BICYCLES

This is a unique sport to say the least. Funny experience this morning. I was riding one of my frequent routes around a couple lakes and came to the park. Low and behold a bike race had started 24 minutes ago. I know because there was a digital timer at the start finish line. I continued on to find out they were using part of my route. There were racers fixing chains and some that I think never really started that were just pedaling around even tho numbers were applied to their bikes. Lots of barricades and closed roads. Damn I would have liked to have done that. Although I don't have any bike shirts and wear baggy shorts when cycling.

 

Let's fix that... PM me with the size of cycling jersey you'd wear and your mailing address.

I have some new Ricambi America jerseys that I had produced for my riding partners as we tackle some events this fall. I'd love to send you one!
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that's really cool

 

LOL! Nice-looking jersey Daniel!

 

You are generous beyond words and I'm very grateful. PM sent. But I'll pay you for it!

 

Is anyone here on Strava? If so, we can follow each others rides. I'm on it but I only have 1 "friend".

 

If its not on Strava, it didn't happen!

 

Nice. Just sent you a friend request. And you se I took your advice (from the post above) on the sufferfest video.

 

You got me in the midst of a "rest week". I'm off the bike all for a few days, in preparation for a pretty big event this weekend in the NC Mountains. I have a 108 mile, 10k event Saturday morning. I despise rest days, but know how important that are to my ability to make the climbs and keep 'da wheels spinnin'

If all goes well, I'll stay dry and stand atop the Eastern Continental Divide around noon.

 

108 miles....I'm not worthy of that shirt.

 

Done. 106 miles, 10'200 climbing.

I didn't stay dry -- not even close. We experienced probably 60 miles of rain and extremely dense fog. Rain doesn't really bother me on the climbs, but on a descent it's just awful Speeds slow down quite a bit, and it the amount of water that rushes into my shoes is hellish. And yesterday at 6'000 ft, the temperature + rain made it feel like October. I didn't take any pictures: the weather was too crappy but maybe the event photographers got me along the route.

The good news is that I finished #10 overall out of about 80 starting riders, and #3 in my age group. Blue Ridge Breakaway 2016 Results

Without question, a structured training program has helped me tremendously.
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This ride is even more impressive when you break down the stats on Strava. I analyzed it yesterday and again this morning. Can't believe the speed you maintained going up those hills...and then your average speed. Congratulations.

 

Very impressive. Do you mind reposting what structured program you are using, or do you have a coach custom building a program for you?

 

I use TrainerRoad (https://www.trainerroad.com/) software, and just recently completed "Climbing Road Race - Mid Volume" which is an 8-week program.

 

Ricambi, great race. It's impressive to ride a century, more so in a race environment and again with 10,000 feet of climbing. You have enspired me to become a better cyclist.


I've been planning on training with power and finally purchased a power meter and joined trainer road. I've completed my first three rides including the ftp test. My mountain bike roots are showing. I have no problem putting out anaerobic power but my aerobic power is pitiful. I have a lot of work to do.

 

Welcome to the madness! May your trainer miles be painful, and may your road miles be faster!! I think you'll love having a power meter. For me, it quantifies the workload, in a way that I couldn't mentally understand with simple heart-rate or speed numbers.

I have spent the last several TrainerRoad sessions deeply, deeply humbled. I normally ride a Tacx 'smart trainer', but recently added some 'smart rollers' to my pain cave. I'd been criticized on the road for being a sloppy rider -- so I figured if I was going to get smoother, then rollers would be the training tool. Between the fear of crashing into the wall, balancing on these things, and being absolutely terrified to climb out of the saddle and sprint, rollers are humbling. Ride data below is from last night -- laugh all you want, its hard!

I'm slowly working up to my normal training durations and power, but the learning curve is steep. I'm riding power 50 watts lower than normal, and I'm still dripping like a polar bear in an Indian sweat lodge. My heart-rate skyrockets with fear! On my normal Tacx trainer, a 2-hour session was "standard". On rollers, 45 minutes feels like hell. But, holy mother of God, they are wicked cool.

These are the rollers I got: Elite Real. I'm not sure why, but they're not (legal?) to sell into the USA. I bought them in Italy, had them shipped to my good friends at Hill Engineering in London, then hauled across the ocean to me. Here is a video of a guy riding the same set : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEYf-EyUqCM I'll try to get of video of me riding them, perhaps this afternoon. It's a good laugh, for sure.

Anyway, keep on riding! I'm headed out with my 11-year old son today, then riding with some friends for another 100-miler Sunday.
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No laughing. (Well, ok, maybe just a little.)

https://youtu.be/v5uwTGoP0G8


Third time on the rollers. Riding my old Trek Madone (the Pinarello, to be honest feels *great* on the rollers, but I don't want to crash!). Cadence looks high -- and it was -- probably in the mid 90's on this little video.

 

That's quite good. Funny is googling "Bike rollers first time"

 

Ok...why the hell am I having such a difficult time pumping up my tires? I bought the best SPECIALIZED bike pump from the shop. But when I try to fill the friggin tires it's a total pain in the ass. Some times the air just leaks around the valve. Most of the time the valve is blocking the air from coming out of the pump. Yes I have the little know unscrewed all the way. Yes the clamp is on straight when I've attached it to the valve. Yes I have the pump on the locked (up/open) position when I'm pumping the air.


I eventually....eventually get the air to go in the tire. But it takes many attempts of trying, unhooking and reattaching the head of the pump onto the tire valve. This has to be a common mistake. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

I have a cheap Topeak Sport II -- Just getting a "feel" for it takes a while, and (at least for mine), you really need to insert the chuck dead-straight onto the valve. It's finnicky too, but after a gazillion times of using it, I've just gotten used to the process.

I'm probably not doing the tubes any favors, but I always put the valve dead-center on the floor before installing the pump (i.e. align the wheel so the valve is on the floor, not up in the air or something) I found that I can never seat it properly otherwise.

 

No. But it usually rushes out in the process

 

So it's not just me. I'll try your suggestions. Thanks!!!!! Do you pump yours every day if riding daily?

 

Pull the valve stems out, they are screwed in. Clean and replace them. A better option is to replace the tubes if you need to pump up the pressure daily.

 

Ricambi,

I have been using an e motion rollers for a couple of years. The first few rides will make your stabilizer muscles go crazy. The first few rides take it easy, until your balance settles down. Your road balance will become stronger and more confident in a short time.


I built 5 inch tall steps that are placed either side of the rollers. It is much safer starting when your the same height as the roller. Enjoy.