This posting describes bicycling related training regimens I have followed with a focus on what I have done lately to support my transition into endurance bicycling. I will lightly describe some fundamental concepts related to training and reference sources for learning more about these topics. My hope is that this posting will give the reader insight into the factors to be considered in creating a bicycling training program. One thing I want to say up front is that training regimens such as those described below are meant for people who do not have medical conditions that would put them at risk due to the training.
For a long time I rode a bicycle without much knowledge on how to train. In my twenties and thirties I would do rides that ranged from 30 minutes to an hour in duration. When road riding I would ride as hard as I could sustain for the distance of the ride. I had only one goal when road riding, to not be passed by another bicyclist. When I went to the gym I would ride a LifeCycle and do the hill profile at a level that would put me in the upper ranges of my aerobic zone. The results of this approach were satisfactory relative to my purpose of achieving a level of aerobic fitness to provide balance with the weight training that was my focus at that time. What I did not achieve by this approach was any significant improvement in my bicycling capacity once I had achieved a certain level of fitness.
When I resumed bicycling a couple of years ago, I went right back into the same training mode as I had done in earlier years. Sure enough my riding capacity hit a plateau fairly quickly. I was fine with this for a while. I thought this was about as fit as I could get given that I was approaching 50 years in age. This perception changed once I decided to start endurance riding and did some homework to support that goal.
My homework started late in July, 2008 with some reading. I bought three books on bicycling: "The Complete Book of Long-Distance Cycling: Build the Strength, Skills, and Confidence to Ride as Far as You Want" by Edmund R. Burke and Ed Pavelka; "Bike for Life: How to Ride to 100" by Roy M. Wallack and Bill Katovsky; and "Cycling Past 50 (Ageless Athlete Series)" by Joe Friel. After glancing through the books, I decided to read the Burke and Pavelka book as a starting point. It seemed to be offer the broadest introduction to bicycling. This was something I needed since I didn't really know much about bicycling at that time. I had time to read the bike cover to cover during a vacation I took at the end of July, 2008. What I learned in the book has been the foundation for my training since that time. I have also read about half of the Wallack and Katovsky book and found the information in it to be a useful supplement. It provides a more rounded perspective on training that puts a broader emphasis on overall life-style. The only knock I have for the Wallack and Katovsky book is that it presents several alternative approaches for most of the topics it covers with very little discussion by the authors as to relative pros and cons. I suspect the "Cycling Past 50" book will offer additional insights. I promise to read it around the time I cross the half century age threshold in April of this year.
So what did I get out of these books relative to my training? I will start with the results. After following the century preparation training program I found in the Burke and Pavelka book, I was able to do my first century with ease. After the last break at mile 83, I was feeling strong and hooked up with a couple of other riders. We formed a small pace line and maintained a speed of between 22 and 23 mph on the flat routes of the eastern shore of Maryland. After a few miles one rider dropped out and the other rider and I kept up the pace all the way to the finish in Salisbury, Maryland. We covered the last 17 miles in 45 minutes. We did not get passed and flew past many other riders. Now this was an easy century due to being flat, at sea level, and the weather being perfect. Still I did far better than other people who had done centuries expected me to do, averaging 17.7 mph excluding breaks. Another result I credit to the training program is an over 2 minute improvement in my best time for the 13.3 mile route that was my standard ride before I started endurance training. I achieved this recently on a cold winter day. I suspect I could shave off even more time on a day with optimal riding conditions. UPDATE - In May 2009 I shaved another five minutes off the time of the 13.3 mile ride, achieving a seven minute reduction after about nine months of heavy duty training. The final thing I will note is that I can see a huge improvement in my hill-climbing. Four percent grades that I used to grind up at eight mph are now done more briskly at 11 to 12 mph. UPDATE - June 2009, my speed on one 1/3 mile four percent grade is now up to 14 to 15 mph. For me this is a huge breakthrough.
To help in understanding my training program, I will describe some of the basic underlying concepts. I recommend you read the books I referenced above plus whatever information you can dig up to satisfy any need for an in-depth understanding of the theory behind the training.
The core of the training approach is taken from an approach popularized by the former coach of the Bulgarian weight lifting team, Tudor Bompa. My understanding of this approach boils down to a few basic principles. First is the need to vary the load put on different muscle groups over time so as to keep them from optimizing their response to a particular load level. Second is the need to give muscles time to recover and expand their capabilities based on an optimized schedule. This approach is executed by varying workouts over time. The varying workouts provide a periodic focus on different muscles and muscle loading, thus the term periodization being coined for this workout approach. Another element of the approach is something I was already doing on my own and which was supported by the Wallack and Katovsky book. This is the need to mix in a variety of exercises and stretches so as to exercise a broad range of muscles and to keep muscles and tendons limber. Equally important to training is diet. This is a topic I will discuss in a separate posting.
The first step in setting up a bicyccling training program is to determine your maximum heart rate and then use this information to determine your heart rate at the point where you exceed your lactic threshold. The Burke and Pavelka book gives several ways to determine your maximum heart rate. It takes some effort to determine this as accurately as possible including doing fun things like riding so hard that you get to the edge of blacking out. An easier way is to estimate your maximum heart rate by subtracting your age from 220. For me this gives a maximum heart rate of 171 beats per minute (220 - 49). For someone in decent shape the lactate threshold can then be estimated as 85% of the maximum heart rate. For me this worked out to 145 beats per minute (85% * 171). Riders in good shape will have a higher lactate threshold and people in poor shape will have a lower lactate threshold. If you ride enough and use a heart rate monitor, you will soon get an idea of what your lactate threshold is for you. Based on how my body has reacted on recent rides, I believe I have pushed my lactate threshold up to around 152 beats per minute.
So why is it important to know what your lactate threshold is? My understanding is that it is the point at which exercise transitions from aerobic to anaerobic. This is an important threshold. When you exercise aerobically your body is most likely fueling itself from fat reserves and sugars in the bloodstream with some dip into short-term glycogen fuel reserves. This mechanism of fueling can be sustained for long periods of time. This is also a level of exercise that changes the body at a cellular level so that it can burn fat more easily, an essential capability for staying fueled during rides of more than an hour and a half to two hours. When the lactate threshold is exceeded, the body needs more fuel than what can be supplied through fat burning, and thus starts burning through glycogen reserves very quickly and also may start burning protein (muscle). This is not a bad thing unless it is done for an extended duration. Riding above the lactate threshold creates a stress on the body that it responds to by increasing its peak performance capacity. The drawback of exceeding the lactate threshold for an extended period of time is that readily available fuel supplies will be exhausted and there will not be enough fuel in the bloodstream to satisfy the demand the body has created. A "bonk" results when this happens. If this happens to you, you will know it. You will be incapable of doing any significant physical activity. It will be like a car running out of fuel. It is a strange and unwelcome feeling that I hope you never experience, particularly not when you have miles to go and are out in the middle of nowhere on a solo ride . This I know from personal experience.
Now that the underlying concepts are explained I will finally get around to what I actually do in training. I will start by describing the program I adopted leading up to my first century ride. This program was derived from a program I found in the Burke and Pavelka book. I do four training rides a week. I do two of the rides on weekdays, one on Tuesday and one on Thursday. These are shorter rides. When I started training for my initial century, the duration of each of the weekday rides was about an hour. I increased the durations by about 10% per week. I strongly recommend keeping the increase to 10% or less versus increasing more aggressively. This will allow the body time to adapt to an ever increasing load without the risk of injury that a more rapid ramp-up could lead to. My Tuesday ride has a mix of about two thirds riding at an aerobic pace with my heart rate no less than 15 beats below my lactate threshold. One third of the Tuesday ride is spent with my heart rate a little above my lactate threshold, perhaps 5 beats above with an occasional spike a little above that. I try to alternate between above and below my lactate threshold so that I am never in one state for more than a few minutes. For the Thursday ride I keep the same ratio of heart rate above and below my lactate threshold, but do it differently. I start by riding below my lactate threshold for about the first 15 minutes. I then do a continuous period where I am above it. This period is approximately one third of the total duration of the ride. I then try and ride the remaining length of the ride at a pace that keeps me below my lactic threshold though some hills may make me briefly exceed it.
The weekend rides are my long rides. Both weekend rides will be about the same length and duration. I started out with 90 minute rides as I trained for my first century and increased the duration of the rides by about 10% per week leading up to the century. The Saturday ride emulates riding in a pace-line. My emulation has me riding 20% of the time in spurts that put me well above my lactate threshold and pretty close to my max heart rate, with the spurts followed by stretches where I am riding at a rate that has me 15 beats or more below my lactate threshold. Given that I live in an area with many small rolling hills to ride up and down, I use the hills to generate the load needed for getting the heart rate up. The challenge is in keeping the heart rate down when I need to and have a hill to climb. I handle this by riding routes that have less severe grades to the hills. My Sunday ride is similar to my Tuesday ride, just longer.
As I ramped up my distances each week in preparation for my first century, I noticed that my legs were getting a bit fried after about four or five consecutive weeks of training. The evidence for this was a slight decrease in performance and a more noticeable burn when walking up several flights of stairs. I then missed a few rides due to business travel and came back with fresh legs and a very noticeable improvement in performance. This has led me to the practice of taking a week off from riding about once every six weeks. This practice is consistent with the periodization theory and recommendations you will find in the Wallack and Katovsky book.
By the time I was ready to ride my first century, my weekday rides were about 105 minutes in duration and and my weekend rides were over three hours. A week before the century I did my last training ride and then took the week off as advised by the Burke and Pavelka book. I ate a lot of carbohydrates that week, particularly in the two days before the century. This all worked very well. I felt completely fresh and very strong at the start of the century and as noted above, I was able to ride strong to the very end of it.
Since doing the century in October I have kept riding at a level that I hope will allow me to easily ramp up for my next century. I have not been as religious about manipulating my heart rate around the lactate threshold as described above. I have kept the overall mix fairly close to the two thirds below and one third above formula. My riding has me doing a lot of hill climbing on rollers with elevation gains ranging from tens of feet to over a hundred feet, and grades ranging from 4% to 15%. I also have recently begun climbing Sugarloaf mountain weekly, a 500 foot ascent at an average grade of around 7%. In general the area around where I live gives about 1000 feet of ascent for every 15 miles, excluding Sugarloaf mountain.
A good portion of my winter riding has not been on the road. Given that I get off work after dark during the winter months, my weekday rides have mostly been one hour rides on a LifeCycle. There is an occasional exception to this when I join a group from work for a lunchtime weekday ride. In the spirit of periodization I do a combination of hill and random profiles when I ride the LifeCycle. Overall my training currently adds up to the equivalent of 80 to 100 miles of road riding per week.
Based on how I felt on a recent 43 mile ride with 3200 feet of ascent, I feel I could do a flat century tomorrow at a better pace than I did the Seagull Century. The challenge is that my next century is going to be at Lake Tahoe where the altitude will vary between 6000 and 7000 feet. My plan is to do some weekend riding in the mountains of West Virginia at an altitude of 3500 to 4000 feet as a way of getting some preparation for the altitude at Lake Tahoe. I will also do some reading and see what the experts have to say and take that into account.
The other aspects of the physical part of my training regimen are weight lifting and stretching. My weight lifting program is not yet optimized, but is something I have tailored for the purpose of maintaining my muscle mass as I get older. I try and do weight lifting twice a week, alternating muscle groups and exercises so as to give my body a variety to work with. I usually don't lift for more than 40 minutes. The typical workout will have me doing perhaps eight different types of lifts with two sets for each type. I lift to point of failure. For everything except the bench press, I take about a minute between sets. After reading a little bit of one of Tudor Burpa's books, I now realize that I should change my weight lifting program if I want to have a chance at improving my performance.
Given my focus on bicycling, weight lifting is secondary to my bicycling and is usually done on weekday nights after I have done my cycling for the day. I was once told that this approach would allow me to improve my lifting capacity more easily versus doing the lifting before riding. It would be good to do some checking and find out what the latest theories are relative to mixing lifting and riding.
The stretching I perform is made up of a variety of stretches I learned over the years as fallout from being a football player and running track in high school. I also have learned some specialized stretches which were given to me by doctors who treated me for back problems. Note that my back problems did not come from my recreational athletic activities, but rather from some stupid lifting I did as part of a job I had when I was in my late teens.
My stretches are a combination of leg stretches focused on different parts of the legs and ankles, special stretches and crunches to help with my back, stretches to maintain limberness in my mid-section, and stretches and warm-up movements for my chest, arms, shoulders and neck. I always make sure and do the upper body stretching prior to doing any weight lifting. It takes me 15 to 20 minutes to do my stretching. I cannot claim to be an expert in stretching, so advise you to do some more research on this topic as you devise your own routine. The Wallack and Katovsky book has a good discussion of non-biking exercise. What most interested me is the section on yoga. It seems like it could be a really good way of doing a single thing to obtain multiple benefits, such as increasing flexibility and strength in combination with a meditative experience.
With that I encourage you to take this posting for what it is meant to be, which is to be an example based on what one newbie did to get himself trained for a century and how that worked out him. The hope is that it will convey a flavor for the types of things to be considered in training and lead you on to more investigation as you develop a training program suited to your needs. As you create your training program, listen to your body as it will let you know what works for you. Whatever you do, be careful not to push yourself too quickly. Think of training as a life-long and evolving process that you will tune over time. Seek to keep your needs and goals in synch with your training schedule and you will be able to sustain it over the long haul.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Basics of Buying a Road Bicycle
Suppose you are one of those people who has been inspired to start road bicycling but don’t really know what it takes to get started. This is the situation I found myself in a couple of years ago even though I had done a fair amount of riding 15 years ago when I was in my mid-thirties. Back then my rides were limited in duration and not my focus. At that time I was much more into weight lifting and used bicycling for aerobic activity to give me a decent overall level of fitness. On re-entry into bicycling I found the world of bicycling was a lot more complicated than I remembered, particularly since I had set a goal to get to a level where I could do 100+ mile rides in a day. This would require more serious training than what I had done in my younger years. In this posting I will share some of the basic things I learned as I got back into bicycling with a focus on selecting a bicycle. In later posts I will share some more detailed thoughts about other topics I introduce here.
The first thing to do is to decide on the type of bicycling you want to do. Is it something you want to do occasionally for recreation or are you looking to use it as a training tool for staying in shape? Do you want to work up to doing endurance rides or even racing? Are you on a budget and need a single bicycle for both riding on the road and also doing light duty off-road riding? Perhaps your priority is on commuting to work. The answers to these questions are important as they will determine things like what type of bike or bikes you should own, how you should train, how much you might need to spend on clothing and accessories, and how much you need to learn about fueling your body during a ride. You may be thinking that this is sounding more complicated than expected and therefore considering just going to the bike store, buying a bike, and then start riding. I encourage you to take the time to learn a little so that you can make good decisions that will allow you to have the satisfaction that is achieved when you get exactly what you need.
Suppose you decide that you want to get back into bicycling by doing recreational road riding with an occasional ride on smooth bluestone or packed dirt trails with no significant hills. For this you will need a bike with wider tires than what is found on pure road bicycles. It is likely that you will want an upright riding position for comfort given that you will not ride enough to acclimate to the more aggressive position needed for a road bike. You may also want a wider padded seat that is more comfortable to the occasional rider. All of these things will point you towards buying a type of bicycle often referred to as a “commuter” bicycle.
If the trails you sometimes ride are a bit bumpy, you may go for a “hybrid” bicycle that has a suspension that will cushion the ride while still providing fairly efficient road riding. A “comfort” bike is an option for those who have no concern for performance and just want a bicycle to cruise around on occasionally.
If you decide that you want to use bicycling for fitness with an eye towards doing endurance rides or racing, you will almost certainly want a pure road bicycle. The efficiency of the pure road bicycle for its intended purpose warrants the adaptation required to get used to the riding position and the harder smaller saddle.
Your riding intent will also influence how much you will need to spend on a bicycle and what type of accessories you may want to get for it. A pure commuter and recreational rider will likely want to only spend enough to get a durable bike that has a pleasing look. A rider looking to do a lot of road riding for training purposes will likely be willing to spend a bit more to get a lighter bike that shifts gears more quickly and can cushion road vibration. A commuter or someone who wants to do touring will spend a fair amount of money on accessories to adapt a bike to the task.
At this point, I would like you to take a look at some online information that will give you an overview of some basic information and terminology that you should know. This keeps me from having to repeat it here. Performance Bicycles has a short overview of different bicycle types. You can download it using the following link: http://www.performancebike.com/images/performance/web/PDFs/08_BuyersGuide_Choosing.pdf . Revolution Cycles provides an excellent overview of factors to consider for road bikes: http://revolutioncycles.com/page.cfm?pageID=439. For a discussion of hybrids and comfort bikes use this link: http://revolutioncycles.com/page.cfm?pageID=527. In the following discussion I am assuming you have read the information I refer to above and therefore will be familiar with terminology such as “rings” and “cassette”.
After reading these materials you will likely still be in a quandary about what you should do in selecting a bicycle. Here are a few recommendations to help you choose based on my personal experience and consequent opinions I have formed.
If you are going to do occasional recreational riding on the street, get a basic comfort or commuter bicycle. If the area you ride in is hilly, get one with triple rings so that it has a wide range of gearing, 24 to 30 speeds . If you are riding on relatively flat routes you can get by with fewer speeds. You should not need to spend more than $500 to $600 to get a decent new bike. A used bike would cost perhaps half that, but you will need to learn a lot more in order to make a good decision about a used bike.
If you are going to do both recreational road riding and occasional mild off-road riding, get a hybrid triple with 24 to 30 speeds. You should not need to spend more than $500 or so to get a decent bike for this purpose. Hybrids can be adapted to handle different usages by changing a couple of things about the bike. For street riding, locking the front suspension (if your hybrid allows this) and using a narrower street tire will reduce rolling friction and preserve momentum on the street and allow you to ride faster. For off-road riding you will want to have the suspension unlocked and have the right tires for the surface conditions you will be riding over. When riding on sandy or gravel surfaces with an occasional mud puddle or creek crossing, you will want to put on a tire meant for off-road use. I have a set of Michelin tires that have tread similar to a snow tire. They work very well for gravel roads and fire roads even in wet conditions. Deep sand and mud will require a knobby tire like you would find on a mountain bike.
For the rider who is going to do a lot of road riding for training purposes, a pure road bike fits the bill. I recommend a triple with between 24 and 30 speeds for just about anybody except racers. The bike snobs at the bike shops will often try and push non-racers to get a 20 speed racing bike (two rings, 53/39, up front and 10 cogs on the cassette) due to the benefit of slightly lighter weight and slightly quicker shifting. My experience has been that if you are going to do any riding that involves going up hills of more than a 6% grade for lengths of more than a couple of hundred yards, you are going to want to have the lower gearing that a triple provides. There may come a time when you will be able to pull higher gearing on those hills. Unless you are in good shape already, that will take a while and you may get turned off to bicycling before you reach that point. The bike shop guys may counter my arguments by saying that a “compact” (two rings, 50/34), is a good trade-off between the triple and a bike with the typical 53/39 front rings. I would only consider this if you plan on putting in the time to get into really great shape before taking on significant hill climbing.
If you don't know what a grade is, it is the ratio of altitude gained or loss relative to the distance traveled. A 6% grade therefore indicates a gain in altitude of six feet for every 100 feet of distance traveled. That doesn’t sound like a lot, but I can assure you that if you are out of shape, a 6% grade for a few hundred yards will make for a tough climb even on a triple. Once you are in shape you will be able to handle steeper grades, but the triple will allow you lower gearing that lets you sit on the bike and spin your way up hills that would require you to stand and muscle your way up with the higher gearing of a two ring bike.
If you have not priced bicycles in a while you may be amazed by the range in pricing. My belief is that bicycles follow a similar price curve to many types of things we buy in that price goes up near exponentially in relation to incremental improvements. This means that you can buy a decent bike for $500 to $600, a very good bike for between $1000 to $2000, and an exceptional bike for more than $2000. For people who are casual riders, the differences due to price will only be mildly perceptible. If you fit this profile I do not recommend spending a lot of money on a bike. For racers and hard-core enthusiasts who want to get everything they can out of their bike, the incremental improvements of the most expensive bike they can afford may be worth the additional cost.
Now for a few thoughts on the key differentiators that account for differences in the price of road bicycles. It seems that road bicycle prices from major manufacturers tend to be closely correlated to the following factors: frame material, fork and stay material, and quality of the components. Most manufacturers make one or more series of bikes, with each series sharing a common frame, fork and stay across the series. The differences in prices between the bikes within a series are based on the different levels of component quality. Series with a steel frame, steel forks, steel stays and low-end to mid-level components are at the lowest price levels, from $200 to $600 or so. For a little more the frame, forks and stays will be aluminum. This will bump the price up to as high as $1000 or so. In the $1000 to $2000 price range you will see aluminum framed bikes with carbon fiber forks and stays. These bikes will have mid-level to near high-end components. Bikes with all carbon fiber frames, forks and stays and mid-level to high-end components start at around $1500. Other materials such as titanium may be used at the higher end price levels. Of course there are exceptions to these rules as I have seen high-end steel frame bikes selling for thousands of dollars, but the majority of bikes seem to slot into the levels I describe here.
The component level used for a particular bike within a series of bikes sharing the same frame, forks and stays accounts for a range in price of hundreds and even thousands of dollars between the low-end version versus the high-end version. My experience has been that mid-level components such as the Shimano Tiagra or Shimano 105 component sets will satisfy all but the most discerning riders who desire the incremental benefits of high-end components.
Perhaps the biggest decision to make once you have decided to buy a road bike is to decide what material you want for the frame, forks and stays. This will be somewhat governed by how much you want to spend. If you want to spend less than $1500, it is going to be to tough to find a new bike with a carbon fiber frame. In my riding experience, I have not noticed any huge advantages of one frame technology versus another. The steel frame bikes have a very smooth ride but are heavy. The aluminum framed bikes with carbon fiber forks and stays are supposedly a little more jarring than the all carbon fiber bikes, but I have a hard time noticing the difference. I went with a bike with a carbon fiber frame mainly because of the cool factor combined with the great price I got for it considering the level of components it came with.
Given the above factors, I believe an enthusiast needs to spend no more than about $1500 for a new bike. For this price a brand new aluminum framed bike can be purchased with carbon fiber forks, carbon fiber stays, and high-end components. The careful shopper may find such a bike with upper mid-level components for as cheap as $495 (as my boss did. He should have been arrested going out the door!) by buying a last year's model at a close-out sales event. My store brand carbon fiber frame bike with high-end Shimano Ultegra components was bought on sale for less than $1500. If you are brand conscious and have to have the very best, you may pay quite a bit more. I leave it to you to do the additional homework to decide if this is warranted. In support of this I encourage you to do your own explorations on the Internet, particularly once you are starting to evaluate specific bicycles. If you do an internet search for reviews of the specific bicycle model, it is highly likely that you will find some online reviews of the bike by a number of people who have owned it. You will quickly discover that most people really like whatever bike they bought. You will need to use some reading between the lines and comparisons across reviews to get a more objective view.
Once you decide to buy a bicycle, I recommend you buy it from a shop that has the expertise to ensure the bike is the proper size for you and that it is then adjusted to fit you. Bicycles have different frame heights and lengths, this affecting how far you have to lean over to reach the handlebars and the position of your legs relative the pedals. This positioning on the bicycle has a substantial impact on comfort and riding efficiency, so getting a properly sized bicycle is important to having satisfaction in your riding.
If you are planning on buying a used bicycle you may want to go to a bicycle shop and get fit to a bicycle by an expert. Use the information you learn from the experience to select a used bicycle that is the correct size.
Here are a few other thoughts about buying a used bicycle. I have not done this but considered it and did a fair amount of looking for used bikes on eBay and Craigslist. What I found is that it is easy to find bicycles in nearly new condition that are priced between half and two thirds of the price for an equivalent new bike. This is very enticing. What held me back from buying used was that at that time I did not know enough about bikes to feel comfortable buying a bike without getting to ride it first. This would be the case for almost any eBay purchase. I was particularly concerned about possibly getting a bike that was not sized properly. For the bikes I saw on Craigslist there was a different problem. The selection was much smaller so it was harder to find a bike that matched up to exactly what I wanted. The combination of these factors, my finding what appeared to be an excellent deal on a new store-brand bicycle, and my eagerness to have a new bike for a fast-approaching century ride led me to buy a new bike.
If I were buying another bike now I would almost certainly buy a used bike. I would not be under time pressure since I already have a couple of decent bikes. This would allow me to wait for the right bike at the right price. I would look for a fairly recent model bike of a brand that I was familiar with. I would look for a lightly used bike. There seem to be a lot of bikes that come on the market that fit this profile as it is common for people to buy bikes thinking they are going to ride a lot and then not follow through. Hopefully this blog will help keep you from being one of these people! Given that the bike under consideration would be a recent model, I would try and test ride a new version of the bike with the same frame size. This could be done at a local bike shop. Some of you may consider this unethical, but I don't think so. A certain percentage of people will end up buying a new bike from the shop after the sales guys have worked them over. The test ride would allow me to make sure the sizing was correct and that I liked the ride qualities. Of course a short test ride will not give enough information to determine how comfortable the bike will be on long rides. An experienced rider should be able to use a test ride to determine that the fit is close enough so that the bike can be tuned to be comfortable on long rides. Based on what I have seen on eBay and Craigslist, I would eventually end up with a bike in new condition and pay about half of the retail price of a new bike.
A couple of other alternatives for paying less are to look for close-out sales or to buy store-brand bikes. My boss was extremely patient and ended up buying a close-out (Felt with aluminum frame, carbon fiber forks and stays and Shimano 105 components) for $495. This bike compares well with other name-brand bikes retailing in the $1200 to $1300 price range. This was an exceptional deal. As stated above, I bought a store-brand bike (Scatante Elite Triple with carbon fiber frame and Shimano Ultegra components) for under $1500 (actually $1465). This bike is feature equivalent to name-brand bikes in the $2600 price range. I test rode both the bike I bought and some name-brand equivalents and was very satisfied by the comparison. I do admit there are visible differences indicating corners were cut to allow the Scatante to be manufactured more cheaply, such as having cables routed externally. I did not feel that these differences affected function and was willing to trade them off given the $1100 savings.
I suspect I am going to get some grief about my statements relative to store brands from people who buy the name-brand bicycles. The most likely point of contention will be about build quality and engineering that produces a more responsive ride and greater durability in the name-brand bikes. There is even some concern that no-name bicycles may be hazardous due to a higher propensity for frame failure. This is certainly a discussion worth having and that will be of value to many people. I do not have the engineering expertise and knowledge necessary to provide advice relative to these factors for any particular brand of bicycle. This leads to the advice that you should do some research about the quality of a bike before buying buying it. Here are a few links that can give you additional insight into the factors related to bicycle manufacturing and quality:
http://joelcory.com/blog/2007/10/25/cheap-carbon-frames/
http://bicycledesign.blogspot.com/2006/05/whats-in-your-fork.html
http://allanti.com/page.cfm?PageID=328
I hope this posting has given you some of the basics to get you started down the road to selecting a bicycle. In upcoming posts I will discuss topics such as accessories, clothing, training, fueling for longer rides, and participation in organized events. I will also produce a posting with references to resources I have used in learning about bicycling such as websites and books.
The first thing to do is to decide on the type of bicycling you want to do. Is it something you want to do occasionally for recreation or are you looking to use it as a training tool for staying in shape? Do you want to work up to doing endurance rides or even racing? Are you on a budget and need a single bicycle for both riding on the road and also doing light duty off-road riding? Perhaps your priority is on commuting to work. The answers to these questions are important as they will determine things like what type of bike or bikes you should own, how you should train, how much you might need to spend on clothing and accessories, and how much you need to learn about fueling your body during a ride. You may be thinking that this is sounding more complicated than expected and therefore considering just going to the bike store, buying a bike, and then start riding. I encourage you to take the time to learn a little so that you can make good decisions that will allow you to have the satisfaction that is achieved when you get exactly what you need.
Suppose you decide that you want to get back into bicycling by doing recreational road riding with an occasional ride on smooth bluestone or packed dirt trails with no significant hills. For this you will need a bike with wider tires than what is found on pure road bicycles. It is likely that you will want an upright riding position for comfort given that you will not ride enough to acclimate to the more aggressive position needed for a road bike. You may also want a wider padded seat that is more comfortable to the occasional rider. All of these things will point you towards buying a type of bicycle often referred to as a “commuter” bicycle.
If the trails you sometimes ride are a bit bumpy, you may go for a “hybrid” bicycle that has a suspension that will cushion the ride while still providing fairly efficient road riding. A “comfort” bike is an option for those who have no concern for performance and just want a bicycle to cruise around on occasionally.
If you decide that you want to use bicycling for fitness with an eye towards doing endurance rides or racing, you will almost certainly want a pure road bicycle. The efficiency of the pure road bicycle for its intended purpose warrants the adaptation required to get used to the riding position and the harder smaller saddle.
Your riding intent will also influence how much you will need to spend on a bicycle and what type of accessories you may want to get for it. A pure commuter and recreational rider will likely want to only spend enough to get a durable bike that has a pleasing look. A rider looking to do a lot of road riding for training purposes will likely be willing to spend a bit more to get a lighter bike that shifts gears more quickly and can cushion road vibration. A commuter or someone who wants to do touring will spend a fair amount of money on accessories to adapt a bike to the task.
At this point, I would like you to take a look at some online information that will give you an overview of some basic information and terminology that you should know. This keeps me from having to repeat it here. Performance Bicycles has a short overview of different bicycle types. You can download it using the following link: http://www.performancebike.com/images/performance/web/PDFs/08_BuyersGuide_Choosing.pdf . Revolution Cycles provides an excellent overview of factors to consider for road bikes: http://revolutioncycles.com/page.cfm?pageID=439. For a discussion of hybrids and comfort bikes use this link: http://revolutioncycles.com/page.cfm?pageID=527. In the following discussion I am assuming you have read the information I refer to above and therefore will be familiar with terminology such as “rings” and “cassette”.
After reading these materials you will likely still be in a quandary about what you should do in selecting a bicycle. Here are a few recommendations to help you choose based on my personal experience and consequent opinions I have formed.
If you are going to do occasional recreational riding on the street, get a basic comfort or commuter bicycle. If the area you ride in is hilly, get one with triple rings so that it has a wide range of gearing, 24 to 30 speeds . If you are riding on relatively flat routes you can get by with fewer speeds. You should not need to spend more than $500 to $600 to get a decent new bike. A used bike would cost perhaps half that, but you will need to learn a lot more in order to make a good decision about a used bike.
If you are going to do both recreational road riding and occasional mild off-road riding, get a hybrid triple with 24 to 30 speeds. You should not need to spend more than $500 or so to get a decent bike for this purpose. Hybrids can be adapted to handle different usages by changing a couple of things about the bike. For street riding, locking the front suspension (if your hybrid allows this) and using a narrower street tire will reduce rolling friction and preserve momentum on the street and allow you to ride faster. For off-road riding you will want to have the suspension unlocked and have the right tires for the surface conditions you will be riding over. When riding on sandy or gravel surfaces with an occasional mud puddle or creek crossing, you will want to put on a tire meant for off-road use. I have a set of Michelin tires that have tread similar to a snow tire. They work very well for gravel roads and fire roads even in wet conditions. Deep sand and mud will require a knobby tire like you would find on a mountain bike.
For the rider who is going to do a lot of road riding for training purposes, a pure road bike fits the bill. I recommend a triple with between 24 and 30 speeds for just about anybody except racers. The bike snobs at the bike shops will often try and push non-racers to get a 20 speed racing bike (two rings, 53/39, up front and 10 cogs on the cassette) due to the benefit of slightly lighter weight and slightly quicker shifting. My experience has been that if you are going to do any riding that involves going up hills of more than a 6% grade for lengths of more than a couple of hundred yards, you are going to want to have the lower gearing that a triple provides. There may come a time when you will be able to pull higher gearing on those hills. Unless you are in good shape already, that will take a while and you may get turned off to bicycling before you reach that point. The bike shop guys may counter my arguments by saying that a “compact” (two rings, 50/34), is a good trade-off between the triple and a bike with the typical 53/39 front rings. I would only consider this if you plan on putting in the time to get into really great shape before taking on significant hill climbing.
If you don't know what a grade is, it is the ratio of altitude gained or loss relative to the distance traveled. A 6% grade therefore indicates a gain in altitude of six feet for every 100 feet of distance traveled. That doesn’t sound like a lot, but I can assure you that if you are out of shape, a 6% grade for a few hundred yards will make for a tough climb even on a triple. Once you are in shape you will be able to handle steeper grades, but the triple will allow you lower gearing that lets you sit on the bike and spin your way up hills that would require you to stand and muscle your way up with the higher gearing of a two ring bike.
If you have not priced bicycles in a while you may be amazed by the range in pricing. My belief is that bicycles follow a similar price curve to many types of things we buy in that price goes up near exponentially in relation to incremental improvements. This means that you can buy a decent bike for $500 to $600, a very good bike for between $1000 to $2000, and an exceptional bike for more than $2000. For people who are casual riders, the differences due to price will only be mildly perceptible. If you fit this profile I do not recommend spending a lot of money on a bike. For racers and hard-core enthusiasts who want to get everything they can out of their bike, the incremental improvements of the most expensive bike they can afford may be worth the additional cost.
Now for a few thoughts on the key differentiators that account for differences in the price of road bicycles. It seems that road bicycle prices from major manufacturers tend to be closely correlated to the following factors: frame material, fork and stay material, and quality of the components. Most manufacturers make one or more series of bikes, with each series sharing a common frame, fork and stay across the series. The differences in prices between the bikes within a series are based on the different levels of component quality. Series with a steel frame, steel forks, steel stays and low-end to mid-level components are at the lowest price levels, from $200 to $600 or so. For a little more the frame, forks and stays will be aluminum. This will bump the price up to as high as $1000 or so. In the $1000 to $2000 price range you will see aluminum framed bikes with carbon fiber forks and stays. These bikes will have mid-level to near high-end components. Bikes with all carbon fiber frames, forks and stays and mid-level to high-end components start at around $1500. Other materials such as titanium may be used at the higher end price levels. Of course there are exceptions to these rules as I have seen high-end steel frame bikes selling for thousands of dollars, but the majority of bikes seem to slot into the levels I describe here.
The component level used for a particular bike within a series of bikes sharing the same frame, forks and stays accounts for a range in price of hundreds and even thousands of dollars between the low-end version versus the high-end version. My experience has been that mid-level components such as the Shimano Tiagra or Shimano 105 component sets will satisfy all but the most discerning riders who desire the incremental benefits of high-end components.
Perhaps the biggest decision to make once you have decided to buy a road bike is to decide what material you want for the frame, forks and stays. This will be somewhat governed by how much you want to spend. If you want to spend less than $1500, it is going to be to tough to find a new bike with a carbon fiber frame. In my riding experience, I have not noticed any huge advantages of one frame technology versus another. The steel frame bikes have a very smooth ride but are heavy. The aluminum framed bikes with carbon fiber forks and stays are supposedly a little more jarring than the all carbon fiber bikes, but I have a hard time noticing the difference. I went with a bike with a carbon fiber frame mainly because of the cool factor combined with the great price I got for it considering the level of components it came with.
Given the above factors, I believe an enthusiast needs to spend no more than about $1500 for a new bike. For this price a brand new aluminum framed bike can be purchased with carbon fiber forks, carbon fiber stays, and high-end components. The careful shopper may find such a bike with upper mid-level components for as cheap as $495 (as my boss did. He should have been arrested going out the door!) by buying a last year's model at a close-out sales event. My store brand carbon fiber frame bike with high-end Shimano Ultegra components was bought on sale for less than $1500. If you are brand conscious and have to have the very best, you may pay quite a bit more. I leave it to you to do the additional homework to decide if this is warranted. In support of this I encourage you to do your own explorations on the Internet, particularly once you are starting to evaluate specific bicycles. If you do an internet search for reviews of the specific bicycle model, it is highly likely that you will find some online reviews of the bike by a number of people who have owned it. You will quickly discover that most people really like whatever bike they bought. You will need to use some reading between the lines and comparisons across reviews to get a more objective view.
Once you decide to buy a bicycle, I recommend you buy it from a shop that has the expertise to ensure the bike is the proper size for you and that it is then adjusted to fit you. Bicycles have different frame heights and lengths, this affecting how far you have to lean over to reach the handlebars and the position of your legs relative the pedals. This positioning on the bicycle has a substantial impact on comfort and riding efficiency, so getting a properly sized bicycle is important to having satisfaction in your riding.
If you are planning on buying a used bicycle you may want to go to a bicycle shop and get fit to a bicycle by an expert. Use the information you learn from the experience to select a used bicycle that is the correct size.
Here are a few other thoughts about buying a used bicycle. I have not done this but considered it and did a fair amount of looking for used bikes on eBay and Craigslist. What I found is that it is easy to find bicycles in nearly new condition that are priced between half and two thirds of the price for an equivalent new bike. This is very enticing. What held me back from buying used was that at that time I did not know enough about bikes to feel comfortable buying a bike without getting to ride it first. This would be the case for almost any eBay purchase. I was particularly concerned about possibly getting a bike that was not sized properly. For the bikes I saw on Craigslist there was a different problem. The selection was much smaller so it was harder to find a bike that matched up to exactly what I wanted. The combination of these factors, my finding what appeared to be an excellent deal on a new store-brand bicycle, and my eagerness to have a new bike for a fast-approaching century ride led me to buy a new bike.
If I were buying another bike now I would almost certainly buy a used bike. I would not be under time pressure since I already have a couple of decent bikes. This would allow me to wait for the right bike at the right price. I would look for a fairly recent model bike of a brand that I was familiar with. I would look for a lightly used bike. There seem to be a lot of bikes that come on the market that fit this profile as it is common for people to buy bikes thinking they are going to ride a lot and then not follow through. Hopefully this blog will help keep you from being one of these people! Given that the bike under consideration would be a recent model, I would try and test ride a new version of the bike with the same frame size. This could be done at a local bike shop. Some of you may consider this unethical, but I don't think so. A certain percentage of people will end up buying a new bike from the shop after the sales guys have worked them over. The test ride would allow me to make sure the sizing was correct and that I liked the ride qualities. Of course a short test ride will not give enough information to determine how comfortable the bike will be on long rides. An experienced rider should be able to use a test ride to determine that the fit is close enough so that the bike can be tuned to be comfortable on long rides. Based on what I have seen on eBay and Craigslist, I would eventually end up with a bike in new condition and pay about half of the retail price of a new bike.
A couple of other alternatives for paying less are to look for close-out sales or to buy store-brand bikes. My boss was extremely patient and ended up buying a close-out (Felt with aluminum frame, carbon fiber forks and stays and Shimano 105 components) for $495. This bike compares well with other name-brand bikes retailing in the $1200 to $1300 price range. This was an exceptional deal. As stated above, I bought a store-brand bike (Scatante Elite Triple with carbon fiber frame and Shimano Ultegra components) for under $1500 (actually $1465). This bike is feature equivalent to name-brand bikes in the $2600 price range. I test rode both the bike I bought and some name-brand equivalents and was very satisfied by the comparison. I do admit there are visible differences indicating corners were cut to allow the Scatante to be manufactured more cheaply, such as having cables routed externally. I did not feel that these differences affected function and was willing to trade them off given the $1100 savings.
I suspect I am going to get some grief about my statements relative to store brands from people who buy the name-brand bicycles. The most likely point of contention will be about build quality and engineering that produces a more responsive ride and greater durability in the name-brand bikes. There is even some concern that no-name bicycles may be hazardous due to a higher propensity for frame failure. This is certainly a discussion worth having and that will be of value to many people. I do not have the engineering expertise and knowledge necessary to provide advice relative to these factors for any particular brand of bicycle. This leads to the advice that you should do some research about the quality of a bike before buying buying it. Here are a few links that can give you additional insight into the factors related to bicycle manufacturing and quality:
http://joelcory.com/blog/2007/10/25/cheap-carbon-frames/
http://bicycledesign.blogspot.com/2006/05/whats-in-your-fork.html
http://allanti.com/page.cfm?PageID=328
I hope this posting has given you some of the basics to get you started down the road to selecting a bicycle. In upcoming posts I will discuss topics such as accessories, clothing, training, fueling for longer rides, and participation in organized events. I will also produce a posting with references to resources I have used in learning about bicycling such as websites and books.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Training on the LifeCycle
Rides on the LifeCycle are simple to prepare for. These are usually shorter rides so I don’t have to worry about fueling my body during the ride. I ride at my local gym on one of a number of LifeCycles conveniently placed where I can get a good view of three different TVs. To get prepped I just put on my workout clothes and headphones, then connect the headphones to my mp3 player/FM radio, then tune the radio to the frequency that is being used to broadcast the sound from one of the TVs I will watch. I highly recommend the Sansa e250, e260, or e280 mp3 player/FM radio models as you can get them cheap off buy.com.
To start my ride, I get on the LifeCycle, program in my first 30 minute workout setting, then start spinning away. The LifeCycle starts off at a low load for a few minutes, allowing me to get warmed up before being put under significant load. I alternate between a couple of different types of programs on the LifeCycle as a means of keeping my body from habituating to the training program. The two programs I use are the "Hill Profile" and the "Random" programs. After the first 30 minute program completes I will do at least one more 30 minute program before calling it a day. Between 30 minute programs I will take a minute or two water break. If I am riding for more than an hour I will drink some Cytomax and ingest a Clif Shot Blok every 20 minutes.
Riding the LifeCycle feels much more like work than when I am out on the road riding one of my bikes. Because of this I don’t get near a much stress relief as I get when on the road. This is one of the reasons why I ride on the road as much as I can. Still I do spend a lot of time on the LifeCycle as that is often the only convenient means I have to putting in the time I need to meet my training goals. I also find myself keeping up with the world of sports and political commentary as I alternate between watching ESPN and CNN on the overhead televisions as I ride.
As I approach 50 I can say that I am stronger on the LifeCycle than I was 15 years ago when I would do four 30 minute sessions per week. On the older LifeCycles I used back then, I typically was only able to push level eight out of 10, burning maybe 260 calories in 30 minutes. On the newer machines I start out at level 19 out of 20, burning between 365 and 411 calories in 30 minutes depending on the program. I drop down to level 17 for the second 30 minute program, but still burn between 330 and 365 calories. For those of you who are approaching or beyond 50, I hope this offers encouragement that you can be better than you were before.
To start my ride, I get on the LifeCycle, program in my first 30 minute workout setting, then start spinning away. The LifeCycle starts off at a low load for a few minutes, allowing me to get warmed up before being put under significant load. I alternate between a couple of different types of programs on the LifeCycle as a means of keeping my body from habituating to the training program. The two programs I use are the "Hill Profile" and the "Random" programs. After the first 30 minute program completes I will do at least one more 30 minute program before calling it a day. Between 30 minute programs I will take a minute or two water break. If I am riding for more than an hour I will drink some Cytomax and ingest a Clif Shot Blok every 20 minutes.
Riding the LifeCycle feels much more like work than when I am out on the road riding one of my bikes. Because of this I don’t get near a much stress relief as I get when on the road. This is one of the reasons why I ride on the road as much as I can. Still I do spend a lot of time on the LifeCycle as that is often the only convenient means I have to putting in the time I need to meet my training goals. I also find myself keeping up with the world of sports and political commentary as I alternate between watching ESPN and CNN on the overhead televisions as I ride.
As I approach 50 I can say that I am stronger on the LifeCycle than I was 15 years ago when I would do four 30 minute sessions per week. On the older LifeCycles I used back then, I typically was only able to push level eight out of 10, burning maybe 260 calories in 30 minutes. On the newer machines I start out at level 19 out of 20, burning between 365 and 411 calories in 30 minutes depending on the program. I drop down to level 17 for the second 30 minute program, but still burn between 330 and 365 calories. For those of you who are approaching or beyond 50, I hope this offers encouragement that you can be better than you were before.
The Road Riding Experience
Road riding is an experience that appeals to me on many levels. It provides an opportunity to intimately experience the world while at the same time taking care of both my physical and mental well-being. This post is an attempt to explain both what I do during a road ride and also perhaps more importantly, convey how I experience a ride.
Usually I start out my rides from my home. I am very fortunate to live in a part of Montgomery County, Maryland that is adjacent to a huge agricultural preserve. This is a part of the county that is not open to development and thus has a lot of lightly traveled roads that are a Mecca for bicyclists. In this area it is easy to put together very scenic rides of almost any reasonable length without having to do much if any back-tracking. For variety I will often ride through the back streets of the neighborhoods where I live. I have worked out various routes that cover up to 35 miles while never being more than a few miles from my home.
I am often joined on my weekend rides by other cyclists whom I either work with or who are affiliated with my co-workers via the networking that occurs over time for most who bicycle. Larry, my boss at work and neighbor, is my most frequent companion. No matter whether I am riding alone or with a large group, there is not a lot of formality to the initiation of a ride. If I am riding with others there might be a few comments about the weather, the route, and bicycling related matters as we get prepared for the ride. The chatting stops almost immediately once everybody is ready to ride and then there is just a quick “let’s go” by someone and we take off.
I like to start off my rides at a reduced pace for the first few minutes so as to get my legs warmed up before putting them under load. After the warm-up I quickly get into a zone that varies a little depending on whether I am riding alone or with a group. When I am alone, the zone is a near meditative experience as I get focused on just a few basic things. There is a background alertness that is observing any traffic and almost automatically taking actions to minimize the chance of my becoming a hood ornament. In the foreground is a focus on the body, the pace, the road, and the senses.
The observation of the body is my means of metering out my effort so as to get in a good workout while not pushing so hard that I will bonk (have my legs just quit on me due to exhausting the fuel supply in my bloodstream) prior to the end of the ride. The pace is primarily a result of the observation of the body. The internal competitiveness that is innate to my character influences the pace as it urges me to go faster than I have gone before. This battles with my observations of my body and has put me into trouble on occasion. I have recently started using a heart-rate monitor as a controlling mechanism for regulating pace and found this to be very effective.
The observation of the road is the part of riding that is most like a game for me. The area I ride in has very little level ground. The game for me is in the evaluation of the slopes and curves that I am riding through and the playing with the bicycle gearing and my level of effort as I deal with what the road is throwing at me.
Last but not least in my foreground focus is the awareness of what my senses are feeding to me. A bicycle ride provides many sensations that form the texture of the ride. My eyes take in the scenery I am riding through. I am often moved by thoughts of what a beautiful rural area I have the privilege to ride through. The routes I ride go over a number of streams, through wooded parkland, and past family farms that are becoming hard to find in other parts of the Washington D.C. metro region. My ears are attuned to the sounds of the bicycle as it whirs its way forward. The snick-snick sound as I move through the gears gives me feedback as I adjust for the rises and falls of the route. The wind noise varies from a light white noise at lower speeds to a loud rush during fast downhill descents. The sense of touch detects the temperature and feels the wind. On cold mornings I will be quite chilled for the first few minutes, this going away quickly on the first hill. On hot days I look forward to the cooling that comes from the self-generated wind as I maintain a fast pace on the flats or a faster pace on the downhill slopes. The sense of smell appreciates the fresh air of the parkland I ride through. This contrasts to the pungent smells that sometimes emanate from the farms on the route. Taste buds are stimulated periodically as I drink the sweet Cytomax mix and then wash the taste away with a few gulps of water. This is followed by a Clif Shot Blok that has a gummy texture and a mildly sweet taste I let linger as it dissolves in my mouth. In the background at all times is the sensation of a body at work. On the flats and mild uphill grades there is the feeling of being a smoothly running machine that is just humming its way down the road. Climbing the steeper grades makes the body labor and the mind soon focuses on each rotation of the pedals and the exertion this takes. Breathing becomes deep and the stress of the labor brings thoughts of rebellion against the toil. The response to this is to focus on the goal of surmounting the hill and to appreciate this as a worthy cause. Often times the reward for achieving the top of a hill is the relief of a following descent. It is an opportunity to use speed to generate a wind that cools the over-heated body. The descent also provides the opportunity to rest for a bit and let a pounding heart subside its cadence. All of the sensations of the ride work together to create the memorable impression of the ride that is the essence of the experience.
The meditative aspect of cycling comes from the constant focus on the four elements that are in my foreground thoughts: body, pace, road and sensation. This focus on just a few things empties the mind of other thoughts, cares and worries. The resulting meditative state is one of the most addictive things about bicycling. The meditative state I experience has brought perhaps the biggest benefit of bicycling, a huge reduction in stress in my life. The stress reduction due to a long ride leaves me feeling like I have had a rejuvenating vacation.
When I am riding with a group I receive most of the same benefits I receive when riding alone. In addition a certain type of riding relationship tends to quickly form between members of a group ride. The group riding dynamic is an interesting mix of individualism and social interaction. Each rider has their own pace and also most riders seem to like to spend time in the focused zone they would experience on an individual ride. This is counter-balanced by the interaction that naturally occurs when a group of people are engaging in a common activity, particularly one that has some challenge to it. The result is an ongoing fluid switching of roles where someone will ride on their own for a bit separated from others, and then periods where they will ride alongside or behind someone else and chat for a bit. Pace lines (a line of cyclist closely following each other to reap the benefits of drafting) form on long flat sections and a feeling of camaraderie develops as the group works together to go faster than each could on their own.
As a group nears the end of the ride another behavior tends to kick in. The ride becomes a case of every man for himself as the cyclists who are still feeling strong kick it into gear and go for one last burn, leaving those with less energy behind. I think one of the reasons this happens is that as the end approaches, the unspoken need to make sure that others in the group are okay weakens as it becomes clear that everybody should be able to make it home without incident.
The end of a ride is usually a subdued event. If I am riding alone I will lean my bike up against a porch rail and sit for a bit, cooling off and enjoying the concept of what I have just done. At the end of a group ride there may be a few quick comments related to the ride just finished and maybe some suggestions for a next ride, then everybody says goodbye and resumes their busy lives. And so the experience ends with knowledge that it will soon be repeated and a looking forward to this.
Usually I start out my rides from my home. I am very fortunate to live in a part of Montgomery County, Maryland that is adjacent to a huge agricultural preserve. This is a part of the county that is not open to development and thus has a lot of lightly traveled roads that are a Mecca for bicyclists. In this area it is easy to put together very scenic rides of almost any reasonable length without having to do much if any back-tracking. For variety I will often ride through the back streets of the neighborhoods where I live. I have worked out various routes that cover up to 35 miles while never being more than a few miles from my home.
I am often joined on my weekend rides by other cyclists whom I either work with or who are affiliated with my co-workers via the networking that occurs over time for most who bicycle. Larry, my boss at work and neighbor, is my most frequent companion. No matter whether I am riding alone or with a large group, there is not a lot of formality to the initiation of a ride. If I am riding with others there might be a few comments about the weather, the route, and bicycling related matters as we get prepared for the ride. The chatting stops almost immediately once everybody is ready to ride and then there is just a quick “let’s go” by someone and we take off.
I like to start off my rides at a reduced pace for the first few minutes so as to get my legs warmed up before putting them under load. After the warm-up I quickly get into a zone that varies a little depending on whether I am riding alone or with a group. When I am alone, the zone is a near meditative experience as I get focused on just a few basic things. There is a background alertness that is observing any traffic and almost automatically taking actions to minimize the chance of my becoming a hood ornament. In the foreground is a focus on the body, the pace, the road, and the senses.
The observation of the body is my means of metering out my effort so as to get in a good workout while not pushing so hard that I will bonk (have my legs just quit on me due to exhausting the fuel supply in my bloodstream) prior to the end of the ride. The pace is primarily a result of the observation of the body. The internal competitiveness that is innate to my character influences the pace as it urges me to go faster than I have gone before. This battles with my observations of my body and has put me into trouble on occasion. I have recently started using a heart-rate monitor as a controlling mechanism for regulating pace and found this to be very effective.
The observation of the road is the part of riding that is most like a game for me. The area I ride in has very little level ground. The game for me is in the evaluation of the slopes and curves that I am riding through and the playing with the bicycle gearing and my level of effort as I deal with what the road is throwing at me.
Last but not least in my foreground focus is the awareness of what my senses are feeding to me. A bicycle ride provides many sensations that form the texture of the ride. My eyes take in the scenery I am riding through. I am often moved by thoughts of what a beautiful rural area I have the privilege to ride through. The routes I ride go over a number of streams, through wooded parkland, and past family farms that are becoming hard to find in other parts of the Washington D.C. metro region. My ears are attuned to the sounds of the bicycle as it whirs its way forward. The snick-snick sound as I move through the gears gives me feedback as I adjust for the rises and falls of the route. The wind noise varies from a light white noise at lower speeds to a loud rush during fast downhill descents. The sense of touch detects the temperature and feels the wind. On cold mornings I will be quite chilled for the first few minutes, this going away quickly on the first hill. On hot days I look forward to the cooling that comes from the self-generated wind as I maintain a fast pace on the flats or a faster pace on the downhill slopes. The sense of smell appreciates the fresh air of the parkland I ride through. This contrasts to the pungent smells that sometimes emanate from the farms on the route. Taste buds are stimulated periodically as I drink the sweet Cytomax mix and then wash the taste away with a few gulps of water. This is followed by a Clif Shot Blok that has a gummy texture and a mildly sweet taste I let linger as it dissolves in my mouth. In the background at all times is the sensation of a body at work. On the flats and mild uphill grades there is the feeling of being a smoothly running machine that is just humming its way down the road. Climbing the steeper grades makes the body labor and the mind soon focuses on each rotation of the pedals and the exertion this takes. Breathing becomes deep and the stress of the labor brings thoughts of rebellion against the toil. The response to this is to focus on the goal of surmounting the hill and to appreciate this as a worthy cause. Often times the reward for achieving the top of a hill is the relief of a following descent. It is an opportunity to use speed to generate a wind that cools the over-heated body. The descent also provides the opportunity to rest for a bit and let a pounding heart subside its cadence. All of the sensations of the ride work together to create the memorable impression of the ride that is the essence of the experience.
The meditative aspect of cycling comes from the constant focus on the four elements that are in my foreground thoughts: body, pace, road and sensation. This focus on just a few things empties the mind of other thoughts, cares and worries. The resulting meditative state is one of the most addictive things about bicycling. The meditative state I experience has brought perhaps the biggest benefit of bicycling, a huge reduction in stress in my life. The stress reduction due to a long ride leaves me feeling like I have had a rejuvenating vacation.
When I am riding with a group I receive most of the same benefits I receive when riding alone. In addition a certain type of riding relationship tends to quickly form between members of a group ride. The group riding dynamic is an interesting mix of individualism and social interaction. Each rider has their own pace and also most riders seem to like to spend time in the focused zone they would experience on an individual ride. This is counter-balanced by the interaction that naturally occurs when a group of people are engaging in a common activity, particularly one that has some challenge to it. The result is an ongoing fluid switching of roles where someone will ride on their own for a bit separated from others, and then periods where they will ride alongside or behind someone else and chat for a bit. Pace lines (a line of cyclist closely following each other to reap the benefits of drafting) form on long flat sections and a feeling of camaraderie develops as the group works together to go faster than each could on their own.
As a group nears the end of the ride another behavior tends to kick in. The ride becomes a case of every man for himself as the cyclists who are still feeling strong kick it into gear and go for one last burn, leaving those with less energy behind. I think one of the reasons this happens is that as the end approaches, the unspoken need to make sure that others in the group are okay weakens as it becomes clear that everybody should be able to make it home without incident.
The end of a ride is usually a subdued event. If I am riding alone I will lean my bike up against a porch rail and sit for a bit, cooling off and enjoying the concept of what I have just done. At the end of a group ride there may be a few quick comments related to the ride just finished and maybe some suggestions for a next ride, then everybody says goodbye and resumes their busy lives. And so the experience ends with knowledge that it will soon be repeated and a looking forward to this.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Preparing for a Ride
This posting is the first of a couple of posts that attempt to capture what I experience as I prepare for and perform a bicycle ride. Most of my riding is a combination of recreation and training. I am a goal oriented person who is almost always in training for some event or to reach some desired level of performance. This leads to the postings containing a fair amount of content related to training even though the postings are not meant to be a training guide. I will add a posting in the future that will focus on that topic.
I try to ride four days a week and almost always am able to keep to this schedule. A ride usually starts at the end of a work day or in the morning on weekends. If I have daylight and the weather is dry and above 25 degrees Fahrenheit, the session will be a road ride on one of my bicycles. If it is evening or the weather is miserable, I head to the gym to ride the LifeCycles. Before I ride there is some preparation to be done, particularly if I am riding on the road. These preparations have become a ritual and are part of the experience.
Prior to a road ride on the road I will look over the bike, check tire pressures, then reset the cycling computer so that the trip distance is zeroed out. For rides that are going to last over an hour but less than two hours, I mix up some Cytomax in a 22 ounce water bottle, diluting it to half the normal strength. For longer rides I go with the Cytomax at full strength and also bring a second water bottle full of plain H2O. For all rides of over one hour I take along some Clif Shot Bloks. For rides longer than two and a half hours I may bring along some stuff to nibble on that contains complex carbs and a bit of protein. The drinks and food are essential to keeping my body fueled during the longer rides. I will write a separate blog on that subject some time soon.
The other part of preparing for a road ride is to put on the riding outfit. It starts with biking shorts for milder temperatures or full-length wind-resistant cycling pants for when it is cold. The upper body is handled with the appropriate undershirt and jersey for the temperature. The cycling specific clothing is a wonder of function. The undershirt and shorts work to keep the sweat away from the body. The shorts are specially designed to cushion the crotch and minimize chaffing. The jersey provides handy storage for the assorted things a cyclist needs to carry with them. Loading these assorted things (Clif Shot Blocks, wallet, house key, snacks) into the jersey is the next step before completing the ritual by pulling on the specialized socks and the riding shoes that will clip tightly to the pedals of the road bike. In cooler weather I may also put on a cycling vest and some shoe covers to get a little more warmth. At this point I am almost set to go, just having to put my water bottles into the holders on the bike and then put on my cycling helmet, wrap-around sunglasses, and riding gloves. At this point I am ready to hop on the bike and ride. A description of the road riding experience is contained in another posting on this blog.
I try to ride four days a week and almost always am able to keep to this schedule. A ride usually starts at the end of a work day or in the morning on weekends. If I have daylight and the weather is dry and above 25 degrees Fahrenheit, the session will be a road ride on one of my bicycles. If it is evening or the weather is miserable, I head to the gym to ride the LifeCycles. Before I ride there is some preparation to be done, particularly if I am riding on the road. These preparations have become a ritual and are part of the experience.
Prior to a road ride on the road I will look over the bike, check tire pressures, then reset the cycling computer so that the trip distance is zeroed out. For rides that are going to last over an hour but less than two hours, I mix up some Cytomax in a 22 ounce water bottle, diluting it to half the normal strength. For longer rides I go with the Cytomax at full strength and also bring a second water bottle full of plain H2O. For all rides of over one hour I take along some Clif Shot Bloks. For rides longer than two and a half hours I may bring along some stuff to nibble on that contains complex carbs and a bit of protein. The drinks and food are essential to keeping my body fueled during the longer rides. I will write a separate blog on that subject some time soon.
The other part of preparing for a road ride is to put on the riding outfit. It starts with biking shorts for milder temperatures or full-length wind-resistant cycling pants for when it is cold. The upper body is handled with the appropriate undershirt and jersey for the temperature. The cycling specific clothing is a wonder of function. The undershirt and shorts work to keep the sweat away from the body. The shorts are specially designed to cushion the crotch and minimize chaffing. The jersey provides handy storage for the assorted things a cyclist needs to carry with them. Loading these assorted things (Clif Shot Blocks, wallet, house key, snacks) into the jersey is the next step before completing the ritual by pulling on the specialized socks and the riding shoes that will clip tightly to the pedals of the road bike. In cooler weather I may also put on a cycling vest and some shoe covers to get a little more warmth. At this point I am almost set to go, just having to put my water bottles into the holders on the bike and then put on my cycling helmet, wrap-around sunglasses, and riding gloves. At this point I am ready to hop on the bike and ride. A description of the road riding experience is contained in another posting on this blog.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Help Me Fight Leukemia
As I discussed in my initial posting for this blog, over the last few years I have really gotten into bicycling. It has made a big difference in my life and now I am looking to use it as a means of having a positive influence on the lives of others. I can see that my bicycling can be used as a lever to raise money for charities in a time when money is tight for them, but the need the charities serve continues.
My first step in this is my participation in a 100 mile charity ride where I am raising money for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS). This is a worthy cause. The money I raise will help in finding cures for leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma. More than 823,000 Americans are battling these blood cancers. It hits home for my wife Susan and I because her father was taken by myeloma at the young age of 43. Please help me reach my commitment to this charity by contributing using the online contribution website
If you want to track my training as I prepare for the ride, you will find a training log in another posting within this blog. For most of my road rides you will be able to click a link (example) within the log and then see a detailed route map for the ride along with all sorts of statistics: speed, heart rate, elevation gain, cadence and more. This will allow you to see that your contribution is sponsoring someone who is very serious about the ride.
On behalf of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, thank you very much for your support. I greatly appreciate your generosity.
My first step in this is my participation in a 100 mile charity ride where I am raising money for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS). This is a worthy cause. The money I raise will help in finding cures for leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma. More than 823,000 Americans are battling these blood cancers. It hits home for my wife Susan and I because her father was taken by myeloma at the young age of 43. Please help me reach my commitment to this charity by contributing using the online contribution website
If you want to track my training as I prepare for the ride, you will find a training log in another posting within this blog. For most of my road rides you will be able to click a link (example) within the log and then see a detailed route map for the ride along with all sorts of statistics: speed, heart rate, elevation gain, cadence and more. This will allow you to see that your contribution is sponsoring someone who is very serious about the ride.
On behalf of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, thank you very much for your support. I greatly appreciate your generosity.
2009 Riding Log (starting Feb 6)
Highlights:
February 15: Larrys first ascent of Sugarloaf
| 30-May | Road | 41.75 Miles | Rode up from the start of Skyline drive at Front Royal, Virginia to Skyland. This was the most vertical I have ever done in a ride and the amount of vertical per mile was about double what I have ever done before. This explains why it seemed like I was doing nothing but climbing. It was a very good tune-up for the Tahoe century I am doing on June 7th and my performance made me feel better about doing the entire length of Skyline drive later this year. It also made for a great weekend for my wife and I as we did some sight-seeing and hiking in Shenandoah National Park the next day after having a relaxing evening at Skyland. Stats and Map: 20090530 Ride |
| 27-May | Road | 24.31 Miles | Happy to have averaged 17 mph for this distance and amount of climb. This is my last training ride in Maryland on the Scattante road bike before the Tahoe century as it is being taken in to the shop to be shipped in the morning. My last couple of local training rides will be on my trusty old Giant road bike and my Diamondback hybrid. Stats and Map: 20090527 Ride |
| 26-May | LifeCycle | 1 hour | 30 minutes level 20 random profile followed by 30 minutes hill profile at level 16. I was using the LifeCycle that I had discovered to be more difficult than the ones I had been using and it lived up to my memory |
| 23-May | Road | 71.35 Miles | Long country route preparing me for the century at Lake Tahoe in two weeks. I took my first spill on the bike as I was distracted by a very large piece of farm equipment coming down the road and got my front wheel just off the road enough to take a hard fall. I came out okay, but the bike got a few deep scratches on the wheel releases and pedals. Stats and Map: 20090523 Ride |
| 21-May | Road | 32.97 Miles | Rode through Kent County on Maryland's Eastern Shore from our B&B near Chestertown to Betterton and back. The ride to Betterton was quick, but it was work coming back. I hope it was just the breeze in my face as I was expecting a faster average time on this fairly flat route. Stats and Map: 20090521 Ride |
| 18-May | Road | 20.05 Miles | Morning ride before departing on a mini-vacation. My legs just didn't have it. It seems I needed some time to recover after the fast ride late on the previous day. Stats and Map: 20090519 Ride |
| 18-May | Road | 19.04 Miles | Fast ride to Boyds and back. Over the last month my speed seems to have gone up by over one mile an hour on rides of this length. I can aggressively climb hills like Black Rock Road which used to be survival tests. Stats and Map: 20090518 Ride |
| 16-May | Road | 63.28 Miles | First metric century ride from my house! Stats and Map: 20090516 Ride |
| 14-May | Road | 13.04 Miles | It looked like we had thunderstorms moving into the area so I did my old short neighborhood ride. This is just over 13 miles with a little more than 700 feet of climbing. My best time last summer for this route was a little over 51 minutes. Today I did the route in 44 minutes even. Stats and Map: 20090514 Ride |
| 12-May | Road | 20.7 Miles | What a beautiful afternoon it was for a ride. Stats and Map: 20090512 Ride |
| 10-May | Road | 38 Miles | I got up early and rode as I had things to do from mid-morning on. I still got in a decent ride on what was a beautiful morning. Stats and Map: 20090510 Ride |
| 09-May | Road | 54.8 Miles | Good way to start the weekend ride. Larry rode with me and unfortunately cramped up at the end. Stats and Map: 20090509 Ride |
| 07-May | Road | 17.11 Miles | Short after work ride. Lucky the days are getting long since I didn't get home until almost 7 pm and I still had enough time to do a one hour ride. The ride was good as I set my fastest speed ever for a neighborhood ride. Stats and Map: 20090507 Ride |
| 05-May | LifeCycle | 1 hour | 30 minutes hill profile at level 18 followed by 30 minutes random profile at level 16. I used the tougher LifeCycle that I discovered the day before and it turned what should have been a mainly aerobic workout into something a little tougher |
| 04-May | LifeCycle | 1 hour | 30 minutes random profile at level 20 followed by 30 minutes hill profile at level 18. Reality returned. I used a different LifeCycle than the one I have been using and found out they are not all the same. This one had me in Zone 3 for the last 1/3 or the first 30 minutes and a majority of the second 30 minutes. |
| 02-May | Road | 50.41 Miles | Rode to Poolesville and then on to the top of Sugarloaf and then back home. Set a new personal record for climbing Sugarloaf, doing the near 500 foot vertical climb in 11 minutes. It was a good long training ride. In Poolesville I stopped at Bob's Bikes and Bob appears to have cured my shifting problems. Stats and Map: 20090502 Ride |
| 01-May | Road | 22.38 Miles | Rode to Boyds and back via 28, Black Rock Road, Schaeffer Rd, 117, Richter Farm Rd. and then back down Black Rock to 28 with a little side trip through Spring Valley. I was pleased with my hill climbing on Black Rock. The hills are not near the ordeal they used to be. Stats and Map: 20090501 Ride |
| 29-Apr | LifeCycle | 1 hours | 30 minutes random profile at level 20 followed by 30 minutes random profile at level 18. I was pleased that my heart rate peaked at only 144 during the first 30 minutes at level 20. This is indicative of my being in the best riding shape ever! |
| 27-Apr | Road | 18.8 Miles | Short late afternoon ride. I was pleased that I was able to attack the neighborhood hills standing on the pedals and going at the fastest speeds I have ever done them. My legs really bounced back well from the metric century I rode two days earlier. Stats and Map: 20090427 Ride |
| 25-Apr | Event | 64.9 miles | Tour De Carroll This was a an organized metric century. The ride is described in a another posting on this blog. The Garmin stats for the are a little off since once again I screwed up with the buttons at the end of the ride and left it on. At the time I finished I was at an average speed of 15.6 mph which is a little less than what I really did since I also had the Garmin on during a part of one of the rest stops. I was pleased considering it turned into a very warm day and some of the hills were tough, up to 15% grades. My next tune-up may be the Bloomin Metric in mid-May. Stats and Map: 20090425 Ride |
| 22-Apr | Road | 21 Miles | Given that I am doing the Carrol County metric century this Saturday, I probably should have taken this week off, but rode because last week I missed some riding due to my birthday. I was pleased with the pace and the legs felt good. I should have a great ride in metric century. Stats and Map: 20090422 Ride |
| 20-Apr | LifeCycle | 1.5 hours | 30 minutes random profile at level 18 followed by 30 minutes hill profile at level 17 followed by 30 minutes of random profile at level 16. Toned the levels back a little as I want to keep something in the bag for the Carrol County metric century I am riding on Saturday |
| 18-Apr | MTB | 21 Miles | Easy trail riding in the area around Black Water Falls, West Virginia. New tires with the right tread gave me a new appreciation for this type of recreational riding. The scenery was gorgeous as we rode along the top of a narrow valley and the weather was perfect. A climb to the top of a fire tower gave a tremendous vista across that part of West Virginia. Stats and Map: 20090418 Ride |
| 17-Apr | Road | 21 Miles | Not much riding this week due to being on a mini-vacation to celebrate my 50th birthday. I rode the hybrid around Canaan Valley, WV. Part of this ride was up to the top of the resort at Timberline, an 826 foot ascent on gravel roads. It was very steep near the top and the smooth tread on the hybrid was not as grippy as I would like. The distance on the Garmin site and what I state in this posting differ as I accidently switched off the Garmin when showing it to my friend about three miles from returning to base. Stats and Map: 20090417 Ride |
| 13-Apr | Road | 27.02 Miles | Partial makeup ride since I missed riding on Sunday. I was pleased with the average speed for this route as it looks like a good jump up in performance. Stats and Map: 20090413 Ride |
| 11-Apr | Road | 41.31 Miles | Rainy Saturday morning and early afternoon led to a late start. I still got in a decent ride and had time to stop and take a few photos of the early spring scenery. Stats and Map: 20090411 Ride |
| 9-Apr | Road | 25.52 Miles | Started the long weekend with a beautiful late afternoon ride in perfect conditions. I felt strong and my average speed reflects that. Stats and Map: 20090409 Ride |
| 08-Apr | LifeCycle | 1 hour | 30 minutes hill profile at level 20 followed by 30 minutes hill profile at level 16. Used a different Lifecycle than the one I normally used and it seemed much tougher |
| 06-Apr | LifeCycle | 1 hour | 30 minutes random profile at level 20 followed by 30 minutes random profile at level 18. |
| 4-Apr | Road | 41.38 Miles | Another long windy ride. This one was a country route. It was my first ride on the Scattante after its spring tune-up. I was very disappointed in the tune-up as shifting is much worse than before the tune-up. Most annoying is that the chain comes off the cogs when downshifting from the big ring to the middle ring. Looks like it will be back in the shop shortly. Stats and Map: 20090404 Ride |
| 3-Apr | Road | 22.73 Miles | Had to deal with a lot of wind on this late afternoon ride. I also think my Garmins distance measurement was off since it was not mounted, instead riding in the back pouch of my jersey. Due to my not turning off the Garmin correctly on my previous ride, the link below has both this ride and the ride I did on Tuesday, March 31st. Stats and Map: 20090403 Ride |
| 31-Mar | Road | 20.85 Miles | First ride after rest week. Had a strong ride even though I was riding the 26 year old steel frame Giant with the big tires. Due to my not turning off the Garmin correctly, the link below has both this ride and the ride I did on Friday, April 3rd. Stats and Map: 20090331 Ride |
| 23-Mar to 30-Mar | Rest | 0 miles | Recovery week. I take one every five to eight weeks |
| 22-Mar | Road | 19.9 Miles | Rode with my old friend Steve Murphy. He used to be a CAT 2 racer back in the day. Lack of training meant that we did a shorter route, but I did get some good coaching from him and a quick fix to some problems with my backup bicycle. My primary bike is at Bob's Bikes in Poolesville getting a tune-up. I am missing it as equipment does make a difference. Stats and Map: 20090322 Ride |
| 21-Mar | Road | 44.1 Miles | Finally things worked out so that I could do a Sugarloaf ride from my house. Larry joined me, riding from his house to mine, so I had to add on four miles at the end by doing the round-trip to/from his house. I couldn't let him do more miles than me could I? I did this ride on my hybrid since I had a broken spoke on my Scattante road bike. The hybrid sure makes it a lot more work. Stats and Map: 20090321 Ride |
| 19-Mar | Road | 25.1 Miles | Left work early enough to get in a nice ride considering it was a weekday. Stats and Map: 20090319 Ride |
| 17-Mar | Road | 17.1 Miles | Rushed home a little after leaving work a little later than I wanted to. I still got in a 1 hour ride at a very brisk pace. Stats and Map: 20090317 Ride |
| 15-Mar | LifeCycle | 1 hour | 30 minutes random profile at level 18 followed by 30 minutes random profile at level 16. Rainy Sunday had me training indoors. Rode at a lower load level to give my legs a bit of a break. |
| 14-Mar | LifeCycle | 30 Minutes | 30 minutes random profile at level 20. Rode indoors because of rain and the ride was short due to too much going on. I don't want to fall into the habit of short rides. |
| 12-Mar | LifeCycle | 1 hour | 30 minutes random profile at level 20 followed by 30 minutes random profile at level 18. This was my first time doing the random profile at level 20. The total one hour calorie burn of 823 smashed my previous LifeCycle record. |
| 10-Mar | Road | 18.6 Miles | First after work road ride of 2009. I am really glad to see daylight savings time come early. I did a suburban route and was pleased to see a noticeable improvement in hill climbing versus in the fall. Stats and Map: 20090310 Ride |
| 08-Mar | Road | 39.6 Miles | Rode with Larry out River Road and eventually looping back through Poolesville where we stopped at Bob's Bikes. I always like to stop there as Bob has a great little shop and is fun to talk to. We then finished up by cutting over to Peach Tree then the usual route home from there. Stats and Map: 20090308 Ride |
| 07-Mar | Road | 39.25 Miles | First time out with Hitch. We planned on doing a loop to the top of Sugarloaf and back. Unfortunately John's derailleur broke about 3 miles in, so I did the Poolesville loop due to time constraints after ferrying John back to his car. This may actually work out well for John as I can see a new bike in his future. Stats and Map: 20090307 Ride |
| 05-Mar | LifeCycle | 1 hour | 30 minutes hill profile at level 20 followed by 30 minutes hill profile at level 18. This was my first time riding at level 20, the highest level available on the LifeCycles at my gym. |
| 03-Mar | LifeCycle | 1 hour | 30 minutes random profile at level 19 followed by 30 minutes random profile at level 18. Bumped my highest total calorie burn for a one hour LifeCycle ride up to 780 calories |
| 01-Mar | LifeCycle | 1.5 hours | 30 minutes random profile at level 17 followed by 30 minutes hill profile at level 17 followed by 30 minutes random profile at level 15. Weather was supposed to be snow and ice so I did the LifeCycle. It turned out I could have done a road ride. Next weekend! |
| 28-Feb | Road | 41.86 Miles | Extended version of the ride from previous Saturday. Legs felt strong as is reflected in the average speed. The autostart/stop on the Garmin worked well now that I have it set up correctly. Stats and Map: 20090228 Ride |
| 27-Feb | LifeCycle | 1 hour | 30 minutes hill profile at level 17 followed by 30 minutes hill profile at level 15. Kept this ride at aerobic burn level so that my legs would not be fried before the longer weekend rides. |
| 26-Feb | LifeCycle | 1 hour | 30 minutes random profile at level 19 followed by 30 minutes random profile at level 17. I had my highest total calorie burn to date for a one hour LifeCycle ride, 763 calories |
| 22-Feb | Road | 32.6 Miles | Rode with group from work from Germantown Soccerplex up Sugarloaf Mountain and back. Distance here is more than in stats to account for my having the Garmin off during the descent of Sugarloaf. That didn't help the average speed either. I wish Garmin would make a firmware fix to allow the unit to automatically stop and start recording as the bike stops and starts. My $20 bike basic bike computer can do that, so why can't the $550 Garmin 705 do it? Update: I found the setting that should have the Garmin auto-stop recording! Stats and Map: 20090222 Ride |
| 21-Feb | Road | 36.33 Miles | Individual ride. Explored the far paved part of River Road and found it has some rollers with grades as high as 15%. Cut the ride a little short due to afternoon commitments. Stats and Map: 20090221 Ride |
| 20-Feb | LifeCycle | 50 minutes | One 30 minute sessions of hill profile, level 17 followed by a 20 minutes random profile session, level 15. This was a recovery ride where I did not go anaerobic. I wanted to keep my legs fresh for the longer rides I am hoping to do on Saturday and Sunday. |
| 19-Feb | LifeCycle | 1 Hour | One 30 minute sessions of Random profile, level 19 followed by a 30 minute hill profile session, level 15. On the first session I rode a lifecycle that was not as smooth as the one I normally ride. I hope this accounted for my heart rate being higher than expected during the first session. |
| 15-Feb | Road | 31.19 Miles | Rode with Larry from Germantown Soccerplex up Sugarloaf Mountain and back. Larry rode up for the first time. Stats and Map: 20090215 Ride |
| 14-Feb | Road | 32.67 miles | Training ride through local neighborhood. Almost got clobbered by someone backing out of a driveway. Pay attention. They don't. Stats and Map: 20090214 Ride |
| 12-Feb | LifeCycle | 1 Hour | Zone two ride to let my legs recover from the abuse I put them through on the last three preceding rides. Two 30 minute sessions of Random profile, level 15. |
| 10-Feb | Road | 14.6 miles | Lunch ride with co-workers. I had lead for most of the ride since it was my route. I set a near max pace for myself. The group kept up with Forrest appearing to not break a sweat |
| 9-Feb | LifeCycle | 1 Hour | 30 minutes level 19 (out of 20) hill profile followed by 30 minutes level 17 random profile. |
| 6-Feb | Road | 42.89 miles | Home to top of Sugarloaf Mountain and back. Rode wth Larry and Forrest. Stats and Map: 20090206 Ride |
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Why a Bicycle Blog Now
Almost two years ago I started bicycling again at age 48 after about a 15 year layoff. I was not a serious bicyclist back in the old days, intermittently ramping up to periods when I would ride for 30 minutes to an hour several days a week. These periods would last for a few months and then a busy life would pull me away for six months to a year. Somehow as I turned 48 it clicked that the "some day I will really get back into staying fit" would never happen unless I just did it and somehow just handled all the things that would pull me away from it. I started back into bicycling by replicating the type of riding I had done earlier in my life, with rides of 50 to 55 minutes being the norm. Last summer it became time to get moving on another "some day", the desire to do some long distance rides and eventually do multiple day rides across substantial portions of the country. After hearing advice from a few friends, I started doing some research on what it would take to become an endurance bicyclist. I learned a fair amount from books, the internet and other bicyclist and put this knowledge to work leading up to my first century ride, the 2008 Seagull Century that took place on the Eastern Shore of Maryland in early October.
After riding in the Seagull Century I wrote a description of the ride and emailed it out to a number of old friends. I wanted them to hear about what I was up to. I also had the hidden agenda of wanting to see them get into bicycling and reap the benefits I was experiencing due to bicycling. I was amazed at the response from my old friends. I had tapped into a pent-up desire that many of them had, a desire to do something about their health and fitness. What was amazing was that not only did they express interest in what I did, but several of them sprang into action and began bicycling too.
Now we finally get to the point of why I am writing this blog. I found that my emails about my experiences inspired at least a few people to change their lives and start getting in shape by bicycling. It would be great to see more people getting in shape and experiencing other benefits I have experienced: a lower level of stress; renewed interactions with old friends; and new friendships with others who share a passion for bicycling. I also have some knowledge to share related to what it takes to go from knowing nearly nothing about bicycling to knowing enough to feel comfortable in selecting equipment and establishing a training program. I will also use this blog as a means of drumming up support for various bicycling related things I care about, such as charity rides I am participating in. Last but not least, I am hoping for a lively interaction with those who read the blog. I also look forward to posts from guest bloggers whom I will invite to contribute.
After riding in the Seagull Century I wrote a description of the ride and emailed it out to a number of old friends. I wanted them to hear about what I was up to. I also had the hidden agenda of wanting to see them get into bicycling and reap the benefits I was experiencing due to bicycling. I was amazed at the response from my old friends. I had tapped into a pent-up desire that many of them had, a desire to do something about their health and fitness. What was amazing was that not only did they express interest in what I did, but several of them sprang into action and began bicycling too.
Now we finally get to the point of why I am writing this blog. I found that my emails about my experiences inspired at least a few people to change their lives and start getting in shape by bicycling. It would be great to see more people getting in shape and experiencing other benefits I have experienced: a lower level of stress; renewed interactions with old friends; and new friendships with others who share a passion for bicycling. I also have some knowledge to share related to what it takes to go from knowing nearly nothing about bicycling to knowing enough to feel comfortable in selecting equipment and establishing a training program. I will also use this blog as a means of drumming up support for various bicycling related things I care about, such as charity rides I am participating in. Last but not least, I am hoping for a lively interaction with those who read the blog. I also look forward to posts from guest bloggers whom I will invite to contribute.
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