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

kirk buttercup

57 km with 610m elevation. Enjoyable ride ( after the first climb )
a question to the experienced riders as I'm a newbie I have been struggling going up hill in the smaller ring, today I climbed in the bigger ring and found it much easier . Is this common?

smacl

kirk buttercup wrote: »

a question to the experienced riders as I'm a newbie I have been struggling going up hill in the smaller ring, today I climbed in the bigger ring and found it much easier . Is this common?

I'm a crap climber so possibly not the best person to answer, but for me it is about finding the right gear at the bottom of the hill and avoiding changing because you're in too high a gear. One thing I find helps my climbing is taking on a properly steep hill every now and again, as it has the effect of making moderately steep hills seem easier. e.g. the great thing about Cruagh is its not Kilmashogue

dahat

kirk buttercup wrote: »

57 km with 610m elevation. Enjoyable ride ( after the first climb )
a question to the experienced riders as I'm a newbie I have been struggling going up hill in the smaller ring, today I climbed in the bigger ring and found it much easier . Is this common?

Sometimes I found spinning to high a cadence a bit counter productive when climbing, try setting a steady cadence rather than rapid spinning in say 34 28.

Fian

Generally I find it is easier using the bigger ring,




....as long as you are talking about the bigger ring at the back of the bike.......

Mercian Pro

kirk buttercup wrote: »

a question to the experiefnced riders as I'm a newbie I have been struggling going up hill in the smaller ring, today I climbed in the bigger ring and found it much easier . Is this common?

It really depends on what you mean by "up hill". Taking on Slieve Maan or any other longish climb of +7% in the big ring would leave me gasping for breath fairly quickly. With the small (34) ring on the front and a 27 sprocket on the back, I could keep spinning all day. For variety, I might switch to a slightly higher gear and pedal out of the saddle for a while but would always switch back down when sitting down again. I also have a 30 sprocket in reserve for the steeper bits.

I'm sure it's different strokes for different folks depending on all sorts of physiological factors but keeping up a reasonably high cadence works well for me and I would often pass cyclists grinding out high gears on long climbs. They often pass me on the descents but that's another question.

secman

Kilnamanagh to blessington via main road and back on the back road to Manor Kilbride and back on main road at Brittas and home.
45 km Avg 27 kph. Just back before fading light.

dahat

Left home this morning with all.my gear left out for a spin after work if I could escape at 5, which I did. Suited and booted by 5.20 and away we went....

Decided to do a few efforts around locally on various drags and climbs instead of turbo murder. Hit a few PB with taking a sizeable chunk out of one which is 4km at 3.3%, took 42 seconds off it and not wind assisted, well chuffed.

Onto Fermoy Sunday where the search for some A4 points continues.....

triggermortis

First time commuting into work on the bike in a few months. Only 3 degrees - and I hated getting up at 04.30. Looking forward to the spin home tonight though

retalivity

Absolutely cracking morning for a spin in dublin and im itching to get out...unfortunately on nursing duty for the wife - balls!

Weepsie

retalivity wrote: »

Absolutely cracking morning for a spin in dublin and im itching to get out...unfortunately on nursing duty for the wife - balls!

Yup I'm in work myself so I turned my 8 km commute into a 20km by going out my way twice toward the airport and towards the point depot. Commute home might see me go by Howth

Miklos

Haven't been on my bike all week as I've had a cold and didn't want to exacerbate it but I took a Dublin Bike into work this morning, from Mount St to Grafton St there is glass strewn everywhere. Must have been a wild Trinity Ball.

Chuchote

retalivity wrote: »

Absolutely cracking morning for a spin in dublin and im itching to get out...unfortunately on nursing duty for the wife - balls!

You obviously need a rickshaw so you can take your sick wife with you. I, on the other hand, haven't been on my bike (except for going to the shops) in a couple of weeks because I'm trying to hack my way into my jungle garden and find if there are any (wanted) plants in there. I can't take that on the bike.

godtabh

-2 this morning. Wasnt expecting that!

Lovely day for a spin. Went for a spin around blessington. Think I got a little sunburnt

barrier86

City centre, stepaside, enniskerry and then back through glencullen. 50k 630 meters climbing. Happy enough with it.

velo.2010

Did the legs last night so only fair that I should get out today, sans leggings. Bit cold though!

rodneyTrotter.

Howth was like a mini TDF out there today but that wind! Made it rough at times . Place was jammed with traffic . It's actually painful trying to get up to Sutton from Baldoyle at times when it's that busy but everyone has the same idea on a sunny day

Matt.ie

cycled from kilrush to kilbaha on the loophead peninsula,incredible cycle,postcard scenery,fab sunshine,gradients very gentle,road surface very good. round trip 85klm +

smacl

Went for a slightly long and lumpy one today, taking in the long hill many l-roads and semi-pave bohereens to Rathdrum avoiding all the Roundwood traffic. From there onto Augrim, Aughavanna, Slieve Maan, Shay Eliot, Laragh and coffee and back home via Glenmacnass. Pleased with the course covered of 141k with 2.3k of up though the time was truly lamentable at just 18kph. Highlights were the fantastic traffic free backroads between the Sugar loaf and Rathdrum, barely paved in spots and very lumpy but quiet and very scenic so IMO a far better option than the increasingly busy road from the Long hill to Laragh. I picked the route to have the wind behind me for the homeward bound leg which also worked out a treat. All in all a glorious day out on the rothar.

triggermortis

Really wish I'd taken the good bike into work today. Got off early so was heading home around 3pm. Took a longer way back than usual but not so much fun on Tannus tyres. Zipped off the gabba arms and just wore shorts for the first time this year

DominoDub

rodneyTrotter. wrote: »

Howth was like a mini TDF out there today but that wind! Made it rough at times . Place was jammed with traffic . It's actually painful trying to get up to Sutton from Baldoyle at times when it's that busy but everyone has the same idea on a sunny day

Yeah that wind along the coast road was surprisingly strong at times. I was heading to Howth but seen the traffic, So turned left at sutton cross , and on to Malahide nice speed with that wind on my back . More crazy traffic around the Castle :mad:

So back to City on that nice downhill spin from Clare Hall to Fairview. 38.7KM

https://www.strava.com/activities/933020281

Hauki

I rode from city to Skerries and back. What a lovely day! Morning was a bit chilly as was the coast when the wind was coming from the sea. Other than that it was a full short sleeves and shorts kinda weather.

102km for the day.
https://www.strava.com/activities/933235781

LollipopJimmy

100.1kms 700metres up today. Inchicore to Balbriggan via Rush and back the same route. My longest solo spin, it was soul destroying for the last 20kms.
Beautiful views today though and a great day to be on the bike. The wind between Balbriggan and Skerries was a pain in the hole but other than that it was lovely

68 lost souls

I had the day to myself and the sun was shinning so I finally got to take a spin up through the mountains I planned about 6 months ago. Was a lot of tougher than I had thought, partly due to my lack of mileage. Had hoped to average 25kmh but was 20.7

I modified my planned route a little to include the boards hill climb TT section in a paltry 18:52 which would have put in last place if i had shown up on the day.

Happy to get the spin in though toughest Ive done in a long time, 65km 1200m of vertical climbing and lots of sunburn

Lough Tay and Lough Bray looked amazing today.

Realised today Ive lost a lot of my bike handling confidence, need to up the mileage for that, was nervous on most descents apart from one from the Luggala descent where I couldn't stop smiling going down, not a car in site and lovely road for descending.

Wishbone Ash

smacl wrote: »

Went for a slightly long and lumpy one today, taking in the long hill many l-roads and semi-pave bohereens to Rathdrum avoiding all the Roundwood traffic. From there onto Augrim, Aughavanna, Slieve Maan, Shay Eliot, Laragh and coffee and back home via Glenmacnass...

I took a very similar route yesterday. I must suss out a better route from Rathdrum to Laragh - the main road is a bone shaker in places.

https://www.strava.com/activities/932090447

68 lost souls

Has a quick look at my previous activities and the only one with more climbing was Lap de Gaps last year which was 42m more over 100km so today is probably the toughest climbs I've ever done.

smacl

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

I took a very similar route yesterday. I must suss out a better route from Rathdrum to Laragh - the main road is a bone shaker in places.

https://www.strava.com/activities/932090447

The following is a reasonable way of doing this from Enniskerry. I went the long hill rather than the old long hill yesterday and regretted it as there was a lot of traffic taking this route which was great apart from the aforementioned long hill. Thinking of skirting around the other side of the Sugarloaf next time and coming up via Red lane though I believe that is a pretty brutal climb too. The only downside to the small l-roads is the surface is often very poor, so it they're certainly not a fast way of getting anywhere.

Wishbone Ash

smacl wrote: »

The following is a reasonable way of doing this from Enniskerry. I went the long hill rather than the old long hill yesterday and regretted it as there was a lot of traffic taking this route which was great apart from the aforementioned long hill. Thinking of skirting around the other side of the Sugarloaf next time and coming up via Red lane though I believe that is a pretty brutal climb too. The only downside to the small l-roads is the surface is often very poor, so it they're certainly not a fast way of getting anywhere.

Thanks - must try that route. (Red Lane is tough going but the steep part is fairly short).

magicbastarder

Just 42km around NCD this morning but my legs were really not doing what they were told.

retalivity

Dublin city centre to sally gap via the viewpoint, back via shankill road and ballinascorney.

Nothing to exciting, good to put some climbing in the legs. 57km in 2h47m, 958m vertical

https://www.strava.com/activities/934515996