The biking thread

[Carlos]

Oh man I got struck by the Tour fever Just bought a bike. My colleagues talked into me today and we have a thing at work not sure how to call it, simply translated it's 'bikeplan'. They give me back 750 euros and this is the last year this is possible.

I know a bit about mountainbikes but racebikes, nothing! Went to the local store who is an official Giant dealer, unsurprisingly I bought a giant. A TCR 0. It's an alu frame, didn't want carbon because I know for sure I'm going to fall. Ultegra finish which I'm told that is pretty good..

It'll arrive next week. I don't use any app at the moment to track my rides but you guys all use Strava right?

Woohoo!!

 

[W3H5]

I've had my Giant for close to four years now, it's taken some serious abuse but is still solid, they are built pretty well.

Will you post some pics when you have a chance? I assume our bikes are very similar.

 

[Shaun]

Oh man I got struck by the Tour fever Just bought a bike. My colleagues talked into me today and we have a thing at work not sure how to call it, simply translated it's 'bikeplan'. They give me back 750 euros and this is the last year this is possible.

I know a bit about mountainbikes but racebikes, nothing! Went to the local store who is an official Giant dealer, unsurprisingly I bought a giant. A TCR 0. It's an alu frame, didn't want carbon because I know for sure I'm going to fall. Ultegra finish which I'm told that is pretty good..

It'll arrive next week. I don't use any app at the moment to track my rides but you guys all use Strava right?

Woohoo!!

Excellent 👍, yes pics please when you get it.
Ultegra is great stuff, second top level on the Shimano hierarchy.
Yeah check out Strava it's a fantastic app.
Have fun, do you have the other bits and pieces you need. Padded shorts for example depending on the seat are a godsend. Also does it come with pedals, most bikes don't.

 

[W3H5]

From what it sounds it seems you'll be using it as a commuter (to and from work) bike, @Carlos?

 

[Shaun]

Just registered my interest for the peoples ride and as a volunteer for this.
Should be fun on some good roads that I normally wouldn't ride with traffic also. From what I can gather the peoples ride is on the Saturday prior to the women's race with the males race on the Sunday. I'll see what comes of it when they get back to everyone with more detail.

 

[Carlos]

I've had my Giant for close to four years now, it's taken some serious abuse but is still solid, they are built pretty well.

Will you post some pics when you have a chance? I assume our bikes are very similar.

Good to hear, will post pics when I have it!

And to and from work, I should yes. But I got this more for myself and to boost my condition. My boss doesn't really care how I use it, this 'bikeplan' is national.

Excellent 👍, yes pics please when you get it.
Ultegra is great stuff, second top level on the Shimano hierarchy.
Yeah check out Strava it's a fantastic app.
Have fun, do you have the other bits and pieces you need. Padded shorts for example depending on the seat are a godsend. Also does it come with pedals, most bikes don't.

Will do! Just installed the Strava app. Carlos Sultana is my name in there.. Are any of you guys premium? Would it be worth it?

I have some clothes from mountain biking, tri race wear (or how do you call that?) with long and short legs. But no shirts to wear on that, I used to use those big mtb jerseys.. I think I need new gloves too, can't use those from mountain biking. I have a helmet but I fell on it some time ago so can't hurt to get that one replaced. For shoes I'm already set I hope, I have Sidi Dominators. And pedals, I was told they would put them on without charge so that's nice!

 

[W3H5]

Helmet is personal choice. I don't wear one because I'm stupid, I suppose. MTB glove will be fine, I use MTB gloves (fingerless) and they do the same job. For shorts I wear lightweight swimming shorts with the lining taken out. They dry quick and dont chaif. My shirt is a regular cycling shirt of lightweight, but not Lycra, fabric. I prefer the looser clothing even on a road bike. Most importantly for me are my glasses. They're cheap sports glasses I've had for years but they are my most important item.

I just started Strava last week and haven't gone premium yet. I was kind of wondering the same thing as you.

If you're a commuter cyclist many people will think you're a bit crazy; most people bike for fun, fitness and/ sport. Having a bike as an A to B machine is considered a bit strange to many people I talk to who don't cycle.

Edit: couldn't find you on Strava, @Carlos. Is the name you gave correct?

 

[Shaun]

@Carlos, very good sounds like you have everything to get started. 👍
Now that you're going to ride a road bike you should become familiar with the rules. Mostly it's for a laugh* so have a bit of a read.
I'll add you to Strava as soon as I get the chance.







*It's secretly serious.

 

[Carlos]

Helmet is personal choice. I don't wear one because I'm stupid, I suppose. MTB glove will be fine, I use MTB gloves (fingerless) and they do the same job. For shorts I wear lightweight swimming shorts with the lining taken out. They dry quick and dont chaif. My shirt is a regular cycling shirt of lightweight, but not Lycra, fabric. I prefer the looser clothing even on a road bike. Most importantly for me are my glasses. They're cheap sports glasses I've had for years but they are my most important item.

I just started Strava last week and haven't gone premium yet. I was kind of wondering the same thing as you.

If you're a commuter cyclist many people will think you're a bit crazy; most people bike for fun, fitness and/ sport. Having a bike as an A to B machine is considered a bit strange to many people I talk to who don't cycle.

Edit: couldn't find you on Strava, @Carlos. Is the name you gave correct?

I never wore one only when I went on real mountain trails but I'd like to use my helmet as less as possible. Maybe it's smart to wear one for the first few rides and see from there..

Trying to find some loose clothing for next week, maybe a soccer jersey works. I only have full finger gloves so I really need those fingerless ones.

Using the bike as an A to B machine is perfectly normal here. I used to cycle to school from the moment I could, a bicycle is such a normal thing here. People here take their bikes everywhere! Even my boss uses her race bike as a commuter.

I'm pretty sure Carlos Sultana is the correct nickname..
strava by Carlos van Wijk, on Flickr

@Carlos, very good sounds like you have everything to get started. 👍
Now that you're going to ride a road bike you should become familiar with the rules. Mostly it's for a laugh* so have a bit of a read.
I'll add you to Strava as soon as I get the chance.







*It's secretly serious.

Holy crap I was thinking 10 to 20 rules....

edit;
If I want to add friends, I can only do that through e-mail. I'm not logged in with my Facebook profile so maybe that's why you can't find me?

edit2;
Got the invite from @Shaun 👍

 

[W3H5]

Maybe it can only be shared by Facebook which is something I don't have.

 

[Shaun]

Did you put in the capitals @W3HS?
The name came up for me straight away no problems, I also don't have Facebook.

Edit: You guys mentioned Strava premium and is it worth it? I haven't bothered to try it as the standard version does everything I need. Premium has some extras like heart rate/power monitoring which if you were in serious training would come in handy I suppose.
Personally I don't think the cost justifies the extras you get.

 

[W3H5]

I don't think I could justify paying for something that I'd never use. I suppose the personal segment analysis would be good for proper cycling but for work runs I don't think it necessary.

@Shaun, I'll try again. The last time I copy and pasted it straight from here into Strava.

Edit: got it this time.

 

[Carlos]

That strava app is nice! I can see a lot of people nearby using it. There are challenges/routes all over my area

 

[Emptyone]

Warning, slightly long post

Firstly, followed Shem and Carlos on Strava in case you were wondering whodunnit.

Secondly, the rules are not negotiable

Anyway, having been to the Dolomites and back I'm sure you were expecting some epic Strava data. Sadly, the Garmin messed up and I lost my ride, so that sucked. On the plus side, long story time

I was in Cortina, nestled in the middle of the Dolomites, and happily the one bike hire place that had road bikes had a a carbon fibre Ridley with Ultegra, the works, for 20 euros a day So on a sort of sunny day, I set off for Tre Cime di Lavaredo, one of the summit finishes of the 2013 Giro d'Italia.

This might give you an idea of it:

So looks pretty good already. However, to get there, I had ridden 30km and climbed 700m already, because mountains So I turned on to the climb fairly warmed up happily to face what was to come.

First section is easy as shown, until you turn round a corner and suddenly a 16% sign smacks you in the face. Having ground up that, zipped through the tourist traffic gates, past the next lake. Then the climb got interesting. The road just got steep and consistently steep, with no let up in the relentless gradient. With 34-27 ratios, it was okay to spin for a km or so, then it was a grind. Not too much traffic on the climb as it is a dead end, but it was around 5 degrees, so pretty bitter. Tried to stay in the saddle to maintain power the whole way up, but it was a challenge. Irritatingly, unlike France, there were no km to go signs, so from 6km - 2km I had no idea how far was left. Eventually the refuge popped up in the distance, but it took an age to get there.

I also didn't know the correct top and cycled straight past to the car park at the end of the road, which was pointless. Shoved all the the layers on as soon as I stopped, then freewheeled down to the refuge and coerced a useful tourist into taking a picture:

33 mins for the entire climb to the car park, which I reckon would be about 1100 VAM and top twenty on Strava (sigh). Descent was fun, with ridiculous drops, and cheering on fellow cyclists in equal pain. Went back to Cortina via Lake Misurina and the the Passo Croci. Then the Garmin messed up. But, Pyrenees next week

 

[Shaun]

That's awesome mate, very jealous although I think I would die going up that.
You must be shattered about the Garmin playing up at a most inopportune time.
Hopefully you can get a bike in the Pyrenees also and get some good data from the Garmin there.

This

Irritatingly, unlike France, there were no km to go signs, so from 6km - 2km I had no idea how far was left.

in my book is a much better idea.

Nice going mate. 👍

 

[Emptyone]

To be honest, on the way down a lot of people were having some serious issues, it is a toughie that last 4km or so. The Garmin thing was my fault, it turned off automatically, I turned it on, it sat in the working screen for ten minutes or so, then I turned it off and it made a horrible noise and thus the the data was gone

Same place as last year for the Pyrenees so I will have a bike for a couple of days 👍 I do like the French km signs which also tell you the average gradient for the next km, but in this case that would have been terrifying!

Cheers

 

[Carlos]

Hey Jack, I was wondering if you were a GTP member. 👍

What Shaun said, I would die too Your rounds on Strava are pretty long as well!

 

[Emptyone]

Shush, no real names here

They look long, but you start small and build up, a year ago I was nowhere near the same level of fitness, but regular cycling makes all the difference, as does going in groups. Cycling clubs are a great way to get fitter.

I also want to see the Ultegra sexiness 👍

That climb was definitely the hardest one I've ever done for sure. Though on that climb I was 10 minutes off Nibbles time up last year, madness how fit pro's are. Nibbles is going to win the tour too without Froome and Contador.

 

[Keef]

Got me a new frame Put all the stuff (except barings etc) from my old frame on this One (haha )

I would LOVE to have this frame but only because "on one" has a different meaning in the US lol.

I've been riding a lot more lately. I plan to ride on campus a lot so I got myself a simple single-speed. I used to have so much trouble with derailers that the benefit of not having to worry about it plus the lighter weight makes the bike real speedy and easy to handle. I recently got toe straps so now I'm getting used to pulling up on the pedals as well as pushing down for extra efficiency.

I haven't tried riding fixed yet because there are so many hills in my area I really enjoy blazing down them faster than my legs can move. In Columbus it's mostly flat and the riding will be very urban so I might try it there.

 

[W3H5]

Awesome ride, @Emptyone. I will have a similar story to tell tomorrow on my second ride up Doi Suthep (if I can get my ass out of bed!).

I don't think my ride will be as tough as yours, I only have ~17km but it's all climb, over 1000m if I remember correctly.

I did what you did the last time I made this climb and kept on another km or so past the finish without realising.

I'm hoping I'll find a place for my phone so I can record it. Perhaps I'll put it in my Camelbak.

Details to follow tomorrow.

 

[turbolefty78]

@Shaun
I've been monitoring my cadence more closely this past week and it does indeed help to keep a bit on the higher/faster side. The legs don't tire quite as fast and recover faster as well. It's fairly flat where I live, but there are hills and those are challenging to me at the moment. Most are these long grades that never seem to end so I inevitably have to shift to faster and faster cogs(faster pedal-wise), but at the same time I'm also moving forward slower and slower. I'm trying to stay in the seat but a few times I've needed to stand up and just give it, push past the tough part.
But all in all, I'm coming along.
Amazon has my tires available again so I think I'll buy them next payday and mount them. I ought to be able to knock some time off my ride into work then. Currently I'm stuck at an even 12 minutes door to door. I'm only 2 miles away from work. But it's those long hills I mentioned that are in the way. I could bypass them and take to the paved trail, which used to be train tracks through the area, but it's out of the way at that time of morning to do that, meaning I'd have to get an even earlier start than I currently am. Maybe after I've built up some more leg strength I'll tackle a longer ride in.
I did veer off the beaten path so-to-speak and took the bike on a section of trail that it was made for, namely gravel and loose sandy dirt, basically, mtn bike trails. Man did it ever slow me down and became much harder to pedal through! I realize it's a mountain bike, but I know for a fact that I much prefer pavement over that! I'll have to get in a lot better shape before I try that again.
Thanks again for the tips and help. Much appreciated!

 

[W3H5]

First big ride in roughly a year (big for me I guess) so here's the lowdown. Specifics are in Strava.

Sandwiches munched, Camelbak filled, clipped in and set off out of the city.

Climb started after about 3km so I considered that my warm up.

Things got tough around 8km into the climb. The burn set in. My bike really isn't geared right for steep climbs. Passed two older chaps who sat 100m behind me the rest of the way, I considered them my pacers.

Every time I saw my speedo it was around 13kph, I tried to keep it at ~10 but again, gearing wasn't in my favour.

They've removed the signs since I last climbed many years ago. Must say that I didn't suffer as much this time around.

By the '1km to Suthep' sign I was gasping for breath. Lower back was in pain from being up on out the seat for +50% of the climb.

Last 500-700m were ridiculous. Even cars were stalling. I wish I was able to film it, was pretty funny.

Had a chat with some locals at the top. The reckon I didn't pace well and could have done it faster if I had have been slower at the lower slopes.

Only had to stop twice briefly because my glasses fell out of my shirt, and then off of my pack once I'd moved them. They were only used for the way down but Icouldn't find a suitable place for them to be kept going up and I was too slow to need them on my eyes.

All in all a ride I will keep on doing until I make it at least into the top 200 of the leader board. Currently, if I remember correctly, I'm down in the 500's somewhere.

Luckily some Chinese noticed my little dealer sticker on the bike and got talking, knew my bike shop in Chongqing! Got them to take a snap for me at the temple by the top:

 

[Carlos]

That's a nice challenge Sean! I'd have to find me such a road, but everything is pretty flat here

Nice looking bike too! Got a message that my bike is going to be delivered (at the local store) Tuesday or Wednesday so I have it home Wednesday or Thursday

Did a mountain bike ride yesterday evening with my buddy. Went to the same track as we did the last two weeks, and I had a big wow moment.. I can't see so well in the dark and I was leading, when suddenly I was looking at this huge black thing I couldn't recognise. At the last moment that thing turned it's head around, , I just jumped on the brakes and my friend almost collided with me. I think I had only two or three meters left before hitting the bison Not sure if those bison's are aggressive but I just chilled there for a minute and it walked off the track. My friend filmed it with his Contour, we haven't checked it but probably you can't see it happening because it is too dark, but maybe my reaction is on there. I'll ask him later today to check it out

Edit:
Oh no! Totally forgot about strava

 

[W3H5]

I've had to swerve dogs before but a bison? That's a pretty large hazard!

It's mostly flat around here with a few mountains spread out across the province. I might try a long distance next weekend and ride to my wife's home town about 80km away.

Just happened to wake up to the Tour on TV. What an amazing landscape this stage has, winding through the mountains. Reminds me of my own tour last year, pure wildness, that's where I wanna ride.

 

[Shaun]

Shush, no real names here

Nibbles is going to win the tour too without Froome and Contador.

Yep he has it in the bag now barring any big accidents. Real shame to see Froome and Contador crashed out as I think it would have made for a great race especially with Froome.
The local media here (you know the type that know nothing of cycling) where talking up Porte while he was going ok.
As much as I would have liked to see him do well he was never going to win. A great wing man he is but not a GC contender at this moment in time. In the big tours you just can't afford to have a bad day like you can get away with when riding support.

@Shaun
Most are these long grades that never seem to end so I inevitably have to shift to faster and faster cogs(faster pedal-wise), but at the same time I'm also moving forward slower and slower.

I wouldn't worry about that too much mate, it's natural. We can't all be mountain goats.
At least the higher cadence is helping out a bit with your legs.
Maintaining a higher speed while also going uphill is something you can work on later if it actually bothers you.
You'll find when you get the new tyre that will also help a fair bit.

I think I had only two or three meters left before hitting the bison

Yikes, the worst I have to deal with is kangaroos and the odd snake basking on the road in the sun. The roos can frighten the hell out of you though when they jump out from trees beside the road and go straight across in front of you.

Edit:
Oh no! Totally forgot about strava

Noooooooo, oh well it will become second nature after a while mate to turn it on. 👍

@W3HS I said it before on Stava but I'll say it again, well done mate. 👍
That last bit you talked about shows a max of 40% on Strava, if that's correct that's nuts.

 

[W3H5]

I'll try and find a pic of how steep it was. I couldn't help but laugh at how ridiculous it is. Probably the steepest thing I've ever climbed (again).

Pic doesn't really do justice but it gives an idea.

 

[Moglet]

I finally picked up my new bike today, after a month of waiting! So far it's been great to get back out on 2 wheels but the gears were playing up which was a shame. I'll have to take a proper look at them when I get home tomorrow, they did eventually shift into the correct gear but it took a little while.

Here it is next to my car when I first got it home (before adjustments etc.)

First job; replace the plastic pedals!

 

[Carlos]

I finally picked up my new bike today, after a month of waiting! So far it's been great to get back out on 2 wheels but the gears were playing up which was a shame. I'll have to take a proper look at them when I get home tomorrow, they did eventually shift into the correct gear but it took a little while.

Here it is next to my car when I first got it home (before adjustments etc.)

First job; replace the plastic pedals!

Nice! Frame looks neat. I have a secret relationship with small geometry frames.

Any ideas what pedals you want? With or without SPD?

Personally I would destroy those reflectors but again that's personal..


And if everything goes well today is the day!! (edit: to pick up the bike... )

 

[W3H5]

Reflectors are the first thing I ditch in favour of lights. Having cheap little plastic reflectors on a nice bike makes it look cheesy. Lights are more suitable.

 

[Emptyone]

Yep he has it in the bag now barring any big accidents. Real shame to see Froome and Contador crashed out as I think it would have made for a great race especially with Froome.
The local media here (you know the type that know nothing of cycling) where talking up Porte while he was going ok.
As much as I would have liked to see him do well he was never going to win. A great wing man he is but not a GC contender at this moment in time. In the big tours you just can't afford to have a bad day like you can get away with when riding support.

Definitely in the bag now, with only today's stage left. Unfortunately for Porte everyday we have new examples of him slowly falling off the back of the GC group. Maybe he isn't in the greatest condition as Dave claimed.

With the Tourmalet and Hautacam in todays stages, be cool to see having done both those (though the Tourmalet from the other side) and I'll try to get them done again when I visit next week, if possible!

@W3HS that climb you did is good stuff, nice 👍 plus the gradient does go slightly nuts at the top.

Plus Carlos bike pics need to go up if it arrives. Followed by a ride of course. Nothing like a new bike