Road Cycling
- Thread starter FrenchTart
- Start date
Boutros boutros ghali. SCORCHIO! 
(showing my age...)
Utterly melted on my lunch commute, hottest day this week easily - even with the gusty winds and occasional clouds. Any time out of the wind & shade I could literally feel the heat from the tarmac! Hot winds! Just takes me a few weeks to acclimatise, usually meaning the UK summer has been & gone!
(showing my age...)Utterly melted on my lunch commute, hottest day this week easily - even with the gusty winds and occasional clouds. Any time out of the wind & shade I could literally feel the heat from the tarmac! Hot winds! Just takes me a few weeks to acclimatise, usually meaning the UK summer has been & gone!
Isn't it 25 degrees it changes? Or warmer? Will change today for sure!
I visited Florida last June and the temperatures were similar, can't imagine cycling in that heat & humidity! I couldn't walk in it for very long! Thankfully american beer is light and refreshing!
Last edited:
Soldato
- Joined
- 17 Sep 2006
- Posts
- 4,264
- Location
- Gloucestershire
21C apparently.
Trouble is, even if it's warmer than that, the wind 'chill' means the frame rarely goes over 21 or so.
Until this sort of weather........
Trouble is, even if it's warmer than that, the wind 'chill' means the frame rarely goes over 21 or so.
Until this sort of weather........
The intensity of rides should decrease proportionately to the increase in temperature 
Found myself in Marrakesh one August with highs of 52 degrees
even laying in the shade I was just watching the sweat drip off my nose and form a puddle on the ground in front of me. All I'd done was eat breakfast and walk to the pool!
Couldn't even imagine exerting myself, let alone racing at the Tour of Dubai last year, no wonder bits of it were cancelled!
Found myself in Marrakesh one August with highs of 52 degrees
even laying in the shade I was just watching the sweat drip off my nose and form a puddle on the ground in front of me. All I'd done was eat breakfast and walk to the pool!Couldn't even imagine exerting myself, let alone racing at the Tour of Dubai last year, no wonder bits of it were cancelled!
I'm about 35 miles into my ride and dying a bit! It is indeed scorchio! I've stopped for a coke and a tea cake. Single speed in this heat is hard work. I need air conditioning on my bike. Route not helped by google maps showing roads that no longer exist when I was planning - cheers! Got another 15 miles or so to get back to the office and pick some stuff up then back home.
The weather is causing biking euphoria that is also making me want to buy a new bike.
I need to stay well clear of the Trek dealer on the way home because I can feel something wreckless coming on.
Doooit
Hope you stayed hydrated mate!
!Found myself in Marrakesh one August with highs of 52 degrees
Crazy! Temperatures much over 35 I find I just start to melt and can't cool down. Lille this weekend shouldn't be much over 30. Still more than warm enough for me! Speaking of Lille... Time to finish for the week! xD
Have a good long weekend all!
Great effort on the single speed!
I've just cleaned and reindexed my gears. Anyone else find the mechanical maintenance of their bikes satisfying?
Soldato
- Joined
- 17 Sep 2006
- Posts
- 4,264
- Location
- Gloucestershire
Yep! Spent an hour cleaning and tuning my bike for Sunday.
Love the feel of a quiet and smooth running bike
*needs to get out more*
Love the feel of a quiet and smooth running bike
*needs to get out more*
Soldato
- Joined
- 22 Sep 2008
- Posts
- 10,120
- Location
- Burscough
Now and then, to be honest, this thread moves so fast that I find it almost impossible to keep up with lately but I'm still a very active road cyclist. If you want any info, just give me a shout.
Soldato
- Joined
- 17 Sep 2006
- Posts
- 4,264
- Location
- Gloucestershire
Are there many TP users on here?
I've been using it for a couple of months now, and I'm still trying to get my head around it. I bought the 8 week FTP builder plan too, mainly for templates as workouts, as with my travelling I can't really stick to a reliable and constant plan.
Here's my current PMC:
The big spike in fatigue was the trip to Spain for the week, and the big spike after that is the upcoming 150 mile ride this Sunday.
But generally, my CTL (general measure of fitness) is going down.
Am I over training? Or is it just something I have to accept with frequent overseas travel? (you can see that at the start of the graph, as I had a lot of week on/week off trips, with just the weekend riding in between)
I've noticed a lot of other peoples PMCs where there TSS scores are generally in the 50-75 region, whereas you can see on mine most are well about 100-150.
I've been using it for a couple of months now, and I'm still trying to get my head around it. I bought the 8 week FTP builder plan too, mainly for templates as workouts, as with my travelling I can't really stick to a reliable and constant plan.
Here's my current PMC:
The big spike in fatigue was the trip to Spain for the week, and the big spike after that is the upcoming 150 mile ride this Sunday.
But generally, my CTL (general measure of fitness) is going down.
Am I over training? Or is it just something I have to accept with frequent overseas travel? (you can see that at the start of the graph, as I had a lot of week on/week off trips, with just the weekend riding in between)
I've noticed a lot of other peoples PMCs where there TSS scores are generally in the 50-75 region, whereas you can see on mine most are well about 100-150.
If you are travelling overseas and not riding all week with no ability to train then it is something you will need to accept.
100-150 TSS twice at a weekend will spike your ATL and give a boost in CTL but then through the week when not training this will obviously just drop, unavoidable as not training.
In relation to your usual TSB level, you would be classed as overtraining on the Spain week, yes. This is because you spent a week training though whereas you had not been in previous weeks, thus spiking ATL and dropping your TSB drastically. That is not uncommon training camps though, anyone who is anyone will be training more and achieving mega - TSB to make the most of their time abroad.
I don't know what to suggest to you in all honesty, there will be coaches and people out there who will fight to the death about time crunched/few hours a week training but IMO of it all, consistency is the key to a steady ramp in fitness increase. I wouldn't know what to suggest to make the most of the little time you do have only at weekends mostly. It 100% is all going to depend on your weekly availability to train to determine how to best use that time which I understand is not easy with your job/being away.
100-150 TSS twice at a weekend will spike your ATL and give a boost in CTL but then through the week when not training this will obviously just drop, unavoidable as not training.
In relation to your usual TSB level, you would be classed as overtraining on the Spain week, yes. This is because you spent a week training though whereas you had not been in previous weeks, thus spiking ATL and dropping your TSB drastically. That is not uncommon training camps though, anyone who is anyone will be training more and achieving mega - TSB to make the most of their time abroad.
I don't know what to suggest to you in all honesty, there will be coaches and people out there who will fight to the death about time crunched/few hours a week training but IMO of it all, consistency is the key to a steady ramp in fitness increase. I wouldn't know what to suggest to make the most of the little time you do have only at weekends mostly. It 100% is all going to depend on your weekly availability to train to determine how to best use that time which I understand is not easy with your job/being away.
Soldato
- Joined
- 17 Sep 2006
- Posts
- 4,264
- Location
- Gloucestershire
I guess it's just something that can't be avoided with regular travel.
It has helped me get ready for Sunday though, and other events. My TSB should be +10 or so on Sunday, which is about right from reading coaches talk about PMCs.
It has helped me get ready for Sunday though, and other events. My TSB should be +10 or so on Sunday, which is about right from reading coaches talk about PMCs.
Some people perform well with a negative TSB, or slightly negative TSB, others need to be positive or very well rested and fresh. It's quite personal so worth observing.
TSS is just a measure of volume for the ride. Full gas for an hour would be 100 TSS and a very relaxed social 2 or 3 hour ride could also be 100 TSS. IF is something to keep an eye on with regards to over-training and I find this the more useful metric to gauge my required recovery in addition to TSB.
You can rack up a lot of TSS at low intensity and still feel reasonably fresh where as half that TSS accumulated by very intense shorter effort levels could leave you feeling flat and fatigued.
Consistency, as mentioned, is what's key to sustaining an increase in CTL (fitness), on paper anyway
Edit: worth mentioning, ensure you allow yourself adequate recovery after any weeks of 'crash training' or holidays/training camps so you can consolidate fitness gains.
Spot the week in Majorca...
Should be able to see a week in Germany and also Majorca:
How mine currently looks. Did a little racing and now in to a calorie deficit to drop a few kilo so dropped intensity slightly as feeling a little fatigued of late.
Built up fitness over the winter to where I was after getting back to Majorca though also riding more too. I don't really expect my CTL to move much around 80 as I don't want to be on the bike any more than I already am.
TSS is just a measure of volume for the ride. Full gas for an hour would be 100 TSS and a very relaxed social 2 or 3 hour ride could also be 100 TSS. IF is something to keep an eye on with regards to over-training and I find this the more useful metric to gauge my required recovery in addition to TSB.
You can rack up a lot of TSS at low intensity and still feel reasonably fresh where as half that TSS accumulated by very intense shorter effort levels could leave you feeling flat and fatigued.
Consistency, as mentioned, is what's key to sustaining an increase in CTL (fitness), on paper anyway
Edit: worth mentioning, ensure you allow yourself adequate recovery after any weeks of 'crash training' or holidays/training camps so you can consolidate fitness gains.
Spot the week in Majorca...
Should be able to see a week in Germany and also Majorca:
How mine currently looks. Did a little racing and now in to a calorie deficit to drop a few kilo so dropped intensity slightly as feeling a little fatigued of late.
Built up fitness over the winter to where I was after getting back to Majorca though also riding more too. I don't really expect my CTL to move much around 80 as I don't want to be on the bike any more than I already am.
Last edited:
Benny spot on regards TSB and performance from that. Everyone is different.
If I take a days rest before or taper into races I end up going like ****. I go well at -10 or worse as opposed to anything in the +
But that is just me. I go hard on my openers the day before races and I race well the next day off that. Next week I am doing a CP60 test and a V02 session back to back days 3 days out from my main year target event. Works for me.
If I take a days rest before or taper into races I end up going like ****. I go well at -10 or worse as opposed to anything in the +
But that is just me. I go hard on my openers the day before races and I race well the next day off that. Next week I am doing a CP60 test and a V02 session back to back days 3 days out from my main year target event. Works for me.
I'm still struggling with injury. It's over a month since my left knee started being sore on a ride. A weeks rest didn't improve it and I probably compounded any damage by riding another 50 miles at 18mph (albeit nearly one legged). Revisited my bike fit which did identify a potential cause but it seems a long recovery! Apparently meniscus type damage does take 6-8 weeks to repair in blokes my age. Ive done 4 sessions on the turbo this week at endurance intensity which feels ok but the knee does ache a bit the day after which I am hoping is part of the healing process but its very frustrating. To add further insult I unclipped my foot in order to try and do some single leg drills and ended up smashing the inside of my ankle on the pedal, so now I am limping.
If anyone can offer words of solace or encouragement I would gratefully receive them.
If anyone can offer words of solace or encouragement I would gratefully receive them.
Pretty pleased with my progress in this short time. Last two rides, I've managed 17mph average (across 15 and 21 miles), which is nothing compared to you more experienced riders, but given the two weeks prior I was doing 14mph and feeling like that was hard work, it's a big improvement for me. Both of the 17mph rides have felt very comfortable and I could have easily gone further without feeling tired if it wasn't for them being both late rides and I'm not that keen cycling once the sun goes down on country roads round here.
Not too much in the way of climbs by any means, but last nights ride was quite bumpy with 970ft of elevation across the ride but all the tips Ben has given me, as well as getting better with knowing the right gear means I'm not dropping as much speed.
https://www.strava.com/activities/1005547100
Both of this weeks rides have reinforced my decision to take the jump over to cycling, riding through a country road with lovely views of green fields and hills either side of you, blue sky or sun setting, moving at a nice pace, it's hard to beat and a pretty damn good feeling. Although coming down a descent at 40mph last night, I hit a patch of loose road surface and nearly came off, that does dampen the mood a bit, and my bib shorts.
Going to start heading towards the Ridgeway more now to try and tackle my climbing
Not too much in the way of climbs by any means, but last nights ride was quite bumpy with 970ft of elevation across the ride but all the tips Ben has given me, as well as getting better with knowing the right gear means I'm not dropping as much speed.
https://www.strava.com/activities/1005547100
Both of this weeks rides have reinforced my decision to take the jump over to cycling, riding through a country road with lovely views of green fields and hills either side of you, blue sky or sun setting, moving at a nice pace, it's hard to beat and a pretty damn good feeling. Although coming down a descent at 40mph last night, I hit a patch of loose road surface and nearly came off, that does dampen the mood a bit, and my bib shorts.
Going to start heading towards the Ridgeway more now to try and tackle my climbing