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• #52
Yeah but...
It's still a commute. Chances are you'll burn out (slowly over time) whilst getting very few gains. Why not keep the commute strictly for easy or recovery miles?
You'd get far more benefit going out once or twice a week specifically to do repeated over-geared downhill efforts, or repeated sprint efforts; or getting out on the open road in proper training mode and doing a fartlek style ride.
Well, by now everyone knows what I think about exerting yourself during commutes (it's rubbish), so I'll move along...
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• #53
I don't have any specific ambitions for next year, apart from increasing fitness in general so that club runs and track sessions aren't quite so gruelling. Commuting a lowly 10 miles total each day is all the riding I do at the moment, and means that I'm pretty much starting from scratch, so I imagine that the turbo will be playing a staring roll pretty soon.
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• #54
Yeah but...
It's still a commute. Chances are you'll burn out (slowly over time) whilst getting very few gains. Why not keep the commute strictly for easy or recovery miles?
Well, by now everyone knows what I think about exerting yourself during commutes (it's rubbish), so I'll move along...
Completely agree with BMMF, reading some of these posts though[t] makes me think people do over exert themselves on the ride into work?!
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• #55
I would love to be able to over exert myself on the ride to work, less than a mile away.
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• #56
All this talk of training sounds so exciting after a glass (bottle) or 2 of wine, but in reality I'll probably just go straight home after work now its dark.
I have managed to do a few laps of regents park the last few mornings, I may move my training sessions to the mornings instead of after work.
Where the fuck is the indoor velodrome in this shit hole of a city! One friggin disintegrating (but beautiful) 110 year old concrete, outdoor track in one of the largest cities in the world! AND south of the river!!! -
• #57
Um, well we might be allowed on the indoor one in like 2014 or something? Who knows?
And i think that using my commute (around 9 and 1/2 miles) as a training session a few times a week is awesome for my riding and one of the reasons that my cycling has improved since i started working a year ago. Obviously some people aren't as lucky as me, my route is good with not too many traffic lights etc. so i reckon its up to you. Entitled to own opinions but i haven't found myself burning out personally, in fact feeling stronger.
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• #58
I am going to be concentrating purely on my core/upper body. I've been riding in London since January 2003, fixed since 2006, so i've developed very strong legs, but pathetically weak core/chest/back/arm muscles. I've been going to the new gym in Swiss Cottage since June, and i'm loving the additional upper body muscles, so i'll be keeping it up for as long as I can .. well, for life, hopefully.
I have also been going to the exercise area in Primrose Hill park (NW1) for the past few weeks, and have much preferred it to the indoor gym. It's outdoor, open 24hrs, rarely busy, and it's all using your own body weight. Love the parallel bars and the inclined bench things, great for abs. I also try and do lots of sit-ups, push-ups, and pull-ups. That's all I need, really. There's no muscle you can work in an indoor gym that you can't work for free at home, on the floor, or in an outdoor gymnasium.
Any forumers in the same position as me? I wouldn't mind working out with a few others in the exercise area in Primrose Hill, it would make everyone work harder, and we'll be more likely stick with it.
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• #59
Would the neighbours appreciate a session on the rollers early am though? That's the question
That's a damn good point mikec..... I'm on the ground floor of an apartment block so i may be safe. Until the missus slashes my tires.
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• #60
Um, well we might be allowed on the indoor one in like 2014 or something? Who knows?
And i think that using my commute (around 9 and 1/2 miles) as a training session a few times a week is awesome for my riding and one of the reasons that my cycling has improved since i started working a year ago. Obviously some people aren't as lucky as me, my route is good with not too many traffic lights etc. so i reckon its up to you. Entitled to own opinions but i haven't found myself burning out personally, in fact feeling stronger.
You're getting nearly 100 base miles done each week. That's a bit different to "I'm gonna throw in some overgeared seated climbing and overspeed efforts" etc.
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• #61
A proper cyclist moves house when their commute changes to less than 8 miles each way.
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• #62
I'll apply to the council for a transfer :/
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• #63
I suppose you can include a few rollers/turbo miles!! as long as its as soon as you get home/before you leave.
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• #64
i just want to get back riding 'normally' instead of the once a week steady miles riding i'm doing at the moment. having got my knee stability sorted i need a few more physio sessions and to start slowly building up the intensity and mileage. a side effect of getting my legs working in a straight line (using footbeds) is that the overdeveloped vastus lateralis (outside thigh muscle) which was doing all the work is now being joined by a vastus medialis (inside thigh muscle) so i may end up with more powerful legs as i was only using the 2/3 of the muscles in my thighs.
dunno if i will be any faster come the spring, just being able to ride without discomfort will be fine. -
• #65
I'm undecided. What should I target next year, or shouldn't I bother because:
I'd be better off waiting a few years and being a competitive vet, instead of a knackered master.
Family and/or creative pursuits might need more attention.
Back to what to target: more fucking hillclimbs (but longer ones), track (would probably mean getting a licence and being all serious), sub-hour 25s, roller racing?
I definitely don't have the time or money (or transport) to support a worthwhile road racing hobby, that's for sure :(
So training is moot, other than the usual winter maintenance stuff, till I decide what, if anything, I want to do competitively.
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• #66
Yeah but...
It's still a commute. Chances are you'll burn out (slowly over time) whilst getting very few gains. Why not keep the commute strictly for easy or recovery miles?
You'd get far more benefit going out once or twice a week specifically to do repeated over-geared downhill efforts, or repeated sprint efforts; or getting out on the open road in proper training mode and doing a fartlek style ride.
Well, by now everyone knows what I think about exerting yourself during commutes (it's rubbish), so I'll move along...
he's right you know. before injury cut down my riding i did very little commuting but instead did a couple of 30-40 mile midweek lunchtime rides of varying intesity, usually a warm-up to to Richmond park a 1-3 fast laps with varying periods of 70-80-100% effort and a warm down on the way back. same weekly mileage as somebody commuting but far more effective at maintaining/improving fitness.
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• #67
Commutting can be excellent training, you just need structure with it. Most I speak to fall into the trap of going hard every day to and from work, but its neither hard enough nor easy enough so they do lots of riding thats too slow to train properly yet too fast to use as active recovery.
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• #68
I'm undecided. What should I target next year, or shouldn't I bother because:
I'd be better off waiting a few years and being a competitive vet, instead of a knackered master.
Family and/or creative pursuits might need more attention.
Back to what to target: more fucking hillclimbs (but longer ones), track (would probably mean getting a licence and being all serious), sub-hour 25s, roller racing?
I definitely don't have the time or money (or transport) to support a worthwhile road racing hobby, that's for sure :(
So training is moot, other than the usual winter maintenance stuff, till I decide what, if anything, I want to do competitively.
Youre obviously a talented (strong) cyclist so you should do/target what you enjoy/what youre good at. Training does seem to be pointless unless you have something to trian for, however.
I went through all sorts of emotions/decision making about how far i wanted to take my racing this year. It was my first for years, I did a little when I was a teenager, but only a bit and that was 20 years ago.
I went from trying out track riding in March, to deciding to give racing a go and getting a license, and then finding I was doing ok.
I then started to have BIG doubts about how I was fitting racing and training into the rest of my life, eg busy work, getting engaged, etc. And also how much I *really *wanted training to take over my life. The more I raced, the better I got, but so did everybody else, so Id have to train more and harder.. it seemed like it could get out of control if i wasnt careful. I would start to try and fit my life around Monday training, Sunday morning training, Wednesday night league racing, If I missed racing I would make sure I did Thursday derny training.....etc. I think the only thing stopping me getting too obsessed is my love of ale and wine. A night in with some nice wine and food/or a night in the pub means foegoing some training....
I'm never going to be a pro, so looking for personal goals and acheiving them is good. Maybe next year Ill aim to ride with the A's and finish in the top 10 for the A league. `I wont win anything, but it'll be a challenge.BMMF, you did some early season training on the track this year, and you've raced in the past, but the thing I loved about the league was the weekly social side of it. It was enjoyable, seeing the same faces every week, some weeks being good, some weeks not so good, but great atmosphere. I met some cool people who I would consider friends, even if I only really know them on the track. But thats worth the effort of training and racing if nothing else.
And yes, I'm currently enjoying a very nice bottle of whitstable organic ale or 2. -
• #69
The weekly league's tempting, but it's hard to pinpoint it as an aim, because I don't know what summer evening hours I'll be offered until early June (and I work all weekday evenings till late June).
This year, all 5 nights were offered, and due to a couple of 'one-off' cash injections, I could afford to get by on 2. I picked Thu/Fri because of how they meshed with my wife's 2 day job, and my son's 2 days at nursery. They also gave me the space to do the TNRC, which has consistently been one of my most enjoyable experiences in the saddle, so I'd hope to do that again - and as with your HH experiences, it's been the social side and camaraderie that's been the highlight, apart from moments of pure athletic abandon :)
It does possibly leave the scenario of getting on the track on Sunday mornings in the Spring, so I'd at least be semi-prepared for league racing if circumstances permitted, but only from July onwards.
Appreciate you sharing your experiences, as you sound like an equally 'reluctant racing cyclist', if you know what I mean.
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• #70
Well, Scarlet, I know I'm never going to be competative on any level, so I've decided to spend this year doing as much as I can in as many different disaplines. I've taken up MTB, cyclocross and have started getting ready for proper road distances and track. My theory is that someone has to be around for other people to beat, so I might as well enjoy myself as much as possible.
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• #71
Nhatt, you've mentioned that elusive "e" word: **"ENJOYMENT" **I cycle because I enjoy it. Yes it has fitness and health benefits but I could get those elsewhere. Yes it is a means of transport but I could take the tube or drive. Yes it is social but even I can manage a social life without a bike. Enjoyment is the key. If one enjoys what one is doing, it becomes so much easier.
This winter I will enjoy cycling and train so that I can enjoy it even more next summer.
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• #72
I've spent the best part of 20 years doing as many different disciplines as possible (mainly due to a short attention span and rampant curiosity), dutifully getting beaten by specialists.
It's not necessarily wins that I'm craving – wins, I've had a few, but then again, too few to mention – but a more consistent set of results vis à vis what I'm capable of.
I'm not entirely sure how competitiveness works, and I can't shake it off completely, though I've tempered its more extreme and distructive effects on my life as I've, ahem, matured.
Is it simply a behavioural manifestation of genetic drift i.e. is a gene pool 'aware' of its strengths (its capabilities that have proven superior to other gene pools in the unending race for domination) and so genetic vessels (us) are compelled to act out/prove/enforce this superiority?
Is this what's making me think about stuff like, "hey, I could fucking win the B League at Herne Hill, piece of piss, if I could be fucking bothered to even half apply myself"? If so, evolution's a strange old bird (although not a dodo, obviously).
And now I've had a kid, and a son, I'm not oblivious to the fact he's clearly a lot stronger and faster (and brainier and and and) than many of his peers (and me, if evolution's working properly), and am already getting prepared to nurture his talents - although I'd like to think I will respect his decisions about which talents, if any, he wishes to pursue.
All because some double helices are pushing my buttons, as they pushed the buttons of members of my pale-faced clan before me.
Shit, I need to go out for a training ride...
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• #73
My main quandary is reconciling all the things that I enjoy doing because they are very much at odds with one another. I love cycling and racing. I just love being on my bike full stop really. However, I also love drinking to excess and all the demons this brings out. I know that when I wake up hungover I feel terrible. Especially when it stops me from going to the track that day. Its all about balance I suppose. Its like what Tom says, its easy to become obsessive about it and think fuck I have to train doubly hard next week to make up for the binge the other night. At the same time though, when I am sitting in the pub watching the footie, on my 6th pint. Think balls to cycling, I'm gonna give it all up and just carry on drinking and partying.
I know I could be a lot lot faster if I did give up all this nonsense. But hey, I am not a professional athlete and I am not a machine. Its this constant state of turmoil which makes me who I am really.
As for training well, I am going to try and organisze myself better this winter. Last spring I was absolutely rocketing along, then I burnt out for the middle only to hit form again at the end of the season. The last omnium I was feeling really great, for example.
I plan to go to the gym for the first time in what will be 17 years, so thats gonna be scary in itself! Carry on doing the hill climbs and laps of Regents Park. But I won't go crazy and damage my knees over the winter. I will listen to advice, for a change, from those who probably know better than me about it.
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• #74
My winter training is going to have to change this year, and it's a step into the unknown for me. I'm going to do some of the London Cross League races between now and December as I enjoy cross but, as we've our first baby due just before Christmas, after that your guess is as good as mine as to what I'll have time for.
I'll still ride to work and hope I might be able to get a short training session in each weekend with a view to doing the track league again next summer. That's the limit of my ambition though, anything else will be an unexpected bonus. I'm not complaining though, I love riding my bike and have spent the past twenty years riding all over the UK and Europe and I'm sure that will continue, just not as much as before.
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• #75
Nhatt, you've mentioned that elusive "e" word: **"ENJOYMENT" **I cycle because I enjoy it. Yes it has fitness and health benefits but I could get those elsewhere. Yes it is a means of transport but I could take the tube or drive. Yes it is social but even I can manage a social life without a bike. Enjoyment is the key. If one enjoys what one is doing, it becomes so much easier.
This winter I will enjoy cycling and train so that I can enjoy it even more next summer.
BTW, I bought the La Cruz because it will be awesome for the Paris-Rubaix. Get training, my friend.
forgot to mention my commute is just about perfect training ride. in the morning its 10 miles fairly easy, the biggest hill is going over tower bridge, it takes me about 30 minutes of riding time, some nice long bits without lights, the way home is 7.5 miles with a good up hill in greenwich park for either a spin or an overgeared seated climb of about a minute, followed by corssing blackheath on the bike paths which are traffic free and perfect for an all out sprint.
assuming i stay where i am for a few months, im going to ride fixed 3 days a week to improve spinning, especially down greenwich park were at 35mph i hit 170rpm. then 2 days a week i will ride geared to do over geared up hill and have a proper sprint effort.