Newbie Cycling Achievements

daludo

hi lads,just wondering if there are any other newbies goin to do the 162km route in this years tdb??its a tough one with lots of climbs,a test for any newbie i reckon!!!

mossy95

Only need one stablilaiser

mel.b

daludo wrote: »

hi lads,just wondering if there are any other newbies goin to do the 162km route in this years tdb??its a tough one with lots of climbs,a test for any newbie i reckon!!!

I was thinking of doing either the 108km or the 60km (and then riding to & from Ballyvaughan) but both include something called Castle Hill which apparently has a 16% gradient for part of it :eek: Given i struggle to get up 6% gradients i'm going to give it a miss and do my own tour de burren 100km this weekend instead.

Fair play though to any newbies giving it a go:cool:

daludo

not lookin good for me so,looks like newbies on the 162km route will be a rare sight!!i reckon il be able to finish it allright but not lookin forward to 6 odd hours in the saddle,especially when the most ive ever done on one spin is 100km(4.5hrs):(:(:(

ronanc15

Did 32km this evening, delighted!! cycling into a headwind was not cool at all!!!

Saddle is killing me but ill clock up a few more KMs before I make any drastic changes

t'bear

Just popped my 100k cherry on a sportive. Very enjoyable day out which taught me a few lessons and highlighted my need for more core strength

Ashbourne to slane to Kells to navan and home

mel.b

Well done:) What was it you noticed that has made you think you need to work on your core strength?

t'bear

Sore shoulders from slouching as I struggled through the last 15k or so. And lower back also started to twinge. Basically my body could hold up its own weight and got tired

ed warren

Got my new racer First spin went out for a 10 k haven't been on a bike in years felt good the first really steap hill I new I wasn't able got of bike walked up got on and continued at the top will take bit of getting used to the last 2 or 3k legs got bit tired but made it home and when I got off the bike I discovered that the back brake was really rubbing of the back wheel was bit hard even to push made it a lot tougher next day fixed the brake tomorrow going for another 10k

Darkglasses

Hopefully going on my first club spin tomorrow with Wexford Wheelers...Quite nervous!

Darkglasses

Darkglasses wrote: »

Hopefully going on my first club spin tomorrow with Wexford Wheelers...Quite nervous!

Well, just home from the spin. Holy heck, that was a tough morning. Could only do about 68km of 90ish total, but I don't think I disgraced myself (I have plenty of excuses! My bike weighs about twice as much as there's, I don't have clipless pedals etc. etc.) and I did have fun! All in all a good day, but wish I had the legs to complete the whole thing.

route66

Got a day pass for father's day. Decided to use it to break 100km for the first time but didn't plan it in too much detail. Trip was Home, Carrickmines, Eniskerry, Glencree, Sallygap, Blessington Lakes, Laragh, backroads to Eniskerry (avoiding Roundwood), Carrickmines and back home.
It all went well except for a critical flaw in the (lack of) planning: one 80km trip I do involves a stop in Laragh. I decided to do the same today but forgot the extra distance of almost 40 kms to get there (doh); at around the Wicklow gap I understood the term "bonked". With my average speed plumetting, Laragh seemed to be getting further away rather than closer. A quick stop for an energy bar and I was ok again - mind you the road started pointing down soon after this and that might have also helped ;-) I had a proper top up in the hippy cafe in Laragh before making my way home.
120 kms at an average of 20.5 km/h. Total elapsed time was about 7 hours - and it felt like a hard days work too!

j@utis

well done, but why avoiding Roundwood?

route66

j@utis wrote: »

well done, but why avoiding Roundwood?

Nothing against Roundwood - I just prefer to keep off the main roads if at all possible. After leaving the hippy cafe in laragh, I take the first left off the road to Roundwood (signposted L1059). There's practically no traffic, some nice views and some killer hills.

Mind you, I didn't take my own advice yesterday on the road from Annacarney to Glendalough - I missed the turnoff (signposted "St Kevin's Way") and went on the "main" road which had quite a bit of traffic on the day.

If you have an account on Strava, you can see my full route here: link

nilhg

Yesterday I did my first proper spin through the heart of Wicklow in the company of some friends of mine and some lovely ladies from Naas CC, the full story is in my training log but the short version is that it was much higher and harder than anything I had ever attempted before, thankfully I managed to get through it and come out the other side tired but delighted to have done it.

http://app.strava.com/rides/11065810

Red Neck Hughie

I did 50+ miles today, my biggest single trip ever, even the cycling computer couldn't keep up and died. It took less than 3 hours and was into a slight wind for the last hour. I have now - to quote Sean Kelly form the mid 80's I think, - 'a Sore arse'.

Walnutsink

Overtook a modped doing about 50km/h, tucked in behind him for a bit then gunned it and hit 58km/h my fastest on the flat speed yet! And all from my trustee hybrid!

j@utis

That's some speed Walnutsink. How long did you keep it for? I bet the moped got scared of being dropped and pushed hard to catch up.

Today was my first time out with clipless pedals. I bought a pair of shoes and pedals before last xmas I think but it took me a while to get brave enough to fit them onto my bike So the spin was eerrr... interesting. No, I didn't fall over at the traffic lights, I actually chose a route involving only left turns that I didn't have to stop lol.
The interesting part was that being firmly attached to the bike 'helped' me to realize how unbalanced my pedaling is: my left leg is pushing and my right leg is pulling! I knew it wasn't quite right before but then I thought it was something to do with me sitting more to one side or another. but as it showed today my legs have gone completely nuts and are doing their own thing. My spin was short 30km and all that time I was fighting my right leg (and my subconsciousness) trying to make it push down vertically starting at the top of the stroke. It's not gonna be easy, I've done over 3000km the wrong way and now it's gonna take another that to teach my legs behave. By the way it explains why my right ar$e cheek always get sore on the saddle and left side is always very comfortable - I think when my right leg pulls up it presses me down into the saddle - hence more pressure and friction and right side of the my bottom is suffering there. I know where this is coming from though - I injured my right ankle in my early teans and since then my brain has messed up my knee and my hip to compensate for stiff/weak ankle. now when on the bike brain has tricked my leg to pull to avoid the pressure on the ankle without me even realizing it. ankle is not sore but I just can't get my right leg perform the same way as my left. I wished I had to left legs. Rant over. Oh, and btw I liked cycling with clipless pedals especially when out of saddle - so much more power is going into pushing bike forward.

Walnutsink

j@utis wrote: »

That's some speed Walnutsink. How long did you keep it for? I bet the moped got scared of being dropped and pushed hard to catch up.

About 20 seconds, he didn't get a chance to redeem himself, he went straight into the park at the Castleknock gate and I went left so he also didn't see me nearly keel over as I recovered

shaydy

Did my first spin over 50km last night, great evening for it out the Summerhill road. Averaged 25kph

Bloody fly nearly took my eye out on the way back, lucky enough I was on a stretch where I could pull in as I was instantly blinded. Note to self, dont forget the sunglasses!

monkeypants

Approaching the 700 mile mark for the month of June, averaging 26km/h. I need to get better at hills (using Howth for practice) and get the bottom bracket/crank looked at this weekend since it's making a lot of noise.

ronanc15

3 weeks ago I picked up a bike for the first time in years. i managed to get out once or twice a week due to working hours (hoping to get out much more in future). Just checked and I've clocked up 144km on it so far. Not a lot going by others levels here but I'm well chuffed. My next target is a 50km spin which I feel is well within my reach!

Wishbone Ash

Popped my 150km cherry today!

Distance:152.34
Time: 5.54.31
Average speed: 25.78
Max Speed: 59.82
Calories: 5,854

Feel great but my wrists and hands are sore after nearly 6 hours in the saddle..

ronanc15

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

Popped my 150km cherry today!

Distance:152.34
Time: 5.54.31
Average speed: 25.78
Max Speed: 59.82
Calories: 5,854

Feel great but my wrists and hands are sore after nearly 6 hours in the saddle..

Fair play, very impressive. That is a whopper amount of calories when you actually think about it.

Wishbone Ash

ronanc15 wrote: »

That is a whopper amount of calories when you actually think about it.

I don't know how accurate it is. I think Garmin estimate it using one's weight and distance and elevation climbed. It doesn't factor in wind resistance/wind assistance.

ronanc15

Well even if it was in the ballpark of that figure....take the compliment haha

colm_gti

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

I don't know how accurate it is. I think Garmin estimate it using one's weight and distance and elevation climbed. It doesn't factor in wind resistance/wind assistance.

Do you use a HRM? If so then it's accurate enough. 150km is a serious amount, my biggest to date is 129km, well done!

Dipsomaniac

After reading the 'Do You Feel 'At One' With Your Bike When Descending At Speed? ' thread, I went out last night and practised counter steering.

I'm far more confident taking sharp corners with decent speed now. So much control of the bike. Delighted!

RossieMan

1st proper cycle yesterday, only did 22km but did it in 53 minutes.
so quite happy with my 1st cycle, plenty of room to improve on.

60 km in 2 days now, in just over 2 hours 20 minutes from 2 days of cycling.

whacker00

picked myself up a giant defy on cycle to work scheme on wednesday and went for a couple of short spins wed and thursday evening.. just back from a 50km spin today including a trip up howth hill. stiff now but enjoyed every minute of it couldnt believe how much of an influence the wind has at one stage along the coast road at clontarf i felt like i was going nowhere