Tell us about your new improved government regulations compliant cycle part II

Seth Brundle

Decided that I'd try and get about 50kms in after work to bump up my mileage.
Travelled from Grange Castle to Newcastle to Ardclough to Celbridge. Crossing the bridge in Celbridge I somehow got a bitch of a cramp in my left calf. Pulled over and did some discreet stretches (on Celbridge main street) and travelled on to Maynooth. Popped into Boots where my Garmin decided that it should end the ride (*@#**!).
Decided then to call it a day and head home to Leixlip.
Did a damp and sore 30km @ 28.3km/h and 7.3km @ 27.9km/h

Calf muscle is still giving out to me
I've lit a fire and think I'll treat myself to a drop of whiskey shortly.

devonp

usual commute cc to leixlip....
roads seemed very greasy...back wheel slipped out a few times ...is it the melted salt from the weekend ??

devonp

devonp wrote: »

usual commute cc to leixlip....
roads seemed very greasy...back wheel slipped out a few times ...is it the melted salt from the weekend ??

Yeah roads and footpaths along them are manky. Bike was filthy and I had a 2km walk at lunch time and my trousers were destroyed from crud getting flicked from my shoes onto the back of the calf on them.

secman

Headed over to peamount, Celbridge, Lucan, back across to Tallaght bypass and home. 41km avg 24kph. Nice and easy recovery spin.
Mild but very damp and roads full of crud. Had to give the bike a good cleaning after the spin. My 2 weekend spins on dry main roads resulted in clean bikes and no cleaning was needed .

magicbastarder

devonp wrote: »

usual commute cc to leixlip....
roads seemed very greasy...back wheel slipped out a few times ...is it the melted salt from the weekend ??

thanks bud. there was me thinking i was just putting so much power down the back wheel was occasionally slipping out. bubble burst.

secman

Anyone else notice missing posts on here, not even sure if this will be seen
Ah this rebooted the thread see them now.

Off work early the other day for a dentist visit so said I'd head down along the Boyne for a short spin before heading home. I'd heard they finished work on it this week and this is what greeted me when I arrived. Buttery smooth the whole way along and lit now too. Forgot how peaceful it is, all you can hear is the distant hum of traffic on the motorway. Now if they'd only extend that route out beyond Oldbridge. Going to take the eldest down that way now on Sunday morning I think weather permitting.

Seth Brundle

Where exactly is that Enfilade?

Eamonnator

^^^^^
It's the cycle/pedestrian track, beside the Boyne/Canal, between the Bridge of Peace in Drogheda and Oldbridge House.

Seth Brundle

Seth Brundle wrote: »

Where exactly is that Enfilade?

Sorry it's the river Boyne between Drogheda and Oldbridge, only a short spin of about 4km in length.

Eamonnator

Snap

MiskyBoyy

Did my longest ever cycle yesterday. (Only got my first ever roadbike in November) 80KM in 3:32 on the Waterford Greenway. Went Waterford to Dungarvan and back. Highlights of the greenway were, going over the viaduct in Kilmacthomas...




That's the Flahavans oat mill in the background. The smell cycling passed there was beautiful.

Cycling through the Durrow tunnel is pretty cool, kind of spooky as there was no one around. It's dark and the lights were flickering like in horror movies. Even tho it wasn't raining outside, it was in the tunnel :pac:

But before and after the tunnel, is very picturesque.



Then just before Dungarvan. There was a primary school tour, out on bikes whilst one of the teachers was trying to get a group drone shot. On the way back passing them again, they must've been setting up for a race. They had groups of 3 kids every 200m holding up signs saying 600m/60% etc. and they cheered me on :P

The last 20km on the way back was a pure slog for me tho. Not used to that kind of distance but eventually made it. All in all a fun day and would recommend everyone to do it at least once.

Eamonnator

^^^^^^
This is on my list to do this year.
I thought it was longer, about 46kms each way. It seems from your spin, its 49kms each way.
Your photographs have me really looking forward to it.
Off topic: are your heart rate figures correct?
And you only stopped for 6 minutes during your spin?

triggermortis

Great pictures!
And, well done on the achievement!!

MiskyBoyy

Eamonnator wrote: »

^^^^^^
This is on my list to do this year.
I thought it was longer, about 46kms each way. It seems from your spin, its 49kms each way.
Your photographs have me really looking forward to it.
Off topic: are your heart rate figures correct?
And you only stopped for 6 minutes during your spin?

The heart rate thing I've been wondering about. I'm using the Wahoo Tickr which is supposed to be accurate enough? What are the chances of a dodgy unit?

My max heart rate it measured during a zwift sprint was 197. My resting heart rate I took one night whilst relaxed in bed was about 50 something. I'm 31, 92kg, 5'10"

Yeah, if I had of been with a friend. I probably would have stopped for coffee but I was on my own and as it was starting to get late, I just wanted to get on with it...

triggermortis wrote: »

Great pictures!
And, well done on the achievement!!

Sorry. Meant to say, I took the photos from google just to compliment my story.

The lighting yesterday did no favour for my actual photos

Did you have enough to eat and drink with you? Maybe why the last 20km or so were a struggle. Made that mistake a few times myself.

tuxy

MiskyBoyy wrote: »

The heart rate thing I've been wondering about. I'm using the Wahoo Tickr which is supposed to be accurate enough? What are the chances of a dodgy unit?

My max heart rate it measured during a zwift sprint was 197. My resting heart rate I took one night whilst relaxed in bed was about 50 something. I'm 31, 92kg, 5'10"

Do you think heart rate is too high? It's lower than my average on rides of the same time frame. Mine is much higher than club mates but I have never had any chest pain or discomfort. Holding 170 average for over 3 hours feels just fine to me. There are large variances in heart rate between different people.
Even just walking around it can be 120, yet my resting rate is lower than average.

MiskyBoyy

Deleted User wrote: »

Did you have enough to eat and drink with you? Maybe why the last 20km or so were a struggle. Made that mistake a few times myself.

Definitely not enough food. Felt a little light headed when I got back to the car.

I bought one of the High5 Cycle packs just to try out some gels etc. https://www.halfords.ie/cycling/training/sports-cycling-nutrition/high5-cycle-pack

So, I brought 1 gel, 1 energy bar, 1 twix. 1 750ml bottle with hydration mix and 1 more bottle with the energy drink mix that contains carbs.

Ah well. I'll learn from my mistakes and aim to improve

tuxy wrote: »

Do you think heart rate is too high? It's lower than my average on rides of the same time frame. Mine is much higher than club mates but I have never had any chest pain or discomfort. Holding 170 average for over 3 hours feels just fine to me. There are large variances in heart rate between different people.
Even just walking around it can be 120, yet my resting rate is lower than average.

Well that's reassuring. From watching GCN and other cycling videos. I've learned a little about heart rate zones and "going into the red" but like you. I was able to hold that heart rate for hours so probably ok?

tuxy

MiskyBoyy wrote: »

Well that's reassuring. From watching GCN and other cycling videos. I've learned a little about heart rate zones and "going into the red" but like you. I was able to hold that heart rate for hours so probably ok?

I would say ok if you feel fine.
You have to learn your own heart rate zones.
For example I can hold 170 for hours but if I hit 180 then it's only a few mins.
My max is actually 197 also and I'm 37.

positron

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Off work early the other day for a dentist visit so said I'd head down along the Boyne for a short spin before heading home. I'd heard they finished work on it this week and this is what greeted me when I arrived. Buttery smooth the whole way along and lit now too. Forgot how peaceful it is, all you can hear is the distant hum of traffic on the motorway. Now if they'd only extend that route out beyond Oldbridge. Going to take the eldest down that way now on Sunday morning I think weather permitting.

It's a lovely new surface, although I couldn't see any of it when I went to jog there last night. They haven't started turning on those lights, have they? It's okay though, I had just enough ambient light to jog along without crashing into Boyne.

positron

positron wrote: »

It's a lovely new surface, although I couldn't see any of it when I went to jog there last night. They haven't started turning on those lights, have they? It's okay though, I had just enough ambient light to jog along without crashing into Boyne.

Yikes, lucky you didn't go this evening with the fog or we'd be fishing you out of the Boyne !!!! They were working up at the far end the other day where you meet the road so not sure if the lights are connected yet.

I know a few people who run it on weekends who were very happy that they'll be able to use it week nights and it's wider now too. In the past when I've been on it on the bike I've been careful passing people so as not to startle them with the bell or if they have head phones in but now I can give them a much wider berth.

mr spuckler

Didn't fancy a long one this morning, having done my January GF last week and being conscious too of not overdoing things. So 4 laps of Howth from Sutton side, different route up each time followed by 1 from Howth village and back home to Raheny. Despite the lack of pace I felt quite good, definitely feeling positive effect of recent training. 612km for the month so far which is way ahead of my usual efforts.

57km, 891m, 23.1km/h.

https://www.strava.com/activities/3038826131

I reckon one of my later year GFs will be the 12 summits of Howth!

magicbastarder

mr spuckler wrote: »

Didn't fancy a long one this morning, having done my January GF last week

i misread that at first.

triggermortis

mr spuckler wrote: »

Didn't fancy a long one this morning, having done my January GF last week and being conscious too of not overdoing things. So 4 laps of Howth from Sutton side, different route up each time followed by 1 from Howth village and back home to Raheny.

I've been to Howth a few times and didn't realise there were so many routes there. I usually go up past the church if I'm on the good bike (32t cassette helps!) or the 'scenic' way if I'm on another bike. Must have a look at the other routes someday

positron

MiskyBoyy wrote: »

So, I brought 1 gel, 1 energy bar, 1 twix. 1 750ml bottle with hydration mix and 1 more bottle with the energy drink mix that contains carbs.

Low-tech is the best tech though. Bananas. Complete with fully biodegradable wrapper.

mr spuckler

triggermortis wrote: »

I've been to Howth a few times and didn't realise there were so many routes there. I usually go up past the church if I'm on the good bike (32t cassette helps!) or the 'scenic' way if I'm on another bike. Must have a look at the other routes someday

Yeah there's a good bit of overlap but you can find different routes up alright. I remember seeing a description of the 12 summits before, must dig that out again or else will map it up myself.

magicbastarder

the steepest section on howth is possibly balglass road - coming from the village, go right at the church instead of straight on, and a few hundred metres later there's a steep section where it's over 20% for about 100m IIRC.

https://www.google.com/maps/@53.3827142,-6.0654059,3a,75y,227.94h,77.85t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sqEPqzH-FdKMTh6pk37sUEQ!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

wheelo01

A relatively easy 37km, a bit breezy, but at least there were no big gusts..
Drimnagh to Phibsboro, then Navan road to blanch, across to Lucan, and home again.
22kph, but if it was just moving time, its 25.1, I feel cheated, never noticed that before I got the 520 plus.
(Just noticed the Strava app has it at 24.6)


https://strava.app.link/hGtXs5Juw3

Weepsie

75 km for me. 2 loops of Howth in opposite directions and St Fintans road too, home for coffee and a muffin before going out for another 25.

Not the fastest, but my croix de fer is a heavy beast. When the good bike emerges I won't know myself

magicbastarder

couldn't get any power in the legs today. a very stop starty 49km around meath. i think it took me 2h20m in total.
a pint of ale too many last night did not help.