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

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Tyson wrote:

I don't know when the new trainer and Powertap are going to arrive but,
as I said in earlier posts.
This is going to be neat. I am sitting here wondering "How can I be this excited that YOU are getting the trainer and Powertap? But I am! Cool!:D

Will this make it more convenient to work out more often? If it does and you do, I can't wait to hear about the effect this has on "the Smoker."

And the big question. Have you told your "young riding buddy" about this evolution in your training or will he just get to see the results on the hills this spring!

Congratulations!

Tyson wrote:


This is going to be neat. I am sitting here wondering "How can I be this excited that YOU are getting the trainer and Powertap? But I am! Cool!:D

Will this make it more convenient to work out more often? If it does and you do, I can't wait to hear about the effect this has on "the Smoker."

And the big question. Have you told your "young riding buddy" about this evolution in your training or will he just get to see the results on the hills this spring!

Congratulations!LOL Curlew. Congratulations?!? Have I won something?:(

What will it mean? It will mean that I can set the temerature to train at. I shall have my French windows in the training room flung wide open and I already have a nice powerful fan should I need it.
I won't be limited to 350 Watts for my L6 work. I also dearly want to see just what wattage I can attain for 5 seconds. (not that it means much as I'm not interested in sprinting at all).

I also don't have to have music glued to my ears. I have loads of music on CD and the computer, and with the speakers I have connected to the PC I shall be able to blast out the trance while on the pedals I dance.:D

Having the power meter might mean getting the maximum benefit from my Sunday rides. Especially when I start to add in the killer hills on my 100km rides planned for Mid April onwards.

As for "The Smoker" that will have to wait til October and the Lake Biwa ride, and I have told my buddy I'm getting a trainer but that's all - no mention of FTP, VO2Max etc.;)

As for "The Smoker" that will have to wait til October and the Lake Biwa ride
Ride at Lake Biwa in October? That might be a good chance to get together. I did a 200km brevet around Lake Biwa last July 29th. I don't plan on doing the 200km brevets this year in order to add the training time elsewhere, but I'd love to go back up there and cycle around Biwa. (just to make sure, you are talking about the big lake just northeast of Kyoto, right?)

Ride at Lake Biwa in October? That might be a good chance to get together. I did a 200km brevet around Lake Biwa last July 29th. I don't plan on doing the 200km brevets this year in order to add the training time elsewhere, but I'd love to go back up there and cycle around Biwa. (just to make sure, you are talking about the big lake just northeast of Kyoto, right?)There's only one Lake Biwa at yes that was it. It wasn't a race per se, but boy do those guys race between stages. It's an event run by LBS (the biggest and best in Nagoya) and the owner limits it to 60 riders or so.

If you have time, here is my report on last October's ride.

Re: It's killing me but..........
Wow! What an experience.

For the last 2 or 3 days Japan has had very strong winds with roofs blowing off etc., and today was no exception. L.Biwa is notorious for wind and today was horrific. 90% of the time it was a cross wind of the lake. How no one got blown off, I'll never know.

I'll try and make the report easy to read.

1) 8.15 start.

2) The "Smoker" unlike last year set off in the first group, with me on his wheel.;)

3) Soon we'd burned everyone up and people faded into the distance (behind).

4) Made my first mistake - on a slight incline let him get 3 bike lengths on me.

5) Wind was too strong to catch him.

6) Cruised until "Move Racing Team" all in red and white outfits came roaring by.

7) Tucked on the back.

8) 2nd mistake. Suddenly I realized the guy I was tailing had been dropped.

9) Stayed with him until "Nagoya Racing Team" came steaming up - tucked in on the back and stayed there till the finish of the 1st stage.

10) 5km from the finish the smoker was standing at the side of the road. Said hello and carried on.

11) He caught me 1 km from the finish and we sailed in together.

12) Said he stopped because the wind was frightening.:rolleyes: No one else stopped.

Stage 2.
--------

1) At the start of the 2nd stage, the Move team and few Nagoya guys went off like bats out of hell, along with the "Smoker".

2) I was in the following group, but soon there were only 2 of us - a woman with legs that anyone in these forums would be glad of "steel oak tree legs".:D

3) We picked off several "Move" team riders who had been dropped.

3) We stayed together for a long time untill we hit a 1km hill. I'm afraid I had to leave her. She couldn't climb.:(

7) Arrived at the 2nd stop and there were no more than a dozen guys there.

8) Sat on a bench watching the Scott, Trek, Bianchi, Pinarello etc., some with carbon wheels roll in. I confess to smiling inwardly.

Stage 3
-------

1) A little respite with the winds coming across and from behind.

2) Speed picked up to 46-50kph

3) Stayed with "steel legs" till the finish. Again we caught many stragglers from the 2 racing teams.

4) Again the smoker was standing at the side of the road. He came in a few minutes after me and admitted he was tired today.

5) "Move" team complimented me on my "power" and were surprised when the learnt my age. That was nice!:) Makes all the training worthwhile.

Stage 4
-------
1) After a bowl of noodles we were off again.

2)This stage had a winding 4km hill.

3) I was in the 2nd group again. By the time we got to the top there were only 2 of us left. Arrived at stop 4, 30 km from the finish. The "Smoker" was already in the line for the toilet. Had massacred me on that stage.

4) Average speed at this point, despite the wind was 28.6kph

Rush for home
-------------

1) Now we were going back up the lake almost directly into the wind. It was terrifying!

2) I confess that I was now struggling.

3) 10 km from home got a twinge in the calf and thought, oh, oh!

4) Rather than blow up I dropped back selected a very low gear and cruised gently home.

5) The last 30 km, because of the wind and my easing off, my average dropped to 27.4. Disappointing!:(


What did I learn today.

1) More so than the century back in June I learnt about racing.

2) When you slow down for traffic lights with the group, be prepared for ridiculous acceleration when the lights change. I lost ground more than once through this.

3) Keep an eye on the pelaton not just the guy directly in front of you.

4) I found that guys (individuals) who whizzed past me couldn't always sustain the pace, and instead of chasing them, I learnt to slowly reel them in and leave them.

5) In future before a long race, do more long rides of over 100km.

6) I would say that a hell of a lot of the ride today was L4. Even when tucked in behind, I found that if I coasted for a few secs, 2 bike lengths or more would suddenly appear and to catch whoever necessitated an L5 effort. There was plenty of L5 and just a few moments of L6 efforts.

7) However, what I really learnt was:

I NEED MORE POWER!:D

I think a 300W FTP would be necessary to stay with the fast guys.

Overall, very, very satisfying. Thanks RD for bringing me along to the undreamt of level I've reached. Now we have to start the real work.

P.S. I think today's ride was far superior to any training on the bike in the gym, and hopefully this will be reflected in the numbers to come.
However, if it fits in with your schedule, I would recommend the Fukui ride in the first week in June.
It's give or take 100 miles. Here's my report from last year, and at that time I had only been training seriously from the end of January when my FTP was 130W!


Good morning ladies and gentlemen. It is approaching 9am here in the Land of the Rising Sun. At the keyboard is one fatigued, injured old man. I'm definitely taking up croquet next year!

Yes, I completed the century but not without event. Whoever designed the course was without doubt a sadistic joker.



We all assembled on a large field at the bottom of the ski slope with the chairlift rising up into the clouds. Then the announcer said, "will the people doing 160k please assemble at the start of the chairlift." I thought, no they are not going to ask us to climb up the little windy road following the chairlift. Surely not - not at the start. You've guessed it; the answer was. YES.

A bloody 2 km 12% to start 160ks!



As I told you, we started off in groups of 20 (but not downhill -that was the 70km course start) I started off in about the 10th group and we all just stood there agape as the riders snaked their way up the climb becoming dots in the distance.



Still, managed that without much difficulty, then there was a ferocious snaking downhill with streams of thin wet mud crossing the road in places. I just closed my eyes and hoped for the best.



Then the pace really hotted up and I was drafting on the flat at 46/48 kph.

A new experience for me. Actually took the lead 2 or 3 times.

Groups of course broke up as people drifted off the back and the climbs started. I found myself drafting someone then finding him too slow accelerated to catch someone faster. For me, it was an awesome experience as I started to play with my new toy - POWER.



Last October when I did the 150km round LakeBiwa, I latched onto people but just couldn't hold it for long (no basic power )



At about 100km disaster struck! We were hareing through a long well lit tunnel on a raised pedestrian path (one foot drop to the roadway) Halfway through the tunnel there is an exit into an escape tunnel where the path curves inward then back out again - a sort of a half U. I was cycling behind my cycling buddy and because I was wearing dark sunglasses didn't see the bend and went straight on - CRASH, BANG, WALLOP!! I wondered what had hit me.

Luckily both feet came out of clips as I landed half in the road and half on the path. I had a badly scraped elbow, thigh and knee but luckily no serious damage.



While I was picking myself up and dusting myself off, there was another loud crashing sound, another cyclist had done the same thing. However, he fared somewhat worse than I did, he banged his head and was unconscious for 30 secs or so. There was blood streaming from a cut above his left eye.

I'm not sure how much that affected the final 60km, but it certainly knocked the wind out of my sails. 5km later at the feed station, in the first aid tent there were other guys with blood streaming from wounds. I dread to think how people did the same silly thing that day



Then later on the joker had his final laugh. After the last feed station we had a 13km climb back to the ski resort. No, I tell a lie, that was his penultimate laugh. The final laugh was a 1km 15-17% snaking road back up to the resort. You've never seen so many people suffer including me. People were snaking across the road as well as snaking vertically. Sheer and utter purgatory! If it hadn't been Japan, I would have sworn the course was designed by RD!

This 1 km of course was the 1km downhill start for the guys doing the 70km course where because of the danger, no overtaking was allowed till the bottom.



For those who are interested, my cycling buddy and I were playing cat and mouse throughout the ride; sometimes he was ahead of me and sometimes vice-versa. Sometimes I won a climb, sometimes he pipped me. But in the end he actually finished a few minutes in front of me - young legs RD on the last climb. But revenge shall be mine next year, unless of course he latches on to power training.



On our way home, people were still snaking up the above - riding walking, crawling - people who really shouldn't have been doing 160km.

In fact for the next 10km there were guys still struggling along with the above mentioned climb to go. Heehe! Gives sarcastic laugh.


One final note for all those who talk about good definition cycling legs, good muscular calves, 5,000 dollar bikes etc. I burned up no end of them.

So cycling isn't about looking good, it's about DOING good.



That is, POWER, POWER and more POWER!

I'm starving - give me more POWER, I have to have more POWER!

PS. Temperatures reached 30C (86F) degrees in places

Be sure to give plenty of details when you get it so I can live my Powertap life through you.:) BTW what type of trainer did you get and where did you get the PT?

Well, started to ramp things up a bit today in the gym in readiness for the new arrival.

No my wife's not expecting - I am.;)

I don't know when the new trainer and Powertap are going to arrive but,
as I said in earlier posts:-

The greenhouse is so hot
That I can't train a lot.
Should my trainer arrive
I shall be ready to jive.http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d150/tinkletinkle_/dancyboy1.gif

With the window wide ajar
and the best fan by far.
My FTP shall rise and rise
If it doesn't it will be a bloody great surprise! :rolleyes:

Today did a kind of L3 ride from 170W - 250W at a ferocious cadence for 1 hour 20 mins. And threw in a couple of 2x270Watts for luck. Tyson

Be sure to give plenty of details when you get it so I can live my Powertap life through you.:) BTW what type of trainer did you get and where did you get the PT?
Sad to relate, I haven't got either yet. Am still waiting to see what Saris has to say about the SL2.4 before taking the plunge. And at this very moment in time, I'm still torn between 2 trainers. Hopefully shall make a firm descision soon.
Once I have confirmation that the SL2.4 is reasonably reliable, I shall place an order for both.

As for details, the word is mum until I get used to it and have some figures worth posting. Except maybe the 5 second figure.

Don't usually go out on the bike during the week, but feeling inspired I'm off on a 70Km ride in an hour or so. Temp = 5C brrr! Spring is around the corner!;)

Tyson

Hey RDO,

Any progress on "THE DOCUMENT?"Ah yes, the fabled document. It must be this one you mean.



14/11/2006

Good idea. The document I am working on for this thread will have the most often referenced terms and acronyms. I'll extract the acronyms part and post it (for additions/amendments) and then send it...

Or maybe it was this one.



6/12/2006

Thanks for reminding me that I need to finish the document and post it. I have been distracted the last few days launching a new cycling club, but I think the flurry of activity will subside after...

Or maybe it was this one.

On second thoughts, no, I can't handle anymore.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d150/tinkletinkle_/laffmouse4nd1.gif

I am noticing my heart rate is about 159bpm during the last 5 minutes of riding the trainer for 20 minutes at 91%FTP. But if I don't eat anything for 3 hours before training during the last 5 minutes of the same 20 minute interval my heart rate is more like 148bpm. Has any one training with power and heart rate noticed something similar?

Went out to do 70Km yesterday but ended up doing 89Km (55miles) I won't say it was cold up in the mountains, but I had to obey the call of nature 5 times and just got home in time bursting for No.6. Very pleased to have done this mileage early in the year with no undue stress. Can't wait to get on the trainer. Have definitely decided on the Kurt Kinetic and Powertap SL2.4. ;) Tyson

:cool: Road machine KK or Pro KK?

Went out to do 70Km yesterday but ended up doing 89Km (55miles) I won't say it was cold up in the mountains, but I had to obey the call of nature 5 times and just got home in time bursting for No.6. Very pleased to have done this mileage early in the year with no undue stress. Can't wait to get on the trainer. Have definitely decided on the Kurt Kinetic and Powertap SL2.4. ;) Tyson

Have definitely decided on Powertap SL2.4.


Did you receive any info to suggest that it was reliable to take the plunge ... I'm still sitting on the fence, but if you have success...

:cool: Road machine KK or Pro KK?
The Pro definitely, for the heavier flywheel.

Thom wrote:


Did you receive any info to suggest that it was reliable to take the plunge ... I'm still sitting on the fence, but if you have success...

LOL. It's getting a bit crowded on this fence. But to answer your question; I haven't received any info as yet, but shall post any info I get here. However, assuming the answer is going to be positive, I've decided to take the plunge anyway. Tyson

Good choice it allows experimentation just don't misplace that extra flywheel.:) I got the RM so I can't experiment with the heavy wheel.:(
BTW my KK computer ate another battery so I will have 1up send me another one after all. I'm sure glad I moved my other computer to the rear wheel it is quicker at calculating max speed when sprinting I've noticed I just did 36mph at the end of a 3x20 with alot of squealing and slipping though I'll have to tighten it down at 115psi and then pump it up to 130psi next time to be a little more accurate for sprints.



The Pro definitely, for the heavier flywheel.

Thom wrote:


LOL. It's getting a bit crowded on this fence. But to answer your question; I haven't received any info as yet, but shall post any info I get here. However, assuming the answer is going to be positive, I've decided to take the plunge anyway. Tyson

WoooooooHooooo, I did my first maximal effort!! I did a max 60 minute effort to determine my FTP after 3 weeks of training on a Cycleops Pro 300PT

This morning I weighted 69.1kg. My goal was 265 watt for one hour.

The first 16 minutes I did it @ 266 watt very easy. The next 38 minutes I did it @ 276 watt and motivation was growing!! The last 6 minutes I was going faster and faster :D. The last 6 minutes I did it at 300 watt :D:D

My real FTP is now 276 watts! Exactly 4 watt / kilogram!

:D

That's awsome I can't imagine doing 266 and going up from there I can't even imagine the family leaving me alone long enough to do a full hour. The last 20 minute TT I did on the trainer my wife was trying to communicate with me and it was driving me nuts because I couldn't talk. It was like "Leave"....breath breath breath breath......"me".....breath breath breath breath breath...."alone".:) You're lighter and stronger than me I will have to redouble my efforts.:D

WoooooooHooooo, I did my first maximal effort!! I did a max 60 minute effort to determine my FTP after 3 weeks of training on a Cycleops Pro 300PT

This morning I weighted 69.1kg. My goal was 265 watt for one hour.

The first 16 minutes I did it @ 266 watt very easy. The next 38 minutes I did it @ 276 watt and motivation was growing!! The last 6 minutes I was going faster and faster :D. The last 6 minutes I did it at 300 watt :D:D

My real FTP is now 276 watts! Exactly 4 watt / kilogram!

:D

I am lucky. My girlfriend won't disturb me because I have the radio very loud with music she dislikes.

With todays test I set all my records because it was my first full effort. In this post I will try to include pictures of my WKO+.

My wife makes me use my headphones and I oblige I wouldn't want to cross her she's Sicilian.:) 276w FTP is where I'd like to be in May I haven't checked it in a while but my sprint has gotten better anyway back in October I had a feeble 639w sprint:o and today I cranked 1050w:cool: with no squelling or slipping of the wheel at 35.3mph on the KK. I can't figure out where that came from I have been focusing on L4 so much.:confused:

I am lucky. My girlfriend won't disturb me because I have the radio very loud with music she dislikes.

With todays test I set all my records because it was my first full effort. In this post I will try to include pictures of my WKO+.

Hey Tyson..don't know if you still remember me. But its funny how I jumped to your thread after visiting the site almost a year later.

Have you joined the 300W FTP club yet? Hows RD?
Did you kick that guys ass(one of the reasons you were training for :) almost a year back).

I'll try to catch up with the thread but it'l probably take me a while and I cant get myself to read so much and am dying to get off the couch!

I'll try to catch up with the thread Netscriber! How is your back? Did things improve with your backpain so that you could ride regularly later in the season last year? Offseason? How about this spring?

Netscriber! How is your back? Did things improve with your backpain so that you could ride regularly later in the season last year? Offseason? How about this spring?
Hey you remember!! Im honored. Yes my back got well and I have to actively manage it now. Core workouts have become a staple in my workout regimen. I haven't had the opportunity to ride that much the entire time :o and I can produce several "excuses" why not :D

However, I miss cycling and I feel confident enough to get back on my bike and am dying to do so. I will probably start this weekend given the hectic schedule I am in right now.