View Full Version : First 50 mile ride...
First 50 mile ride...
Though I'd struggled to a 47miler previously, I'd then
kicked myself for not making it a 50...
So, yesterday, we sauntered out a bit earlier (about 1pm),
with the intention of meeting the local CTC group(s) at the
planned tea-stop. Earlier, because it meant I could ride
slower (apparently their ride set a blistering pace, so
good job we didn't go with them!) - although I could keep
up with them initially, after a while I'd run out of legs
and couldn't manage hills or recover afterwards... we kept
to about 10-12mph for the most part, though obviously hills
slowed things down, and the other side of hills speeded
things up ;-) It felt very slow compared to what I'd done
with the CTC (more like 14-15mph on relatively flat bits)
but the idea was to make the distance at a speed I could
manage and not be exhausted by! I was hoping to get home
not feeling like that was it and no more cycling was
possible, too.
Had a great day out cycling around cambridgeshire - though
somewhat frustrating to be braking whilst freewheeling up a
hill cos the better half doesn't get as fast as I do down
the previous hill... I'm very loathe to waste my momentum by
braking when it can carry me part way up the next hill ;-)
As was mentioned here, some of the problems do indeed seem
to be fuel-related. I stuck OJ in the water (probably about
1/3 OJ to 2/3 water) which was a good ratio, and had fairly
good legs for a while.
Made it up the hill from Six Mile Bottom toward the turnoff
for Dullingham in one go (previously I've stopped on it -
one through no more legs, once for the excuse of a camera
shot of 'look how far/long this hill is I've cycled up'),
which was a nice acheivement. Wasn't sure I'd make it, but
it's another acheivement notched up!
Then it was lunch at a pub in Dullingham at about 2.30/3pm,
very nice in the sun - and then back off at about 3.30 to
head round a wiggly route to Thurlow, where the CTC tea stop
was. Few more hills, and I had NOTHING in the legs for the
first half an hour or so - which was quite concerning!! Then
the food seemed to kick in, and I was champing at the bit
again (albeit still on a slower pace than the previous rides
with the CTC). Hills were definitely harder but still
manageable, I was very concious that I didn't want to
destroy the legs I had by exhausting them on hills so tried
to balance wanting to get to the top with being aware that
for the good of the legs (and getting the 50 miles in) I
might have to be defeated and stop halfway up one or two of
them.. but it didn't happen. I also found I was able to talk
while cycling along, something which previously I'd found
hard/impossible - though talking while going up hills still
doesn't happen ;-)
With the tea stop coming up earlier than 5, and not quite
enough miles done yet, we took a detour and looped around to
slot in a few more miles, and arrived dead on 5pm at The
**** in Thurlow. Very nice spread laid on by them,
consisting of sandwiches and much cake - and I was pretty
hungry again by then! Was good to meet up with the CTCers,
and also good to find out we'd made the right decision to
cycle on our own instead of with them - I just wouldn't have
lasted the distance at their pace, even if I could have kept
up for a while!!
Back on the bike and again the dead legs set in - nothing in
them for another half an hour or so, which was very
frustrating. The bum was starting to make itself known by
now too, as were the hands - but they quickly faded again
once the legs were battling up hills.
Interestingly, I discovered that in the post-stop no-energy-in-
legs phase, my heart rate was nowhere near as high as it
would be previously when the lactic acid started in the legs
- still not quite sure what that means, but it was
interesting to compare it to when the legs had a bit more
oomph in them and the lactic acid wouldn't start till a
higher heart rate was reached.
We took a fairly direct route back to cambridge, since I was
uncertain just how much was left in my legs, but once at Six
Mile Bottom again we continued out to Quy, and then along
the river to see the new cycle bridge over the A14.
It's quite steep, but I'd say not much steeper than the one
over the railway lines by the station - though it looks it,
and is certainly longer. Slightly odd bollard placement on
the south side - cyclists avoid each other on the paths for
the most part, why put a bollard in to reduce the space, and
on a slight kink in the path, too...
Then it was back to the outskirts of cambridge and home -
just over 50 miles in all - and what's more, I think
given another top-up of fuel, I could have managed
another 10 miles or so - I was tired, but not exhausted
to the point of losing co-ordination/concentration, as
has happened before!!!
So, eating more and regularly during the ride does seem to
be the key to keeping my legs working. Just need a few more
of these and to master the hills a bit more, and I'll be set
for my big challenge - the London to Cambridge (I seem to
have said yes to doing this, erk!)
Have to say thanks to those who gave suggestions after my
last ride post here, all much appreciated and very useful!
The idea of doing 100 miles is now starting to germinate
somewhere in the dark recesses of my mad mind...
--
Velvet
Velvet <velvet@not.a.valid.domain> wrote:
: Interestingly, I discovered that in the post-stop
: no-energy-in-legs
Everyone suffers this. The body decides "ah, exercise
stopped" after about 10 mins IME so you need to warm up
again.
Arthur
--
Arthur Clune http://www.clune.org (http://www.clune.org/) "Technolibertarians make a
philosophy out of a personality defect"
- Paulina Borsook
Velvet wrote:
> Had a great day out cycling around cambridgeshire - though
> somewhat frustrating to be braking whilst freewheeling up
> a hill cos the better half doesn't get as fast as I do
> down the previous hill...
The thing to do is use all your momentum and then wait for
him at the top. Only good reason to brake going up a hill is
for safety.
> As was mentioned here, some of the problems do indeed seem
> to be fuel-related. I stuck OJ in the water (probably
> about 1/3 OJ to 2/3 water) which was a good ratio, and had
> fairly good legs for a while.
A little salt can help too: you lose a fair bit during the
day and that contributes to muscle cramping. Though it
makes it taste a bit odd (okay, pretty bogging!) at first
as you start using up salt it actually tastes better! The
better rehydration drinks taste slightly salty for this
very reason.
> So, eating more and regularly during the ride does seem to
> be the key to keeping my legs working.
And of course eating and drinking more during the ride gets
a lot easier if you're completely happy with one handed
riding: you don't lose momentum every time you need a break,
though having said that breaks can be good too.
Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer Tel 44 1382 660111
ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital Fax 44 1382
640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK net
p.j.clinch@dundee.ac.uk http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/
"Velvet" <velvet@not.a.valid.domain> wrote in message
news:IFdzc.4088$Cn4.33561809@news-text.cableinet.net...
> Though I'd struggled to a 47miler previously, I'd then
> kicked myself for not making it a 50...
>
<snip great ride report - apologies ;-)
>
> Have to say thanks to those who gave suggestions after my
> last ride post here, all much appreciated and very useful!
> The idea of doing 100 miles is now starting to germinate
> somewhere in the dark recesses of my mad mind...
>
> --
>
>
> Velvet
Congrats on another milestone reached.... I find unsalted
peanuts combined with mixed dried fruit to be the ideal
fuel, along with water (or juiced water for variety)...can't
beat it. The mixed dried fruit gives immediate energy and
peanuts last for the next couple of hours....remember
burning peanuts in the lab at school??..they'd burn for
hours!! - that's energy that is!..just make sure it's chewed
well before swallowing and a couple of handfuls of each
should last for a good 2-3 hours. I use 'em on long road
rides and mountain biking epic rides..
Also remember heavy bulky foods will cause diversion of
blood to stomach for digestion purposes...not what you want
too much of when you're trying to use legs (biggest muscles
you've got) for cycling
Go for it, 100 miles will be no problem!!...(easy for me to
say, eh? ;-)
All the best,
Dave.
On Mon, 14 Jun 2004 08:50:48 GMT, Velvet <velvet@not.a.valid.domain>
wrote:
>Had a great day out cycling around cambridgeshire - though
>somewhat frustrating to be braking whilst freewheeling up
>a hill cos the better half doesn't get as fast as I do
>down the previous hill... I'm very loathe to waste my
>momentum by braking when it can carry me part way up the
>next hill ;-)
I thought that a *Cambridgeshire Hill* was an oxymoron !!!
Arthur Clune wrote:
> Velvet <velvet@not.a.valid.domain> wrote:
>
>> Interestingly, I discovered that in the post-stop
>> no-energy-in-legs
>
> Everyone suffers this. The body decides "ah, exercise
> stopped" after about 10 mins IME so you need to warm
> up again.
>
> Arthur
I thumbed through a book in Waterstones last week entitled
'How to be a long distance cyclist' or something, it said
don't stop for more than 10 minutes or else you'll cool down
too much - I rarely do anyway.
Gonzalez wrote:
> On Mon, 14 Jun 2004 08:50:48 GMT, Velvet
> <velvet@not.a.valid.domain> wrote:
>
>
>>Had a great day out cycling around cambridgeshire - though
>>somewhat frustrating to be braking whilst freewheeling up
>>a hill cos the better half doesn't get as fast as I do
>>down the previous hill... I'm very loathe to waste my
>>momentum by braking when it can carry me part way up the
>>next hill ;-)
>
>
> I thought that a *Cambridgeshire Hill* was an oxymoron !!!
Not in my books, but I've been informed by my better half
(and companion on the ride) that we actually spent quite a
lot of time in Suffolk... and it was that part of it that
most of the hills were (though the climb out of Six Mile
Bottom is definitely a hill, though I've no idea if that is
actually in or out of cambridgeshire).
Besides. The Gog Magog hills are in cambyshire. And they're
definitely hills that I'd:
a) not try cycling up yet,
b) would defeat me if I did.
Oh, and then there's the hills near to them, between Cherry
Hinton and (er?) the Shelfords? They count as hills too,
though I've managed to cycle up them in the past with
varying degrees of success, I think I'd manage them in one
go these days from the improvements I've made.
I don't care that they're not on quite the same scale as the
north downs (where I live) or that they're not the Penines
or Dales (where some of you lot live) but to me there's
plenty of hills around cambridgeshire, ta very much :-P
--
Velvet
in message <hrmrc0h5dp2rlhhct5nsfgj5b5shurtvcp@4ax.com>, Gonzalez
('speedy.gonzalez@nospam.basher.com') wrote:
> On Mon, 14 Jun 2004 08:50:48 GMT, Velvet
> <velvet@not.a.valid.domain> wrote:
>
>>Had a great day out cycling around cambridgeshire - though
>>somewhat frustrating to be braking whilst freewheeling up
>>a hill cos the better half doesn't get as fast as I do
>>down the previous hill... I'm very loathe to waste my
>>momentum by braking when it can carry me part way up the
>>next hill ;-)
>
> I thought that a *Cambridgeshire Hill* was an oxymoron !!!
We've had this before, with Norfolk. Please don't start it
again. Flatness is relative. Cambridgeshire is not as flat
as... as... as a very, very, very flat thing. OK?
--
simon@jasmine.org.uk (Simon Brooke)
http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/
Morning had broken, and there was nothing left for
us to do but pick up the pieces.
On Mon, 14 Jun 2004 18:16:47 +0000, Velvet wrote:
> Not in my books, but I've been informed by my better half
> (and companion on the ride) that we actually spent quite a
> lot of time in Suffolk... and it was that part of it that
> most of the hills were (though the climb out of Six Mile
> Bottom is definitely a hill, though I've no idea if that
> is actually in or out of cambridgeshire).
Well inside Cambridgeshire. FYI the climb about 1km to the
south is a lot more pleasant with much less car traffic. You
can turn left onto the Dullingham Road too, or continue to
Weston Colville. Stop at the top of the first crest for a
good view north.
> Besides. The Gog Magog hills are in cambyshire. And
> they're definitely hills that I'd:
>
> a) not try cycling up yet,
> b) would defeat me if I did.
If you can do the Six Mile Bottom/Brinkley climb you should
have no problem with the road over the Gogs.
> Oh, and then there's the hills near to them, between
> Cherry Hinton and (er?) the Shelfords?
Lime Kiln Road? Horrible lorry traffic, I avoid it!
Mike
Mike Causer wrote:
> On Mon, 14 Jun 2004 18:16:47 +0000, Velvet wrote:
>
>
>>Not in my books, but I've been informed by my better half
>>(and companion on the ride) that we actually spent quite a
>>lot of time in Suffolk... and it was that part of it that
>>most of the hills were (though the climb out of Six Mile
>>Bottom is definitely a hill, though I've no idea if that
>>is actually in or out of cambridgeshire).
>
>
> Well inside Cambridgeshire. FYI the climb about 1km to the
> south is a lot more pleasant with much less car traffic.
> You can turn left onto the Dullingham Road too, or
> continue to Weston Colville. Stop at the top of the first
> crest for a good view north.
>
>
>
>>Besides. The Gog Magog hills are in cambyshire. And
>>they're definitely hills that I'd:
>>
>>a) not try cycling up yet,
>>b) would defeat me if I did.
>
>
> If you can do the Six Mile Bottom/Brinkley climb you
> should have no problem with the road over the Gogs.
Didn't do the 6mile right to brinkly, we turned left to
dullingham before the next climb up... then right at the end
of that t-junction...
>
>
>
>>Oh, and then there's the hills near to them, between
>>Cherry Hinton and (er?) the Shelfords?
>
>
> Lime Kiln Road? Horrible lorry traffic, I avoid it!
Ah, but at weekends? But I agree, not a nice road to cycle,
given what I've seen from driving it.. but I was thinking
more of the roads over the top from the bottom of the gog
magogs/lime kiln roundabout and assosciated A road (I'm not
actually from camby, hence my rather sketchy knowledge of
road numbers!)
>
>
> Mike
>
--
Velvet
On Mon, 14 Jun 2004 18:16:47 GMT, Velvet <velvet@not.a.valid.domain>
wrote:
>Gonzalez wrote:
>
>> On Mon, 14 Jun 2004 08:50:48 GMT, Velvet
>> <velvet@not.a.valid.domain> wrote:
>>
>>
>>>Had a great day out cycling around cambridgeshire -
>>>though somewhat frustrating to be braking whilst
>>>freewheeling up a hill cos the better half doesn't get as
>>>fast as I do down the previous hill... I'm very loathe to
>>>waste my momentum by braking when it can carry me part
>>>way up the next hill ;-)
>>
>>
>> I thought that a *Cambridgeshire Hill* was an
>> oxymoron !!!
>
>Not in my books, but I've been informed by my better half
>(and companion on the ride) that we actually spent quite a
>lot of time in Suffolk... and it was that part of it that
>most of the hills were (though the climb out of Six Mile
>Bottom is definitely a hill, though I've no idea if that is
>actually in or out of cambridgeshire).
>
>Besides. The Gog Magog hills are in cambyshire. And they're
>definitely hills that I'd:
>
>a) not try cycling up yet,
>b) would defeat me if I did.
The Gog Magog hills rise to 74m above sea level: the road
rises to 71m. Addenbrookes Hospital is at 15m. The hospital
is 3000m from the crest of the road, so the average road
gradient is about 2%. Looking at the 1:25,000 map, even the
maximum gradient doesn't seem to be above 5%.
The high point on the road between The Shelfords and Cherry
Hinton is 43m.
None of the above are hills. They are undulations - and
that's pushing it!
>Oh, and then there's the hills near to them, between Cherry
>Hinton and (er?) the Shelfords? They count as hills too,
>though I've managed to cycle up them in the past with
>varying degrees of success, I think I'd manage them in one
>go these days from the improvements I've made.
>
>I don't care that they're not on quite the same scale
>as the north downs (where I live) or that they're not
>the Penines or Dales (where some of you lot live) but
>to me there's plenty of hills around cambridgeshire, ta
>very much :-P
They're not even on the scale of South East London.
Shooters' Hill rises to 120m.
> > a) not try cycling up yet,
> > b) would defeat me if I did.
Hills you believe you cannot climb you will not climb. Hills
you believe you can climb; you will climb.
Honest guv. Trust me.
Brian
In article <pi61q1-erq.ln1@gododdin.internal.jasmine.org.uk>,
Simon Brooke <simon@jasmine.org.uk> writes:
> We've had this before, with Norfolk. Please don't start it
> again. Flatness is relative. Cambridgeshire is not as flat
> as... as... as a very, very, very flat thing. OK?
What, has it crinkled up since I graduated?
--
Nick Kew
On 14/6/04 10:35 pm, in article 845sc0189arjntjm6pd1do3ketah5617eu@4ax.com,
"Gonzalez" <speedy.gonzalez@nospam.basher.com> wrote:
> None of the above are hills. They are undulations - and
> that's pushing it!
Or FFF in my book (Flat for Fife)..
..d
Mike Causer wrote:
> On Mon, 14 Jun 2004 18:16:47 +0000, Velvet wrote:
>
> If you can do the Six Mile Bottom/Brinkley climb you
> should have no problem with the road over the Gogs.
>>Oh, and then there's the hills near to them, between
>>Cherry Hinton and (er?) the Shelfords?
>
>
> Lime Kiln Road? Horrible lorry traffic, I avoid it!
When Velvet refers to the road over the gogs I think she's
referring to Lime Kiln Rd not the road between Fulbourn and
Addenbrooke's. The roads from the Shelfords reference is to
the two roads that go between Hills Rd and the Shelfords.
On Mon, 14 Jun 2004 21:21:59 +0000, Velvet wrote:
> Didn't do the 6mile right to brinkly, we turned left to
> dullingham before the next climb up... then right at the
> end of that t-junction...
You made 2/3rds of the height gain, and were past the
steepest part. C'mon give yourself some credit ;-)
>> Lime Kiln Road? Horrible lorry traffic, I avoid it!
>
> Ah, but at weekends? But I agree, not a nice road to
> cycle, given what I've seen from driving it.. but I was
> thinking more of the roads over the top from the bottom of
> the gog magogs/lime kiln roundabout and assosciated A road
> (I'm not actually from camby, hence my rather sketchy
> knowledge of road numbers!)
Heffers, Borders or Waterstones will sell you OS 1:25,000
maps 209 and 210, which will show you lots of roads you
never knew existed in the area. Sometimes a bit of local
knowledge is needed to know which have the bad traffic (eg
Lime Kiln Road looks innocuous), but by and large they're a
big help. In this case you may be thinking of the road from
the A1307 roundabout to the Shelfords, which is very easy.
OS Grid references work a lot better than road numbers for
this sort of thing..
Mike
Simon Proven wrote:
> Mike Causer wrote:
>
>> On Mon, 14 Jun 2004 18:16:47 +0000, Velvet wrote:
>>
>
>> If you can do the Six Mile Bottom/Brinkley climb you
>> should have no problem with the road over the Gogs.
>
>
>>> Oh, and then there's the hills near to them, between
>>> Cherry Hinton and (er?) the Shelfords?
>>
>>
>>
>> Lime Kiln Road? Horrible lorry traffic, I avoid it!
>
>
> When Velvet refers to the road over the gogs I think she's
> referring to Lime Kiln Rd not the road between Fulbourn
> and Addenbrooke's. The roads from the Shelfords reference
> is to the two roads that go between Hills Rd and the
> Shelfords.
I was actually referring both to lime kiln road and the
fulbourn/addenbrookes road, being both fairly substantial
hills in their own rights :-)
Oh, and yes, also referring to the ones further over toward
the shelfords.
Thankyou :-)
--
Velvet
David Martin wrote:
> On 14/6/04 10:35 pm, in article
> 845sc0189arjntjm6pd1do3ketah5617eu@4ax.com, "Gonzalez"
> <speedy.gonzalez@nospam.basher.com> wrote:
>
>
>>None of the above are hills. They are undulations - and
>>that's pushing it!
>
>
> Or FFF in my book (Flat for Fife)..
>
> ..d
>
Look, my definition of a hill is something I can't cycle up
without putting in a fair bit of effort.
I live on the north downs, I've been to Scotland, Yorkshire,
Lakes/Peaks
- I appreciate what hills can be like, but that doesn't mean
cambridge doesn't have any.
Fit cyclists that go hareing up mountainsides and call them
hills, and dismiss anything else as being undulations or
equally of no substance can (put politely) go crank
themselves.
I post here with a very positive experience with cycling,
and then you lot (not all of you, I know) pick it apart and
tell me they're not hills, inferring a real cyclist would
call it a flat ride, well sprockets to the lot of you - I
had a good time, I enjoyed myself, and I did better than I
thought I would, and improved over what I've managed before.
Maybe if there were fewer snobs in cycling trying to
belittle the achievements of others there might be a few
more of us willing to give it a go.
<mutter mutter paving slab faerie invocation mutter mutter>
--
Velvet
Mike Causer wrote:
> On Mon, 14 Jun 2004 21:21:59 +0000, Velvet wrote:
>
>
>>Didn't do the 6mile right to brinkly, we turned left to
>>dullingham before the next climb up... then right at the
>>end of that t-junction...
>
>
> You made 2/3rds of the height gain, and were past the
> steepest part. C'mon give yourself some credit ;-)
I was? blimey, didn't realise that. Next time shan't turn
off then :-)
>
> Heffers, Borders or Waterstones will sell you OS 1:25,000
> maps 209 and 210, which will show you lots of roads you
> never knew existed in the area. Sometimes a bit of local
> knowledge is needed to know which have the bad traffic (eg
> Lime Kiln Road looks innocuous), but by and large they're
> a big help. In this case you may be thinking of the road
> from the A1307 roundabout to the Shelfords, which is very
> easy. OS Grid references work a lot better than road
> numbers for this sort of thing..
>
>
> Mike
>
Yes, I have one of those, but I navigate by landmarks rather
than road names, simply because of the sheer amount of
driving I do - it tends to be easier to remember by
visualisation rather than names.. I only come a cropper when
trying to describe it to someone else ;-) Yes, that (and the
one further into cambridge but the same road, running
parallel to
it) is the road I meant.
It wasn't at all easy when I did it :-) But then I was
completely unfit at that point.
--
Velvet
Velvet wrote:
> Fit cyclists that go hareing up mountainsides and call
> them hills, and dismiss anything else as being undulations
> or equally of no substance can (put politely) go crank
> themselves.
>
> I post here with a very positive experience with cycling,
> and then you lot (not all of you, I know) pick it apart
> and tell me they're not hills, inferring a real cyclist
> would call it a flat ride, well sprockets to the lot of
> you - I had a good time, I enjoyed myself, and I did
> better than I thought I would, and improved over what I've
> managed before.
And you know that better than anyone, which is kewl.
> Maybe if there were fewer snobs in cycling trying to
> belittle the achievements of others there might be a few
> more of us willing to give it a go.
On the other hand, this fat unfit bloke lives in a hilly
area, where any route that isn't on the valley floor
involves 200-350m climbs. I'm rather partial to descriptions
of routes that involve 75m climbs as "hills", because it
makes me feel Very Smug Indeed at the routes I've managed.
:-)
--
Keith Willoughby http://flat222.org/keith/ They're parking
camels where the taxis used to be
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