Kettlebells are ace…i’ve been using them lots recently and my muscles hurt big time!

Shame there’s not any bigger ones though as i’d be tempted to buy some for using at home but they are too light.

Edit: v8ninety, i doubt it but i’m not qualified to say. I’m a 5’3 girl and use 2 x 12kgs on the kettlebells as i’m just learning how to use them. Been told not to use the 8kg one as its too easy for me and once i’ve got the hang of them, i’m to up it to 16kgs.

+1 for using sufferfest when you are set up. Otherwise follow some sort of interval/programme as it requires huge amounts of will power to ride on a turbo.

Make sure you have a towel handy too and set it up near a window/fan. If you do sufferfest, you might need a bucket handy as well to hurl into 🙂

The bf got rollers for xmas so we now have turbo and rollers to use. We live in a flat and the turbo isnt that noisy.

I bought a kinesis tripster for touring/winter road riding/cx riding. Sadly it is too big for me so I am selling it/turning it into a commuter and buying a custom frame instead. 😳

You may have a problem finding something that fits depending on how tall you are/requirements – i wanted disks, mounts for mudguards and rack, plus clearance for cx/touring tyres as well as running 23s for winter rides, but couldn’t find anything small enough that ticked all the boxes.

I considered and discounted the kona sutra on weight. Also considered the kaffenback (too big for me) and the salsa vaya (i wanted 700c wheels and the frame which would have fitted me came with 26″)

Planning a 100 miles tomorrow so heading to the gym today instead of riding, and then heading to the sofa for the rest of the day. My last ride of 2011 was a mtb ride on Thursday. Strange to end the year with a mtb ride, given I’ve only mtb’ed a handful of times this year…and almost all of those rides have been wet/muddy/snowy!

Probably running tomorrow instead of riding as the bf is ill and I don’t fancy a solo ride on Xmas day. Planning a 100miler for new years day though 8)

What? Shortest day = beginning of winter proper. How is that better?
+1
January and February are soul destroying months

+1. I don’t mind November and December, weathers not to bad and this year im a month out, having been away for all of October so it doesn’t feel like December to me. January and Feb on the other hand are generally dark, wet, and pass slowly.

Happy birthday Emma!

I’d chose road bike with rack and mudguards.

Trying track riding for the first time on one of the hottest days of the year with my friends….great atmosphere, couldnt have asked for a better day for outdoor track riding and excellent coaching from pros.

Spending a whole month touring Portugal and Spain with my bf…35 degrees most days, smooth tarmac, loads of hills, plenty of seafood and coffee and courteous drivers.

I like the specialized defrosters. My main issue when buying (a few years ago) was finding something in my size…just as well they advise going up a size for winter to make room for thicker socks!

Did my first sufferfest vid last night (fightclub) It almost broke me by the end. The bf was sitting on the sofa laughing at me as i cursed my way through it, especially when I said that I was about to be sick.

Loved it, in a strange sort of a way 😀

Miles if i’m running on a regular basis. I find I need the cushioning to be 100% and when it starts to go, I notice the difference. I’m in the middle of trying to decide if I go for lunar glide +3 or try the lunar elite… 😕

Me. Got a whole month of touring pix and words to upload but i struggle to sit in front of the laptop at night after spending all day looking at one.

I’m looking forward to breakfast before I’ve gone to sleep at night.

This. I love breakfast, but helps that I can’t function without it. I could eat muesli/weetabix three times a day!

Doing a sufferfest session tonight of an hour. Looking forward to it (yes, I realise I need help) 🙂 Longest I’ve spent on the turbo has been 2.5 hours.

Dirty – do you reckon yoga helps to get more aero on the bike?

Not sure – i’ve always been pretty flexible so getting into a good tuck ie chin to the bars on descents hasn’t ever been an issue. Can’t say i notice i’m anymore flexible riding when i do yoga on a regular basis, but I do have less aches/tight muscles. At the moment i’m spending 10mins a day in the pigeon asana to loosen off tight glutes 😯

You noticed your more aero since starting yoga then?

I still want to do a yoga retreat somewhere tropical.

Me too *sighs*

Heh…you’d get some head rush a 5min head stand:D I was recommended the workshop so hoping it’ll be good.

I like mine – i spent a lot of time this summer working on my cadence to increase it.

I use mine on the road/turbo but not on the mtb. I miss it when I’m in a spinning class.

Hatha’s good but prob not what you are after – its very slow, with asanas held for a while and lots of focus on breathing. Off to a yin yoga workshop at the weekend where they hold asanas for 5 mins! Ouch.

Over the summer, my average hr at 20mph dropped between 10-20 beats and I never reached anywhere near my max by the end of the season (unlike the first time i tried it!) The 20mph was a sustained speed/effort and it felt a comfortable speed by the end of the season. I could put in bursts of speed/sprints but not enough to raise the overall average speed.

Once a week I did intervals/hill climbs/attacks/standing stands where my average hr was much much higher, and my legs/lungs were screaming in pain. Next year I think i need two high intensity sessions per week. I also need to improve my race nutrition which I have now got sorted.

How are you getting on with that? I assume you mean in a pack?

I got stuck at 20mph (solo) I kinda figure raising my solo speed means I can stick with a bunch riding faster i.e if i can ride at say 22mph on my own, riding with a bunch at 25mph will be ok? Learnt a lot this year about training/nutrition which will help me for next year and lots to work on in terms of intervals/sprints etc. First race is on 18 March so thinking about it a lot atm.

Need to learn better road craft and tactics when my new bike arrives to help with some of it too.

Phil_w…thanks, will do. That sounds interesting.

Yeti, not entirely sure – need to get a new body composition done to be sure what i’ve lost since touring and what i should focus on for the future.

fast at what on a bike?

Road racing mostly…i want to be able to ride at 24-25mph (ish) for around 50miles, plus mtb racing of some sort too.

I’d be even lighter if mustard didn’t tempt me with bad things like crisps. 😛 I’ve got my weights down to just over an hour, followed by a 20min run so happy with that. I just fancy mixing it up and having a session full of pain 😀

Is the 4hr body worth a read? Any ideas on how i can be both light and fast on the bike then? I’d guess my body must need the extra fat/fuel to go faster?

I’ve also found I’m fastest running when thinnest, but fast cycling seems (in my case) to need a couple of extra fat kilos…

…interesting stuff. I’ve found the same this year for cycling. I’m now a good few kgs lighter than I was this summer and finding i’m struggling a bit on the bike as a result (although part of it is also being in pain due to the horrible bike) Despite being heavier than I’ve ever been (2-4kgs over normal weight, and 4kgs over running race weight) I kept on setting pbs and performance kept on improving.

I’m hoping next season I can find a way of being both light and fast for racing 😕

Yeti, getting a personal training session in kettlebells on weds night 😀

Working today and its another rest day for me. Hoping to hear something back about plans for my custom bike too.

Looking forward to the weekend: climbing and road riding 😀

I’ve only just started discussions with Steven so can only outline what’s happened so far: I emailed to say what I was looking for / outline my requirements. Steven came back with some options for a) production frame b) semi custom or c) custom – and a rough figure of costs and timescales. I’m too small for their own frame so i’m going semi custom or custom (likely to be custom knowing me!)

I’ve had a bike fit done so sent him over my measurements and he’s going to get back to me with some thoughts. I’m then going to take my bikes with me and go meet him to discuss. I’ll be writing about the process on my blog (see profile for link)

I’d suggest emailing them – very quick response from Steven with all the information I need at this stage and I know Russ who works for Shand too. I’ve opted to go custom because I can’t get an ‘off the shelf’ bike to fit but I’m going to Shand mainly because I know Russ and I know he’ll do a good job (he’d better or i’ll kick his ass on the bike next year 😛 )

Mustard – you know you’ll end up getting one when you come with me to see Steven… 😈

Errrr, yes. I’m going for a custom build! Between that and the new xc race mtb i want, i’m looking to sell my kidneys to fund it all! 😆 I’ve just got too many requirements for an off the shelf frame and any which do meet all my requirements are too big…somehow i survived all of October touring round Portugal and Spain on my tripster but in far too much pain to ride it here. Hmm…maybe i should keep the tripster and move abroad.

Hang in there Sue, it’ll get better. Was in a similar situation for a long period of time, which resulted in being signed off for 5 months and a lot of impact on my health. Feel free to email if you want help /advice (in similar line of work).

Make time for you and do things you enjoy.

Same exercise as usual – cycling, running, weights and climbing. Usually run or ride on xmas day too.

I’ve just started discussions with them this week for a custom winter roadie/cx/touring bike. Really excited at getting a custom frame, should be ready about mid January 8)

I’d rate mine a 10, but then it cost best part of £100 so I’d expect nothing less 😯 italia ftw!

for me it include glutes, hips, pelvis, lower back and the much smaller muscles i.e not six pack ones – like the ones that if you put your fingers an inch in from your hip bones and then i think an inch or so down…despite my physio telling me the names a few times, i can’t remember them. Working on strengthening that one has made a huge difference.

Riding to the other side of town for an hours spinning class then riding across town to get home. 🙄

Qwerty, the salsa vaya was on my shortlist (well bike number two of two). I opted for the tripster over the vaya because the small sizes come with 26″ wheels and I want 700c.

Currently custom build is the front runner! 8)

I should also mention that I’m ideally just after a frame, as i built the tripster to spec and will transfer the bits over from it.

Thanks Sue – i’m in scotland so trying it not an option. Discs are a must have…lots of bikes discounted were during the initial research as i’m not willing to compromise on that.

Druidh 😛 i’ll go custom over marin! I’ve just got a quote back from shand too. Looks like i’ll be on my trek for our next night ride.

also good for trying bonkers things that I’m too scared to try on the wall.

Ha, i’ll try way harder stuff on the wall than i will bouldering, although the bf has to keep the rope super tight when i’m trying sillyharder routes. 😆

London 2012, wow! You using the garmin for swimming, riding and running?

I dunno re bouldering. We’ve tried it the last couple of weeks. I get that it improves climbing technique but other than that…? There’s a steep over hang on the bouldering wall that i’m working up the courage to try!

Not written up the blog yet other than the first day! Been too busy doing stuff! What roadie did she opt for? I take it you’ll be bringing the good weather up here again during jogle? I reckon we could be tempted to join you for more than a few days this time.

You still going to get a garmin then yeti? I like my forerunner 305, but only use it for running/mtb’ing (polar on the road). Oh, i cleaned several 6bs climbing last night…seriously chuffed to bits!! 😀 Mustard and I still don’t ‘get’ bouldering though…care to explain?

I’ve decided the best way to lose and maintain weight is to go touring in Portugal and Spain…eat as much as you like and the weight still falls off. A month later, its slowly going back on. The only solution is to cycle tour all the time!

I’d like to meet Cinnamon_girl, molgrips, deadlydarcy, jamie, idave, philc, and trickydisco. Have met loads of stw’ers over the years.

Been reading this thread with interest.

FWIW, I “feel” like I’ve had some good progress using the Friel approach & I like riding my bike, so if I didn’t ride at “Zone 2” a lot of the time I’d be pretty burnt out. I also enjoy a lot of road riding & there’s no way I could sustain a Zone 4/5 effort for 4 hrs on the road. Can hold that effort for that long in an mtb race though, because of the amount of time you have to recover on decsents & when you’re stuck behind slower riders.

I know we are all different, but i hardly ever do zone 2 (ok never) and as a newbie to racing this year, i could sustain zone 5/6 for road racing, and even training rides where i’m being pushed. I’m particularly interested in the link trickydisco posted – i seem to have been training like that over last winter and this season rather than the zone 1-2 type stuff.