It's killing me but..........

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It's Eric Clapton actually, but close.:D

I've said this before in this thread; Starbucks is for me an Oasis. It is the one place I can go and not get foul smelling smoke blown in my face. Also I guess, I don't really like coffee or should I say real coffee, another reason for going to Starbucks, besides the caramel pound cake of course.;)

Wheelsucking!?!? Sound interesting, give me time to get my teeth out.:cool:
Doh, of course....Clapton. Guess I've lost track of his work lately....since Cream broke up :D

Starbucks is great for a sweet treat, but the ones I've been in don't seem to have barrista's that know how to make espresso. Actually their regular brewed coffee isn't bad; certainly will do for a caffeine fix if a good local place isn't available.

I'm only 15lbs from my short-term target (160). I'm envious of Andy's weight (~150) and I'm only 1" taller.Heh. Rap, the other night I broached the possibility of meeting you at the Death Ride with my wife. At the time she was fine with it.

Tonight, after dinner:
Me: <straight faced> "Honey, I'm going to have to lose about 10-15 pounds for the Death Ride next summer."
Her: :mad: "That is never going to happen."
Me: :cool: <nothing, straight faced>
Her: :mad: "You can't do that! You'll look like that polka-dot guy..... that... King of the Mountains guy! (Michael Rasmussen)" :(
Me: :cool: "How do you think he got to be King of the Mountains?"
Her: :mad: "No."
Me: :cool:
Her: :mad: "That's not going to happen."
Me: :D LOL

Looks like you'll have about 10 pounds on me if you can make your target weight. Probably more if you bring that 6 lb bike of yours. :)

We all need to know that technique. I needed it today. After a 279 TSS ride yesterday, I rode a 247 TSS ride today and after a 5 mile climb toward the end of the ride I was toast. I would have grabbed anybody's wheel on the way back to the ride start point, even a 5 yo girl with streamers on her bike. After a cup of coffee, I announced that I needed to get an early start on my ride home (5 miles away) so that I could get home before dark (it was 1PM).:D
I know the feeling well.....running out of fast wheels late in the ride.

Actually, the "take away" from the paceline training, wheel and shoulder bumping and trackstand practice was that there is a lot more to cycling technique than most of us club riders realize. We learned that the revolving paceline was a lot more efficient in crosswinds than the usual "pull until you die" we practice. The coach followed us on a scooter, which was cool except that he kept yelling "gap gap gap" at me for some reason.:D

Heh. Rap, the other night I broached the possibility of meeting you at the Death Ride with my wife. At the time she was fine with it.

Tonight, after dinner:
Me: <straight faced> "Honey, I'm going to have to lose about 10-15 pounds for the Death Ride next summer."
Her: :mad: "That is never going to happen."
Me: :cool: <nothing, straight faced>
Her: :mad: "You can't do that! You'll look like that polka-dot guy..... that... King of the Mountains guy! (Michael Rasmussen)" :(
Me: :cool: "How do you think he got to be King of the Mountains?"
Her: :mad: "No."
Me: :cool:
Her: :mad: "That's not going to happen."
Me: :D LOL

Looks like you'll have about 10 pounds on me if you can make your target weight. Probably more if you bring that 6 lb bike of yours. :) Ha - provoking mischief yet again with another ruse! Methinks this is more frequent than commonly believed :D

Ha - provoking mischief yet again with another ruse! Methinks this is more frequent than commonly believed :D
Lucy, my girl, if you had any misconceptions about how frequently I provoke mischief, then frankly you haven't been paying much attention. :p

And besides, it's not mischief. It's called "testing the waters" and is a valuable survival skill that successfully married men learn early on. It's the male equivalent of "crying to get one's way." :eek: :D

Heh. Rap, the other night I broached the possibility of meeting you at the Death Ride with my wife. At the time she was fine with it.

Tonight, after dinner:
Me: <straight faced> "Honey, I'm going to have to lose about 10-15 pounds for the Death Ride next summer."
Her: :mad: "That is never going to happen."
Me: :cool: <nothing, straight faced>
Her: :mad: "You can't do that! You'll look like that polka-dot guy..... that... King of the Mountains guy! (Michael Rasmussen)" :(
Me: :cool: "How do you think he got to be King of the Mountains?"
Her: :mad: "No."
Me: :cool:
Her: :mad: "That's not going to happen."
Me: :D LOL

Looks like you'll have about 10 pounds on me if you can make your target weight. Probably more if you bring that 6 lb bike of yours. :)I've been offline solving a vexing date problem in SQL (basically, I'm just rusty and everybody's SQL treats dates differently :mad: -- anyway, it's half solved -- I get the right answers, now I just need to format the answers to look nice), so I really needed a good laugh. This was perfect!:D I had a complete visualization of the dinner conversation. I could see your wife saying, "You're going to do what, and you have to pay to do that? And you want to lose weight to do that? Not in my lifetime!"

Anyway, don't worry about losing the weight. I'm working on a helium suit (visualize the Michelin Man) and the extra frontal area won't matter since you'll only be going ~10mph all day.:D

We learned that the revolving paceline was a lot more efficient in crosswindsYou know, I hate that technique and one of these days I'm going to prove that it is inefficient. Short, hard pulls (<15sec) I like, but I hate the revolving paceline.:(

Short, hard pulls (<15sec) I like, but I hate the revolving paceline.:(
:confused: The revolving echelon is pure poetry in motion (unless someone on a scooter seems to think your name is "Gap"). I love to get lulled into the rhythm and feel like I could almost fall asleep while cruising along. What's not to like?

I don't know that it's any more efficient, but it helps make sure everyone is doing their share instead of hanging someone out to dry.

:confused: The revolving echelon is pure poetry in motion (unless someone on a scooter seems to think your name is "Gap"). I love to get lulled into the rhythm and feel like I could almost fall asleep while cruising along. What's not to like?I don't think it's a good use of the team's collective power. I'm actually quite fascinated by TTT rotation tactics taking everything into consideration including the loss of a bike length with each rotation. It's not simple on the flat with no wind, and then when you add grades and wind, it gets really interesting to optimize the team's collective power by having each rider pull at the optimal duration/power. I'm thinking about hosting a TTT race here in Las Vegas on the NASCAR track. I love TTTs and there are so few of them.

I don't think it's a good use of the team's collective power. ...In the case of a well balanced and well trained team you're probably right, I doubt there's much to be gained by the short pulls of a continually rotating paceline. But find yourself with 5 other average club riders, a random assortment of century cyclists or the 5 guys you ended up with in a Cat III/IV breakaway and I'll take the rotating paceline anyday. Otherwise one guy gets to the front and starts boating along... the next gets up there and tries to make up the difference by adding a couple of mph, then the next guy is a bit burned and eases off......

The beauty of the continuous rotation is its simplicity, your job (and everyone else's) is easy. As soon as you pass the guy in the recovery line your job is done and you get off the front. I love the way that caterpillar tread just rolls away the miles.

Your point about finding the most efficient technique for a TT team is great. I remember endless debates about how deep to pull into the corners in a team pursuit and have seen winning teams do it all kinds of different ways. I bet there is an optimum though....

I said I was a pretty good wheel sucker.....

How to suck wheel (http://www.cyclingforums.com/showthread.php?p=3062508#post3062508)

I haven't worked out the effective stress (i.e., equivalent weight in a leg extension type of exercise), but it can't be very great even at your prior FTP. I think the question is, "What is required for your knee to be able to handle the actual loads of riding at 200W and what exercises will allow you to strengthen the knee to handle such loads?" The loads don't seem very great to me (<50lbs?). I know… my knee doesn't cope well with any small load now. Some days it's difficult to press gear pedal in my car. But hopefully the doctor will give me some exercises to strengthen my knee (my left leg is lot thinner than my right one) I don’t want to admit it may be serious that’s why i took so long to go to the doctor.

But thinking about the training, I will be doing gets my mind off the injury.

TTT tactics always fascinated me it's one of the things that got me interesseted in cycling when I was a kid (time trials that is). Most of my rides are mtbiking (road cycling doesn't seem cool to my friends beat’s me why but...) so I don't real do allot off pacelinening but the times I did it didn't go so well so that oiled machine of pro's it something to appreciated.

Tyson and Rapdaddyo, thanks!!! :):)

Thank you very much for this informative and easy reading thread. I just finished reading all 89 pages. I also finished reading the book "Training and racing with a powermeter".

"It's killing me but...." is a good thread to get people motivated!!
Tyson congrats with your increase in power at your FT. 130 to 250 watt is very very impressive.

I don't do sports... I did cycle when a was a teenager. I cycled in French this summer with my girlfriend for fun. And I am going to start cycling soon again!! This thread made me decide to buy a indoortrainer with a powermeter function. Unfortunately I don't have space for an indoortrainer and I don't have time to train (just graduated as a medical doctor and now working (to) hard/long but the goods is I can afford a powermeter soon).



Maybe it is possible to summarize a few things discussed in this topic?

1.) How to measure your FTP:
Seven deadly sins (http://lists.topica.com/lists/wattage/read/message.html?mid=910289158) by Andy Coggan
2.) Thoughts on level 5 intervals (http://lists.topica.com/lists/wattage/read/message.html?mid=913346382&sort=d&start=43832) by Andy Coggan
3.) The progression made by seriously training with a powermeter:
Tyson: FTP increase from 130 watt to 250 watt in a couple of months.
Alex Simmons: FTP increase from 240 watt in 2004 to .......
Rapdaddyo:
Felt:
Lusy: from ... to ... in a couple of weeks.
I hope to include my name in that list soon. First I have to find a bigger house and to buy a powermeter. But I will let you guys (and lusy) know where I will start and if I can made some progression.

Thank you all again. I have gained some seriously motivation from this board and you all made my girlfriend very happy (she always tried to get me motivated to train and now this topic did it. haha:D)

Tyson and Rapdaddyo, thanks!!! :):)On behalf of the many others who have contributed to Tyson's education, you're welcome.

I just finished reading all 89 pages. I also finished reading the book "Training and racing with a powermeter".Wow! That's a lot of reading. I think we have a medal around here somewhere for anybody who has read this entire thread. Maybe Tyson should publish the thread as an MP3 (so you can "read" it while doing L4s on the trainer) and make enough money from the sales to buy a power meter.

"It's killing me but...." is a good thread to get people motivated!! Tyson congrats with your increase in power at your FT. 130 to 250 watt is very very impressive.I agree, that is the huge value of this thread and it is due to Tyson's refreshing candor about his starting point, his questions along the way, his frustrations and, of course, his major triumphs. Speaking of which, Tyson, when are you going to post a blow-by-blow description of your duel with your younger riding partner last May? I have the details, but your audience awaits your full-blown narrative.

I don't do sports... I did cycle when a was a teenager. I cycled in French this summer with my girlfriend for fun. And I am going to start cycling soon again!! This thread made me decide to buy a indoortrainer with a powermeter function. Unfortunately I don't have space for an indoortrainer and I don't have time to train (just graduated as a medical doctor and now working (to) hard/long but the goods is I can afford a powermeter soon).Cool.:cool: Congrats on completing your training. A trainer is a good choice for someone with crazy work hours.

Maybe it is possible to summarize a few things discussed in this topic?

1.) How to measure your FTP:
Seven deadly sins (http://lists.topica.com/lists/wattage/read/message.html?mid=910289158) by Andy Coggan
2.) Thoughts on level 5 intervals (http://lists.topica.com/lists/wattage/read/message.html?mid=913346382&sort=d&start=43832) by Andy Coggan
3.) The progression made by seriously training with a powermeter:
Tyson: FTP increase from 130 watt to 250 watt in a couple of months.
Alex Simmons: FTP increase from 240 watt in 2004 to .......
Rapdaddyo: FTP increase from ~150W to 325W in 9 months in 2005 (but I should point out that I had done 5 years of serious racing in the 1970s)
Felt:
Lucy: from ... to ... in a couple of weeks.
I hope to include my name in that list soon. First I have to find a bigger house and to buy a powermeter. But I will let you guys (and lucy) know where I will start and if I can made some progression.

Thank you all again. I have gained some seriously motivation from this board and you all made my girlfriend very happy (she always tried to get me motivated to train and now this topic did it. haha:D)Cool.:cool:

Speaking of which, Tyson, when are you going to post a blow-by-blow description of your duel with your younger riding partner last May? I have the details, but your audience awaits your full-blown narrative.

Here here!

We've been clamoring for many's the year!

Come now, tell us all about it, and by all means, embellish it like never before! :D

Here here!

We've been clamoring for many's the year!

Come now, tell us all about it, and by all means, embellish it like never before! :D
Lucy:eek: Surely YOU wouldn't obtain pleasure by hearing how Tyson defeated a rival cyclist. :p :p :p

Lucy:eek: Surely YOU wouldn't obtain pleasure by hearing how Tyson defeated a rival cyclist. :p :p :pHa....it is his story and his goal, not mine. I don't have any goals of beating the neighbor or the guy in the red jersey, etc. http://cyclingforums.com/images/smilies/rolleyes.gif

Besides we really don't know what happened. It could well be his friend was faster up the hill.....http://cyclingforums.com/images/smilies/biggrin.gif

Lucy:eek: Surely YOU wouldn't obtain pleasure by hearing how Tyson defeated a rival cyclist. :p :p :pI think even pacifists enjoy it when Shane goes into town and kicks ass in "Shane.":D

I think even pacifists enjoy it when Shane goes into town and kicks ass in "Shane.":DWhere do 'not concerned about competition' and 'pacifist' coincide?

These are very different ideas, unless one simply lumps everything that isn't obsessive about competition into one generic category.

I couldn't stand Shane and anything else of that genre.

It actually amuses me, in the way watching a hampster going endlessly on a wheel would, by seeing how some people have tunnel-vision for beating others and not much else.

I saw an image the other day that summed it up: a parade of robots all marching with a little bubble over their head saying "must win, must beat others"....

Where do 'not concerned about competition' and 'pacifist' coincide?I'm purposely taking the most extreme example.

I couldn't stand Shane and anything else of that genre.Too bad, great movie.

It actually amuses me, in the way watching a hampster going endlessly on a wheel would, by seeing how some people have tunnel-vision for beating others and not much else.Aren't you generalizing here just a bit? I wouldn't begin to think I understand the mindset of those who don't enjoy winning a bike race. Why would you think you can understand the mindset of those who do?