This is not a mid-life crisis

GuernseyStu
GuernseyStu Posts: 21
edited December 2012 in Road beginners
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Comments

  • GuernseyStu
    GuernseyStu Posts: 21
    edited April 2013
    djgjfgvntyhdr
  • cornerblock
    cornerblock Posts: 3,228
    Hello Stu, may I be the first and possibly the only :wink: one to welcome you to the forum. Whereabouts in southern Thailand are you?
  • keef66
    keef66 Posts: 13,123
    Things are a bit slow cos we're winding down for the Christmas break. Welcome to the forum! Can I be the first to say that, having seen the UK weather forecast for the next few days, I am very jealous of you in Southern Thailand. I'm sure your rain is a lot warmer than ours.

    Can't really give you any training tips; I just cycle for the fun of it, having returned to road cycling 5 years ago at the age of 50.
  • GuernseyStu
    GuernseyStu Posts: 21
    edited April 2013
    fdnhfsnmkgyjfrhn
  • briantrumpet
    briantrumpet Posts: 20,602
    Thanks for the warm welcome chaps!!
    Welcome (warmly)!

    Training-wise - for now, get yourself a mix of cycling that you enjoy - shorter faster rides for developing speed, longer steadier ones for stamina, and so on. If you get in a mix of 100+ miles a week, you should find yourself improving speed & distance capabilities, if that's what you want to achieve.

    BTW, if you want more of a response, you probably need to mention weight training for cyclists, or Contador or Amstrong (though he might be a bit passé now). Oh, or politics. Light blue touch-paper and stand well back.
  • keef66
    keef66 Posts: 13,123
    Ask about vinyl stickers or raisins for weight loss if you want a thread that runs to dozens of pages.
  • cornerblock
    cornerblock Posts: 3,228
    Surat Thani? Isn't that where you used to have to get the boat across to Ko Samui? Before there was an airport. Lots of hills is good training, especially in that heat.

    I'm am off to Krabi again in February and was hoping to bring the bike with me but Thai Airways want silly money, so it's not really viable. I will have to use the mountain bikes that they have at the hotel. I rode them last year and they're not too bad, just not able to do as many miles on them as I'd like. I don't suppose you know of anywhere in Krabi that hires road bikes do you? Really looking forward to getting back out there.
  • GuernseyStu
    GuernseyStu Posts: 21
    edited April 2013
    kuyrgfjdtyjetfyj
  • cornerblock
    cornerblock Posts: 3,228
    I am actually staying near Ao Nang. Thanks for the offer Stu but the hotel already has mountain bikes which guests are allowed to take out whenever. They are fine but I would prefer to have one of my own road bikes out there, but it would seem Thai Airways want $50.00 per kilo for a bike. Seeing as my bike with box and a few tools was just under 20 kilos flying to Majorca recently I can't really justify (to the missus!) the extra cost.
  • Then I saw a fairly cheap Trek for sale on the internet, 700 km away, so I took a train up there, bought it and rode it home.

    you rode 400 miles for your first ride on the bike!?!?!?
  • cornerblock
    cornerblock Posts: 3,228
    Then I saw a fairly cheap Trek for sale on the internet, 700 km away, so I took a train up there, bought it and rode it home.

    you rode 400 miles for your first ride on the bike!?!?!?


    It must have been quite a trek. :oops:
  • It must have been quite a trek. :oops:

    You're telling me
  • GuernseyStu
    GuernseyStu Posts: 21
    edited April 2013
    ukdtumfthrgv
  • cornerblock
    cornerblock Posts: 3,228
    KingElvis wrote:
    They are fine but I would prefer to have one of my own road bikes out there, but it would seem Thai Airways want $50.00 per kilo for a bike. Seeing as my bike with box and a few tools was just under 20 kilos flying to Majorca recently I can't really justify (to the missus!) the extra cost.g.gif

    Uh huh!! :lol: Elvis is just repeating what I've said. :?:
  • GuernseyStu
    GuernseyStu Posts: 21
    edited April 2013
    kuyjhgdbgnhmjuyutgrf
  • cornerblock
    cornerblock Posts: 3,228
    Very odd, Elvis has left the building. :?
  • rich164h
    rich164h Posts: 433
    Just a thought; is a riser block / skyliner thingy essential for a turbo trainer? Cycleops and Kinetic ones have different height levels, would anyone recommend either of these or are they just a gimmic?
    I'd say that having somthing under the front wheel is essential if you want to be comfortable and the riser blocks are designed specifically for the job, but you don't have to use them. Just put a couple of thick books under the front wheel instead.
  • Ricey83
    Ricey83 Posts: 103
    so the 700km first ride isn't a typo? How long did that take you?
  • cornerblock
    cornerblock Posts: 3,228
    It's Thailand so I'd say long time.


    Sorry about that I just couldn't resist.
  • GuernseyStu
    GuernseyStu Posts: 21
    edited April 2013
    kffcbdergdfbgtf
  • navrig
    navrig Posts: 1,352
    This is not a mid-life crisis

    Oh yes it is.

    I've had two.

    At 39 I sat my motorbike test - just to get my licence of course. Two motorbikes, a set of leathers, three helmets, a set of fabrics and numerous services and MOTs later I decided it wasn't healthy for me. Physically not that demanding and high risk of hurting or killing myself.

    So I parked the bike up and got the MTB out of the shed. A 2nd MTB and 3 road bikes (all at the same time) I am fitter than I have been for 30 years.

    However in 10 years of motorcycling the most damage I sustained was skinned knuckles from a splippy spanner. In two winters cycling I have broken two bones!!
  • rich164h wrote:
    Just a thought; is a riser block / skyliner thingy essential for a turbo trainer? Cycleops and Kinetic ones have different height levels, would anyone recommend either of these or are they just a gimmic?
    I'd say that having somthing under the front wheel is essential if you want to be comfortable and the riser blocks are designed specifically for the job, but you don't have to use them. Just put a couple of thick books under the front wheel instead.

    I always found my wheel skidded slightly against the turbo when I changed position and didn't have the riser block - eg, standing up but on the drops. If you're using books though make sure they're stable and don't slide - that was my main reason for buying a block. I found the books moved about and slid against each other as I was riding.

    Mx
    FCN: Brompton: 12, Tourer: 7, Racer: 4

    http://www.60milestonod.blogspot.com
  • GuernseyStu
    GuernseyStu Posts: 21
    edited April 2013
    ngbtrhfyjrsther
  • Sounds like you have a pretty good life there stu. Wouldn't mind being stuck somewhere around there myself. I've done a little bit of road cycling in Thailand and will be doing the Doi Inthanon challenge this easter I hope with my GF brothers racing club. As long as you're training early mornings and evenings and wearing bright clothes I'm sure you'll be pretty safe out on the roads.
    Turbo training can definitely help, especially if you can sign up with someone like Trainerroad, $10 per month and their training plans will really push you to become a better rider. You don't even need a superfast internet connection as you only have to upload a small file at end of sessions so you can track your progress.
    By the way I saw some pretty good bikes for sale at reasonable prices at the flashlight market last time I was in Bangkok, might be worth checking out next time you're up there

    cheers
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