Official Road Cycling Thread

[UncleWede]

Originally Posted by M_Six

Not so. I'm usually shorter on available time now than I was when I was working. Too many projects. And a 90 minute ride really takes up 2-1/2 hours of the day when you add in prep time and putting the bike away and showering afterward.

Is this, like, that rain-thingy everyone is always talking about

[M_Six]

Originally Posted by UncleWede

Is this, like, that rain-thingy everyone is always talking about

<sniff, sniff> Yeah, you might try it sometime.

Spent too much time gabbing with my brother, so just a short, fast ride today. Good to be riding at full strength again, though.

[Patrick303]

The wife and I completed the 50 mile course for the Denver Century this year. We consider this a huge accomplishment as we only did a handful of rides this summer to prepare and our longest ride prior was 28 miles!

[M_Six]

Made a rookie mistake today. Actually the same mistake twice this week. For the longest time I've been riding 20-25 miles per outing. Usually 1:10-1:20 at a time. No need for refueling until I get home. But lately I've been trying to ride longer to get in more calorie burn, so I've been stretching it out to 30 miles and pushing harder. I did 30 on Wednesday and started feeling like crap in the car on the way home. I got home and ate something and felt better. Yesterday I only did 16 miles in 50 minutes, so no issues. But I also bought some energy bars and stashed a couple in the car. Today I got done with 30 miles and when I got in the car I started feeling like crap again, so I ate one of the energy bars and was fine a few minutes later. That's when the "Oh, duh!" moment hit me. I should be refueling mid-ride like I did when I first started riding. Around the 1 hour mark, chow down on an energy bar and drive on. Can't believe I forgot that and nearly bonked twice this week.

[chassis]

Originally Posted by M_Six

Made a rookie mistake today. Actually the same mistake twice this week. For the longest time I've been riding 20-25 miles per outing. Usually 1:10-1:20 at a time. No need for refueling until I get home. But lately I've been trying to ride longer to get in more calorie burn, so I've been stretching it out to 30 miles and pushing harder. I did 30 on Wednesday and started feeling like crap in the car on the way home. I got home and ate something and felt better. Yesterday I only did 16 miles in 50 minutes, so no issues. But I also bought some energy bars and stashed a couple in the car. Today I got done with 30 miles and when I got in the car I started feeling like crap again, so I ate one of the energy bars and was fine a few minutes later. That's when the "Oh, duh!" moment hit me. I should be refueling mid-ride like I did when I first started riding. Around the 1 hour mark, chow down on an energy bar and drive on. Can't believe I forgot that and nearly bonked twice this week.

Yep, it happens. I am not great at fuelling. Try hiking 14ers in the Rockies.

I did some basic calculations on caloric burn vs metabolic absorption. I concluded that it's not possible for the body to metabolize the number of calories burned during a 4-6 hour 5-6 mile hike up and down a 14er. Burn rate > rate of converting fuel (food) to energy.

So the only way to avoid bonking on this hike is to over-fuel the night and morning before. I'm not a fan of stuffing myself with food, so my choices are to bonk or not do the hike. I like to hike, so my choice is made!

[chassis]

7 mile loop tonight. Nice cool and cloudy evening with no wind. Autumn is here for sure. Leaves are coming down and well into their color change.

[M_Six]

Rest day today. Got jabbed in each arm this morning and the shoulders are sore. Good day to take a break. Still will get some walking miles in, though.

[M5Rick]

Doing my usual 10 miler today later when it warms up a bit, expecting 22C so perfect for a sprint ride.

[chassis]

17 mile loop. Great autumn morning. 60F at the start, 68F at the finish. Sun with clouds no wind. Great ride.

[Markr]

Had my Covid and flu jab and been on a couple of business trips, so not much cycling done the past 2 weeks. However, put some new tyres on yesterday morning (Trying Conti GP 5000’s), and got just over 20 miles in first thing. Been busy today, but just managed to get 30 miles in before the light gets too low. These tyres are much quieter and more comfortable than the stock Mavic’s that came on the wheels. I can tell that I have not done much cycling for a couple of weeks, as I had cramp in my thigh muscle, which I haven’t had before. Maybe my DIY earlier crouching down and up step ladders was to blame!

[M_Six]

An easy 25 miles today. Trying to stick to Zone 3 riding. I've read that Zone 2 can be more beneficial, but I have trouble keeping my heart rate that low while cycling.

[Markr]

Did 12.4 miles tonight - finished just after 6pm, it was very windy and the sun is really starting to get low. Feels like I am just a couple of weeks away from having to stop my weekday evening rides, and then will just be stuck with weekend rides.

[M_Six]

Another easy 25-miler today. Probably be the only outside ride I get this week, as we're traveling the second half of the week. Might try to ride inside on the trainer tomorrow just to get a few miles in.

[M_Six]

Quick 10-mile ride on the trainer to just tip over 4k miles for the year.

[Markr]

Did 28.8 miles this afternoon, with 1043 feet of elevation. Weather was good, but a little windy on the route home into the wind for the last 10 miles or so. A little bit of chain chatter in some of the gears, but it is being collected for its service on Tuesday, so complete strip down, grease, polish and new cables / chain, so will resolve all that.

Weather here tomorrow is supposed to be good again, so hopefully another nice ride tomorrow.

[Markr]

I did the same 28.8 mile circuit this morning and took 8m 37s off yesterday’s time, and averaged 16.3mph. Obviously not as windy today, but was quite chilly at 8:45am.

[M_Six]

4th day in a row with no riding. I enjoyed our time away, but I really want to get back to riding. Hoping to do a decent ride tomorrow.

[Markr]

Just managed to get 12.4 miles in before dark - the nights are drawing in really quick. The farmers were out muck spreading in the fields, so quite smelly and loads of little flies.

[M_Six]

I had to take care of lots of small tasks that piled up while we were away, so I just had 30 minutes or so to knock out a 10 mile ride indoors on the trainer. Hopefully I can get outside tomorrow.

[M_Six]

25 miles today. Felt good to be riding again.

[M_Six]

A bit windy today, but it was mostly a crosswind, so not a big deal. Otherwise it was a perfect Fall day for riding. Got 30 miles in.

[Markr]

Did 28.8 miles again today, bike was buttery smooth after its service. Complete strip down, new cables, chain and bottom bracket bearings. Bike came back looking like new.

I purchased a Garmin Varia RTL515 radar light on Amazon Prime day, so tried that today too, absolutely brilliant, 100% accurate and display on my Garmin 1030 plus is fab.

We had a frost overnight, so cars were all iced over this morning, so I left it until after 10am before going out. Still had to wear my long bib, long sleeved over top and full finger gloves and it was just about ok. Bit windy too, and on certain legs, quite cutting. Autumn is definitely here!