Silly Commuter Stats

salsajake

can I also claim extra miles for the ride back into THAT headwind last night, A 17.3 mile road ride has no right to be that tough! Had to leave work early to get home, so only a couple of hours rest at desk, then out into that onslaught. After 12 miles I had to stop and eat my packed lunch at the side of the road, close to broken. 6mph was the best I could muster on the flat after that, dreadful re-introduction to the commute, was glad to see the frost this morning and jump into car!

CiB

Neat. Back on the commute after a two week layoff, shoving me a mighty four places up the table.

Where did that wind come from, and what happened to the enormous splodge of blue on the weather forecast last night that told me it was going to be a scuba-commute this morning? Dry as a bone. Lovely.

salsajake

I know, I was going to ride today too and weather forecast meant I didn't feel bad about not doing it, but it was fine! Another week lay off though as wife has pneumonia so with 2 kids to look after, fact it takes 45 mins extra out of my day to cycle commute makes it a non-starter

jzed

Went cycle crazy last week and covered 280 miles. 150 miles off the target of 800 for the month but travelling tomorrow, being in the lakes Friday and Saturday, and travelling to Scotland Sunday mean unlikely to make it.

Marcus_C

What does WTD stand for? I assume something to do with recent updates but that's my best guess. Should be a good week for me, more miles than last month approaching, 400 is the target for march.

salsajake

week to date

Rich158

Can I come and play again

please

please

please

I promise to be good and only wind up ITB, oh and can I add my miles for the year so far?

gbsahne001

Rich158 wrote:

Can I come and play again

please

please

please

I promise to be good and only wind up ITB, oh and can I add my miles for the year so far?

Only if you promise to be good and not get upset..... if adding miles pushes me down, then no.... just kidding

Rich158

wooohooooo, straight in at 5

It's good to be back

stuaff

Rich158 wrote:

Can I come and play again

please

please

please

I promise to be good and only wind up ITB, oh and can I add my miles for the year so far?

Welcome back!

itboffin

Rich158 wrote:

wooohooooo, straight in at 5

It's good to be back

Sigh! what have you done ...?

cjcp

Rich158 wrote:

wooohooooo, straight in at 5

It's good to be back

Yeah, let's crack open the champagne...

Git.

gbsahne001

glad that I've got the week off to rack up some miles

Rich158

itboffin wrote:

Rich158 wrote:

wooohooooo, straight in at 5

It's good to be back

Sigh! what have you done ...?

I knew you'd all missed me so I decided to come back and kick your backside old chap

jzed

Rich158 wrote:

itboffin wrote:

Rich158 wrote:

wooohooooo, straight in at 5

It's good to be back

Sigh! what have you done ...?

I knew you'd all missed me so I decided to come back and kick your backside old chap

Have you been told about the 50% penalty for late registration? Move back to 35th please.

Rich158

JZed wrote:

Rich158 wrote:

itboffin wrote:

Rich158 wrote:

wooohooooo, straight in at 5

It's good to be back

Sigh! what have you done ...?

I knew you'd all missed me so I decided to come back and kick your backside old chap

Have you been told about the 50% penalty for late registration? Move back to 35th please.

Ah but that's offset by the old boy bonus

I'm going to enjoy it here again, and I might just have a little time on my hands to a 'few' miles in

gbsahne001

wasn't there talk last year of ignoring the stats, to do some worthwhile mileage? ....... so you've decided to do meaningless miles again?

Rich158

gbsahne wrote:

wasn't there talk last year of ignoring the stats, to do some worthwhile mileage? ....... so you've decided to do meaningless miles again?

I'm still doing the worthwhile mileage, i'll just start logging it now Lucky for you lot I'm in a high intensity build phase and not mega amounts of base miles

I've missed a good wind-up, let the fun begin

rolf_f

Nice to see you back in Rich (though please, please put in your monthly breakdown for Jan - it will look so untidy otherwise )

I expect to move up the rankings a bit but I'll be happy with top 20 this year. I suspect the bar will be higher yet again and the topgraphy around here was just too tough for the miles I was doing. I'm now actively rationing the extended commutes. I'll be keeping a close eye on average speeds and any sign of slowing up will see me knock the miles back yet further. I really need to work out some sort of proper training programme but I haven't a clue

Rich158

I'll work on that Ralph, wouldn't want an untidy table now would we

In terms of training I use a classic periodisation plan which goes something like this

Basic Endurance
Initial 4 weeks - Zone 2 rides
middle 4 - zone 3 blocks in zone 2 ride
end 4 whole rides in zone 3

Build
Initial 4 weeks - Sprinting/supramax
Middle 4 - VO2 max work
end 4 - Zone 4/5 work

Race/event
first 4 - race simulation
2 weeks - taper, race and hold

Don't skimp on the basic endurance and include lots of high cadence work to recruit some fast twitch fibres. Essentially zone 2 is just under the first lactic threshold and is very important, the body uses fat as its primary fuel and working just under the threshold you start to build the extra capilliaries and mitochondria needed in the muscles to support the higher intensity work. As you work in zone 3 you’ll need to look at your nutrition strategy as you’ll start to eat into the glycogen stores. Zone 4/5 is extremely aggressive as is most of the build phase, it’s here you focus on raising the lactic threshold and increasing your power. This is why the endurance phase is so important, if you’ve done the work to change you muscle make up then you’ll have the necessary structures in place to support increased lactic clearance

If you want any more info PM me

rolf_f

Rich158 wrote:

If you want any more info PM me

I think I will. Aside from general ignorance, one of the main problems I have is all these comments about avoiding high intensity work for the first half hour or so. Have any of these advisors been to West Yorkshire. There isn't one route out from mine that wouldn't have the average London cyclist screaming for someone to end it for them there and then within 5 minutes of setting off!

Topgraphy - it's a git!

salsajake

granny ring! To be fair, I've seen your profile and even if your lowest gear on a road bike that is going to send the heart rate soaring! I have nothing too bad in the first 30 mins, then a "pass" (St Kenelms) but I'm nice and ready for it by then! Then again I have only ridden it once so far this year!

Rich158

Rolf F wrote:

Rich158 wrote:

If you want any more info PM me

I think I will. Aside from general ignorance, one of the main problems I have is all these comments about avoiding high intensity work for the first half hour or so. Have any of these advisors been to West Yorkshire. There isn't one route out from mine that wouldn't have the average London cyclist screaming for someone to end it for them there and then within 5 minutes of setting off!

Topgraphy - it's a git!

I raised exactly the same issue with a coach a while back, essentially get it into the granny ring and spin as much as you can like Salsajake says. Try this drill, sit and spin up the short hills, stand on the long ones. It doesn't matter if you visit the higher zones just do it in a controlled manner. Ultimately ride the hills based on an even effort rather than speed, if this means very slowly then so be it. Sidestepping the basic endurance work is a surefire way to overtraining n the long term.

rolf_f

Even on the climb on the right of my profile (which is the start of most of my commutes)doesn't see me use the granny rings on principle - trouble is, it is as you say; much lower than middle middle and it is spinny longstocking ultra slow all the way which means a bit more wobbling which isn't ideal what with the traffic. Besides, I have a benchmark of 2:40 for the top of the steep bit that I like to beat

rolf_f

Rich158 wrote:

I raised exactly the same issue with a coach a while back, essentially get it into the granny ring and spin as much as you can like Salsajake says. Try this drill, sit and spin up the short hills, stand on the long ones. It doesn't matter if you visit the higher zones just do it in a controlled manner. Ultimately ride the hills based on an even effort rather than speed, if this means very slowly then so be it. Sidestepping the basic endurance work is a surefire way to overtraining n the long term.

I'd assume that the endurance stuff is what I tend to overdo. In this case what cadence would you count as spinning and what length of climb/gradient for standing on the longer. The profile in my sig is my short commute - homeward left to right - so there is a long steady climb on that but it's a long way to stand!
I probably do work on even effort as I'm normally pushing as hard as I can - so increased gradients do slow me down.

salsajake

ah now we see where the overtraining is coming in! Start riding your route afresh, set yourself new goals, say you normally pass a point well after the hill by a certain time, aim to beat it, despite going slower up the hills. You should be able to hold a very straight line even at low speeds, if not, work on that too and it will help upper body strength and core stability. Some of my fastest rides have come after really saving myself on the hills, then pasting it afterwards, you have so much more beans left that you can really go for it rather than trying to recover after beasting the hills.

Pushing as hard as you can all the time will break you. If I am riding 4 days a week I will rarely pass about 60-70% of what I think I am capable of, on steep hills that will get to around 80-90% of course, but then I will compensate afterwards to rest. Rode back once at about 90% and it was over 4 mins faster than my best at the time (significant when we are talking about a 58 min time before!), but I was caned after that. Satisfying, but wouldn't be trying to do it every day!

Rich158

Rolf F wrote:

Rich158 wrote:

I raised exactly the same issue with a coach a while back, essentially get it into the granny ring and spin as much as you can like Salsajake says. Try this drill, sit and spin up the short hills, stand on the long ones. It doesn't matter if you visit the higher zones just do it in a controlled manner. Ultimately ride the hills based on an even effort rather than speed, if this means very slowly then so be it. Sidestepping the basic endurance work is a surefire way to overtraining n the long term.

I'd assume that the endurance stuff is what I tend to overdo. In this case what cadence would you count as spinning and what length of climb/gradient for standing on the longer. The profile in my sig is my short commute - homeward left to right - so there is a long steady climb on that but it's a long way to stand!
I probably do work on even effort as I'm normally pushing as hard as I can - so increased gradients do slow me down.

If you overdo the endurance stuff you'll lose any benefits if you don't start on the higher intensity stuff. I suspect you've been working mostly in zone 3 as I was, most people are astonished at where zone 2 sits, mine is between 112 & 140 bpm and feels rediculously low in intensity terms, but that differs from person to person. Ease right back in the endurance stuff, it feels counter intuitive but believe me it works. I class spinning as about 100-120 rpm, but that obviously drops on hills. After 3 months or so building my endurance I can now spin up a hill and use it as recovery time, it's amazing how the body adapts to even very light exercise. I'm now entering the build phase and my recovery from very hard interval sessions is amazing. In terms of length of hill I'll leave that up to you, it depends on what feels right for you, but only do one session like that a week. another good one is dropping down to a very easy gear and spinning like a loon for 30 secs every 5 mins, it's a good way to recruit more fast twitch fibres and then use them to the best effect.

suzyb

Is there a website or book that explains what you just said in dummies term :?

jonginge

suzyb wrote:

Is there a website or book that explains what you just said in dummies term :?

To sum up: don't overtrain (Edit: i'm quite good at this)

cjcp

JonGinge wrote:

suzyb wrote:

Is there a website or book that explains what you just said in dummies term :?

To sum up: don't overtrain (Edit: i'm quite good at this)

As Eddy Merckx (I think) said:

1. Ride your bike
2. Ride your bike
3. Ride your bike