Cycling Thread

Yukon John · Post by **Yukon John** » June 12th, 2006, 9:47 pm

Francois wrote:
Yukon John wrote: ps. Another question if anyone has an opinion. Some of the bikes that Shannon has been looking at are time trial / tri bikes. Would it be ok to have one of these as your main road bike? She would have to do most of her training on it and would probably do a few time trials and one or two road races each year.
John, I faced the same dilemma two years ago when looking for a bike for triathlons. In the end, I opted for a road bike with aero bars for its greater versatility. Tri bikes are a pain to ride in steep hills and are not allowed in group riding at our local cycling club (too dangerous!). I also believe they are not allowed for road races.

Thanks Francois! I never even thought about it not being allowed for road races. If she does go for a tri-bike, we'll have to check first to see if they are allowed for local races. I don't think she'll be biking outside of the Yukon and Alaska. I believe there is a rule here that you can't be down in the aero position for local road races, so the bike could still be used. Good info. though, thanks again!

Another possibility to look at that I've considered is a seat stem that is angled forward to put the rider in a position similar to a tri bike but could be switched off for regular training and road races. Here is one that I've found http://www.pricepoint.com/detail/12975- ... atpost.htm

Jim Barry · Post by **Jim Barry** » June 12th, 2006, 10:48 pm

http://www.triathloncoach.com/articles/bikefit.html

This coach/athlete (2x Ironman Canada Champion as well) has his opinions on things that are not so mainstream, but is pretty clear that the tri-bike is a bit of a myth really (see myth #3). Work on the fit seems to matter most.

Yukon John · Post by **Yukon John** » June 14th, 2006, 12:09 am

Jim Barry wrote:http://www.triathloncoach.com/articles/bikefit.html

This coach/athlete (2x Ironman Canada Champion as well) has his opinions on things that are not so mainstream, but is pretty clear that the tri-bike is a bit of a myth really (see myth #3). Work on the fit seems to matter most.

Thanks Jim! That article really puts things in perspective. I had no idea that there were so many things that could be considered when looking at getting a bike that fits. Unfortunately for us, some of the stuff he talked about (ie. analysis using computrainer) aren't readily available up here in the boondocks. So buying a bike over e-bay is risky since you can't try the bike out, but the savings are so great that we still might have to do it. I suppose we could always re-sell the bike if the fit isn't great. That's one great thing about rowing, one size fits all

.

Good time on the CTC Jim, when are you looking at doing a time trial? Do a lot of people show up for them? We generally get around 30-45 people. The race this weekend is supposed to have somewhere around 1300. I can't wait! John.

Tyn · Post by **Tyn** » June 15th, 2006, 3:04 pm

Hi Cyclist,

Any Unicyclist out there!!

Need some advice

I'm going strong!! in two days .. but not there just now!!

Unicycling must be a great core workout!!

Jim Barry · Post by **Jim Barry** » June 21st, 2006, 12:11 pm

John,

How'd your race go?

The tt is this Sunday (15 miles straight flat course no turnaround). I have no expectations. Mostly a recon of the sport. I think the field should be about 60-80. Got a good ride in on Friday. 24 miles at 21mph (out and back, no aerobars) comfortably uncomfortable at 80% HR range. Making a lot of progress week over week.

Yukon John · Post by **Yukon John** » June 21st, 2006, 1:38 pm

Jim Barry wrote:John,

How'd your race go?

The tt is this Sunday (15 miles straight flat course no turnaround). I have no expectations. Mostly a recon of the sport. I think the field should be about 60-80. Got a good ride in on Friday. 24 miles at 21mph (out and back, no aerobars) comfortably uncomfortable at 80% HR range. Making a lot of progress week over week.

Hi Jim,
The race went well. There were 93 teams in the 8 person catagory that I was in. I had a few troubles on the way. I couldn't get my right foot into the clip for a few minutes and fell behind the field. I caught back up but the screw in the bottom of my shoe was loose and I was afraid the whole race that it would come off and I'd be stuck with pedeling with one foot. There were about 10 of us working in a pace line. That was a lot of fun working in a group. The only trouble there was that a bike pump and a water bottle were dropped by other riders and I ran over both,

close calls! A strong head wind developed during the 60k section of the race I was doing, so the pace line helped with that. With about 7k to go, four of us broke away from the main group and worked together. At the final sprint to the finish, I finished 3rd. Very happy with that.

One thing that I learned when working with a group is to keep your time in front short. When I was with the group of 4 we would switch as soon as the front person was clear enough to move over. Before that I probably stayed too long out front.

My family and I then did some hiking down in Haines Alaska. Great trails with few mosquitoes and huge old growth forests. We spent four days there with the only scare coming with a grizzly bear cub walking about 30 meters from out tents.

Luckily, no mama bear was around. Scary non the less! We had the bear spray out and high tailed it for our vehicle (100 metres away.) Great trip, fun ride and a nice little town.

Good luck on your time trial this weekend Jim! Good to hear that you're feeling stronger each week. Tomorrow, I'm going to start cyling and rowing again. It's a matter of finding the right mix

At the end of July there is a little three day tour set up here, with a hill climb on Friday, 40k time trial on Saturday and a 95k road race on Sunday. After that, I'm planning on winding down the cycling a bit and concentrating on the erg.

Tyn, I've never tried a unicycle, but in one small town that I lived in, the judge for the town would ride one around. He was quite good. He even took it out on trails and on rocky beaches. John.

Tyn · Post by **Tyn** » June 21st, 2006, 5:57 pm

Just one wheel!!

We must be faster!!!

Still training!!

Will I be a judge at the time I figure out how to ride this darn thing!!

Jim Barry · Post by **Jim Barry** » June 25th, 2006, 9:40 pm

Time Trial Report:

It was a great day for the time trial. Cool temps and no wind. The course was flat, straight and often newly paved. I was impressed with the starters word choice when your start time elapsed: Hammer. It was funny to race in a new sport, but it was invigorating as well. No big hangups or anything. I did OK, probably mid pack so a good start. I did 23.2mph and in retrospect did not really put all of me into it wanting to start the sport with a good taste in my mouth. I'll suffer more when I get more training under my belt.

Yukon John · Post by **Yukon John** » June 26th, 2006, 2:40 pm

Great time trial there Jim! How was your bike during the race? Did you go into the aero position much? Do you have more races scheduled?

I did a 1k attempt for the CTC on Saturday and planned a long ride for Sunday. I'm a bit stiff today from overdoing it. When I started off yesterday I had a stiff tail wind at my back and it was easy to go fast (ave. 45-50 kph.) I did 3 fifteen minute intervals at time trial effort then it was time to turn around. Of course the tailwind was now in my face. Even in the aero position it was slow going. What took me 1 hour 10 min. on the way out was 1 hour 50 min. on the way back. One nice thing about the erg, when you get tired you can just stop. But on the bike miles from home

. I think it's made me realize that I need to get more distance in.
Next races for me, July 16 and 19th.

Jim Barry · Post by **Jim Barry** » June 26th, 2006, 10:37 pm

Jim Barry · Post by **Jim Barry** » June 26th, 2006, 10:39 pm

Thanks John. The bike was solid. I was on the aero bars all the time except for shifting a few times. I'm working on keeping my knees out the wind and close to the top tube. I got results tonight. I was 7th of 18 in my division 35 to 44 and just 30 seconds out of 4th. Given how well I felt at the end I think I gave up more places than I expected.

I can understand your Sunday ride. I got over extended on a 100km ride early this season. I was just fine for the first 50 km; would have been a perfect ride at that ,but on the return I just fell apart completely. The fitness did not match the distance.

Distance (time) is key for the bike. I just looked back at what got me to where I am and its really not that much. Just over 2 hours a week for 14 weeks. I think over the next 14 weeks I should be more like 4 to 5 hours a week with a few weeks with some big rides (3-4 hours).

Races I'd like to do are

July 9th: time trial (local)

July 30th: 30 mile enduro Mt bike race (local)

Aug 5th. Maybe a criterium race in Concord, NH. Alternatively, some other crit races in NH at a banked speedway with an infield road course. There is a Thursday night series they run. I've never done this but hear it's really fun.

There are about 5 time trials in August thru Sept as part of the Maine series, not sure which ones I'll do or when. One is a hill climb of sorts I think and my 146lb 5'11 body could be an advantage.

Tonight my 7 mile 20mph ride on the trainer was remarkably easy. HR some 5 beats lower too. Time to move to 21mph.

Nice ctc times there.

RR1 Kirk · Post by **RR1 Kirk** » June 27th, 2006, 12:15 am

Yukon John wrote:Great time trial there Jim! How was your bike during the race? Did you go into the aero position much? Do you have more races scheduled?

I did a 1k attempt for the CTC on Saturday and planned a long ride for Sunday. I'm a bit stiff today from overdoing it. When I started off yesterday I had a stiff tail wind at my back and it was easy to go fast (ave. 45-50 kph.) I did 3 fifteen minute intervals at time trial effort then it was time to turn around. Of course the tailwind was now in my face. Even in the aero position it was slow going. What took me 1 hour 10 min. on the way out was 1 hour 50 min. on the way back. One nice thing about the erg, when you get tired you can just stop. But on the bike miles from home . I think it's made me realize that I need to get more distance in.
Next races for me, July 16 and 19th.

Hi John,
I don't know if this pertains to your effort here but... after 2 hours of serious effort on a bike if you haven't been refuelling you are going to run out of energy. Your three hour effort may have been past the energy reserves of your body.

Yukon John · Post by **Yukon John** » June 27th, 2006, 11:59 am

Hi John,
I don't know if this pertains to your effort here but... after 2 hours of serious effort on a bike if you haven't been refuelling you are going to run out of energy. Your three hour effort may have been past the energy reserves of your body.

I think you've got me pegged here Kirk. I waited till 2 hours and 15 minutes before eating a cliff bar that I'd bought along. I usually plan on having something in the water bottles too, but didn't this time. Hopefully it's a lesson learned

, although sometimes it takes a while to sink into my thick skull

. The cliff bar did help me get back home, but too little too late!

I'm pretty excited today. Shannon (my wife) went along with me while I did the Kluane to Chilkat Bike Relay and I think she's got the bug now. Yesterday she put a bid on a bike on e-bay and won! It's a Giant TCR 3 with a carbon fibre frame, nice wheels, aero-bars, etc. (good price too.) So it might be a bit late for getting into racing this year, but she can use it for cross training this year and race next year. Plus, now I'll have someone to ride with

.

Francois · Post by **Francois** » June 27th, 2006, 1:56 pm

John, the TCR 3 is an excellent bike, I am sure Shannon will be very happy!

When I ride with my wife, we use the tandem, that's the only way she can keep up with me!

The only problem is that she likes to pedal at 50 rpm but I prefer at least 80! When I ride with my daughter it is a different story: we never go fast enough! The tandem is about 15 km/h faster than my bike when going downhill!

billw · Post by **billw** » June 27th, 2006, 11:07 pm

Hello,

A mate of mine uses his arms to power the pedals on some sort of recumbent bicycle.

Do you guys know any web site where there would be discussions regarding this sort of bike - and the sort of training would be appropriate ?

Regards

Bill

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Cycling Thread

Arm bicycle