Tell us about your new improved government regulations compliant cycle part II

shootermacg

I'm still getting to grips with the really long, steep hills myself, but going on my limited experience, I've found, if I spin a cadence beyond 90 I get seriously out of breath, whereas if I'm trying to spin at under 80, then I'm killing my legs. My lungs will recover, but gassed out legs means game over.

A cadence sensor would be handy and cheap. Find out what cadence you usually spin along at, but aim to get it up past 80 at least, that way you're not gassing the legs but instead you're working the heart / lungs.

There's a sweetspot there somewhere, which I'm still trying to find myself.

I use Wahoo sensors, really cheap cadence / speed sensors they work with your phone, computer etc. I'm sure there are cheaper ones that can recommended here, but that's what I currently use.

alexinkildare

I got a cadence sensor in Lidl for 30 quid. Was ideal for getting my cadence right.

magicbastarder

i didn't use a sensor, i just realised that i was knackering myself too soon, so would deliberately pick one gear lower than normal and found i didn't fatigue as quickly.
i'd kinda settled into a 'this gear for easy flats, that gear for reasonable headwinds or slight uphills' so worked off those as a reference. saw an immediate 5%+ increase in my average speed over about 40k spins.

Wishbone Ash

jalock20 wrote: »

...Was going grand until I got to the hill with the GAA pitch at the top in Man-O-War. Serious gear issues....in that I hadn't a clue whether or not I was in the right one....

Were you on the big ring at the front?

Is it a 53 (i.e. 53 teeth) or a 50 (compact)? I'm wondering if you bought a bike with a racing set-up (i.e. geared highly) as that climb isn't particularly steep.

retalivity

Straight out from work in ballsbridge, to snadyford - johnnie foxes - cruagh...had planned to go left at mt venus and go up stocking lane and home but got notions that i hadnt been up kilmashogue im a few months so tackled that. It really is a nutbuster, and an all over the shop wimd doesnt help either. My brakes are shot so descending was hairy as hell...had them clamped on the whole way down cruagh and kilmashogue.

39k, 650m vertical, only 19.3kph due to the slow descending and a trip to tesco in terenure.

https://www.strava.com/activities/728098788

golfer555

retalivity wrote: »

Straight out from work in ballsbridge, to snadyford - johnnie foxes - cruagh...had planned to go left at mt venus and go up stocking lane and home but got notions that i hadnt been up kilmashogue im a few months so tackled that. It really is a nutbuster, and an all over the shop wimd doesnt help either. My brakes are shot so descending was hairy as hell...had them clamped on the whole way down cruagh and kilmashogue.

39k, 650m vertical, only 19.3kph due to the slow descending and a trip to tesco in terenure.

https://www.strava.com/activities/728098788

Nice little spin there to get out for a few hours. Are those roads past the M50 fairly quiet after work? I don't know them at all.

retalivity

In the hour or more between belarmine turnoff up to glencullen to coming back under the m50 at whitechurch, i met about 20 cars, and around the same number of cyclists. So quiet enough.

triggermortis

https://www.strava.com/activities/728466880/segments/17870347407

commute home last night with mostly a tailwind was a blast. Not quite the same this morning at 05.00 going the other way though.. wind was a killer and I was almost stationary around the back of the airport...

shootermacg

Puncture on the way to work. Those bloody Giant SR2s wheels are a real pain when it comes to getting the tyre off. Pulled into a garage which had a grass area, fixed the puncture.

Lovely day today. Sat there for five minutes, leaning against a tree, watching the sun come up, perfectly happy.

P_1

Bought myself a fatbike today. Took it about the trees in the St Annes Park. Never had so much fun on a bike though the headwind was very tough to build up any speed into.

Colonel Panic

Saw the cyclist in front of me run in to a car turning left just on Harold's Cross Road. Driver said he didn't see him! 5 seconds later and it would've been me and I was going a LOT faster.

Thankfully he (and his bike) seemed okay.

Luxman

Well that was a windy day to head for Rathfarnham from Ratoath, Cruagh and on to Glencree for some coffee. The wind was head-on across the Featherbeds, and the last little drop down to Glencree where there is a sharp enough bend (which you normally brake at to brush off some speed), today I was pushing hard to maintain 27kph. I wanted to find out if I could make it home in time for school pickup if I continued up to Sally Gap, turn right and head for the N81 and home via CityWest. The descent off the Gap was scary to say the least. The embankment descent was great fun. And a side wind most of the way back towards Lucan. 108K with 1100m vertical. Made it home with 20 mins to spare. cream cracked now.

Chuchote

A friend who lives in Glencree, and (obv) drives on the Featherbeds and around there a lot, mentions that she really hates it when cyclists impatiently motion her to go ahead. She knows those roads like the palm of her hand (she's lived there for 30 years), and knows where there are blind bends coming, etc. She's the most incredibly considerate and careful driver on this earth. Just sayin'.

dahat

Nightmare week in work so needed a spin today as it's been hard to get out lately. Short loop around the town and decided to try hill used for the TT in the Suir Valley 3 Stage one day event earlier this year.

Lets just say it is bloody tough. 1.1km at 8.9%, nasty and my time wasn't great. Nearly got sick at the top!!

35km with 458m elevation at 26.5 avg.

Seeing a physio tomorrow for a rub to try sort my dodgy hammy so hopefully nothing else shows up n I'm set for a club spin Sunday.

Daroxtar

Climbed the Angliru today. I've been a bit obsessed with it for some time now. Proper obsessed. I bought a limited edition Angliru Jersey 6 months ago and refused to wear it till today. Lying in bed visualising the ramps, worrying as much about the descent as the ascent. I was awake half the night last night. Got up at 6, pitch black and foggy here. Had 2 breakfasts to keep myself occupied until it got bright.

My training was going well until a few weeks back but bereavement and a 2 seperate leg injuries left me a bit short of where I wanted to be. I drove over to La Vega, the village at the base of the climb and went straight at it. It's a climb of two halves. The stats show 12.5km @10.13% but the first 6km is a really nice climb. Good road surface and fairly even gradient, barely hitting 10% and realistically about 7-8%. A decent climb but a thoroughly enjoyable warm up with a km at Viapara @2% just to really set you on your way.
Then you get the living shíte kicked out of you for the second 6.5km. The first ramp after Viapara, Las Cabanes hits 21% and thats just for starters. That 6.5 km averages 13.5%. There's a 3km stretch that never drops below 15% and a full km @18%. No mater what training you do for this, you're going into the red and staying there till the end. The ramps and corners all have signs with names on them. That's good if you collapse and die. Your family will be able to find the spot handy enough.. "Irish man? Si si, he is over there at Cobayos"

I had great ambition and tackled the first really steep bit in great form but by the time I got to the aforementioned Cobayos I'd been way up in the red for a good half an hour and as I rounded the corner and hit yet another 20% section I took a wobble, put the foot down and then just slumped onto my ass. I lay on the roadside for a couple of minutes and then went again. Clipping in was fun. The only way up now was weaving over and back the full width of the road. I think my average speed was around 5kmh for a kilometer. I had to stop again a few minutes later but only for a few seconds. And then after another insane curve it just levels out , rises at about 2% for 100m and then drops down to a car park overlooking mountaintop meadows.
The relief was incredible. I genuinely felt delighted at having made it. I didn't give a monkeys that I failed to get all the way without stopping. The only way you'd get here without a break is if you were an 8 stone Latino on EPO.
Seriously, how the hell the pro's race up this is beyond me.
The descent was tricky but tbh after the climb everything else is easy. Stopped twice to let the rims cool a little, and still made a top 50 time. Didn't manage that on the way up.
I drove the car up afterwards to take some better photos, I thought the clutch was going to go.

After a while I decided the legs were OK so I set off up La Cubilla. A completely different climb, 28km @4.5%. I did about 2/3 of it before the earlier efforts caught up with me. Had a bit of a bonk and rather than push on I just said Feck it and came back down.

All in - 76km with 2600m climbed.
Angliru- https://www.strava.com/activities/728749762
La Cubilla- https://www.strava.com/activities/728971966

Wishbone Ash

Savage stuff Daroxtar - looks like you're the only Boardsie to have done it!

Daroxtar

The others have more sense!!

jalock20

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

Were you on the big ring at the front?

Is it a 53 (i.e. 53 teeth) or a 50 (compact)? I'm wondering if you bought a bike with a racing set-up (i.e. geared highly) as that climb isn't particularly steep.

I was on the big ring on the front afaik. Not sure whether it's a 50 or 53 either sorry! But the bike is set up for racing I made sure of that when I got it. I think it was just inexperience that was my downfall.

Wishbone Ash

jalock20 wrote: »

... But the bike is set up for racing I made sure of that when I got it....

Do you intend racing or why get a bike geared for racing if you're inexperienced? (I'd be fairly experienced but wouldn't like a racing set up).

By the way, presuming from your previous post that you are in the Swords area, if you are considering joining a club, there's a fairly large one near you with plenty of members on boards.ie.

triggermortis

A lot less wind this morning, but legs felt quite tired from the past 2 days of fighting a head wind into work. The first 3-4 Km was really hard to get going

LollipopJimmy

Just a short little spin around Amsterdam this morning on a rental. Such a cool city to cycle around. The cycling infrastructure is amazing

ozzy jr

Finished up a holiday in Thailand with a couple of laps of the airport cycle track in Bangkok. It's a newly opened purpose build track around the perimeter of the airport. It's a great facility and it's free to enter.

I think the heat and the previous cycles on this trip took its toll cos I struggled around.

Would love to see something similar being built seeing as Dublin airport will be getting some redevelopment.

https://www.imageshack.us/i/pnzTpWutj

AlreadyHome

Just back, did 90Kms Dundrum - Stocking Lane - Sally Gap - Laragh - Enniskerry and back. Wind seems finally to have settled a bit and rain held off bar a short shower. Wind is starting to bite a bit these days!

Gave the new carbon shoes from the Planet X sale a run out - never used carbon soles before - felt super stiff and a noticeable step up in clean power transfer to the pedals.

Chuchote

Down the Dodder from Terenure to Beaver Row, almost completely on cycle tracks, and back ditto, this time mostly on the opposite side of the river. Very pleasant! Walked a friend's two lovely little dogs and did some 'sit!' training with them, using cat kibble as treats and training them with a clicker. Twas lovely.

devonp

bad start to the month...
sat commute/spin(maybe), sodden by the time i got into town, faffed about but no clearance in sight, so headed back with ideas of maybe some hills on the way out, shivering on the quays at 7C so headed for home and a hot shower:(

of course the sun's out now as i'm typing...

https://www.strava.com/activities/730573277

Mec-a-nic

Got an email yesterday about this morning's Cycle4Life.ie charity spin. A quick clean of the bike while acquiring permission last night set me up for a quick 55km spin around Meath, and a slow cycle home.

magicbastarder

went out for a short spin at 5; glasnevin, out to portmarnock, malahide and back. the roads were nice and quiet...

tigerboon

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

Do you intend racing or why get a bike geared for racing if you're inexperienced? (I'd be fairly experienced but wouldn't like a racing set up).

By the way, presuming from your previous post that you are in the Swords area, if you are considering joining a club, there's a fairly large one near you with plenty of members on boards.ie.

Fairly humble too!;)

Fireball XL5

Pretty simple really - got absolutely p***ed on, had no mudguards and my ass got very very wet.

Beasty

Did 20 laps of Manchester Velodrome - came last in the qualifying heat for the World Track Masters scratch. I say last, but I actually beat the one DNStarter (and a few who DNSign-on)! I was also not lapped unlike someone in the other qualifier...

Did see Colin Lynch smash the Paralympic C2 World Hour record, but we've another thread on that.