Official Road Cycling Thread

[M_Six]

24 today for 155 on the week. I could have gone longer today, but the gnats were really bad. My arms were covered and when I stopped, I could feel them crawling across my face.

[erickonphoenix]

Started our ride today at 07:00 am. 80˚F with a light ~5mph SE wind.
Target was 30 miles and we wanted to keep our pace up around 15 mph average. Pace was strong on the Market trail but on the Bayou trail walkers and joggers slowed us down a bit. Felt good and the little aluminum State is keeping up with my partners carbon Giant really well.

[M_Six]

35 miles today for my only outside ride this week. The remnants of the hurricane are going to park over TN and soak us for the next 3 days, so riding tomorrow or over the weekend is not looking good.

[chassis]

Hoping for 40 miles on Saturday. Also hoping Helene doesn’t enter the picture!

[chassis]

Probably change of plans. 30 miles today because Helene will likely rain on the parade tomorrow! I don’t have time to get the extra 10 miles in today but it’s better than zero miles tomorrow!

[erickonphoenix]

34 miles today solo. 85˚F and sunny but a 10 mph NW head wind made that trek up the Bayou Greenway tail a pill going up but a sprint on the way back. Even with the headwinds still nearly made 14 mph average.

[chassis]

30 miles, great ride.

Outermost bands of Helene showed up, thankfully no rain. Headwind (pre-Helene) going out, and headwind (Helene) coming back!

Average trail traffic, nice temp in the low-mid 70s.

[M_Six]

Been raining for about 18 hours here, so I was stuck inside on the trainer. Got 24 miles in.

[erickonphoenix]

Originally Posted by M_Six

Been raining for about 18 hours here, so I was stuck inside on the trainer. Got 24 miles in.

Good man. I hate the trainer so rarely do more than 10 miles on it.

[M5Rick]

When I have time to go for a ride the heavens open up on the older steel framed one with mud plugger tires. The alloy framed Carrera is in our other place but tomorrow morning looks dry until after noon.

[M_Six]

Originally Posted by erickonphoenix

Good man. I hate the trainer so rarely do more than 10 miles on it.

I can only do an hour or so at most on it. I just get too sore. I use Fulgaz running on an Apple TV 4K hooked to a 42" 4K TV right in front of me. So it's not bad. It's just that on a trainer, you tend to stay in the same position for a long time and that leads to soreness.

I know a cyclist who regularly does 100 mile rides, even on a trainer. I'd need a week in a recovery room if I spent 6 hours on a trainer.

[M_Six]

30 miles today. Aside from a strong NW wind, the weather was great. Loads of gnats, though. My arms were covered with them.

[M_Six]

21 miles today in the hills south of my home. The difference between riding in the hills and riding the flat trail is big. That seems obvious, but it still amazes me that I can work that much harder and not feel like it was a burden. In a lot of ways it's more enjoyable.

[chassis]

Any insights on low ankle soreness? I have some soreness on the lateral distal position of the subtalar joint .

Seems like overuse and poor foot-pedal position. 50% of the time I push with the ball of the foot, the other 50% of the time I use the arch/center of the foot. Ball of foot is proper pedaling form, correct?

What are the difference in symptoms between overuse, sprain and stress fracture?

[chassis]

A cyclist coworker gave me some saddle adjustment and pedal form tips.

I raised my seatpost higher so that the knee is slightly broken when the pedal is at the bottom, while sitting on the saddle.

Pedal with the ball of the foot. I pedal with the arch of the foot ~50% of the time.

The saddle was adjusted as far rearward as possible, and I still need ~15mm more rearward adjustment so that the knee is over the pedal with the pedal in the forward position. For me this requires either a new saddle or angled seat post. I will look into this next season.

Hoping this helps with the ankle soreness and hoping for 40 miles tomorrow!

[erickonphoenix]

Our first ride in cooling weather, Mid 70s start out this morning with 5 mph NW winds so we had an easy time getting 52 miles in. Marfa 100 is in two weeks.

[M_Six]

25 today. Stiff breeze out of the SSW, but the trail is fairly well protected on the south side, so it wasn't much of a factor.

[chassis]

40 miles, great ride. 69 deg at the start, 63 deg at the finish. Clear blue sky all day. Leaves are ~30% into color change, really nice time of year. Light-moderate trail traffic.

I adjusted my saddle height and pedal form and the subtalar joint feels OK so far. We shall see how it feels in the morning!

November I will probably start back in the pool and gym, looking forward to it. It has been a good riding season but ready for a change.

[M_Six]

34 today for 151 on the week. Nasty headwind today, but since I was doing back and forth laps, half the distance was tailwind heaven.

[chassis]

Subtalar joint feeling ok today after 40 miles on Saturday. Seat position and pedal form adjustments seem to have worked!

[M_Six]

Originally Posted by chassis

Subtalar joint feeling ok today after 40 miles on Saturday. Seat position and pedal form adjustments seem to have worked!

A good bike fitting is crucial if you're going to spend hours in the saddle. So many times I see people struggling along because their seat is way too low. It wreaks havoc on your knees. Your pedaling cadence is also critical. If you're pedaling less than 70rpm, you're taxing your knees. Ideally, your cadence should be around 80rpm and as constant as possible. Higher cadence can be hard to get used to, but it's worth it once you get the hang of it. Of course you also need the gearing required to allow for higher cadence. Here's my cadence from today's 34 mile ride. The dips in the cadence are mostly gear shift changes and road crossings.

[chassis]

Agreed, seat too low is uncomfortable, to say the least.

Does the cadence data come from a power meter?