FirstV8

I did take the advice and toned it down today riding to a "The Police " concert . No sprinting or high intensity burns . . Yes i agree im not into ballad kind of music .

Thanks a useful read and i must agree that if it were a normal situation of being able to train on road and then use your indoor trainer as a tool for measuring yes do it that suggested way . Im just trying to do my two hours a day which i normally do daily in one ride . Two hours on a spinning bike is real shitty . Ive managed to keep my legs going , heart rate down and lungs pumping . It also takes away the hum drum boredom of only being able to work on my house and garden . Im hoping that when i get on my bike and do a 80km off road ride that im in the same condition as before lock down . Stay strong bikies and stay home lets come out on top .

I did my ride to a Rolling Stones Concert this morning . Their concerts are real high energy performances . Im sure Mick Jagger runs a marathon in those two hours . I need some input . I have now been spinning for 3 days . One hour morning (7)one in the afternoon (4) about . I spin at 90 / 100 rpm . I use life music concerts as my rhythm . When there is a solo piece guitar , drums , flute , piano or any other instrument I treat that like a sprint or climb until the whole band plays or the singer starts . So in an hour I can sprint (120/130 rpm) 8 to 12 times from a few seconds to sometime 3 to 5 min . I have my resistance set fairly tight , if i give the pedal a hard push it only does half a revolution . My legs are now sorer than riding 60 to 80 km of road at 24 km ave . Why do you think it is .

We are now all our indoor trainers whether it be.the most advanced with all links to train with others or just a simple single speed spinning bike . Im in the old school category but use modern methods to keep pedaling every day . I have a big screen monitor desk top computer on a desk , a ceiling fan and a small floor fan placed in front of my bike . Im a rocker from the 60/70s and use that era of music to ride to . I select life concerts of those bands and have them playing on the monitor ( i have to use headphones or ill blow the roof off ) . Today i had ACDC life at River Plate Buenos Aries . I ride for an hour twice a day at a steady cadence of 90/100 rpm . When an add comes on ( They seem to put ads into anything lately ) i treat that as a sprint and go flat out untill it ends . Some are up to 2/3 minutes long , so hard work . Angus does a lot of guitar solos and i treat them either as sprints or climbs ( tighten the brake on the disc ) . In " Let there be Rock " he does a 12 minute guitar solo which i managed to keep at full pace the whole time . Im managing to keep my legs supple and my weight the same . Tomorrows selection is Jethro Tull Live 1984 . There will be a lot of flute solos by Ian Anderson so enough opportunity to sprint or climb to .

That's good going well done . That 100 kg barrier was my first goal from 125kg , it took me 9 months .Now set goals 5 kg apart and gauge the time each 5 kg block takes . The first two go quickly then its 2kg segments from there on . Keep going dont get disappointed at only losing 1 kg in 2 weeks just keep your goal weight in sight .

I do no gym work ( exercise as such ) but put in about 3 X 1000m swims in weekly .From September to March and nothing in winter . I dont feel any difference in my body strength except that my stamina drops off slightly in winter .

I started with Fug It which worked well in the beginning but after about 3000 km and a few punctures and some top ups i could hear the marbles in the tyre .I then changed to Tyre Juice ( Black bottle ) and have now done close to 20,000km with punctures and top ups and dont have the marbles . I get about 5 to 6,000 km out of a back tyre ( if no big cuts ) and have even taken old Juice ( being snoep ) from my old tyre and put that with extra into the new tyre with no ill effect .

I am not participating in this years challenge as i felt i had achieved my goal . I am not able to ride at all ( no indoor trainer ) so i have given myself a list of DIY jobs around the house and garden to keep me active ( cutting lawn twice weekly , painting out 2 complete rooms , repacking my toy car collecting 2000+ cars , cleaning all my tools in workshop and repacking shelves a bit more orderly , paint garage doors , strip down Ghost MTB for repair when carbon fibre guys open , strip down clean and regrease Silverback suspension , rebuild a set of Giant hubs into rims for road use .) That should take care of my free time . My problem with eating is that i have my normal oats / yogurt breakfast skip lunch ( because i'm not burning the calories ) and then have a normal evening meal . My wife is diabetic and snacks / eats at odd times but makes too much and then says there is left overs in the kitchen which i then go and eat ( hate food going to waste ) and that is my problem . Her indiscipline is my disciplined down fall . I am up 3 kg this week already , i better put the brakes on . I had done so well this year at keeping my weight at 85 kg by doing 800 + km and 8000m of climbing per month for the first 3 months of the year . Just a reminder to others dont overdo the kitchen visits its going to take a serious amount of kilometers again to get back in shape . Stay safe and at home .

One should always have medical alert app on your phone . I use Nam (https://www.namola.com/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIjvbB6Ian6AIVS8DeCh1tPAXYEAAYASAAEgL33_D_BwE ) which is great because it immediately gives co ordinates to the respondents whether it be medical first responders or security companies

With most races , mass rides , group training and even friends and colleagues opting out of rides what are members doing about daily training on or off road ? Are you training indoors or are you training on your own ? Lets hear it .

That is correct yes, I live in PTA, but ya, if the OP lives in Gauteng and wants to get into MTBing then he will undoubtedly have to cart the bike around to bike parks. Cycling from home will not be realistic for him as he will start off on around 10-20km. This means that he will just about get out of his driveway before reaching his daily goal (I'm exaggerating here, but you get my point). Making it enjoyable on a 10-20km limit in Gauteng will require a car . Work out a circuit of about 3 to 5 km in your immediate residential area and start riding that once a a day (everyday 7 days a week morning or noon to get the discipline installed ) Take your time on the very first lap you do and use that as a base time to improve . as you lose weight do more laps and always push harder on the last few 2 or 300 meters . . Simple diets work best . Cut out white foods , eat smaller portions and dont eat anything that comes in a crinkly packet from the shop ( chips , chocolates , pies , biscuits, sweets cakes etc ) Try cut out alcohol completely and stay away from fizzy drinks . I started at 125 kg and riding 10 km a day on a 2.5 km circuit in my in my area . My first lap was 11 minutes .Im now 85 kg and do it in 41/2 minutes You get to know the dogs in the area , the old people going for walks and the aunties that water the gardens . Greet them all they will motivate you to ride more . .

I set myself a target for February to do 1000 km and 10,000m of climbing . I did not achieve it and only did 879 km and 8282 m of climbing . There were just a few days of rain and personal commitments that derailed my training . I was on the road on sunday morning and hooked up with a bunch of roadies along the way . They were doing a comfortable 36 kph average when i noticed two riders had broken away from the bunch so i decided to chase and close the gap of about 100m . It was on a slight incline and i surprised myself closing it so fast and with very little effort . So my conclusion is NO " hills dont make you slower " but definitely increase strength and fitness . Im going to do more speed work this month and try to do the 1000 km / 10.000 m again next month . Ill give feedback on results .

I cant comment on modern day training techniques as i stopped racing vets road racing in the 90's . Our training consisted of 40/50 km daily going as hard as possible with any small hill /pimple on route being classified as a prime to the top . We also had certain landmarks that would be sprinted for to earn bragging rights . Flat sections of road were always rode flat out 45 to 50 kph and down hills were not there to rest but also get those big gears going . Watt meters were unheard off and HRm were just coming into play and very few of us had one so you relied on fell in your lungs and legs , if both felt good you attempted to break away from your training partners . If you asked how we trained the common answer was " Flat out " Come race time and we raced every Saturday afternoon 80 to 100km and then rode the "Fun rides " or fund raiser races on Sunday mornings . There no ceedings so it was a mass start and being a licenced rider made no difference you had to fight to get to the front and then the race would begin for the licenced riders and any 100 km race was always a sub 2.hr 45 min time for us . I still use that same technique today and confirm it works .

Good advice thanks guys . I have never washed it only wiped it clean with a microfiber cloth . I assume by saying wash it you dont mean putting the whole strap including sensor into water . Surely a good neutral detergent on a damp/wet cloth will get any residue off the strap . Ill also try the reboot ( battery opposite way in ) and try it then .

I use a Garmin HR monitor on occasions and lately it gives me a reading "Heart rate too high " and readfs 2oo plus at times . This can be on a flat section or even a down hill when i know my HR is well below 100 . My resting HR is 45 and normal daily is 55 . I have put new a battery in and the fault still persists . Any advice , can it be recalibrated or do i need to buy a new one .

PG Carbon RepairsDirectionsSave4,311 Google reviewsBicycle repair shop in Benoni Address: 130 O'Reilly Merry St, Northmead, Benoni, 1501 Hours: Open ⋅ Closes 4:30AM Tue Phone: 083 284 0705

I have incorporated a lot of the advice from fellow Hubbers . Riding my circuit in reverse is not an option as i am then going clockwise and need to cross too many intersections . I did one day on very small gears and the next on as big as i could handle and the time difference was only 4 minutes . I cut out some climbs and added in flat sections to give me the +_ the same distance . That felt good and i was able to push hard for the last 6 km home and not feel overexerted . I set my HR monitor to chime at a lower no 125 and rode according to that and that was also beneficial . On the last day i rode hard and ignored all signs of hurt and fatigue and i got my time and average back to 22km ave . on a circuit with 600m of climbing . I have proved to myself that i was getting into a grove and not changing training options around and not getting slower but "BORED "

There is a bunch that ride on thursday mornings at about 7.30 from The Parks Pizzaria (https://www.theparksfarm.co.za/) We normally do about 50km at a 20kph ave . We then have a coffee and cake at the Parks .I have just joined BL Mtb ride on Saturday starting at 5.30 doing about 80km at a 24kph ave . It was great but i dont like a stop in the middle of a ride so i carry on and do my own thing.

Twice a month we treat ourselves to a pizza or fish and chips take out . I have gone off the humdrum well known fast foods .

My problem ( not really ) is im retired and have a lot of free time available so i like to get out and ride at least 2 hrs a day but dont want to go to MTB trails by car to go ride . I go twice a week to the Benoni /Bredell / Bapsfontein area to ride off road with my mates . I just found this on FB

A lot of good advice here and as i thought doing too much of the same circuit becomes "junk miles " and as some have mentioned you start anticipating the climb ahead and one actually mentally slows down to conserve energy . My problem ( not really ) is im retired and have a lot of free time available so i like to get out and ride at least 2 hrs a day but dont want to go to MTB trails by car to go ride . I go twice a week to the Benoni /Bredell / Bapsfontein area to ride off road with my mates ( not this month hence the question ) .. Yes for those that have ridin with me i do go "balls to the wall " its my competitive nature and like to be in front at all times . Rest time to me are after i have done my ride i generally have a relaxing swim of about 500 m ( big pool 12.5 m X 6m ) and then get out and do the pool cleaning bit to relax ( being retired is hard work ) I did invest in a heart rate monitor /Garmin and i found it useful to help me realise i was riding to hard at times for my age but then started to ignore it because i was feeling good . I have a resting HR of 45 and generally my average HR on a ride is 110 for my circuit . I average between 800 and 1000 km per month with 4 to 5 days off ( weather permitting ) .Im going to incorporate some of the advice into my training schedule and ill give feedback in a month whether positive or negative . NB . I dont do races only ride to enjoy myself and stay healthy and keep my weight off .

Does training on hills make one slower , or is it that i am anticipating the climb and subconsciously ride easier to be able to tackle the climb coming up . I ride a 10km X4 circuit with 4 climbs on giving me 500 m of accent on the 40km ride ..Ten kilometers of the ride is climbing , the steepest and longest being 1.5km at about 4% . The rest of the circuit is flat with about the same 10 km as decent . I ride all the climbs and flat sections on the pavement (Mtb ) so as not to become a statistic of a hit and run . The fastest i've done this circuit is 1hr 43min giving me an average of 23kph . I have been training this circuit for about 25 days this month and am now averaging below 20kph my slowest being 19.5kph . My question being will riding hills only affect my speed on flat road and long distance stamina . Im an old school bikie ( 67 years young now ) and not into high tech training just enjoy my cycling ..

Correct , A 32 is a 32 whether round or oval .I ride a 36 X11 and on the flat roads i run out of gears at 52 to 54 kph with the roadies who then have more gearing . You will most probably be spinning at about 120 rpm or more depending how big the bunch is that you sit in

Are you using straight bars on a gravel bike set up? . I do a lot of pavement , main road gravel , single track next to tar road and pavement hopping between traffic and use my MTB with 650mm bars ( cut 70mm off ) and no bar ends . There are a lot of unnatural obstacles like electrical boxes , lamp posts , road side sign posts , fences armco barriers and off course pedestrians to swerve around ( a loud bell is vital ) so narrower bars works for me . My partner still has 720 mm bars and i often see him having to go on tar to ovoid an obstacle . We call this training ride the " Urban Sprawl " or in communication a US ride . They are fun and work your mind , legs and lungs .

I hit my goal weight and less for 2019 and then let slip a bit this month eating wise . I have decided not to try and lose more weight so am staying between 82 and 84 kg for now . it suits my diet and training schedule . Good luck to those who are wanting to enjoy their riding more with less weight to drag up hills .