New road rider with a couple of questions

sarm34

Hi, my name is mark I'm 45, over Xmas I built myself a very nice MTb which I love to ride, but after a week away on my hols to Wales (without the bike I must add) I start reading all the road cycling mags and by the end of the week I had made up my mind that I wanted a go at this road cycling lark, 3 days later I've been and bought said bike , including shoes ,clip on pedals all the Lycra the lot.
WoW what have I been missing? It's great !
But I have a couple of questions.
How do I maximise my riding when I'm only able to get out maybe 2/3 times a week while at work , I can't get out at the weekends because ,well the wife doesn't know I've bought the bike, it's kept at work, I wouldn't be capable of riding a bike if she found out.
So what I've been doing is going out after work if I get to finish early, and bit by bit I've been increasing the mileage that I'm doing (I'm a carpet fitter so I have to take care of the knees ) I've been logging my training herehttp://training.bikeradar.com/activity/index
I can normaly only grab an hour or and hour and a half max, so I'm limited in the distance that I can cover.
Secondly what should I eat when I ride out, as I can't eat bananas? In the time that I ride , i get into the mindset that i need to push myself all the time, I know that some people coast down hills , I'm peddling like mad to keep my breathing rhythm the same , but towards the end of my ride I'm feeling I need that extra energy to maintain my pace, although I have found that I'm finding it easier to do this now and I think that's just a fitness issue.
I'm quite I fit bloke anyway, my job in its self keeps me fit (ever seen a fat carpet fitter?) plus most of my childhood and my youth was spent in swimming pools and gyms, competing in both sports so I'm used to hard work and pain. But having got married and had kids means I've been a lazy arse and done jack for the last fifteen years, I've been lucky I've not gained any weight 5'7" 66 kg
Any help and advice would be great
Thx for reading
Marc

mattshrops

1) Hi love, Geoff at work has lent me his road bike for the summer cos hes having a knee op.....

2)Grow some cojones and fess up.

You choose

sarm34

mattshrops wrote:

2)Grow some cojones and fess up.

You choose

i kinda asked for that didnt i :roll:

snoopsmydogg

use the same method women use when buying shoes. half the price so it was a bargain or 25% if she has no understanding.

its amazing how many different bike parts you can find for under £20 when they dont have a clue

jonny_trousers

Yeah, totally agree with the boys above: lie/man up! Unless your children are going hungry because of your bike purchase then what's the problem? You could be spending your money on far more worrying things.

As for your fuelling question: so you get to the end of an hour long ride pushing yourself as hard as you can and you feel tired? Um... That's how it's meant to be isn't it? Try sipping on a non-fizzy sports drink all the way through your ride. You will probably notice little difference, but maybe...

team47b

Buy her a bike

Mikey23

Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive. She will probably be pleased that the new love of your life is a bike and not another woman. My missus doesn't welcome all the money that's being spent but it does give her and the family a focus for pressies at birthday and Christmas. I also have a little hybrid that she can ride when she comes with me and it gives us something that we can do together. Except that she brings her camera and stops every ten seconds or so to take pix! And she is now quite happy for me to hang around in tight Lycra and quite likes waxed legs

Chris James

I can't see you being able to get away with not telling her forever. And in any case, it's starting to affect your riding!

Surely it's better to own up than be found out?

I'd emphasise the health angle. You want to keep yourself fit for her and the kids. I'd mionimise the cost angle - perhpas a white lie about buying it second hand from a work mate or seeing an end of season sale or something?

sarm34

Er.. Thanks for the advice on telling the wife but that's not really the issue, if I had told her I would have kept the bike at home and I wouldnt have been able to get out on it as much as I can at work, I work for myself so I do get a lot of free time between jobs .
I just wanted to know how best to maximise my time on the bike, do I look at trying to increase my average speed on set runs and set distances or try and go for distance , and increasing it as I go?
What should I be eating before I ride ?
Is there anything I should be eating/drinking after I've finished?
I like I say I'm not doing it to lose weight, just to get fit, and I really enjoy it.

jonomc4

I forgot my phone one day when I was out at the shops.

The wife needed to contact me - she was considering driving into to town to find me - but she confessed that she would have looked for me in the bike shops and not the pubs!

I take the stuff I buy home but I have it shipped to work and the receipts stay firmly in my draw at work!

PS - you could sell the pointless MTB and say you bought the new bike with it (whilst in reality pocketing the money the inevitable upgrades)

MattC59

For a coupe of weeks before you mention a bike, keep mentioning that you think you need to get some exercise, drop some hints, make some suggestions etc. Suggest the gym, get gym prices, moan that it's expensive and difficult to fit in around work, mention the idea of a bike, keep mentioning th eidea of a bike, gradually convince her that it was her idea to get a bike. then 'get' the bike.

You can only use this once though. For future purchases, and there will be many, either:
1) don't tell her how much they cost.
2) don't mention them and pretend she ahsn't noticed (I use this one a lot, and sometimes she actually hasn't noticed !)
3) by new things which are the same colour as existing items. I've found that camoflage works a treat !

sarm34

blimey i thought i was good at hiding stuff from the wife, the last two posts sound like they are pro's at it

The Ors

Where do you keep your van? How about cycling to/from work each day.

This would also help justify the cost of the bike as you would be saving petrol...

MattC59

sarm34 wrote:

blimey i thought i was good at hiding stuff from the wife, the last two posts sound like they are pro's at it

Yep, although it becomes difficult when the Mrs says something like "do you want one of those expensive GPS bike computers for your bithday" and you reply, "eeerm...... what, like this ?", whilst programming said GPS computer

Chris James

sarm34 wrote:

I just wanted to know how best to maximise my time on the bike, do I look at trying to increase my average speed on set runs and set distances or try and go for distance , and increasing it as I go?
What should I be eating before I ride ?
Is there anything I should be eating/drinking after I've finished?

It depends to an extent what you are trying to achieve, however if you are a newish road rider then distance and fitness may be an issue. You could try searching through the umpteen threads on the training section. But basically the normal advice is to increase time on the bike. That way your body makes the physiological changes it requires to adapt to the strange requirements biking places upon it. It can take years for your body to adapt but you should notice changes quite quickly.

I would aim to increase your time out to around 2 hours, at a pace where you are tired at the end of the two hours but haven’t blown to bits after half an hour. Once you have a decent base fitness, say 500 miles under your belt, then you can introduce intervals to increase your overall speed.

You are a bit limited if you can only manage an hour. An hour and half should be ok. You say you can get out 2 or 3 times a week which is about all I can manage (also have kids) so I would say that is okay too.

As you rack up the miles you will find that your body needs less food. I typically go out for a hilly 2 hour ride after work with only sugar free kids squash in a bidon, and maybe a jam sandwich before I set out. If I was going for 3 hours or longer I would take either sports drink (powerade , high 5 etc) or, if I am being tight fisted, half fruit juice half water. And I’d take a banana, but a flapjack etc would be fine, it's just that a banana doesn't melt!

I don’t bother with recovery drinks unless I have done a sportive or something similar. Even then chocolate milk is a good substitute. Losing even a small amount of weight makes a big difference in cycling so I am careful not to go bonkers on gels, carbo drinks, flapjacks etc for short training rides because otherwise I will be eating more calories that I am using up on the bike!

DrKJM

You could always buy it second hand from a 'bloke at work'. I feel sure he'd give you a good price.

DrKJM

MattC59 wrote:

3) by new things which are the same colour as existing items. I've found that camoflage works a treat !

This works for guitars too.

sarm34

Chris James wrote:

sarm34 wrote:

I just wanted to know how best to maximise my time on the bike, do I look at trying to increase my average speed on set runs and set distances or try and go for distance , and increasing it as I go?
What should I be eating before I ride ?
Is there anything I should be eating/drinking after I've finished?

It depends to an extent what you are trying to achieve, however if you are a newish road rider then distance and fitness may be an issue. You could try searching through the umpteen threads on the training section. But basically the normal advice is to increase time on the bike. That way your body makes the physiological changes it requires to adapt to the strange requirements biking places upon it. It can take years for your body to adapt but you should notice changes quite quickly.

I would aim to increase your time out to around 2 hours, at a pace where you are tired at the end of the two hours but haven’t blown to bits after half an hour. Once you have a decent base fitness, say 500 miles under your belt, then you can introduce intervals to increase your overall speed.

You are a bit limited if you can only manage an hour. An hour and half should be ok. You say you can get out 2 or 3 times a week which is about all I can manage (also have kids) so I would say that is okay too.

As you rack up the miles you will find that your body needs less food. I typically go out for a hilly 2 hour ride after work with only sugar free kids squash in a bidon, and maybe a jam sandwich before I set out. If I was going for 3 hours or longer I would take either sports drink (powerade , high 5 etc) or, if I am being tight fisted, half fruit juice half water. And I’d take a banana, but a flapjack etc would be fine, it's just that a banana doesn't melt!

I don’t bother with recovery drinks unless I have done a sportive or something similar. Even then chocolate milk is a good substitute. Losing even a small amount of weight makes a big difference in cycling so I am careful not to go bonkers on gels, carbo drinks, flapjacks etc for short training rides because otherwise I will be eating more calories that I am using up on the bike!

This is the answers I was after, not all the advice on the wife finding out front

sarm34

DrKJM wrote:

You could always buy it second hand from a 'bloke at work'. I feel sure he'd give you a good price.

I work for myself so , unless I buy it from myself it's not going to work very well, she will see straight through that one

velohutts

re fuelling - for an hour of steady riding a water bottle should be fine , maybe take a gel with you or flapjack / jam sandwich enough to keep you going should you 'bonk'.

same for slightly longer rides , depends alot on your physiology , if you sweat alot - more fluids , the longer the ride the more fuel you need as your fitness develops you will need less fuel ...all swings and roundabouts really I always take a gel or banana for anything of an hour plus so on a bad day that will top me up for the last few miles.

Get a couple of different brands/flavours and try them everyone has different taste /stomach reactions to the various brands but worth knowing what works before taking longer rides and finding an 'adverse bowel reaction' in the middle of nowhere !!.

Pre ride - water regularly , if riding home from work - after work pasta or a sandwich - something to keep you going but as said earlier not to much !!

Welcome to the world of the road bike it's a great place to be !!!