I finally understand.

In article <[email hidden]>,

Maggie said:

I just figured it all out. This is the NG where no one ever grows old.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Almost, but not quite. We're Classics.

A classic anything is classic /despite/ age, not because of it.

Don't worry; you're a classic, too.

As for that party-all-night stuff from our youth -- as I recall,
the next day at work would be sheer living hell. Well, it was
no picnic, anyways. I'm happy to have outgrown that.

cheers, & Monday I'll Have Friday on my Mind,
Tom

--
-- Nothing is safe from me.
Above address is just a spam midden.
I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn [point] bc [point] ca

Bill Baka wrote:
:: Maggie wrote:
::: I just figured it all out. This is the NG where no one ever grows
::: old. I finally get it. "18 till I die" is the motto for this secret
::: society.
:::
::: Everyone is exactly the same as they were when they were 18.
:::
::: I guess I have not put on the funny hat, and taken the secret oath,
::: or been privy to the secret handshake and sacred handbook to be
::: part of the group yet.
:::
::: How does one enter this secret society? Do I need to be sponsored
::: or sign an oath in blood? When do I get my funny hat?
:::
::: Do I go through the ritual on my bike while riding upside down,
::: holding a twinkie? Do I get a membership card that self destructs
::: if I take the secret outside of the society of "ageless, timeless,
::: cyclists".
:::
::: Maggie.
:::
:: You probably have to have a road bike that costs over $500 and be
:: able to ride a century a day at over 25 MPH. Way too many hot shots
:: on here to be called .misc anymore. Maybe over on the .soc group
:: people might be sociable. I am keeping a low profile these days and
:: just riding at anywhere from 8 mph (total goof off) to 20 mph (about
:: my max). If I take 10 hours to do a century does it count?
:: This is a strange group, centered on bikes, but strange anyway.
:: Bill Baka

There's nothing at all strange about this group. It reflects the "group" of
people who hang out here lately. Certainly, not all people here complete a
century in 4.5 hours or under, but so what? If I could, I certainly would.
And I have it as a goal to approach that time for a century. I may never
make it, but it can't hurt to try.

"Maggie" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I just figured it all out. This is the NG where no one ever grows old.
I finally get it. "18 till I die" is the motto for this secret
society.

Everyone is exactly the same as they were when they were 18.

I guess I have not put on the funny hat, and taken the secret oath, or
been privy to the secret handshake and sacred handbook to be part of
the group yet.

How does one enter this secret society? Do I need to be sponsored or
sign an oath in blood? When do I get my funny hat?

Do I go through the ritual on my bike while riding upside down, holding
a twinkie? Do I get a membership card that self destructs if I take the
secret outside of the society of "ageless, timeless, cyclists".

Maggie.

Would you like some cheese with that whine, Maggie?

FWIW, many of us enjoy the significant health benefits of cycling and take
pride in our accomplishments and strength. Cycling is a great lifestyle -
it's an excellent calorie burner, it's low impact, it's great for
cardiovascular health, it involves high tech equipment, and there's speed.
What's not to like?

Nobody's saying they're the same as they were when they were 18, but many of
us are taking on challenges that we could not have conceived of when we were
younger. For instance, at the end of June, I'll be off to Colorado for the
Bicycle Tour of Colorado (http://www.bicycletourcolorado.com/) - 450 miles
of riding in 7 days, with 28,000 feet of climbing (including two crossings
of the Continental Divide, with one pass higher than 12,000 feet). A week
after that, I'll be riding the "Death Ride" (www.deathride.com) down near
Lake Tahoe in the California Sierras - 125 miles, with 16,000 feet of
climbing, in one day.
I'm 52. Could I have done rides like this when I was 18? Probably...I was
pretty fit back then. But, without specific training, it would have been
very tough. And I most definitely could *not* have done those rides in my
early 30's (when I was an overweight smoker), or in my early 40's when I
first got back into cycling.

So, yes, we celebrate our strength. We take joy in our healthy lifestyles.
We love to ride hard, climb big mountains, and get up the next day to do it
all over again. I ride with many others in their 50's, 60's, and 70's (men
and women), who feel the same.

You, on the other hand, seem to celebrate and embrace your impending
decrepitude, and disparage those of us who take pride in our
accomplishments...what's up with that? Is that a Jersey thing?

--
~_-*
....G/ \G
http://www.CycliStats.com
CycliStats - Software for Cyclists

On Tue, 31 May 2005 08:50:59 -0700, "GaryG" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

For instance, at the end of June, I'll be off to Colorado for the
Bicycle Tour of Colorado (http://www.bicycletourcolorado.com/) - 450 miles
of riding in 7 days, with 28,000 feet of climbing (including two crossings
of the Continental Divide, with one pass higher than 12,000 feet). A week
after that, I'll be riding the "Death Ride" (www.deathride.com) down near
Lake Tahoe in the California Sierras - 125 miles, with 16,000 feet of
climbing, in one day.
I'm 52. Could I have done rides like this when I was 18? Probably...I was
pretty fit back then. But, without specific training, it would have been
very tough. And I most definitely could *not* have done those rides in my
early 30's (when I was an overweight smoker), or in my early 40's when I
first got back into cycling.

Hi Gary. I wonder if you would mind going over your development from age 40
when you got back into cycling?

IOW, did you just go into it whole hog and start riding consistently at age
40?

How long from the time that you started riding consistently did it take for
you to get to the point where you can contemplate the kind of rides you're
doing now?

I've heard that it takes about 7-8 years of consistent riding to get up to
that kind of level. I'm hoping to do it in 4-5, so I'm looking for some
that have gone through the experience.

In my case it took about 9 months of consistent riding two years ago when I
started (and wasn't in good shape) to get to the point where I could
consistently turn in 80-100 mile weeks on the flats, however I was still
riding quite slowly (12-14mph).

In the last 12 months, still very consistently riding, I've gained some
speed and have begun to ride some easy hills. I'm now riding about 70-80
mile weeks at about 16-20mph (I cut my distance to work on speed this
spring).

Would you expect that even if I continue to be consistent that I'll be at a
plateau for a year or two, or would you expect that the progress will
continue to be relatively the same degree? (based on your experiences)

Thanks!

jj

In article <[email hidden]>,

Peter Cole said:

Most of what chalked up to aging is really lifestyle disease. Aging is
real, but most of the ideas about it are based on ignorance. There is a
cultural disconnect as people assume that affluence means comfort and
luxury. As it turns out, you're much better off adopting the diet and
transportation habit of the third world -- while maintaining the medical
and nutritional advantages of the first world, of course.

I gave you [censored] in another thread (or at least thought about it) and
find myself compelled to reconsider, because I agree with what you wrote
wholly and without qualification.

Our definitions of comfort and luxury are mired in ante-industrilization
thinking. The correct view, is, of course, that for the majority of the
industrialized world, exercise and physicality is a mitzvah to be
treasured and not avoided.

I see it in my cohort: people of my age band, +/- 5~10 years, are
bifurcating into two ever divergent classes, the single greatest
predictor of class membership being their physicality, with diet being a
not-so-close second.

Thus, i learned the unicycle last august, at the age of 45. (which is
what i'm going to do this afternoon for a couple of hours, before i hop
on my road bike to go to work. :-)

..max

GaryG said:

You, on the other hand, seem to celebrate and embrace your impending
decrepitude, and disparage those of us who take pride in our
accomplishments...what's up with that? Is that a Jersey thing?

I'm laughing out loud. No, I don't think it is a Jersey thing. I think
it's a Maggie thing. I am far from embracing my impending decrepitude.
And I have told many of you over and over how I admire your
accomplishments. Don't make me look back at my previous posts now.

I guess I am trying to come to terms with my age. Who the hell knows.
You think I have a clue?? I am two french fries short of a happy
meal.

I'm riding my bike and I am trying. Do I get any points for that?
Believe me, I am not sitting in my rocking chair waiting to die. I am
in this office playing on the internet too much. That might be a
problem. But I am trying to stay in shape as I gracefully age into a
sexy old broad with attitude.

I want to be Bette Davis. That was a wicked woman with attitude.

"She got....Bette Davis eyes".

Maggie

"jj" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On Tue, 31 May 2005 08:50:59 -0700, "GaryG" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

For instance, at the end of June, I'll be off to Colorado for the
Bicycle Tour of Colorado (http://www.bicycletourcolorado.com/) - 450

miles

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

of riding in 7 days, with 28,000 feet of climbing (including two

crossings

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

of the Continental Divide, with one pass higher than 12,000 feet). A

week

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

after that, I'll be riding the "Death Ride" (www.deathride.com) down near
Lake Tahoe in the California Sierras - 125 miles, with 16,000 feet of
climbing, in one day.
I'm 52. Could I have done rides like this when I was 18? Probably...I

was

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

pretty fit back then. But, without specific training, it would have been
very tough. And I most definitely could *not* have done those rides in

my

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

early 30's (when I was an overweight smoker), or in my early 40's when I
first got back into cycling.

Hi Gary. I wonder if you would mind going over your development from age

40

Quoted message said:

when you got back into cycling?

IOW, did you just go into it whole hog and start riding consistently at

age

Quoted message said:

40?

How long from the time that you started riding consistently did it take

for

Quoted message said:

you to get to the point where you can contemplate the kind of rides you're
doing now?

I've heard that it takes about 7-8 years of consistent riding to get up to
that kind of level. I'm hoping to do it in 4-5, so I'm looking for some
that have gone through the experience.

In my case it took about 9 months of consistent riding two years ago when

I

Quoted message said:

started (and wasn't in good shape) to get to the point where I could
consistently turn in 80-100 mile weeks on the flats, however I was still
riding quite slowly (12-14mph).

In the last 12 months, still very consistently riding, I've gained some
speed and have begun to ride some easy hills. I'm now riding about 70-80
mile weeks at about 16-20mph (I cut my distance to work on speed this
spring).

Would you expect that even if I continue to be consistent that I'll be at

a

Quoted message said:

plateau for a year or two, or would you expect that the progress will
continue to be relatively the same degree? (based on your experiences)

Thanks!

jj

Kind of hard to say. I initially got into cycling as a way of losing some
weight and quitting cigarettes (I'd been clean for 5 years, then got hooked
in a moment of weakness in my late 30's that lasted for a year until I got
the bike). I was mostly a mountain biker for the first 4 or 5 years. During
that time, I increased the length and difficulty of the rides I was
doing...nothing structured, just looking for bigger challenges as my fitness
improved.

With road biking, it's been similar. Each year I try to look for a few
challenges to motivate my training. Typically, this will include some
centuries, one week-long tour, and a few races.

As for questions about rate of improvement - I don't think it will take you
7-8 years if you're consistent and at all focused (which it sounds you are).
I think 3-5 years is probably more realistic. Just be aware that the gains
you'll see with each passing year will be smaller (damnit!).

A few things you might want to concentrate on:

1) Intervals
Structured, or not, these will make you stronger. I sometimes do structured
intervals if preparing for something like a time trial, but most of my
riding is unstructured hill climbing intervals. I try to get in at least 2
"hard" rides each week (but, never back-to-back days). If you think you
might have any cardiovascular issues, get checked out beforehand, and be
aware of any symptoms so you don't end up dying on your bike (ala the late
cycling author Dr. Edmund Burke).

2) Weight
If you ride hills, losing weight can help a lot. In the last couple of
years I've really focused on this aspect, and I'm now back down to near what
I weighed in high school (6' 168 lbs). My last trip to Colorado in '03 I
weighed 183, so I'm really looking forward to this year's ride.

3) Pacelines/Groups
If you live where it's flat, you can hook up with a group and enjoy
pacelining. It's a bit dangerous, but rolling along barely breaking a sweat
at 25 mph in a well-oiled paceline is one of the true joys of cycling (and
will give you much more appreciation of what's going on in bike races you
see on TV).

4) Volume
70-80 miles per week is OK, especially if you're riding with intensity.
But, I've found my greatest gains when I bump up the training volume to
around 150 miles per week.

You might also want to get some cycling training books (Father's Day is just
around the corner). Carmichael (Lance's coach) is OK, but I find his advice
kind of "generic". Joel Friel is good if you're really into highly
structured training plans (I appreciate his perspective, but just can't
force myself to be that structured). My favorite book is "The Complete Book
of Long-Distance Cycling", by the late Edmund Burke
http://tinyurl.com/4o7l5 - well-written, oriented more towards centuries,
doubles and tours than racing, and covers most every aspect (equipment,
training, physiology, nutrition, etc.).

Finally - keep those pedals turning, and stay away from the cagers!

--
~_-*
....G/ \G
http://www.CycliStats.com
CycliStats - Software for Cyclists

max said:

Our definitions of comfort and luxury are mired in ante-industrilization
thinking. The correct view, is, of course, that for the majority of the
industrialized world, exercise and physicality is a mitzvah to be
treasured and not avoided.

I see it in my cohort: people of my age band, +/- 5~10 years, are
bifurcating into two ever divergent classes, the single greatest
predictor of class membership being their physicality, with diet being a
not-so-close second.

Thus, i learned the unicycle last august, at the age of 45. (which is
what i'm going to do this afternoon for a couple of hours, before i hop
on my road bike to go to work. :-)

Quoted message said:

.max

You sure use alot of big words. ;-) I especially enjoyed the word
bifurcating...why not just write divide instead?
Never use a 10 dollar word when a dollar word will do. ;-) That is
what I was taught anyway.
Maggie

Maggie said:

You sure use alot of big words. ;-) I especially enjoyed the word
bifurcating...why not just write divide instead?
Never use a 10 dollar word when a dollar word will do. ;-) That is
what I was taught anyway.

i work with a lot of brainiacs. it rubs off.

..max

"Maggie" <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

I just figured it all out. This is the NG where no one ever grows
old. I finally get it. "18 till I die" is the motto for this
secret society.

SNIP

Man, it must really be a slow day at work!

On Tue, 31 May 2005 09:47:47 -0700, "GaryG" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I've heard that it takes about 7-8 years of consistent riding to get up to
that kind of level. I'm hoping to do it in 4-5, so I'm looking for some
that have gone through the experience.

In my case it took about 9 months of consistent riding two years ago when

I

Quoted message said:

started (and wasn't in good shape) to get to the point where I could
consistently turn in 80-100 mile weeks on the flats, however I was still
riding quite slowly (12-14mph).

In the last 12 months, still very consistently riding, I've gained some
speed and have begun to ride some easy hills. I'm now riding about 70-80
mile weeks at about 16-20mph (I cut my distance to work on speed this
spring).

Would you expect that even if I continue to be consistent that I'll be at
a plateau for a year or two, or would you expect that the progress will
continue to be relatively the same degree? (based on your experiences)

Thanks!

jj

Kind of hard to say. I initially got into cycling as a way of losing some
weight and quitting cigarettes (I'd been clean for 5 years, then got hooked
in a moment of weakness in my late 30's that lasted for a year until I got
the bike). I was mostly a mountain biker for the first 4 or 5 years. During
that time, I increased the length and difficulty of the rides I was
doing...nothing structured, just looking for bigger challenges as my fitness
improved.

When you say mountain biker, do you mean riding single track, or do you
mean riding jeep trails and soforth?

Quoted message said:

With road biking, it's been similar. Each year I try to look for a few
challenges to motivate my training. Typically, this will include some
centuries, one week-long tour, and a few races.

As for questions about rate of improvement - I don't think it will take you
7-8 years if you're consistent and at all focused (which it sounds you are).
I think 3-5 years is probably more realistic. Just be aware that the gains
you'll see with each passing year will be smaller (damnit!).

So at your current level of fitness, before tackling something like those
two rides (which I'll look up shortly) you'd want to have a season or two
of 150 miles/week (say 8months) and be able to ride at about a 25mph pace
on the flats, solo? (for instance?)

Or do you focus on doing lots and lots of climbing?

My plan is that I want my speed to be up to a certain level (approx 20mph
avg over 2 hours), and next year I plan to start including some fairly long
climbs. Right now I'm riding the foothills which is becoming
counter-productive, because the climbs are not long enough and I'm spending
too much time riding down the resultant hills, meaning my speed starts
decaying over-all.

Quoted message said:

A few things you might want to concentrate on:

1) Intervals
Structured, or not, these will make you stronger. I sometimes do structured
intervals if preparing for something like a time trial, but most of my
riding is unstructured hill climbing intervals. I try to get in at least 2
"hard" rides each week (but, never back-to-back days). If you think you
might have any cardiovascular issues, get checked out beforehand, and be
aware of any symptoms so you don't end up dying on your bike (ala the late
cycling author Dr. Edmund Burke).

For intervals, I'm doing repeat two mile loops on lightly rolling hills,
with about 1 minute rest. I do about 12 miles (or about 6 repeats). Riding
as hard as I can (meaning about 20-25mph) after such a workout, I'm ready
to go home, but I'm not wiped out. I've been doing this daily since the end
of February. I plan to keep doing this route for the next four weeks,
upping my speed and increasing the number of laps. Since I don't really
consider this a 'hard day', I do this same workout every day. I'm not
really able to ride what I'd consider a hard day right now, given my
fitness and the routes available. I wish I had a nice 50 mile nearly flat
route, like a rail to trail route that I could just get on and go and not
worry about traffic or naviagating.

Quoted message said:

2) Weight
If you ride hills, losing weight can help a lot. In the last couple of
years I've really focused on this aspect, and I'm now back down to near what
I weighed in high school (6' 168 lbs). My last trip to Colorado in '03 I
weighed 183, so I'm really looking forward to this year's ride.

Yeah, I still have about 30-40lbs I want to lose. Trouble is there's not a
lot of good riding around here at my level. I'm not good enough to go up
and ride on the Blue Ridge Parkway yet (imo), and therefore I'm stuck in
the foothills in a relatively hilly town with a lot of traffic. (the
traffic is the big problem for me. This was a pretty good place to ride
back in the 70s when the traffic was much, much lighter).

Quoted message said:

3) Pacelines/Groups
If you live where it's flat, you can hook up with a group and enjoy
pacelining. It's a bit dangerous, but rolling along barely breaking a sweat
at 25 mph in a well-oiled paceline is one of the true joys of cycling (and
will give you much more appreciation of what's going on in bike races you
see on TV).

Unfortunately there's not a cycling club or much group riding here. The
University team does their own little group rides of about 2-4 guys, but
I'm not at the level where I could hang with them yet.

Quoted message said:

4) Volume
70-80 miles per week is OK, especially if you're riding with intensity.
But, I've found my greatest gains when I bump up the training volume to
around 150 miles per week.

Noted. I went out and scouted a route north of here that has a nice 25 mile
lightly rolling hill loop, but I still need to find a place to park. When
everything is equal, i.e. I have a good route, the natural distance/time I
ride is right around 160miles per week at about 15mph avg. I can do this
week after week, but I have to travel to my brothers to have a route that's
adaptable to this. (it's mostly flat).

Quoted message said:

You might also want to get some cycling training books (Father's Day is just
around the corner). Carmichael (Lance's coach) is OK, but I find his advice
kind of "generic". Joel Friel is good if you're really into highly
structured training plans (I appreciate his perspective, but just can't
force myself to be that structured). My favorite book is "The Complete Book
of Long-Distance Cycling", by the late Edmund Burke
http://tinyurl.com/4o7l5 - well-written, oriented more towards centuries,
doubles and tours than racing, and covers most every aspect (equipment,
training, physiology, nutrition, etc.).

I'll look into Burke's book, but I'm not really into riding someone else's
"schedule". I generally have two things going for me. I'm very consistent
and I try to ride with intensity and push it as much as possible. So far
that's taken me far beyond what I thought I'd ever be able to do.

I remember riding by a little foothill about a year and a half ago and I
tried to ride up it and ended up having to get off my bike and walk the
durn thing. Now I ride right up it without much trouble as part of my loop.
I really was convinced that I'd never be able to ride any of the hills
around here! <g>

Quoted message said:

Finally - keep those pedals turning, and stay away from the cagers!

Yep, and yep. Thanks, and good luck on your ride. I'm sure you'll keep a
journal and I'll be looking forward to reading it!

jj

On 31 May 2005 05:48:21 -0700, "Maggie" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

I just figured it all out. This is the NG where no one ever grows old.
I finally get it. "18 till I die" is the motto for this secret
society.

Everyone is exactly the same as they were when they were 18.

I guess I have not put on the funny hat, and taken the secret oath, or
been privy to the secret handshake and sacred handbook to be part of
the group yet.

How does one enter this secret society? Do I need to be sponsored or
sign an oath in blood? When do I get my funny hat?

Do I go through the ritual on my bike while riding upside down, holding
a twinkie? Do I get a membership card that self destructs if I take the
secret outside of the society of "ageless, timeless, cyclists".

Maggie.

Everybody gets older.

Not everybody agonises about it at great *tedious* length in public.

Do you get it, you friggin' weirdo?

Tue, 31 May 2005 16:56:25 GMT,
<[email hidden]>, max

Quoted message said:

Maggie said:

You sure use alot of big words. ;-) I especially enjoyed the word
bifurcating...why not just write divide instead?
Never use a 10 dollar word when a dollar word will do. ;-) That is
what I was taught anyway.

i work with a lot of brainiacs. it rubs off.

You may have to go to New Jersey for rehabilitation.
--
zk

Quoted message said:

Not everybody agonises about it at great *tedious* length in public.

Do you get it, you friggin' weirdo?

Who the hell is forcing you to read it? I am sure there are intelligent
people on this newsgroup who actually see my name and skip over it.
Do you know how to skip over the posts placed on a thread by friggin
weirdo's?? Get real.
No one is holding a gun to yours or anyones head to read my posts. Read
at your own risk. May contain tedious weirdo stuff.

Maggie

Zoot Katz said:

You may have to go to New Jersey for rehabilitation.
--
zk

Touche'

Quoted message said:

From Maggie Mae

Mike Latondresse said:

Man, it must really be a slow day at work!

Owner is out for the day, I run the office. Do the math..

Maggie <[email hidden]> wrote:
:> GaryG wrote:
:> > You, on the other hand, seem to celebrate and embrace your
:> > impending decrepitude, and disparage those of us who take pride in
:> > our accomplishments...what's up with that? Is that a Jersey thing?
:> >
:>
:> I'm laughing out loud. No, I don't think it is a Jersey thing. I
:> think it's a Maggie thing. I am far from embracing my impending
:> decrepitude. And I have told many of you over and over how I admire
:> your accomplishments. Don't make me look back at my previous posts
:> now.
:>
:>
:> I guess I am trying to come to terms with my age. Who the hell knows.
:> You think I have a clue?? I am two french fries short of a happy
:> meal.
:>
:> I'm riding my bike and I am trying. Do I get any points for that?
:> Believe me, I am not sitting in my rocking chair waiting to die. I
:> am in this office playing on the internet too much. That might be a
:> problem. But I am trying to stay in shape as I gracefully age into a
:> sexy old broad with attitude.
:>
:> I want to be Bette Davis. That was a wicked woman with attitude.
:>
:> "She got....Bette Davis eyes".
:>

It's good that you're riding, Mags.....but the problem I see is your
thinking....what in your head....and seriously, that's a much harder nut to
crack than getting fit enough to climb 16000 ft in a day!

On 31 May 2005 11:33:04 -0700, "Maggie" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Not everybody agonises about it at great *tedious* length in public.

Do you get it, you friggin' weirdo?

Who the hell is forcing you to read it? I am sure there are intelligent
people on this newsgroup who actually see my name and skip over it.
Do you know how to skip over the posts placed on a thread by friggin
weirdo's?? Get real.
No one is holding a gun to yours or anyones head to read my posts. Read
at your own risk. May contain tedious weirdo stuff.

Maggie

Have it your own way.

Seeing as you seem to thrive on attention I'll <plonk> you for 30 days
on the offchance that you might grow less self-obsessed, eventually...

Don't leave it too long though: Time's running out!

Roger Zoul said:

:>

It's good that you're riding, Mags.....but the problem I see is your
thinking....what in your head....and seriously, that's a much harder nut to
crack than getting fit enough to climb 16000 ft in a day!

I said I was riding, I never claimed to be sane. ;-)

Maggie

"jj" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On Tue, 31 May 2005 09:47:47 -0700, "GaryG" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I've heard that it takes about 7-8 years of consistent riding to get up

to

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that kind of level. I'm hoping to do it in 4-5, so I'm looking for some
that have gone through the experience.

In my case it took about 9 months of consistent riding two years ago

when

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I

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started (and wasn't in good shape) to get to the point where I could
consistently turn in 80-100 mile weeks on the flats, however I was

still

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riding quite slowly (12-14mph).

In the last 12 months, still very consistently riding, I've gained some
speed and have begun to ride some easy hills. I'm now riding about

70-80

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mile weeks at about 16-20mph (I cut my distance to work on speed this
spring).

Would you expect that even if I continue to be consistent that I'll be

at

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a plateau for a year or two, or would you expect that the progress will
continue to be relatively the same degree? (based on your experiences)

Thanks!

jj

Kind of hard to say. I initially got into cycling as a way of losing

some

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weight and quitting cigarettes (I'd been clean for 5 years, then got

hooked

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in a moment of weakness in my late 30's that lasted for a year until I

got

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the bike). I was mostly a mountain biker for the first 4 or 5 years.

During

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that time, I increased the length and difficulty of the rides I was
doing...nothing structured, just looking for bigger challenges as my

fitness

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improved.

When you say mountain biker, do you mean riding single track, or do you
mean riding jeep trails and soforth?

A mix of singletrack and jeep trails. When I started to get into longer
rides, it was more jeep trails and old Gold Rush wagon trails (it's hard to
find 30+ miles of singletrack).

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With road biking, it's been similar. Each year I try to look for a few
challenges to motivate my training. Typically, this will include some
centuries, one week-long tour, and a few races.

As for questions about rate of improvement - I don't think it will take

you

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7-8 years if you're consistent and at all focused (which it sounds you

are).

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I think 3-5 years is probably more realistic. Just be aware that the

gains

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you'll see with each passing year will be smaller (damnit!).

So at your current level of fitness, before tackling something like those
two rides (which I'll look up shortly) you'd want to have a season or two
of 150 miles/week (say 8months) and be able to ride at about a 25mph pace
on the flats, solo? (for instance?)

No...I rode just over 4000 miles last year, for a weekly average for the
year of 76.6 miles. My weekly average typically goes down in the winter.
Depending on my goals, I start to crank up the training in February or
March. For the past 90 days, I've averaged 121.6 miles per week (but we've
had some weather that kept me off the bike). Early in the season I focus on
bike setup, and getting in some base miles, with some "natural" intensity
built in (hills, mostly). After a month or two of gradually increasing
distance, I start to focus on higher intensity - intervals, hill climbs,
etc. Now, I'm trying to find time for more long rides, so I can be ready
for the long days of climbing that are ahead.

As for 25 mph solo on the flats...no way. I won two flat 10K & 20K time
trials a week ago, with aero bars, and my speed was only 24.2 for the 10K,
and 23.8 for the 20K (but, we had a 15+mph headwind on the return leg).

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Or do you focus on doing lots and lots of climbing?

Depends on my goals. This year, I have a lot of climbing goals, so I'm
focused on that. If I had other goals (e.g., to complete a double, or to
win a time trial) the training would be different.

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My plan is that I want my speed to be up to a certain level (approx 20mph
avg over 2 hours), and next year I plan to start including some fairly

long

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climbs. Right now I'm riding the foothills which is becoming
counter-productive, because the climbs are not long enough and I'm

spending

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too much time riding down the resultant hills, meaning my speed starts
decaying over-all.

That's a worthy goal...I've always subscribed to the theory that "your reach
should exceed your grasp". That said, 20 mph solo for 2 hours is pretty
damned tough, especially without aero bars.

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A few things you might want to concentrate on:

1) Intervals
Structured, or not, these will make you stronger. I sometimes do

structured

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intervals if preparing for something like a time trial, but most of my
riding is unstructured hill climbing intervals. I try to get in at least

2

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"hard" rides each week (but, never back-to-back days). If you think you
might have any cardiovascular issues, get checked out beforehand, and be
aware of any symptoms so you don't end up dying on your bike (ala the

late

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cycling author Dr. Edmund Burke).

For intervals, I'm doing repeat two mile loops on lightly rolling hills,
with about 1 minute rest. I do about 12 miles (or about 6 repeats). Riding
as hard as I can (meaning about 20-25mph) after such a workout, I'm ready
to go home, but I'm not wiped out. I've been doing this daily since the

end

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of February. I plan to keep doing this route for the next four weeks,
upping my speed and increasing the number of laps. Since I don't really
consider this a 'hard day', I do this same workout every day. I'm not
really able to ride what I'd consider a hard day right now, given my
fitness and the routes available. I wish I had a nice 50 mile nearly flat
route, like a rail to trail route that I could just get on and go and not
worry about traffic or naviagating.

You may, in fact, be overtraining. When you go "as hard as you can", with 6
repeats, that represents about 25-30 minutes at red line. Doing those back
to back may not allow your body time to recover...I find my best days are
after a hard week, follwoed by a day or two off the bike.

You might also want to start doing longer intervals - rather than 1 minute
rest after 2 miles, try going hard for 4 miles, then rest for a couple of
minutes and do it again.

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2) Weight
If you ride hills, losing weight can help a lot. In the last couple of
years I've really focused on this aspect, and I'm now back down to near

what

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I weighed in high school (6' 168 lbs). My last trip to Colorado in '03 I
weighed 183, so I'm really looking forward to this year's ride.

Yeah, I still have about 30-40lbs I want to lose. Trouble is there's not a
lot of good riding around here at my level. I'm not good enough to go up
and ride on the Blue Ridge Parkway yet (imo), and therefore I'm stuck in
the foothills in a relatively hilly town with a lot of traffic. (the
traffic is the big problem for me. This was a pretty good place to ride
back in the 70s when the traffic was much, much lighter).

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3) Pacelines/Groups
If you live where it's flat, you can hook up with a group and enjoy
pacelining. It's a bit dangerous, but rolling along barely breaking a

sweat

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at 25 mph in a well-oiled paceline is one of the true joys of cycling

(and

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will give you much more appreciation of what's going on in bike races you
see on TV).

Unfortunately there's not a cycling club or much group riding here. The
University team does their own little group rides of about 2-4 guys, but
I'm not at the level where I could hang with them yet.

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4) Volume
70-80 miles per week is OK, especially if you're riding with intensity.
But, I've found my greatest gains when I bump up the training volume to
around 150 miles per week.

Noted. I went out and scouted a route north of here that has a nice 25

mile

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lightly rolling hill loop, but I still need to find a place to park. When
everything is equal, i.e. I have a good route, the natural distance/time I
ride is right around 160miles per week at about 15mph avg. I can do this
week after week, but I have to travel to my brothers to have a route

that's

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adaptable to this. (it's mostly flat).

Is there a bike shop in town? They're usually a good source of info on
where it's safe to ride, and might be able to hook you up with others of
similar abilities. If you're doing 160 miles per week, even if somewhat
flat, that's pretty damned good.

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You might also want to get some cycling training books (Father's Day is

just

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around the corner). Carmichael (Lance's coach) is OK, but I find his

advice

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kind of "generic". Joel Friel is good if you're really into highly
structured training plans (I appreciate his perspective, but just can't
force myself to be that structured). My favorite book is "The Complete

Book

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of Long-Distance Cycling", by the late Edmund Burke
http://tinyurl.com/4o7l5 - well-written, oriented more towards centuries,
doubles and tours than racing, and covers most every aspect (equipment,
training, physiology, nutrition, etc.).

I'll look into Burke's book, but I'm not really into riding someone else's
"schedule". I generally have two things going for me. I'm very consistent
and I try to ride with intensity and push it as much as possible. So far
that's taken me far beyond what I thought I'd ever be able to do.

I remember riding by a little foothill about a year and a half ago and I
tried to ride up it and ended up having to get off my bike and walk the
durn thing. Now I ride right up it without much trouble as part of my

loop.

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I really was convinced that I'd never be able to ride any of the hills
around here! <g>

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Finally - keep those pedals turning, and stay away from the cagers!

Yep, and yep. Thanks, and good luck on your ride. I'm sure you'll keep a
journal and I'll be looking forward to reading it!

Oh, I will...I like to take photos during my yearly "big" rides. In fact,
I'm getting a free trip to Colorado this year, because the ride organizers
liked my photos enough that they offered free registration/food/etc. in
exchange for permission to use them in their marketing materials (thus
fulfilling one of my goals to become a "professional cycling
photographer"!).

You can see some of my past tours here:

http://www.shastasoftware.com/CycliStats/biketours/BTC2003/BTC0017.htm

http://www.shastasoftware.com/CycliStats/biketours/MTLASSEN2004/RAML_001.htm

--
~_-*
....G/ \G
http://www.CycliStats.com
CycliStats - Software for Cyclists

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jj