Cycling To Do lists - What's on yours?

nevman

Getting fit enough next year to do the Marmotte again-missed riding it this year due to lack of training time after 4 months off.Or the Maratona.

Secteur

Mine would be to ride any big mountain that has been featured on the TdF.

Doubt i'll ever get the time / opportunity, but would love to try it.

pinno

Different spectrum to NapD.
I had 11 years of hospitalisation including 296hrs of chemo, 2 hrs total body irradiation, a bone marrow transplant and 3 hip replacements - the 3rd after a bone infection that lasted 3 and a half years. Did the 2009 Cal etape for MacMillan Cancer relief and it went wll despite a chest infection and carpet tacks. Would love to be fit enough to do the Marmotte: Its a 4 year plan.
Still tired especially after a hard ride for sometimes days but getting there and re-building a foundation of base level fitness/stamina.
Only trouble is my body does not respond in cold weather so I struggle with winter training, which is the key to this plan.
Need a training partner who can slow up for me 'cos the other fukkers round here are too arrogant, dismissive and unhelpful (I look ok) but I know what I have gone through to be alive and the cycling has indirectly given me a child and another on the way when I was told I would not have a snowflakes chance in hell of being a dad. Now I am even considering a snip job - how ironic?
Who's done the Marmotte and how did you train for it?.
As long as I have a plan and I can keep riding, i'll keep smiling and thanking (I don't know who or what really) for being on this planet.

pinno

Rick Chasey wrote:

Is it really dull to say have a lifestyle where I can ride enough to be satisfied without being at the expense of anything else?

Yep, my sentiments exactly. You have to be in a pretty fortunate position to do that.

tim_wand

Build my own steel bike from Tubing (Dave Yates, to help I think)

Stabilisers off my little girls Giant Puddin and have her ride along side me (She's 4 this week)

RAID Pyrenees

Be in Paris next year (100th tour) to see Cav make it 5 on the line and hopefully Twiggo or Froome win GC.

Cleat Eastwood

pinarello001 wrote:

Different spectrum to NapD.
I had 11 years of hospitalisation including 296hrs of chemo, 2 hrs total body irradiation, a bone marrow transplant and 3 hip replacements - the 3rd after a bone infection that lasted 3 and a half years. Did the 2009 Cal etape for MacMillan Cancer relief and it went wll despite a chest infection and carpet tacks. Would love to be fit enough to do the Marmotte: Its a 4 year plan.
Still tired especially after a hard ride for sometimes days but getting there and re-building a foundation of base level fitness/stamina.
Only trouble is my body does not respond in cold weather so I struggle with winter training, which is the key to this plan.
Need a training partner who can slow up for me 'cos the other fukkers round here are too arrogant, dismissive and unhelpful (I look ok) but I know what I have gone through to be alive and the cycling has indirectly given me a child and another on the way when I was told I would not have a snowflakes chance in hell of being a dad. Now I am even considering a snip job - how ironic?
Who's done the Marmotte and how did you train for it?.
As long as I have a plan and I can keep riding, i'll keep smiling and thanking (I don't know who or what really) for being on this planet.

Wow thats a real shitter - not the illness, I mean being scottish

Keep riding those punches though - you'll do the marmotte one day.

My ambition would be to do a tdf and a giro mountain stage - alpe dhuez and the stelvio, or that mad Cingles thing up the ventoux.

bobtbuilder

Ride the Passo di Stelvio for me.

I have been lucky enough to have ridden most of the big French Cols.

t.m.h.n.e.t

Must pay my road tax then yell profanities at the lycra mob.

schweiz

pinarello001 wrote:

Who's done the Marmotte and how did you train for it?.
As long as I have a plan and I can keep riding, i'll keep smiling and thanking (I don't know who or what really) for being on this planet.

You need to build up your endurance. It'll be a long day! Apologies for stating the obvious but you need to be able to ride for 10+ hours and do the climbing. Basically you need to start from whatever point you are now and increase the distance, not shy away from hills on your training and get your whole body prepared for what will be a pretty stern test of not only your physical but mental endurance.

I did La Marmotte in 2009 and I've never seen so many broken people in my life. It was 40°C in Bourg and with 160 km and 4000 m of climbing in the legs, the Alpe was hard. I'm lucky enough to live in the middle of the Swiss Alps so I'm used to doing several 1000 m + climbs in a day but the Alpe hurt.

The other week, in training for the Ötztaler Cycle Marathon in Austria, I did 200 km and 5100 m, solo, over the Brünig - Grimsel - Furka - Susten and Brünig (from the other side) passes and the last 500 m on the Susten was hard again. I've ridden the Susten loads of times and never felt as bad as I did then. The first 500 or so metres of climbing went fine, then it just seemed to get hard. I was eating but my body just seemed to have had enough! I ate some spaghetti in the restaurant on the top of the Susten and although my feet were getting sore on the Brünigpass I had some strength back again. It was almost as if my body had had enough of processing müseli bars, gels, coke and isotonic drink and wanted some 'real' food!

So, build up slowly but surely, push yourself during training to just go that little bit further and higher and you will complete the Marmotte. Given what you've been through already, I'm sure you have what it takes mentally, you just need to build the physical strength and endurance. And keep smiling!

pinno

Cleat Eastwood wrote:

Wow thats a real shitter - not the illness, I mean being scottish

I am Kenyan !! You'll enjoy this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EX98LGnvc1E&feature=player_detailpage

pinno

schweiz wrote:

So, build up slowly but surely, push yourself during training to just go that little bit further and higher and you will complete the Marmotte. Given what you've been through already, I'm sure you have what it takes mentally, you just need to build the physical strength and endurance. And keep smiling!

I don't shy away from climbing. I love the hills - hate the flat. Unfortunately, Davide Etxebarria (2 x TdF stage winner) told me that you do not build condition on the climbs. You may test your stamina and recovery but pedalling quickly and with souplesse requires flat riding. I am currently doing 2 flat rides to one very hilly ride and its working.
Probably because my recovery rate is much better after a flat ride more than just simply pedalling technique.
How long did it take you ? What was the average temp at the top of the climbs? I hate the cold - my body does not react well to it. I am twice the rider on a hot day.

schweiz

You may not build your core condition by climbing, but you learn to climb! When you're climbing non-stop for 60-90 mins then knowing your limits and pacing yourself is important. You only get better at climbing by climbing. The reason why Wiggo spent weeks and weeks climbing in preparation for this years tour.

I did it in 9 h 40-odd (43 IIRC) mins. At 80 kg, I'm not a natural climber so whilst slower than the 9 to 9.15 I'd 'planned', I was still happy. I made mistakes with eating that caught up with me towards the end.


It' s definitely not cold at the top when it's so warm in the valley...still in the high 20's (standard temp drop is 0.6 C per 100 m (3 degrees per 1000' if you prefer), but you can't predict alpine weather. On my big training ride in 2009 in June, there was sleet on the Susten, fog on the Grimsel, sunshine on the Nufenen and strong winds on the Gotthard! I think it was NapD that on a trip to the Alpe in June a few years back was riding in snow.

pinno

schweiz wrote:

You may not... ...was riding in snow.

Yep, point taken. I am lucky. I weigh 67.5 kg's and could do with loosing 3.5kg's roughly. I have lost 2 kg's this summer alone just by increasing the mileage. I know I have no problem trimming down. Its recovery rate/minor infections I battle with mostly. When I raced years ago, my body weight was 62kg's or less. I am happy being 65kg's - better recovery rate.
I have a plan to do the Galibier next year or the year after (if I can get away). Maybe Alpe D'Huez too - not in the one go. Just to get the feel of ascending for 90mins or so and see what gearing suits me. Also altitude will be interesting - its been too long since childhood for any resilience to it (was born in Nairobi - very high). Although its hilly around here, I am rarely in 39x23, mostly 39x21 uphill, but the longest ascent I have is only 3 miles.
I shall fit a compact 36/50 before I go. I met a guy who had a 34 front and 32 rear Sram set up. He was off to the Marmotte. He said 'just in case'. What gearing did/do you have?

schweiz

I have 34x28 for long days. I drop into it nice and early when training alone and practice increasing my cadence on the climbs. I can get up most things in 34x25 though, especially when being paced. At your weight, I doubt you'll need a 28 though.

neilo23

Return to the Alps without getting rat arsed on the local red wine (and trying to pull the lovely Austrian girls) in the evening, thus rendering me incapable of achieving my cycling aims the next day

Blacktemplar

Get past 6,000 miles this year (ave 500/month, still on track)

Take part in at least three sportives (two down, one to go)

Ride at least three Tour climbs in my 50th year (I have until next October )
On that subject, where's the best place to base oneself to get the max number of "iconic" climbs within reasonable striking distance? Grenoble?

Buy an Italian superbike (still working on that one......)

Not fall off :shock:

APIII

Bourg D'Oisans gives you the Galibier, the alpe and Croix de Fer. Not a bad trio. Or Argeles Gazost gives you the Soulor/Aubisque, Tourmalet, Luz Ardiden and Hautacam, which is my preference.

ethanhayes

I want to have done these by next summer:
1 - Learn to ride bike.
2 - Ride bike.

Blacktemplar

APIII wrote:

Bourg D'Oisans gives you the Galibier, the alpe and Croix de Fer. Not a bad trio. Or Argeles Gazost gives you the Soulor/Aubisque, Tourmalet, Luz Ardiden and Hautacam, which is my preference.

Cheers APIII, both sound good. Thought we'd hire a car so we could drive to a few, so Bourg D'Oisans is a good base - just over three hours to Ventoux as well......

durrin

durrin wrote:

2011:
-10000 miles (almost 5000 now)
-12 statute centuries (7)
-52 metric centuries (28 ), with at least one in each month
-I had a goal of 30+kph for a metric century, but I already did that one, so maybe a 20+mph metric, or a 30+kph statute.

future:
-stelvio, ventoux, etc.
-a 5000m pass
-I've been thinking about PBP 2015

update: managed all my 2011 goals... working on 20000km for 2012.
completed an SR series this year, and climbed stelvio and ventoux, as well as a number of other big alpine passes.

so what I have left, plus what I've added:
SR+Super Brevet Scandinavia 2013
SR+PBP 2015
It would be cool to ride all the paved 2000+m passes in Western Europe, but definitely a long term goal. I managed 12 this year.

Eyorerox

Blacktemplar
Alpine cadence tour des Alps will give you most of the climbs you are looking for
http://www.alpinecadence.com/programme1.php

Grill

Mine's fairly straight forward:

1. 12 hour TT - DONE!
2. 24 hour TT - Next Year
3. Tour of Wessex - Next Year
4. 400km Audax - Later this year
5. RAAM - Next 5-10 years