LFGSS - HARD WEEK(s) IN LOCKDOWN

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  • Had a go this afternoon, such a nice street but way too much traffic today. I even encountered a few traffic jams in London. :( 50x17, a good exercise! I stopped a bit earlier for the segment I think (like @Josh01), might go back another time to give it another try.

    https://www.strava.com/activities/3468985988

    I installed a new chain & sprocket this morning; it keeps on creaking when pushing/pulling, probably the lockring that needs to be tightened a bit more. Going down Hampstead Heath at 56kmh was a bit overwhelming.

    Yes yes, a massive tour with all the hills!

  • Cottenham Drive - le drame!
    And the trees #longlivethewimblebergs - very excited for this one!

  • Well done Josh. And +1 to the group ride in the future

  • It's a fun one!

    Only had 1 go at it as I was being cooked in the sun but it was fun!
    Half way up by the corners, I had to dodge a family of 8 sprawled all over the road pushing their bikes up but after narrowly missing some of them, I had a good attempt non the less.

    It's one of those you can spend a while there and have multiple attempts to try shave some seconds off, especially when the KOM seems achievable to those of you that are keen hill climbers! 😉

    I did 34sec @ 52x17 = 81.167"

    https://www.strava.com/activities/3478734895

  • Shaved 1:27 off my previous attempt, getting a respectable 0:41. Not sure what I was doing the last time to be so slow, and can't check, cos strava. But I found a bunch of other extremely well surfaced hills in the excessively well heeled areas around Wimbledon tennis courts. Pleasing lack of speed bumps and very wide empty roads devoid of parked cars, either cos 2nd homes being used at the moment or the houses are big enough to accommodate the car collection in 'the grounds'.
    Check out my activity on Strava: https://strava.app.link/6zHHUaIEF6

  • Edit, cant get link to link

  • Your last attempt was after an audax and on the home leg, but not that I can check now either.

    Wish I had just a humble abode up on the wimblebergs.

    Lucy and I will head there this weekend, godspeed all

  • 52 19 but couldn't get the racing line up
    Best racing line: 1 cut in to the road, turning right, 2 stay left for longer than you think, until the end of the car parking bay markings 3 max sprint through the hairpin and hug the inside

    Was a bit annoyed by my time (credit due to @Lucybee who shaved 15s off the Qom and got a top 10 men's time - subscribed to Strava to check - flesh is weak) so went and did 2 more reps on the downs, which is less technical.

    Good news is this hill is much less steep than I rememeber. Hope we get something epic next week.

  • 48/18 - 33 secs :) ----> explanation for this smiley in the write up below
    https://www.strava.com/activities/3495035739

    So some may be aware but I've been struggling with a pursuiters cough for about 10 weeks and after monitoring for a while I have deduced it's chronic inflammation i.e. asthma. Never had it before, sucks really. Pollen doesn't help.
    So I changed what I ate, started breathing different, acupressure/massage and didn't do any real efforts for a week.
    We finally felt ready at around 6pm today and decided to head out, I was apprehensive to say the least. My asthma hadn't flared up for 3 days and I thought this could be a good chance to test it (sub 1 min effort). The pollen and general bugs and fluff in the air on the way there was intense to say the least plus Josh told me he had hip pain when we went out for eggs earlier, it was a 2km round trip!! I was gutted.
    So we get to the climb, I switched my wheel round from 48/16 to 18 and got ready to go. Trying to zone everything out and just hear myself say 'just breath, relax and just breathe'.
    I took a breath through my nose for the nitric oxide production and tried to be as mindful as possible as I inflated myself (still can't breath deeply but practise...).
    I took a small run up and turned right onto the climb.
    It felt surprisingly easy compared to last time (48/16 who knows probs like 2 minutes! but also can't check because Strava...), I told myself not to blow up and to pace it so I kept a steady rhythm all the way up to the top breathing as I went on my new sram red cranks! As I got to the top of the first part of the climb I could feel myself getting slower so I engaged my hamstrings for an extra pull (been strenghening those this week, a bit boring tbh..) and hauled my ass to the middle bit (not sure which side of the road I was on) then I thought to myself 'this is it, the hard steep last bit, it'll hurt' but it didn't because it's not for very long and I was very reserved in how I handled it conscious not to get that cough again.
    Anyway, I then descended to Josh and I told him all about it and that I felt ok and strong enough to give it another go in a bit.
    Fast forward to my second go - basically I wasn't afraid anymore, I knew how much my asthma was hurting, I knew what was to come so I planned well and am super happy (hence the smiley) at my QOM (because it means my approach to my asthma is working for now, plus all the ragu/burgers/generally good nutritious food vibes and boring strength training is working) but mostly that the cough didn't and hasn't still so far come back.
    Pretty chuffed to be in the top 10 mens times too ngl.

    Not the biggest gear, 48x16 on 650c wheels (which I think helps with all the turning) so 70GI but man am I excited for next week's hill.

    If you haven't done it yet and are on the fence, all I have are 2 words for you CONSERVATION AREA - there are some really cool trees, roads and houses around which we then went on to explore after.


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  • Some antihistamines for you!

  • Just got home from this week's hill. Really enjoying these for the variety. I picked a rare non-windy time to go :)
    More roadies about than any other week but that's probably because SW rather than ppl going out more.

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  • Aha! That hasn't been working for me previously. I may spam the thread with older pics

  • Pick a hill good sir

  • Sorry all, I didn't realise I was up this week.

    Ummm.... I've decided to mix it up a little bit this week, so instead of 1 steep hill section, it will be a segment that consists of 2.5 laps of a 11% avg up & 11% avg down loop.

    Here is the segment:
    https://www.strava.com/segments/17654442

    Whether you make it part of a trip to the Hertfordshire or Essex countryside or just come smash the segment for the GI or KOM... make sure you check your brakes! :)

  • Looks fun :)

  • Anyone who does it brakeless can pick next week's hill

  • 2.5 laps

    LAPS!
    love it

  • Im gonna have to do it on a road bike as i sadly sold my fixed wheelset, but ill stick in an awkward gear :)

  • @Josh01 timed laps is your mortal enemy?

  • Make sure you're spinning at 180rpm down the hill, otherwise not authentic.

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LFGSS - HARD WEEK(s) IN LOCKDOWN

Posted by Avatar for Lucybee @Lucybee

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