There comes a time when it has to end (2000 miles ridden)

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Posted: Sun Feb 03, 2008 8:26 am

I reckon a 2 stroke motor mower motor would be great on the back. All the exercise you'll need pulling the cord Laughing

Posted: Sun Feb 03, 2008 9:58 am

The best excercise is swimming and dancing..

I suggest you first try swimming, the Salsa dancing I'll teach you that

Baiting Guru Joined: 08 Jul 2004 Posts: 11857 Location: UK

kleindoofy wrote:

What, an ice storm? Shut up and get on the goddam bike. Laughing

Do you think I am going to go out on a bike if it's pissing down with rain or snowing? It was actually forecast snow in my area yesterday, I live on top of the white cliffs overlooking the English Channel, waves are crashing against the harbour wall, lamposts are swaying, it is blowing a gale outside 30+ mph winds, I can see people walking past outside and they can hardly walk, bending over in to the wind, no way am I riding in wind like that, I don't have a death wish.

Posted: Sun Feb 03, 2008 8:35 pm

Wuss!

Posted: Sun Feb 03, 2008 10:39 pm

Its raining right here and I have a buddy on the line that wants to go riding. We went out last night, yes in the dark and it got into the forties. I was in shorts and only had the windbreaker that folds up under my seat. Its not too big as I also have a patch kit, spare inner tube, inflater, gel packs and a candy bar in there. I was fine. As soon as you get the legs pumping and the heart racing, everything is OK. I wanted to post up this photo of what may be YeahWhatever that I found on the internet. I'm sure he would not stop at 400 miles if it started to rain.

Posted: Sun Feb 03, 2008 10:54 pm

^^^^
That's not me. My upper body matches my lower half. Laughing

That must be a fraudstar.

Actually, in the summer, I have no real problen riding in the rain. I actually enjoy it. What is a real problem though, is that bikes and water do not mix well. It only takes one decent rain to start rusting the chain and other metal components. I tend to run in the rain. It keeps me from overheating.

Baiting Guru Joined: 08 Jul 2004 Posts: 11857 Location: UK

Don't get me wrong, I don't mind the rain too much, except that I have no waterproofs to wear, so I would be completely drenched, it's more the combination of rain, strong winds and cold weather, that just ain't good and I wouldn't go out in weather like that, getting soaking wet and freezing my nuts off doesn't sound like nice riding weather to me.

Now for the good news, I hit the 13 1/2 stone mark today, that 1/2 stone came off easily, it should be even easier to lose more once I am on the bike, and if the weather forecast is to be believed, tomorrow is looking good for the first of my many rides to come Cool

Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 12:37 am

Quote:

There comes a time when it has to end

Yeah, an end to our hopes of every reading: "hey, I just got home from riding my bike; it was great." Laughing

Baiting Guru Joined: 08 Jul 2004 Posts: 11857 Location: UK

KD you wanker, I only post so you can get your little quips in Laughing

Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 12:54 pm

(raises hand) i have a question... for us american english speaking people what the hell is a stone? and KD if you say a large pebble or something like that i go to WU and hire a hitman

Baiting Guru Joined: 08 Jul 2004 Posts: 11857 Location: UK

@ Packman, a stone is 14 pounds in weight

Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 1:43 pm

Scam Patroller wrote:

. . . . . . . tomorrow is looking good for the first of my many rides . . . . .

Who wants a bet with me?
I'm betting that the maiden voyage will be cancelled because of the fear of the pilot getting sunstroke. Laughing

Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 2:10 pm

AHHHH lets see 14 lbs = 1 stone that means i weight... DAMN a boulder

Baiting Guru Joined: 08 Jul 2004 Posts: 11857 Location: UK

I had my first ride today, it was a lot harder than I thought, even though it was only a short ride, I was ok for the first couple of hundred yards, my thighs started hurting at that point, I got to the park which is at the end of my road, about 500 yards from my flat, and I had to stop for a minute, I set off again, got half way through the park and saw the hill going down and the other hill going up, I thought about going back at that point, but I thought, sod it, carry on.

Going down the hill was ok lol, going up the hill was killing my thighs, I got out of the saddle, did about one revolution and slumped back in to the saddle, I just couldn't stand up and pedal, so I went up the hill very slowly, down another pretty long steep hill and up another short one, then back onto a flat clifftop cycle path that took me to the bay at Broadstairs, I stopped there for a few minues rest and made my way back, couldn't get up the steep hill on the way back at all, had to stop and get off the bike, my legs were completely jellified, I couldn't even walk properly, the thighs were completely gone, I managed to walk up a bit until I got near the top where it flattened out a bit, got back on and started pedalling again, nice downhill bit again to give my legs a rest before the hill back up the park, got part way up it, had to stop and rest for a minute again and then cycled the rest of the way home with one more stop in between.

I can't say I enjoyed it that much, didn't dislike it either, I thought my lungs would have been hurting before my legs were, I was getting out of breath, but the legs were the main problem, I have not used them for so long.

I will be back out on the bike tomorrow as long as the weather holds, I'm not sure if I want to do the same route I did today, hills are not too my liking, maybe I should have stuck with my original plan of going down to the beach and cycled where it is flat, although that trip will be a lot shorter and I would have to go there and back a couple of times, or maybe I should stick with the route I did today and see if there is improvement over the days until I can do the hills without stopping.

Top speed 19.9 mph (down a steep road)
Avg speed = 9.2 mph
Distance = 3.61 miles
Time 24:07:09

Pulse before/after ride and recovery times:

Pulse before ride = 72 bpm's
Pulse after ride = 138 bpm's 3:30pm
Pulse 10 minutes later = 108 bpm's 3:40pm
Pulse 20 minutes later = 102 bpm's 3:50pm
Pulse 65 minutes later = 94 bpm's 4:35pm

Something I did notice on the bike, when I was trying to figure out what gear is what, I put it on the big ring on the crank, but when I do that, the chain is rubbing against that metal bit that pushes the chain across, not sure how to adjust that to stop the rubbing.

The only gears I used were the middle ring on the crank and about 5 of the gears on the back.

Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 5:24 pm

It's only your first time out. Don't sweat it. After just a couple of times, you will learn how to pace yourself better, even on long, steep hills. You might consider trying something a bit flatter next time out and try to go for an hour. Do this 3-4 times a week and in no time at all, you'll barely break a sweat.

Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 8:13 pm

@SP

Don't worry, you'll get used it and it will get better.

If you can find a flat area where you can ride at a steady pace, you'll find out that although your thighs may hurt for the first few minutes, that will go away about the time you start building up a sweat. After that it's much easier to keep going for a while.

Btw, does the saddle make a 'plopp' sound when you get off? Wink

Posted: Thu Feb 07, 2008 1:23 am

Nice one KD.
Straight in with the technical question. Laughing

Baiting Guru Joined: 08 Jul 2004 Posts: 11857 Location: UK

@ KD, no plopp sound Laughing

Just had my second ride, did nearly a mile further today, all on the flat apart from the road down to the beach, started of nice, rode down to the park, turned around at the park and came back the same way along the cliff top, 20mph wind in my face, I struggled, it was even worse when I go to the beach, wind in my face all the way until I came back, I enjoyed the return leg with the wind behind me Very Happy

, I did not even attempt to climb the cliff road, it's way to long and steep, so I had a rest and walked up it, got on the bike near the top, and the pains started going through the top of my legs, felt like cramp below both hips at the very top of the leg, every turn of the pedal and it was arrrgghhhhh, good job I was opposite my home then.

My pulse wasn't as high as it was yesterday when I got back, probably due to not trying to ride up hills today, definitely prefer the flat riding, shame about the wind, but it's forecast good weather and less wind for the next few days, so I'll stick with the route I did today and extend it a bit further, there is a bit of road that leads to a tunnel which is only for trucks to get the ferry, going to the tunnel entrance and back should add about another mile I reckon, could have done it today, but the wind was p!ssing me off, tomorrow is another day.

February 7th:

Top speed 22.9 mph (steep road from cliff top to beach)
Avg speed = 9.8 mph
Distance = 4.50 miles
Time 27:31:1

Pulse before/after ride and recovery times:

Pulse before ride = 74 bpm's
Pulse after ride = 124 bpm's 3:15pm
Pulse 10 minutes later = 110 bpm's 3:25pm
Pulse 20 minutes later = 96 bpm's 3:35pm
Pulse 65 minutes later = 94 bpm's 4:20pm

Baiting Guru Joined: 03 Mar 2006 Posts: 7103 Location: Yes

WTG SP! When the weather turns nicer (if it ever does where you live), we'll want an additional statistic added to your reports: # of pretty girls seen during ride. This will serve as motivation for you. Wink

Please be sure to take a digital camera along with you.

Baiting Guru Joined: 08 Jul 2004 Posts: 11857 Location: UK

@ JM, I'm thinking about saving up to get a cam for the bike when I get a bit fitter and doing longer trips, one of these:

http://www.dogcamsport.co.uk/hard-disk-video-recorder.htm

http://www.actioncameras.co.uk/acatalog/Archos_Helmet_Camera_Packages.html

Posted: Thu Feb 07, 2008 9:52 pm

Good going SP. Keep it up and you can go longer and farther. Don't sweat the technical stuff and try to keep your bike clean. Distractions can be very hard on your body on a bike.
About the rubbing chain- there is a barrel adjustment on the cable that connects to the bar that lifts the chain up the chainring. You may be able to back it off just a little, possibly a half turn and reduce the tension on it to reduce the rubbing on the chain. If you take too much off, the chain will not make it up on to the higher chainring. Follow the cable, the adjustment barrel might just be next to the shifter. I don't know, but its just a thickened portion of the cable at one end or the other. You may have to put the bike upside down to get it just right. There are screw adjustments that work the mechanical stops of the system. Stay away from those for right now, they do not control rubbing.

Baiting Guru Joined: 08 Jul 2004 Posts: 11857 Location: UK

@ Connie, I was given a link to a site that gives details about gear indexing and adjusting them, all I did from the adive on the page was mess around with the limiter screws but nothing changed, I'm quite happy to only use the middle ring on the crank and the gears at the back for now anyway.

Found out yesterday that our application to rent a property has been accepted, moving to St Leonards/Hastings on Feb 22nd, sorted Very Happy

On the seafront at St Leonards, just a 1 minute ride from our new flat, there is a covered walk/cycleway under the main promenade called Bottle Alley, which is approximately 1/2 a mile long, that will be ideal for days when it is raining, I can use it for time trialling in the dry Cool

I just found a YouTube video of someone riding along Bottle Alley and a couple of photos of it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-2Mda5x6u4

I wont be out on the bike today, I was up most of the night with a bad stomach, I get a lot of excess acid which irritates the hell out of my ulcers, so it's a forced rest day today.

Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 2:12 pm

SP, you might want to have a look at http://www.mapmyride.com
I use it all the time and it has proven to be a really excellent tool.
Do a search for "SW YMCA" and you will see all of the rides that I use (and no, I did not create them so there is no personal info being passed out here).

Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 6:45 pm

@YW- What a great resource. Thanks.
@SP-The screws just adjust the stops. That's correct. You don't want to mess too much with those as they keep the chain from falling off the rings. Nothing wrong with running on just the middle ring. The big ring would keep the RPMs lower while running downhill but that's not a problem really. I use a triple up front like you and stay up high. When I approach a hill that I will have to climb or am about to stop, I drop down to a smaller ring. After you stop, you have to start up again. If I'm riding with someone and they want to play breakaway, dropping the front ring is the best way to get the acceleration going. Its easier on the system to drop the front than climb on the rear cassette under power. In a month or so your cables will have stretched a little and the system should work perfectly. If your system does not have barrel adjustments, you will have to back off the indexing system to release the tension then loosen the cable clamps and tighten them up again on a different spot on the cable.

Baiting Guru Joined: 19 Mar 2007 Posts: 2628

SP try drinking mint tea to help with the acid.
Most ulcers can be helped if they are caused by helicobacter pylori bacteria, a course of antibiotics usually does the trick.
Some people with ulcers test negative for the helicobacter so the antibiotics dont help.

Good luck with the house move

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