dave303e

I was a die hard rouvy fan till they dropped the family pricing. Used to be super cheap for the mrs and I. I have bounced around a lot since then. I only to workouts in ERG, even easy rides I just set a wattage and trap for the hour or 2. I am on zwift now just for the volume of different workouts. More important to spend money on a tv and subscription to a streaming service for something to keep you entertained while riding.

leg length is the key here. My daughter loves riding on the foam seat on my bike, but both parents being smaller human beings means even though we shopped around for the shortest balance bike and cut it down in height even further. She can only now just reach the ground and start riding, she was 2 in Feb...

Fake your way into A batch and then run a marathon time for the kiddies race. Pathetic... I feel for athletes when big sponsorship deals go to these idiots and talented people working really hard miss out.

Polarisation and periodisation... Break your preparation time into blocks. Most people use 4 week blocks. So it is an easy rest week followed by 3 weeks, each week getting harder and harder in volume and intensity till the next block starts with an easy week again. The easy week is there to help you recover from the block mentally and physically. Polarisation happens within each week. Hard sessions need to be properly hard, easy sessions need to be very easy. If you have a hard session today, tomorrow must be an easy one. Again recovery between hard sessions so that you do not burn out. That is what my coach did with me and it really worked.

This is an interesting one and top of mind for me, I am currently in prep for a big ultra bikepacking event. A big thing is consistency in training, you need to ride that bike week in and week out. It is pointless going big one weekend and spending the following week sick or recovering.You need to show up. Every. Single. Day. Also the reason preparation races need to be treated like that. You need to test yourself, but you need to plan that you don't sacrifice the week or 2 training before and after that prep race. So box clever and don't kill yourself on prep races. Event selection has always been a very unique thing. What is your WHY? If that is not there then you will fail. Doesn't matter why you want to do it, but they WHY must be real and applicable to you.. Also don't just stick to local... Local is lekker, but local is also starting to tear the ring and there are some incredible races our there. You will also be surprised at costing. For a 2000km bikepacking race halfway round the world, flights and entry cost less than flights and entry to the local versions. In 2018 the math for a 100mile trail run on Reunion island worked out R500 more than doing a local 100Miler. You pay 4x on travel but 1/4 on entry fee which makes it an easy decision for me. Go see the world. Race nutrition depends on the race. Is it a true ultra or is it just barely an ultra. Distance determines intensity which determines fuel and fuel strategy. Sub 24 hour 100 mile trail run with resupply every 20km can be done on powders, gels, mini potatoes and bars. So you better be destroying carb drinks and gels all the time so your stomach handles them with ease on race day. You will be amazed how you can get your stomach to handle carbs. But for a 2000km bikepacking race means you going to be racing on whatever you can find en route. So you better train your stomach accordingly. My 150km ride on friday had a stop at a spaza for bread and tinned pilchards and another stop for some garage pies and crisps and other than that all I ate was a few left over slices of pizza. But that is me prepping for planned conditions. The intensity is also no where near as high. Time in the saddle/on foot is everything. You learn and test your kit. You also build the other fitness that is required. neck, shoulders, lower back and other things need to be prepared. This is also a big one on the strength work. You need to be strong, not just pedal strong, you need core and everything else to match. Cross training can be really useful actually in my opinion. Weight is also a big one. Lean is good, it is great for the sub 24 hour events or stage races where you can feed and recover and sleep in a warm bed... But a little bit of body fat will go a long way in handling the cold. So if it is a cold race or a non stop multi day, consider going in a little bit well fed. I learned this the hard way too many times going in at 'race weight' for non stop multiday events in cold places. Coaching is also a big one. A good coach can go a long way. Having the plan laid out in front of you means you can get more out of less training time. They are also bold enough to say you need to do X many hours or you are not going to enjoy the event. I have raced with a coach and now racing without one, but the reality is that nearly a decade of being coached I have a fairly good frame of reference to self train. But even still I have to set out the blocks and weeks in order to get the periodisation and polarisation correct. But ya what I can say, experience makes everything easier

buy a cheap road bike off hub- R3-4k. Put the heaviest chain and cassette and chainrings on it. Cling wrap the headset and front wheel bearing and leave it on the trainer... Pointless spending 12k more than you need too, for a 'maybe will ride it outdoors...' There is a thread on the frankenbikes sitting on indoor trainers and really you can get away with almost anything on the IDT. All that matters is matching the riding position and having a drivetrain.

Is there a way to enter a single race and not 'subscribe' for the year's events?

I recently entered an event. You apply for an entry, then you take a few hours to fill out a questionnaire showing your experience, fitness, decision making and practical knowledge of the event - that you have read the race manual end to end at least twice(40 page doc). Above is a screen shot of a literal question on entry application. Test of common sense...

that's where I got it from as well... But, as is done by most people looking to lose weight, first stop is a fad diet that comes with buying books, podcasts, blenders, special foods etc etc etc leaving them with a non sustainable way of life. Instead of paying a professional to get you eating the right food in the right volumes. My diet post seeing the dietician did not impact the rest of the family either. We still all eat the same food together. My ratios and volumes are just correct

I have always been of the opinion that you eat before during and immediately after the ride/run and then you incur your calorie deficit for the rest of the day. That way you get the most out of your ride and build some fitness. I don't fast, I usually just incur a small deficit across my standard eating pattern when I need to drop but I never ever incur a deficit around a training session. That being said this is usually done to tune up for an event, not to lose weight

this is too true. Saw many "aero bar" setups on the weekend that have zero effect other than putting weight on elbows and not wrists. There are so many where the riders back and head height is 100% the same. So there is no aero gain and not change in sit position. It actually looks ridiculous.

I think anything is better than nothing. Big issue is actually cycling's biggest issue. Standards, it needs to be made a standard so that first responders are only looking for 1 thing.

There are very specific times and places where looking the part is of any real value. Business and the odd other occasion. But almost all the other times practicality and comfort are king. Crocs just work for around the house and home office, the only people who hate them are people who haven't owned them yet...

Ya this hits home. Purists please look away. At one stage this was my loved bike, and it has seen many variations in the last 13 years... So once it was retired from racing it went back to it's standard wheels and climbed on the trainer where it has been for 6 years now. There was a hole rubbed through the frame during an adventure race in Scotland. Duct tape hid that at one stage 1x11 XT, running a road 11 Speed cassette and a 42 tooth front chainring. Shifter is held on with bits of motorbike clutch perch and cable ties. Brake delete was successful. Fork is locked out with an electrical connector and the stanchions are worn beyond repair. 1 Bottle cage is held on with a cable tie as I am too lazy to do a new rivnut. The cable tie was a quick plan mid ride 4 years ago My IDT area is in need of a massive clean looking at these photos.

that one excites me the most