Road Cycling

Had a good but tough ride on saturday, after an easy week riding wise (just 4 days commuting) but not much quality rest/sleep all week and an after wedding do on the friday I was low on energy & reserves. Nice tailwind heading east but I was a little too late to realise and capitalise on it. Considered going out afterwards to target some segments if my legs where feeling up to it but knew the planned route meant most of the first half into a cross headwind...

https://www.strava.com/activities/1140946544

There was only 6 of us this time out (and all of us regulars) we decided to ride a bit harder/faster than the usual 15/16mph average. Things where ok and I lead the way up the first climb testing my legs, mostly feeling ok but hamstrings a little stiff which I put down to some manual labour the day before followed by ~4 hours sat in the car. After some traffic lights the pace was kept high and I found myself closing gaps, considering there was only 6 of us out it was a sign of things to come into the cross headwind! Charlie and Steve where the two struggling but they where to repay the favour... After we crossed the main road I dropped quite quickly, utterly empty & close to bonking. Downed a gel and just hung on, Charlie doing a great job towing me but even so I wasn't really recovering. I'm mostly blaming the small amounts of rubbish food the day before due to travelling (I'd only eaten a handful of chips, pulled pork roll and 2 slices of toast in the previous 16 hours. Ooops!)

As we turned more south I found myself first towing Steve, then Charlie, before Steve then having to tow me soon after we crossed the main road. With a cross tailwind we could see the gap widening and did a bit of a 2 up effort but we couldn't close the others. I recovered well on his wheel before a strong pull from Yazor but I did have to ease up a couple of times for him. We regrouped in Credenhill and had an easier ride back in to town. Considering the headwinds for much of the slower first half the 17.2mph average was ok (being slightly offset by the fast ride back in towards town).

Although I know I was under fuelled I knew I should've felt more rested than I did considering my lower weekly mileage. 87 miles for the week all in, falling short my my 100 mile goal. Quite disappointed in that and my riding, as I've not yo-yo'd off the back of a group for several months and not this one all year! :o
 
tedmaul said:
In my ongoing quest to fail at slacking, this weekend i managed my longest ride with most climbing since i got back on the bike. It's really the only sportive i'm interested in doing these days, as it's not a rip off and helps local community. Spent most of the ride in a group with the kids from our club. Even though most of them are about 10 and had all been racing on saturday, they still kicked my ass.

Had one wee sketchy moment when the boy in front of me lost his rear wheel in some wet and gravel and went down right in front of me. Managed to throw the anchors on and stop with my front wheel resting against his bike. Then me and the guy next to me started to do that slow motion 'keel over sideways' thing, and i had a bit of a struggle getting unclipped and getting my foot down without kicking his bike as we were so close to each other, but just managed to get there before we both fell into the muddy ditch. Which would have been funny, but also pretty nasty for the next 40 miles. :D

https://www.strava.com/activities/1143109216

As usual, the cake stops were the best thing and i finished weighing more than when i started.
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The round 50 is a good event. I've been spannering at it for the past two years with Dales. Was out in the van for part of it yesterday collecting some mechanical failures and doing some roadside fixes. Good fun.
 
One More Solo said:
2 mins 30 off my best time on Blaze though, keep pushing. :D ;)

Hopefully I'll be free next time you're all around, would have been good to get out.
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[excuses] miles already in the legs, miles still to do, FT took us on the steep approach to kill any momentum, full water bottles, headwind, full of breakfast, needed to fart, wasn't trying [/excuses] ;)

Will be up again soon for sure :cool:
 
Speaking of climbs. We're off to Majorca on Saturday.

I see touch and OMS are topping my friends list on Sa Calobra.

How hard is it to do a sub-35min? It's going to over 30C when we're out there too.:eek:
 
Shamrock said:
Speaking of climbs. We're off to Majorca on Saturday.

I see touch and OMS are topping my friends list on Sa Calobra.

How hard is it to do a sub-35min? It's going to over 30C when we're out there too.:eek:
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Well that depends if you're fit enough, built for climbing, can handle intense heat and don't get distracted by the views.

I did it on 28th July and it was 39c according to my garmin, with no clouds, intense sunshine and no wind. There's literally no shade on the climb at all when doing it in the hottest part of the day (1-2pm) like I did and it was hell, but I still loved it. I did it in 54 mins but then I'm not really built for climbing, despite loving hills, but I also savoured it, taking in the views as I may never get to do it again.
 
Novice cycler - used a mates bike for the last week and have decided to take the plunge!

I have purchased a Cannondale 2016 roadbike and (told you i was a novice) have just found the bike does not come with pedals. I have been given Shimano PD-R540 SPD SL Sports pedals from Wiggle, but have no idea what shoes i now need - can anyone advise?

The Wiggle pedals also say "floating cleats included" - eh???!!!!
 
Thanks - any recommendations on brand/online retailer etc?

Every time i think i've got everything i need, i find i am lacking something and the cost is starting to mount :(
 
Shamrock said:
Speaking of climbs. We're off to Majorca on Saturday.

I see touch and OMS are topping my friends list on Sa Calobra.

How hard is it to do a sub-35min? It's going to over 30C when we're out there too.:eek:
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It's a long, constant gradient. Riding it is more like a time trial effort than any climb you'd find in this country. It's never steep enough to get out of the saddle, you just sit and ride at whatever pace you can sustain for the whole climb.
You'll probably need hold around 4 - 4.5 w/kg to do 35mins.
 
ivrytwr3 said:
Thanks - any recommendations on brand/online retailer etc?

Every time i think i've got everything i need, i find i am lacking something and the cost is starting to mount :(
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Probably best to try some in store if you can to find a brand/size that fits you well. I probably tried about 20 different pairs before I found Mavic and they have been great for me both MTB and Road.

You can also use Wiggle's free collect/return service to do this testing. Just order multiple sizes of shoes you like.
 
Shamrock said:
Speaking of climbs. We're off to Majorca on Saturday.

Sa Calobra.

How hard is it to do a sub-35min? It's going to over 30C when we're out there too.:eek:
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touch said:
It's a long, constant gradient. Riding it is more like a time trial effort than any climb you'd find in this country. It's never steep enough to get out of the saddle, you just sit and ride at whatever pace you can sustain for the whole climb.
You'll probably need hold around 4 - 4.5 w/kg to do 35mins.
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It's not a constant gradient really, with it kicking up at each hairpin. Granted you can negate this by going wide. I don't think it pitches over 12% and this will be on said corners. It's steepest towards the very top after the 270 degree corner, the 'full' segment carry's on right up to where you pass through the opening of the mountainsides.

If you're staying in Pollensa/Alcudia you've got a 60m~ round trip on top, with a not-insignificant elevation gain, which will include either the long drag from Pollensa or the more picturesque and enjoyable climb from Selva in the south (Coll de sa Batalla) which is a consistent low grade, very enjoyable. I'd recommend approaching from the South (Selva) and then tanking it back down to the East towards Pollenca :cool:

I was out there solo and had ridden the north coast just two days before and also out to Cap de Formentor, had other rides to do later in the week and wasn't feeling wonderful on the day :p so was keeping my efforts relatively reserved so that I would last the full week. 3.2w/kg~ got me a smidge over 46 minutes with a clear run (no traffic or other riders). Just under 30 minutes up Coll de sa Batalla. I focused my training towards 50,60,70,80 minute intervals in the run up to the holiday.

35 minutes is ambitious but would be equally impressive. If you want something longer and more consistent in grade, albeit a bit monotonous, head up Puig Major.
 
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I've set myself a target of sub-35 just because that seems a reasonable goal for amateurs. Sub-30 would be verging on Pro.

I've not done any long climbs since last Christmas but I'm confident I should be able to get over 4W/kg unless the 30+ degree heat is too punishing.

There are 5 of us going so it might get a bit competitive too!
 
I think I did 36.xx to the cutting, and that was all out highest wattage I've ever recorded for that length of time at the lightest I think I've ever been. So good luck breaking 35 :-) altho you being so much lighter you should be capable.
 
Weight probably isn't a big factor on steady gradients.

Anyway, sub-35 is a target, doesn't mean I can actually do it but I'm going to try! Sub-40 is more realistic.
 
Shamrock said:
Weight probably isn't a big factor on steady gradients.

Anyway, sub-35 is a target, doesn't mean I can actually do it but I'm going to try! Sub-40 is more realistic.
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Weight is a factor on any gradient, up or down. Physics...

Hope you hit your target though :D
 
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