My hunch is that it’s better not to (frequency being one of the only 3 levers we have to fiddle with). But if you need to make it work then I’d make Sunday as hard as possible. Either by doing a long, long Z2 or by doing beefy tempo intervals on a shorter ride.

beefy tempo

Underrated music genre

Or a porn star name or maybe a rapper 🤣

Heading out for another chaingang tonight! Two weeks out from ToC I’m just looking to maximise the time I spend on the wheel. Hopefully the pace will be a little easier although I believe we are doing the same loop as Tuesday in reverse which means a chunky climb half way round.

I’d been waiting for the 2x force axs integrated since launch, but they silently doubled the price and availability has been about zero,

so weirdly I was searching for something on the new shit wiggle/crc, and they had a single 2x force quarq in stock, I guess someone didn’t get the price bump memo, so copped this for 340 quid after wiggles platinum discount

I’d have took one of the other ratios over this, but beggars cannot be choosers

retail boxed as well 😂🤷‍♂️

Ooof. That climb stung 🤣

I was fascinated with my own physiology this evening. Leaving home and riding into a headwind to meet Rich, just getting my bike to move seemed like a monumental effort. I can’t quite emphasise enough how awful I felt on the bike 🤣

Then we rode to town and I felt below par but better.

Then we started the chaingang, four of us, and I felt awful again. Like I was gonna get dropped at 250w.

And then half an hour later something finally switched on and I felt like I could smash all day long. It’s soooo weird. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Anyhow, one of the guys pushed the pace up the hills which meant I was having to do silly watts to hold on. Breathing was maxxed out and Hr was 188-190 (threshold Hr is 176 🤣) but I never felt like I needed to ease off. I could just hold it.

Then we got on to my favourite road and as soon as the torque of climbing was off of my legs, I was able to hold the same power that had just been causing me to breath out of my arse but actually recover at the same time.

I snagged a 7th on the segment for the loop, so quite pleased with that.

Hopefully get out on the gravel bike tomorrow for an easy spin and then see what’s occurring via WhatsApp for the weekend. I’d like one shorter harder ride with a group and one longer Z2 day really.

@crosshair – you’re proper smashing it at the moment! Sounds intense.

@dirtyrider – I can barely be bothered to look at wiggle / crc at the moment. Filters don’t work properly and a lot of the prices seem a lot higher than other places. Fair shout for snagging a bargain – I’m assuming £340 is pretty cheap for a power meter with rings from my recent look at power meter options (albeit not that one as I have Shimano cranks)?

I mangled my back trying to get back into deadlifts on Monday after 3 weeks of weights. Stupid – I should have gone really really light to ease back in. I’ve spasmed my lower back so I’m back on the physio exercises to stretch it out and get it moving again. Also painkillers / ibuprofen but it seems to be responding gradually. Did a 30 min sweet spot with the power turned down earlier in the week and just did a 45 min endurance / zone 2 sort of thing before work. Going to continue to do plenty of stretching and have a camping trip next week so not going to be pushing myself at all until things have calmed down. Frustrating!

On the upside I’m still about 74kgs so far – have rehydrated but haven’t banged back up to 76kgs+ so far.

Well done on the weight mate! A bit of patience and you’ll be back to it in no time 💪🏻

I wrote this years plan (although I’m not strictly following it) for Tour of Cambridgeshire so if there’s a week to smash it, it’s this one 😀
There’s been some bantz in the WhatsApp group about tapering (someone doing Ride London used it as an excuse to bail on Tuesday chaingang 🤣)so I’m hoping to get mine right. Step one is to have something to taper from. And after barely riding last week I need to really overload this week. That way when I ease off for a couple of days again next Thursday-Saturday I should get a super-compensation effect 🤞🏻

@joebristol – when they launched the new Force AXS they had this at £399 rrp, its the same as the Red version, just not machined silver, which is 750 quid, there’s been zero availability, however between launch and sometime two weeks ago, they silently increase the price on the SRAM website to £699, availability has still been about zero, so to grab this for the original price is quite a steal I guess

https://www.sram.com/en/sram/models/pm-frc-kit-d2

Good to see you briefly this morning crosshair. I won the KOM up Combe and then sat up and joined the grupetto 😄😄😄

Actually I stopped at the staggered cross road after the descent to direct straggelers and we never saw you lot again!

Yeah, I buried myself trying to catch up with Andy and Michael and then they kept going!

Pretty sure we went against the spirit of gravel if not the spirit of Banjo with that move 🤣🤣

Was a nice route and stunning weather but I often found myself wishing I was on the road bike and not 47mm Pathfinders 🤣 Especially up Coombe 😮‍💨

Just reflecting further- you must have put nearly a minute into me up Coombe. So, had you not waited, the entire dynamics would have been different. That would have been way more entertaining seeing if the roluers could have reeled in the climbers 😀

Pretty sure you’d catch me!!

concluded an easy week (was probably due one) with an hour on the turbo this evening, very hot indoors, but I couldn’t get out and felt I needed to do a bit to keep the legs turning over, nice walk up Jacobs Ladder in the peaks with the boys for a couple of hours this afternoon though then a bit around Derwent for an ice cream, barely been above Z2 this week, went out Monday & Wednesday for a couple of hours each and the legs were deffo heavy from Sunday, a much needed recovery week,

Chainy tonight. Heard the epic tale of one of the guys Ride London! Sounded fun and he squeezed under 4hrs too 👏🏻
Rather puts the pressure on Tour of Cambridgeshire but my hunch is that something closer to 4.5hrs is a realistic stretch goal that doesn’t rely too much on getting in a sketchy super-swarm.

We had a dodgy wind again tonight, caught cars at two junctions and hit two sets of road work traffic lights on red. But we were still about 6 seconds faster than last week.

I felt okay, not amazing. Rich was funny- he’s been moaning about not being fit but having a functional power meter tonight meant he ripped everyone’s legs off 🤣 Which was irritating as I was next in line and there’s more draft from a gnat 🤣🤣
I managed to hold his attack up the A4 kicker and then dropped everyone early in the sprint. Thinking nobody else was trying, because they were out of sight, I sat up and so of course they all whizzed past 🤨🤣

Funny old week this week. Work pressure still dragging on and haven’t felt like riding much. Which is odd as I’m meant to be peaking 🤣
Hayfever is kicking in too.

I noticed my front wheel bearing was wobbly on Tuesday so I ordered ten from Amazon and fitted those last night. My makeshift press wasn’t man enough so I whacked one in with a socket in the end 🤣 The Prime disc wheelset is so much chunkier than the rim version!

Then I decided the rear needed doing too (it did because it was worse 🤣) but that was much quicker.
The pawls were gunged up again too so re-greased those to save an embarrassing DNF on Sunday.

I’ve had a rear puncture on my GP5000 for a while but it sealed itself and holds enough pressure for a couple of rides at a time so I used the time to swap that out for a new one too with plenty of new sealant. (That’s my last 700x32mm from stock. Need to decide whether to swap to 30 or 28 next as the bike is technically designed for 28’s. Although the 32’s are great!).

A new Rocket Ron arrived as well so that got fitted to the mtb as it was sat there still flat and neglected from the puncture I had at Dirty Reiver. Depending on work, I may do a local mtb race on the 17th so needed it ready just in case.

Hopefully get out this afternoon for some kind of taper spin and bike check. Then I can wash it and get the di2 charged ready to rock! Working tomorrow so need to be ready by the end of today really.

I’m ill 😷 of have been, but I’ve had to do mandatory training or I would have lost my contract, so Tuesday/Wednesday was restraint training, hardly hard work, but lots of huffing and puffing from other shows you how unfit a lot of the general population is 😂 plus it’s half term, so the option of laying in bed and hiding hasn’t been an option 🙄, done 2hrs at Z2 this week on the turbo, just to turn the legs over, and even then I was in second minds with that, kids back at school next week with some decent weather on the horizon, and I have Thursday/Friday free, so hopefully get some good hours in next week and chalk this week off, trying to remember that we won’t be back at square one 🤣

Can you validly claim a week off sick as a recovery week?

Depending on work, I may do a local mtb race on the 17th so needed it ready just in case.

? What’s this? Southern XC?

Nope! https://www.uptonogood.org.uk

Fancy it?

(Meant to say ‘race’ as it’s explicitly not 🤣 )

Will have to look at diary, but potentially yes.

I haven’t done Uptonogood since I lived in Cholsey… quite fancied it this year after 5 years living in the Quantocks I figured the climbs might feel somehow easier? Needed it to be the weekend afterwards though, can’t make 17th. Was always quite chilled with some decent music on hay bales afterwards too

4h32 for ToC. Should have taken more water/less mix as got a little dehydrated and nearly cramped.

Some crafty folks started the Sportive from the Fondo pens which is genius in hindsight as the front of the Fondo’s was +3mph!!

However I think I was top 5 of the guys who started in the proper sportive pen 🤣

Some of the numbers were insane. One of my goals for the year was 300 watts NP for 2 hours. I got dropped after pacing myself up one of the early climbs and then was left chasing the group Rich was in. Eventually I made it after 40mins or so but my AP was 303w! Anyhow, 2hrs in my NP was 310w 🎉

With his 52cm frame and light, small and aero body- Rich can do so much less power for the same speed. It’s truly staggering. At one point I shouted at him to slow down because the air was coming off his helmet and hitting me in the face. He was doing 260w I was doing 300 in his draft 🤣🤣

I’ve heard the rumours about sportives but Strewth- the riding was horrendous. So choppy and inconsistent. With even and careful pulls, we’d have easily gone 1mph faster as a bunch.
As it was, after a while, only Rich, myself and about three others were pulling with dozens in our draft.

I’m basically Remco with that position 😎 🤣

good numbers, great effort getting back on as well!! strong sock game (assuming that’s you on the front) guy behind could learn some lessons

right positional wise, got a question, any biometric people here?

I finally got round to chopping my steerer after I guess 3 years 🙄😂, took out two of the integrated spacers (10mm total), now on the turbo the last couple of sessions my seat has felt low (I don’t think it’s slipped) and my left quad a bit clicky if I could describe it, and if I’m honest the Z2 sessions have felt hard work, and I could put my hand on the muscle, and there was an obvious “click” during the pedal stroke, so I drew a line with a sharpie and raised it a touch, I guess 10/12mm, and it deffo feels higher than it was, and has been for some time, has dropping the stem altered my hip angle and meant I need to raise the saddle? strange one, as I guess if I could get away with raising the saddle, it was a touch low anyway 🤷‍♂️

You’d think raising the saddle after lowering the stem would mean closing the hip angle even more?

I have had a saddle slip very gradually on the turbo before and then felt like a new man when I realise and raise it back up an inch 🤣🤣

Nice job @crosshair. Have had the same experience as you in sportives where it’s really hard to get a rhythm – in the end I just gave up and started doing them with my wife and just enjoying the scenery instead.

I had a training plan ready to start this week to give me a focus through the summer but I’ve just deleted it. Going to have quite a lot of family stuff on over the summer so need to keep a lot in the tank for that. I’ll still aim for 3 rides and 1 run per week (or more if I can) but not having any other targets takes a bit of pressure off. The aim for my rides will be to have fun so I’ll still grab the odd workout from TR’s TrainNow function when the mood takes me and I’ll also hopefully figure out which local clubs fit my schedule.

Interested to hear how you’re getting on now @joebristol – did you keep some strength after your illness?

@stevious – having a shocker at the moment- thanks for asking. Weight stayed down and felt ok on the bike for a couple of rides but when I went to get back into a bit of deadlifting I’ve spasmed my lower back muscles on my left hand side – it’s a weak spot from previous injuries. So now I’m doing all thenohysik stretching from last year to try and get it all happy again. At the moment doing my shoes up hurts 🤯

Got on the turbo for 45 mins last night on an easy zone 2 workout where I didn’t top 160 watts and that felt ok. So I’m just going to do strengthening and stretching for core and back + zone 2 turbo for the next week or 2 and see how that goes.

Booked to ride a part day off piste around Dyfi area 23rd June, the Dyfi bike park 24th June then some kind of ride on the 25th in Shropshire. So need to get into some kind of pain free / stable shape for that.

Would have thought raising the seat would open the hip angle, particularly if it gives more pelvis rotation.

Your optimal saddle height for an hour of power is going to be different to that which you want to ride for hours outside. But no one’s got time to be faffing with the seat post every time they sit on the bike.

If you want to get into it then testing at incremental heights is likely the best way – start too low then raise it by 10 then 5 mm progressively. You’ll instinctively know when you’ve gone past the right height.

@joebristol – Been through a sciatica flare-up recently myself so hope the back sorts itself out. Mine was OK on the bike, actually felt like it was good for it, but off the bike was a total different story. Annoyed with myself as the back’s been solid for a good while but I had some warning pains that I ignored. Paused the deadlifts lol – I only do RDLs at lightweight, but figure they can wait until things calm down.

Yeah I’d built up deadlifts after my back flare up last year – not lifting heavy – just to keep things strong in my core. Should have flipped some plates off after 2-3 weeks off ill, but I didn’t. Stupid – kicking myself now.

sods law, out for a decent ride today suns out, had 4 hours ish, grabbed a route from strava, said about a section being “offroad” had a look at the pics, old railway line, looked a bit gravely, thought it’s be fine, it wasn’t stick of doom the size of a 5p diameter through through the tyre, used a tenner to boot it, literally couldn’t have been further away from home when it happened, gingerly made my way back home, changing the route planned, and it gave out 20km from home and an lift had to be called 🙄 tyre now in the bin

did do 300w for 11 minutes on a segment attempt early into the ride, a smidge under 8hrs for the week, not much room to add to that over the weekend, deffo felt better last 3/4 days, illness lifted

Crosshair you going to Henley tomorrow or do you fancy a 70km plus gravel ride?

@anagallis_arvensis I do fancy the gravel ride, it looks a nice route but have committed to Henley with Rich tomorrow sorry.
Need to get the mtb out for a few days and see if I wanna give the ruts a go for UptoNoGood 👍🏻
(I hate ruts! And watching a rider wipe out at last years event after overtaking me reinforced my skepticism 🤣)

******

I’ve had a week off this week and after 2yrs of solid, consistent “training”, I finally feel it’s time to ease off.
I’m kind of stuck with great fitness in a fat, always-hungry person’s body 🤣

Even though training creates extra calorie allowance, it also seems to come with exponential hunger that I can’t control.
So I’ll still ride, maybe less, sometimes as much, maybe more- but with ‘move more eat less’ as the goal rather than ‘maximise your training potential’.

I had thought about trying the British Gravel Championships again in September but I’ll need to be seeing promising (weight and power) numbers in August to want to commit I reckon.

Might get a motorbike and an inflatable stand up paddle board for a kind of tame midlife crisis 🤣

@dirtyrider unlucky on the puncture 😔 🛞

No worries.

@crosshair that’s life sometimes

so new tyres on order, now I’ve always ran my tyres even tubeless compatible ones with latex tubes, are the road tubeless any good these days (new Vittoria Pro jobs) or shall I stick to what I know?

Even though training creates extra calorie allowance, it also seems to come with exponential hunger that I can’t control.

Same. I find recovery drinks help, as does not getting too carb-depleted during the ride.

Yeah I find even if I fuel with 100g/Hr I just get bloated and then still hungry 🤣

Was a fun ride to VeloLife this morning but I was totally over cycling when we hit the hills on the way back 🤣
Considering I haven’t ridden all week I went okay but I’ve realised I’m rubbish at everything I’ve tried in the past year. CX, Crits, Brass Monkeys, Gravel at Dirty Reiver, British Gravel Championships, Tour of Cambridgeshire etc have all just left me frustrated despite being enjoyable in the moment occasionally 🤣

Should have come gravel noodling with me!! That would have got your mojo back!! I did think that the route out to velo life looked as dull as hell 😄😄😄

CX, Crits, Brass Monkeys, Gravel at Dirty Reiver, British Gravel Championships, Tour of Cambridgeshire etc

Going to have to take up time trialling now 😄😄😄😄😄😰😰😰😰