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LSD Rocks !

SteveT

Maximum Pace
Nov 11, 2007
241
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After a weekend spent in the office I was desperately missing my weekly ride so I decided to forgo work today and head to Yamanakako. Having read about the benefits of Long Slow Distance I set up my Garmin to show only my heart rate, and I tried to keep it under 155. Didn't bother looking at speed / elevation / etc at all. I actually managed quite well apart from the some of the steeper climbs, and I'll admit it was a joy to slow down and take it easy. But not only that - there were a few other benefits I noticed:

- When I got to Yamanakako I found I still had plenty of energy to enjoy the ride back. With the various little diversions I allowed myself I ended up with 220km on the clock and almost 2500m of climbing. Yet when I arrived home I felt pretty good. Instead of collapsing on the sofa and barely managing to order a Dominos pizza like I usually do, I could go out and enjoy a curry and a beer !

- During the ride I didn't need to eat anything like the quantity I usually do. Yet I didn't come close to "bonking" once.

- Because I didn't sweat so much I didn't go through the typical cycles of too hot (up) or too cold (down). I was comfortably cosy the whole way.

This is a revelation ! I wish I'd found out about this LSD thing earlier. And I to be honest, all in, I don't think it really took me any longer than it would normally (though maybe this would be different for a shorter distance). Anyway, now I'm going to sit back and let the fat burn off...:)

As an aside, although the roads were mainly free of ice, there was a lot of what looked like white "salt smears" on the road. They were pretty slippery - a motorcyclist slammed straight over 5 metres in front of me, him and his bike scraping across the road. Lucky there was no traffic coming, and apart from torn clothes (and knackered bike) he was fine.
So, be careful !

-- Steve
 
This is the first compeeling argument I've heard for buying a heart rate monitor. Though I suspect that since I often feel happy to keep going indefinitely (as long as it's interesting) I'm already at that slow pace:eek:

What route did you take to Yamanakako? Which roads were nice and clear waiting? :D
 
Road were clear the whole way, apart from the strange slippery salt smears (not a bad name for a band, eh :)). I may have been imagining it but I thought I could feel my back wheel slide out a little time to time.

Here's my garmin trace of the route:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/66161085

Bing maps are crap, so basically my route was this: Asagaya to someplace past Haijima (Itsukaichi Kaido) where I turned towards Takao. From Takao, rather than Rt 20 and Odarumi, I thought I'd "go round the back" for a change but got horribly lost. Eventually I joined the Doshi michi (Rt 413) and stayed on it all the way to Yamanakako. Enjoyed it so much I came back on it as well ! Except on the return I turned left on to Rt 76 which took me to Fujino - this is a nice little road, highly recommended. Then the usual Rt 20 back to Takao and so on back home.

Uploaded a couple pictures of Fuji-san / Yamanakako on the gallery - it really was a glorious day, and all the better for not being in pain most of it !

-- Steve
 
Impressive that you remained in z2 pretty much all the way out to haijima. When we did that a couple of weeks ago, I was mostly borderline between z2/3 with quite a few peaks into z3, though we were a bit quicker (probably 3kmph).

I'm not sure if this means anything. Probably you're getting fitter, or 3kmph makes a big difference, or the zones are not comparable, or I'm just turning into a total geek.
 
Pete, thanks for the tip. I uploaded the TCX file into ridewithgps, and it makes a very attractive - and readable - interface. Just a shame about all my other past garmin tracked rides. Anyway, here it is:
http://ridewithgps.com/trips/167929

Lee - I think 3kph does make a significant difference. But more than that, you worry me with your virtual cycle fitness stalking. You really ought to get out more... :D

-- Steve
 
When I first started cycling, i used to commute 25km to work (on my old steel bike) I'd usually get 1hr05 time in movement pretty much every day (stop lights, old people with yappy dogs on river paths, blind corners and such slowed me down). On days when I pushed as hard as I could between stops, I could just barely break an hour but it felt like twice as much effort. So I believe 3kph could make a large difference in how you feel.

(I'm faster now... But still not confident dodging pedestrians at high speed on river paths or all that interested in sprinting between stop lights to raise my average:angel:)
 
resting while riding

Steve:
Sounds like you are all ready for the upcoming Brevet -- mastering the art of covering a lot of ground with minimal effort. I just hope I can keep up with your LSD pace. Rte 76 can be beautiful in all seasons. Doshi traffic is sometimes a bit much, but maybe not in the dead of winter?
Best, David
 
ridewithgps

Agree with others about Bing maps. Ride with GPS looks very nice. I'll give it a try.
 
Just to give you an idea of the power of LSD riding especailly in Stage Races.


Stage 1 of the Tour of Cameroon.

Distance: 156.50 km
Elevation Gain: 1,479 m
Avg Speed: 36.8 km/h
Max Speed: 75.6 km/h
Avg HR: 154 bpm (zone 3)
Max HR: 180 bpm

Stage 2

Distance: 145.58 km
Elevation Gain: 1,485 m
Avg Speed: 33.6 km/h
Max Speed: 80.1 km/h
Avg HR: 139 bpm (zone 2)
Max HR: 181 bpm

*Peloton decided not to chase the break away due to it containing a rider from most of the teams and finished last 60km at recreational speeds

Stage 3

Distance 167km
Elevation Gain: 2,027 m
Avg Speed: 36.3 km/h
Average HR 99bpm (zone 1)
Max HR: 153 bpm

*Suffering from fever 39.9c

Right now on average Im cruising at around 35 - 38 km/h while in zone 1 and pushing around 250 - 280w.
 
Steve:
Sounds like you are all ready for the upcoming Brevet -- mastering the art of covering a lot of ground with minimal effort. I just hope I can keep up with your LSD pace. Rte 76 can be beautiful in all seasons. Doshi traffic is sometimes a bit much, but maybe not in the dead of winter?
Best, David

Brevet ?! Hey, I'm trying to get in shape for Tokyo-Itoigawa !
Maybe it was because it was a weekday, but it was a lovely quiet road. And with the trees bare of leaves, some great views which probably wouldn't be apparent any other time.


Right now on average Im cruising at around 35 - 38 km/h while in zone 1 and pushing around 250 - 280w.

Ermmmm... bloody show-off !:D

-- Steve
 
By 6 years of age, I was playing with my Dad's C64. Managed to type in a couple of lines of BASIC. Didn't get it, but it felt good.

By 11, I had programmed my own version of Workbench for the Amiga, which made the front end a lot more appealing, and included a load more libs for functionality.

By 15 I was well versed in the Roland x0x range, as well as the Home Counties Rave scene. LSD and Ecstacy became a weekly staple. Going home in my Dad's car and listening to Klaus Schulze on his Sennheiser headphones on Vinyl whilst looking into the star field laid out in front of me on the edges of a brutal microdot-gold told me a lot of things. I fell in love deepy with those stary nights. You have never seen such blackness.

Working in the late 90's with guys like Stay Up Forever, and the Liberator guys taught me a lot about synthesis and Kick Drum synthesis. Then with the turn of the millennium, Techno / Glitch / Trance / Isratrance (yes, I worked in Israel for a bit), taught me a lot too.

Erm, hang on.

Sorry, was I speaking to you just then. Sorry.

Thought you were over there...

Riding across long bridges is still a problem for me, as I start hallucinating due to the peripheral vision shuttering action of the bars in the fence...

Nice though, as I always sink into a beautiful Blue Room...

Anyway, yeah...

LSD rocks.
 
AGREED

:happy1:

I've never looked at space, time, reality, personal interactions the same and it shaped who I am and how I think. Kinda fell down the rabbit hole a long time ago and very happy for it as well.

-Chuck
 
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