i did yes – will try again though.

mrsf – just tried to email you but it bounced back?

headwind on the way home doesn’t sound like fun! you could also maybe try squats at home to help with the power – depends on how serious you want to take getting fitter. i seem to have to do a lot more training than the chaps i ride with, just to be as fit as them – and think its just down to them being naturally strong than women.

is most of the riding you do with blokes? i’m asking because i found the same last year – i was riding with cat 3 blokes, and in a bunch, i dropped off the back on the climbs as i had to change down a gear and they didn’t. i always thought this was down to the blokes being stronger than me, even though i was a good climber and if they weren’t in a bunch, i could keep up with them. i’ve been doing weights two or three times a week, and have been paying attention to my training and diet which seems to have helped a lot and high five 4:1 seems to help too.

maybe hills reps/climbs would be good for you if that’s where you struggle to keep up? it would certainly help with the power. the up for 8, 4, and 2 during spin classes really helped strengthen my legs when i started it but a bit like you, i’m not seeing any difference in leg power now.

I do stuff that I’ve learnt in my spin class and I’ve got a whole bunch of stuff written down, picked up from things like cycling weekly and online. So I do a 10-15min warm up. I do one leg reps at a set cadence. In spinning we do standing for the count of 8, sit for 8 and so on. Then for 4, and then 2. This really makes the thighs burn! I try to work on my cadence as well – so a few minutes at 60, 70, 80, 90 and 100 in various gears. By the time you add in some recovery sessions and intervals, the time has flown by.

I think the Joe Beer training website is where I picked up the online training stuff from.

Are you finding the turbo is still helping your riding? I’ve not been on mine for ages – opted for spinning which I find more enjoyable or road riding, but seem to have lost all my climbing strength in the last few weeks and I’m now really worried about doing the Fred Whitton, but don’t suppose anything I do now will help. 🙁

i used to wash mine at 30degrees with some eco friendly stuff. it never really smelt clean. switched to a higher temp and aerial tabs which smell nice and so my clothes also smell nice.

one other thing i figured out was not to put on a full load.

i’ve just started using the 4:1 carbs/protein drink (citrus flvaour) and i swear by it. it seems to kick in around about the 100k mark for me (on the road bike) and i feel great at the second half / end of the ride, when i’d normally be tired.

the second time i used it, i did 152km, got in, did some tidying, put my bike stuff away etc. my bf was shocked when he got home, as usually i’m vegging out on the sofa!

there was a really good article in cycling weekly a few weeks ago, about fuelling for 100miles rides, recovery etc, and they had an article about endurance and what happens to your body during endurance training. the carbs/protein seems to make a lot of sense.

i thought you had to be trained to be a spin instructor?

anyway, i’m a spin fantatic – i go up to 4 times a week in winter time, (too nice to be inside in the summer), and the classes are 45mins – 1hr.

music is important, clear instructions, time to recover (but not enough time to fall asleep), and variety. don’t single people out in the class and tell them to work harder etc – seen it done a few times in the classes i go to, and it usually ends with words being said. the one thing i really hate is when an instructor makes you do stuff like press ups on the bars, arms work, dance etc – fortunately there’s only one in my gym who does this and i avoid her classes. the standing up for 8, sitting for 8, then switching to 4 is quite good.

i listen to mine when i’m am road riding and mtb’ing. on the road, it goes in my back pocket and headphones reach fine. on the mtb, it is usually in my camelback, or sometimes my pocket – again reach is fine. i don’t use the ipod headphones for riding as i don’t find they stay in, so maybe that’s why mine reach.

My fiance and i have 9 bikes – i’ve got one more than him (even if the one more is just my shonky commuter) We used to mtb together all the time, but i’m now more into my road riding, and he’s more into mtb’ing, so we are riding separately at the moment, but there’s not usually any issues when we mtb together.

I did edinburgh – falkirk wheel and back again last year. Never ever again! It had rained loads so wasn’t quite the clean/mess free ride i was after and it began to feel really samey by the time i got to falkirk – and then i had to go back again. 🙁

Am builing my mtb back up again Lee, so once i’m sorted (and have remembered to ride offroad) i’ll drop you an email and we can sort a ride out.

that’s the extension i was thinking about – cheers for the route/advice 🙂

good, it looks a nice route, but having looked at train times, i won’t be able to do it before my meeting but will check it out at the weekend.

how many miles was it (just trying to work out a possible extension)

it was a really good day out, thanks for organising it. hopefully next time it won’t be so windy, but just as sunny and druidh can wear his raincoat all the way round to make sure it stays dry 😆

hmm, so you’ll all be on winter bikes with mudguards then? i’d like to be on mine, but its giving me knee problems so i’ll have to be on my nice road bike, without mudguards and get wet :-s

lol cheeky. there’s no room on my bars for lights anyway.

this thread is loading all weird on my screen :-S

merak – the routes 84miles with 2,000m of ascent. think most of us will be on road bikes.

me, but i don’t have lights on the bike i will be using…

Sat at 10am sounds good to me.

Stu – i’ve heard of them but never ridden them. Will mail you in a bit. Thanks for the routes 🙂

i’ve been looking at the map quite a bit recently – trying to up my mileage on routes from our side of town (which doesn’t leave many that are quiet!) -so would be good to swap ideas. to be honest, all the road riding i’ve done that’s been any good has involved a drive… although i’ve worked out a good route from mine, to carnwarth, peebles, cardrona, moffat, peebles, gorebridge, hillend and back to mine but don’t know the mileage yet. its all pretty much on quiet/back roads, aside from a few small bits on the a702.

sorry for the hijack, will continue this via facebook email druidh (but that has to be at home cos work blocks emails!)

Druidh

Can I get a lift if it ends up being on the 14th? Happy to share petrol costs etc.

PS, I need to reply to your email – been off sick all week and not really been online so will have a think and get back to you.

I’d prefer a steady pace if possible – i’m training for the fred whitton and trying to work on miles rather than speed. Unfortunately i’ve not been working on either much at the moment!

Not doing the Etape either – decided it might not be a good move after the Fred the week before – but still keen to see what the route is like as a possible for next year.

Is there a preference for the 14th or 15th?

i’m up for this. is there parking near the bike shop? (think i’ve only ever ridden through pitlochry so no idea what its like)

lightman – ygm.

jo, yes, i did wonder about that. i don’t think i’m so much worried about the group riding, its my lack of fitness after my cold and i’m worried about being slow!

druidh, can’t check my emails from here, will check at home.

i’d like to join some of the rides, but the long list of FAQs / do’s / dont’s is a bit off putting.

yes, i’ve had it and imo it is amazing. its cured a long term injury in my hip that nothing else would fix in 3 sessions. would definately have it again for other injuries.

i’ll have a go at the spinning in an easy gear to help me warm up, as well as hot shower and clothes on a heater. i think my problem is i just like to hit the climb hard and am not ready for it – plus its often into a head wind which makes it worse. a longer flat stretch would be good, but there’s not really anyhting that doesn’t have traffic lights so defeats the purpose with stopping and starting. i don’t have any serious problems/injuries, but i’m aware my muscles feel tight and i feel totally beaten up after a sports massage to loosen them last night. Part of the tightness is probably also due to riding for 3 hours in the cold in more or less the one position as well (and yes, i stretch after i finish riding) and feeling cold a lot in general.

i’m still around too, but don’t like this new forum so not been on here much.

allyharp – i started riding when i was 23 (now 29). Only road riding at the moment though, not been on my mtb since the Alps in August.

kingkongsfinger, i rode the route for “fun” in september i think. i enjoyed it though hardknott really hurt and i had to stop twice due to not being able to turn the pedals going round two really steep hairpins, but got back on at the other side of the hairpin.

i’m not sure i want to do the last 50miles a few times – ouch!! am hoping to do a few long weekends/weeks in the lakes to give me decent training for it so i can enjoy it.

what time did you do it in last year?

thanks for the suggestions. will have a look on the map to see what bits i can link up and where the suggestions are.

I’ve only been road riding for around 18months but for the last year, have mainly just road ridden. I’d never been on a road bike before, so I found the first few rides pretty scary and daunting – couldn’t even take my hand off the bars to drink from my bottle! What I’ve found since then is:

To improve position on your bike, I’d recommend going to a bike shop that offer the bike fit service. I got both my road bikes set up for my position and its really comfy. They also dropped my bars lower than I probably would have done – and I can still go lower if I want to.

Skills/technique. The thing that brought my riding on lots was riding with other roadies and new routes. I got to ask them loads of questions, and they taught me the principles of through and off etc. I’m amazed at how much faster and how much energy you can save by riding in a pack. I don’t do it often enough to be 100% confident, but I’m happy enough doing this. It also boosted my confidence as I realised I was actually quite good on the road bike. I also stopped mtb’ing and concentrated on road riding/spinning/weights so I’m stronger and fitter and able to push myself more – but then this isn’t the most fun way to do things, and I’m quite focused as I’ve got a lot of sportives that I want to take part in this year. Time on the bike will help no end in terms of confidence, and let you know any areas you need to work on.

Things like descending on the drops I’ve learned to do for myself but it makes a huge difference to descending and the ability to brake and that’s equally more confidence, but I’m still rubbish on tight hairpin descents. It took me over a year to pluck up the courage to use the drops and I only did it because I was forced to – I went up hardknott pass in the lakes, and couldn’t slow do enough with my hands on the hoods on the way back down, and since then, if it’s a steep descent, I’ll use the drops.

Cross winds – I’ve found the best way to tackle these is to keep pedalling through the wind – I used to get blown around a lot, but keeping cadence consistent and riding in a good gear means I don’t get blown around so much. Learning not to panic when the winds whips you in the direction of traffic is also a good move.

Going out of your comfort zone. Not long after I’d got my road bike, I went to spain for a 2 week riding holiday. Riding on the road on the wrong side, combined with long steep descents freaked me out a lot (this was before I used the drops) But when I came back to my usual routes, everything seemed much easier and I was much more confident. It’s the same when I go to the lakes/different areas.

Working on cadence. I got a cadence addition to my hr monitor and use it all the time. When I first started road riding, my cadence was really slow. I’ve worked on this a lot and having a higher cadence has helped my riding.

Joining a beginners ride in your local road club may help.

i’m in. i love it. hardly been on the mtb for the last year and don’t miss it.

it depends what his priorities are and if exercise/getting fit, isn’t one of them, he will always be too busy.

cycling, running or walking to work would be a good start. using lunch break for a run/cycle is also good. getting up an hour earlier to go to the gym/exercise works too. or organise family cycle trips, although not sure this would be enough to get the weight off/get fit but it would be a start.

i need to get training asap for the Fred, but my stupid cold is meaning no riding or gym or anything 🙁

druidh, fancy a road ride at some point soon, just out the a70 way? i’m still full of the cold, so towards the end of Jan or beginning of feb might be good? would be nice to ride with you, rather than you tell me you keep seeing me and i never see you!!

march sounds good. post on here nearer the time to arrange something?

i’d be up for a STW ride there. I’m thinking of doing it, but not sure i will have recovered from the fred whitton the weekend before…

i run once or twice a week. i don’t really bother with my hr monitor, though when i do use it, my average heart rate is much higher than when i’m riding, although my max heart is almost the same.

i find it much harder than biking, and it gets you really fit but you just need to watch out for the injuries.

try a bit of cross country running, or run with a friend to make it more interesting. i don’t like running on my own, can’t say its much fun!

i’m in too 🙂 wanting to get stuck into training, but have a bad cold at the moment, argh! 🙁

so what’s everyone doing training wise? lots of miles and climbing??

has anyone done it before – what’s it like? i’ve ridden the route so i don’t mean that, i just mean atmosphere, food stops etc.

the instructions on my body fat scales say lots of things can affect the reading – how hot/cold you are, if you have just eaten or drank anything etc etc. you will also get inconsistency in readings using different body fat scales. with that in mind, i’m not sure any of it is accurate, except for the pinch test!

i used the set at my gym for ages, consistently every week and was coming in at 17% body fat and 54kg (women’s body fat is higher than men’s anyway, and i’m 5′ 2″) but got a set of scales for the flat, which says my body fat is 24% and weight is 53kg. i don’t know which one is accurate, but i’m not happy thinking it could be 24%.

its not just the fat you can see – its the fat around your heart etc. so you could have a really skinny person with a really high body fat percentage.