Endurance just isn't for me...

Kerrmit1992
Kerrmit1992 Posts: 275
edited August 2014 in Road beginners
Hi guys,

Over the last 2 years I have tried out racing my MTB. It didn't go well, this year I threw in the towel after getting lapped before finishing lap 1!

I come from rugby so all my life has been about power and speed, distance was a bonus. So my question is, are there any cycling disciplines out there that would allow me to use my power rather than crunching miles and miles?

I've looked at track stuff but I've no idea were I could take part in this competitively in Scotland?

Also, would time trialing be considered endurance?

All help is much appreciated!

Thanks
Craig K
Mountain biking is the bicycle version or rallying, except you don't need a Co-Driver!

Comments

  • jgsi
    jgsi Posts: 5,062
    If this is a serious post... then cycling full stop is not for you.
    Road cycling is an endurance sport... includes TTs
    Plan B is to become a trackie.... Hoy Velodrome?
  • fudgey
    fudgey Posts: 854
    one of my mates is an ex rugby player - he is a 6'2" big mutha fukka!
    was 20st but has got back into mtb'ing and running and now 17st.
    i picked up his first road bike for him last weekend.
    he is an animal on the hills, for the size of him he uses his power to just bugger off up hills!. he lives in the malverns where there are hills everywhere, for me where i live not so many and i really stuggle on hills.
    i dont know if there is a discipline for just riding up hills but give it a go.

    i have had my road bike just under 3 months and gone from stuggling to do 20 miles to 85 miles a couple of weeks ago. its all about seat time, the more you ride the further you will go.
    My winter bike is exactly the same as my summer bike,,, but dirty...
  • Grill
    Grill Posts: 5,610
    The issue isn't that you can't do distance, it's that you haven't adapted your training, diet and lifestyle for it. We have a couple ex-bodybuilders in the club and they're absolute machines. One is now below 12 stone and is climbing with the best of them. It took a while to get there, but there's no reason you can't if you approach it the right way.
    English Cycles V3 | Cervelo P5 | Cervelo T4 | Trek Domane Koppenberg
  • marcusjb
    marcusjb Posts: 2,412
    ^ Totally.

    Whilst we all naturally tend towards one end of the scale (sprinting) or the other (endurance), that doesn't mean that you can not be trained to improve the areas you are weaker at and, in many ways, endurance is the easier to train for as it just needs you to ride your bike, a lot.

    It does take time and you will build up endurance if that is the direction you want to head in.
    Stuff about riding a bike a long way
  • Pedro77
    Pedro77 Posts: 59
    It is painful.... I have not been able to do many sports in the last few years and took cycling last year. It does take time for body to adapt and I think there is no quick fix for putting the miles in. I am still unfit and currently manage 35miles per day. I do not feel tired but just my legs don't have the power for much more, heart is happy. I think this may be a combination of poor nutrition and fitness, run out of energy after 2h10 more or less... :(

    Hopefully with more miles in I will improve but looking to shed some pounds in the process...

    Pedro
  • JackPozzi
    JackPozzi Posts: 1,191
    Cycle speedway, short, intense efforts and can get quite phsyical as I understand it so a rugby build can't do any harm...
  • fudgey
    fudgey Posts: 854
    Pedro77 wrote:
    It is painful.... I have not been able to do many sports in the last few years and took cycling last year. It does take time for body to adapt and I think there is no quick fix for putting the miles in. I am still unfit and currently manage 35miles per day. I do not feel tired but just my legs don't have the power for much more, heart is happy. I think this may be a combination of poor nutrition and fitness, run out of energy after 2h10 more or less... :(

    Hopefully with more miles in I will improve but looking to shed some pounds in the process...

    Pedro


    Do you ride 35 miles a day every day?

    Maybe you need a rest day or two.

    I usually ride to work a couple of times a week but a day apart doing 15 miles each way. This week i ride tues/weds/thurs and today got up to ride again but i was just too tired. I think lack of sleep is my issue 5-6 hours a night.

    Will try again next week tho!
    My winter bike is exactly the same as my summer bike,,, but dirty...
  • rickeverett
    rickeverett Posts: 988
    If you want to look good though - do some weights on the arms and chest or you will end up looking like a skinny endurance weed like Froome.
  • gozzy
    gozzy Posts: 640
    "Look Good" is pretty subjective I'd say.
  • Manc33
    Manc33 Posts: 2,157
    Kerrmit1992 wrote:
    this year I threw in the towel after getting lapped before finishing lap 1!

    If you wanna win a race just race me lol.
  • fatdaz
    fatdaz Posts: 348
    Was a prop forward until a knackered back forced me out at the age of 38. Took up riding at 40 and I'm now down from 17st to 13 and a half and just came back from finishing the Etape du Tour a couple of weeks ago. After propping for years I had massive power on the outer side of my quads and for the first 18 months of riding I used to mash up everything in high gears. I'd keep up with the boys for an hour or so and then my legs would blow and I'd end up holding everybody up and getting slower and slower. It wasn't until I changed my diet and started focussing on cadence that I improved as a cyclist a started to keep up with the boys and actually enjoy the riding rather than just enjoy the challenge. I've lost a lot of upper body muscle and I've actually lost muscle bulk on the outside of my quads whilst gaining it on the inside of my quads. I wasn't happy with losing upper body muscle at first (probably I'm still not happy with it) but that's just vanity and, ironically, building up my inner quads eased a long term knee problem which had been getting worse while I was playing.

    My dad asked me once if I enjoyed cycling as much as a good game of rugby and I replied that no I don't but I'm no longer able to play a good game of rugby so cycling is what I have and I'm going to make sure I enjoy it as much as I can. I enjoy it way, way more since I committed to it but, as others have said, if you really don't fancy endurance based activity then road cycling isn't for you
  • lakesluddite
    lakesluddite Posts: 1,337
    Endurance is something that takes time to build up, so the track would seem to be the better option if you want something that is more suited to your profile and a quick fix. I'm sure the Hoy velodrome will have public sessions available, although the website doesn't seem to give any info on it.

    Just keep going on the roads - you'll build up the endurance bit by bit, and each milestone reached (50 miles, 80 miles, 100 miles etc) gives an enormous sense of satisfaction.

    If you watched the Ride London TV coverage you might have seen the interview with Martin Johnson, who despite being a big ex-rugby fella, knocked out the 86 miles in less than 4 hours - which I have to say is pretty damn good for any amateur.
  • DavidJB
    DavidJB Posts: 2,019
    rickeverett wrote:
    If you want to look good though - do some weights on the arms and chest or you will end up looking like a skinny endurance weed like Froome.

    Very unlikely.
  • MichaelW
    MichaelW Posts: 2,164
    CycloCross ?
  • markhewitt1978
    markhewitt1978 Posts: 7,614
    MichaelW wrote:
    CycloCross ?

    Good advice, short term power.

    Also consider the likes of short time trials, many clubs will organise a 10 mile competition.

    Other than that target some Strava segments, most of them are quite short so you can put in a big burst of effort for a short time.

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