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Exactly like riding a bike

upthe19th

Background

Up to November '11 exercise was zero. I took up running and some marathon training and completed DCM 2012. About 2 months ago the running was put on hold through injury. The injury has put pay to the running, so I'm going to give the cycling a go.

I'm a total newbie to the bike. I used it for some cross training in the past but that is as far as it goes. I've been getting bits and pieces for the past 12 months or so and recently made a modest upgrade in the bike.

In the last 2 weeks or so I've done about 200km at an average speed of approx. 25k/hr. 60km is the longest spin I've done so far.

Goals for 2013

1) Join a local club
2) Get in 3-4 spins a week, approx. 150km or more distance wise
3) Maybe a club event or 2 before the end of the year

Like I've said, I'm starting from the very start so all advice is welcome.

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upthe19th

wirelessdude01 wrote: »

What bike did you get?

Look 586. It was on offer in the shop as it was the last one he had. Really sound fella. Been dealing with him for a couple of months now with work on my other bike and the service is excellent.

nilhg

upthe19th wrote: »

Look 586. It was on offer in the shop as it was the last one he had. Really sound fella. Been dealing with him for a couple of months now with work on my other bike and the service is excellent.

Nice, well you may wear.

upthe19th

nilhg wrote: »

Nice, well you may wear.

Thanks j. Its pretty nice alright. Nice overall package component wise. I was more interested in getting the best frame i could. A guy in the club was advising me. Not on makes and models but saying to get the bike for "down the line" if i could afford it at all, rather than upgrading and upgrading again in a year or 2. She's "off the shelf" at the moment except for 2 bottle cages and a set of white shimano pedals.

upthe19th

Light week again. Short spin saturday and did my first TT (5miles) on sunday. Really enjoyed it. Great buzz. I've done the route faster but that was in a group towards the end of a club spin.

Saturday 5th October
Handy spin with a few sprints. Nothing serious.

Distance: 38.0km
Av speed: 28.5km/hr
Elevation Gain: 304m

Sunday 6th October
Warm-up and first 5 mile TT. It's definitely given me an appetite for racing next year and to train hard over the winter.

Distance: 19.7km
Av speed: 27.1km/hr

upthe19th

4 cycles this week.

Tuesday 8th October
Fartlek session with recovery.

Distance: 24.0km
Av speed: 28.4km/hr
Elevation Gain: 191m

Friday 11th October
Short fartlek session with sprints.

Distance: 24.1km
Av speed: 29.6km/hr
Elevation Gain: 193m

Saturday 12th October
Club cycle.

Distance: 117.2km
Av speed: 29.2km/hr
Elevation Gain: 837m

Sunday 13th October
Club cycle.

Distance: 60.2km
Av speed: 26.5km/hr
Elevation Gain: 418m

upthe19th

Nothing much done for the week. Got the new turbo trainer, courtesy of an old buddy of mine and fellow boardsie (dilbert75), cheers C:). Did the Castlecomer Challenge 100k today.

Sunday 20th October
Did the Castlecomer challenge 100k today in the excellent company of fellow boardsie Nilhg, thanks a million man, great to finally put a face to the name.

Weather wise it wasn't great but it cleared up for the tougher parts of it. Pity really cos the organisation was excellent and the grub was even better. Many thanks to all involved. Also met Derealbadger at the food stop and again at the end, nice to meet you.

Distance: 96.8km
Av speed: 27.1km/hr
Elevation Gain: 685m

career_move

Is this where you hang out now?

For shame man, for shame :P

upthe19th

career_move wrote: »

Is this where you hang out now?

For shame man, for shame :P

Pretty much K. Seems to be going ok so far and thoroughly enjoying it tbh.

upthe19th

Feck all done this week as I was working late pretty much all week. Got out for a club cycle and that was it.

I'm off for the next week, so I'd hope to get out for a few spins. I'm also starting core training next week, for the next 8 weeks.

Sunday 27th October
Club cycle.

Distance: 68.6km
Av speed: 25.5km/hr
Elevation Gain: 441m

upthe19th

The planned core training fell by the way-side this week. Will have to wait till next week. Finally got the turbo trainer up and going. Small bit of physio. 255km for the week, not too bad i suppose.

Monday 28th October
Really tough spin. Serious headwind, especially for the last 20km, but a nice tough session from a training perspective.

Distance: 76.8km
Av speed: 25.8km/hr
Elevation Gain: 479m

Thursday 31st October
Wanted to get in a decent spin and take in a bit of hill work. Not too windy and I had allowed for several 'bail-out' routes towards the end. Came very close to taking a few of them but stuck it out despite several energy crashes. Took a slight shortcut at the end which knocked off about 3km or so. Average speed was poor.

Distance: 148.6km
Av speed: 25.4km/hr
Elevation Gain: 1289m

Saturday 2nd November
Turbo Trainer for 50mins with about 10 minutes of intervals.

Sunday 3rd November
Good session today. A friendly 'TT style' 30k spin with a local tri club, which a friend invited me to take part in. Lovely bunch of people, really friendly. Not too unhappy with it, there was a little bit left in the tank but I found it hard to judge the distance and pace, but I wasn't too far wrong.

Distance: 29.7km
Av speed: 30.6km/hr
Elevation Gain: 210m

upthe19th

Monday 4th November
50mins Turbo Trainer with intervals.

Tuesday 5th November
50mins Turbo Trainer with intervals.

Saturday 9th November
Fartlek session. Followed it with 30mins Turbo Trainer.

Distance: 38.0km
Av speed: 30.3km/hr
Elevation Gain: 295m

upthe19th

Tuesday 12th November
60mins Turbo Trainer including 10mins of intervals and 20 minutes of high resistance/low cadence.

Thursday 14th November
60mins Turbo Trainer including 5mins of intervals and 15 minutes of high resistance/low cadence.

Saturday 16th November
Fartlek session. Nice to be out in the fresh air. A route i'm used to but went slightly off usual course to take in an extra climb. Had no idea what the climb was like, just knew it was there. Headed into it at pace in the big ring, big mistake considering it was Cat 4 and 1.4km. Paid for it pace-wise for the rest of the spin.

Distance: 53.0km
Av speed: 28.9km/hr
Elevation Gain: 443m

upthe19th

Stumbled through 3500km since 12th june after todays cycle. The wheels are in motion to do some racing next year, so we'll see how it goes. Considering I'm a complete novice I will be choosing my events carefully and trying to keep out of the way for the first while, i.e. the back of the group, although I'm pretty sure that won't be by choice.

Training will include some running for next 6-7 weeks. May do a non-cycling event in January as something to aim for over the winter from a fitness point of view only.

Tuesday 19th November
50mins Turbo Trainer including 20 minutes of high resistance/low cadence.

Thursday 21st November
50mins Turbo Trainer, medium resistance and high, steady cadence

Saturday 23rd November
Club cycle. Cold but bearable. Hadn't done over 100km in a while and it knocked me a little bit tbh even though it was not a hard pace.

Distance: 107.5km
Av speed: 26.8km/hr
Elevation Gain: 731m

Sunday 24th November
Recovery cycle for the most part. The winter bike is running like clock-work. Stuck new tyres on it this week.

Distance: 41.6km
Av speed: 26.4km/hr
Elevation Gain: 403m

upthe19th

Light week. Got a heavy cold on thursday, friday and saturday which knocked the stuffing out of me and just about got myself in shape to do a 30k spin on sunday.

Tuesday 26th November

4.7 mile run @ 7:54mpm pace

Wednesday 27th November

4.7 mile run @ 8:02mpm pace

Sunday 1st December
Round 2 of a friendly 'TT style' 30k spin with a local tri club. Lost about 30 seconds over the course from the last time that I did it, which I suppose wasn't bad considering the state I was in for the previous 3 days.

Distance: 29.8km
Av speed: 30.4km/hr
Elevation Gain: 210m

Tagged on a 40 minute turbo session at medium resistance and 80-90rpm

Dilbert75

Tri club, eh? Only a matter of time...

upthe19th

Dilbert75 wrote: »

Tri club, eh? Only a matter of time...

I'm all stocked up on crazy.....but thanks. Ain't going down that route fella.

Dilbert75

upthe19th wrote: »

I'm all stocked up on crazy.....but thanks. Still trying to convince myself that I ain't going down that route fella.

FYP

upthe19th

Dilbert75 wrote: »

FYP

Nice try. I'll watch you from the sidelines next year but that's it.

upthe19th

Couldn't shake last weeks dose, it lingered all week, restricting training. 6 days of work and saturday evening on the farm didn't help matters.

Thursday 5th December

4.7 mile run @ 8:00mpm pace

Saturday 7th December
Very enjoyable spin with Dilbert75. We did a couple of short sprints and a hill climb and the rest was steady.

Distance: 72.1km
Av speed: 23.6km/hr
Elevation Gain: 763m

upthe19th

Continued to have a heavy dose this week, didn't shake it until friday. Always found it easy to shake off colds but for last while its been harder and harder to do.

Saturday 14th December

40 minute core session.

Sunday 15th December

40 minute core session.

upthe19th

Busy last week in work and 2 nights with a serious amount of booze.......a bad combination.

Monday 16th December

40 minute core session.

Wednesday 18th December

40 minute core session.

30 minutes turbo trainer with intervals.

upthe19th

Light week. Ate all around me. That ends now.

Thursday 26th December

45 minute turbo session. Very short interval set, 10 minutes high resistance and the rest was steady spinning. Immediately followed by 3 mile run @ 8:38mpm pace

Saturday 28th December
Club cycle. Great to be out.

Distance: 85.2km
Av speed: 25.8km/hr
Elevation Gain: 584m

Sunday 29th December

5 mile run @ 7:58mpm pace

Dilbert75

upthe19th wrote: »

5 mile run @ 7:58mpm pace

You're a cyclist now. Will you ever use metric for the love of the baby Jebus?

upthe19th

The last couple of bits for the year.

Monday 30th December

4.5 mile run @ 7:50mpm pace

Tuesday 31st December
Club cycle. Last one of the year. Having seen very little rain on the bike, it seems 2013 would not let that one slide. Got soaked to the skin in driving rain and hailstones. I didn't complain too much. Small price to pay for such a good year.

Distance: 77.4km
Av speed: 25.3km/hr
Elevation Gain: 576m

upthe19th

And there it is, my first 7 months on the bike done and I enjoyed every minute. I have to say that at the start I was unsure that the cycling would give me the same buzz and challenge as the running, but christ was I wrong. A few people had said to me that the cycling was easier....easier?....are ya joking me? But then I suppose that you can make everything as easy or as hard as you want it to be.

With regard to goals, I'm happy. I joined a great club with a great bunch of people who get everyone involved at all levels, a man could not wish for more. I didn't get involved in any racing as such but I did complete my first TT, albeit very slowly.

I managed to complete the following:

Little Dragon Sportive (75km)
St Luke's Sportive (100km)
Coastal Tour of Wexford (160km)
Castlecomer Challenge (100km)

I only started recording on strava around the middle of June or so and statistics-wise it looks like this:

Distance: 3814.8km
Time: 143hrs 34mins
Elevation Gain: 30,304m

I have an idea of what I want to do next year, but I'll have a think for the next day or two.

To those of you who have viewed, contributed or thanked this thread so far, I thank you. Most of it was probably rubbish but thanks for the support in spite of it.

I wish you all a great 2014. I've met a few of ye in 2013 and maybe more of ye in the coming year. Happy cycling.

upthe19th

Had a bit of a think about 2014 and this is what I like to get done:

1) 8,000km for the year
2) Lose weight
3) More climbing
4) Do some more sportives and improve on those I did in 2013
5) Do some racing

I think the distance target is more than achieveable and anything over it will be a bonus. I'd hope to do some more commuting when the mornings are brighter. I will substitute some of the flatter routes of 2013 with more trips up Mt Leinster to get the climbing numbers higher. I will never be a climber or anything like it, but it would be nice to be stronger and less under pressure in the hills.

It would be nice to travel a bit further for the sportives. I've made a provisional list and hopefully I can pick my way through most of them. My wife has already kindly offered to accompany me to any events which require an overnight in suitable accommodation, preferably with spa and beauty therapy facilities....so supportive:rolleyes:.

I'm looking forward to the racing, although ask me later when I'm getting dropped here, there and everywhere. I'm not going to be contesting much, but it will be a start and I'll give it my best shot regardless. It seems like there's "fit" and there's "race fit".

Now we come to the weight loss. Currently I've crept back out to 14st 7lbs and at 5' 11'' its not what I want to be. Unfortunately, I'm the kinda guy that has to keep the exercise pretty regular and watch what I eat. I put on the weight very quickly and find it hard to get rid of it. Even when I look slimmer the scales tells a different story. I really need to lose this "Ah I'm training, I can eat what I like, I'll burn it off" approach as its doing me no favours. I'd really love to get down to about 13st 3lbs.

So that's the easy part done.....roll on 2014.

Dilbert75

Sounds good. Do yourself a favour though - get yourself a body composition scales. You don't want to start punishing yourself for building muscle.

upthe19th

No post last week. Little to report so its included now. Got a physio session on the hips. Have booked an appt for a full health check up.

Saturday 4th January

30 minute turbo session at medium resistance 80-90rpm. Immediately followed by 4.5 mile run @ 7:52mpm pace

Saturday 11th January
Went out with a guy I know. Back roads were shocking but the main roads were much better. We ambled along steadily.

Distance: 87.1km
Av speed: 23.1km/hr
Elevation Gain: 473m

Sunday 12th December

I had been thinking of doing a local running event but thought better of it. It's fine doing the odd short run here and there but cycling is the focus now. I headed out on the bike to spin the legs. It was dry and breezy when I started out but deteriorated quickly and I got absolutely soaked in a strong headwind.

Distance: 32.1km
Av speed: 21.5km/hr
Elevation Gain: 331m

upthe19th

Tuesday 14th January
45mins Turbo Trainer. 10mins warmup, 10 x 1min intervals with 1min recoveries, 15mins cooldown.

Wednesday 15th January
25mins Turbo Trainer. 7.5mins warmup, 10mins of high resistance/low cadence, 7.5mins cooldown

Saturday 18th January
Tough spin with strong headwinds. Cold with rain and very wet roads. Had only planned to do about 50km but I kept taking little diversions here and there to tag on more distance. The route had a little more elevation than the routes I used last year, but that is part of the plan to get the numbers up in that respect.

Distance: 90.0km
Av speed: 23.8km/hr
Elevation Gain: 842m

Sunday 19th January
A handy spin to help the legs to recover.

Distance: 30.0km
Av speed: 24.8km/hr
Elevation Gain: 246m

upthe19th

Had a health check on monday and got my bloods taken as well. Didn't get a chance to collect the results. Will drop in for them next week. Rest of check went well with no issues. Blood pressure was spot on and resting heart rate was 55.

Monday 20th January
Didn't get out till a bit later in the day for this fartlek session. Nice and dry, by far the best day weather-wise all week.

Distance: 65.7km
Av speed: 26.7km/hr
Elevation Gain: 449m

Saturday 25th January
Was supposed to be a longer spin but the wind was pretty wild with heavy showers. Had a couple of close calls with strong gusts.

Distance: 91.3km
Av speed: 22.2km/hr
Elevation Gain: 948m

Sunday 26th January
90 minute turbo session. Threw on a film on the laptop to help the time pass a bit easier.

- 30 mins warm-up at medium resistance/high cadence.
- x 5 Interval sets of 5 mins high resistance/low cadence with 5 mins of medium resistance/high cadence.
- 10 mins cool down at low resistance/high cadence