April was bad month for me - only 750kms, over 500 less than March and start of new month is terrible with very heavy rain. 
Today Today - May 2014
- Thread starter Chris Williams
- Start date
The boundary between "cycle" and "moped" is blurred (and a topic of debate in the law I think).
I did my first pre-work ride ever....even though it was only 1.5 hours...and then proceeded to chow down on enough conbi bento and fried chicken to have a 200 calorie surplus. Woops.
It is yet to be seen if I can keep this habit up, but once I do something everyday for a week or so, I can keep it going fairly easily as long as nothing gets in the way.
It is yet to be seen if I can keep this habit up, but once I do something everyday for a week or so, I can keep it going fairly easily as long as nothing gets in the way.
I thought "upgrade" was the only word in the english dictionary that you didn't understand. Obviously not. I think we'll all have to have a whip round on the ride tomorrow to raise enough money to get you a new BB
I rode to Ogose and back yesterday and had a great time. It was warm but not too hot, a glorious spring day.
Shintaro wanted to try out his new bike with Ultegra Di2, so I cycled from Setagaya to the Arakawa and to Sakado (Saitama). From there we cycled to Ogose together.
We climbed to the Green Line following Pete's (@Yamabushi) excellent route (see ride here) up to the 72.5 km / 650m point, then headed back again the way we came.
I used to live near there, but most of the roads on the route beyond Sakado were new to me and it was beautiful. Quiet back roads, great scenery.
Though there were some eyesores too:
The total came to 185 km for me, which made it the 4th week in a row with a ride over 160 km. May became my 21st month in a row with a long ride.
I won't be able to ride next weekend because I'll be away on a business trip. Two days after I get back I'll have my first 400 km brevet.
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Yesterday I went camping with the fam out at motosko near Fuji. Didn't take the bike but took my running shoes. I decided to go for an afternoon jog. about 2km in I see some stairs going up the side of the mountain. Hmmm I'll give this a go I thought, and started bolting up the hill. After about 200m (vertical height) up my lungs are about to explode, my calves feel like they are on fire. I decide that is enough and turn around and run back down. I continue on for my longest run since I started running a few weeks back of 7.3km.
Of course today I wake up and cannot walk, but where I was expecting pain there is almost none, in my calves, but where I am in discomfort is my quads. WTF???? I cycle 250-300km a week. I run up a little hill and now my legs are pretending they have never done a minute exercise before in their lives. It is amazing to me just how specific cycling is. I can't help but think that If I trained on hills like that regularly (running) it would make me a substantially stronger cyclist???
Thoughts????
Of course today I wake up and cannot walk, but where I was expecting pain there is almost none, in my calves, but where I am in discomfort is my quads. WTF???? I cycle 250-300km a week. I run up a little hill and now my legs are pretending they have never done a minute exercise before in their lives. It is amazing to me just how specific cycling is. I can't help but think that If I trained on hills like that regularly (running) it would make me a substantially stronger cyclist???
Thoughts????
http://www.menshealth.co.uk/fitness/cardio-exercise/cycling-vs-running-101487
http://cyclingtips.com.au/2009/01/running-to-supplement-your-cycling-training/
Cycling wins ... but i do run/jog every once in a while
That's roughly a 12% incline.
I'd be pretty tired if I cycled up a 12% incline for almost 2km.
@theBlob That sounds pretty normal to me. I've been running for 12 years and even now 15-20km will leave me pretty sore the next day. On the other hand, I've been cycling for only 2 years but will feel fine the day after a 150-200km ride (like yesterday's). Unfortunately the two activities seem to require different muscle groups. @leicaman will probably be able to provide a better insight into this than I can, though.
On the plus side, I think running certainly helps with aerobic capacity. I'd have found cycling much tougher to begin with if I hadn't been running first.
On the plus side, I think running certainly helps with aerobic capacity. I'd have found cycling much tougher to begin with if I hadn't been running first.
In my case it's the running downhill that is the quads buster, uphills for hamstrings. Will the running make you a stronger cyclist? Yes, but a more effective use of your time would be weight training to build quad strength or more cycling. Train at what you want to be good at, running will make you a stronger runner before it will make you a stronger cyclist. Choose what you want to be best at and do that.
Down in the Loire Valley for a week. Being a good father and running around visiting this and that. In the evening before food able to get out for a ride; These are Troglo caves in the valley walls......... They used to be houses now shops. Lots around the area.
@theBlob you are an amazing piece of kit, having evolved over many hundreds of thousands of years. Your legs are a very intricate mix of lots of different muscles, tendons, cartilage and ligaments. They all do slightly different things. Doing different movements works them in different ways (when I say "you", I mean humans....don't worry, I wasn't trying to chat you up ).
I find that when I run, I use different muscles to cycling. When running I generally get tight calves before quads however it was quite the opposite when I did a long run last Wednesday. The day after, my quads and hips were causing me a little discomfort. I would say the pain in the quads last week was a little higher up the leg than I usually get when cycling. When cycling, the pain tends to be a little lower down towards the knees (I say pain, but it's not really pain. It doesn't hurt unless I massage the area).
With regards to it making you a stronger cyclist, yes I think it would. Would it make you a stronger cyclist than if you climbed 3000m on the bike everyday, no. Running is one of the best known exercises for cardio work. I find that coming from the winter season, where I have been running 100-130km per week, to the biking season, my cardiovascular and respiratory system are great , but my legs burn. They burn because they are not used to the concentric and eccentric muscle contractions that cycling creates. They burn because different muscle groups are being used in a different way.
It always surprises me how much the human legs shake and wobble when watching someone running in slow motion. The stress put on our legs when running is huge.
There is an old saying about there only being two types of runners,
1) Injured runners
2) Runners recovering from an injury
Always take running very easy when getting in to it. Don't go like a bat out of hell, and try to avoid hills if possible. So many beginner runners get injured because they run too far, too fast. The muscular skeletal system takes far longer to respond to running than the cardiovascular system which creates lots of injuries.
If I were you, I would mix a bit of running into your routine. Don't go crazy at first. A few KM, then slowly build up. It will improve your cycling and give your cycling legs a slight rest.
).I find that when I run, I use different muscles to cycling. When running I generally get tight calves before quads however it was quite the opposite when I did a long run last Wednesday. The day after, my quads and hips were causing me a little discomfort. I would say the pain in the quads last week was a little higher up the leg than I usually get when cycling. When cycling, the pain tends to be a little lower down towards the knees (I say pain, but it's not really pain. It doesn't hurt unless I massage the area).
With regards to it making you a stronger cyclist, yes I think it would. Would it make you a stronger cyclist than if you climbed 3000m on the bike everyday, no. Running is one of the best known exercises for cardio work. I find that coming from the winter season, where I have been running 100-130km per week, to the biking season, my cardiovascular and respiratory system are great , but my legs burn. They burn because they are not used to the concentric and eccentric muscle contractions that cycling creates. They burn because different muscle groups are being used in a different way.
It always surprises me how much the human legs shake and wobble when watching someone running in slow motion. The stress put on our legs when running is huge.
There is an old saying about there only being two types of runners,
1) Injured runners
2) Runners recovering from an injury
Always take running very easy when getting in to it. Don't go like a bat out of hell, and try to avoid hills if possible. So many beginner runners get injured because they run too far, too fast. The muscular skeletal system takes far longer to respond to running than the cardiovascular system which creates lots of injuries.
If I were you, I would mix a bit of running into your routine. Don't go crazy at first. A few KM, then slowly build up. It will improve your cycling and give your cycling legs a slight rest.
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Thanks for the advice, I've been doing just that, building up slowly over the last few weeks. Clearly I was not ready for the effort required to run up and down that hill. I can still hardly walk today. ie both hands on the rails to go down the stairs. going up is ok though. and managed a gentle 65km on the bike this morning... Feck it I had plans for some epic tomorrow... had to postpone....oh well. Anyway it isn't joints just muscular so I'll be right in a few days...
Does anyone know Chuck's (@ProRaceMechanic ) email? I've been trying to get a hold of him regarding a fit and he doesn't seem to be on the boards very often as of late. Cheers.
