| littleg
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I rode outside for the first time this season last week! But now it is cold again :( I did spinning over the winter for the first time ever and I'm not out of shape! In fact, I'm in better shape than a lot of the people on the rides :) I had a guy come up to me after my last ride and comment that he was impressed that he couldn't keep up with me :)
Luv - don't worry about 50 seeming overwhelming now... cycling endurance comes fast - you'll be there before you know it. I remember when I first started I thought I was so great for riding like 10 miles... Now I hardly bother going out for less than 30 b/c it seems like a waste.
Not sure about goals this year... I'd like to try a century, but I don't really want to do it slow, I want to ride it hard... and that seems to kind of be against the spirit of most centuries... I'd also like to try to train more on the bike. Mostly now I just "ride" - no real focus. I'd like to try to change that. In fact I'm wondering if Jams would mind commenting on his dabble into the world of focused bike training... |
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Fri Apr 06, 2007 12:07 am |
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| oldpjams
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I think you can do a century with one of two things as a goal -- just finish or finish strong. Personally, I think it's more fun (way more fun!) to be strong and to smile as you flatten the hills while everyone around you seems miserable. Terrible, I know. I have a GREAT 12 week "crush your next century" plan that was modified by a couple of friends I can send you if you like. It's true that they're not intended to be competitive or race-like, but you'll find plenty of teams and clubs lining up with fairly serious intentions and they'll be pacelining the whole 100mi. I wouldn't be shy about riding hard :wink:
On the idea of more disciplined training, I can't say enough about it. Depending on your goals, confidence in yourself, etc, you have lots of options. Friel's The Cyclist's Training Bible is very good and gives you everything you need. It's a little complex, but I think you could put an excellent program together from what's there. I lack confidence in doing that, and I dread the idea of spending 9mos training only to find out that I could have done something differently and had better results. That's me, though. It would be a lot cheaper and easier to write your own program!
I can give you more specifics if you like. |
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Fri Apr 06, 2007 12:35 am |
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| luvmycritters
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I feel better about my goal today. Sadly I checked with my car how far I went on Tuesday and it was only 8 miles, not 10. :oops: But I did ride it fairly hard. Yesterday I rested and today I went 12 but took it pretty easy. Neighbor's wife & son like to ride but at a slow pace, my daughter went too. I can feel it right now but it's a good tired.
I picked up a cycling booklet today on the rides in this area and WOW there are a lot of them! I think I'll look for a short one I can do next month. I'm getting pretty excited and loving it!
Lora |
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Fri Apr 06, 2007 4:16 am |
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| toese
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I'm a spinning instructor!! But I also like to ride outdoors too. 2 totally different things but I love them both!!! DH and I were thinking of doing the Century ride here one is about 50 miles and the other is over 100 miles. It's out in the country.
I teach classes on Fri's and Sat's but also take classes on Mon's and Wed's. Love the bike!!! |
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Fri Apr 06, 2007 3:07 pm |
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| littleg
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oldpjams wrote: I have a GREAT 12 week "crush your next century" plan that was modified by a couple of friends I can send you if you like. It's true that they're not intended to be competitive or race-like
I'd appreciate that!
My hesitation with the serious training is the solitude... it takes (I'd think at least) so much time to train on the bike - I'm not sure I'm ready to commit to 2-3 hours a day of training alone. Don't you ever just wish you had people to train with (like a team)? |
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Fri Apr 06, 2007 3:28 pm |
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| oldpjams
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littleg wrote: oldpjams wrote: I have a GREAT 12 week "crush your next century" plan that was modified by a couple of friends I can send you if you like. It's true that they're not intended to be competitive or race-like
I'd appreciate that!
My hesitation with the serious training is the solitude... it takes (I'd think at least) so much time to train on the bike - I'm not sure I'm ready to commit to 2-3 hours a day of training alone. Don't you ever just wish you had people to train with (like a team)?
Century training or training to race? An aggressive century plan would probably be 8-10hrs/wk depending on the week. I think the longest week I did to get ready last summer for PMC was 14hrs but that's a 2-day event. Most of that time is on the weekends, but there are a few 2-2.5hr days during the week.
I don't really mind riding alone. If possible I ride before work while the family sleeps. It's guilt-free time and there's no traffic. I do ride with a couple of friends once a week to get pushed, and I train with a team during cross season.
Is there a club near you? |
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Fri Apr 06, 2007 3:36 pm |
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| cyclechic
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littleg Check with your area bike shops to see if there are clubs around your neck of the woods.
I live in the middle of nowhere and we even have a club - I don't know if you are male or female - I am female obviously and our club was all male - not becuase they made it that way it is just that females didn't think they were welcome. I "infilterated" the website and was warmly welcomed. I don't do the Tu night hammer rides (too testosterone charged for me) but I do the slower paced Wed night club rides.
Other days of the week the riders post their meeting time and place, ride pace and route on the website - then whoever wants to shows up to ride. Sometimes there are a bunch and sometimes you ride alone.
The "Hammerheads" :) did a century last summer where they wanted to set a completion time goal (they did it in 5.5 hours including rest stops) They pacelined it all the way. Around here it is kind of hard to predict a time because we always have wind and it can be up to 25 or 30 mph - great if it is a tail wind - horrendous if it isn't. Somedays even pacelining doesn't cut it)
I and the other "tourists" completed our century in the leisurely time of 7 hours 20 min.
Keep us posted on your progress! you sound like you want to really get into this :) |
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Fri Apr 06, 2007 3:58 pm |
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| luvmycritters
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Love your new avatar Jams. :P Is the training schedule the same one you posted on my first thread? If not I wouldn't mind seeing a copy of it!
All the training charts I've pulled up have shorter rides during the week and one long ride on the weekend. You wouldn't be doing 2-3 hours per day, just one day a week. Right now I don't mind going out by myself. I need a little "me" time away from the family and kids. I'm going to look into joining the local club and riding with them on Saturdays though. I figure I'll need the experience of riding in a group before I do an actual ride.
I'm a little sore today. Need to do some stretching and get loosened up.
I've got a question from you seasoned riders. What do you eat? Looking through the rides they provide lots of carb-heavy snacks at the stops. Lots of the bike sites promote carb power bars and gels. What do you take with you to avoid the carb-overload? I figure at the wine rides I'll just eat the cheese and drink the wine but avoid the crackers. (gotta have the wine on those rides!)
Lora |
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Fri Apr 06, 2007 4:05 pm |
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| cyclechic
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luvmycritters It sounds like you are getting hooked! Way to go :)
8 miles, 10 miles, 12 miles - it is all good. A lot depends on what kind of bike you are riding, what the wind is like, how hilly the terrain is. When I first started I would read about all these super fast women and think "man am I a slug" One lady (over 55) told me the other night we should go riding together this summer. She said her husband is way faster than her - he averages 29, she on the other hand only goes 22 or 23. I thought WOW I could never keep up! that is a decent hammer pace for a lot of our older guys - she could be riding w/ the big boys! - It dawned on me later that she is from Canada and her odometer is probably set to KpH :lol:
Goals for the year - It seems like everyone is getting one.
I have none so far. Last year it was to do my first long tour
This year I would like to work on my cadence and average speed.
I have no mileage goals - may or may not do a century
We have a couple of short unorganized tours a couple of friends and I would like to do. One is the Mickelson trail through the black hills in SD (it is a rail to trail route. The other is Itasca state park in MN.
The major tour I will be doing is a fully supported one in aug (about 420 miles in a week) there is a century option one day, I will decided at the turn point that day if a want to do it or not (a lot depends on the weather)
These are tourist paced rides - get off and look around anytime you want.
If anyone wants to join us come up to ND and do CANDISC - the beginning of august.
It is touted as being one of the friendliest and best supported tours in the US. It is a smaller tour (about 400 riders) wide open spaces - little to no traffic. Average age of riders is over 50! days are not overly long 45-78 miles (beware however that we have wind - last year a fellow mentioned now he knows why the days are shorter - the wind never quits - he said he has done double centuries and they didn't beat him up as bad as the 73 miles that day - 35 Mph headwinds for 50+ miles. average speed for the strong riders riding in a paceline - 14mph) Don't want to ride the whole way?- we have EXCELLENT sag service, it will pick you up and drop you off as often you want. some ride 20, sag 20, ride the last 20.
I am not a racer I am a tourist :D :D :D
It's not about the time or the destination - it is all about the journey |
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Fri Apr 06, 2007 4:23 pm |
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| littleg
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I'm already kind of into it :) I ride with a club, but I'd like to take it up a notch to racing. The problem with training is that group rides aren't always compatible - they are too easy, too hard, etc for your goal for the day - thus I think I'd end up riding alone a lot.
I did a metric century last year at about an 18.5 mph avg (with a group on a "rolling" route) and felt fine, so I think if I didn't always take my share of pulls I might be able to keep that pace up for another 40 miles or so :) I just entered a 5.5 hr century into fitday... I could eat 3500 calories that day on the ride alone... mmmmm :)
I'm also thinking of doing a half ironman (if i can get over my running injury one day). Ultimately riding that well would be my A goal, but since I don't think my knee will ever allow that to happen I'm thinking I should give up tris and just try to get better at riding. |
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Fri Apr 06, 2007 5:54 pm |
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| oldpjams
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littleg wrote: I'm already kind of into it :) I ride with a club, but I'd like to take it up a notch to racing. The problem with training is that group rides aren't always compatible - they are too easy, too hard, etc for your goal for the day - thus I think I'd end up riding alone a lot.
I did a metric century last year at about an 18.5 mph avg (with a group on a "rolling" route) and felt fine, so I think if I didn't always take my share of pulls I might be able to keep that pace up for another 40 miles or so :) I just entered a 5.5 hr century into fitday... I could eat 3500 calories that day on the ride alone... mmmmm :)
I'm also thinking of doing a half ironman (if i can get over my running injury one day). Ultimately riding that well would be my A goal, but since I don't think my knee will ever allow that to happen I'm thinking I should give up tris and just try to get better at riding.
You made fun of cx :twisted: but if you want to dip a toe in racing I think it's ideal. The races are short, the vibe is very friendly (and I think even more friendly in the women's races), and the training hours can be a bit shorter. That said, I think I'm going to line up for at least one rr this Spring. I hate to do a crit, though. I like my skin.
Eat to ride, ride to eat. |
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Fri Apr 06, 2007 6:00 pm |
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| luvmycritters
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cyclechic I forgot to mention the tandem. He forgot that he took off the kid seat and redid it to fit his 10yo. :( My little guy's legs are just a tad too short for it to work. I'm looking into the tandem trailers for little kids. That way he won't have to pedal with me.
The neighbor (Anna) who wants to ride with me is a different one. She's got a road bike but will probably ride a mountain bike instead. I haven't heard from her yet today so I don't know if she still wants to ride. I don't have a sitter lined up for DS either.
Thanks for your help and encouragement. I think I am getting hooked. 8) |
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Fri Apr 06, 2007 7:45 pm |
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| cyclechic
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luvmycritters wrote:
I've got a question from you seasoned riders. What do you eat? Looking through the rides they provide lots of carb-heavy snacks at the stops. Lots of the bike sites promote carb power bars and gels. What do you take with you to avoid the carb-overload? I figure at the wine rides I'll just eat the cheese and drink the wine but avoid the crackers. (gotta have the wine on those rides!)
Lora
If I am just going on a 20 - 25 mile ride I don't worry about eating because we are always done in less than a couple of hours- I am not pedalling so hard that I am going to be calorie deficit, I just eat well before I go. I do take plenty of water along - at least 2 water bottles. For longer rides I take 2 water bottles - one w/ diluted powerade, and my camelback. As I said earlier we can go over 40 miles and not have a town to stop at to replenish anything. I have never run out of water but i have pulled in w/ only a few oz left. (starting out w/ at least 1/2 gallon and this isn't on a hot day)
The speedster guys will have to tell you how they replenish calories. I haven't tried the goos, gels, beans, clifbars etc. I don't race or ride that hard where I need them. If I want to eat something I stop, stretch, walk around and eat, I am never racing the clock.
for rides 30 - 40 miles I eat well before I go, then have a snack somewhere around the 20 - 25 mile mark. Usually it is a granola bar, or some trail mix with a small (8-12oz) gator or powerade
for rides over 50 miles I eat small amounts more regularily, cheese sticks, granola bar, hard boiled egg, trail mix, PB sandwich, fruit, scotcheroos, etc etc etc. I try to do a protein/carb/fat mix. you'll find what works for you. Just be sure in the beginning to bring more than you think you may need, that way if you do run out of energy you have some thing to keep you going.
Last year when we had the 70+ miles of 35 mph winds for 2 days running I didn't eat enough the first day. I was w/i 5 miles of bonking. A hwy overpass looked like Mt. Everest. I was in pretty tough shape when I pulled in and the first thing I did was head to the camper and down a couple of scotcheroo bars, some chips and salsa, and a big glass of water. after about a half hour I felt fine again. The next day under the same conditions I ate well all day, drank small amounts of powerade regularily and came in feeling like I could do it all again.
Even Dr. A in his book says after doing vigorous exercise for more than 90 minutes that is when you can eat the white bread, pastas and white potatoes to replenish the glycogen stores.
Don't be afraid to eat when doing endurance riding - your body needs the immediate energy. AND eat before you feel hungry. A few crackers may be just what your body needs.
On a tour we are doing 45 - 100 miles 7 days in a row so I don't worry about how little I should be eating - I eat until I am full and I eat often. The ladies I ride with motto is "never pass up a rest stop and a chance to eat!" It is a TOUR not a race ! |
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Fri Apr 06, 2007 9:22 pm |
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| cyclechic
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littleg wrote: I'm already kind of into it :) I ride with a club, but I'd like to take it up a notch to racing. The problem with training is that group rides aren't always compatible - they are too easy, too hard, etc for your goal for the day - thus I think I'd end up riding alone a lot.
That is why I like that they post the rides around and if it fits into your plans and goals you go, if not you aren't surprised.
quote I did a metric century last year at about an 18.5 mph avg (with a group on a "rolling" route) and felt fine, so I think if I didn't always take my share of pulls I might be able to keep that pace up for another 40 miles or so :) I just entered a 5.5 hr century into fitday... I could eat 3500 calories that day on the ride alone... mmmmm :) [/quote]
Would everyone let you get by w/o doing your share of pulls ???:D :D :D Around here EVERYONE is expected to pull when it is their turn even if it is for less than a mile, just making the attempt is all they are asking.
It sounds like you wouldn't have a problem doing a full century and remember - everyone else is getting tired too (well
ALMOST everyone, there is always the one power animal that could hammer forever - I figure - let him/her do the long pulls!) :lol:
[/quote I'm also thinking of doing a half ironman (if i can get over my running injury one day). Ultimately riding that well would be my A goal, but since I don't think my knee will ever allow that to happen I'm thinking I should give up tris and just try to get better at riding.[/quote]
Good luck in whatever you decide to do! |
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Fri Apr 06, 2007 9:35 pm |
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| luvmycritters
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The ladies I ride with motto is "never pass up a rest stop and a chance to eat!"
I like that motto! :) I took a few Power Pump classes before we moved and the instructor would as "Why are we here?" Smeone always answered "to be healthy" and he would respond "NO! We're here so we can go eat doughnuts!" :lol: I like the sounds of that benefit!
I don't have any plans to race and Anna sounds like she's all for the rest stops and food so we may be a good pair. You must be in one of the Dakota states? I'm from Nebraska though we live in Washington now. So far I am loving the weather here. Locals think it's windy. :roll: Not so much after living in Cheyenne and Gillette Wyoming! I hope you have nice riding weather soon.
Lora |
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Fri Apr 06, 2007 10:23 pm |
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