Fitness

Welcome to all who have an interest in anything cycling of any kind.( road, mountain, commuting, stationary, whatever).

This is the place to come to ask that question you have been wanting to ask,

or tell that story about your latest adventure riding your bike,

find out how to use cycling to get in better shape, or anything else you can think of.

So, to start, tell us, what you ride, where you ride and what type of riding you enjoy.

Come back often too check out what's going on and see what's on everyones mind or add your knowledge to the group. 

 

41 MPH!!!??????!!!  Holy Moly!!!!!!

Yeah and I was glancing at the speedometer several times to make sure not just of that top speed (which the computer recorded anyway) but how slow I was going during breaking when hitting some of the bends in the road.   Last thing I wanted was to have such a hard ride up and then hurt myself on the way down being too wreckless.

41mph feels GREAT!!!

Makes me want a motorcycle.

Welcome to the club, gray7.  From one point of view, I am not optimistic about the asthma and arthritis.  I have a bit of both but neither is a serious hindrance to what I am doing -- maybe.  I had a lot of trouble with asthma until I was about 14 and then three things happened: I received some treatement -- weekly shots, I started delivering papers and I started running HS track.  The asthma mostly cleared up although I am pretty sure it was a limiting factor in my track carreer.  I still have some problems in cold, damp weather (winter riding) and when I get really tired.  But I am better off riding than not riding (I get short winded after a month or so layoff).  I think two things keep the arthritis under control -- Glucosamine and Yoga.  My chiro has me on 2000 mg of glucosamine/day.  I invest a significant amount of time 30  to 90 min/day in maintaining flexibility -- mostly yoga asanas but I start the day with stretches I learned in my Kung Fu days and I use stuff I picked up from Pilates for breaks during the day.

On the other hand, you couldn't be doing the stuff your doing on a stationary bike without a pretty good aerobic system.  I wouldn't expect the experience to be any worse on a real bike outside.  You may still need an inhaler -- I understand several pro bikers have to depend on medication to treat their asthma so that they can train and compete.  Bicycling, however, is not a great antidote for arthritis because the position and movement are so limiting.  You should really consider supplementing your riding with something like yoga or Pilates.

At any rate get a bike, get outside and enjoy the fun in the sun.

Speaking of his 41 MPH, has anyone ever seen the movie Breaking Away? Though I am sure among this crowd you all have. The part where he is trailing the Cinzano trailer and they're doing like 60 or 70 at one point. I understand the drag and I am sure it was "movie magic" but still one cool scene and one hell of a movie!

Well, I have to tell you guys this story, first a disclaimer.  What I'm about to tell you is neither safe, probally not legal and not at all wise.

Well one day on a ride I ended up on the wrong road and came out on what they call a state highway (two lane hi speed traffic),  the other thing was a strong wind was blowing that day +30.  To get back to a different road was a ride into the wind, and one other thing, the state hiway had just been paved.  So i desided to go down the hiway, it had a nice berm and the wind would be behind me.

As I was flying down the road, and flying is the right word, there was a crew doing some work on the side of the road and they had one lane block, so I had to stop, I ended up in line behind and 18 wheeler (semi truck), as we made or way through the construction I realized i could accelerate as fast as the truck, sooooooo, I desided to try and draft him, (figured I wouldn't last that long anyway).  Man was I wrong and what a ride that turned into.

Let me tell you, the draft of a large truck is in the vicinity of pure vaccum, I would venture to say I was, at most, two bike lengths off his bumber.  To maintain 45 mph required no effort at all and actually I was using my brakes more than pedals, we hit 50 and I still had no effort to speak of but now I was thinking this could be a little (lot) dangerous, well when we hit 55 plan old fear hit me hard, I bailed out hitting the brakes to slow me back to a reasonable speed, WOW, too bad I didn't have on my heart monitor, it had to be maxed out on fear alone.

To tell the truth, I think 60+ would have been a beeze!  The only thing that made this possible was the fact that the road surface was new, I can't even imagine hitting a hole at that speed, eeeeee!!

Oh BTW I covered 15 miles 23 minutes, thats 40mph. I will never do that again, the cycling gods let me live thru it, so I will not tempt them again, LOL.

DAN

Dan, man that's crazy.   I'd fear like crazy hitting something (or being hit from behind).  On my way up the mountain I was clearing any rocks I found out of the down hill part, just for the added safety.

Had I not been on an open road with no one behind me (since I was at the top of the mountain and knew only 1 car was up there with a couple and they were making out pretty heavy when I started my decent).... well I wouldn't have done it.

Going 41mph (I think it was 41.5 actually) was pretty crazy, but felt great.   I'd do that specific run again.. otherwise my best bet for speed is right by my house... another hill.. and 35 off of it is pretty easy.. and it's a quick drop too... so not much chance of a problem... however there's two streets that run into it (with stop signs for people coming down those streets)... so still I'd rather do this other run than that one just because of the safety issue.

Breaking Away, I haven't seen it.  I've not been a cyclist long enough to look outside of my bicycle for entertainment.  It seems like something I could enjoy though.

mrjiggles,
If I got a motorcycle it would be just for commuting (super high gas milage) and I'd be a model rider... not zipping through traffic.   I'm that way in the car too.  I like having a big gap between those infront and behind me and I know what lanes to be in and when during my commute.  I'd rather drive alone than be in a bumper to bumper pack.  My path to work is pretty peaceful in the morning... other than one 65mph zone it's mostly 45 or under.  So that keeps things pretty safe as well.

I'd take MSF (Motorcycle Safety Foundation) courses as well.

So it wouldn't be a need for speed thing... just a fun way to commute without blowing so much money each week on gas.

And people think I am crazy for drafting busses ;D

I wish this web site used tags so I could post some pics in the threads. I have some pics that you guys would love from some rides. Mind blowing climbs at elevations in the 10's of thousands of feet.

night, there's an area not to far from me that has a lot of decents (meaning climbs the other way) where the 40's are pretty easy to hit, had a guy blow by me at over 50 once.  Your right about the ruff roads and debris making it more interesting,

gmule, I can't even think in terms of those numbers, I think the highest climb in Ohio you'd have to do it 20 times to get to 10,000.  The most I can remember doing is around 8000 and it required the climbing of 28 different hills in 85 miles.  You guys do that in one 10 mile climb don't you?

Hey jiggles, How's the weather today?

DAN

We can't quite get 10K in elevation in on one climb but we can in 2.

This link has a great write up for a cool climb. It took me 5 long hours to complete the trip up.  I rode this on my mountain bike 3 years ago. I may try it this August on the road bike. You really have to be prepared for the cold at that altitude. It could even snow on you in August. Thunderstorms are also very risky at that altitude you are about 4K above where the trees can grow.

http://www.cs.unca.edu/~boyd/touring/col_trip /mtevans/mtevans.html

gmule, I can honestly say there is no veiws like that in OHIO!  The sceneary would make the ride up at least bearable though. DAN

I really hate it when my activities compete with each other. I like to get off the beaten path with my 4x4 vehicle but there is also something special about being in the wilderness on 2 wheels with no other people around. I love to ride and drive in Moab Utah as well. I will usually take my bike even on the 4x4 trips becasue the riding out there is like no place else on earth. Moab is unbelieveable.

Would love to join.

I am 64 and my wife and I are exercising and biking to help us with total fitness and weight loss. I have lost 26# since mid Feb and have about 4 more to lose. My wife has lost 37# in the past 6 months and is maintaining.

We are located in Anderson, SC and we have 6 bikes. Latest are Specialized Roubiax Comp Triple and wife's is a Ruby Comp Triple road bikes. We are loving those 18# bikes after pushing some 38# hybrids down the road. We also occasionally ride some single track trails in the area with some older Diamondback MTB's. Our hybrids are our main touring bikes, town, sightseeing, with front and rear bags, and racks. We usually get in four rides a week with the road bikes of about 16 to 20 miles.

 Also have great fun jogging the mountain bike trails in a nearby state park with our dogs. 3 Labs and a Golden Retriever, we do that every day with 2 of the dogs.

All the exercise is so we can eat pretty much what we like and still be losing weight, LOL!!

Looking forward to hearing from all the bikers.

Regards, Norman

I am looking into buying a bike very soon. I am not sure what kind to get. it is mostly for just leisurely riding around the neighborhood for some extra exercise during the summer. Can anyone help me out?

lolly2, we LOVE to talk about bike buying!! there's some intro bike buying information in this thread :

http://www.calorie-count.com/forums/post/3578 2.html

you might read through that and then post any questions you have for your specific circumstances.

I'm back after a five-day motorcycling vacation (about 1600 miles), but that also means that I didn't get any riding in, save for chasing my kid around the yard tonight, him on his new bike, me on my MTB.

Yes, motorcycles are great for commuting, when it's impractical to ride your bicycle (my commute is 30 miles each way, which would chew up four hours per day. Great when I can spare it, but I usually can't). mrjiggles, you may have had a bad experience, but speaking for myself, in what is my nineteenth year as a motorcyclist, with well over 100 kilomiles behind me, I think they're awesome. I also think quite strongly that motorcycling experience makes one a better cyclist--cyclists will all too often look straight at the road in front of their wheels. Motorcyclists learn to look as far ahead as possible, including looking through the turns. I have no doubt that riding motorcycles has made me a much better descender on a bicycle than I otherwise would be (for one thing, bicycle speeds cannot scare me).

Hills: here in Pittsburgh, the longest climb I've found is about a mile, and you gain only a few hundred feet in the process. To get real climbs, you have to trek east to the Laurel Ridge, or south to West Virginia. If you go further south, then you can get some real beasts: Hogpen Gap goes up for eight miles, climbing about 2500 feet in the process, with several ramps to 15% along the way. It took me an hour. Anyway, around here, a 10,000-total-feet ride means riding a bit over a century, deliberately picking the worst hills you can find. You'll be knackered by the end, for sure (on my last attempt, I bailed at 65 miles with 6300 feet of climbing).

Descents: Coming down from one of the mountains in the Cheat Mountain Challenge Century in Pocahontas County, WV, I saw 50-51mph for five solid minutes. It was awesome! Of course, you roll out of that into a 5 kilometer climb at a steady 7%, with no letoff for the entire climb, but "pain is just weakness leaving the body."

The scene in Breaking Away was a fake. Look closely--the guy was in the small ring.

Here in the real world, I often see > 40mph on descents, but I'm one of those sickos who will sprint at the top of the descent and then tuck tightly to see how fast I can go.