Doesn’t the Pennine Bridleway go from basically Matlock-ish to Carlisle? You might have to do a bit of High Peak trail first I think…?

dazh – just read that Bellingcat piece, and ended up in a very deep internet wormhole. Mind blowing stuff….!

Not seen their bivvy type kit before – looks really good value!

If it’s a ANT+ powertap I might be interested. Drop me a mail at rtedgeAThotmailDOTcom if you’ve got a price in mind.

Cheers

Rich

cp – thanks for the info. Probably a bit high mileage for me to use as a swapper, but thanks anyway. I hate seeing cars go to waste (which is probably why I’ve got six!) lol

cp – what engine in the legacy and where are you? Subaru engines popular with people with VW vans ;)

Just do a proper 20 min FTP/LTHR test. Anything else is probably a combination of guesswork, computer approximations and bad science ;)

They’ve been trying to shift most of that stock for about 5 years now….! Some good stuff to be fair though. Always like their gloves…

Can’t you just buy some generic carbon from China and cut out the middleman? ;-)

Whilst there’s some really good stuff in the replies you’ve got here, there’s also some absolute howling nonsense.

You’re likely to struggle to pull together a decent understanding of what training you need from a combination of multiple opinions, however good some of them are. Reading Joe Friel will tell you how to prepare for a ‘season’ but won’t really help you with an extreme challenge like you’ve set for example.

I’d seriously consider speaking to a cycling coach. Maybe don’t bother with someone who wants to sell you entry into a monthly package, You need someone who will understand your current situation, your goal, and help you understand how to bridge the gap, and maybe give you a broad brush overview of what you should be doing.

That’s not me trying to sell you *my* coaching services. Any good coach should be able to help you, but feel free to message me if you do want some advice.

‘A little bit pregnant’

How do you actually judge production quality, or whether it’s staggering. Most people seem to be listing albums they like and are ‘classic’?

If you want staggering production, go and listen to the first Britney Spears album.

(You don’t have to like the music to think the production is ‘good’)

Use another bike and see what happens? Does each roller spin smooth and evenly at the back?

Are you using them the right way round? ;)

Aren’t you trying to make the decision too early in the evaluation process?

Assuming you’re getting a garage to do the work, ask them to fault find the issue initially, *then* it’s time make a decision

Look on the positive side – it might be something simpler/cheaper than you imagine.

If it is the £1500 bill time, then I’d probably concur with your decision. (Although many other factors apply, including your current levels of disposable income, the age / value of the car, or whether you quite fancy a new motor ;))

EDIT – Trail Rat beat me to it :)

OP – motivation goes up and down. Discipline is what you need to get you through. Go and listen to some Jocko Willink material about discipline = freedom. Awesome stuff

Might be worth having a look at what Squid Bikes do/use? They’re always on social media painting something..

Quick google suggests that a skinsuit saves 20-something seconds over a 25mile TT. You need to weigh that up against how much you care about people possibly pointing and laughing at you wearing a skinsuit if you’re not riding a TT or a ‘cross race.

Is your training fully optimised? My guess from reading your posts is that you’d find more bang for your buck there to be honest.

First thing you need is discipline.

All the fancy software and training programmes are a waste of time and money without it.

You could always go a little more old school if you need distraction, and put the telly on in front of it.

It took far too many posts for someone to come up with the right answer :)

It’s a number of years since I had a home studio, but something like this seems to be what you’d need:

https://www.andertons.co.uk/recording/audio-interfaces/usb-interfaces/steinberg-ur12-usb-audio-interface-w-cubase-ai

Basically you need an interface, and a piece of software. Cubase is pretty easy to learn. You can download virtual instruments for free too (VSTs)

I used to use Cubase with another piece of software called Reason to programme backing tracks etc

Motivation comes and goes, discipline remains.

Check out Jocko Willink’s podcast, or his Discipline Equals Freedom book. Great stuff.

I loved Tokai Forest when I went. Lot’s of opportunity to pedal up on fire roads etc, and then pick a trail on the way down. I think I rode there every day for a week! There’s some nicely techie trails..

Watch out for the baboons though…

Get a copy of Joe Friel’s MTB or Cyclists Training Bible and work your way through it…..

Riding the same old rides at random HRs through winter will get you absolutely nowhere, (Which to be fair you’ve noticed!)

If you haven’t got the time or inclination to develop the understanding yourself, find someone who already understands. Maybe a coach?

Not all coaches will want you to sign up to their £150-a-month platinum package nonsense :)

As a coach I’d happily do a one-off ‘consultation’ approach to point you in the right direction. richard@laatsterondecoaching.co.uk if you’re interested

Rich

I’ve had some of the FLR road shoes for a couple of years. Surprisingly awesome actually. They’re really well built.

Disclaimer: I’m totally biased here, as I run a cycling coaching business.

That said, I have been coached myself for about 10 years now as well. The single best investment I ever made in my cycling, especially if you are going to race a bike. Being coached myself encouraged me to get qualified and begin to coach others.

Whether coaching is right for you personally is another matter. It 100% depends on what you’re trying to achieve when you say ‘get better’.

Is that faster, stronger? Happier?

Whether coaching will work for you will depend on the coach too.

Best advice would be to be clear on your goals before you speak to anyone.

I won’t do a shameless plug for my business, but drop me a line on rtedgeAThotmail.com if you want a link to my site.

Rich

That made me smile Mike, thanks :)

You can do six sessions and stay under 10 hours riding a week though for example. Look how much riding you’d do if you commute a reasonable distance for example.

There’s a sweet spot balance of effort / results though for sure ;)

DrP – the coaching works around the rider’s commitments and constraints really. Having said that, if you’re planning on conquering the world on one turbo session a week it might not work :)

Most people I coach work on six days of training with a rest day on top. Some of the active days likely to be recovery / easier sessions though….

I’m near Loughborough, so Midlands based. Happy to coach remotely though, no problem there.

Tracey – tell her to email me and we can go from there. :)

Rich

Alpkit seem to have stepped into this niche a little in terms of Merino etc

T3s used to be great when you could buy them cheap. I remember buying a panel van for £300 with an MOT, and having to refuse the second van for spares that came with it because I had no room.

Currently running a ratty Doka. Great for CX racing. Bikes in the crewcab bit, washer and water in the back.

Please though. Stop calling them T25s. It’s worse than there/their/they’re.

Sherwood Pines is about 30 mins drive away…

There’s some bridleways over towards Belvoir Castle…. http://www.mountainbikerides.co.uk/routes/2-leicestershire/4-belvoir-loop.html

Hopes seem heavy and expensive…

Why would you add needless weight to your bike when you could get something like:

http://www.xcracer.com/shop/viewproduct.php?productid=389

You can’t change you MaxHR through training – it’s fixed, only decreasing with age.

Those Pivot Cycles layup workers need to be wearing latex gloves. Sensitisation to epoxy resins in prepreg isn’t nice….

Lots of food for thought – cheers. Love your solution there Tracey!

Funny that Nirvana and Pearl Jam get recommended as been akin to AIC and STP. Neither of them really did the ‘dropped D’ grunge thing at all. Nirvana were really a lo-fi Sub-Pop-sounding band, and PJ were just Mother Love Bone with a less glam rock singer :) All top bands obvs though!

Depends whether running out of gears or having a heavy bike is your problem I guess?

Without any additional info, lighter wheels sounds a better plan.(Can’t imagine much that 34*32 won’t get you up on the road!)

To add some balance to the discussion, we went a few years back. Pretty boring island. Lots of old people. Really bad food.

Can imagine it would be a good place to take the road bike if you like climbing though…

Interesting to hear other people’s experiences with this issue. I cracked mine (I guess?) just before CX season. Physio said ‘get an x-ray’, but neither A&E or GP would do me one, as the treatment didn’t depend on them. Fair enough in hindsight.

The first few races of the CX season were bloody agony. It hurt so much to breathe that I aborted one mid week interval session because I was crying too much….