emilio700

iTrader: (3)

Never go out on a ride without at least 150 calories worth of something in your pocket. A gel at least.

The higher the HR and longer the ride, the more difficult it gets to choke down anything and actually have it turn into useful muscle glycogen without giving you stomach cramps/making you barf. For most riders, the easiest thing to get down at full tilt is liquid maltodextrin like Extran or gel like the Hammer Gel I use. Most gel companies offer semi-clear plastic flasks. Reusable and easy to get into and out of a jersey.



At lower heart rates, you can start eating real food. Short intense rides, it's mostly just low glycemic carbs like matodextrin. Longer rides >2.5hrs, you start to need to take in a little fat and protein. That's why you'll see pro rides on a 6hr stage eating stuff like little bite size sandwiches with lean ham, cream cheese and simple spread to make it easier to chew. Whatever works for you but it needs to be easy to digest. Whatever you find works, don't change it the day of the ride. Test that food on long training rides. Heartburn, too hard to chew, stomach cramps, are all things you only discover while trying to ride and eat.

I use ziplocs and just tear them open. Home made bike food for medium to high intensity training is very individual. Gotta be easy to handle and not fall apart. Soft enough to go down when your mouth is dry. No crumbly stuff.

Some of my faves:

Whole wheat fig or apricot newtons
Almond butter and whole preserves (no sugar) on whole grain bread. Basically a turbo PBJ.
Dried apricots
Gummi bears (sugar!)
Home made muffins
Hammer gel in flasks. I only really use gel for racing
Clif Builders bar, chocolate peanut butter

On really long rides I suppelment my normal HEED electrolyte replacement drink with Perpetuem. Think of Perpetuem as Gods own Ensure. Maltodextrin, proteins, a bit of fat, bunch other turbo stuff. Has a non-chemically and pleasant mild orange flavor. Like a milkshake that isn't sweet enough. Very easy on the stomach and easier to get down at high HR. Most Ironman pros take on almost all their massive calories during races in liquid form. Lower the HR, the closer you get to being able to eat Pizza on the bike.

Joe Perez

iTrader: (8)

You guys are making me feel like such a peasant. And here I'm just happy to be back to doing 5 mile stop-n-go commutes on a heavy, fat-tired cruiser without feeling winded...

Savington

iTrader: (31)

Did 32 miles in the saddle today. 30 more tomorrow. Feeling good

Leafy

iTrader: (1)

Here here. I'd like to get to the point where I can get to work at a decent clip and not break a sweat so I can just wear my business casual on the bike. Half that sweat though is the fear of death sweat though.

emilio700

iTrader: (3)

When I tell people I rode 100 miles, the response is often "I could never do that!". I always say, "sure you could. First you ride 1 mile. Then you get stronger and ride 2 miles, then 5,10 and so on. Eventually, you ride 100. Anyone can do it."

Not that everyone wants or needs to but the point is it's no different than any other adaption we make as adults.

Leafy

iTrader: (1)

I completely understand that. Part of my problem is I run into, "It doesnt get any easier you just go faster."

emilio700

iTrader: (3)

That quote is from Greg Lemond and he's talking about riding at the limit of human ability. The context is assuming you are always pushing to your limits. It might actually hurt more as you get more comfortable with pain if you are racing. When you're not fit and not really motivated to suffer, you shut down early. The "I'm out" response.

Get to where a 18mph 100 mile ride only hurts a little and that 16mph 35 mile ride doesn't hurt a bit.

I have ridden and trained with world class pros a few times. It's always amazing to see these guys spinning comfortably at the front of a fast club ride with their mouths closed, everyone behind them suffering like dogs.

The very first time you drove a car you were a bit wobbly, sensory overload, adrenaline addled. Now you cruise the freeway at 80 one handed next to big rigs while chatting on the bluetooth. It does get easier. Adaption.

Oscar

iTrader: (2)

How long does that take? I've been riding 40ish miles a week for a while now, but 9 out of 10 times I'm done after 10 or so miles. I struggle to keep even a 20kph average where in the first half I comfortably average 25-28kph on my mtb. When I get back it takes a while to settle down again but don't have the feeling my legs are completely dead from the ride (which was the case when I first started, I struggled to get up the stairs after the first rides). Don't tell me a 10+ mile ride is my white whale

emilio700

iTrader: (3)

-Try to ride 2-3x a week, evenly spaced. Not all of it on the weekend.

-Make sure you are well rested, fed and hydrated before the ride. Eat a small to medium, easily digested meal no sooner than 3hrs before the ride.

-Start easy the first 15 minutes to let your self warm up

-Avoid high force/low rpm as much as possible on the long rides

-On shorter rides, do 30s - 5 minute periods of higher force or high rpm. These are basically intervals. They'll add fitness you will use on the longer rides.

-Get your seat height ride. General rule of thumb is to have your heel be able to fully contact the pedal while seated with your leg straight. That's a tad lower than most kids in bike shops will adjust you but it's OK, they're wrong

- If you are heavy, lose weight. Nothing affects endurance potential more than carrying too much weight. Even if it's all muscle, it's still weight. The best pros have BMI's of around 19.5. It's reasonable to be 23-25. Get into the high 20's and it sorta caps your athletic potential. I'm around 21 now. Was right at 20 when I was racing. Bony but all muscle.

Savington

iTrader: (31)

Oscar, this. A huge portion of the progress I've made in the last few months can be attributed to riding with a group. Their "social" pace/distance forced me into the pain cave just to stay with them on flat ground, and they would drop me out of sight on any sort of small hill. Today, I can chat and socialize on flat ground, hang with them on short rollers, and at least keep them in sight on the long/steep climbs, and we're going 1-2mph faster and 10+ miles longer than before, and I recover faster. If I hadn't found that group, I wouldn't be halfway to where I am today.

IOW, try and get a buddy or find a club to ride with so you can't bail out early or skip days. They will force you to improve to their level. If you can't find a group, motivate yourself somehow - do 3 extra km every day at the same pace or push harder up each hill or something.

The other thing I'm glad I did early on was get a HR monitor. It's a small fraction of the cost of a power meter (which I want badly), but it will at least give you a half-decent idea of how hard you're pushing yourself independent of your brain's adrenaline-riddled perception of it. Set a target HR and don't let yourself cruise along by yourself. If my HR says <160, I'm slacking off. I try to hover in the low 180s on long/steep climbs - it forces me to consistently stress myself and I know the strength/endurance will follow that.

Oscar

iTrader: (2)

I strive to ride every other day. Works out usually.

Last ride I did was at 2 in the afternoon, interestingly enough my last meal was at 11 in the evening the previous day. I did not feel any more or less energy than the rides I did when I ate an hour or two before. This is weird right?

I'm exactly 5 minutes away from my local 'forest' where I ride the most. I can do laps around the pond/lake at various speeds to warm up.

So, much like a car, don't lug around in high gears but downshift and keep rpm up?

There's a couple of off-road inclines and climbs where I ride, they'll allow for bursts of climbing/higher torque. Will frequent these parts more.

I got my seat where I want it, ie where it doesn't cause my knee to hurt like a sumbitch withing 2 minutes and it feels nice and natural.

Working on it. Down ~22lbs since mid-december. Also quit smoking so I should see improvements in stamina pretty soon.



Yeah, I've seen HR monitors that work with my phone and apps that I use for <$50. I could swing that. I need to set up rides with my neighbor, even though he's waaaay better/faster than me. Feels like I'm slowing him down

Thanks for the advice guys, much appreciated

emilio700

iTrader: (3)

Don't be stup..stubborn, if you seat is at the wrong height, fix it. Only adjust 1cm or less at at time. Maybe do 1-2 rides at each height. Give your body time to adapt. If you are capable of generating 150 watts for 3hrs at the correct height, it might only be 100w with the height way off. Plus you're more prone to long term overuse injuries with your seat way off. Seated, leg straight with cycling shoes and riding shorts on, where is your heel in relation to the pedal top?

Oscar

iTrader: (2)

Toes lower than heel. Seat was way too low at first, fixed that after 1 ride and it was smoother since.

mgeoffriau

iTrader: (7)

Bah, proper fit is overrated.

LLBean Cross Sport Bike

Oscar

iTrader: (2)

Why is the front on backwards?

shlammed

iTrader: (8)

easier to ride with no hands.

Joe Perez

iTrader: (8)

I yield.

When it's 5° with 30 MPH winds and there's a foot of snow and slush on the ground with occasional icebergs, that's the limit of what I am willing to endure.

Said "**** it" and took the train.

rleete

iTrader: (21)

Slacker. You will never be welcome in the carbonlust thread with that attitude.

shlammed

iTrader: (8)

I need a new seatpost.

The post on there now is both ugly and doesn't hold the angle regardless of how tight it is... quite annoying when im on the ride to work (no tool pack) and it pops right into your taint.


Any suggestions on seatposts? I need to find it in the limited size 26.8mm post.

mgeoffriau

iTrader: (7)

For that shopping cart steering geometry.