Wow it's been a while since I checked in... But work has been manic - also been ill. Little dude brought some cough thing home from Nursery and although I'm into my 3rd week am mostly ok. He's into his 4th and is about 99, the other half sometime between the 2 of us and has just finished antibiotics for a chest infection, so she's still struggling a bit. Think the infection has cleared but we all seem to have the cough back (again). Will be the 3rd or 4th time for us, but think it might be different 'bugs' just with similar symptoms as in the middle of it all we all had a few days of fever and aches like a real flu. Rubbish. Typical it coincided with a week booked off work last week too! I've only really skipped a few rides - done very little outside. Have continued with most of my Zwifting as the days coincided generally when I was feeling better. Also did a Zwift stage race last week so had committed myself to leading a team and couldn't really drop out. Felt good enough to ride, but my performance was down and just seemed to knock myself back a bit after each ride. A few days rest now and I'm feeling good again- maybe I'll Zwift tonight then?!
My next question as this is where I failed today, what's the best food/fuel to bring with me? Half way through the hill I seemed to have hit empty. Passed a shop on the way back and got a ribenna and some skittles but I'd like to avoid that feeling again. It wasn't a complete bonk but one was near, luckily was mostly downhill after that point
You're best trying a few things yourselves as we're all individual.
Never forget the fundamentals of fuelling and what you're using for fuel. You've gotta fuel the engine!
Disclaimer: I'm no biologist or nutritionist!
For tempo/intense efforts that's generally glycogen stores in your blood/muscles/gut your body is using. For more base-level endurance riding your body will do the same (as it's easily accessible), before then switching to burning 'fat'. So you'll hear of people riding 'fasted' - to train the body to do this earlier and easier. There is a generally large reduction in performance when the body 'switches' to fat burning (runs out of glycocen), but that can be trained to have less of an impact by riding in that state. You may come across the term 'keto adapted' (fat adapted) - that's really the higher end of endurance where an athlete will be riding at quite high intensity using just their fat stores - the body trained to 'save' it's glycogen for higher intensity. But why I'm mentioning this - note your body will trim a bunch of 'excess' from just the base cardio work you'll suddenly doing several hours of. This is not technically fat-adaption.
Glycogen - the reason people like sweet things and use gels, is the sugar means they're very quick to digest and feel the 'boost' from. Almost straight into your blood stream. But they can be quite short lived, so having a good meal with plenty of carbs the night before a morning ride, or additional breakfast will give you more longer term fuel in your gut for those efforts for your body to replenish it's glycogen stores from. Alongside eating things like grains and museli/porridge even more so as they're more of a 'long term burn' your body digests and breaks down over a longer time period.
I rarely if ever have a ride when riding on training nowadays, stick to bananas and oat based bars in the main. Gels I keep for racing and the really hard sessions.
Same. I used to have a gel every intense ride, then gradually used them less and less. Only carrying for an 'emergency get me home'. I still may do that occasionally but only for a targeted 'epic' ride/sportive.
NAKD bars have become my 'go-to'. I've found the more natural I eat the better I generally feel afterwards and I'll snack all the way through like you - even 'just before home' as unless I'm hitting a mealtime I'm kinda fuelling to reach there rather than being empty/hungry as I reach home. I have had various 'side effects' from some electolyte drinks and gels. So bad I actually went off the SiS brand completely. I've had their tabs since without ill effects but would probably not even risk their gels again. I had the effects of laxative for several days from them - not great! I've had milder symptoms from other gels, but would 'risk' it just to get me home on an isolated ride.
I have a huge sweet tooth so I like the idea of having some Jellymen in my back pocket and just snack on those at set intervals to keep on top of things. Next time I do a morning ride I'll make sure I really eat the night before and in the morning. Eating at correct times and the right food is my weakest point in life
Lots of people I ride with swear by jellybeans or jellybabies. I'll occasionally have a few but not usually my thing to have something so sweet while riding.
10 weeks after barely being able to move with a broken back, I'm rather chuffed with my new PR on the steepest hill near me this morning, felt like I was flying up it. Also got all time best 30 second, 1 minute and 2 minute power records. Garmin also said I added 1 extra watt to my FTP despite a fair amount of free wheeling on the descents so probably a good uplift there too if I did a proper test.
On the negative side there was some proper bad driving at the start of the ride.
Great riding and well done with that recovery! Keep it up but don't strain yourself too much!
Went for a long ride today and came off the bike, there was some standing water on some concrete and wheels just came away and landed on my hip in hospital with a fractured pelvis no riding for 6 weeks
Rubbish! Good luck with recovery and healing up, see you on Zwift this winter then!
Cheers for this, i do feel like i've got it fairly well setup based on articles i've read. My issue is that i seem to be developing some kind of tennis elbow pain following longer rides. It begun after doing ~21 miles last Sunday, with some small aches around the elbow, then eased throughout the week to minimal levels, then on Saturday i did a 26.5 miles ride and since then there's discomfort to straighten my arm, all coming from the elbow, which is worse in the mornings and then eases throughout the day. My right knee also got achey towards the end of the ride, but i think that's more muscular as as soon as i finished that felt absolutely fine.
My particular route was a cycle track around Preston so quite windy with lots of turns/braking and quite a bit of uneven group which will have causes lots of vibration/shaking up the arm. I don't feel i'm gripping the bars too tightly and my left arm is fine, so wondering if it's aggravating an old injury (not that i recall anything). The main articles online around this seem to relate to wrist position when on the hoods, but when i'm relaxed this looks neutral so not sure where else to look.
You're still new to riding position and time in the saddle. It could be any number of things but until your body adapts more to riding you may not really find out and just end up diagnosing something completely bizarre as a 'cause'!
The knee is likely just a cleat position needs a little tweak, possibly saddle fore/aft, but I'd just move the cleat forwards or backwards a couple of mm or the angle first to see if it solves. Foot pain is usually cleat too far forwards, knee is usually a little far back. But those are with your position nailed and body adapted. Cleat position can be very trial and error - I wouldn't adjust it lots if you're not getting any foot pain.
You might not be gripping the bars too tightly and it could be the vibration, but it could also be your shoulders tensed or your elbow tensed even if your hands are not. Also elbow locked out over vibrations will not help, should be riding with a slightly bent elbow - treat them like minor shock absorbers on uneven surfaces...
Going to slowly start going further and further but I feel deliberately hill hunting at the moment will be more beneficial in the short term
You'll adapt to what you ride and you'll tend to ride more what you enjoy. I love hills, even not being good at them as I consider them challenges to complete. Equally I do get bored riding on the flat and fast roads if I do too much of it, but then I do find maintaining speed 'easy' compared to others...
What is everyone doing for their insurance? Is it better to put it onto the house insurance or insure it specifically like a car?
Mine is on home insurance and always causes a large 'debate' every time renewal comes up. We're paying around £350 pa for it and I'm not 100% sure but the bikes are covered up to X value only adding £15-20 to the annual cost - regardless of the number we have, they just wanted to know the value of the most expensive and their upper limit was £2500 so that's what mine is listed as. I'd never be able to replace like for like with the current market prices!
Looking at Strava's relative effort, over the 1,400 activities from the last couple of years, I'd only been over 300 six times, with my previous two best being 325 and 384, both from my Lake District trip a month ago.
Yesterday's RE was 436!!!
Awesome numbers mate and just shows what fantastic progress you've made! Chapeau! Slightly jealous!
So I've decided I'm going to order some tubeless tyres. I've always ridden 25mm wheels but is there much benefit going to 28?
Loads of benefit going to 28 and loads going Tubeless, but equally it's a bit more of a 'life decision' than the 'perfect choice'. Pro's and Con's.
the cheaper and sensible option would be just to keep extra tubes on me but I won't let that stop me throwing money at a problem if I think it can make me continue to be lazy
Even tubeless I carry 1 tube with me and on a long sportive will carry 2.
The past 3 years I've had 1 tubeless hole which didn't seal (old sealant/bad luck). During that time I rode tubes last summer for 2-3 months and had 2-3 punctures. Far more punctures than I ever had before running tubes, so rubbish luck. So I'm still a Tubeless convert.
I may have over done it, tweaked something and/or me starting weights this week hasn't gone down well. I suffer from hypermobility but it's caused almost no issues since I took up cycling last summer.
Edit - muscles above my right knee (front and back), plus I have just realised the muscle directly above my kneecap seems way larger than it's left counterpart.
Probably your body just still trying to recover from a few ride strains and you doing weights has just extended that recovery needed.
The knee might solve itself, could be a sprain or something causing the muscle to do that. Rest would be the first bit of advice and if it doesn't clear or the twinges continue look for some specific stretching exercises and then a doctor/massage/sports therapist.