Pedal Power Thread

there is that - especially when coupled with the "cyclists suntan" from just above the knee down to the ankle, it's really not a good look - and yet another good reason for my avoiding the swimming pool :LOL:
 
Lol no way am I shaving my legs!

I don't mind cycling in the rain but I hate drying the wet clothes at work. I wear cycle tights on the way in and bring some shorts for the way home. That way I don't get muck on my legs before work, but I can have a shower before I get in.

I got some endura overshoes that just about work and my jacket is alright.

I'm still looking for waterproof gloves that don't make my hands sweaty. At the moment I just wear thinsulate gloves and dry them.

But Ivcant hate it that much because the cars still in the driveway!! :)
 
Here's my Trek Fuel EX6

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Pendle Hill in the background.
Crappy iPhone pic.
 
menthel said:
I am pretty much ok with the wet feet too, just jump in the shower after the commute home. I just hate all the grit my legs collect!
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But there's that horrible feeling when you're getting ready to ride home after work and you have to put on wet shoes :shake:
 
Flipping back wheel p@&£)(?!. Also, thanks to the bloke staring at my bike (and back wheel) in clapham who obviously spotted it and didn't tell me. Still I set some pb times on strava with it.
 
Accidentally did my first 50 miles. Had mapped out a 67km route for myself but my mapping included a long stretch through a golf course that had no exit out where I thought it did. The detour added 10km on so when I got home and saw I had 77km on the clock I cycled out of a bit further, clocked up the 80km just before I got to the Co-op and treated myself to chocolate milk. Yay! I am now broken and can't wait for my proper bike to arrive as my current one is the wrong size- fine for commuting but rubbish for any great distances!
 
menthel said:
Accidentally did my first 50 miles. Had mapped out a 67km route for myself but my mapping included a long stretch through a golf course that had no exit out where I thought it did. The detour added 10km on so when I got home and saw I had 77km on the clock I cycled out of a bit further, clocked up the 80km just before I got to the Co-op and treated myself to chocolate milk. Yay! I am now broken and can't wait for my proper bike to arrive as my current one is the wrong size- fine for commuting but rubbish for any great distances!
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Great stuff Jim (y) Hope you had more than a chocolate milk!

Hope the legs are ok for your commute tomorrow!
 
akr said:
Great stuff Jim (y) Hope you had more than a chocolate milk!

Hope the legs are ok for your commute tomorrow!
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I cocked up the eating before hand, which did cause me a bit if a problem. I didn't have any dinner the night before as I had a big lunch and then had a small breakfast. I planned to stop for lunch in weybridge (roughly half way in the original plan) but felt good and kept going- my route took me down tiny lanes etc after that and I didn't really find anywhere until nearly 65km! I did suffer from being rather hungry and my energy levels dropped quite a bit. Mind you the main problem was my lack of distance experience and fitness!

All big lessons learned and I am now ready for the next time, hopefully on my new bike!
 
Every now and then you need to push the boundaries and see what your body and mind can actually do.

As you say next time you will be better prepared, both in pre-ride eating but also recognising the signs of energy depletion during your ride.

I wiped myself out one Sunday on a solo ride and ended up calling the missus, stranded 25 miles from home! That led to me making adjustments to my eating pattern while riding.

I now make sure that 75% of my allocated ride food is eaten BEFORE halfway through a ride (obviously it helps to know how far you are riding). You need to get that energy in the bank, never play catch up. A good size chunk of flapjack every 10 miles is about right for me.
 
Morning guys!
I did my first 20 mile off road/on road combo yesterday. As much as my body is feeling it I feel better mentally for doing it (a steep hill almost cuaght me out though).
Anyway I have a 2 part question to ask now -

Firstly - are any cyclists on here asthmatic, if so how do you push through the "lungs don't want to work barrier" without using your inhaler?
I got caught on the steep incline where by my legs had plenty fuel in the tank but my lungs felt like they had expired. I didn't have to use my inhaler, I just tried to focus on a summit point, control my breathing and let the bike take the strain, but I felt done in at the top.

Secondly - having given my bike a damn good gose down and lub yesterday I think I have managed to get some GT85 on the brake pads so now I squeal when I come to a halt (not nice sound) and braking performance is down slightly.
My plan was to take the wheels off and rub the pads with a little bit of wet and dry, same to the rotors just incase there is a glaze build up. Would this be the recommended route to take?

Re the asthma - my normal routine is to use my reliever followed by my preventer 20mins before.
 
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i learned several things this weekend:

1) after a very long time off i cannot ride like i am 18 years old any more
2) as a result of #1 dont spec a route that has 2 miles of CONSTANT muddy churned up uphill bridleway at the start. my heart and lungs dont appreciate that..
3) need a garmin, trying to work an iphone with various apps is a pain
4) after a very long time off i cannot ride like i am 18 years old any more
5) my camelback is too small for all of my crap
6) the trek rides real nice, forks could do with updating at some point
7) saris bones is an excellent rack, even strapped to a smart car :LOL:
8) after a very long time off i cannot ride like i am 18 years old any more

:bonk:

still, got a 2nd place on a segment which made me laugh..
 
menthel said:
All big lessons learned and I am now ready for the next time, hopefully on my new bike!
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Has it arrived?

stupar said:
Firstly - are any cyclists on here asthmatic, if so how do you push through the "lungs don't want to work barrier" without using your inhaler?
I got caught on the steep incline where by my legs had plenty fuel in the tank but my lungs felt like they had expired. I didn't have to use my inhaler, I just tried to focus on a summit point, control my breathing and let the bike take the strain, but I felt done in at the top.
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Sorry I can't help with any of your questions - uphill my legs and lungs and pretty much anything that can speak to my brain complains!

neil_g said:
i learned several things this weekend:

1) after a very long time off i cannot ride like i am 18 years old any more
3) need a garmin, trying to work an iphone with various apps is a pain
4) after a very long time off i cannot ride like i am 18 years old any
8) after a very long time off i cannot ride like i am 18 years old any more
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I know that feeling!

I tried using my phone as well but didn't like it, use a watch now, though not great if you need the route on a map etc, which I guess should work on your phone, if there is a good enough holder for off-road?
 
With regards to apps I stick my phone in the top pocket of my camelbak running my tracks to track the ride. I then have a £20 a year OS map sub so I can have a printed map for each ride and bin it if it gets wet and just reprint as required.

I would love a garmin though. Have a look at the cateye stealth if you just want basic info without a map as these are less than £100
 
Looks comfortable - not too "slammed" at the front end... A good one for all-dayers and Audaxes :)

I'll keep an eye out for a string of PB's then on Strava should I :LOL:
 
TheBigYin said:
Looks comfortable - not too "slammed" at the front end... A good one for all-dayers and Audaxes :)

I'll keep an eye out for a string of PB's then on Strava should I :LOL:
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I am all for comfort, especially as I have the 200km Dunwich Dynamo coming up. I am all for comfort personally- I am never going to be a racer as such. I do actually really like the idea of audaxes and have my eye on a few, although I think it may all need to wait until next year.

I should be faster though, even just on the cycle home it was lighter, faster, better acceleration and much more nimble than the charge. A completely different beast. The charge is being kept for the time being for the dirty jobs, once I have upgraded the brakes and got the gears sorted it will do the wet weather commutes and towing of the boy on his trailer bike.

I so want to go out on the new one right now!
 
menthel said:
I so want to go out on the new one right now!
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If I lived 'round the corner I'd come and drag you out...

My bike's built for comfort as well - it's got shallow drop bars on and a sightly taller conical headset top-cap to avoid the "spacers" look - but as I've got "gorilla arms" and a long body, the saddle to bar drop is actually spot on for me (at least that's what the Retul computer said after about 2 hours of faffing about...)

It doesn't look all that "slammed" really - excuse the horrible Instagram photo... and despite being apparently a real "climbers special" frameset and the ultegra wheels that are stiffer than a old mans knees, it's still the comfiest half quick bike I've had since the days of my skinny tubed 531db Harry Quinn!


Rest Stop by The Big Yin, on Flickr
 
TheBigYin said:
If I lived 'round the corner I'd come and drag you out...

My bike's built for comfort as well - it's got shallow drop bars on and a sightly taller conical headset top-cap to avoid the "spacers" look - but as I've got "gorilla arms" and a long body, the saddle to bar drop is actually spot on for me (at least that's what the Retul computer said after about 2 hours of faffing about...)

It doesn't look all that "slammed" really - excuse the horrible Instagram photo... and despite being apparently a real "climbers special" frameset and the ultegra wheels that are stiffer than a old mans knees, it's still the comfiest half quick bike I've had since the days of my skinny tubed 531db Harry Quinn!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/the_big_yin/8972554172/
Rest Stop by The Big Yin, on Flickr
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Lovely looking bike. Not sure I would be able to keep up with your riding though Mark!

I have fitted 2 bottle cages, garmin out front mount and my bag clip to it now, so it looks less pretty but more workman like. Was surprised how much more comfy than the charge it is too. The build as well as the carbon seatpost and forks seem to make a big difference!
 
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Some lovely looking machines on here. They look as light as a feather but I know my legs would ache just the same. :LOL:
 
menthel said:
Yep, still have to cycle the bloody things!
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Yea, I found it doesn't take long for any romantic notions of new-bike-effortlessness to vanish once you're pushing yourself up a bloody big hill, with burning lungs, heavy legs and your heart trying to leap out of your chest. I used to get that feeling every bloody time I went out. :LOL:

"New bike... great bike... nice and light... much stiffer... much better... ah a hill... keep on the saddle... press with the legs... great bike... getting steeper... off the saddle... so nimble... push... push... bloody hell... did I eat right?.. push... push... bloody hell... push... push... I hate you bike... bike, I want to kill you etc etc until the top" :LOL:

All good stuff though, I do miss it.
 
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ZoneV said:
Yea, I found it doesn't take long for any romantic notions of new-bike-effortlessness to vanish once you're pushing yourself up a bloody big hill, with burning lungs, heavy legs and your heart trying to leap out of your chest. I used to get that feeling every bloody time I went out. :LOL:

"New bike... great bike... nice and light... much stiffer... much better... ah a hill... keep on the saddle... press with the legs... great bike... getting steeper... off the saddle... so nimble... push... push... bloody hell... did I eat right?.. push... push... bloody hell... push... push... I hate you bike... bike, I want to kill you etc etc until the top" :LOL:

All good stuff though, I do miss it.
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I should be in this state on Sunday as I have planned quite a hilly cycle!
 
Im going to be sleeping most of Sunday, as im doing the 100km charity night ride Saturday night. Not sure if im looking forward to it or not, as it is the furthest I will ever have been :0/
 
akr said:
My friend at work said you can tell when someone's really into their cycling as they always have to water bottles, not a water bottle and pump as I have :)
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Two Water Bottles and a mini-pump attached to the side of the seat-tube bottle cage... ;)

Needed a couple of bottles with me, was out intending to do something between a metric and imperial century, on a Sunday morning, out in the sticks... can't always rely on finding a shop that's open - and without a bike lock that weighs as much as the bike does, there's no way i'd be leaving it outside a filling station to raid the bottle-fridge :LOL:

Actually, that's one of the main things I miss, not being fit/fast enough to keep with local bike clubs anymore - there was always someone to watch your bike if you had to hit the shops for food!
 
So, my reintroduction to riding continued yesterday on the fairly flat the Meon Valley Trail. Hampshire Council class it as an "easy" route and it is, its pretty flat apart from where it crosses the South Downs.

Did 18.4m in the end, starting in the middle at Droxford and going down to Wickham, then up to West Meon and back to Droxford.

Pretty happy I did the distance, didn't set the world alight with pace but then I was never expecting to :LOL:

http://app.strava.com/activities/58953321

Feeling pretty damn stiff this morning and my "seat" isn't too happy :cautious:

At the Wickham end..


On the Meon Valley - Wickam by neilgates, on Flickr
 
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Like the mtb Neil!

Have just got back from 53k with 750m of hills in and around leafy Surrey. I have done up to box hill in the past but that ride was a big difference for me. A few bigger, longer steeper hills with some bits in the high teens slope wise. A pause each on two of the big ones but no walking. The new bike is a dream compared to the charge but needs to be treated a little differently. Got up some good speed at points though. The two benefits of such hills are the descents and the views I guess!

One thing- I lost about 4k from my gps trace as I forgot to unpause after a little jelly baby and view admiring break. Anyone know if I can recover that bit?
 
I've just dug out my old Kona NuNu 1998 vintage as I need to lose some weight and get fitter. This thread has encouraged me!! Found the front shifter didn't shift, so I've temporarily replaced it with a new, but cheap, deore shifter so can start to use the bike. I've also found that 8 speed stuff is now pretty rare so have decided to replace the existing gear set with, proabably, 3 x 9 speed. So my question, does anyone use SRAM gear sets on their MTB's' rather than Shimano, and if you do, any horror stories with X9 kit? And rather than just changing to 3 x 9 speed, any advantage in going to SRAM and fitting 2 x 10? Any other reccomendations - I can get away with upgrading components, but I can't get away with buying a new bike!!

Thanks,

Cliff
 
chphotos said:
I've just dug out my old Kona NuNu 1998 vintage as I need to lose some weight and get fitter. This thread has encouraged me!! Found the front shifter didn't shift, so I've temporarily replaced it with a new, but cheap, deore shifter so can start to use the bike. I've also found that 8 speed stuff is now pretty rare so have decided to replace the existing gear set with, proabably, 3 x 9 speed. So my question, does anyone use SRAM gear sets on their MTB's' rather than Shimano, and if you do, any horror stories with X9 kit? And rather than just changing to 3 x 9 speed, any advantage in going to SRAM and fitting 2 x 10? Any other reccomendations - I can get away with upgrading components, but I can't get away with buying a new bike!!

Thanks,

Cliff
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I run sram.. x5 shifters and x5 rear mech. absolutely no bother at all.

ive only heard that the x9 shifters can stick when releasing cable. personally id say go x7, that seems to be best bang for buck.

no real "advantage" persay to 2x10 over 3x9, less weight maybe. 3 rings will give you more gearing range with fewer gaps.

personally I run 2x9 (SLX crankset), I very rarely used the granny so opted for 2 slightly smaller front rings. I find it help keep my cadence up rather than cranking a massive cog.
 
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