Tell us about your cycle Yesterday.

Daroxtar

Beautiful morning here. Been doing short spins of an hour or so at higher cadence for the last while pushing my average speed up closer to the 30kmh mark, not fast but not bad for a hybrid IMO. Went for a 50km this morning Did Longwood -Summerhill -Kiltale -Trim -Longwood. 53.6km in 1:48:01 @ 29.8 kmh
Previous best comparable spin was at about 26 kmh so I'm very happy with today's effort. And the legs were on fire last time, not a bother today. Fitness is definitely much improved in the past few months.
http://www.strava.com/activities/159391688

Edit: just saw Alek did 130 km at the same speed.... Oh well

Alek

30KPH average on a hybrid is awesome regardless of the distance At such speeds aerodynamics become more and more important so it is much harder to achieve this in upright position.

zl1whqvjs75cdy

75km at 26 kph today. Built two relatively steep hills into my route too after my disaster with athgoe last week. Happy enough but my legs cramped to bits now.

116km, 22.8kph, loads of hills. Beautiful cycling weather.

furiousox

furiousox wrote: »

Terrible day in the saddle, nothing in the legs today for some unknown reason.
Headed for The Naul only to see it was still covered in loose gravel.
Crawled up Bellewstown Hill as if it was my first time ever attempting it.
Then noticed my rear brake caliper wasn't releasing so got totally pi$$ed off with circumstances and lack of form and headed for home.
45 paltry km with a stiff breeze in my face for most of them and didn't enjoy one minute.
100km route planned for tomorrow as revenge!

100k today.
Drogheda-Baltray-Clogherhead-Castlebellingham-Dundalk-Ardee-Collon-Slane-Donore-Duleek-Drogheda.
In your face, legs! :pac:

secman

Home, ballycanew, camolin, ferns, enniscorthy, wexford, coast road to curracloe, blackwater, kulmuckridge, home. Almost 90 km 24.2 kmh. Lovely morning

jober

Done 52km yesterday looped from tallaght celbridge maynooth leixlip and back to tallaght

Today tallaght maynooth sumerhill and back

Will try squeeze one more cycle in tuesday night before heading to kerry on wenseday for ROK

rollingscone

Finally back on Strava!

http://app.strava.com/activities/159516271

Went out to Maynooth via Chapelizod was working to up my average speed, got up Knockmaroon hill without getting out of the saddle got to Lucan via Strawberry beds where it dawned on me that the only reason I went into the village last time was to meet a friend.

Went the back way along the canal and some super narrow but nice backroads onto Maynooth. Came back via Leixlip with a jolly old out of the saddle big ring up Captains hill, sat in traffic a fair bit went down Knockmaroon for the first time since before my descending related freak out and I got down it without touching the brakes once I got past the point where the bridge pillar occludes the bend in the road. Then I sat in traffic most of the way home some hipster (bearded bloke in thick wool hat, sleeveless check shirt and a jumper tied around his waist on a weird sort of hybrid with city bike bars) shoaled motor traffic and was evidently very self conscious about not being overtaken by a cliché inauthentic roadie so I made sure to pass him at 40kph+ as soon as there was a gap in motor traffic along the canal.

61.6km in 2:18 with 26.6kph average, 52.9kph max...so much for going faster.

No Pants

Only the second time up Howth Hill this year. I guess it's not like a bar of chocolate, it's not getting smaller as the years go by, or at least not quickly enough to notice. Came down the harbour side and caught another bloke. He was wandering all over the lane, so I couldn't get past him safely. Howth was full of pipes and drums, but I had somewhere to be and couldn't stop. Only 49 km in all.

magicbastarder

only 13km today. but first time on the bike since october, probably. breaking myself in gently.

Mercian Pro

Excellent conditions today for the Wicklow Peaks - hardly any wind, the rain held off and not too hot. Pity the body condition wasn't as good. Still, it can't have been that different to last year as my time of 5:00 was identical. Can't understand how Shay Elliot and Slieve Maan look so similar in profile when they feel so different on the legs.
Well done to the marshals, cooks, organisers and Naas CC who were out in force.

ironkiwi

101km today at average 24km/hr. That was the first time to get over 100km so delighted with myself even though the legs started to give me trouble after 60km. Beautiful weather for it today!

crosstownk

I'd a load of garden stuff to do yesterday so couldn't get out on the bike. I was getting cabin fever by the end of the day and went out for a few pints in the evening (probably one too many).

I'd a mission to Limerick today to visit some relatives so I decided to head out at 8am a for a 50km spin to Bessington and back.

It worked out well. I did the spin in 1:45 which came in at 29km/h.

I'll cycle to work tomorrow (19km each way) to reach my target km for June.

Unknown Soldier

So I went out for a small spin this morning (25.8) to shake off the cobwebs etc and to try out a test saddle I have.

T'was by coincidence last night that I ended up watching a facetube video about hand signals while cycling in a group and then today....

I come down stocking lane and end up going towards marley park and the cyclist right in front of me (he wasn't at the start but I pedaled hard ) looks around at me and starts giving me all the hand signals for the next 5 or 6 km.

I was actually well chuffed.

I must look like a proper cyclist now, with just a cycling shirt and a pair of cycling trousers.

Strange to see a jet black bike with no markings and electronic gears though.

Some one here? Had one of those curved top bars...

Felloffmebike

Horrible 60k yesterday. Had planned to do 100+. Everything seemed fine, good nights sleep, proper breakfast, plenty of fluid. But from the get go I had no energy and no legs. So turned home early. And got my wind direction wrong so planned my route wrong and ended up fighting a headwind in all the wrong places. Just one of those days I suppose. Still, got a bit of exercise and fresh air.

Wishbone Ash

Unknown Soldier wrote: »

.... and the cyclist right in front of me (he wasn't at the start but I pedaled hard ) looks around at me and starts giving me all the hand signals for the next 5 or 6 km.....

Did you not take your turn at the front? :P

No Pants

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

Did you not take your turn at the front? :P

Some of the signals may have gotten repetitive for the last kilometre or two.

Orion

Was helping a a SVP residential place for Senior Citizens today bringing bags to rooms and decided to cycle instead of a longer spin. 23k-ish each way. Nice spin and averaged 25kph each way. Happy that I'm consistently averaging that but I seem to have plateaued at that speed.

Heading on family holiday next week and then scout camp for another week but when I'm back I'll be adding spinning to my schedule to up my speeds.

Should I get a turbo trainer or spin classes or both? For the former can anyone recommend a trainer that won't break the bank so that I do it at home?

The tax man

Another cracking morning out there. Usual out and back to Enniskerry. Work put pay to any cycling over the weekend, had hoped to do the above route twice this morning but the legs weren't playing ball. 37km done 31km left to target. I'll be back on the bike after work today.

rollingscone wrote: »

Just out of curiosity did you lean your body or the bike?

Sorry rollingscone,meant to reply sooner. I would've been just starting to lean the bike when the rear wheel lost traction. Body was still upright but setup for a 90 left,ie shifted back on saddle,left knee out and weight on outside peddle.

rollingscone

The tax man wrote: »

Another cracking morning out there. Usual out and back to Enniskerry. Work put pay to any cycling over the weekend, had hoped to do the above route twice this morning but the legs weren't playing ball. 37km done 31km left to target. I'll be back on the bike after work today.




Sorry rollingscone,meant to reply sooner. I would've been just starting to lean the bike when the rear wheel lost traction. Body was still upright but setup for a 90 left,ie shifted back on saddle,left knee out and weight on outside peddle.

No worries.

I found that the thing that made the huge difference for me with cornering technique was when I started focusing on countersteering as in, actively pushing the bars away from the bend I was taking.

Can't explain why, it just seemed to create a much purer state of my weight pressing down on the wheels and the wheels turning onto their grippy shoulders.

smacl

Quick lunchtime spinup Cruagh, Johnnie Foxes and back for a lazy 21k @ 22kph. Glorious weather, might try and get up early tomorrow for a longer pre-work spin.

v6e5qzawyrc3jn

This post has been deleted.

Unknown Soldier

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

Did you not take your turn at the front? :P

tbh I give other cyclists a lot of space unless I have to overtake. I don't even know how to drift someone else nor does it interest me, scares me actually I seen that mad assed Giro stuff!

Still it was kinda cool. Still love to know who it was and the bike they were on.

Anyways... Actually had a decent enough month, considering the debacle of the previous. my ribs don't hurt much now.

Finishing off on 752km (Bleedin' Strava badges) Chuffed considering I got the 500 five days ago.

I am firmly in the godtabh camp of cycling I have discovered.

The world is a beautiful place in the early hours of the morning. The wind can be so gentle and the sunrises are beautiful.
It's like the rest of the country is a sleep, eh, which it actually is

Managed to knock out 46.3 this morning going to work (Why I am doing Stocking Avenue I have no idea) and after about 20km my legs/knees were in bits to the extent i knew "something" was amiss:/ Realised my "test" saddle was too far back and finished off the rest sitting on the front of the saddle. Sore arse but I found my legs again

Moved the saddle forward in work and did 25.8 home. I think I need a longer stem though.

Both cycles were thoroughly enjoyable too. I think not having a loaded back pack on and just wearing a jersey and cycling trousers helped a lot.

Another highlight of June has been watching/following crosstownk and Wishbone Ash on Strava. Legends, the pair of ya.

Roll on July.

[edit] Special thanks to the person who told the story here recently of struggling with a mate up some hills on a charity cycle, only to be passed by Sean Kelly who turned around and said something like "lads, did someone tell you this was going to be easy?" That rolls around in my head a lot when cycling.[/edit]

The tax man

80's style double stage for me today. Nice easy flat spin this morning, hills for the evening stage.
Cruagh road-Glencree-Powerscourt-Enniskerry-home. 43kms

Reached the 1,000km for the month. Chuffed.:D

No Pants

Took a quick spin over to Baldoyle and then back to Swords. Could not be arsed with continuing on over Howth hill. 32km only.

Sinbad_NI

Pre planned a 55-60 mile route around lower Lough Erne only to find the main climb was actually a dead end and had to reroute. Also ended up being too many flat long straight bits with little scenery...at least the weather was good.

rollingscone

Finally nutted up to do some hill repeats today.

http://www.strava.com/activities/160391034

Got from home to the base of the Cruagh road climb without incident, managed to get up the first third of the climb at over 14kph and finished up the rest at 12kph. Faced my first descent down Cruagh road since a near crash there gave me the willies about descending in general last year and took it uber handy, but thankfully that was driven by the wide variety of entrances and blind bends rather than caveman fear. On the way up I'd passed a woman in non cycling gear and boots, rolling down, opening or removing everything she could as she struggled up the hill on a badly set up road bike. Had said a few encouraging words on the way up and said about doing repeats but she seemed genuinely stunned that I was actually doing it when I passed her on the way back down.

A couple of Horseflies decided to do the old Robin Hood Prince of thieves distracting me under pressure thing, except with more vampiring my limbs than erotic ear blowing. But I stolidly made it to the bottom, wary of a few parps from my brake pads.

Second time going up was actually much easier, not least because this time the route was shorter than I anticipated rather than my having forgotten the section before the bridge resulting in a nasty surprise again, as it had on the first. On the second descent a guy on a disc braked hybrid flew past me as I crawled into a blind corner at 25kph.

Third time I was down to 8-9kph the whole way up, but apart from a bit of discomfort in my back I got up a third non stop time, I'd really wanted to do six repeats and really push myself on the last two...but on the third descent my brakes started sounding like Churchmice having an orgy on a megaphone so I chose discretion as the better part of valour and headed for home.

All was reasonably fine until I got to the roundabout before the Yellow house and didn't take the extra lead in time for my newly slimlined brake pads into acount, stopping literally at the edge of the curb.

It was at this point that someone I will try to be fair to and simply call, a classic sunny day tosser, wearing trainers, baggy shorts a backpack and nothing else riding an old MTB decided to take advantage of my slow start up across the roundabout and overtake me so he could use his sweaty torso to box me in with traffic as he plodded along in front, luckily there was a break in traffic and I promptly overtook and dropped him far behind. Buuuuut half a K later I spent a minute + stopped at lights and as I take off he flies by me having evidently been powering towards the red light.

I overtake him handily again and get all the way to Terenure village without having to be confronted by anyone's uninvited public nudity. At the junction in Terenure I stay center lane behind three cars so as not to get pinched by left turning traffic. A roadie that had briefly passed me earlier catches up, and jumps the red, unclipping on one of the islands in the middle of the junction waiting for his chance to further RLJ (I found this particularly galling, Mr. Blue Endura jersey) and my friend the noncommittal nudist shows up about 30 seconds later, also jumping the red, along with a female cyclist and hovering in the junction box before cutting through a gap in the rightly proceeding traffic.

Full of righteous fury I chase through on the green, I get briefly stuck along Mr-BringsShametoRoadies as a car performs a wacky three point turn in the middle of Rush hour traffic, then drop him and glide past the Non-commital nudist. Just before I get to the Harold's X buslane a 4x4 decides they need to park illegally on the pavement. I make a not quite emergency stop, but in my frustratrion, cross chain and drop the chain.

I swearily get off the road and pull the chain back on, but BringshametoRoadies has already passed me and RLJ'd out of sight. I spin furiously down the bus lane to try and find him again and deliver righteous justice but alas, once again the ****ty behaviour of bad motorists has served to advantage bad cyclists over law abiding responsible road users.

So a sort of disappointing/frustrating spin overall....still, at least I didn't have to see that half naked sweaty plonker again.

27.4km
18.2kph average.
41kph max.
539m elevation.

Inspector Coptoor

110km spin.
4 hours 55 mins
23km/hr avg
Max speed of 62km/hr
636m climbed
2979 kcals burned

Stilorgan - clontarf - Howth - portmarnock - malahide
- East link - Sandymount -
Dun Laoighaire - sandycove - Killiney -
Bray - Shankill - Stillorgan via N11.

Fabulous day for it.

Feeling good for the Meath 160km heritage cycle now.

https://www.strava.com/activities/160361491

Wishbone Ash

Unknown Soldier wrote: »

....Another highlight of June has been watching/following crosstownk and Wishbone Ash on Strava. Legends, the pair of ya...

Legend? Me? I couldn't even meet my June target!

Zyzz

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

Legend? Me? I couldn't even meet my June target!

Who needs Sean Kelly when we have Wishbone Ash! :cool: