Cycling uphill

Shap Fell hill climb 2016

May 3, 2016May 2, 2016 by tejvan

It is the first hill climb of the year, though the nine mile slog from Kendal to the top of Shap on the A6, never feels like your traditional hill climb. It was also my first race under 25 miles. I haven’t done any 10 mile TT’s yet to gauge efforts.

The important thing for Shap hill climb is the wind direction. The wind from the south makes it “fast”. The wind from the north makes it painfully slow.

Photo: Kenny Roberts (2015). I used same wheel and bike combination Zipp disc, and lightweight front wheel without deep section.

Driving over to Kendal, it was quite wet and blustery, but fortunately the weather cleared up for the race, just leaving a nice strong tailwind. Setting off from north of Kendal, I was soon nearly in my top gear of 56*11. That’s a proper hill climb when you can go at 30mph plus. However, even a strong tailwind doesn’t get you up a gradient of 3-10%. The speed still plummets when the road gets steep. Although the average gradient is 3%, there is a considerable bit of flat and also downhill sections, so it means there are some more testing gradients and a lot of variable power efforts. It also goes on for nine miles. With a tailwind, the climb is a rough approximation to a sporting 10 mile time trial. With the wind at your back, I’m always a little uncertain whether to get low or to sit up and benefit from the wind. But, I was on my tribars for most of the ride, apart from the last tricky descent where there was a strong sidewind before the last steepest section to the line.

Tips for cycling in the wind

June 25, 2017May 1, 2016 by tejvan

Any cyclist will know that riding into a block headwind can be more difficult than going up a hill. Many tips for riding into a wind are common sense, but it is worth repeating for completeness.

The effect of wind (crosswind causing echelon)

Get low and aero. Riding on the drops is more aerodynamic that riding on the tops. Also, if you can bear the pressure, get as low as you can. I spend a lot of time riding on Time trial bike, so have adapted to a relatively lower position. It is a big help for keeping low in headwind riding. See more tips for being more aerodynamic
Make sure your clothes are not acting as a wind break. The worst is to have a jacket half zipped up billowing out the back. It is better to have the jacket flapping around than half zipped up to catch the wind and act as a parachute. If possible, take off any surplus jacket, though often when it’s very windy, it’s raining too.
Don’t worry about average speed. When riding into a headwind and you’re doing 15mph on a flat bit of road, it can be demoralising. But, the important thing is to maintain a sustainable power, rather than trying to keep a typical average speed. This doesn’t mean you will try keep the same power into headwind as tailwind. You will want to make more effort into headwind, but sometimes, you will just have to go into a lower gear and keep going at a lower speed.
Improve quality of group riding. Riding in a group is best way to take some shelter from headwind. Taking it in turns and forming effective paceline. Don’t let gaps appear or let anyone drop off. Stronger riders can take longer turns.

Choosing rides

In very windy conditions.

I will tend to ride into headwind, to get tailwind on way back.
I will look for routes which are more sheltered and leave the overexposed moors for another day.
I have been known to occasionally take a train into a block headwind. e.g. train from Bingley to Clapham North Yorks. It costs £10, but it’s a real treat to miss out on 20 miles of headwind.

Pacing a time trial into headwind/tailwind

Generally, it does pay to make more effort into headwind than tailwind. This is because the aerodynamic cost increases exponentially with speed. You get more effort for increasing power at lower speeds.

I did a 10 mile TT with a 25mph (40km/h) wind. My time was 20.35. Average power of 325 watts.

Yorkshire

May 1, 2016 by tejvan

bolton-abbey-a59-sun — The A59 looking unusually quiet.

It was the Tour de Yorkshire yesterday – Otley to Doncaster for both the mens and womens races. I could have gone to see the races start in Otley, but I preferred to go on my bike and watch the highlights on telly. Cycling through the Yorkshire Dales went well – though watching the highlights mainly consisted of fast- forwarding through two hours of ATP tennis wondering when the cycling would start. (TV problems apparantely) Yesterday the peleton went up Greenhow Hill. Today it will be Sutton Bank and a few more climbs in the North York Moors.

Best protein bars

April 30, 2016 by tejvan

Recently, I’ve been taking more protein bars for during, and at the end of a training ride. When I first started cycling, I thought it was all about carbohydrates, but protein is just as important.

I’ve been taking more protein bars because:

I like taking food which isn’t all high sugar. This is important for training for long distance riding, improving fat burning energy capacity and not relying on the simple sugars. Then in the race situation, I will take the max Carbohydrate intake, but also will (hopefully) have good capacity to gain energy from the other fat burning source. (Even I have some fat)
Many studies show that a good 20grams of protein after hard exercise aids recovery of the muscles. Tde optimum delivery time is said to be within 30 minutes of the end of the exercise. Therefore, for a long session, it seems to make sense to take some during exercise as well as close to the end.
Also, as a vegetarian it is good to take supplementary protein, in case you don’t get enough from normal diet.

Best Protein bar

Power bar Protein Plus – Low sugar

These were surprisingly tasty and pleasant to eat (due to sweeteners I found out writing this post); they only having 0.8grams of carb which sugars per bar. They have a light fluffy not sweet texture, which are quite enjoyable and easy to eat mid ride. The protein comes from milk and whey protein.

Great smells of cycling

April 29, 2016April 29, 2016 by tejvan

This is really scrapping the bottom of the barrel for new cycling articles. “Great aromas of the cycling world.” On the positive side, I’ve left out the ‘whiff of corruption’ and other poor analogies which leave a bad smell hanging in the air.

The sense of smell is something we tend to forget, but unconsciously it is always there. It’s certainly not the first thing you think about with regard to cycling. It’s more of a visual feast – the peleton strung out alongside an immaculate French vineyard or the visual pain of seeing cyclists with knee high black socks.

But, as well as the visual joys of cycling, there are some less heralded aromas worth a mention.

village-hq-500x333

1. Deep heat / getting going creams. When I first started time-trialling, everyone seemed to put on this oil over their shaved legs. It was quite an arresting / reassuring aroma for a cold March morning in a village hall. Somehow the smell of deep heat always manages to bring back that right of passage before a time trial. The whole routine of getting your number, complaining about the wind, coming up with excuses for not having trained, squeezing into your skin suit – all these are indelibly linked with that smell of deep heat.

Unfortunately, numerous studies have shown this kind of ‘warm up cream’ is actually counter productive. It just brings blood to the edge of your legs before starting, meaning you lose heat quicker and your legs are more prone to cold. However, despite everything saying it does more harm than good, you still see quite a few old timers slapping on the reassuring balm. I reckon it’s because they just like the smell.

lube-oil-rear-cassette

2. Oil. Most aromas are not particularly pleasant. You could think of oil as a rather neutral smell. But, I like it; walk into a bike shop and the feint, but unmistakable, aroma of oil is the underlying presence of the room.

Any cycle fan always loves going into a bike shop, even if he knows he isn’t going to buy anything. We just like looking at the bikes, components and clothes. A true cycling aficionado will always love visiting a bike shop. These days we can get most components for 20% less at an online retailer. But, whilst we may save money, there is no soul, the internet may be convenient, but it hasn’t yet managed to give out that reassuring aroma of bike lube mixed with a few other random aromas.

tea-teacake

3. Tea and Toasted Teacakes. When you’re hungry and cold, the reassuring smell of teacakes being toasted is very attractive. I was brought up on club runs throughout the Yorkshire winter. After 20 miles in the northern winter, you really wanted to go in somewhere warm. Maybe it’s not so much the smell of teashops, but the warmth. I never drank tea before cycling, but after about two club runs, I gave in and took to the tan brew like a duck to water. The thing is it never tastes as good at home. To truly experience the joy of tea, you have to take from a teapot, in china cup after losing 2 degrees body heat cycling up lower Wharfedale. Then it is marvellous, and naturally the smell of melting butter on a toasted teacake is sheer heaven.

5. The Countryside

winter-mud

Yes, the countryside smells. It smells of cow dung and other stuff. But, we love it. It is that romantic remembrance of the countryside that helps us stay sane in the modern world. We may have a a 4WD trying to run us off the road on a narrow Dales road, but at least we can still enjoy the smell and sensation of the countryside. Modern life hasn’t quite sanitised everything, thankfully. Some people may spend all winter racking up four hour training sessions on a turbo, but, I bet you don’t get to enjoy the smell of well rotted cow dung in your garage.

***

At this point in the article, we could easily start to rapidly descend. When Miguel Indurain was asked his worst moment on a bike. It wasn’t getting dropped by, Bjarne ‘Mr 60%’ Riis, to lose the yellow jersey after five consecutive years winning the Tour de France; it wasn’t any horrendous crash – His worst moment was sitting on the wheel of Tony Rominger when he had a bad bout of diarrhoea and wouldn’t stop to lose his place in the GC. (I might have got the two mixed up but, I think you get the idea).

The other overwhelming aroma of cycling is that product of all our toil and effort. Good old fashioned sweat. When it is our own, we don’t mind, we even can become quite proud – forget power meters, heart rates, and average speeds, the real sign of a good work out is how much did we sweat? How much can we stink out the place? Alas, our friends and partners fail to see anything either heroic or romantic about smelling. But, for us it can become symbolic of our heroic effort; even if our average speeds and power meter results are laughable, at least we can smell like we’ve tried hard.

DeFeet e-touch dura gloves review

October 2, 2022April 25, 2016 by tejvan

I have owned several pairs of DeFeet gloves in the past years, and like to race with them on. A new version has been brought out – DeFeet e-touch dura gloves – so have bought two pairs.

Advantages of the DeFeet e-touch gloves

Grip is very good. A big benefit of these gloves is the rubber type grip on the inside of the gloves. This is particularly useful for riding with my Trek Speed Concept bars (without any bar tape). Other wooly gloves can be really quite slippy on these carbon bars, so it is a useful addition.
Warmth. I get cold hands so am quite sensitive to warmth of gloves. These are quite warm without the bulk of a big ski glove. I can wear them down to 5 or 6 degrees for racing. The temp guide by manufacturer is 6-16 degrees.
Long cuffs. In theory, the gloves go down to the end of your wrist helping to cover up that gap between the end of gloves and the start of arm warmers. Keeping your wrists warm definitely helps keep your hands warm too.
Breathable. They are quite breathable and I can wear into early summer, even in double digits temperatures (10 degrees plus) without getting too hot.
E-touch. I do sometimes use iPhone whilst riding, the e-tap at the end of thumb and forefingers means you can leave your gloves on to swipe away. This is a useful addition to the old version.
Aerodynamics. Most cyclists won’t worry too much about aerodynamics of gloves, but it is an issue for me. Better than bigger stockier gloves, but it is no aero glove. Yesterday, when racing I put a pair of large aerogloves over the top of these.

Beacon R.C Little Mountain Time Trial

February 7, 2018April 24, 2016 by tejvan

Today was Beacon Roads Mountain Time trial. 39.5 miles, including two tough climbs. The first 16 miles is rolling, then the second lap gets more hilly. The last climb of the day is Ankerdine, pretty steep on a TT bike when you’ve already raced 34 miles.

My last race was Buxton CC Mountain Time trial, nearly a month ago. It’s quite a long break from racing and I wasn’t sure how I’d go. Riding around a bumpy velodrome in New York at 22mph for an hour is a poor preparation for real racing.

The weather was decent, though colder than a month ago in Buxton, a northerly wind making it a little difficult in places.

My warm up was pretty good. I use nopinz arm bands, custom designed for super thin arms. They are easy to use than old fashioned safety pins. Though for some reason once I put the number in, I put them in my jacket pocket ‘to put on later’. Everything was going well with warm up. At five minutes to the start time, I was heading off to start, when for some reason, something jolted my memory and realised I’d left arm bands in a jacket pocket back in my car. It was time for quick choice – do the race without armbands and get disqualified or do a quick u-turn ride 500m to car, get arm bands and have a 50% chance of missing my start time. I felt like a gamble so turned round sprinted back to car, got out armbands and sprinted back to start line. I arrived and the guy said 1 minute to go. But, I still had to get my pusher off to zip up my skin suit (it’s impossible to do on your own), then it was squeezing the arm bands on. With 15 seconds to go, they were just about in place. Just time to tuck socks into overshoes and it was 5 seconds to go. It was a close call, and I just made it. Thanks to pusher off who helped just in the nick of time.

Going around in circles at Kissena velodrome

April 18, 2016 by tejvan

I have spent the past two weeks in New York. I’ve written before about cycling in Jamaica, Queens, NY, so won’t repeat it all. But it’s a tough place to cycle; even supposedly quiet residential roads can have cars (nearly always SUVs) accelerating at top speed. It’s a little scary place to cycle, which is probably why it’s so rare to see a cyclist in Queens.

But, the one great piece of good fortune is the outdoor velodrome of Kissena Boulevard. It is bumpy concrete, but it is traffic free and a safe place to cycle. It seems always open, and perhaps just one or two other cyclists going around during the week day.

The only training during the two weeks was to cycle two miles to the velodrome then ride for an hour at varying degrees of intensity. It’s no joke cycling around a velodrome for an hour. Not as boring as being on a turbo, but it gave a new respect for track cyclists. I was caught between gratitude for having a velodrome to cycle on and the difficulty in motivating myself to keep riding around in circles.

The hills of the North York Moors

April 3, 2016April 1, 2016 by tejvan

The North York Moors is a national park in North East Yorkshire. It has the largest expanse of heather moorland in the UK, but in cycling terms is more famed for the abundance of very steep climbs, with plenty of 25% gradient signs, and the odd 1 in 3 – if you’re lucky!

The North York Moors is only 40 miles from Menston, but I’ve never been before. It’s just out of range, and with the Yorkshire Dales nearby, there’s always other hills to do. But, I’ve been reading about some of the climbs like Boltby Bank and Rosedale Chimney and so finally made it over.

I drove to Sutton Bank and saw many signs welcoming the Tour de Yorkshire on the 1st May. I think the race route goes down Sutton Bank, but to many people’s disappointment it avoids any of the really epic 25% climbs. Perhaps a decision made not for benefit of cyclists, but for the calvacade of cars, which could get stuck on the hairpins of Rosedale Chimney.

Boltby Bank

First up was Boltby Bank. A one mile climb with a significant 25% gradient at the end. It looks imposing from the distance as you descend into Boltby. Don’t go off too hard, as it gets tougher near the top.