Not that it had got too rough before but lovely extra smooth shifting with a brand new chain on.
Also the clicking has stopped (for now) - hopefully it was related to the old chain somehow but fingers crossed and touch wood as those little sounds can be both annoying and hard to track down!
wackojackohighcliffe wrote:
Congrats SN, good stuff. Been enjoying my riding round here, did the Aubisque via the Soulor from Pau, gorgeous ride.
So jealous that you have mountains like that to ride, being someone who loves climbing I would go ballistic having so many options like that. I am heading to France/Italy around June next year so will be looking for routes and spend a month riding around.
So I had a goal of 20,000 k's and 300,000 vertical metres gained for the year, I am currently on 15,755 k's and 239,526 vertical, I will get the vertical without to much trouble but am up against it to make the k's with 4,245 required in 61 days.
It's been really good so far, likewise great for someone who normally has no options at all. Incredible stats you've got there; if I build the fitness, I might try to copy your Everest next year..
Those that are members of the Strava club please forgive the repetition but I know some that follow this thread aren't on Strava and I value all your input so:
Taking the plunge into home training next week so picked myself up an Elite fluid turbo that was on special on Wiggle - supposed to be a good one for the price, which was only £150 on the deal, and quite quiet too.
Planning to have it out in the garage where I can run a laptop to do some of the Sufferfest videos or catch up on some TV. Still plan to get out through winter as normal but this is mainly to use for additional sessions in the evenings when I actually get an hour or two free.
At this stage I'm bodging the extras by having an old strip of carpet down as my training mat (not that I'm too bothered about the garage floor!) and using some odds and ends of wood as a front wheel riser. Other than that I picked up some tips from a GCN vid that says get a fan running for some air flow and don't use your brakes - obvious when you think about it but I hadn't!
Being totally new to all this, any tips on a decent setup, training video recommendations or even things to watch out for when setting things up appreciated, thanks.
Snow and -3 in Oslo today, I guess the cycling season is over here as well.
Intervals can and should be longer than 2 minutes if one doesn't have a specific program. For those who train to keep in shape, I will recommend 4x4 or 5x4 with 2-3 minutes break.
This is a story which proves how awesome still some people is. My mtb is well-known to be a great s*ut, and though I had forgotten to fix the chain, I went out for a ride taking advantage of the mild weather, after 3 fuckin' windy and rainy days. Well, I therefore wisely decided to challenge a steep 200m hill with peaks of 25-30% and right when I was succeding the chain brokes down completely. As every Saturday, a lot of other people was facing that. At the end of the uphill there is a kind of square where you can rest after the enormous effort and where you can create sorts of friendships. I have to say that today I found lots of friends. Everyone was trying to help me, it has been like a party of friends. After succeeding to bring everything back up, I begin to ride towards my home. Unfortuntely, happens that I realize that I wasn't able to fix anything. In fact the chain breaks down once again. You can't imagine all the curses and imprecations. Surrendered, I begin to go home walking with my bike. Walking, literally. A guy was following me screaming "Hey, aspetta" (Hey wait!). I would have never thought that he was going to COME HOME with me. The road wasn't so much, more or less 1.5 km. But they were the most satisfying and rewarding moments of my life. Thank you.
Edited by matt17br on 22-11-2014 07:43
ianrussell wrote:
Those that are members of the Strava club please forgive the repetition but I know some that follow this thread aren't on Strava and I value all your input so:
[i]Taking the plunge into home training next week so picked myself up an Elite fluid turbo that was on special on Wiggle - supposed to be a good one for the price, which was only £150 on the deal, and quite quiet too.
...
Aha, I was wondering what the PCMdaily identity of your Strava account was
How's the turbo been for you?
I'm quite tempted to get something like: https://www.wiggle.co.uk/tacx-booster-...c-trainer/ Since I'm not a very keen winter weather cyclist, and the only time I could ever cycle in daylight is on weekends now.
While I normally can recommend it, you might want to know that it's not the calmest. Neighbours might be disturbed if you have someone below or next to your flat. I use a 80x80x3cm cork carpet to reduce it a bit.
The next for me though will be a bit more expensive as this rather cheap one does not allow to work with pc software.
After using it a few times I completely agree with the 800 odd reviews that almost all give it glowing endorsements.
As it's a fluid unit, resistance is controlled by your gears, which I prefer to the need for a separate handle bar mount. It gives me plenty enough resistance, feels relatively realistic to me and is very quiet compared to the magnetic units I've heard taking off from inside various bike shops!
Most people could put it together in 5 minutes, even someone as impractical as I only took about 15 minutes:
2 screws/washers to mount the roller to the body.
Change your quick release skewer on the rear wheel for the one provided (you don't have to even remove the wheel just unscrew the acorn end, slide out the skewer then slide the new one in ensuring the narrow end of the springs are on the inside).
Clamp the bike in and you're off.
Edited by ianrussell on 22-11-2014 08:21
SportingNonsense wrote:
I'm also planning to buy a GPS Computer so I no longer drain by mobile battery when recording a ride.
I've got my eye on the Garmin Edge 810, but I'm just pondering whether it is worth an extra 50 quid to include Cadence and HRM. Any advice on that?
I went without cadence and HRM originally but when I finally got round to getting an HRM I felt I got a lot out of it for little investment. That's especially true with a premium membership on Strava (just £5 or so per month) where you can get a break down of your training zones for every ride and you even get fitness, fatigue and form data too these days (previously a power meter was required). I know power is always going to be a better indication but at 10 times+ the cost it's not worth it for my own casual needs.
I'm finally getting Garmin's new crank/hub based cadence and speed sensors this Christmas too. This was mainly to get increased data from my indoor sessions otherwise I wouldn't be bothering. While cadence data is useful I've always had a handle on it by simply counting RPM for 15-20 seconds now and then and multiplying appropriately - it didn't take long to work out what 80-90 RPM felt like and therefore when I was over or under gearing.
That's my two cents for what it's worth.
Edited by ianrussell on 03-12-2014 12:34
+ Yes Shonak, it's the most beautiful jersey and you'll look super cool despite getting dropped by some grandmum's on electric bikes
- No, jerseys have to be earned, not paid for. You'll look like a massive douche.
I sorta really, really want to give myself this as a present to the kick-off of cycling season in january. However as you may all know such things are a delicate matter in the world of cycling. Hmhm.
Edited by Shonak on 03-12-2014 19:04
"It’s a little bit scary when Contador attacks." - Tommy V
2:33 Well GCN recommends you not to wear a world champion jersey when cycling (unless you are Michal Kwiatkowski, I don't know ), but if you really want to buy it, there is nothing hindering you.
"It's very hard to work with other guys because nobody wants to work with me so it's better to drop everybody." - Peter Sagan
