Tuesday night Beach Rd ride in Melbourne

[Tamyka Bell]

On Wed, 27 Apr 2005, Resound wrote:

>
> "Tamyka Bell" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>> 531Aussie wrote:
>>>
>>> GPLama Wrote:
>>>> I did a short Beach Rd stint on the weekend, only good part was the
>>>> head
>>>> wind..
>>>
>>> That reminds me of a bazar conversation I had when I was at uni, with a
>>> physiology lecturer who was also a recreational rider.
>>>
>>> She said she could not get her HR above 140 riding on flat ground!!
>>>
>>> So there I was, this big fat Beach Rd bogan B grade grinder, telling
>>> this educated woman with a "BhP", and 28 other letters after her name,
>>> that she had it all wrong, she didn't know how to ride, and did she
>>> think that elite track pursuiters had a problem gettting their HR up on
>>> a flat velodrome
>>>
>>> If someone can't get a rise out of their ticker on a flat road, it's
>>> either a technique or motivation problem
>>>
>>> --
>>> 531Aussie
>>
>> I'd be tempted to agree with you there. But it could also be a leg
>> strength / neural firing vs cardio fitness thing. I ran a half mara on
>> Sunday, haven't trained for it. Heart rate was nice'n'low the entire
>> time but my legs just aren't strong enough to do what they want to or
>> used to. When I was training for Ironman, same thing on the bike, and I
>> had lots of people assess technique - it was just that my heart was a
>> lot fitter than my legs were - cardio endurance kicked butt over
>> strength endurance.
>>
>> By the way, ya can't trust them edumucated types.
>>
>> Tam <insert random letters here>
>
> Dunno about r%nning, but as far as cycling goes, isn't that where you drop a
> gear and spin faster? Ease the legs a little and let the cardiovascular
> system take up the slack? Or am I barking up entirely the wrong tree?

That is true, at least I think most people would agree. For me it's not a
strength thing though, it's a muscle endurance thing. Like I spin, and my
cadence is nice and high and then my legs just die and my heart is still
going "bo-ring... like... what-EV-er..." (well, at my peak fitness it was,
the story is a little different these days...) Maybe my legs just didn't
have enough fuel to keep doing that. I mean, normal cadence for me out on
a training ride is 90-105 and as I taper for racing it'll be around 90-95.
By the time I'm doing 120 my legs just complain. Heart does okay though.

Tam

 

[Carl Brewer]

On 26 Apr 2005 16:28:15 -0700, "[email protected]"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>
>531Aussie wrote:
>> Anyone doing it?
>>
>> It's getting far too big and far too dangerous, with another stack
>> tonight.
>>
>> The growing size of the group, the "peakish" hour time-slot, being in
>> the dark, and the varying abilities of the riders has made the ride
>> very dangerous -- definitely more dangerous than racing.
>>
>> I reckon something should be done, such as (perhaps) splitting the
>> group when they get down to Mordy....or whatever.
>>
>> Any suggestions?
>>
>> It used to be the "Fitzroy Cycles Ride", but there seems to be heaps
>of
>> Richmond Cyclery guys down there, so maybe some of them can take
>charge
>> and try to curb the "mayhem"
>>
>
>IMO opinion, it seems most of the large Beach Rd rides have become more
>dangerous over the last 18 months. The numbers have swelled and too
>many guys are head down **** up just hanging on. My regular ride, the
>5.45 am North Road ride has become a complete shambles, no one seems to
>roll turns anymore, rather certain guys drive the bunch as hard as
>possible for a km or so then slow up which causes massive yo-yoing
>through the lines. It seems to have more and more A graders coming
>down from the 6.00 am bunch and they seem to have brought their nasty
>habits with them, which was the original reason why the 5.45 am bunch
>formed. Now it seems most of the guys who started the 5.45 ride have
>disappeared. I guess it goes hand in hand with the increase in the
>popularity of cycling and may just be the nature of it now ?

There's a slight tangent to this, whereby it's worth questioning the
worth of bunch rides for training purposes. If you're doing any
sort of structured training, chances are the popular/common bunch
rides are not the right thing to be doing. Never mind the
dangerous and skill-free zones that they have become,
is it worth sitting in a bunch at sub E1 HR clocking up junkmiles or
being flogged at close to HRmax because of what someone else
wants to do at the front? There are (usually) much better ways
to use your valuable training time.

If you're riding to socialise, that's a different story, if you're
riding to win the sprint at BP or some other "prize", join a club,
get a racing licence and go racing for real.

I quote Joe Friel's commandment 5 :

COMMANDMENT 5 : TRAIN WITH GROUPS INFREQUENTLY

There's a real advantage to working out with others sometimes. Pack
riding develops handling skills, provides experience with race
dynamics, and makes the time go faster. But all too often, the group
will cause you to ride fast when you would be best served by a slow,
easy recovery ride. At other times, you'll need to go longer or
shorter than what the group decides to ride. Group workouts too often
degenerate into unstructured races at the most inopportune times.

For the winter base-building period, find a group that rides at a
comfortable pace. During the spring intensity-building period, ride
with a group that will challenge you to ride fast, just as when
racing. Smart and structured group rides are hard to find. You may
need to create your own. Stay away from big packs that take over the
road and are unsafe. You want to get faster, not get killed.

Use groups when they can help you. Otherwise, avoid them.

 

[Carl Brewer]

On Wed, 27 Apr 2005 12:57:14 +1000, Tamyka Bell <[email protected]>
wrote:

>531Aussie wrote:
>>
>> GPLama Wrote:
>> > I did a short Beach Rd stint on the weekend, only good part was the head
>> > wind..
>>
>> That reminds me of a bazar conversation I had when I was at uni, with a
>> physiology lecturer who was also a recreational rider.
>>
>> She said she could not get her HR above 140 riding on flat ground!!
>>
>> So there I was, this big fat Beach Rd bogan B grade grinder, telling
>> this educated woman with a "BhP", and 28 other letters after her name,
>> that she had it all wrong, she didn't know how to ride, and did she
>> think that elite track pursuiters had a problem gettting their HR up on
>> a flat velodrome
>>
>> If someone can't get a rise out of their ticker on a flat road, it's
>> either a technique or motivation problem
>>
>> --
>> 531Aussie
>
>I'd be tempted to agree with you there. But it could also be a leg
>strength / neural firing vs cardio fitness thing.


Unlikely in the case of cycling. It's not a strength game, remember?

If she's grinding along at 30rpm, then she may not get her HR up,
but pop her at 120rpm and watch it climb It'll be technique or
motivation*



[*] unless she's severely glycogen depleted, but that's
most unlikely unless she's already been out riding for an
hour and a half or more at high intensity. And even then,
it's possible to get your HR up, just takes more
motivation, and you have zero power! Having done a
VO2max/lactate test when cooked, I can personally verify this!

 

[Tamyka Bell]

Carl Brewer wrote:
>
<snip>

> [*] unless she's severely glycogen depleted, but that's
> most unlikely unless she's already been out riding for an
> hour and a half or more at high intensity. And even then,
> it's possible to get your HR up, just takes more
> motivation, and you have zero power! Having done a
> VO2max/lactate test when cooked, I can personally verify this!

Hehehe I remember my first and only VO2 max test. They said that women
often have trouble spitting down the tube but it just was not an issue
to me. I thought I was going to die at the end of it. Even though I
wasn't cycling at the time, and it was cycling ergometer test, I
struggled to keep my cadence that low, so they said my results wouldn't
be valid and probably had a higher V02 max than the test determined
(about 56, I think). I thought it was probably the fact that all I'd had
for the past 15 hours or so was V, because I was writing my honours
thesis. Went back and did a submax test with them and they complained
because they had to up the intensity way more than they should have,
because despite a high resting heart rate of 74bpm, my exercising HR
wouldn't go above 90. Damn those drugs. It'd be interesting to redo the
testing now that I'm not sleep deprived and totally wired.

Tam

PS Thanks for making hippy drink staminade!

 

[Carl Brewer]

On Thu, 28 Apr 2005 10:53:37 +1000, Tamyka Bell <[email protected]>
wrote:


>PS Thanks for making hippy drink staminade!

Leather straps and a funnel

 

[hippy]

Carl Brewer wrote:
> On Thu, 28 Apr 2005 10:53:37 +1000, Tamyka Bell <[email protected]>
> wrote:
>
>>PS Thanks for making hippy drink staminade!
>
> Leather straps and a funnel

hahaha LOL hahaha

I still don't remember signing up for that kind of thing! You need to
update your contracts dude!

hippy
- back on the real hydration solution.. iced coffee!

 

[Tamyka Bell]

hippy wrote:
>
> Carl Brewer wrote:
> > On Thu, 28 Apr 2005 10:53:37 +1000, Tamyka Bell <[email protected]>
> > wrote:
> >
> >>PS Thanks for making hippy drink staminade!
> >
> > Leather straps and a funnel
>
> hahaha LOL hahaha
>
> I still don't remember signing up for that kind of thing! You need to
> update your contracts dude!

Does that kind of coaching cost extra?

Tam *considering a career in coaching*

 

[hippy]

Tamyka Bell wrote:
> hippy wrote:
>>Carl Brewer wrote:
>>>On Thu, 28 Apr 2005 10:53:37 +1000, Tamyka Bell <[email protected]>
>>>wrote:
>>>
>>>>PS Thanks for making hippy drink staminade!
>>>
>>>Leather straps and a funnel
>>
>>I still don't remember signing up for that kind of thing! You need to
>>update your contracts dude!
>
> Does that kind of coaching cost extra?

I've explained it before.. he 'likes' that sort of thing. hahah

> Tam *considering a career in coaching*

Cool! What will you be coaching? Ack! Who cares! Pick me! Pick me!

hippy