A Thread for Cyclists - Where Do you Ride?

by cofty 67 Replies latest social physical

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  Spectre

  Been riding my whole life. Worked in bike shops for a combined 10 years. Raced mountain bikes in the late 80's and early 90's driving all over California to do so. Came in 2nd at the Mammoth Mountain National Finals back in 1990(I think that was the year) in the cross country and hill climb race in the sport division.

  I shattered a vertabrae a year and a half ago. Lost 40 pounds after the operation. I can barely walk because of nerve damage to my right leg so I ride better than I walk. The only way I regained any muscle mass at all was because of bike riding. One of my biggest concerns while in the hospital was whether or not I'd be able to ride again.
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  cofty

  Spectre thanks for joining the thread. I am a total beginner but loving it. I find its a great way to get fit without hammering my knees.

  Great to hear you can still ride despite your injury. I may have some newbie questions for you later ;)
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  transhuman68

  What I've found is that the roadracing handlebars are probably the best- you can put your hands in 3 different positions, and hunch down against a headwind. A cycle computer is worth it's weight in gold too- they are quite cheap now. And its hard to keep up the enthusiasm if you are the only one riding- joining a club or finding someone to ride with is good if you can. My garage is full of bikes (9 of them to be exact) but I could ride for an hour, and still not get away from Redneckville, Australia, so I always drive instead.
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  noonehome

  Interesting thread. I'm actually planning on doing Iceland's ring road in August. Have my ticket now I'm just in the planning phase (sort of…not really any plan besides GET AWAY right now. Just finished college couple months ago and have been working since). Any tips for this kind of long distance camping-type cycling would be appreciated. Like what's the best way to carry gear? Tent/food and so on.

  I've done two 120(ish) km outings within the week, just got back yesterday. I think 80 km per day would be reasonable in Iceland. But the thing that worries me most are my weak knees… I had really bad pain in both knees about 15km into the journey yesterday, but had no choice but to keep going in order to get home. I know that's not smart but it was either that or hitchhike (someone actually offered to drive me 15km which I readily took advantage of :)

  Any suggestions on how to deal with the abuse those kinds of trips put on the knees? I guess strengthening exercises would be best but I don't really know any.
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  cofty

  Hi noonehome - That sounds like a great challenge.

  I am no expert but a couple of tings I have picked up might help.

  First make sure your bike is set up properly for you. The saddle needs to be in the correct position in relation to the pedals for your leg length or it puts stress on your knees. There are some excellent videos on youtube on how to do this. It involved a plumb line and a friend. I stopped getting knee pain when I put my saddle back an inch or 2.

  Also be sure to change down gears and maintain a regular rythym (cadence) don't push hard through a high gear.

  You could PM Spectre for advice and ask him to post his thoughts here. Good luck in Iceland.
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  Spectre

  Btw-nice pic, cofty. Looks like you have some nice places to ride.

  @noonehome- as cofty said, seat postion and proper fit can be critical. With myself, I'm 6'4" and for me there's a lot of prescribed notions of bike fit that get thrown out the window. I usually need a bike that would be considered much too small and then have the seatpost at around the maximum height. I have seen people that need custom made frames as stock sixes just don't fit. If you need the seat slid back or forward, that changes the cockpit room which might require a shorter or longer stem. I'd recommend having someone who knows what they're talking about to look at your fit.

  Also as cofty said, keeping a higher rpm helps your legs out a lot. Racers will spend the early season spinning in lower gears for over a thousand miles before they start pushing the higher gears. I'd try doing a bunch of 15-20km rides at a higher rpm, easier pace to get your legs used to that before going longer distances.
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  cofty

  This morning I cycled down to the village of Ford and took this picture of Ford castle. This is where King James IV of Scotland spent the night/s before the battle of Flodden in the company of Lady Heron while her hubby was away in France. Perhaps his time would have been better spent planning for the battle.

  Approx 10 000 died at Flodden Field on 9th Spetember 1513. When I have more time I will cycle to Flodden Field and take some pictures.

  

  Here is the remains of what was a three storey tower in the grounds of the castle with the Cheviot Hills in the background.

  
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  cofty

  On my way back from Ford I stopped at a spot called Roughting Linn where there is an outcrop of rock just a few yards from the road covered in ancient rock art.

  I snapped these two examples. There are more all over the countryside in Norhtumberland. They are thought to date to between 3500 and 6000 yers ago.

  

  
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  Frazzled UBM

  Nice photos cofty - As I live in South London I do most of my cycling in the North Downs around Biggins Hill. It is lovely that within 20 minutes of being on my bike I am out of the burbs in a rural idyll. Unfortuantley family responsiblities mean that I don't get out nearly as much as I should. I did a 100Km Sportivo last year which included Box Hill. Very hard but also very satisfying - we finished with a racing lap of the old Olympic Velodrome at Herne Hill. Cheers Fraz
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  Frazzled UBM

  Also I did a 4 day cycling trip with my elder son on the West Coast of Ireland in June 2012 - beautiful scenery but two days spent cycling in driving rain detracted from the enjoyment a bit. It makes you enjoy the pub for lunch and at the end of the day that much more enjoyable. Also did a 6 day cycling trip in the Cotswolds in 2009 which was also very nice. It is a great way to spend a holiday. I also have bad knees (too much running and rugby) so can't jog for exercise any more hence the reason I got into cycling.