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[weremichael]

Sounds super awesome. I was wondering if you were going to come back and talk about it.

It was touch and go there for a bit

The ride was extremely emotional for my wife (and in turn for our entire team) since she was doing it to honor her father who died in April. Each of us had a day or two where it was a struggle to get into a rhythm and we would fight our bike instead of spinning a good tempo. The plus was that there was always a wheel to follow and a person to talk to. I met people from all over the world who came to ride across Iowa.

Going into the last town, there were about 100 people cheering us on, ringing cowbells, and giving freezer pops and high fives. I broke down and started crying. I was relieved it was over, but at the same time I wanted it to continue.

 

[Rbk_3]

Had 2 week so off and biked 1004 km in those 14 days. I had like 3000 life time KM since I got a Road Bike in 2012 so that was quite the experience. I led the GAF group for the first time this week with 578km

 

[Psychotext]

Noice.

 

[Rbk_3]

Having our first kid in a few weeks, so I won't get to do anything like that anytime soon again lol

 

[Gray Matter]

By far, my best month on a bicycle. First century done, 600 miles of riding with 29k feet of climbing.

 

[ShapeGSX]

Had 2 week so off and biked 1004 km in those 14 days. I had like 3000 life time KM since I got a Road Bike in 2012 so that was quite the experience. I led the GAF group for the first time this week with 578km

GAF group as in strava club? What’s the name of it?

 

[Rbk_3]

By far, my best month on a bicycle. First century done, 600 miles of riding with 29k feet of climbing.

Same, by far. In total 1366 KM only 4650M of climbing but I live in a flat area.

Before this month I had only done a short ride in March, this year. Very happy with myself. Though dumping $1300 in bike upgrades and spending $300 on new shoes certainly helped with the motivation.

GAF group as in strava club? What's the name of it?

https://www.strava.com/clubs/bikegaf

 

[Gray Matter]

Same, by far. In total 1366 KM only 4650M of climbing but I live in a flat area.

Before this month I had only done a short ride in March, this year. Very happy with myself. Though dumping $1300 in bike upgrades and spending $300 on new shoes certainly helped with the motivation.

Nice, must feel like a new bike after all the goodies were put on it.

 

[ShapeGSX]

Joined!

 

[Rbk_3]

Nice, must feel like a new bike after all the goodies were put on it.

Yep felt amazing. Even after 1000k, I still haven't gotten used to the Ultegra shifters not having the indicators on them like my old Tiagra. I find I always am looking down at my cassette to see where I am.

 

[Gray Matter]

Yep felt amazing. Even after 1000k, I still haven't gotten used to the Ultegra shifters not having the indicators on them like my old Tiagra. I find I always am looking down at my cassette to see where I am.

I had the same problem, you adjust to it and get a sense of where you are based on your cadence and feeling.

 

[Psychotext]

You Strava bikegaffers need to do more climbing.

 

[Gray Matter]

You Strava bikegaffers need to do more climbing.

I do between 4-7 thousand feet a week depending on how much riding I do, I think that's a respectable number.

 

[TarpitCarnivore]

This summertime cold is messing up my week.

 

[ShapeGSX]

You Strava bikegaffers need to do more climbing.

25k feet. Jeez! I was pretty happy with my 9869ft last week!

You got me curious about my best climbing week. It's 11,667ft, and it is also my best mileage week at 217mi over the 4th of July holiday last month.

 

[Psychotext]

Mostly off road too.

In fairness though, that was a bit of an unusual week for me. I'm not sure of my record for a week. How did you find yours out?

Browsing through my calendar on Strava I think maybe 41,916ft, again, mostly off road (I think that was when I did the Cambrian Trail).

 

[ShapeGSX]

Mostly off road too.

In fairness though, that was a bit of an unusual week for me. I'm not sure of my record for a week. How did you find yours out?

Browsing through my calendar on Strava I think maybe 41,916ft, again, mostly off road (I think that was when I did the Cambrian Trail).

I just browsed back through my Strava Training log. The weekly totals are on the left (on a computer, not a phone).

 

[kottila]

Best week: 49 695 feet. Never done anything close to that again. Spent a whole week in the French alps, one of the best vacations I've ever had

 

[Gray Matter]

Best week: 49 695 feet. Never done anything close to that. A whole week in the alps

Wow, that's impressive. I only have 57000 this year alone, so you did almost my total climbing in a week.

 

[mYm|17|]

Got the bike this past weekend off of Craigslist and waiting for my helmet to come in tomorrow. Probably will go for a little bike ride tomorrow night.

What other accessories do I need for the bike? I mean to keep it running like a well oiled machine. Me being a newbie, do I take it in for a tuneup to make sure everything is good to go?

 

[Psychotext]

Best week: 49 695 feet. Never done anything close to that again. Spent a whole week in the French alps, one of the best vacations I've ever had

Sounds awesome. Well, the scenery, not so much the hills.

 

[TarpitCarnivore]

As someone who uses citi bike program in NYC, this article is depressing http://nyc.streetsblog.org/2017/08/...strians-and-cyclists-in-june-and-killed-nine/

City Hall reported 56 pedestrians and cyclists killed by city motorists through June, and 6,915 injured, compared to 65 deaths and 7,252 injuries in the first six months of 2016.

 

[Laekon]

Got the bike this past weekend off of Craigslist and waiting for my helmet to come in tomorrow. Probably will go for a little bike ride tomorrow night.

What other accessories do I need for the bike? I mean to keep it running like a well oiled machine. Me being a newbie, do I take it in for a tuneup to make sure everything is good to go?

I not trying to pick on you but I don't get why people just don't go into a shop for things like this. A good shop will go through the bike quickly while you watch and let you know what they think needs attention. They should first ask you whats wrong but you can always just say you got the bike from a friend and its been sitting around. Most don't want to do a full tune up if it only needs a quick derailleur adjustment. If something takes less then 5 minutes, mechanics at the shop I currently work at never charge anyone. At the same time you could have tried on some different helmets, had the one you like fitted to you, gotten advice on other accessories and maybe found out the best local routes/group rides. There are no doubt bad shops and employees but most are run by people that really like bikes and want others to do the same.

 

[Psychotext]

He literally asked if he should take it in for a tuneup though.

 

[frontieruk]

Got the bike this past weekend off of Craigslist and waiting for my helmet to come in tomorrow. Probably will go for a little bike ride tomorrow night.

What other accessories do I need for the bike? I mean to keep it running like a well oiled machine. Me being a newbie, do I take it in for a tuneup to make sure everything is good to go?

The answer is yes, but remember to ask questions why they recommend something gets done, as it'll help you know what you have to learn to maintain and why, some good shops will also do bike maintenance classes, so might be worth finding out about those.

 

[Addnan]

Is it acceptable to wear dark navy shorts or is black the only correct answer.

 

[kottila]

Sounds awesome. Well, the scenery, not so much the hills.

Climbing >>> anything else on a bike.

 

[Gray Matter]

Climbing >>> anything else on a bike.

I want to agree with this, but paceline on flats with each person taking turns at the front would be my favorite part of cycling. Unfortunately there aren't enough quiet roads around me to do a halfway decent pace line.

 

[Psychotext]

See, that's why I'll never be a roadie. Hills are a means to an end, they're sure as shit not something you do for fun...

...and that's speaking as someone who can smoke 9/10 people up hills.

 

[jakonovski]

I have a Cipollinian attitude to hills.

 

[kottila]

See, that's why I'll never be a roadie. Hills are a means to an end, they're sure as shit not something you do for fun...

...and that's speaking as someone who can smoke 9/10 people up hills.

I'd probably like descending more if I was at least decent at it. Almost been thrown off the bike a few times to speed wobbles, so I'm happy if I make it to the bottom alive

 

[TarpitCarnivore]

I hate climbing, but there is something satisfying about reaching the top of one. I enjoy them more on a road bike, but that's mainly due to balance on a mountain bike but I'm getting there.

 

[Rbk_3]

I don't have any real big hills in my area. Says my longest climb was 100m lol

 

[teepo]

most cyclist don't have the luxury of living in wales!

Spoiler

or europe

you bastards!

 

[Gray Matter]

most cyclist don't have the luxury of living in wales!

Spoiler

or europe

you bastards!

I get the best of both world.

 

[Mascot]

See, that's why I'll never be a roadie. Hills are a means to an end, they're sure as shit not something you do for fun...

...and that's speaking as someone who can smoke 9/10 people up hills.

Yeah, you pretty much cured me of hills after our last trip to Afan. I like my normal 1,000ft of climbing over 25 miles up at Slade, not 25 miles of climbing over 1,000ft like at Afan.

Having said that, I fucking LOVE Cwm Carn.

*shrugs*

Edit: aha, it's because Cwm Carn doesn't have you ahead of me disappearing in a cloud of dust. Ergo, I do like climbing, but at a sensible pace.

 

[-SG]

These replies are making me want to crush some hills.

 

[Psychotext]

Sometimes it's nice to be taken out of your comfort zone.

 

[Mascot]

Sometimes it's nice to be taken out of your comfort zone.

Only if you agree a 'safe word' beforehand.

 

[Lonely1]

So, for 30 min of cycling, online calculators say I'm burning ~500 kcal, but my Garmin says It's closer to 950ish. Which is more accurate? 2x difference is significant.

 

[frontieruk]

So, for 30 min of cycling, online calculators say I'm burning ~500 kcal, but my Garmin says It's closer to 950ish. Which is more accurate? 2x difference is significant.

Are you using a heart rate monitor?

 

[Gray Matter]

So, for 30 min of cycling, online calculators say I'm burning ~500 kcal, but my Garmin says It's closer to 950ish. Which is more accurate? 2x difference is significant.

I don't trust any calculations of calories burnt during a workout.

Spoiler

mainly because I don't understand how it works lol

 

[TarpitCarnivore]

So, for 30 min of cycling, online calculators say I'm burning ~500 kcal, but my Garmin says It's closer to 950ish. Which is more accurate? 2x difference is significant.

Neither will be more accurate as they're basing on formulas. Unfortunately those formulas don't account for much then speed, weight and distance. Iirc a power meter would get you the most accurate measurement.

 

[T8SC]

Climbing >>> anything else on a bike.

This.

 

[Psychotext]

So, for 30 min of cycling, online calculators say I'm burning ~500 kcal, but my Garmin says It's closer to 950ish. Which is more accurate? 2x difference is significant.

You're burning significantly less than the lowest of the two numbers. Unless you're putting out something like 400 watts over that 30 minutes, which you're not.

I've taken to using the formula numbers and halving them (for weight loss). Some of the figures you see people throwing around are comical.

 

[Addnan]

The amount of calories I apparently burn went up after I got a hrm and a power meter on both Strava and Garmin, didn't trust it without anything and somehow trust it less with the added data.

 

[cdViking]

The amount of calories I apparently burn went up after I got a hrm and a power meter on both Strava and Garmin, didn't trust it without anything and somehow trust it less with the added data.

Power meter makes tracking calories very easy.

(Average wattage x 60 (seconds) x n (# of minutes ridden))/100 = kilojoules

kilojoules/4.2 = kcals

Because of the inefficiency of the human body, significantly more energy is lost in cycling than the power that actually reaches the pedal. Divide your kcals by 20-25%, and you end up with your approximate Calorie loss.

Good rule of thumb is one kJ = one Calorie burned.

 

[teepo]

if you have a power meter, the total kj (work) should correspond 1:1 to the amount of calories burned during the workout. basically, 1 calorie = 4.186kj but since your body isn't sufficient at using energy, the majority of that energy (70-80%) is converted into heat energy while the other remaining bit (20-30%) is applied to pedaling

it's supposed to have an accuracy rate of +/- 5%. other methods like time and distance are in the 60% range while a hr monitor is within the 10-20% range. trainingpeaks did a good rundown on the science behind it all.

trainerroad, trainingpeaks and garmin use kj to display calories lost but for some reason strava does not. i believe strava and other workout apps like to overstate the amount of calories lost to incentive people to workout more in order to increase demand for their services. either that or they're smarter than the lot


edit: beaten

 

[Teggy]

Hills are for skinny twig people to enjoy. I prefer going downhill, not up.

 

[TheWorthyEdge]

Father and I built a bike today. Got an older Bridgestone frame and did some small things to it. Will update with pics. Thought you'd be interested.