Contact sport wiegh a ton (not literally, that would be silly)

I spent about £300 at Rapha in one go earlier in the year and I was seriously in the dog house, it still gets brought up from time to time. I think the only problem was that I didn't ask and that was only becuase I was rather drunk when I pulled the trigger. Normally I ask first and she almost never says no.
She said yes to the Cervelo R3SL and was in the shop when I bought it so she knows the full extent of the cycling problem plus her dad is a cyclist although I know that he is prone to understating what things cost quite significantly…

I don't think I can justify $333 per month!

njee20. I am not a super athlete, but I have ridden for many years. I am never going to be near the front at a mountainbike race here in Denmark, there are usually 2 or 3 current and ex national champions turning up to the races I enter becuase there aren't that many going on. I am happy with my mid pack performances there. However, on the road, there is nothing mor humiliating than getting dropped out the back of the lowest cat races. That is what I want to avoid at worst and at best I want to get from Cat 4 (D) to cat 3 (C) next season assuming my back holds out. I can ride with the cat 4s but I need to be getting top 10s to progress.
That is where I need the help. I am working on a training plan at the moment based on the Friel training bible and I will probably mix it up with some of Charmichaels time crunched plans to up the intensity in the lateer spring.
I don't have a power meter and I can't justify one either, I also don't have a computrainer, but I do use a turbo trainer a lot during our neverendingly long Scandinavian winter.

Matthew
I already have 2 kids and I did the living and breathing training thing a few years ago when I was a triathlete. I am riding with my local road club and racing for them at cat 4 level and doing some mountainbike races from time to time. I can draw up as training plan if I spend the time on it, but I think what I would benefit from the most is having someone looking over my shoulder.
The nice thing about road racing is that you either make it with the group or your don't there is no hiding in the middle of the results table like there is an a mountainbike race or a tri.

I think I'll try to find out what it's going to cost me and then see if I can get permission from the wife. Then again if we move house as planned, there will be no decision to make 😐

NIce idea, but my god that is an ugly thing.

Sorry

I am actually racing on the road and less seriously off road but I can see your point about taking the fun out of it.

If you really want to take out the fun then try the Charmichael time crunched plan. All hard work all the time.

I think that's the longest post I have ever seen on here.

Swatch tiktak I think it's called. Reasonable value and machine washable.

That's what my son has anyway.

Was hoping to get a top 10 in my class road racing and get in the top 3rd in the mountain bike race series over here.

Results:

Big fail Managed 3 road races and 4 or 5 mtb races before my back gace way and I am now entering my 3rd month off the bike completely.

As of June my target was changed to recover enough to begin training again by the end of the year in order to achieve this years tagets next year. Maybe I should aim top 5 in a road race seeing as I made a top 20 and got 3rd in the smaller and less formal intro race at the start of the season…

I have tried garmin and TomTom and I much prefered the TomTom. Easier to use and easier to follow.

Just my opnion though.

The nice thing about watches is that that nobody really notices as a general rule. It's not about willy waving, it's about owning something that makes you happy (not entirely unlike expensive bikes or at least road bikes)

I don't really care if anyone thinks I'm a knob for having more thamn one watch or a watch that does more than telling the time. That is like saying that anyone with a car that will do more than 70mph has wasted their money or whatever odd definition of pointlessness you wish to roll out this time 🙂

Tissot T Touch titanium
Tag Heuer F1
Omega Speedmaster Pro
2 Seiko 200m divers
Suunto Core
Bulova Astronaut
Bunch of other less interesting things

Considering getting rid of the Seiko divers and the Tag to get one of those Oris Ti divers on the previous page

I've been running non UST Racing ralphs tubeless for a year now without any problems. Just one puncture from a big flint which I fixed with a magic patch on the inside of the tyre.

Running in the morning = 🙁

Riding in the morning = 🙂

All good excuses so far.

There is nothing that makes you appreciate riding like an enforced break. It's been killing me to watch the summer pass by without riding my bike.

At least I used to down time to fit a new kitchen, I should have enough brownie points for plenty of muddy rides when I'm back to full strength 🙂

Mazda 6 is a great car and undervalued. I seem to remember that Top Gear recomended them at some point too in that segment.

Avensis also seems like a good option

Nothing to do with cancer, it is just wanting to avoid using Al in my pits all my life. I guess I am turning into a hippy, but hopefully not getting to smell like one.

Did you habe trouble welding your arms on Ian, I hear it's tough to work with.

1 battery, Bosch and forget the hammer action in my experience.

Don't care, something that goes in your pits and stops you smelling like a tramp.

I see you titanium and suggest a carbon based deordorant

I have the transitions and I think they are fid for everything except night riding. Given the oakly range, I used to have a VR28 which did 80% of the time and a clear one for dark winter and night time and a black iridium for really bright days.

I may get some clear lenses in the future, but I think the transitions cover all the opther bases pretty well.

I'm not 100% sure that I understand the problem, but it looks like ours that I have in a Mazda 6 (and have used in lots of other cars).
Make sure that the seat is in the 100% upright position then open it so it tilts forward.
Put the belt accross making sure that the lap part is going to be under the belt tensioner. That means that there should be nothing under the lap belt betweek the red guiding slots for the belt. Then clap the top of the belt at the side and closethe seat back down. There is a spring loaded part that pushes down on the lap part of the belt that takes out the slack so it should be nice and firm when you're done.

Hope that helps

Charles Tyrwitt online, good choice of fitted shirts and long sleeves also good prices. TM Lewin are also good. I think they are nearly as good as Thomas Pink and about 1/3 price.

ctshirts.co.uk

2nd or 3rd or whatever for the Contis I have been using them as a winter trainer tyre on and off road on my Roadrat for 2 years with no punctures at all. They are a bit heavy, but 100% percent reliable.

Didn't Cannondale used to sell a Bad Boy with both 26" mtb wheels and a set of 700c wheels?

Is there any news about when the wetab (formerly wepad) will be available?

Did one in 2004 (before kids) takes 2-3 years to be able to handle the training IME
I did it in 12 hours dead and it took me > a month to get over it.

Loved living the life at the time, trained with Manchester Tri club with my Mrs.

Don't have the time now and don't miss running so I just race my bike instead that was until I herniated 2 lumbar discs 3 weeks ago, now I just lie on the floor

Drop bar road rat?

Where's the spoiler?

In Denmark is is call an error 4o

meaning that the error happened 40cm away from the computer…

I wouldn't get a reading prescription in riding glasses. I use varifocals normally, but not in the riding glasses.

I wouldn't use the lenses I have (black iridium photochromatic IIRC) at night, but should be ok for overcast etc. I don't do night riding as a general rule though so it wasn't a big consideration. I suppose only time will tell how it works out in the autumn and winter.

Normal transitions would probably be a good idea, I haven't seen those as an option for Oakley, only the tinted photochromatics that start with a slight tint and then get darker, hence the new lense I mentioned somewhere above that I can't find for prescription yet.

Yes get the fizik gobi

I have the cheapest Tag Heuer as an everyday watch that is holding up really well to general abuse and is somewhere around your budget.

Ton
I can't imagine that there is anyone else who has had more that that outside of bike shop employees and sponspred riders…

Next up for me is a Superfly 100 🙂

Used to stay here when I was younger with my brother and my dad.
http://www.penmarlampark.co.uk/
Happy days

I am seeing a chiro and will probably go and see a doctor/physio as well.

The iron is that my back is stronger than it has ever been because I have been doing pilates since January and it was generally feeling pretty good.

I did a 12 hour MTB race a month ago as part of a team that tood me a week or so to recover from and have been racing every couple of weeks off road and also on the road. I slept upright on a plane coming home from the US and then 2 nights later did an XC race and that seemed to be the straw that broke the camels back.

I plan on taking my time coming back and making sure that I get a full bike fit done on my road bike and making sure that I am doing the right yoga/pilates the right way in the future.

You really don't have much to think about today do you?

Thanks guys, I really wanted to hear that there is a chance of getting back to racing shape. When you speak to Drs and or Chiros, they have no idea what you mean when you ask about cycling, I think they mean "can I ride to the shops?" and don't understand what an important part of our lives it is. I am sure that I would need some tharapy if I found out that I had to sell my bikes and never ride again. I'm sure my wife would end up leaving me too !!!

I'll take it easy and aim to be back for 2011 in the middle fot he field where I belong 🙂

Short term, I am fine with being injured and missing the rest of the season – I am much more worried that this will take cycling away from me in the longer term.

That scares me sh!tless 😐

Depends on what you are trying to achieve. The Friel book is great but rather serious if you want to just get a bit more structure into your training. There is a time crunched training plan by Chris Charmicael that is good but also requires a serious commitment to get through the programs and I must admit it can easily take the fun out of riding and turn it into just training.
There are plenty of less serious books for an overview of the theory behiond training in general and I think Chris Charmichael is pretty good at that too.