The Fretboard Cycling Club

Jaycee · July 3

drofluf said:

@gubble if you thought guitars were an expensive hobby you've got a rude shock coming to you with cycling

I second that. Don't get caught in the the weight weenies trap lol.

Lovely bike @thermionic ;

gubble · July 3

@Jaycee i have said to her that the thing that improves performance isn't the bike and it's the person sat on top of it.....

Teetonetal · July 3

Wow, so pleased for Cav, to come back and get the win is quite extraordinary. I thought 2021 was the swansong and now this. What an achievement!

Jaycee · July 3

Simply amazing

MagicPigDetective · July 7

Did my first 100km today at a sportive in Anglesey. Great day, though the morning had torrential downpours…I got completely drenched.. ploughed on though and eventually the sun came out. Chuffed with this mile(km)stone. Cycling has been incredibly beneficial for my mind and body since I started last year.

Jaycee · July 7

Well done @MagicPigDetective great achievment

littlegreenman · July 8

Nice one @MagicPigDetective, when's the Imperial century going to be?

ewal · July 8

I've been enjoying alternating between road and gravel rides this summer. When it's time for a road ride, my target is to re-visit the best climbs and favourite roads in the local area (Perthshire). On Saturday, it was the turn of the Schiehallion road - the main climb on the Etape Caledonia sportive route. I forgot to take a picture when I was at the top of the climb, so here's a picture of the hill I took on the road in. I really am very lucky to have all this on my doorstep!

BigMonka · July 8

ewal said:

I've been enjoying alternating between road and gravel rides this summer. When it's time for a road ride, my target is to re-visit the best climbs and favourite roads in the local area (Perthshire). On Saturday, it was the turn of the Schiehallion road - the main climb on the Etape Caledonia sportive route. I forgot to take a picture when I was at the top of the climb, so here's a picture of the hill I took on the road in. I really am very lucky to have all this on my doorstep!

Such stunning scenery to ride your bike in!

BigMonka · July 8

MagicPigDetective said:

Did my first 100km today at a sportive in Anglesey. Great day, though the morning had torrential downpours…I got completely drenched.. ploughed on though and eventually the sun came out. Chuffed with this mile(km)stone. Cycling has been incredibly beneficial for my mind and body since I started last year.

That's epic @MagicPigDetective well done. I bet there was a great sense of satisfaction at the end of the ride. Hope the sportive had good feed stations to replenish all those extra calories too!

MagicPigDetective · July 8

littlegreenman said:

Nice one @MagicPigDetective, when's the Imperial century going to be?

I’ve signed up for another sportive in Anglesey in mid August… the middle distance is 75 miles/120 km, and twice as much elevation as yesterday’s ride. Anglesey may have no large mountains but there are a some long steep climbs. Not sure if I’m up to that, need to let yesterday sink in first. There’s always the option to do the 50 mile course I did last year. Will see how it goes.

MagicPigDetective · July 8

BigMonka said:

MagicPigDetective said:

Did my first 100km today at a sportive in Anglesey. Great day, though the morning had torrential downpours…I got completely drenched.. ploughed on though and eventually the sun came out. Chuffed with this mile(km)stone. Cycling has been incredibly beneficial for my mind and body since I started last year.

That's epic @MagicPigDetective well done. I bet there was a great sense of satisfaction at the end of the ride. Hope the sportive had good feed stations to replenish all those extra calories too!

Thanks. Oh yes, it felt amazing finishing the ride. Yes there were feed stations and I brought too much food with me.. I was struggling at one point but a coffee and cake at a cafe stop sorted me out and I felt good when finishing.

MagicPigDetective · July 8

There is something I want to ask for advice or to see if anyone else has had a similar issue.

Since last autumn I’ve had a problem with my left knee. I probably did it when doing some strenuous weeding, on the turbo trainer, or doing some squats with a resistance band, I must’ve overloaded the knee.

The patellar tendon.below the knee cap. (spring knee) feels tender when touched from the sides or under pressure (but fine when cycling). I saw a physio in February. He gave me some excercises and streches to strengthen the knees. It did help and got a little better but I didn’t do it for as long as I should.

I don’t feel any pain when I’m cycling or walking, but if I were to lean on the floor on my knee, I would feel some pain. So it hasn’t gone away, I feel like it’s being managed or contained. I can cycle, but I do worry I might be making it worse in the long run.

Perhaps the wisest thing would be to stop cycling for a while, focus on strengthening knee muscles, be that now, or over winter. I got a pro bike fit last week, so I’m sure there’s no problem with that… if there was it’s hopefully been sorted.

Has anyone had a similar experience?

ewal · July 8

I'm definitely no expert, but if it doesn't get sore when you're riding or it doesn't feel sorer in the hours/day after a ride, then I'd say it's okay to ride. That would be my take on it anyway.

I have lots of recurring minor niggles - they are tolerable, so I just get on with it. Only one that's stopping me at moment is a tight calf which running definitely makes worse, so no running for a few weeks and hopefully it'll clear.

m_c · July 8

Cycling is bad for creating muscle imbalances in your legs/back, which can cause various problems.

Doing some regular stretching with some weight training will help avoid problems.
Have a search for some cycle specific off bike training programs for some ideas.

I still occasionally do an old MTB strength training (bikejames.com) routine, and it's main focuses are on stretching for general flexibility, and weight exercises that counteract the muscles you use when riding.
I have seen roadie specific courses, but I'm sure youtube will have plenty free options.

MagicPigDetective · July 10

Thanks @ewal and @m_c good to have your perspectives on this. I’ll look into strength and stretching excercises.

drofluf · July 14

Did my first club run after my hospital stay and Covid. Well the first half anyway before heading for home. Need to build up some stamina before a planned round the IoW trip in September.

TTBZ · July 22

Finally got myself a road bike again! Found a Langster on eBay for a bargain price, seems barely used too. Hoping I don't regret singlespeed, but it will definitely force me to get fitter rather than sit and spin an easier gear which was sort of the idea, as well as SS being a lot cheaper and easier to maintain. I know pics or it didn't happen but I haven't actually had time to ride it properly yet, hoping to take it out after work tomorrow evening

drofluf · July 23

Single speed is great! I bought a cheap one when I was seconded to New York for a year and didn’t want to leave my decent bike chained to a lamppost. Ended up bringing it home because I liked it so much. Even did my first 100 mile ride on it.

Depending on the terrain around where you live you may want to experiment with the gearing but once you get it set to your liking you can go anywhere.

Quiet, less maintenance and you can enjoy the ride without worrying about being in the right gear.

TTBZ · July 23

Yeah I've had a Langster before so I know what I'm getting myself into, though I was a lot fitter back then

I'm in Northants which doesn't really have proper hills, just a few short sharp bits or longer very slight inclines. Used to have 48-16 I think, this is 42-16 which might be a bit too easy for round here but we'll see. Planning on fitting a smaller cog to the fixed side of the flip flop hub so I can use it on the rollers in the winter too without spinning out too easily.

Howdy, Stranger!

Categories

In this Discussion

Become a Subscriber!

The Fretboard Cycling Club

Comments