Hello
I participated in my first bike race today (bike relay portion of the Santa Cruz triathlon). On the one hand, I am extremely pleased, and somewhat proud at that accomplishment. However, I am also modestly disappointed in my performance. I did a few rides to prepare for this 25 mile race.
- Bike 18 miles, with 5 miles of fairly steep up hill
- Bike 30 miles on mostly flat terrain
Here are a few of my observations.
- Parts of the road were very rough. Some of then were even on a low grade down hill, but my speed seemed to be restricted by the friction. I did not realize that different roads offer different levels of roughness or smoothness. Is that really true, or am I imagining things as I might be tired?
- I was wearing proper, padded pants, but my backside is much more sore than what it usually is after a ride of comparable distance.
- The back of my hamstrings were very tight (almost cramped) towards the end of the ride.
- I was out of breath fairly quickly in the race.
I finished the race in 1 hour 38 min, with average speed of 15 mph and a high of 35 mph (downhill). I have a Cannondale bike, which is fairly new and recently tuned. I did not bike with any kind of cycling shoes - just regular sneakers.
Is there anything obvious that I could change? I am suspecting, I have to learn more about biking performance. What might be a good book or site (other than hanging out at this forum) for me to do so? Also, is there a "recommended" biking posture?
Thanks for reading.
I participated in my first bike race today (bike relay portion of the Santa Cruz triathlon). On the one hand, I am extremely pleased, and somewhat proud at that accomplishment. However, I am also modestly disappointed in my performance. I did a few rides to prepare for this 25 mile race.
- Bike 18 miles, with 5 miles of fairly steep up hill
- Bike 30 miles on mostly flat terrain
Here are a few of my observations.
- Parts of the road were very rough. Some of then were even on a low grade down hill, but my speed seemed to be restricted by the friction. I did not realize that different roads offer different levels of roughness or smoothness. Is that really true, or am I imagining things as I might be tired?
- I was wearing proper, padded pants, but my backside is much more sore than what it usually is after a ride of comparable distance.
- The back of my hamstrings were very tight (almost cramped) towards the end of the ride.
- I was out of breath fairly quickly in the race.
I finished the race in 1 hour 38 min, with average speed of 15 mph and a high of 35 mph (downhill). I have a Cannondale bike, which is fairly new and recently tuned. I did not bike with any kind of cycling shoes - just regular sneakers.
Is there anything obvious that I could change? I am suspecting, I have to learn more about biking performance. What might be a good book or site (other than hanging out at this forum) for me to do so? Also, is there a "recommended" biking posture?
Thanks for reading.