Cycling uphill

How to learn about cycling?

March 3, 2016 by tejvan

Most cyclists are self-taught. We learn on the job – when the bike stops working, we either read a manual and try and fix or we give up and take to a bike shop. Some people are quick learners, and are adept at learning all the necessary requirements to look after a bike. Others, like me, are a little embarrassed that after 20 years of cycling we’re still not 100% sure where the seat tube is.

How to train – is a whole different learning curve. In the beginning, you can get faster by riding a bike, but then you become aware of a whole world of heart rates, training zones and recovery. So you try and read a few books and absorb the information which you like the sound of.

But, just as you think you’re getting to know all about cycling, there is a scientific revolution, leaving a battery of new training terms related to power and critical threshold power. Just to increase the complexity, usually, these training terminology are abbreviated to three letters like FTP, CTL, and TSS.

If you can wade through that, you are now ready to worry about your CdA (aerodynamics) and Watt / CdA. Which requires several hours of testing, plus the required computer skills to punch in the numbers and get something meaningful out of the other side.

How to learn about cycling

I remember reading Ned Boulting’s ‘How I won the Yellow Jumper‘ – an entertaining look at someone thrown in at the deep end of professional cycling. Boulting was asked to cover the Tour de France with pretty much zero knowledge of cycling, Ned endured a crash course in how to talk about a sport you don’t really know anything about. (Ned was doing pretty well, until he got the Yellow Jersey and the Yellow jumper mixed up)

Cycling is one of those subjects where you have to learn everything by the process of osmosis – slowly picking up on the jargon and knowledge as you go along – without ever really admitting you didn’t know about it in the first place. It’s very rare someone will sit and down and explain the mechanics of adjusting your gear cable or even worse – Never try asking what a peleton is, 1 km from the finish of a Tour de France stage (note to family members! see also: Explaining the Tour de France) The only way to learn about the jargon of the Tour de France is to many hours ever day for three weeks over several summers, like I did. I don’t see why anyone should get any shortcuts.

From: Aaron’s site

It is only fairly recently that I’ve worked out the different parts of a bicycle – and that was thanks to a pretty handily marked diagram.

Fizik WP Winter Overshoe review

March 3, 2016 by tejvan

I was sent this Fizik overshoe in November, and have been using it almost every ride over winter.

It’s been quite a wet winter, with roads covered in surface water so it has had a lot of testing.

It is designed to be waterproof and windproof, and compared to other overshoes, it has performed very well in terms of keeping feet dry. When the roads are constantly wet – even on long rides, it keeps feet dry.

It is thinner than many of the other overshoes that I have, so a little less heat insulation. However, for me that is not a problem because I put hotpads down my socks anyway! Also, the thinner overshoe is beneficial because on my time trial bike, I have speedplay X1 which is quite a short spindle it means your foot is very close to the crank and other overshoes get stuck between pedal and crank.

Fast – steady and flapping numbers

March 1, 2016March 1, 2016 by tejvan

I enjoyed the first race of the season. I would have liked a bit more form. But, then who wouldn’t? The course for North Road Hardriders is a real roadman’s course, partly for the technical aspects, but mainly for the power profile, which is lots of short surges to get up the short climbs. In a very general sense, it is more akin to Belgian classics with 2 minute climbs, rather than the Ardennes or Alps with longer climbs. I’m not equating a 25 mile time trial to the 245 km Tour of Flanders, but you get the idea.

With that kind of course, it suits those with a bit of explosive power – fast twitch muscles to get up the short climbs and accelerate out of corners. In the hill climb season, I try to train this aspect of fitness, short intense efforts to improve the fast twitch muscles. It’s hard work, because genetically, I have a higher percentage of slow twitch – good for long distance, but not so good for the short distance, explosive efforts.

At this time of the season, I’m concentrating on an endurance base, and have done quite a few rides at a level just below threshold. It makes for enjoyable training rides with high average speeds. It also feels like you are just holding back. Not training at 100%, but with more in the tank for when you really want to peak.

The day after the race, I had some muscular tiredness and was in two minds whether to train or rest. I looked at the weather forecast for the week and decided to train Monday – I can always rest when its raining in the rest of the week.

North Road Hardriders TT

January 22, 2019February 28, 2016 by tejvan

The North Road Hardriders TT is a well established early season classic. It has been promoted by local clubs since 1939, with the North Road CC taking responsibility for promoting since 1955. Out of interest, the North Road CC were established in founded in 1885 to ‘promote fast and long distance cycling on the Great North and other Roads’. 1885 is a long time ago, though the Hardriders TT is far removed from fast racing up the flat and traffic laden A1…

The Course

The course is a series of twists and turns, running on small roads north of Potters Bar, passing through villages like Essenden. The terrain is best described as ‘lumpy’ with several short sharp climbs. It is course best suited to a ‘puncheur’ – there are no smooth long climbs, but a series of ups and downs. The first 15 miles, feels like a very slow rollercoaster, there are quite a few 90 degree turns and frequent dips and climbs. On the downhill you try to pick up as much speed as you dare – to carry you up the other side of the hill. It is the kind of course, where you can go from 45mph to 10mph on a regular basis.

Hidden sugars in food

February 28, 2016February 27, 2016 by tejvan

Occasionally I read labels on food to see what is in there. I’m not particularly strict about diet, but I try to limit the amount of processed sugar added to food. Too much sugar can have bad effects.

Weight gain / obesity (not an issue for myself)
Blood sugar spikes affecting mood and energy levels
Diabetes and a whole host of health problem.

For me the main issue with processed sugar is the spikes in blood sugar which can disrupt metabolism and give you both surges of energy and then crashes afterwards. Even though I don’t put on weight from eating sugar, I don’t think too much is healthy.

I quite like eating a bit of cake, and the odd biscuit, but the thing that seems strange to me is the huge quantities of sugar put in savoury items. For breakfast, I always dig out the no-added sugar muesli and no-added sugar soya milk. Some dried fruit is enough to make the muesli sweat and tasty, adding even more processed sugar seems unnecessary.

Yesterday, I bought a black bean source from Tesco – ‘All the finest ingredients’. This is a bit of a joke because the biggest ingredient (after water) was sugar. In one serving (half a jar) there is 30 grams of carbohydrate which sugars. This is 33% of your recommended daily intake in just a sauce!

To put that into context, it is like making your evening meal and then adding 8 teaspoons of sugar on to the sauce. Or, it’s the equivalent of three kit-kats (6 fingers).You can get a better taste from Vegetarian gravy and onion frying a few vegetables.

If I’m going to take 8 teaspoons of sugar, I’d rather stick to the three kit-kats than get a sugar hit from a Chinese sauce.

This black bean sauce is not a one off, I looked at other sauces like Tomato and Basil, and there is a very high level of sugar (20-25 grams) per serving.

Sugar is even added to granary bread. But at relatively low levels of 1-2grams it doesn’t seem such an issue. But, when you are putting 30grams in a pot of ‘low-fat yoghurt’ or cooking sauces, it seems something has gone wrong.

Getting used to the taste of sugar

Another element is that you can get used to certain tastes. If all your food is heavily sugar laden, this is what you begin to crave, and if the sugar is missing, you don’t think it tastes so good. But, if you avoid sugar in savoury items, you can learn to enjoy the taste of food as it is supposed to be. There was a time when I didn’t like vegetables, and would want Heinz Baked beans (with lots of added sugar). But, now the baked beans taste too sweet and sickly; there is great flavour in savoury foods and well-cooked vegetables. It’s sad if the only taste we can enjoy is sugar.

Clee Hill

March 27, 2016February 21, 2016 by tejvan

Clee Hill is the highest A road in Shropshire. A long climb, offering (weather permitted) great views of the surrounding Shropshire countryside and beyond. If you take a left turn off the main road, you can also go all the way to Clee Hill summit proper which, at over 500m, makes a pretty decent climb of nearly 4 miles, averaging 5%. In fact, the quiet single track road heading towards a golf ball on the summit, reminded me somewhat of Great Dun Fell. The climb is quite similar to Great Dun Fell – just half the distance and half the average gradient.

I was staying in Bromyard for the weekend, so I looked at surrounding maps for the highest point to aim for. Clee Hill stands out, though there is quite a choice of hills around this part. I recognised some of the surrounding roads from previous time trials starting in Great Whitley.

I have been doing quite a big block of endurance training, not really doing too many hills, so it was nice to do a few hills for a change. Still a long way from hill climb season though.

clee-hill-west — On a very clear day, from Clee Hill, you are supposed to be able to see Snowdonia, the Cotswolds, the Brecon Becons, the Black Mountains and even the Peak District. Today, was not such a time.

Fast and flat

February 12, 2016 by tejvan

Thanks to all suggestions for weather forecast sites and apps. It makes me feel old, I never considered using an App to check the weather. My main use of my iPhone is an alarm clock to wake me up in the morning. £300 well spent.

I think that’s the most comments I’ve had on a blog for years. Forget debates like Shimano vs Campagnolo? or Should helmets be compulsory? if you want to attract comments from cyclists talk about the weather…

After all the talk about rain showers, yesterday was one of those great February days – bright, clear and dry. In the middle of the day, it was positively warm. No worries about how many rain jackets to take. For a change I didn’t even need to clean the bike after the ride, the roads were almost completely dry.

Waiting for the rain to clear

February 10, 2016February 10, 2016 by tejvan

A typical weather forecast for the past few weeks. Trying to find a bit of dry weather to go cycling. I went out at 14.00 and got lucky. Proof you shouldn’t always trust the weather forecast.

Sometimes, when I see a weather forecast I don’t like, I try another one, until I see something a bit more promising. Any cyclist becomes a devotee of rain forecasts. The ones I use are

BBC
XCW weather – useful for showing quantity of rain. Though I’ve had some very wet 0.1mm days.
Met Office

More weather sites recommended by readers

Weather Spark – lots of historical graphs
Rain Radar – % chance of rain – if you really need to know when rain will hit.
Home and Dry – Rain app for iPhone

Often, once you get on the bike, rain isn’t so bad. But, when it’s raining outside, its tempting to try and find better things to do, and hope it clears up.

This week has been quite light on training, a few winter niggles still playing up. It’s that kind of niggle, that you can probably ride through, but you’re not entirely sure. It makes you think of Daniel Sturridge – a career plagued by injuries. Football pundits say he should just keep playing and stop being so soft. But, it’s hard to know unless you have the injuries yourself. But, this isn’t pain, just tiredness. Unfortunately, my sport physio seems to have closed down.

With the prospect of rain looming, I went to the Cow and Calf Ilkley, just five miles from Menston and a good climb. Mostly cross / tailwind up the climb. A few hard five minutes efforts. But, not 100%.

Cow and Calf

Cow and Calf – 1.2 miles @11%

DHB Flashlight Thermal Gilet

February 8, 2016February 8, 2016 by tejvan

Review by Garga Chamberlain

DHB’s flashlight series is all about high-visibility in darkness and low-light conditions, so it’s aimed more at commuters and those training solo rather than the bunch-rider.

There are lots of high-viz gilets around so why would you choose the flashlight? Well number one reason would be that it’s very weatherproof. The windslam membrane does what it says on the tin – no icy blast is going to penetrate this fabric, so the core of your body will always be warm when you’ve got this gilet on and zipped up. As with most windproof membranes, it also keeps a fair amount of rain off. Not 100% waterproof on a long ride in the rain but certainly adequate protection on a rainy commute of up to an hour in my experience. A brushed micro-fleece inner fabric adds insulation so it’s ideal for midwinter riding.

The high visibility comes from the majority of the garment being a vivid fluoro yellow, but there are generous areas of reflective scotchlight taping as well, which will shine out when hit by car headlights. These care on the rear of the gilet and around the front/neck and shoulders too.

Comfort-wise, the fit is surprisingly sleek for a bit of commuter kit, but with lots of stretch in the fabric you shouldn’t have trouble getting into it if you’re blessed with a fuller figure. There are nice details too, like a gripper around the hem to stop it riding up and a “zip garage” at the neck to stop the zipper from chafing.

In all my rides in the Flashlight Gilet so far, I’ve been warm enough in all weathers and confident that I’m totally visible (through a commute that varies from unlit cycle paths to a busy city centre). The construction seems good with robust zips and stitching so I expect to be riding to work in this for a good few years.

Buy

Training on time trial bike

February 4, 2016 by tejvan

Early February is time to get the time trial bike down from the loft. I last rode the TT bike back in September, and that was a short hill climb in Buxton. I have done a few perfunctory core strength exercises over the winter, e.g. the plank for one minute a couple of times per week, 20 sit ups since Jan 1st, but nothing like enough to get the body ready for a super, uncomfortable, aerodynamic position.

Despite the initial physical discomfort of riding a TT bike – on the positive side it is always a boost to get on the time trial bike, after a few months on a relatively slow winter training bike. Suddenly you feel as though you’re flying along. In fact in previous years, I’ve joked that getting on TT bike can feel like getting on a motorbike, as you race around town at 20mph +. But, alas, that innocent observation no longer seems quite so innocent given recent shenanigans in Belgium and depressing evidence of hidden motors in bicycles. It’s both a tragedy and farce, and not much comedy, save a little related news about participants and a stolen parrot, “A Norwegian Blue” I presume.

A popular bit of banter at local time trials was for a slow ride to joke to a fast rider – “Have you got a motor in there?!” This banter is all said in good fun, but now, it might not be so funny any-more. Especially, if bike was left unattended for a long time…

Anyway, the crazy world of cycling can’t change the essential practice of cycling which is to pedal a lot until it hurts. And if you’re riding a time trial bike for the first time in five months, you can guarantee it will start to hurt in quite a lot of places you had forgotten all about.

On Tuesday, I did quite a hard 75 mile ride to Stow on the Wold. I averaged 18.5 mph, which was a high average speed, given it was quite windy. I’m trying to do some sweet spot training at around 250-70 watts. I managed this for the first two hours grind into the wind. On the way back, I eased off the power, but went faster with nice tail wind behind. It’s great fun cycling with strong tailwind, but this persistent Westerly wind is getting a bit tiresome. It’s hard work going west.

Yesterday, I did a steady two hours on the time trial bike. I’m glad it was no longer than two hours, as I felt quite sore in different parts of back, and even legs. Although, it was a relatively easy ride on power, it felt quite tiring. Moral of the story, if you want to race on a time trial bike, you have to train a lot on the bike too. Ideally, I would have been riding on a time trial bike all winter. But, I don’t like getting the new bike spoilt by salty wet roads. Anyway from now on the TT bike, will be used most rides. The good news is that once you start training on the bike, the body adapts and initial discomfort becomes much more manageable. Last year it got to the situation where I found a TT bike more comfortable than a road bike.

Training on time trial bike

Different position works different muscles
Back needs to adapt to flatter aerodynamic position
Neck works harder looking forward whilst being lower down.
Doesn’t handle quite as easily as a road bike, so it is good to practise technical aspects. Though ideally you would train with disc and deep section wheels. But, I prefer to save expensive tubulars and wheels for races, so just train on ordinary clinchers.
Maybe it was different power meter, but it seemed much harder to get same power as on road bike.

Related

Difference between road bike and time trial bike