the ride in

doobrie said:

completed the other leg of the commute on way into work this morning, both ways now cycled and all
i can say is ... ouch!

distance: 15 miles - not flat, mainly slowly undulating slopes way home took: 1 hour 13 minutes
way in to work: 1 hour 23 minutes

Nice one!

Pretty evenly matched gradients each way then. Do you have a cycle computer? May I suggest starting
~(if you haven't already) an excel sheet, of journeys, by date, listing directio, conditions and
time taken. Also average and fastest speeds if you have a cyclepooter. See below for why..

Quoted message said:

way in this morning was very tough ... the mountains almost seemed vertical and i had two 1 minute
rest stops (funnily enough these were on almost flat sections ... in between two sets of climbs) ,
i also jumped off the bike and walked around a dodgy roundabout that is tough enough in the car
too, safety being preferable

Always. Do you wear a helmet for that distance? I don't for my 3 miles each way, especially as half
of that is not on road. Not even after Sundays incident. However I think I would if it was all road,
or if it was maybe 5 miles or more mixed.

Quoted message said:

i'll do the same journey on thursday after my rest day to see what its like when im fairly fresh
and rested too

but, ive done it, know how tough it is currently and can only get easier from now on,

And you'll be surprised at how quickly it'll get easier. Perhaps for your next few rides you'll not
get quicker, but find it a bit less strenuous, then after a while (maybe half a dozen journeys?)
you'll likely start knocking time off your journey with each run. This is where the above mentioned
data keeping will becoming interesting, eventually you should be able to plot a progress chart and
maybe even start setting yourself reasonable targets against predictions.

Quoted message said:

one thing for sure is i need a long sleeved top or two, it wasnt cold, but a little chilly -
not cold enough to put on my windbreaker/chillstopper/wet top but definately needed a long
sleeved top.

Well there's that site I pointed you at recently, also try Dirt Monkey by Halfords you might be
surprised at their XL.

Quoted message said:

i also wore my cheap aldi cycle shorts under my usual shorts too which helped a little with the
sore ass ... i guess a day off from this will have the body reconstructing this area and
fortifying it, hopefully!

I find that if I don't wear them I suffer for a few rides after, if I wear them every time, I'm okay
every time. But again, it get's easier!

--
Dnc

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

distance: 15 miles - not flat, mainly slowly undulating slopes way home took: 1 hour 13 minutes
way in to work: 1 hour 23 minutes

Nice one!

Pretty evenly matched gradients each way then. Do you have a cycle computer? May I suggest
starting ~(if you haven't already) an excel sheet, of journeys, by date, listing directio,
conditions and time taken. Also average and fastest speeds if you have a cyclepooter. See below
for why..

yes, a cateye astrale

Quoted message said:

Always. Do you wear a helmet for that distance? I don't for my 3 miles each way, especially as
half of that is not on road. Not even after Sundays incident. However I think I would if it was
all road, or if it was maybe 5 miles or more mixed.

i didnt when i started cycling, but as much to shut the family up as for anti gravel rash reasons
ive now started wearing one.

Quoted message said:

And you'll be surprised at how quickly it'll get easier. Perhaps for your next few rides you'll
not get quicker, but find it a bit less strenuous, then after a while (maybe half a dozen
journeys?) you'll likely start knocking time off your journey with each run. This is where the
above mentioned data keeping will becoming interesting, eventually you should be able to plot a
progress chart and maybe even start setting yourself reasonable targets against predictions.

yes, ive already got the spreadsheet/graph ready that i use for my weight loss attempt. i coud
incorporate this into that one. will be interesting to see where i settle as i expect the initial
fitness gain will be quite rapid and then level off but with regular weight loss added to it i
should see a steady improvement due to that too .... as im currently carrying over 100 pounds excess
weight then these hills should be a doddle once ive gained the fitness and lost the weight .....

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

one thing for sure is i need a long sleeved top or two, it wasnt cold, but a little chilly - not
cold enough to put on my windbreaker/chillstopper/wet top but definately needed a long sleeved

Well there's that site I pointed you at recently, also try Dirt Monkey by Halfords you might be
surprised at their XL.

yeah, worth a look, anything with long sleeves will do for now, i think it'd be too warm/sweaty in
my chillstopper at the moment but i guess after my holiday things will start to get cooler ... as i
go away end of august it'll be middle of september when i start up again and 2 weeks of slobbing out
in florida not gonna be too good for the cycling legs!

In message <[email hidden]>, doobrie <[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

completed the other leg of the commute on way into work this morning, both ways now cycled and all
i can say is ... ouch!

distance: 15 miles - not flat, mainly slowly undulating slopes way home took: 1 hour 13 minutes way
in to work: 1 hour 23 minutes

way in this morning was very tough ... the mountains almost seemed vertical and i had two 1 minute
rest stops (funnily enough these were on almost flat sections ... in between two sets of climbs) ,

Has it been windy your way? Even a moderate wind can make a big difference to the effort needed.

Quoted message said:

but, ive done it, know how tough it is currently and can only get easier from now on, one thing for
sure is i need a long sleeved top or two, it wasnt cold, but a little chilly - not cold enough to
put on my windbreaker/chillstopper/wet top but definately needed a long sleeved top.

I find a windproof top one of the most useful items of clothing - I use a Buffalo Pertex top which
is very light and breathable - I carry a separate waterproof most of the time but only wear it once
it starts raining (not for the odd little sprinkle of rain) I use my windproof all the time. In the
summer it's useful for cooler days/evenings/mornings over a top (usually short sleeved) in the
colder months I use it over a long sleeved top or two. I find this preferable on many occasions to
putting on an extra thicker layer.

--
Chris French, Leeds

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

Quoted message said:

In message <[email hidden]>, doobrie
<[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

completed the other leg of the commute on way into work this morning,

both

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

ways now cycled and all i can say is ... ouch!

distance: 15 miles - not flat, mainly slowly undulating slopes way home took: 1 hour 13 minutes
way in to work: 1 hour 23 minutes

way in this morning was very tough ... the mountains almost seemed

vertical

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

and i had two 1 minute rest stops (funnily enough these were on almost

flat

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

sections ... in between two sets of climbs) ,

Has it been windy your way? Even a moderate wind can make a big difference to the effort needed.

Quoted message said:

but, ive done it, know how tough it is currently and can only get easier from now on, one thing
for sure is i need a long sleeved top or two, it wasnt cold, but a little chilly - not cold
enough to put on my windbreaker/chillstopper/wet top but definately needed a long sleeved

top.

Quoted message said:

I find a windproof top one of the most useful items of clothing - I use a Buffalo Pertex top which
is very light and breathable - I carry a separate waterproof most of the time but only wear it
once it starts raining (not for the odd little sprinkle of rain) I use my windproof all the time.
In the summer it's useful for cooler days/evenings/mornings over a top (usually short sleeved) in
the colder months I use it over a long sleeved top or two. I find this preferable on many
occasions to putting on an extra thicker layer.

Agreed a windproof is very useful & the pertex kind fold down to nothing, you can get them with
reflectors on too. Mine is by Sprayway.

I have got a long sleaved top from De Marchi which is excellent and not too expensive at £34.99
on Wiggle.

--
Andrew

"Look laddie, if you're in the penalty area and aren't quite sure what to do with the ball, just
stick it in the net and we'll discuss all your options afterwards."

Quoted message said:

--
Chris French, Leeds

On Tue, 19 Aug 2003 09:43:34 +0100, "doobrie" <[email hidden]> wrote:

snip

Quoted message said:

i also wore my cheap aldi cycle shorts under my usual shorts too which helped a little with the
sore ass ... i guess a day off from this will have the body reconstructing this area and fortifying
it, hopefully!

sounds like a Brooks saddle might be a useful upgrade to add to the list? Cheers Richard

Please remove THIS if replying

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

i also wore my cheap aldi cycle shorts under my usual shorts too which helped a little with the
sore ass ... i guess a day off from this will have the body reconstructing this area and
fortifying it, hopefully!

sounds like a Brooks saddle might be a useful upgrade to add to the list? Cheers Richard

hmmm, dunno ... until last ride i hadnt used cycle shorts so havent had any padding other than the
bit of padding already in the seat

ive had today off from anything strenuous so will see how things are over the next couple days ...
i'll continue wearing the cycle shorts under me normal ones now so hopefully should be ok

im usually unlucky with things ... the brooks would probably cripple me!

In "]news:[email hidden], doobrie <[email hidden]> typed:

Quoted message said:

ive had today off from anything strenuous so will see how things are over the next couple days ...
i'll continue wearing the cycle shorts under me normal ones now so hopefully should be ok

Larrup on some drapolene or sudocrem. Its designed for babies' sore bums but does wonders for
cyclists' sore bums as well.

Quoted message said:

im usually unlucky with things ... the brooks would probably cripple me!

Absolutelty for the first 500 miles until your bum conforms to the shape of the Brooks ;-)

Tony

--
"If you tell the truth you don't have to remember anything." Mark Twain