Any Cycling buddies?

haileemou

Hi

Any cycling buddies out there? Im new to the site, im only doing 25 minutes fairly vigorous in the evening at the moment and many hours and weekends mostly on flat ground, im hoping to get upto 1 hour....how long do you?

randyv99

I used to think that I was an amazing cyclist but after purchasing a cycling computer I realize that I only average about 8 mph with my cycling buddy. 11 mph when alone. Also since it's gettig pretty cold, I'm pretty limited in how long I'm out there. Usually about 1-2 hours twice a week.

clioandboy

Hiya
I have had a bit of a rest from the bike but I am setting it up on a home trainer in the attic today. The weather is wintry now so indoors for me for the coming months.
I was cycling to work 23km 40-45 mins with lots of downhill the return is a 'challenge' it takes me about 1 hour 30-40 mins of hard cycling ouch....,, but at least it is slow!
Otherwise I get out as much as I can, I have started jogging the c25k and now the bridge to 10k I am thinking I can get out in weather where I would not on the bike ( like today snow on the ground minus 3 bbrrrrrrr)
Is your climate suitable year round for you to bike?
Good luck with the weight loss n cycling! Debbie

haileemou

Thanks luckily I have the weather on my side in Cyprus, Im feeling that 25 minutes is little but its what im capable of right now...

At weekends I cycle on flat for 23km, Randy im thinking of getting a computer, but i think ill be disappointed in my speed also!

clioandboy

Oh do get a computer, great fun checking speed distance etc I find it invaluable especially when on the hometrainer as I am racing against myself! Lol! Racing (not!!!)
Cyprus.....yummy I am in the mountains in France hot in summer but it ain't summer anymore

Craig772

I used to ride out with a local group and do about 60 to 70 miles on a Sunday morning. That kind of mileage is easier in a group. I used to do a fair bit of mountain biking as well with the most off road being 30 to 40 miles. A road cycling B group would have you doing 15 to 17 MPH on average and an A group would be 18 to 20 MPH. Static or turbo training is always harder as you can't coast down the hills so always have to maintain the pedal action. I think I read somewhere that 30 minutes on a static bike is like 45 minutes on the road.

If you go for a computer try to get one that has a cadence meter. It will measure the revolutions of your crank per minute. Unless you have a power meter (expensive and you'd need to be serious about cycling) then cadence and heart rate are the key things. You ought to aim to have a cadence of a minimum of 80 irrelevant of gearing, use your gears to maintain cadence. If you haven't got a cadence meter then you can get a feel for it by counting how many times your right knee comes up towards your right elbow in 15 seconds then double it for the 30 sec rate and double again to get your minute rate. Once you're used to it you'll know when you're on your cadence.

I am trying to get back into and have a static/turbo trainer in garage. I used to train to music but I've now got an old TV and DVD player in there. I was sceptical at first about the DVD's that shows you footage of training rides as if you're in a race group or those that make you feel as if you're in a spin class. If you can get over the initial 'cheesey' feeling of the DVD then they're actually quite good. I've settled on 'Spinervals' by coach Troy. You can get 30 minute sessions, 45 minute sessions and longer. All are available to buy online and some or available for free download if you know where to look. You ought to aim for 30 minutes a few times a week. I've never done more than 60 minutes on a static bike, too boring for me.

Hope this helps.

haileemou

Thanks Craig, you seem to know lots about cycling! I have a mountain bike and go out on that up and down one road as its dark ofcourse i have lights though, im confident ill build my cycling up, maybe not to your effort quite yet though....I dont have much time after work, weekends i can go for longer though...

Craig772

Don't undersell yourself. MTB's are heavier and have knobblier tyres than road bikes so are harder work. I remember my first road ride with a group and was surprised at how 20 miles of off road in terms of effort allowed me to do 50 miles or so on a road bike.

I good tip to spice it up is to do intervals or fartleks to give it it's other term. It's someting runners do a lot off. Basically once you're warmed up do a sprint (as much as you can manage) for a minute or to the next lampost then have a gentle ride and repeat. Depending on how long your road is you could try cycling easy one way and faster the other then try to beat your time each session. If you've only got a short amount of time then you need to make it count. Cycling is great for fat burning as once you're into it and have the time you can ride steady for say an hour or two which keeps you in the fat burning zone, it's also low impact. Stick with it and you'll get there.

haileemou

Thanks for the confidence and the tips ill take them on board, I bascially go out there now and cycle as hard as i can...

collettemrk

These are my numbers for my bike rides fom monday thru saturday.

Day- Distance- Time - avg. pace- avg. speed- max speed- calories- avg hr- avg cadence

mon- 26.51 mi 1:43 3:55m/mi 15.3 mph 26.1 mph 1584 128 bpm 62 rpm

tues. 27.8 1:47 3:52 15.5 25.6 1664 124 63

wed 30.28 1:56 3:51 15.6 28.7 1754 119 61

thur 15.8 57:23 3:38 16.5 28.7 926 124 68

fri- 41.74 2:40 3:51 15.6 27.6 2385 124 67

Sat- 30.94 2:04 4:01 14.9 30.8 1781 119 65



Craig as you can see I have a computer(Garmin 305) with a cadence sensor.I see you recommend cadence to be 80 rpm's. I'm going to try to get there but that seems awfully high. My avg speed for the week is 15.5 mph ,my avg cadence is 65 rpm,my avg pace is 3 minutes 52 seconds per mile,& my avg heart rate is123 bpm's.Any suggestions for improving beyond just keep riding?

abtropix

Did tons of mtn bike long time ago (going to be 8 yrs ago! Time flies!). I was in really good shape, training 6 days/week (5 in mtn bike, 1 in road bike) so I could finish La Ruta de los Conquistadores (www.adventurerace.com). It's called one of the toughest MTB race in the planet. It crosses Costa Rica from the Pacific to the Atlantic across really steep terrain, off road single track, volcanoes, tropical rainforests, rivers and mud, plenty of chainstuck mud! Goal achieved, and not only did I finish, I felt in great shape! 23 female racers when I did it, 19 finished and I was 8th... So really happy about that.

Then, got pregnant with my 3rd child and left the bike hanging in the garage. I still want to go out on a regular basis but it's hard with 3 kids, getting them ready for school, lunchboxes & stuff. But everytime I would go back out (on school vacation) with the group of guys that I used to train with, I did pretty good and was never the last one on the ride!

So now I'm trying to train a bit on my road bike on Wednesdays, so I can have enough air to join the guys again in Dec/Jan, while my kids are on vacation. It really does make a huge difference when you train on a road bike for quite a bit and then ride your MTB. Gives you plenty of air and legs to do heavy climbing!

I have no computer to track down my stats, but on Wednesdays I go with my husband to a race track (car race track which opens early so bikers can train safely) for about 1:15 hr at an avg speed of 17 miles/hr., jamming to a great playlist on my iPod. Have no idea about avg cadence, max speed, calories, or anything! My HRM broke down about 2-3 yrs ago and haven't replaced it. I'll put it on my Santa list, but I think it would be too much to ask for a new tennis outfit, the HRM, a new MacBook Pro AND a Garmin!

Mark - I have a question for you now that I think about it, I'll send you a message!

aaddaammggoolleeaaffss

I am going to start outdoor biking more often after winter, right now all of my biking is limited to spin class but I love it!