Cycling

[UnrealMachine]

Hey all, been meaning to post, just been lazy :p. Took my dad's bike for a spin the other day. Poor thing hasn't been ridden in forever, I think I'm gonna just claim it as my own from now on . A bit big for me and the seat hurt after a while, but it rides nice.

[/url]102_3059 by J. M., on Flickr[/IMG]

Looks deserted and does feel a bit eery sometimes, but civilization is just a stone's throw to the right.

[/url]102_3060 by J. M., on Flickr[/IMG]

Make sure that the chain is oiled and the brakes are working properly. Looks like the seat is facing upwards? Adjust it so that it is level with the ground or facing downward by 1 or 2 degrees. I'd also recommend a different seat. One with a cutout to prevent pressure underneath your groin area.

 

[CactusEverywhere]

It's an older ride, but yeah, it's all good. I don't remember if that post has tilt adjust, I'll have to check again. Eventually will get new seat & pedals, but for now it's fine.

 

[RayP]

First attempt at a proper FTP test yesterday. Averaged 245 watts for 20 minutes. Pretty happy with that.

Been almost 30 days, and been doing high intensity intervals twice a week..... bumped up from 245 to 270. Very pleased with that.


Will do it all over again in 30 ish more days. Nice that 300 is kind of sort of getting in sight.....

 

[Jack Straw]

Trying to get back into cycling semi-seriously after some years of knee issues. Recently got a Wahoo Kickr and joined Zwift, which is awesome.

New bike, 2016 Wilier Cento1 Air:

Old bike is a 2003 Look kg381i, still great but now pretty much an indoor bike:

 

[UnrealMachine]

Trying to get back into cycling semi-seriously after some years of knee issues. Recently got a Wahoo Kickr and joined Zwift, which is awesome.

New bike, 2016 Wilier Cento1 Air:

Damn, that is a sweet bike! Have you ever gotten a professional fit done? If you've already made that investment and have a history of knee issues, a professional fitting could do wonders for you.

 

[Jack Straw]

Damn, that is a sweet bike! Have you ever gotten a professional fit done? If you've already made that investment and have a history of knee issues, a professional fitting could do wonders for you.

Yes, when I got the Look in '03. The Wilier is actually a slightly better fit, I bought it online but used the measurement guidelines that were on the site. The knee issues actually were from an old non-cycling injury that resulted in having about 50% of the meniscus in my left knee taken out. I had no problems cycling for a long time but then one year it suddenly flared up. I think it was tendinitis related to the lack of stability in the knee. But I'm pretty to close to being back where I can do a good long ride without any pain.

 

[airbus220]

The knee issues actually were from an old non-cycling injury that resulted in having about 50% of the meniscus in my left knee taken out. I had no problems cycling for a long time but then one year it suddenly flared up. I think it was tendinitis related to the lack of stability in the knee. But I'm pretty to close to being back where I can do a good long ride without any pain.

Don't know if it's good for your injury but I would try to sit not too low, will give less pressure to the knees. Also very important is to move the legs faster, higher rpm is the key to everything, just watch the rpm pros are cycling with.

 

[RayP]

Gotta average about 120 miles a week from now till the end of the year to hit 6000+ for the year, to go with 800 or so miles of running and who knows how many of swimming.

Should be doable and gives me a reason to ride consistently especially as the weather outside becomes more difficult to ride in over the winter months.

 

[Unlimited Chequing]

I have to average 100km a week to hit 6000km on the year.

Right now I am averaging 125km/week just on the commute to and from work alone, however the 100km/week doesn't take into account the eventual snowfall that will come, nor the 5 days I'm taking off to go to Vegas. If I squeeze in a few extra lengthy rides when it's not too windy/cold out I should be able to hit it but I'll be cutting it close.

That said, my goal this year was 4000km so I'm well above what I intended to at the beginning of the year.

 

[Jack Straw]

Don't know if it's good for your injury but I would try to sit not too low, will give less pressure to the knees. Also very important is to move the legs faster, higher rpm is the key to everything, just watch the rpm pros are cycling with.

Actually, I recently had a physical (first one in like 20 yrs) and the doctor told me that my Iliotibial band was tight. I did some research and that's definitely it. What I found said that cyclists could develop iliotibial band syndrome particularly if your toe is angled inward when you pedal, which is what I tend to do. So from now on I'll adjust my foot position and see how that goes. Also stretching is recommended.

Cadence is a personal thing- LeMond was a low rpm guy, so was Jan Ulrich. Depends on your anatomy and physiology. I've always been a low rpm guy (70-80 rpm) as well, I have long legs for my height and they just don't like to spin real fast. For this particular issue I think low rpms might actually be better since the irritation of the IT band occurs every time the knee is flexed and the band slides across the knee joint. Lower cadence should mean less irritation, at least in theory.

 

[UnrealMachine]

My 2nd cyclocross race is this weekend. Since I've added that to the mix, I'll be racing every weekend since mid September until the weekend before Thanksgiving. Then two more races after that. I also just recently accepted an offer to join a local racing team, so I'm excited about that as well. Goal is to get to 5+W/kg by April and race in the expert/pro divisions next season.

 

[CactusEverywhere]

This is Scenic Drive. It's closed to traffic every Sunday morning for like 5 hours. Short ride but pretty fun overall. Here's some data for those interested.

ScenicDrive 1[/url] by J. M., on Flickr[/IMG] ScenicDrive 1 by J. M., on Flickr[/IMG]

ScenicDriveSign[/url] by J. M., on Flickr[/IMG] ScenicDriveSign by J. M., on Flickr[/IMG]

ScenicDrive4[/url] by J. M., on Flickr[/IMG] ScenicDrive4 by J. M., on Flickr[/IMG]
Just below the horizon above my seat is the river and Mexican border. You can see Juarez's big red X if you squint.

ScenicDrive3[/url] by J. M., on Flickr[/IMG] ScenicDrive3 by J. M., on Flickr[/IMG]

 

[RayP]

@UnrealMachine I know you race a cyclocross bike, but you do, or did, a good amount of mountain biking too.... right?

I just moved to Salt Lake City so a mountain bike is going to be a must. Any suggestions for a first time buyer?

 

[UnrealMachine]

@UnrealMachine I know you race a cyclocross bike, but you do, or did, a good amount of mountain biking too.... right?

I just moved to Salt Lake City so a mountain bike is going to be a must. Any suggestions for a first time buyer?

Actually, I do mountain bike racing/training. I just took up cyclocross recently, but I'm actually doing those races on my mountain bike as well. Honestly, I couldn't give you good advice on a bike since the terrain is WAY different there than what I ride (Appalachian forests). Best bet would be to find the Utah subthread on mtbr.com and ask them for recommendations. Congrats on the move. I hear that's an incredible city for outdoors, among other things.

 

[RayP]

Cool, thanks. Will definitely check that site out for sure.

And yeah, that’s pretty much why we picked here. Well that and the cost of living is super low + great job market.

Actually, I do mountain bike racing/training. I just took up cyclocross recently, but I'm actually doing those races on my mountain bike as well. Honestly, I couldn't give you good advice on a bike since the terrain is WAY different there than what I ride (Appalachian forests). Best bet would be to find the Utah subthread on mtbr.com and ask them for recommendations. Congrats on the move. I hear that's an incredible city for outdoors, among other things.

 

[RayP]

f***ing love this place. What a ride. 17 miles, 1500 feet of climbing. Just love it. Smooth roads, big bike lanes, and courteous drivers. Well.... compared to what I’m use to at least.

 

[Unlimited Chequing]

A bit of a powdery ride to work this morning.

I'll get to finish assembling my fat bike tonight or tomorrow. It's supposed to snow next week so I'll get to put it to good use pretty quickly.

 

[UnrealMachine]

Well, I found the limitations of riding a MTB in a cyclocross race yesterday. The course was very flat and non-technical. It was very cold and I was having issues with my new tires leaking, so I had to run them at 30/26 instead of my normal 21/18. The winner of the race and I both have powermeters and we exchanged data after the race. Now granted I did make some technical errors here and there which cost me a few seconds on several occasions, but my average power output was literally 30% higher than his and he finished a full minute ahead of me. Hahahaha!

 

[RayP]

Awesome ride today, just did an out and back up a mountain. 11.5 miles out, 2800 feet of climbing. Averaged about 9mph up, and 30+ on the way down. Some pretty terrifying and technical turns on the way down through the canyon, but ton of fun.

 

[LeHab]

****ing love this place. What a ride. 17 miles, 1500 feet of climbing. Just love it. Smooth roads, big bike lanes, and courteous drivers. Well.... compared to what I’m use to at least.

Love climbing but have only limited opportunities around here. Where is that?

 

[RayP]

Love climbing but have only limited opportunities around here. Where is that?

Just a few miles outside of Salt Lake City.

 

[RayP]

Doing a modified version of Sufferfest with a local tri club here. Man this has been tough.

By modified, they’re basically just adding some aerobic and long distance stuff to it to keep our bases there.

5 month plan with the club, expecting to see some impressive results.

 

[maxb221]

I'm kinda late to the party guys.

Anyway, here's a picture of my bike. I was fortunate enough to take it out for a spin yesterday (28 degrees Fahrenheit in Montreal).

 

[maxb221]

Here's my second baby. Bought it a few weeks ago to replace my fluid trainer.

 

[UnrealMachine]

Doing a modified version of Sufferfest with a local tri club here. Man this has been tough.

By modified, they’re basically just adding some aerobic and long distance stuff to it to keep our bases there.

5 month plan with the club, expecting to see some impressive results.

You definitely will. I did all Sufferfest last offseason and improved my FTP by 12%. No real base period, just intervals of different lengths and intensities:

- Sweet Spot, 4 weeks
- VO2 Max, 3 weeks
- Anaerobic Work Capacity, 3 weeks
- Sprints, 2 weeks.

I'm doing something similar this offseason after CX season. More applicable for MTB and CX energy demands.