The biking thread

Today I conquered ''mount skyward'', it consists of 25 kilometers of slopes of varying steepness that lead to the mother of all inclines, its five kilometers long and so steep my bicycles front wheel got air each strong pedal stroke. Of course I got a painful butt/lower back cramp which is typical for this cycling route. :crazy:

Anyway, the decline is just as steep, and today I got massive tailwind, I think I broke my speed record, unfortunately I didn't have the odometer installed but it felt like well beyond 100 kmh, maybe 115. I was going so fast I had to shift my weight onto the handlebar because I got slight speed wobble whenever I hit a small bump or hole in the tarmac.

It was fun, but I feel like I have burned an astonishing amount of calories, I'm completely depleted. Being heavy from lifting doesn't help at all at cycling. :scared:
 
If the bike size and settings (angle of the saddle, length of the stem) are correct for your body, back pain should be minimal.

Anyway Good Job 👍
 
Thank you!

I know, I never get back pain unless I have to push the pedals REALLY hard, trying to hold myself steady on the bike while I push the pedals with such force puts a lot of strain on my lower back. I tried different seat positions and straightening my back but nothing really helped.

It was kind of a cramp of my spinal erector. I can deadlift 200 kilograms and I don't get back pain like that.
 
I finally got the next evolution of the daily beater done. It's slowly but certainly turning into quite a Frankenstein Edition, being born as an XC bike but now sporting downhill, freeride, trail and even road bike parts.

carve121014.jpg
 
Emptyone
@Shaun saw this today, I expect you to be in attendance/heckling!

http://cadelevansgreatoceanroadrace.com.au/event-guide/course-maps/
Click to expand...

Yeah I registered my interest a couple of months ago and received the entry email yesterday.
Just need to decide whether to go the long or short course, most likely the longer one to make a day out of it. Some nice roads to ride of which I've already ridden parts.

Distance wise I should be OK as I've ridden that before in a day just not non stop, by the looks of it there are some rest areas along the way if need be.
 
@Emptyone I've duly handed over the money and registered for the 107km peoples ride.

Just wanted your thoughts on a few things as you very often ride that distance and more. To start with honestly if it was this weekend I think I'd be fine with it riding at an easy pace.
Anyway what do you think would be the best way to prepare for it? Should I keep riding my 50 odd km rides or up the distance as well as more often shorter rides also?

As it's now daylight savings here I will be able to fit in some riding after work also. Thing is I need a bit of a balancing act with time away from home and the family etc hence the reason I keep my rides to around the 50km mark on a Sat and Sun morning. Extra distance wise I'd have no trouble as it is on those rides it's more of a time issue every weekend.

What do you think, maybe a few shorter rides also during the week and try to get the time for at least one longer one on the weekend maybe? Up the tempo here and there?

As a side note as part of the fee a jersey is included that must be worn. Seemed simple enough to follow by measuring one of your own jerseys across the front and match it with a chart. After following the instructions is says for me to order a xxxxs :scared:. As all my well fitting jerseys are small I went with what I hope is a safe option and ordered a xxs. Thing will probably be so tight I can't breathe or like a parachute. :lol:
 
I mean, it's not impossible to jump straight from 50 odd km to 107km. But I'd suggest you try 80km at least, or irrespective of distance just being in the saddle for a long time, as there is little that can replicate constantly churning the pedals for that long. The way to build for long rides is by slowly upping the distance at a sort of base level, which gives you strength. In the summer, riding 120km with the local club was horrible at first, but by the 3rd week or so it was fairly standard.

Maybe the longer one on the weekend I guess would be best, just so you know what it feels like, as all your rides are ~ 2hrs long. Also you tend to devour food the first time you ride 100km so there is that to consider too! Short sharp hard rides are good for making the top end better mostly. Really training decides whether you just finish, or finish whilst enjoying it.

XXS? :eek: I've ordered a skinsuit as part of Uni kit, so I really hope that isn't a parachute.
 
Emptyone
Maybe the longer one on the weekend I guess would be best, just so you know what it feels like, as all your rides are ~ 2hrs long.
Click to expand...

OK I'll give that a go time permitting. Previously I have ridden a fair bit further than my standard 50km rides with no issues, just as I said it's more a time restraint.
Still no harm in gradually upping the distance as you say. 👍

Emptyone
Also you tend to devour food the first time you ride 100km so there is that to consider too!
Click to expand...

That had crossed my mind, this bloody jersey better have some decent pockets on it. There is also three (I think) rest areas along the way with supplied food and water if need be. They do however recommend carrying enough food for yourself.

What actually concerns me the most is totally out of my control, the weather. It's scheduled for the height of summer so it wouldn't be out of the ordinary to be 40 degrees with 50kmh winds.:scared:

Thanks for the input. 👍
 
Emptyone
I mean, it's not impossible to jump straight from 50 odd km to 107km. But I'd suggest you try 80km at least, or irrespective of distance just being in the saddle for a long time, as there is little that can replicate constantly churning the pedals for that long.
Click to expand...

In 2013 I did a city to city ride covering about 120km per day. Before that I'd never done anything over 60km on similar terrain but I seemed to manage it OK and wearing a 10kg pack too.

It was tough on my body, especially my neck and back but my legs held out fine and I didn't suffer too much from muscle ache in the mornings.
 
Hey guys! So a few of you might know me, but I don't think any of you knew I rode mountain bikes! So in my area (within 20 kilometers) there are 3 strong networks of trails that quite often me and dad get out and explore, we've also done an epic 200 kilometres away on borrowed bikes, that I'll also talk about. So I'll start with my equipment. At the moment I'm using an old Avanti RidgeRider (or something like that). Sometimes dad will let me use his Trek Xcaliber 8 though. But for christmas/my birthday I'm getting a Trek Marlin 7, which is like a mini me version of dads. (Both bikes in pictures are the same colours as ours)
Dads Bike!
xcal-8.jpg

My future bike!
IMG_0873.jpg

So now lets get onto the tracks! I'll start with the Kate Reed National Park which is a shared network of tracks for walkers and mountain bike riders. It's definitely not like a single trail, but it's a bit hard to describe. It has some good flow regions, with nothing overly complicated or challenging for the average rider. Here are some video's


Next up, is Trevallyn National Park. This is also a shared trail, with more focus on walkers though, yet it still leads to some awesome riding to be had. It has some nice flowy sections, yet rides has more of a single trail fell with the network of trails. Some of the downhill sections are the best I've rode so far. It isn't quite as rocky as Kate Reed, which lets it down a bit though.

The newest and best one by a long margin is the Hollybank MTB park. This was made by professional trail makers, http://www.dirtart.com.au and it definitely pays of. The feature is the point to point juggernaut, which is 10km long, and brimming with flow, with some extremely challenging by-routes that I'm not even contemplating riding. Most people tend to catch a shuttle bus up the top, and only go down, but dad and I ride up and then down, which is some murder! There are challenging stream crossings, rock drops, rock slabs and flow sections that bring a smile to your face everytime. Dirtart where given a grant from the local government, in which they received
3 million dollars, and 5 area's in which to build tracks


And now the last track, the epic North South Track in hobart, the capital of the state. The North south is famous for its 11km descent, but of course, with dad being dad, we rode up it as well. It's probably just better than the juggernaut, and down the bottom opens up into MTB Park heaven. You end up about 750 metres higher than you started on the ascent, and absolutely stuffed
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlPeknzVpFQ
 
Reminds a scene from a Tour de France during what I assume was the 70's where the breakaway reach the top of the mountain and dashed into the pub at the peak, run out with several bottles of beer shoved in their jerseys and then took off back down the mountain. :lol:
 
I went out with a local MTB group today, ended up feeling sick after a huge hill climb so had to take the short route! It was very good to get covered in mud and take on some proper trails, though. We were out for about 2 hours overall. At the end we went to an electric bike shop where I test rode 2 different Haibike models, both of which were awesome. I'll post some photos later.

EDIT: I also got another puncture 2km after fixing the last one. :banghead:
 
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Today was the Christmas lunch ride of the MTB group I previously went out with. This time I made sure I had a good breakfast and left plenty of time for it to settle before riding. We ended up doing 21km across mostly mud before heading to the pub for something to eat. I decided to leave early so I had some time to get some shopping done and ended up getting caught in a crazy hailstorm on the 3km ride back to my car. All in all a good day's riding and my bike now looks much better (although some of the mud was washed off during the hailstorm)

vhlVYh.jpg


I need to tighten my seat post though, it's definitely getting lower each time I ride it which is really annoying!
 
I had a busy Christmas break!

23rd December - Completed the 6 mile 'Follow The Dog' route at Cannock Chase. This was my first ever attempt at proper trails including rock gardens and bridges, but it went well and I learned how to handle obstacles at higher speeds than my usual runs. The entire run is graded red and I managed all of it without falling off!

27th December - Met up with a friend and completed the full 12 mile Monkey route (including Follow The Dog) at Cannock Chase (red graded with optional black routes). But in the snow. The bridges were lethal but besides a few puddles on the down hill sections it was rideable at good speeds. I had 1 off when attempting to join a bridge, but other than that and a few slips I managed fine.

30th December - Met up with the same friend and another rider to do the full 12 miles again. In the snow. This time the bridges were less slippery but I suffered from a slipped chain and dodgy gears meaning I had to pre-change my gears by about 10 seconds. I still managed personal bests on the high speed sections, though. I had an off on this run due to stopping when getting onto the final bridge (I managed it fine on the last 2 runs!) but managed to recover from it fairly quickly. Here's some photos, with a helmet cam video to follow once I get back to work:

ZIV9RI.jpg


Oi8Z2V.jpg


2ITM0u.jpg


DgRE3n.jpg


OkHJox.jpg
 
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I have not posted in here in a while. I bought myself a new fork (Rock Shox Domain) for Yuki my pink Yeti DH9 lol. I went with the Domain, because it is heavier, and stronger than the Boxxer. I plan on putting Boxxer internals in it soon, but first I need a stem because my old Dorados stem can not swap.

 
They are 3422g. I like the weight for a couple reasons; makes it feel more stable in rock gardens and in air on big jumps, and since I am not a large guy, it helps give me a bit of momentum lol.
 
Part 1 of 'Cannock Chase Monkey trail in the snow with shaky £20 camera and no audio'. Yes, I know I'm not very fast but it was a fairly casual ride.

 
Finally some racing back on the TV. Eurosport are showing the first stage of The Tour Down Under.

I never liked cycle racing much as a young man but I've really enjoyed it the last few years. Looking forward to following this tour as long as they keep airing it.
 
Help Shem, please!

I need motivation to get back on the bike. I've been a commuter cyclist on and off for many years but have spent the last handful of months scooting to work under petrol power because I'm lazy.

I don't have a long commute - 12km each way - and there's really nothing stopping me except for my excuses; I only have a pocket pump so inflating the tires is hard work, I get to work all hot and steamy, there's difficulty parking the bike out of the weather and off the road...etc...

Basically I've made a list of reasons why it's better for me not to cycle to work but need a kick up the arse to get on the road again. I really want to for the sake of my back which is weakening after so long without proper exercise and because there's nothing I love more than cycling. I initially stopped because I was losing weight too fast but now I have a small gut and the rainy season is far from sight I think it's time to get going.

Really, and it sounds a bit pathetic, I just need some help to get motivated.

EDIT: Finally got back to it. So far I've only done two days but once I'm back in the swing of it all should be good. I've paced myself so far and not been tempted into any high speed bursts to get through traffic. Kept to a pedestrian speed of 20-25kph and arrived at work without too much perspiration.
 
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