MFP Cycling Club

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  • gwynh
    gwynh Posts: 160
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    Ride like everyone in a cage is out to kill you, to run you over and then back up and make sure they did the job :bigsmile:


    This the best advice for riding. I see a car coming at me, whether it is on a bicycle or a motorcycle, as not seeing me and am always prepared to an escape plan. The moment I take it for granted that they will see me is probably the moment before a crash. Just keeping that thought in you mind will help you remember to be careful just in case they don't really see you.

    I haven't gotten a bell for my bike, as I don't ride in walking areas for Peds. But, I laughed at the thought of the Comedian, Jeff Dunham. One of his bits is talking about police cyclists. He said "Cops on bicycles. How intemidating is this? Ching Ching. "Alright buddy, pull it over". What are they going to do when they arrest somebody? "Ok, in the basket"
  • dinos
    dinos Posts: 1,390 Member
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    I'm in Europe (not in the UK) so it's euros, meters, kilos and commas for decimals here. Found a free iPhone application that converts units and use it all the time. The Cateye speedos are very reliable and cost-effective.

    Hey Stu I'm going to ask mfp to set a word limit per post :laugh:
  • StuAblett
    StuAblett Posts: 1,141 Member
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    I'm in Europe (not in the UK) so it's euros, meters, kilos and commas for decimals here. Found a free iPhone application that converts units and use it all the time. The Cateye speedos are very reliable and cost-effective.

    Hey Stu I'm going to ask mfp to set a word limit per post :laugh:

    Dino, I'm a Canadian....... eh..... so I grew up with both systems, metric and imperial, but yeah, I too have a conversion app on my iPhone :bigsmile:

    Sorry about the verbal diarrhea :tongue: Sometimes....... OK......... "OFTEN" I get on a roll and just keep pounding away on the keyboard. My wife and I run her family's liquor shop, I work from about noon to 1 AM most days, and from about 8PM until midnight, I'm usually by myself sitting in the shop waiting for customers to come and buy beer or smokes, so I have free time to surf the net.

    Cheers! :drinker:
  • Panda86
    Panda86 Posts: 873
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    @StuAblett- You are like an advice goldmine! THANK YOU! You have answered soooo many questions that I have, and I am very grateful! It's making it seem a little less intimidating! I am really looking forward to becoming a serious cyclist, and getting into great shape at the same time! I think I have found my calling ^_^ Right now all I can think of is this 80-ish mile bike tour that I want to do, and the feeling I know I will have when I cross the finish line. It's broken up into two days, so I will get to feel that wonderful accomplished feeling twice (Lord willing, if all goes smooth and I can finish). I will search around for a good bike shop and see about getting some slicker tires on my mountain bike... it definitely needs new tires anyway. I have had the same ones for over 4 years (yikes). I get such a high from a good workout, I love it. Definitely addicting. To the person that started this thread/club- Again, THANK YOU!
  • StuAblett
    StuAblett Posts: 1,141 Member
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    Panda86, no worries, this is something that I just happen to know a bit about, although I will admit my knowledge of the technology is 20 years out of date, as I'm still riding that 22 year old MTB :bigsmile:

    For the basics, well that stuff really has not changed in a while.

    Don't worry about becoming a "Serious" cyclist, just enjoy yourself and have a good time.

    When it come to basic maintenance, you can do a lot on your own, the biggest thing is to keep your tires properly inflated and to oil that chain! I happen to like the dry teflon lube, I find it easy to apply, just drip it on, and as it sort of dries out, it is not so messy as some can be. Then just check you brakes to make sure they are working right and not rubbing your rims. If you do those three basic things, your bike will last a long time and you will only have to take it in to a shop maybe once a year, for things like having the bottom bracket greased, and maybe getting a new chain and chain wheels.

    If you really do start to put a lot of miles on your bike (new on or the one you have) be aware that some things on you bike are wear items, obviously the tires, but also the brake pads and the chains and chain wheels. IN the long run, these will not cost you a lot of money, I would expect that if you put 6000 miles a year on a bike, I would think you would need a new chain, chain wheels and tires, plus maybe two sets of brake pads. If it is road miles, then your rims will last a long while. I used to go through a set of rims just about every year, but I rode a lot of off-road miles, in the mud and rain (hey, it was Vancouver!) so the grit acts like sandpaper on your rims, and wears them thin. I would put on 10,000 Km (about 6,000 miles) a year on the three bikes I owned, I did not own a car at the time, could not afford one :tongue:

    The cycling pants are for sure worth it, but you do not have to go with the tight stretchy Spandex ones, a pair or "Trail Shorts" or such will be fine, they look like regular hiking or walking shorts, but they have an inside liner and chamois for comfort.

    Something else as yet mentioned is shoes, good shoes make a difference, they do not have to be cycle specific, but they need a good solid sole to them. Regular sneakers are usually too soft, and your foot kind of flexes around the pedal, this is a waste of effort and often you feet take a beating. For bad weather commuting I used to have an old pair or work boots, they had a 3/4 shank in the sole so they were nice and solid and I did not really care how muddy or wet they got, they were work boots :happy:

    Your 80 mile trip, in two days, that is 40 miles a day, only go 10 miles an hour, which is an easy pace, it would only take you four hours. If you plan a 15 minute off the bike break every hour, that means a nice easy pace and it will take you all of five hours if you factor in an hour light lunch break, including a nap :wink: you are only at 6 hours, that is not a long day on the bike at all, if you are going a pace you can do and having fun. I think as long as there were not really huge killer hills, you will be able to do that and have a good time. If you can find others that will ride with you at your pace, it is a really fun way to spend the day. I did a lot of bike camping, up the coast of Vancouver Island one summer, it was great, there were 5 of us and we just road along at a good pace, and chatted and looked at stuff, we would stop and take side roads when we wanted and just enjoyed the great outdoors.

    Whoops.......... sorry I did it again....... ramble ramble ramble........... :blushing:
  • dinos
    dinos Posts: 1,390 Member
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    LOL Stu, you are amazing. You should become a consultant :laugh:
  • LisaKC
    LisaKC Posts: 328 Member
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    @Stu, you might want to write a blog, and then just insert the blog link into the cycling thread messages. :flowerforyou:
  • RebelRenny
    RebelRenny Posts: 1,073 Member
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    :ohwell: Change of plans. Not riding tomorrow. Have to drive into work instead. So far this week I biked 100k. Yay for me!

    And I feel GREAT!

    :heart: Rebel:heart:
  • StuAblett
    StuAblett Posts: 1,141 Member
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    :ohwell: Change of plans. Not riding tomorrow. Have to drive into work instead. So far this week I biked 100k. Yay for me!

    And I feel GREAT!

    :heart: Rebel:heart:

    100 Km in a week, that is some good mileage!

    I'm bummed out today because it rained a lot, I was only able to sneak in my deliveries on the bike, but that was a short 6Km :grumble:

    I don't mind riding in the rain, but my customer don't want to get their product soaking wet :tongue:

    I hope to get out and do more tomorrow.

    Cheers!
  • StuAblett
    StuAblett Posts: 1,141 Member
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    I just found out about a neat cycling event in Tokyo, it takes place on Sunday September 19th, and is a 40Km (25 miles) race well ride around Tokyo. They have serious riders, but they also have a lot of families kids and such. The earliest group leaves at 7AM and you have until 3PM to finish the route, that is 8 freaking hours :noway: :bigsmile:

    I'm very confident I can finish that!

    Maybe I'd leave at a more sane hour like 8:30 AM. The route is fairly easy, a lot of it is down by Tokyo Bay, so there are not real hills, I figure at 15 Km/h that is less than 3 hours with a couple of breaks.

    This is totally doable, and I have just under two months to start training for it, whoo hoo!! Nothing like a goal to get one motivated!

    I have asked a buddy to go with me, but he is a skinny little guy good on a bike, so I don't know if he would want to ride at my slower than his pace :blushing: In any event, I'll be doing the ride!

    The website say it is limited to 2500 people, so I'm going to sign up soon.

    Wish me luck! :drinker:
  • gwynh
    gwynh Posts: 160
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    Maybe I'd leave at a more sane hour like 8:30 AM. The route is fairly easy, a lot of it is down by Tokyo Bay, so there are not real hills, I figure at 15 Km/h that is less than 3 hours with a couple of breaks.
    This is totally doable, and I have just under two months to start training for it, whoo hoo!! Nothing like a goal to get one motivated!


    I just finished my 25 miles ride this morning in 2 1/2 hours. Only problem, I ran out of water. Only have one bottle. Need to install another one.

    Sounds like a fun ride. Hope you enjoy training up for that.
  • StuAblett
    StuAblett Posts: 1,141 Member
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    I hear you on the water thing, I used always wear a cycling jersey, the ones with three pockets on your back, are best, you can put an extra water bottle in the middle pocket, and a banana in the right pocket and a granola bar (moist one please!) in the left pocket for those long rides, we used to ride centuries, that was 100Km in a day!

    Cheers!
  • Panda86
    Panda86 Posts: 873
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    "Your 80 mile trip, in two days, that is 40 miles a day, only go 10 miles an hour, which is an easy pace, it would only take you four hours. If you plan a 15 minute off the bike break every hour, that means a nice easy pace and it will take you all of five hours if you factor in an hour light lunch break, including a nap wink you are only at 6 hours, that is not a long day on the bike at all, if you are going a pace you can do and having fun. I think as long as there were not really huge killer hills, you will be able to do that and have a good time. If you can find others that will ride with you at your pace, it is a really fun way to spend the day. I did a lot of bike camping, up the coast of Vancouver Island one summer, it was great, there were 5 of us and we just road along at a good pace, and chatted and looked at stuff, we would stop and take side roads when we wanted and just enjoyed the great outdoors"

    @StuAblett- It's actually broken up into one 40 mile ride one day (not sure how hilly) and one 37 mile ride the next day (I am quite certain this one has hills, or at least one quite large one, as we will be riding up to a dam). What would you suggest for that? Thanks so much for your help!
  • StuAblett
    StuAblett Posts: 1,141 Member
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    @StuAblett- It's actually broken up into one 40 mile ride one day (not sure how hilly) and one 37 mile ride the next day (I am quite certain this one has hills, or at least one quite large one, as we will be riding up to a dam). What would you suggest for that? Thanks so much for your help!

    @panda86

    I'd suggest that you start adding miles to your daily ride now, and get ready for the two day event. Make sure your bike is in good working order, and get them slick tires! Figure out a good reasonable pace and stick to it, don't over do it at the beginning of the ride, or example.

    On that kind of organized long ride, they sometimes have food and watering stations along the route, find out if they do this, as it can mean you don't have to carry as much water with you on your bike.

    I wanted to go for a nice long ride to day, but the weather is not cooperating rain rain rain again, Oh well, Saturday looks better!
  • StuAblett
    StuAblett Posts: 1,141 Member
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    LisaKC you wish is my command :bigsmile:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/StuAblett/view/first-day-of-training-34145

    ....... Yep, I started a blog on getting in shape, specifically cycling!

    Cheers!

    PS, we need a cycling smiley :laugh:
  • tipusnr
    tipusnr Posts: 572
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    Hey, I am really pleased my week has started very well I did 15k this morning, which I know says nothing but it was 15k almost completely uphill and a couple of those there hills are steeeeeeeep, I was as red as a beetroot and well chuffed!!!

    15k+

    "which I know says nothing"? I don't get it as it says a lot to me. Any distance is distance travelled and keeps you going toward your goal. It's so easy to get into an all or nothing mindset (happens to me a lot) but you'll actually go further taking it little by little.

    You have a right to be pleased.
  • tipusnr
    tipusnr Posts: 572
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    If you have a cell phone that you can download apps for, you can download a biking app. My husband uses one for our rides, and it works really great.

    Let us know which one he uses. There are several for the iPhone but they eat up the phone's battery really fast and the iPhones battery is NOT replaceable. Rechargeable yes - replaceable no!
  • Panda86
    Panda86 Posts: 873
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    On that kind of organized long ride, they sometimes have food and watering stations along the route, find out if they do this, as it can mean you don't have to carry as much water with you on your bike.

    Yep, they do have food and watering stations.... and if I do the long route, they have a stop where you can eat homemade pie... but that route is really intense, so I might have to wait on that one! I will start increasing my distance then... well, for now I will increase my time because I don't have a bike comp (ordered one- should be here soon!), and then when I do get my bike computer I will make sure I am increasing my distance. Thanks a bunch for your help!
  • JennCh
    JennCh Posts: 63
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    @tipusnr:

    He has an HTC Evo. I have noticed he puts his phone on the charger a lot, but then again, he has several apps running all the time which uses the battery. I now have the Intercept with the same app. To help save my battery life, I turned off several components I know I will never use. This has helped conserve my battery tremendously.
  • ClareRce
    ClareRce Posts: 79
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    Hrrrmmmph. I got smacked in the head cycling yesterday by a great big fat black carpenter bee. I was doing about 16mph and the bee must have been doing a few mphs too so I reckon the combined speed was around 20mph. It whacked into my temple, which hurt and it stung me. The side of my face is now swollen so I'm feeling rather sorry for myself :-(

    It happened at the beginning of my ride and I wondered whether it was sensible to carry on or whether I"d die of anaphalactic shock halfway round my ride. Needless to say I didn't!

    Beware the bumble bees my friends !!!!!

    Great to see lots of new faces here and all so into cycling. What a fantastic sport it is.

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