Did the "SST Medium" zwift workout yesterday...much more manageable despite being 2 x 30 min intervals.. had to pass on the final 5 min of the last set purely because my knee was giving gip, rather than "it was too hard"!
I've shortened my cranks on the turbo to 165, and basically raised the saddle but not shifted it forward!
Good advice Jamz... Doing that workout was 'hard' but fine..!
That coupled with the Sunday 'coach north workout' which is basically the lower end of sweet spot and I'll be a good in again!
DrP
I swore I would drag myself out this morning for a quick Z2 spin. Woke at 5:30am, took one look out the window (didn't need to, could hear rain against glass) went back to bed 🙄
Hoping new saddles arriving today might make turbo sessions more bearable, shall have a fun night of low sweetspot while fiddling with saddle positions (have a Trek Aeolus and Selle Italia SLR Boost to play with).
Just used Zwift for the first time yesterday after a period of very little riding. The new feature where it suggests training sessions according to your current fitness seems pretty good.
Saying that though, I thought I was going to die by the end of the dog my session yesterday. I really need to do a new FTP test to get an up to date number.
Hoping new saddles arriving today might make turbo sessions more bearable, shall have a fun night of low sweetspot while fiddling with saddle positions (have a Trek Aeolus and Selle Italia SLR Boost to play with).
Well that was successful, new saddle certainly made the turbo a bit more tolerable. Also in unrelated news I've dipped below 90kg on the scales for the first time in forever so that's a step in the right direction, and I also learned from Dylan Johnson/Aerocoach that I could save 10W by TTing with no gloves on and could maybe save 5W with new socks and 30W with a new helmet, so I barely need to train at all now 😎
Joking aside, if the new saddle stays comfortable it could yield some good results, allowing my to comfortably rotate forward definitely seems to bring the glutes into play more, and clearly allows me to get more aero, just a shame the nose feels a touch wide (Trek Aeolus) so now I'm wondering about those Shimano pedals with the +4mm axles...
My 'training' this winter has been the worst for as long as I can remember. The main thing though is that I'm injury free and still holding my own when riding in group rides. I've a weeks gravel riding in France in April so I really need to pull my finger out training wise, but this recent weather isnt encouraging me to get out and about, I think I will fit some slicks on my bike and hit the rollers as I think 40-60 mins of interval training does wonders on improving my fitness.
My current training regime, if you can call it that:
Monday
- 30 min walk at lunch
- Gym, 2km run as a warmup, weights and 30 min climbing on the indoor bike
Tuesday
- 30 min walk at lunch
- Night time mixed pace gravel ride with my cycling club.
Wednesday
- 30 min walk at lunch
- Gym, 2km run as a warmup, weights
Thursday
- 30 min walk at lunch
Friday
- 30 min walk at lunch
- 2-3 hours off-road cycle at a mixed pace
Saturday
- Parkrun with my son
- 60 min walk, ideally with some elevation involved
Sunday
- 2-3 hours early morning off-road cycle at an easy pace
- 60 min walk, ideally with some elevation involved
So, you can see that I'm active just not pushing myself very much, I also want to get back to the weight I was last March so that means losing 6kg of belly.
I've neglected "proper" mountain biking for a couple of years now, and have been riding mostly road or gravel. But today, I thought I'd have a go at a proper, long, hard local climb on my (32lb) hardtail. (About an hour of solid, technical singletrack effort - not spinning up a service road!)
Aerobically, the heart and lungs were fine. Even the legs were OK but, bloody hell, my lower back is in terrible shape and it feels like a have a VERY weak spot about 3 vertebrae above the top of my hips.
Any suggestions for fixing this weak point? I don't think it's a bike fit issue per se, as the seat tube angle is quite steep. I do lots of hamstring stretches and body weight squats every single day. Recently I've started doing some dead lifts and lunges.
Anything else I should be including in the mix?
My turbo work (while there is ice and snow out) has tailed off a bit in the last few weeks. Previously I was three times a week, now only two and I really need to get back to three. I'm also seeing a drop in average power and training load that I can't explain for the rides that I do do. It's not injury (but I know my right hip flexor is not happy) and it should not be post-viral fatigue or similar, just a weird drop in form.
Weights are still ongoing, but not every day and they were only ever kettlebell workouts. When I get access to the outside gym again I'll start doing more heavier weights.
So, predictions for 2026? I'll for sure being doing more riding outside, probably road mixed with the odd short bash out onto the local trails, but I won't be doing any races or events. I might even take the bike to Gotland with me in June.
Aerobically, the heart and lungs were fine. Even the legs were OK but, bloody hell, my lower back is in terrible shape and it feels like a have a VERY weak spot about 3 vertebrae above the top of my hips.
What are the symptoms of your lower back? First time I jumped back on the MTB after a long spell off I ended up with a very sharp spasm in the mid-back, presumably because I was wrestling wider bars that I was used to and using all sorts of different muscles.
Since then I've always been sure to incorporate some very light resistance band work (as a minimum) for my upper back.
But you've reminded me I need to start getting out on the MTB again, I've got a 500km weekend coming up in April!
So, predictions for 2026? I'll for sure being doing more riding outside, probably road mixed with the odd short bash out onto the local trails, but I won't be doing any races or events. I might even take the bike to Gotland with me in June.
I've got a ridiculous year planned and have to keep reminding myself that there is absolutely no way I'll manage everything I'm currently cramming in to my calendar 🤣
April - L'Enfer de Forth - 170km of road and cobbles from Edinburgh to Stirling and back
Also April - 3-4 days MTB touring around Lochaber and Ardnamurchan
End May - Grand Old Dukes (my 'A' race) 180km of gravel and climbing.
June/July/August - Not sure, looking forward to getting back on the road bike for our local Tuesday night TTs and getting some long hilly rides in for the Ba Sportive in September
Also June/July/August - An attempt at a Fife Coastal Path FKT. The bar has been set at 10:34 by James Lamb at a speed I *think* I could maintain, but he looked like a fitter and more skilled MTBer than me, albeit on a heavier bike and he took some wrong turns, so it looks tantalisingly possible 😎
September - Ba Sportive
Also September - River Lyon and River Tay 'Source to Sea' ride.
So, predictions for 2026?
I've got my follow up DEXA scan in May, where hopefully i'd have reversed my rather low muscle mass concern!
Riding wise; Stary fit and strong for a week's enduro riding in Madeira, wanna gravel ride the Avenue Vert all in one go, and do some summer XC racing!
Oh, and try to have a 6 pack for my summer holiday in August to impress the American lady tourists!!!
DrP
Thinking about scrubbing the sink later after a nap.
Aerobically, the heart and lungs were fine. Even the legs were OK but, bloody hell, my lower back is in terrible shape and it feels like a have a VERY weak spot about 3 vertebrae above the top of my hips.
What are the symptoms of your lower back?.....
It just feels really weak. I have a history of poor lower back flexibility and strength and have had a couple of VERY painful spasms just above my hips. I do stretching and mobility work every morning but I'm guessing I need to do something which actually strengthens those muscles, and apart from dead lifts, I'm not sure what else would work...
Aerobically, the heart and lungs were fine. Even the legs were OK but, bloody hell, my lower back is in terrible shape and it feels like a have a VERY weak spot about 3 vertebrae above the top of my hips.
What are the symptoms of your lower back?.....
It just feels really weak. I have a history of poor lower back flexibility and strength and have had a couple of VERY painful spasms just above my hips. I do stretching and mobility work every morning but I'm guessing I need to do something which actually strengthens those muscles, and apart from dead lifts, I'm not sure what else would work...
Apologies if this is something you already do but I’ve found hip bridges to be crucial for keeping my back in good nick.
and apart from dead lifts, I'm not sure what else would work...
Just do deadlifts. Personally I think that it's the single best complementary exercise that a cyclist can do, and that's for both performance on the bike and general health. Gorilla rows (bent over row with alternating dumbells) are also up there, but deadlifts are the best for the lower back. With deadlifts you are strengthening the entire posterior chain, which are the muscles that you need to stabilise you on the bike. If you think about it, the position you are in when deadlifting is pretty much what you're in when you're riding a descent - apart from the fact that your arms are by your knees rather than out in front (that's where the gorilla rows come in). Hip bridges are fine (if you're a 65 year old woman...) but they're not really doing that much for the back - your glutes are doing pretty much all the work and there's minimal load anyway.
Just do deadlifts. Personally I think that it's the single best complementary exercise that a cyclist can do, and that's for both performance on the bike and general health.
My theory is that it's squats you want to be doing (that's what I'm working on) as it is more functionally similar to riding. I think my back got so sore when doing lots of climbing because I didn't have the strength or muscle memory to counteract the forces from my hips when climbing.
There's some good YouTube videos of a guy doing 'foundation' exercises which are a great start, basically isometric squats. The key thing is really really making sure your glutes are doing the work, my QL wants to take over on the right hand side if I let it and then spasms, and this relates to so many of my other issues on the bike I think.
I then follow the squats with sets of single leg Romanian deadlift. These also seem functionally awesome in a different way, just seem to train a really good single sided movement pattern.
On a related note, does weight training usually leave you this wiped out the day after? I'm new to it (at least, new to doing it regularly) and still not moving any serious weights, but it has been a real battle getting out of the bed the next day to try and get out on the bike before work, just feel tired all over...
Beginning to see why you should be doing your weight training in the off-season!
In the last year I discovered that 'just do deadlifts/squats isn't always the right advice when it comes to back strength.
Last year I was working on my squat mobility so that meant for 8 months I focused on not bending over and instead I squatted down making sure I kept my spine in the neutral position.
After 8 months I noticed my back was starting to hurt, especially if I was on the road bike.
Turns out that if you spend a significant amount of time not bending your spine your spine stops bending. I could hold my attack position for any length of downhill I came across. However, that was with my spine in the neutral position. As soon as my spine was flexed I was in pain within about 10 minutes.
I think there are two aspects to back health. One is being able to brace and hold a neutral spine. The other is to work on increasing strength when the spine is being flexed. I added some toe touches while holding the barbell for 15 reps a couple of times a week as will as getting used to bending over rather than squatting down for everything. Now my back feels much better again.
So, I would say focus on when your back is hurting. If it mostly hurts when the spine is braced in the neutral position (for example, in the attack position) then do some squats/deadlifts. If it gets sore when your spine is curved then focus on strengthening your back in the flexed position.
My theory is that it's squats you want to be doing (that's what I'm working on) as it is more functionally similar to riding. I think my back got so sore when doing lots of climbing because I didn't have the strength or muscle memory to counteract the forces from my hips when climbing.
Squats will certainly help to boost on the bike performance because they are strengthening your quads. The problem is you already have strong quads as they are the primary muscle you use when pedalling, so you are just reinforcing the muscular imbalance that you already have. The best way to rebalance is to strengthen the posterior chain (including the back) by deadlifting. Otherwise your legs are potentially writing cheques that your back can't cash. Your back is your foundation. Squats will do a bit for the back, but nothing like as much as deadlifts.
In the last year I discovered that 'just do deadlifts/squats isn't always the right advice when it comes to back strength.
Last year I was working on my squat mobility so that meant for 8 months I focused on not bending over and instead I squatted down making sure I kept my spine in the neutral position.
You realise that a deadlift involves bending over, right? A deadlift is not a squat... It actually sounds quite like you spend 8 months weakening your back just to improve your hip mobility?! Doesn't matter if your back is neutral or flexed - it's the same muscles doing the work (mainly the spinal erectors) you just increase the injury risk in a flexed position because of the uneven pressure on your discs and the lack of stability. I do like a flexion row from time to time, but I certainly wouldn't be doing something like a Pilates roll down with weights - that sounds like an accident waiting to happen.
I think you misunderstood me.
I was still deadlifting with weights based on a 160kg 1RM so while it's maybe not impressive for tiktok but in real terms I don't think my deadlift is 'weak'.
However, I now believe that even if you can lift 160kg your back can still be weak if you only work with a neutral spine for everything.
YMMV but I'm definitely not ignoring strengthening my flexed spine anymore.
I think you misunderstood me.
I was still deadlifting with weights based on a 160kg 1RM so while it's maybe not impressive for tiktok but in real terms I don't think my deadlift is 'weak'.
However, I now believe that even if you can lift 160kg your back can still be weak if you only work with a neutral spine for everything.
YMMV but I'm definitely not ignoring strengthening my flexed spine anymore.
Ah ok, well yes - you didn't quite make that clear. And I said 'just do deadlifts, not 'do just deadlifts'.
Your experience certainly sounds unusual. The number of lifters/gym goers doing any work at all with flexed spine is tiny, and there are plenty of accomplished powerlifters out there who train nothing but squat/dead/bench plus a few accessories. I would imagine that a physio could shed some light - there's clearly a bit more going on than just 'back strength'. You obviously don't lack back strength if you're deadlifting 160kg!
Generally speaking, most people (including most cyclists) would benefit from increasing back strength by deadlifting (as part of a balanced exercise routine).
I think you misunderstood me.
I was still deadlifting with weights based on a 160kg 1RM so while it's maybe not impressive for tiktok but in real terms I don't think my deadlift is 'weak'.
However, I now believe that even if you can lift 160kg your back can still be weak if you only work with a neutral spine for everything.
YMMV but I'm definitely not ignoring strengthening my flexed spine anymore.
Ah ok, well yes - you didn't quite make that clear. And I said 'just do deadlifts', not 'do just deadlifts'.
Your experience certainly sounds unusual. The number of lifters/gym goers doing any work at all with flexed spine is tiny, and there are plenty of accomplished powerlifters out there who train nothing but squat/dead/bench plus a few accessories. I would imagine that a physio could shed some light - there's clearly a bit more going on than just 'back strength'. You obviously don't lack back strength if you're deadlifting 160kg!
Generally speaking, most people (including most cyclists) would benefit from increasing back strength by deadlifting (as part of a balanced exercise routine).
Just going to throw my weight training tuppence in there (based of course on my n=1). I have done lifting in the past, following a plan from one of the Joe Friel bibles. It was fun to do and I definitely felt stronger but for a whole bunch of reasons getting to a gym or having weights at home isn't going to work for me now. These days I do a bit of strength-focused yoga and a few press-ups and pull ups and I'm really happy with the robustness I get from that. For me, I feel the functional benefits of what I do now are pretty much the same as what I got from weights and it fits my life better.
My personal pet theory is that unless your goal is to lift heavy stuff then there's a ceiling to how much extra function you get from more strength. Of course that will differ massively person-to-person but I think it's pretty cool that there's a bunch of ways you can make yourself a bit more robust.
Currently on day 54 of the burpee challenge and, amazingly, hating burpees. That said, i do feel the difference in my strength now that the challenge is starting to bite. I'm also making sure that I hit the turbo twice a week and use the kettlebell for some bodyweight+ exercises whenever I go past it in the kitchen.
If this works out, by the time the season starts I won't be that badly out of shape.
I say this, but did a short/50minute Z4 workout last night on the turbo a day after an XC ski session and my legs are hating me today.
100km (with a stiff tailwind for much of it) of very mixed gravel/singletrack/mud and tarmac on Monday, culminating in three steep cobbled 'bergs' in Dundee.
After seeing the rides people put in on a local gravel pursuit ride in Callander, i was intrigued to see what sort of pace I could maintain. Unfortunately pacing quickly went out the window, partly just through forgetfulness but also necessity, wet, slippy and puddly farm tracks don't always respect 'low zone 3'.
Ultimately managed just shy of 21km/h which is good by the standard of most of my gravel rides but I can't tell if it was decent in the context of the route i.e. no big hills but lots of uncooperative ground conditions and bits and pieces of technical singletrack.
Heartrate was almost evenly split across Z2/Z3/Z4 so clearly I didn't pace very well, the Z4 sections were probably just hills but also the wheel-spinning muddy singletrack bits, of which there were several.
Don't really know what to make of it to be honest, I'm done with the sloppy winter singletrack rides so upcoming big days out will be more indicative of 'normal' gravel riding, and I'll be working more climbing into rides in the near future. I guess I should be doing lots of time at my 'target' intensity of sort of low sweetspot, and once or twice a fortnight throw in some sharper hill efforts.
My training has ground to a halt this week due to manflu, occupational hazard for a teacher, hopefully a gentle turbo tomorrow and a ride at weekend and back to it next week.
Garmin tells me I've been Unproductive since Feb 4th. Yay 🙄
That includes a good mix of anaerobic, high aerobic and low aerobic rides and my training load has been (apart from a few rest days) within the optimal range.
Anyway, I'm not sure how to interpret this, apart from my Vo2 number not increasing. But, apparently (according to Garmin), I'm already in top 5% for my age/gender and, at 62, I'm not likely to be on an upward curve!
Time to take a few days off, I guess.
How does weight training impact "bike fitness" rest days ie when I'm not working on my aerobic capacity?
I don't record weight training sessions in Connect so Garmin can't take this work into account. I'm unsure how it would impact my Vo2 max figure. Im doing high frequency/low impact core/mobility/stretching sessions rather than pushing big weights around and my current goal is to "fix" my poor shoulder/neck and lower back. I have terrible posture! My shoulders/neck tend to ache on long rides and my lower back weakness seems to fatigue me sooner than the legs run out of power. 🤷
(I'm not training for an event - rather I want/need to be able to ride back-to-back, multiple 150km+, 6/7/8 hrs days by late spring.)
100km (with a stiff tailwind for much of it) of very mixed gravel/singletrack/mud and tarmac on Monday, culminating in three steep cobbled 'bergs' in Dundee.
Was that through the Carse of Gowrie? That's my old stomping ground and i can pretty much visualise those sections from your description. There's some great tracks around there but also a lot of 'looks good on a map' stuff.
How does weight training impact "bike fitness" rest days ie when I'm not working on my aerobic capacity?
I've heard the refrain 'keep your rest days restful' from a few different places. I guess in your case it depends if you feel like the weight sessions are generating fatigure or not. I'd suggest being guided by your own feelings and if you find you're getting DOMS or not finishing your turo sessions then move things around a bit.
TrainerRoad has me doing a lot of stuff above threshold in this block which is abolutely rinsing my legs at the moment. I'm still managing to finish the workouts but I'm also very much looking forward to the rest at the end of next week. I'm not quite at the stage where I'm sick of the turbo yet but I'm definitely spending less time paying attention to superhero movies and more time daydreaming about highland springtime.
Was that through the Carse of Gowrie? That's my old stomping ground and i can pretty much visualise those sections from your description.
Yep, it's mainly the stuff around Errol that keeps drawing me back, although this ride was supposed to be more classics themed, I think I would have been better just doing the Tay Loop on tarmac and finishing on the cobbles!
Check out this Flyover of my ride on Strava: https://strava.app.link/SXzC0Dao40b
Hmmm, training. Not sure I can call the 'bare minimum I've been doing for the last 4 months' base training. Unless the base I've been building is the base of my back aka rump.
After Saturday's GPR gravel ride in Callander, I am now going to ramp up my training so I'm in better form and a couple of kg lighter for my trip to France in April. It highlighted how much pace and fitness I've lost over the winter.
So, my plane is....
Monday - 30 min lunchtime walk, swim or gym after work
Tuesday - 30 min lunchtime walk, 2-3 hour mixed pace cycle after work
Wednesday - 30 min lunchtime walk, gym after work
Thursday - 30 min lunchtime walk, 2-3 mixed pace cycle after work, maybe a trip the tweed valley once the clocks change.
Friday - 30 min lunchtime walk, gym after work
Saturday - Parkrun in the morning, maybe a hill walk or 1-2 hour easy cycle in the afternoon
Sunday - 2-3 hour mixed pace cycle in the morning, 60 min walk in the afternoon
I’ve gone from 105kg 12 months ago to 78kg and 18% body fat. Over the winter I’ve got that to 83kg and 12% body fat fat through gym and swimming with the odd ride. Getting back on the bike this week to dial my riding fitness back in for spring. The goal was to pack on as much lean muscle as I can and that’s paid off, took the ebike out yesterday to break me back in and found the increased muscle and stamina really helped with being able to muscle the bike around (not that I had any problems before), but I really noticed that my body could handle the big impacts and hits better with the increased upper body strength and muscle.
I’m not out to become a CX or XC whippet, just be able to ride the fun stuff for longer, go harder and recover quicker.
I’ve gone from 105kg 12 months ago to 78kg and 18% body fat. Over the winter I’ve got that to 83kg and 12% body fat fat through gym and swimming with the odd ride
Impressive! I'm days away from finally getting under 90kg I think although suspect that's mostly just the 'easy' weight you tend to lose quickly. Ambitious target is 85kg by end May although as I ramp up the mileage and the intensity again over the next couple of months that might not be practical.
I'm finally really understanding the purpose of an off-season. Instead of talking up CX for the winter, I could really have done with a dedicated three months of gym and running 🙄
Does anyone else just skip the twiddly warm-up/cool-down sections of programmed workouts?
I've just done this Garmin Tacx VO2 workout which consists of a 15 minute warm-up at a constant 185w followed by 15 minutes of the main show, followed by 15 minutes of cool-down @78w (which is so low, I'm just about turning my legs over at sub 60rpm...)
It just seems a complete waste of time and, no doubt, adds more low aerobic/base miles which Garmin nags me for having too much low aerobic focus anyway.
Next time, I'll just do 5 minutes warm-up and 2 minutes cool-down and save myself some time (and hopefully reduce the "too much low aerobic focus" nagging I get)
Or am I missing something critical here?
Personally I’d nudge that 185w to about 210 after about 5 minutes, but I struggle to ride on the turbo below that. Feels like my legs just spin with no resistance and can’t feel the pedals. As for 78w, well that’s just stupid!
I’d keep the warm up personally, maybe ramp it a little rather than a set pace…no way I’m launching into a VO2 workout without a good 15 minutes warm up.
Cooling down just keep it light and spinny, flushing all the crap out your legs will help your recovery.
Can never have too much low aerobic, unless of course it’s at the expense of the higher stuff if that’s the phase you’re in.
i often add 30 to 40 minutes spinning after intervals.
I think 15 minutes should be the bare minimum as a warm-up, but I never bother with cool downs.
As ever, Dylan Johnson did a good video on YouTube reviewing the available research, nothing conclusive to show any point in cool downs other than extra Z2, and arguably straight after a hard workout you're not even getting any real benefits from the Z2 anyway.
Volume and good recovery, andecdotal but I feel way better next days if I’ve span out for a decent stretch afterwards.
And arguably better to add it on the end and do your intervals fresh?
I'm doing the London Wales London, a couple of overnighters and Le E'tape du Tour this year.
Main goals:
Finish the E'tape in time (stretch goal of under 13 hours)
Finish LWL in under 24 (I was about 27 last year, but training has dropped off a cliff since LEL was a disaster last August)
I asked Gemini (the google AI) to generate me a 22 week program, with the specific focus of dropping 15kgs and boosting my FTP by 30 to 275 but also fit in with my life.
It's based around Z2 commutes, Monday and Wednesday mornings + various intensities on the way home, a harder turbo session Tuesday, light/no work Thursday + body weight exercises on Friday + a Long ride on Saturday.
3 weeks in, I can feel the fitness improving. Weight is slow to drop (just 1kg so far) but the key thing is it's a sustainable program - I have a tendency to go a bit mad and burn myself out after a few weeks. Next week is "rest week" in a 3-1 pattern.
It's also quite helpful picking the relevant turbo workout or giving specific targets for each day. The thread is getting quite long now, so I occasionally have to start my prompts with "It's Monday, week 4 of the 22 week program..." so it doesn't forget earlier info.
It'll be an interesting experiment however it goes.
Or am I missing something critical here?
The only time I've seen workouts like that is on polarised training plans where you spend most of your time noodling then a wee bit of time up at VO2max. I'd probably just do what I'm told though as once I have a workout loaded I just stick with it unless I can't.
Bit of a setback in the training this week - was suposed to be the last week of a specialty phase but illness put paid to it. TR says my FTP has dropped a couple of watts since last month but I'm still miles ahaed of where I was this time last year and I'm sure I'll get those watts back. I'll still take the recovery week this week (got other stresses to focus on) then back into a base phase building towards a 4 day tour at the end of May.
80 miles of mixed gravel and tarmac today, finishing with a climb up the final cobbled ramp from the Glasgow World Champs TT (although it's in Stirling not Glasgow).
My training right now is mostly volume and conditioning, i.e. I'm trying to do more climbing but not worrying about going hard, just getting the body used to a different strain.
That and comfort, I've somehow forgotten how to sit normally on a bike and have a tendency to drop into an aero-hoods position all the time which results in very fatigued triceps over longer distances 😂
Been going steady trying to get used to hills on the road bike, but I did a gravel race at the weekend - British gravel series at Sherwood pines. Really good, would recommend.
Four laps at just under 9 miles each, for 2 hrs 7 mins of racing. Combination of an excellent course - mix of forest track and blue route style trails, plus a good turnout of nearly 200 just in the V50, meant it felt like a race and not just a time trial through the woods. Plenty of dynamics and battles on/off the trails, some good group riding. Was happy with my ride as I lapped pretty consistent, had some legs on the last lap although I got some vicious quad cramps. Couldn't fathom it at first, like it's only been 2 hours so where is this feebleness coming from? But I was far from the only one - just not used to pushing a hard effort out past 2 hours I guess. Finished an exquisitely average 95 / 190.
Some lovely gravel bikes on display. Never really felt the need as it seemed too small a gap between my cross bikes and the anthem, but could see the appeal for something like this. I raced on 40mm tyres which were mainly fine (and felt fast AF), but they're not great for riding in a group off-road. I came off a guy's wheel on a fast descent, straight into a sandy patch and nearly crashed, a chunky gravel tyre gives you some nice security when your line goes wrong.
Last 2.5 weeks have been frustrating, had a weird fainting after Tesco delivery which I'm putting down to flu/lurgy, as my legs and knees have usually been moaning ever since when cycling mostly indoors. Knees getting better, but 140W feels more like trying to do a max effort ~280W 5mins before this episode began.
Maybe I caught better half's lurgy after all with some delay and only really feeling it when exercising?
Monday was the first day I felt like all my hard(ish, but inconsistent) work over winter was starting to pay off. 120km of admittedly a bit more tarmac than my usual gravel rides but still mud and hills in places. 20km/h without really pushing. First time I've felt genuinely comfortable on the bike over a long ride in quite a while, clearly the CX bike I've been rattling about on all winter is just the wrong fit or something, even though I though I had it dialled. Summer gravel bike just felt perfect. Legs felt OK as well although by the time I was ready to test them (two or three short, hard climbs right at the end) my drivetrain was so dry and noisy I was frightened to push hard.
Been going steady trying to get used to hills on the road bike, but I did a gravel race at the weekend - British gravel series at Sherwood pines. Really good, would recommend.
Good effort! Something about gravel racing in particular scares me, the idea of going properly hard on gravel seems more off-putting that e.g. doing it on road or the CX track, not sure why that is (probably because I'm used to rattling about on chunky rutted Perthshire farm tracks 🙄).
Some lovely gravel bikes on display. Never really felt the need as it seemed too small a gap between my cross bikes and the anthem, but could see the appeal for something like this.
Yeah, I've never really been aligned to 'current' gravel bike tech, but when you see (or pick up!) a really nice modern fast gravel bike it's hard not to get jealous!
Maybe I caught better half's lurgy after all with some delay and only really feeling it when exercising?
I've given up trying to understand bugs and illnesses, I never seem to get properly sick, but can certainly be under the weather enough for a week or two at a time that it feels like an effort doing anything. Last time it happened was just before the Grand Old Duke's last year funnily enough, 10 days off the bike just before the biggest event I'd ever entered. Needless to say didn't go well. Other time it happened was just after Christmas but I definitely think there was an over-training component to that one. Hope you get over it fast!
clearly the CX bike I've been rattling about on all winter is just the wrong fit or something, even though I though I had it dialled
My personal theory on this is that the whole point of cyclocross is that it's utter misery and so cyclocross bikes are optimised around making you feel uncomfortable at all times.
How's everyone getting on?
I thought that my winter of structured riding was about to melt away as the lure of going out for a sunny spin appeared a few weeks ago. That's been replaced by watching hailstones lash down while I do over/unders in the garage again.
How's everyone getting on?
Got myself pretty fit for a week of road riding in Mallorca next week but my mum has had a fall and needs looking after..guess that big week of zone 2 and beer is cancelled 😟
How's everyone getting on?
Got myself pretty fit for a week of road riding in Mallorca next week but my mum has had a fall and needs looking after..guess that big week of zone 2 and beer is cancelled 😟
Sorry to hear about your mum A_A. I missed a lot of riding last year for similar reasons but from where I'm sitting now I don't regret a moment of it. Hope you get some good quality time with her.
Feeling pretty decent just now but you never really know, been working on durability since I’m old enough to realise that FTP increases at my age are unlikely!
First race in a fortnight so will soon find out, I’m keeping fatigue low for now so should be okay. Happy to follow wheels and hopefully have plenty in the tank towards the end. Though I won’t be sprinting if it comes down to a gallop, I’ve done none of that yet.
Hope all goes well with your Mum AA, Mallorca and beer will still be there when she’s up and about again.