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Just been out for a blast on the road bike for the first time in ages! 35 miles with about 200m of climbing in 2:20, OK thats pretty slow but at about the 25 mile mark I got horrific cramps in my quads, felt like someone was punching me in random points on my legs every time I pushed the pedals, lesson learnt take electrolyte with me next time not just water.
Spent most of yesterday in the garage dismantling and rebuilding bikes for the summer, and took the time to dig out a dura ace groupset (gears and shifters) FSA compact front mech, FSA SL-K compact cranks, bontranger race-x-lite carbon bars and a selle italia saddle, it's amazing what ends up in the spares box after being bought on the classifieds shortly before you spend 2 years off the bikes through injury!
Anyway fitted it all, bought a few odds and ends from the LBS, bodged a few bits (anyone know of a BB cable guide with a really long front mech guide to get round a big BB shell? The one from the LBS is too short and I bodged a length of outer onto it with a zip-tie but its not very permanent. Shed a surprising amount of weight, guess a few grams here and there really do add up.
Summary, bikes lighter, shifting is near telepathicly quick, I'm unfit and sports drinks do have their uses. And road riding in the sunshine is a lot of fun 🙂
And road riding in the sunshine is a lot of fun
Truth 🙂
Road biking is ace, I'll agree with that.
But I think you would have been better off on your SSed mountain bike averaging 18mph, you would have blitzed 2:20!
60 miles, steady double pace line, 1000m climbing. 4 hours.
What's not to like?
The weirdities of road riders for one!
We concluded that I wasn't superhuman, for reasons known only to Cateye the computer records average speed in kilometers and everything else in miles, figured that one out when I came home and the average speed was higher than the max speed!
No they are not, they are shit.
Off road is where it's at 🙂
I sneaked out for an hour while the eldest was having his snooze. Yup love road riding me.
The weirdities of road riders for one!
Have you ever taken an objective view of a group of mountainbikers? Roadies make us look sane!
And based on today's not so representative sample, they're better looking 8)
I really enjoy riding mine but I think it would be a different story if I had good local off road trails. Got into it after being sick of a slow and heavy mtb for riding on roads!
I got out for just under an hour on the road bike Friday. OK, not long but I got a few decent miles in and the weather was great. Yesterday got a couple of hours on the HT, and today took the nipper for a ride. What a great few days!
Off work tomorrow too so might try to get out on the road bike for a couple of hours.
I agree,done 45 miles today in the sun then came home a cleaned the Full Sus after Thursdays ride, best of both!
Yep agree.
Went out yesterday morning in warm glorious sunshine with very little wind.
Did 60 miles with 2500ft climbing in 3hrs 40mins. Not the fastest but getting fitter and faster all the time. Managed to do the whole route with only about 10 cars passing me. I'm very spoilt for quiet country lanes where I live. 😀
Warm sunny weather and Road Bikes are the perfect combination.
I've managed 190 miles this week on the road bike, it's been good to get out regularly in the sun again
69 miles yesterday with 5,600' climbing
I usually get fitter as the year goes on but I never get any faster though, I've always done 14-16mph averages
Road biking's ok, but it can be pretty dull.
I think you will find that's the last word on the matter.
ive been out on my road bike
5 hilly miles on way to work this morn followed by 36 miles on way home - taking advantage of the light evenings
Me and Rusty-Trowel donned our uber-lights and hit the Purbeck's for 35 tarmac miles of Jurassic coast night time glory last night!!
Brilliant to just get out, blat it good and proper for a few hours, then gobble your tea!
A high point was hanging out with a stag party dancing in their pants whilst waiting for the chain ferry!!!
DrP
would like a road bike sometime (as i want to cycle to new forest/bournmouth.i live in devizes) but cannot afford one for a long time.will get one though eventually,but still prefer my mtb as you can completely get away from everything/go into wilderness. 🙂
Road bikes do indeed ROCK. Light nights, good weather, bring it on. 🙂
Off to Spain with my road bike next week: even better weather, smooth roads and mountains = road bike heaven.
i watched Ghent Wevelghem today, a few times up the cobbled Kemmelberg at pro race pace and tell me road biking is ace....yea it is 🙂
I think you will find that's what people say who perhaps don't get it, who perhaps aren't that into it and even, possibly, aren't very good at it....
Today was the 2nd outing on my new "Shrek" Trek along with a mate Trev..Its a long time since i did any real road stuff....We did 31 miles over 2 lakes passes, arguably the esaiest 2 but non the less. Dont know the total height gain but an average of 16 is`nt too bad.
Did strugle to keep with Trev for the first 20 or so, then got a second wind round D.water.
Can and will only get faster fitter etc ❗ 😉
Don't own a mtb anymore..
JUst race road and TT..
362miles this week.. Smidge under 20hours riding.
I love the fact i can leave my door on the bike. No need to drive miles to get to some woods..
They're great! Had a really good and hilly 55 miler today. I probably should have eaten something before I set off but no matter.
I love the fact i can leave my door on the bike. No need to drive miles to get to some woods..
i love the fact i can ride road/woods straight from my house 🙂
Also enjoying the spring sunshine. Summer bike is out and speeds are up.
Just over 80 miles in 4.5 hours. No idea on climbing but it's deliberately hilly to try and get fitness up early in the year.
I appear to have just bought my first road bike.
So, its good to know I have aceness to look forward to.
i cant get a road bike to fit me.....grrrr...help..... 😉
I have just sold mine- the roads are far too dangerous with the recent potholefest that is the last winter and it just all hurts too much
Been on the road bike today 120 miles in 8hrs 5m averaging 15mph.Can't stand the mud over in Epping Forest in winter anymore. I'll never mud plug again and will go off road when things firm up a touch more. For me road bikes are ace for mtb training and hopefully all my other road training will transfer to the dirt trails nicely! 😀
I wouldn't describe road riding as fun tho,more a sense of achievemnt on long rides and releif no lorries or cars have hit me in my day glow jacket.To be fair riding with friends is cool on a road bike as you take turns at the front, but for me its still a means to an mtb end. 8)
Yes they are, and they're ace all year round.
BTW you lot love your miles, I mean I love road riding, but after 100k I start to think about heading home. Different with a club or mates though.
Get the feeling I'm missing out here. 😉
I love road riding. Just over 200k this weekend for me in lovely sunshine, plus I got to see some lambs too 🙂 currently loving the road bike more than ever.
Sorry but 362 miles is good going mate! I thought I'd done well at 210 this week 😆
110 sunshine miles yesterday, with a few sections of Sussex pave thrown in.
Off to Spain with my road bike next week: even better weather, smooth roads and mountains = road bike heaven.
hahahahaha you do realise that while you were enjoying the sun in the UK it's been pissing down here, all over Spain? Still, nice weather is forecast from Wednesday on...
Love road biking, although this weekend was MTB time. Last road bike ride was last weekend, 111km in the mountains above Madrid: http://goo.gl/maps/3Slh
Where was my sunshine, it only popped out about 11am which just about gave me a mildy warm last hour or so home.
Just over 80miles on Saturday for me. Furthest I've ever ridden on a bike.
If you find road riding dull, you're not trying hard enough!
Yeti how's that new bike fitting you?
I'm impressed that you could find somewhere to do a 35 mile ride with only 200m of climbing! I did what I thought was about as flat a 36 miler as I could think of last weekend, and that had 600m+ of climbing (and that the corrected amount of gain from my Garmin).
Last weekend was all on the road bikes - this weekend was all mountain biking.
Berkshire/Surrey/Hampshire border is pretty flat.
IME Garmins over estimate by about 50%, but I didn't have it on yesterday. Guess it depends if its a barometric altimeter (accurate) or just one from the GPS (miles out). If you upload to mapmyride.com or similar there's usualy an option to disregard altitude data.
IME Garmins over estimate by about 50%,
Based on what? There's a lot of undulation you don't realise on most roads. It is true though that GPS altitude alone is rubbish.
IME Garmins over estimate by about 50%, but I didn't have it on yesterday.
The Garmin connect website will correct the over-calculation of ascent, and that does bring it down a lot. For last Sunday's 36 miler, corrected climbing shows as 1917ft, but with the corrections disabled it does show as something like double that.
Given my house is at about 600ft and my ride took me down to the coast in a couple of places there was always going to be a fair bit of climbing.
hey i got a road bike to fit my 5ft small body... its a specialized Dolce..... only 44cm frame...geomatory great (womens )....
all i need to learn now is how to use the gears :wink:...tiny little switch to go up through the gears and like a brake handle that you flick sideways to change down through the gears...wierd...different to the mtb lol...
anyway happy speeding for me 😉 