My Cycling Life(so far)

thinks too much

Last Friday I had the official launch for my home to Rome cycle next summer. And so after just under a year of having a bike and nearly 7000km done i am now focused on getting as much miles in the kegs as i can between now and June next. Last week i managed 233 km at about 28 kmph average, 4 spins in all and i got very wet in the process. There must be a sadist in me because on 2 of those spins it was raining heavily when i started out. But onwards we will soldier and I am looking to try and do a minimum of 200km a week between now and the end of January and after that will be increasing the weekly total monthly up to June. But for now I will just sit here and wait for a break in the rain today as I am being a bit of a wimp...

thinks too much

The change in the temperature was really noticeable this week. My poor old toes are struggling to adjust to the cold. Got out 5 days this week managing 257 km in total and averaging 27.3 kmph. Happy with this as its getting harder to fit in the spins with the weather and the shorter days. Today on my lunch break i just did a short 13 k spin to loosen the legs as I am planning on going out in the morning to do around 80 k if the weather lets me. Again I hope to do 200 + this week coming if I can. For now its time to start wrapping up and keeping the feet warm.

duffyshuffle

thinks too much wrote: »

The change in the temperature was really noticeable this week. My poor old toes are struggling to adjust to the cold. Got out 5 days this week managing 257 km in total and averaging 27.3 kmph. Happy with this as its getting harder to fit in the spins with the weather and the shorter days. Today on my lunch break i just did a short 13 k spin to loosen the legs as I am planning on going out in the morning to do around 80 k if the weather lets me. Again I hope to do 200 + this week coming if I can. For now its time to start wrapping up and keeping the feet warm.

Do you have overshoes?
Do you have good lights to cycle in the evening instead of trying to squeeze it in during the day?

thinks too much

duffyshuffle wrote: »

Do you have overshoes?
Do you have good lights to cycle in the evening instead of trying to squeeze it in during the day?

I do have overshoes alright and they are a big help. I have actually considered getting good lights and maybe heading to Town in the evening to do some cycling because you would not cycle around where we live at night unless u had a death wish as its all narrow country roads.

thinks too much

Another good week last week. 318 km averaging 28.4kmph. Got out 4 days and it was mild enough for most of them. Went to Clare for the weekend with the missus but she banned me from bringing the bike which was a pity because there are some super roads down there for cycling. So instead I ate like a King and now have to try and plan on how to lose those extra lbs gained. Plan on going Mountain biking in Ballyhoura on Wednesday so that should be fun but rest of week is going to be quiet on the bike due to work but we will see what happens.

thinks too much

Very quiet week compared to last few weeks but we all need a little rest at some stage. Got out 3 times on road at lunchtimes during work and managed 67.3 km for the week. On Wednesday I went to Ballyhoura for a spot of mountain biking for the first time and had a ball. Took a tumble while going along the boardwalk but luckily the bog gave my face a soft landing. Nest week I am aiming to try and get in 150 km at least but with work and home commitments even that might be a push but we will see.

thinks too much

Myself and a few friends had planned another trip to Ballyhoura for Wednesday last so I decided to take it easy on Monday and Tuesday. So off we head and another great day was had. This time we did the white route and after the 35 km we were shattered but happy. I never would have thought that it would take so much physical toll on us but it did. Bike was battered after it also.

So on Thursday with my muscles aching another day was gone and then Friday was out as i was working nights Thursday and Saturday should also have been a no go as i was after nights also.

However being a great lad I decided after 2 hours rest Saturday morning to go out for a spin. I had my route all thought out and away I went.After 50 k i found myself in Portlaoise and stopped for a sandwich. Average speed at that stage was 24.7 and I am thinking I will make it up as i was cycling into a headwind and various other excuses.

So away from Portlaoise and towards Monastrevin and then Athy. I am feeling really sluggish at this stage and cannot get any speed and the legs are screaming at me. I start to think about calling herself to pick me up but resist the temptation. The killer was that as I was heading through Athy it starts to dawn on me that its relatively flat ground that I have been on and the hills up to home have to be taken on yet. But persist I did and I eventually got home. 107 k averaging 25 kmph. I slept like the dead on Saturday night and did not even look at the bike on Sunday.

So the lesson learned is that I am not superman and I need to get proper sleep before taking on a 100k cycle. Going to do a few shorter spins this week all going well but with the temperatures set to drop later in the week time out on the road may be limited

thinks too much

The last 2 weeks have been an absolute disaster and to be honest I have no excuses. Monday and Tuesday of last week i got 2 50 odd km spins in and I thought I had a great base to work from for that week but then nothing since. I wish I could just blame the weather but I have cycled in far worse during the year.

I just cannot get motivated to get on the bike at the moment. Every time I think about it I come up with some excuse. Is anyone else feeling this way. I am working a fair bit this week and if I don't at least get out during lunch break on a few of those days it is not looking too good for this week either. Maybe I have overdone it. I keep reminding myself that its only my first year of cycling and we all need a rest etc. But If I am going to complete my Home to Rome cycle next June I cannot afford to get lazy and should at least be getting out for a few spins each week at a minimum at this time of the year.

Well I will just have to man up and stop making excuses from now on. Hopefully next week I will have some better figures to report.

Colonialboy

I think your pushing yourself too hard.
It seems you only took up the bike last Novemeber. Did you have a good level of fitness beforehand?
Maybe you went too hard through the summer and into the autumn and winter and now you have no recovery, long term fatigue.
In one of your posts you mention 100k in 4 hrs plus recently, that in my opinion is too long spent in saddle for such a short distance, there was little benfit to you, only adds to long term fatigue.
You also say you aim todo 100k in each session or something like that.
Admirable but not advisable for everyone, more is no good all the time.

It sounds like your coming off the bike at the end of your session in bits, which is not good over a long period.
I think you should shorten your cycles, increase the intensity a bit if you want. Add some resting blocks to your training, 3 weeks medium-hard, 1 week easy. You need to build up your base slower, over 2 years maybe.

Just some thoughts, take it or leave it, its hard to give feedback based on posts. good luck.

thinks too much

Colonialboy wrote: »

I think your pushing yourself too hard.
It seems you only took up the bike last Novemeber. Did you have a good level of fitness beforehand?
Maybe you went too hard through the summer and into the autumn and winter and now you have no recovery, long term fatigue.
In one of your posts you mention 100k in 4 hrs plus recently, that in my opinion is too long spent in saddle for such a short distance, there was little benfit to you, only adds to long term fatigue.
You also say you aim todo 100k in each session or something like that.
Admirable but not advisable for everyone, more is no good all the time.

It sounds like your coming off the bike at the end of your session in bits, which is not good over a long period.
I think you should shorten your cycles, increase the intensity a bit if you want. Add some resting blocks to your training, 3 weeks medium-hard, 1 week easy. You need to build up your base slower, over 2 years maybe.

Just some thoughts, take it or leave it, its hard to give feedback based on posts. good luck.

Definitely feel that I am Fatigued alright and I felt really good during the summer and its really been the last 2 months that I have started to struggle. I know that I am not doing enough planning ahead in my training. I just tend to go out and decide as I go what route to take etc with no defined plan of action on what I am trying to achieve. I have joined a cycling club that has started up in Work(60 members) and hope that some of the experienced guys will help out in bringing me on a bit. I am also going to start looking into nutrition etc as I know I am not eating and drinking properly on spins. Also After spin recovery needs to be addressed.

But I do love cycling and fitness wise etc it has improved my health etc tremendously since I took it up. So Hopefully now I will be able to move forward and improve.

pprendeville

thinks too much wrote: »

The last 2 weeks have been an absolute disaster and to be honest I have no excuses. Monday and Tuesday of last week i got 2 50 odd km spins in and I thought I had a great base to work from for that week but then nothing since. I wish I could just blame the weather but I have cycled in far worse during the year.

I just cannot get motivated to get on the bike at the moment. Every time I think about it I come up with some excuse. Is anyone else feeling this way. I am working a fair bit this week and if I don't at least get out during lunch break on a few of those days it is not looking too good for this week either. Maybe I have overdone it. I keep reminding myself that its only my first year of cycling and we all need a rest etc. But If I am going to complete my Home to Rome cycle next June I cannot afford to get lazy and should at least be getting out for a few spins each week at a minimum at this time of the year.

Well I will just have to man up and stop making excuses from now on. Hopefully next week I will have some better figures to report.

Get yourself a training program or sit down and make one up yourself. The Cyclists Training Bible is good for this but there is a lot of info in it and it can overload you a bit (at least it did for me initially).

I am just starting a 12 week program and am feeling renewed again after having slackened off a bit although I probably needed a break from the bike tbh. Have all my sessions planned ow for the next 3 months so all I need to do is hop on the bike, suffer a bit and not think too much.

For your feet, if you're still feeling the effects of the cold despite the overshoes, wrap some tin foil around tops of your toes. Does wonders repelling Jack Frost.

paulgalway

pprendeville wrote: »

I am just starting a 12 week program .

Is it a program you made yourself? Any Links?

Need something to motivate me during the next few months during the bad weather.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks.

pprendeville

paulgalway wrote: »

Is it a program you made yourself? Any Links?

Need something to motivate me during the next few months during the bad weather.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks.

I was contemplating making a training plan for myself using The Cyclists Training Bible but for some reason I know I probably wouldn't stick to something I made for myself or 1/2 way through I'd end up changing the workouts (happened last year with my own plan but it was good to gauge with other training plans, I will apply the same principles however later in the year as TCTB - planning backwards from my main priority races).

So a bit of Googling led me to the training4cyclists website. I downloaded the 12 week winter training plan from there for a small fee of course. His main claim to fame is less is more. I'm only an A3 and tend to agree with his reasoning. Longest race I did last year was 120km in RAS Clar and I think Joe Friel said you plan around things like this. So if your maximum race length is 120km then training spins of 100km will suffice or thereabouts. Similarly, racing terrain plays its part. Most races in Ireland are rolling terrain with very few long climbs so better to focus your training on short bursts of speed and VO2 max.

Last year I got a 12 week training plan (April-Jun) with DigDeep Coaching and it worked really well for me. I need structure to keep myself motivated. This year I know what I need to be more competitive and base plan fits the bill perfectly. Found myself going a bit flat a few weeks ago so this has renewed my enthusiasm.

thinks too much

I have not been on the bike for a few weeks now but as usual have a load of excuses but I wont even get into that. Its now 2014 and there is a lot of Turkey to be burned off and no excuses are acceptable from here on in.

I have mentioned in a few posts during the year about my planned Home to Rome cycle next June. The plan now is to get as much cycling in as possible but in a more structured way than I have been doing up to now. Diet is going to be a very important as I don't always eat properly in general let alone when out on the bike. I put a lot of this down to the fact that i work shifts and do a lots of night shifts which really messes up the metabolism. But from now on I will be eating in a more structured way and planning my food intake for my spins in advance.

I will be trying to plan my weeks in advance and try as best as I can to stick to those plans. As part of my Home to Rome cycle I will also be fundraising and have a few events planned and the fundraising is actually more daunting to me than the actual cycle. I am a stubborn fecker so I am confident I will last the 2 weeks of the cycle but Raising as much money as possible for the charity is the main aim and so that's where I feel a lot of my energy is going to be spent for the next 6 months.

as for My Cycling Life So Far. Well i have done just short of 8200km in 2013. I genuinely never believed that i would take to the bike in the way that I have. I have had so many great times during the year that its hard to pick out any favorite moment. I have been very lucky in that I have avoided any big injuries or falls so far and long may it continue.

And for 2014 a whole new chapter begins with the Home to Rome cycle in June the bug aim. But also I will be hoping to complete the Wicklow 200 and the Mick Byrne Randomee along the way.

And that's it folks. my first year on the bike done and dusted. Thanks to all of you who have followed me along this journey and Roll on 2014 and happy and safe cycling to you all.