The Cycling Thread

[Drew Carey]

Just by way of an update, deffo getting fitter. Been cycling now for 4 weeks to work and have got my times now down from 55 minutes on the first run........down to 40 minutes flat now. Happy Days.

Drew - that's impressive

Feeling sorry for myself

Had to bail out of The Wales Sportive on Saturday after >2 miles, i.e. on the first hill. Fighting my second chest infection of the year and my lungs felt like they were on fire. Still, managed to blag a medal at the finish line

Had an email with the provisional route for next year's Dragon Ride; change from previous years and includes some of the Vale of Glamorgan Coast. Looking forward to that

Drew what mileage was that? Ive covered my 8.5 miles in about 25-26 minutes

[Drew Carey]

Originally Posted by robchester

Drew what mileage was that? Ive covered my 8.5 miles in about 25-26 minutes

Now I feel bad!!! lol

Its 8.1 miles. However, to add, I am 17stone and have done pretty much nothing physically for a long long time until now.

Plus lots of hills.....biguns too.

[maviczap]

What about David Millar coming second to Spartacus in the Worlds TT. No one was going to beat Spartacus, so coming 2nd was impressive.

Millar looked done in at the end, Spartacus hardley looked out of breath

[maviczap]

Originally Posted by Drew Carey

Now I feel bad!!! lol

Its 8.1 miles. However, to add, I am 17stone and have done pretty much nothing physically for a long long time until now.

Plus lots of hills.....biguns too.

Don't feel bad, you're doing great.

A good test of your fitness is your waking resting heart rate. So test it a couple of times a week. You should see it drop little by little as your fitness improves. A general rule of thumb

I had a fitness test a work today 56bpm for my resting pulse, not bad for a 48 year old. My aerobic fitness was double what it should be for my age.

Which is good, as I ain't done any serious training since the begining of August

[Luckypants]

Originally Posted by maviczap

A good test of your fitness is your waking resting heart rate. So test it a couple of times a week. You should see it drop little by little as your fitness improves. A general rule of thumb

I take it you mean the resting rate immediately after you wake up? I check mine once a month to see if I am getting fitter, but TBH I'm still at the stage where I see gains on regular rides.

I was toying with the idea of buying a road bike, and joining a club

I dont however, fancy time trials. I guess there is that competition of catching rider in front and avoiding rider from rear but I do prefer competing against someone else rather than just myself.

[maviczap]

Originally Posted by Luckypants

I take it you mean the resting rate immediately after you wake up? I check mine once a month to see if I am getting fitter, but TBH I'm still at the stage where I see gains on regular rides.

Yep, check your pulse on waking up. Can also warn if you're over tired or about to get ill. But its only a rough guide.

But I see Drew making big gains quickly

[maviczap]

Originally Posted by robchester

I was toying with the idea of buying a road bike, and joining a club

I dont however, fancy time trials. I guess there is that competition of catching rider in front and avoiding rider from rear but I do prefer competing against someone else rather than just myself.

Having done both, the time trial is not just about trying to catch the rider in front or avoiding being caught by your back marker. Its your own race to beat your best time against that distance or particular course.

In a TT if you don't have a time you'll be seeded as a normal rider. The riders with a number ending with 0 on a start sheet are the fast men, with the fastest on paper starting last. Riders seeded with a 5 as the last number aren't as fast, but are faster on paper than most of the average riders.

So in a TT you'll quite often be caught by an 0 or 5 depending where you're placed on the start sheet. So you ride your own race, if you catch someone or get caught so what, its your time that counts.

There's no hiding in the bunch, sheltering from the wind.

Road races tend to start really fast, blowing out any unfit or not so good riders. Which means your race is over before it starts, which can be very demoralising

Try both disciplines