Home Chat General Chat

Cyling

First of all, I'd like to wish you all a Happy New Year and wish everyone the best in whatever they strive to achieve in the year ahead.
My goal is to do my 1st ever triathlon and maybe a couple of other 'endurance' events to challenge myself.

Anyway, I train alone most of the time and after a 2 month injury lay off due to a slipped disc I decided to get on my bike and cycle 45km. It was quite a windy day and the route is relatively hilly so I was surprised when I managed to do it in 1 hr 45 minutes. As I have no-one to ask or refer to, I was wondering if anyone thought that this is a decent time?

Thanks

Comments

  • gavinpgavinp Posts: 168
    Hi bgreer

    Congrats on getting back out there after a layoff, and Happy New Year!

    Your averaging around 15mph or just under 26kmph there, so not bad for your first time out in a while.

    What distance races are you planning this year?
  • Hey bgreer,

    Speaking as a relative novice and an average one at that, I think you should be pretty pleased with your time as a starting point. I tend to work on the basis of a 30kph average for training runs and then start adding in the reasons why I may or may not have achieved that, wind, rain, traffic, etc.etc. I generally get around 29ish on fairly 'undulating' routes. Interestingly I seem to average the same irrespective of distance so it may be worth looking at how far you cycle to see if there are variances. Good luck with it all.
  • ZacniciZacnici Posts: 1,385
    Concur sounds a good start so pat on back there.

    What is a good idea is to start logging rides on something like Mapmyride or Strava and then you can compare your metrics over time. Even better is to search on those sites for a ride that has been ridden or has segments or sections that are close to you, that will give you an even better measure of how you are doing not only in comparing your own data but also with others,
    Ideally a GPS would be great as they are geared to downloading data. Having said that if you have an Android or iPhone then have a look here http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/article/b ... ing-35227/

    You can buy add ons HRM chest strap etc but for not much more really you could get say a Garmin Forerunner 305 with a cadence sensor for about £140 http://www.handtec.co.uk/satnav-gps/run ... l?___SID=U I have one and will give sterling service from Sprint to Iron distance and have even used it in an Ultramarathon.

    But grab the free apps first of all and that will give a great start.

    Hope that helps

    Once you have started using data for training the next step is to use it for racing

    What I have also found useful is that I mount my Garmin in a home made 'scoop' in front of my drink bottle between my aerobars (secured with elastic bands for a quick grab and run in T2 http://www.kingsad.eu/image/25231803867 and http://forum.bcttt.com/download/file.ph ... &mode=view ) for feedback on cadence, HR and speed. You think you are giving it full hammer but by observing this data you can see you have actually slacked off a bit; unless you are very experienced there is no perceived difference between say 70 rpm and 67 rpm but on a 50/11 that is a 2kph shortfall. The same goes when running, very useful to have that feedback.
  • bgreerbgreer Posts: 10
    Thanks very much for the replies and advice.
    I am new to road cycling having just bought my bike at the end of August. The longest I had went was 24 km in an hour just before my injury so I was quite pleased to have went 45 km in 1:45, although there were far less traffic lights in the longer run!
    My wife bought me a Polar HRM for Xmas and we have a turbo trainer with cycle computer that I set up last night so I'm hoping to push on from here and improve my time.I also plan to get out with a cycling club for a longer run and see how I fare....

    Happy New Year all
Sign In or Register to comment.