Cycling

[RayP]

Today was probably my worst ride since I've had the bike, but it was my fault for piss poor nutrition, and not having eaten anything sine I woke up, and then trying to go on a 30 mile ride. I made it through the ride, but about 20 miles in I started to get dizzy, and had to stop and find some food somewhere. Luckily there are multiple bike shops on the path, so found one with some Clif bars. Had like 3 of those, and felt better just shortly after that... but the ride had been ruined at that point. Just stupid on my part, but oh well. Still finished the 30 miles, at least.

 

[The Imp]

Today was probably my worst ride since I've had the bike, but it was my fault for piss poor nutrition, and not having eaten anything sine I woke up, and then trying to go on a 30 mile ride. I made it through the ride, but about 20 miles in I started to get dizzy, and had to stop and find some food somewhere. Luckily there are multiple bike shops on the path, so found one with some Clif bars. Had like 3 of those, and felt better just shortly after that... but the ride had been ruined at that point. Just stupid on my part, but oh well. Still finished the 30 miles, at least.

20 miles puts you at just over an hour, right? If you're riding without breakfast, lasting about an hour before running out of gas sounds about right.

 

[jorbjorb]

-35degC in Winnipeg today.
No biking hahaha

 

[RayP]

20 miles puts you at just over an hour, right? If you're riding without breakfast, lasting about an hour before running out of gas sounds about right.

Yeah, I was maybe an hour and 10 in. I was feeling it before then, but at that point I just couldn't go any further without food.

 

[RayP]

Just got my new shorts and tried them on. Holy ****, this is a million times more comfortable than my other pair, and they feel 20 times more padded. This is like going from a 1999 Civic to a brand new Mercedes. Found a good deal on some Bellwether Newton shorts, that were marked down to $40 from $130.

 

[Pilky01]

Riding the stationary bike at the gym I find my groin parts start to feel kinda numb after about 20 mins. Is that something I can push through, or should I just stop once it gets uncomfortable? I could go for hours on the thing but don't want to if it could be harmful.

 

[UnrealMachine]

Riding the stationary bike at the gym I find my groin parts start to feel kinda numb after about 20 mins. Is that something I can push through, or should I just stop once it gets uncomfortable? I could go for hours on the thing but don't want to if it could be harmful.

You need a different seat position, seat angle or just a flat out different seat. You are most likely getting too much pressure on your taint (sorry, there's no alternative way to say it). Lots of seats have cutouts in that area to eliminate any pressure there. There may be a seat cover with cutouts that you could use for commercial gym applications?

 

[UnrealMachine]

Tomorrow is race day! I did my last tough workout on Monday and then just a couple of easy recovery rides on the trainer. I feel pretty good going into this, but it remains to be seen how I hold up around hill 10 or so. Starts at 10:00 and should be over around 4:00 or 5:00. Weather is okay, considering they have held this race in some pretty nasty conditions in the past. Upper 30s to mid 40s with no precipitation expected.

 

[RayP]

So, was cleaning my bike today and noticed this. I can't imagine that's normal. Am I not greasing my chain often enough? A lot of those look really worn down.

 

[UnrealMachine]

I did better than I thought I would, but my body is pretty beat up right now. Summary:

Hills 1-3: I felt amazing. Way better than I did on the training rides. The extra few days off beforehand probably made the most difference.
Hill 4: This was the *only* hill I unclipped on. There was a freaking garbage truck right after the 2nd switchback and there was only 3' of space for 300 cyclists to go through. The bottleneck caused a woman to my right to fall almost directly into me. I possibly could have gone around tight into the turn, but it would have jeopardized someone else trying to get through the bottleneck so I stepped off, ran through the obstruction and finished the hill.
Hill 5-6: I crushed Logan, but it did take a bit out of me. Felt it on Rialto.
Hill 7: Suffolk was by far the hardest hill, and it pretty much crushed me. If the last part was another 20' or so more in elevation, I'm not sure if I would have made it. Legs were *screaming*.
Hill 8: I was still in recovery mode so I just slowly spun my way up.
Hill 9-10: I absolutely crushed Canton & Boustead. Wish I had taken Canton in a higher gear. Boustead had some salt on it, which made things a little tricky towards the top when riders in front of me were slowing down.
Hill 11-12: In addition to lower body fatigue, this is where I really started to feel it in my upper body. Essentially, my entire arms were struggling to keep me on the bike, as I was out of saddle and really mashing my way up the hills.
Hill 13: There is a lot of ground to cover between hills 12 & 13 and had me a little zapped before the hill even started. Had a good pace on the first part, but really felt the world crashing down as I went up Tesla in what was probably 1 gearing too high.

Felt so nice to be over and a huge sense of accomplishment on finally doing this. Took the best shower ever when I got home. A+ experience.

 

[RayP]

That's awesome man. Which hill was that super steep cobblestone one? Suffolk?

 

[UnrealMachine]

That's awesome man. Which hill was that super steep cobblestone one? Suffolk?

It's hill #9, Canton. Honestly, it seemed like most people made it up this year since it was re-cobbled. You used to not be able to ride on the left side because of grass/mud coming through, but that side seemed just a rideable unless you went too close to the curb. I tried to stay to the right, but had to go to the left to avoid someone in front of me who crashed.

Suffolk does have cobblestone at the top as well. It's a lot harder because you already have climbed for 350' and the cobbles are looser, which takes away more of your momentum. After Suffolk I had to sit down for a couple minutes to catch my breath and rest my legs.

Here is a video of Canton from yesterday. As you can see, the success rate begins to drop the longer you go into the video. I enter the picture around 2:20 and am in the center of the frame around 2:36 (red jacket + recognizable bike):

 

[RayP]

Got a tune up this morning and then went for a ride. Man oh man what a difference that made. Best pace to date and I felt miserable from ****** eating and too much drinking over the weekend, so really happy with that speed. That, and it was just soooo much smoother.

It's hill #9, Canton. Honestly, it seemed like most people made it up this year since it was re-cobbled. You used to not be able to ride on the left side because of grass/mud coming through, but that side seemed just a rideable unless you went too close to the curb. I tried to stay to the right, but had to go to the left to avoid someone in front of me who crashed.

Suffolk does have cobblestone at the top as well. It's a lot harder because you already have climbed for 350' and the cobbles are looser, which takes away more of your momentum. After Suffolk I had to sit down for a couple minutes to catch my breath and rest my legs.

Here is a video of Canton from yesterday. As you can see, the success rate begins to drop the longer you go into the video. I enter the picture around 2:20 and am in the center of the frame around 2:36 (red jacket + recognizable bike):

Damn, that's awesome man. I'm jealous. What kind of swag do you get when registering for a race like that?

 

[jorbjorb]

can someone give me basic maintenance tips for my bike before ei bring it out after winter?

 

[UnrealMachine]

Damn, that's awesome man. I'm jealous. What kind of swag do you get when registering for a race like that?

No swag. Entry fee is only $25 and there are tons of volunteers who make the ride safe/happen. Hard to put a value on the experience or the crowds from each neighborhood lining up on the hills to cheer you on.

 

[UnrealMachine]

can someone give me basic maintenance tips for my bike before ei bring it out after winter?

1. Check that the chain is not stretched.
2. Use a citrus degreaser to clean the chain. Clean the pulleys, chain rings and cassette too. Dry the chain thoroughly and then lube it up.
3. Learn how to check the front and rear derailleur. Cables stretch over time so they may need tightened and eventually replaced.
4. Check the brake pads so that there is plenty of pad left and that the pads hit the rims staight and evenly. Adjust as necessary and tighten the cables if needed.
5. Always check your tire pressure and make sure that it's correct for the tire size and your body weight.

 

[RayP]

No swag. Entry fee is only $25 and there are tons of volunteers who make the ride safe/happen. Hard to put a value on the experience or the crowds from each neighborhood lining up on the hills to cheer you on.

Gotcha. I'm a sucker for race tees and pint glasses.

 

[UnrealMachine]

Gotcha. I'm a sucker for race tees and pint glasses.

Oh, so am I. This is more like an informal ride that slowly became a huge thing. There is no corporate sponsorship and they don't apply to the city for permits. Marshalls rode ahead of the group to block certain intersections so we could roll the stop signs/lights and all stay together.

 

[RayP]

Oh, so am I. This is more like an informal ride that slowly became a huge thing. There is no corporate sponsorship and they don't apply to the city for permits. Marshalls rode ahead of the group to block certain intersections so we could roll the stop signs/lights and all stay together.

It sounds awesome and like something I'd love to take part in, but don't realistically see that happening in the next 3-4 years.

 

[Nunymare]

So I made it out in -36C weather this weekend...

 

[RayP]

So I made it out in -36C weather this weekend...

Holy ****.


How long did you last? Windy?

 

[jorbjorb]

1. Check that the chain is not stretched.
2. Use a citrus degreaser to clean the chain. Clean the pulleys, chain rings and cassette too. Dry the chain thoroughly and then lube it up.
3. Learn how to check the front and rear derailleur. Cables stretch over time so they may need tightened and eventually replaced.
4. Check the brake pads so that there is plenty of pad left and that the pads hit the rims staight and evenly. Adjust as necessary and tighten the cables if needed.
5. Always check your tire pressure and make sure that it's correct for the tire size and your body weight.

thanks a lot man

 

[RayP]

This has got to be my best ride to date. Next week I'm going to make a push for at least 45, and possible 50. Glad that my ass has adjusted to being in the saddle for long periods of time. It doesn't even hurt a bit, not even as I was finishing my ride up. Had a bit of an issue with some ball placement at one point or another, but nothing that couldn't be fixed with a quick adjustment. Rode with a buddy of mine who is a competitive triathlete, so he really helped push me today. I'd say without him I'd probably have been right around an even 18mph per mile, if not below that.

 

[Nunymare]

Holy ****.


How long did you last? Windy?

Lasted about 20 minutes for around 5km. The worst part is baking in all of my layers, and all the snow I have to go over slows me down considerably (and having to worry about ice). Wind was brutal, but luckily I just ride up and down a 1km stretch of bike path, so it's half against the wind and half the time going with it. Had just about over a foot of snow in a span of 2 days last week too so I had to skip the ride on those days. (trails weren't plowed for a couple days).

This has got to be my best ride to date. Next week I'm going to make a push for at least 45, and possible 50. Glad that my ass has adjusted to being in the saddle for long periods of time. It doesn't even hurt a bit, not even as I was finishing my ride up. Had a bit of an issue with some ball placement at one point or another, but nothing that couldn't be fixed with a quick adjustment. Rode with a buddy of mine who is a competitive triathlete, so he really helped push me today. I'd say without him I'd probably have been right around an even 18mph per mile, if not below that.

That's awesome! What kind of route are you doing? It seems that you're all adjusted to all the biking, so now you should be off to the races . This is around the pace I am able to do in the summer/spring/fall . Did you get the clipless pedals yet?

 

[The Imp]

My triathlon club is putting on a 200 km timetrial (20 loops of 10 k) on April 26th. Sounds like a bit of a challenge, tbh, considering it's early in the season.

The route is flat as can be, but with a few 90 degree turns that'll mean slowing down and accelerating.