I too worked my way up in the amount I would spend and knowing what I know now won’t hesitate to buy top of the line (Pearl Izumi has about three tiers of pricing). Thing is, though I spent a lot on my bike a few years back, biking seems to mostly be fairly inexpensive each year. I don’t mind paying good money for something with high quality that I know is going to get a lot of use and last for years too.
Plus, sales are your friend though I suspect they are mainly in the off season but it makes the upper end stuff more affordable.
What make’s bib’s worth the extra money? I know that’s what all the pros wear, but I have never really understood why, having never worn them.
After a freezing 2.25 hour ride today, I realized I need more long sleeve stuff. It was 58º when I started, but cloudy the whole ride. So I am poking around Pearl Izumi’s site looking for long sleeve jerseys. Prices really aren’t bad if you aren’t looking at their pro stuff. For people looking for cycling clothes, it’s worth a look.
I wore proper shorts and a jersey for the first time today (I usually wear gym clothes). I felt like a dork. I do not have the physique for those kind of clothes. Luckily none of my neighbors were awake that early to see me.
Anyway, my farthest ride since starting back up again last year. A whole 31 miles, ~1,200’ elevation gain. Feel fine, but I am starving. Can’t stop eating. After a long ride I used to go to Outback for a steak and martini back in the day, but there won’t be any of that.
Partly it is my physique or lack thereof that I don’t wear shorts any longer. I haven’t had a drink in 18 years but my midriff (beer belly) didn’t get the message. I hate cinching up (tying) bike shorts on.
So it’s part comfort, part ease of use, part the ease of tucking Mr Friendly more easily so I’m not riding around on him or my pelotas and a good part of learning that I had to try bibs to appreciate them.
I would say too that the high end bibs last longer than any bike shorts I ever had but you’re spending more. I think this will make the second year running I’m not buying any bibs after picking up another couple nice Pearl Izumi ones in an REI sale 2 years ago. One of those I was wearing when I had my last major wipeout two years ago. Other than marking the hip where I slid along asphalt for a stretch the fabric never tore. In fact I don’t think I’ve ever retired any bibs, even the less expensive ones I started with years ago.
Starva is a real ego buster. You did a PR on this section of road! Then I look at the stats and my time is 87th out of 89 for my age group. Nice reminder of far I have to go.
Do you guys ever take recovery weeks? Strava’a charts are basically telling my I need a break. I usually take at least one rest day, but I am wondering if it’s time for a light week.
Do your roadwork muscles require recovery time just like it’s recommended recovery time after lifting weights? Not that I really know anything about lifting weights other than what I’ve gleamed from walking by someone hoisting something in the gym.
I have been reading a lot of running stuff and giving your muscles time to rest and repair is a constant subject, so I think it is the same as weight training. A lot of the training plans have whole weeks where you only do light workouts as well. I am not really on any sort of plan, so I am wondering if I should just take a light week?
Strava has a Fitness and Freshness chart where it works out your fitness and fatigue. I can’t say I understand how it gets the numbers exactly, but my fatigue line is consistently above my fitness line. I do feel tired. I tried to push on a ride today and I couldn’t do it, I had nothing in me. Although, as much as I love stats, seeing the differences from what Garmin and Strava tell me, I kind of think all of it might be a bit of BS.
For me, when I start working out hard (at least a few times a week) I try and give myself a rest after about a month. I take a week off and let my body fully recover. When I jump back into whatever exercise routine I’m in I find it much easier to start increasing my workout and recovering quicker. No idea if the break actually helps, but I’ve done it often enough over the years that it seems to work.
When I ride these days it’s only once a week really. Doing it only once a week means after about 6 weeks I’ve mostly peaked. I’m not biking enough to really increase my pace or distance, but I’m doing it often enough to feel good when I’m riding and after. If I can get at least 2 rides/week in I can really bump up to get in shape pretty quickly. More than 3/week doesn’t seem to help much though. Of course, I’ve never pushed to try and be much more than a good rec rider who can do a 60 mile ride without keeling over.
I try to ride every other day, doing about a 10 mile round trip. The bike club I’ve hang with does 20 mile trips most weekends, so I figure if I don’t wanna keel over on those I keep working on my own so 10 miles is pretty easy. I’d like to think I’m getting there. There’s no organized bike rides that I can find locally that are less than 20 miles, and most are between 20 and 30 so I think once 20 feels ok, I might push it to the next level. It’s still early for me but I’m still really enjoying it.
The problem I’ve seen with the organized rides is they ride pretty hard compared to me. I’m leisurely. My goal is distance first and foremost. I don’t care all that much about cardio. Most of the organized rides I’ve seen say they average about 15 mph.
Most of the beginner rides I join say between between 10 and 12 and they are about that pace. The intermediate rides though are usually in the 13 to 15 range. I have not yet gone and rose.
Set a new personal record during my morning ride - three flats! I’ve had a few flats with my rear tire in the past so I replaced it this afternoon. The final flat was a slow leak I had to stop every 2 miles and pump it up as I limped back to my car I was 7 miles away and I didn’t feel like walking.
I replaced the tube twice. Inspecting the tire and the rim did not reveal anything. The guys at the bike shop didn’t know why it kept going flat. They replaced the tire and put in a new tube. I’m doing a 70 mile ride tomorrow fingers crossed.
That is frustrating. When I got my road bike years ago I bought these tires that had blue sidewalls that matched my bike (they were made by Specialized IIRC, so not cheap things I found on Amazon or anything). The back tire exploded on me twice. Huge hole where it ripped the rubber apart. Bike store guys said it might have been something rubbing and heating up the tire. Didn’t look like anything was though. Bought some new tires, a different brand, and never had any issues again. Luckily both blow outs were at low speed.
I have been having a heck of a week. Got SPD pedals and have been getting used to being attached to the bike again. Ever since I have had more little incidents than all of the last two years with cars and dogs.
Anyway, good luck on your 70 miles. Not sure I ever want to ride that far. :-)
How long were you sitting on the bike? Do you stop at all?
I thought I did a century many years ago, but the more I think about it, the more I think I bailed at the metric century mark. That’s just too long to be sitting on a bike even for my younger self.
Did 35 miles today. I think that is around my sweet spot. I am starting to become more concerned with my speed than my distance. I am slowly rising from the bottom of all the Strava segments.
Five and a half hours. I hope to do the Century in 8. I’m not fast but I’m steady. Brief stops to eat something. I do need to be more mindful of nutrition.
