at all :)
 
Monday morning, I had to slam on the brakes going down a 6% hill, stopping from 37mph and almost planting into a lorry that was parked in the middle of the road. I should have checked my tyre after, as it turns out I left half of it on the tarmac and got a puncture on today's lunch ride:

wvMSomQ.png
 
Hi All

Small update from Mallorca.

IT'S HOT!

Like 25c at 9am hot.

I'm on the doorstep of a climb called 'Coll De Sa Creu'. It's a bit of a beast compared to what im used to. My first taste of mountain climbing compared to the usual 'hill's' Ive ridden in east midlands and Berkshire. Alpine like twist and turns over smooth fresh tarmac amongst an old forest. Great views over Palma. It's lovely!

http://mallorcacycling.co.uk/mallorca-cycle-climbs/coll-de-sa-creu/

Unfortunately it's just too hot to ride past 9/10am for me. Im up at 6am to get a bit of a ride in and it's still 17/18c then! Some of you might think thats not hot at all but I don't want to be in a creek without a paddle regarding hydration; I play it safe.

Anyway, i'm on a family holiday so the cycling comes second. Loved that I've got a few rides in so im well happy.

Needless to say im eying up a return for later in the year (Sept/October) to explore more.

J
 
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But you're loving it yes? I've not been to that side of the island so not experienced that climb. Plan on climbing into Soller? It's a lovely little town.

I have 5 days to go unto I leave for Majorca. In past years we have cycled in 30 degrees. At some points it was tough but we managed to stay hydrated properly. I'll just be glad to get out of the 'cold' weather here.
 
topgun06 said:
But you're loving it yes? I've not been to that side of the island so not experienced that climb. Plan on climbing into Soller? It's a lovely little town.

I have 5 days to go unto I leave for Majorca. In past years we have cycled in 30 degrees. At some points it was tough but we managed to stay hydrated properly. I'll just be glad to get out of the 'cold' weather here.
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Yep, loving the place. :-)

I probably didn't prepare myself very well for the heat....if at all on reflection. :p Thermometer on the wall says its 32 in the shade.

Nope, not on this visit but (Port de) Soller is one of the places ive got my eyes on when I return, or Port de Pollenca.
 
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