Maltloaf's Cycling Journal

[maltloaf]

another ride today this time to get rid of last night's beer. I roughly did yesterday's route but completely backwards.

A strong wind for the first 12-14 miles took it out of me a bit hence it was a bit slower than yesterday.

Delighted to have got out two days running for decent distances.



Oh and I have to report a death in the family one of my garmin's mounting lugs broke off and it went bouncing along the road.

Got to go through the hassle of returning it now

[maltloaf]

Got hold of Garmin support on the phone this morning and have sent my computer back for replacement so had to do today's ride on a phone app. Fired up the Garmin Fit app and to my surprise it works with my ant+ sensors.

Had an hour spare whilst the missus was visiting her dad so set out on my usual 17 mile route. With the phone in my jersey pocket I had no idea how I was doing and found it really frustrating !

Still, this ended up a pretty quick ride.

[maltloaf]

Two rides to report again...

Garmin actually managed to lose my Edge in their goods in dept for a couple of days so I still haven't had it back, hence these two are on the app on my Z1

Wednesday was a quick blast because I had an hour free.



Today I had a couple of hours spare whist the missus was visiting her sister so I managed 33 miles.
Tackled Cam Pitch again and bettered my time up it so things are looking good.



My weight continues downward, albeit a bit slower. Today I was 17st 1lb

I honestly never thought I'd see a 16.x again but it should drop this week all being well

[maltloaf]

Two more rides...

Last Sunday, standard 20 miler, decent pace without pulling up any trees...



Then I had a few days of a virus and dizzy spells, so even though I had plenty of opportunity I couldn't get out for a ride.

Today was the first time I've been nearly well enough so I grabbed a couple of hours in the saddle.



Loved this ride. Loved being out. Reminded me of everything I love about being a cyclist.

[maltloaf]

Managed a run yesterday, first one since January or thereabouts !

5km, just went out with no real expectations but my 4st weight loss has really helped. Without really trying or even thinking about it, I came within 1 second of my best time !

[maltloaf]

40 mile bike ride today. It was one of those days when I felt I could have ridden all day.

Loved this ride and just hung on above 18mph

[maltloaf]

I planned a 100km ride many months ago, towards the end of last summer, then the weather turned and I put it to the back of my mind.

I finally had the time and felt up to it today. 64 miles via the severn bridge



A bit puffy up a couple of the climbs but generally it went excellently and I even managed a respectable average overall.



Furthest ride ever, most climbing and a quality day in the saddle.

[maltloaf]

Nice 26 miles this afternoon. Breezy out there against me for the first half but still managed a really good average speed overall.

[maltloaf]

Had a hankering for a big hill today so went and did one.

Terrible average speed but today wasn't about the speed or the average or even the distance. It was about Haresfield Beacon

Click in and check out from mile 4 to mile 6 ish.

[maltloaf]

Forgot to post yesterday's ride.
A nice 36 miles and very pleased with the average. Wind against on the homeward leg so did well to keep the average up.

[maltloaf]

Replaced a few bits on the bike today and a general maintenance session so decided to go for a shorter but quicker blast.

22 miles and absolutely delighted to turn in a 19.5mph average speed (my best this year). At the one hour mark I had done 19.55 miles so I need to find just under half a mile from somewhere for this year's target to achieve 20 miles in an hour.

[maltloaf]

Had a nice run out on the bike yesterday evening to pick up something from Dursley.

Was an excuse really and apart from the bugs out in force it was lovely.

30 miles and another average over 19mph. Amazing.

[maltloaf]

Decided to do a quick 20 miles. Had my pace slowed by a closed road with no warning (Moreton Valance), a group of dog walkers completely blocking the road (Saul) and a learner driver with a queue of cars behind them (Hardwicke) otherwise I might have done better. Tantalisingly close to my goal of a 20MPH ride, 1 minute and 2 seconds away...

Still, another improvement to my best average speed. Now up to 19.7MPH

Getting there !

[maltloaf]

I was feeling tired after last night's shift but had to get out this afternoon.

21 miles and another average well over 19mph. Lovely

[maltloaf]

A nice 25 miles today. I felt lethargic and started slowly but soon picked up pace. Another 19+ average (just) and very happy.

[funkyg]

How long has it taken you to get a 19mph average? I'm still around 15 on my regular 25 mile lap, 16 if I really go for it.
Also did the Manchester to Blackpool ride at the weekend, 62 miles @ 14.1mph. Wasn't too bad until the last 8 miles from Lytham which were straight into the wind.

[maltloaf]

Short answer is a year.

Long answer is I started out last summer doing 15 and the occasional 16. Through the summer it improved to regular 16s and then 17s. At the end of last summer I was hitting very occasional 18s. I had an enforced 2 month lay off when my baby was born because the missus was very ill. I got back on the bike around November and cycled day in day out 20 miles almost every day until January. Everyone's averages suffer when it's cold and I was doing 15s and 16s.

As soon as the weather began to warm this spring, the averages improved steadily and I was getting regular 17s again. A month later I had regular 18s and now I'm hovering around mid to low 19s for a 20 to 30 mile ride. My aim for the year is to do 20 miles in an hour.

What bike are you riding ? What clothing are you wearing ? What's your pedaling style ?

I have really strong legs, rugby player type build, so the strength was always there, I just needed to build the bike fitness.

I've been upping my distances steadily and also looking for hills now instead of avoiding them.

Keep going, you'll get there :-)

[maltloaf]

Very tired today, less than an hour sleep but I couldn't stay in, so went out for another 20ish miles.

Another tiny improvement to my average. Ever closer, and well over 20 average for the final few miles so looking good.

[funkyg]

Thanks for the feedback.

Was previously using my mountain bike (GT Avalanche) once a week and then a couple of us signed up for the Manchester to Blackpool in February so started going out 2-3 times a week. Even though I had slicks on the MTB I quickly discovered that it wasn’t ideal for the long ride. I was averaging 12-13 MPH and it was heavy going.

This is my bike, I’ve had it since May and I love it. Got it through the cycle to work scheme, so that knocked a chunk off.
http://www.merlincycles.com/ridley-r...ike-61377.html
I have SPD pedals fitted to it.

Clothing wise I’m using the Aldi jerseys, great for the money and Decathlon mid range shorts.
As for pedalling I try to maintain a reasonably high cadence, especially up hills. I’m getting better now and able to stand up and sprint up small climbs, but the longer hills I need still to spin up as my thighs fatigue quickly. My mate can stand up going up any hills in a higher gear but he’s only 5” tall and built like a stick. I was always lanky and skinny but I am carrying excess flab at the moment. It is coming off slowly though.

Since getting the new bike and going out 3 times a week my speeds are going up. Tonight I was made up as half way round I was on 17mph average but it dropped to 16.1 by the end. I think I go too hard too early and tire too quickly.

[maltloaf]

High cadence really helped me, I went from 70 to 90 and I spin up most hills. It's a bit counter productive standing up going up hills you don't need to stand up on. Yes you get up more quickly but you also tire much faster as you're using up your short supply of slow twitch muscle fibres when you're doing this. You really want to be saving those for when you really need them.

I spin gears to maintain cadence so the terrain chooses what gear I'm in. Take a look at my cadence graphs, you'll see.

Are you completely happy with how you have everything set up ? I rode for almost 6 months with the saddle too low, I had even done the measurements and run the formulas. It wasn't until I sat on a different bike with higher saddle that I realised it was wrong. I gained an instant 1mph for that.

Also, saddle position matters, I had mine just 10mm too far back and ended up in all sorts of problems.

What tyres are you using ? The Gatorskins I swore by last summer feel like riding through treacle now. Try something with a good rolling resistance. I would recommend Schwalbe durano for good all round use including cold and wet and Schwalbe ultremo for a good hard wearing racing tyre.

Most of all though just keep at it. Don't worry about it though. It's all good.