MFP Cycling Club

ktcarr82

I love the cycling challenge. I do not have a bike, but I do have a stationary one. I will commit to 10 miles a week starting out. I also do a boot camp and kick boxing...so, I don't want to overdo it. I'll let you all know if I up my mileage

ClareRce

this is for the girls!

I was going to ask who it was, but now I can see from the link it's Lance Armstrong. I was sort of hoping it might be Dino!

Thanks for posting that!!

VballLeash

Hey guys! Sorry I've been a little MIA lately, I haven't been able to get out on my bike lately, I plan on going for a long ride in the morning, I've still been keep up on my workouts though, I'm looking forward to tomorrow, should be a great ride. I'm still dealing with my running injury but I don't think riding with hurt it too much... we'll see! Keep riding!

~Leash

skywalker

I love the cycling challenge. I do not have a bike, but I do have a stationary one. I will commit to 10 miles a week starting out. I also do a boot camp and kick boxing...so, I don't want to overdo it. I'll let you all know if I up my mileage

Welcome to the group!!! :drinker:

skywalker

Thanks for the pic, dawnna! :noway:
He is one fabulous hunk of man! :laugh:

VballLeash

Wellll I was planning on taking my bike out this morning, in fact I had all my stuff on but then I remembered I needed to schedule an appointment with a different sports doc and they just happened to have an opening this morning... SO I did have time to go to the gym and did 30 miles on the stationary... a little boring but at least I go it done! Have a great day everyone!

~Leash

tipusnr

Reporting early as my grandaughter has a birthday party and I don't know if I will be riding Saturday. Rode 2 group rides on back to back days from the same starting point totalling 70.1 miles with a lot of low hill climbing. Interestingly, I rode with a group yesterday and mostly on my own today and got the same average speed both days (15.7). I need almost 1100 miles to make my yearly goal so that would make my weekly goal - 84 miles a week. That being said - I guess I will miss goal this week.

skywalker

Great job tipusnr! You'll make that goal in no time! :drinker:

ktcarr82

I have exceeded my goal in only two days. Maybe I should change my goal. I rode 5 miles yesterday and 6 1/2 today. I commit to 20 miles per week instead of 10.

LisaKC

22 miles of rolling hills this morning, and doing much better with my hill climbing. Any climbing suggestions are welcome! :drinker:

skywalker

22 miles of rolling hills this morning, and doing much better with my hill climbing. Any climbing suggestions are welcome! :drinker:

Great ride! :happy: Best advice I can give is to just keep doing it. Gradually add longer and steeper climbs to your route. That's what I'm trying to do. I've never been a good climber, but I am seeing improvement this summer, as I'm not shying away from hills the way I used to.

tipusnr

Well, with Andrea's help, I made goal despite of myself! We went for breakfast at the Nutcracker in Pataskala, OH on the bikes. Road construction shut down the safest route but she was undaunted and we road along a state highway to get there. Banana Bread French toast, whipped cream, and just a dash of maple syrup with a cup of coffee and a small glass on water sure hit the spot. Then back home to get cleaned up to play with two of the grandkids for a while. Total mileage for the week - 92+.

dinos

My best week so far, I rode 83 km ( a bit over 50 miles). Considering that I rode every single day (in heavy traffic, carrying a backpack with my laptop most of the time, in a hilly area) , completed Week 3 of the C25K and played basketball twice, I'm wasted but proud of myself. My weight remained the same more or less, but who cares. I'm after the yellow jersey now.

There'll be no bike riding for me this week, as I'm going on a short holiday to the Aegean. I plan to substitute cycling with swimming and hiking, rest my legs some and come back for the century week and the lycra pants. I'll take a few pictures and try to stay in touch. Have a great week.

LisaKC

@dinos, have a great trip. I am also doing the C25K with a local MFP friend. We are still on week 1. I've done the C25K two other times, and was sidelined by injuries. Hope this time I can make it through. Looking forward to seeing the shorts!

skywalker

I'm after the yellow jersey now.

Like I said... you'll have to get past me first! :laugh:
Have a great trip, dinos! :drinker:

Jax67

I cycled 87.7 miles this week and it has been brilliant! :happy:

Definately need to sort out a new seat for the longer rides, i am still suffering now! lol

HealthyChanges2010

bump

skywalker

Well, I had planned on doing a long ride today, but ended up taking a rest day. I ended the week with 109.64 miles.

Great job, Jax!! As far as seats go, I have a Specialized Lithia women's specific seat and I love it! You'll still have some soreness until you're used to longer rides. My butt is immune to them at this point. :laugh: However, I might be singing a different tune once I do a century :noway: Also, I ALWAYS wear padded shorts. Again, women's. The padding is shaped differently for men & women. I do feel your pain.

Happy pedaling, everyone! :drinker:

Edestiny7

Thanks skywalker - I will need to look into that as I can't keep cycling bare handed as it's killing me! It is annoying as I want to be able to go further but my hand stops me :-(

Found a great route 2 miles from my house, an old railway track that's been repaved. It's fantastic! Roughly 5 miles long before it cuts off and is proving a great little route to start me off.

Where does everyone else cycle?

Bike shops have special handle bars you can get so you can change your hand position in different ways while riding. Our bike shop told us that carpel tunnel is very prevalent in cycling and highly recommended the handle bars to us. We have not purchased them for me yet, but I also have issues with my right wrist.

tipusnr

My wife has many issues with her hands. She likes the upright handle bars so added horns to them for additional hand positions. Strangely enough, changing her seat helped her hands from going numb so often. The only thing that I can think of was that a nerve pathway or blood vessel was getting pinched off but I don't know. Just something more to think of Edestiny7.

When looking at gloves watch the finger holes. I had a nicely padded pair that the thumb holes were too tight and put my thumbs to sleep while riding due to restricted blood flow.

ClareRce

Ok, so checking in for last week. I managed 93 miles, instead of my goal of 100. Excuses, excuses I know, but we've got visitors in town and instead of cycling to my aerobics class I had to drive (visitor wanted to come too). I then ran out of time to do the 15 miles on that Saturday so I took the day off from cycling. As a result I had a huge amount of energy for cycling on the Sunday, but not enough time (boat trip on Kaneoehe Bay booked). I think I might take a day or two off during the week and cycle further on the days I have more time. Do you all take days off?

Next week will have to be 107 miles as a result of my shortfall!

LisaKC

I definitely take some days off, and do some other kind of cardio. I've found it actually helps my cycling. Went on a nice 20 mile ride yesterday, and tomorrow planning a 34 mile ride with a breakfast stop at the halfway point. Lots of rolling hills along the way, so a pretty ride and a great workout. I don't have a mileage goal each week, but should end up around 85 miles or so for this week, which is good for me.

Re: the hand numbness, etc., I also had improvement from a seat adjustment. I think it just slightly changed where the pressure on my hands hits, and I'm also getting into the drops more when hill climbing, which is way more comfortable for my legs.

skywalker

I also take days off. I usually feel much stronger after a day off. Plus, muscle recovery is just as important as muscle building. :happy:

I agree with everything everyone has said so far about handlebars, gloves, seats, etc... I'd also like to add that getting set up properly on your bike at a shop helps. There's a great shop in my area where the guys are extremely knowledgeable. They adjusted my seat, handlebars, and even my cleats. The owner pulled out a giant protractor to measure all my angles (elbows, knees, hips...) to make sure evrything was properly adjusted. I have back and hip issues and getting set up really made a difference. I love this shop!!

If any of you have a shop like this in your area, definitely check them out! :happy:

ClareRce

Thanks for your replies Skywalker and LisaKC. Really appreciate it.

That boat trip I mentioned in my previous post, which was wonderful, had a rather bad ending for me. I cut my foot on the coral and this morning I woke up with a swollen red foot, despite my best attempts at cleaning the wound when I got home. I've just returned from a 6 hr stint at hospital because there's a bit of coral stuck in my foot that's too deep for them to get at without surgery and it's got very infected. IV antibiotics and 10 day course ahead.

So I won't be cycling for a little while ;-( (well a couple of days at least!)

LisaKC

@Clare, I am so sorry about your foot. Take care of that first, and then let us know when you're back in the saddle.

Skywalker is right. A good bike fit is just as important as the bike. My local shop uses the Serrota (sp?) fit method, and it made a lot of difference for me and my husband.

Take care and hope your foot improves quickly.

tipusnr

Sorry to hear about your foot Clare. Coral is nothing to mess around with so be sure to carry your treatment to the fullest.

One comment about bike fitting systems. Be a little wary of who is operating the system as nothing replaces experience and knowledge. My wife and I went to one shop where they scanned me for my measurement and went throug the whole process before I could get a work in. I knew the results would be worthless but they wanted the sale.

What I knew that they didn't was that I was wearing dress western boots with a underslung heel which would NOT be a part of my cycling attire! To quote Bugs Bunny, "What a maroon!"

LisaKC

tipusnr - So you're a cyclist AND a cowboy??!

tipusnr

tipusnr - So you're a cyclist AND a cowboy??!

I haven't ridden a horse in years (outside of trail rides in Hawaii). Bicycles are so much easier to store in the garage! :laugh:

ClareRce

tipusnr - So you're a cyclist AND a cowboy??!

I haven't ridden a horse in years (outside of trail rides in Hawaii). Bicycles are so much easier to store in the garage! :laugh:

And considerably cheaper! My husband was more easily convinced about the purchase of a bicycle than a horse funnily enough.

Foot's still as fat as a fat thing this morning; very tedious all round.

ClareRce

tipusnr - So you're a cyclist AND a cowboy??!

I haven't ridden a horse in years (outside of trail rides in Hawaii). Bicycles are so much easier to store in the garage! :laugh:

And considerably cheaper! My husband was more easily convinced about the purchase of a bicycle than a horse funnily enough.

Foot's still as fat as a fat thing this morning; very tedious all round.