On the road

On Mon, 27 Sep 2004 08:53:59 -0400, "Roger Zoul"
wrote:

Seems like all of your riding is training. That ought to serve you well
down the road...once you get on the road more often. Me, when I get out
there I mix it up....high/low cadence, climbing, racing folks on the flats
(this is passive racing, where you just do it by yourself, unless someone
figures out you're racing them and decides to play along -- that happened to
be on Saturday with some lady who thought she could smoke me! ), power
pedaling

It's mostly terrain-based, by I do try and mix it, but when I do the
hill course, consisting of 25 climbs at 1 to 3 tenths of a mile each,
there's little place to spin up so my overall cadence drops. I no
longer have a long flat course. That was the bike trail and I just
don't ride there anymore.

Now I'm at the beach at my brother's house and it's all flats and
false flats and we just cook it for 90 minutes racing each other with
a few cool downs of 30 seconds turning around in the housing
developments and soforth. It's in no way 'boring'. We have a blast.

But since he's three hours away by car, I only get there every month
or every other month for a week or so. Today my pedalling in the flats
was back to it's normal 108 cadence, and 18-19mph. Yay!! g

That must have been a rush doing the power pedalling.

Take 'er easy!

-B

On Sun, 26 Sep 2004 21:58:18 +0200, Jacques Moser
wrote:

Bill Baka wrote:

I sometimes get off and walk as an option, especially after 40 miles
or so of mountains already behind me. I just stop walking at the top,
enjoy the view, have a drink, and let my sore butt get some blood
circulating again. The sit down part is the reason for getting off
the bike, not the too tired to pedal part.
Bill Baka, wearing Levis as usual.



Perhaps the sore butt is not totally unrelated to wearing Levi's. It
took me 20 years to understand this (I gladly admit it so you understand
that I am not another Fabrizio), but now I wear Levi's only for rides
shorter than an hour.

Jacques

The thing about my riding is that it is random in nature and I never know
where I will wind up. Sometimes I start out thinking short ride and do a
long one, and sometimes I wind up hiking in the mountains and dragging
the bike along with me since that is how I got there.
I used to do a 6 mile training loop but that got so boring I gave it up.
Even the dogs knew I would stop and pet them if they came out without
barking.
Change is good.
Bill Baka


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On Sun, 26 Sep 2004 22:33:26 GMT, the black rose
wrote:

Roger Zoul wrote:
Badger_South wrote:
||
|| Still, gym squad ability doesn't transfer linearly over to biking up
|| a half-mile 10% grade hill. Some of my hills have got to be over 15%
|| or more in short sections of about 100 yds, but the longest hill I
|| currently ride
|| is only 2-3 tenths of a mile. I need another few months of riding to
|| get to where you are, I think.

How do you guess grade? I don't have much of a feel for that. I really am
not good at estimating the vertical height of a hill so I don't see a good
way to estimate grade.

I can't guess them either. Hills to me are "mild" or "not too steep" or
"steep" or "OH MY GAWD!" ;-)

-km

Haha, true. Though I was watching a bike race yesterday and the
announcer said 'Here they are entering the 20% gradient section of the
climb and I exclaimed, 'Hey, Rives st is steeper than that - uh for
about 100 yds!'

Actually it's not the gradient up to a point, it's the length, 'cept
for those OMG hills. g

But that's OK, over time, oddly, the steep hills become, 'oh, that's
not so hard' if you keep hammering. It's those 15" of climbing hills
that can be daunting to the beginner grimace.
-B

"Badger_South" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 26 Sep 2004 12:40:42 GMT, "Peter Cole"
wrote:

Of all the physical athletic endeavors, yes, cycling is the least
dependent
on age. But after 50 and certainly around age 60 for most ppl, the
signs
of
age become all too apparent.

Well, man, here's *your* problem. If you want to believe this BS, fine,
just don't try selling it to me.

I re-thought your comments and it occurred to me that you might be
talking about 'age discrimination' in all it's various and subtle
forms.

So on that basis, I apologize.

One of my friends on another forum talks about his 'mandatory'
retirement from his sport b/c various body systems are failing him. I
tell him, 'hey, I plan to be riding in group century rides well into
my 60s!'. He scoffs, citing reflex slowing, eyesight, body repair and
recovery. I disagree and cite various sources and mention the
venerable bikers who regularly smoke youngsters.

*Maximum* performance of some kinds does deteriorate with age, but that
kind of loss starts much earlier than 50. That's why you won't find people
beyond 40 setting world records. What many age-ists don't recognize is that
nearly all non-elite athletes are far enough from their absolute potential
that they often can continue improving as they age, at least well into
their 50's. Many of my friends are serious competitive cyclists and are
still getting faster at that age. Eventually that will reach its limits,
but who knows when?

Reflexes do slow, the actual neurological transmission speeds, but those
are only part of the equation. I find that mountain biking keeps my
reflexes, bike handling and coordination sharp. I also like "fast-twitch"
video games. I don't know about eyesight. Presbyopia is real, but that
affects close vision -- hardly an issue for cycling. The lens of the eye
does start to transmit less, but that is mostly a low light problem until
it gets bad, and lens replacement surgery is way ahead these days. As for
"body repair", I'm not sure exactly what your "friend" is saying. Broken
bones seem to have nearly the same time to knit, and those shouldn't be
common injuries. Strains/sprains? Perhaps, but I remember being shocked as
a 20-something when my badly sprained ankle took weeks to heal, not the
days which I knew as an adolescent -- didn't make me give up tennis,
though. I know 3 guys with hip/knee replacements, it hasn't slowed them a
bit.

Riding centuries "well into my 60's" is a pretty tame goal. I expect by the
time I get there, that will be almost the average age of the participants.
I know lots of people of that age who find a century just a warm-up, and
they're not the real "extreme" types. My goal is to do the
Boston-Montreal-Boston (1200km/750 mi) ultra event as a 80 year old. I
think the current oldest rider is 75 or so. Give the pace of my over-60
friends though, I doubt that if I made it I'd be anywhere near the first.
Aim high -- what's the worst thing that can happen if you miss?

Riding centuries "well into my 60's" is a pretty tame goal. I expect by the
time I get there, that will be almost the average age of the participants.
I know lots of people of that age who find a century just a warm-up, and
they're not the real "extreme" types. My goal is to do the
Boston-Montreal-Boston (1200km/750 mi) ultra event as a 80 year old. I
think the current oldest rider is 75 or so. Give the pace of my over-60
friends though, I doubt that if I made it I'd be anywhere near the first.
Aim high -- what's the worst thing that can happen if you miss?


Well I'm 60 and must say that this past Sunday I sucked the wheel of a
75 yo friend for several miles of a 65 mile training ride. This was at
23 mph on the flats.
He tells me he can't climb like he used to. I tell him I can't climb
like HE used to either :-)

I agree with the idea that except for eolite athletes we are all so
far away from our biological potential that we can enjoy and even
improve for a long time.

Bill Baka wrote:


The thing about my riding is that it is random in nature and I never know
where I will wind up. Sometimes I start out thinking short ride and do a
long one, and sometimes I wind up hiking in the mountains and dragging
the bike along with me since that is how I got there.
I used to do a 6 mile training loop but that got so boring I gave it up.
Even the dogs knew I would stop and pet them if they came out without
barking.
Change is good.
Bill Baka



In the meantime I've read your other thread about what/who is a Fred, so
I understand better why you stick to this sort of clothes. Still, it
would be nice to find Levis with a padded bottom and no misplaced
sewings...

Jacques

misplaced sewings...


I meant "seams" - Oh my bad english.

Tue, 28 Sep 2004 20:40:19 +0200, ,
Jacques Moser wrote:

Still, it
would be nice to find Levis with a padded bottom and no misplaced
sewings...

Liners provide a padded bottom and fit smoothly under trousers.
You've still got the restrictive cut of jeans but that's their style.
--
zk

On Tue, 28 Sep 2004 20:40:19 +0200, Jacques Moser
wrote:

Bill Baka wrote:


The thing about my riding is that it is random in nature and I never
know
where I will wind up. Sometimes I start out thinking short ride and do a
long one, and sometimes I wind up hiking in the mountains and dragging
the bike along with me since that is how I got there.
I used to do a 6 mile training loop but that got so boring I gave it up.
Even the dogs knew I would stop and pet them if they came out without
barking.
Change is good.
Bill Baka



In the meantime I've read your other thread about what/who is a Fred, so
I understand better why you stick to this sort of clothes. Still, it
would be nice to find Levis with a padded bottom and no misplaced
sewings...

Jacques

Padded Levis would be interesting, to say the least. It is more the
chaffing part due to the rough material that is a factor.
The bicycle is only one means to exercise and not the only one.
Yes, this is a bicycle group, but
isn't the point to get outside and do something?
What I do is more like cross training
randomly depending on where I go and what it is that I have to get
across/over/under, whatever. The bicycle gets me started then when
I get somewhere new I can either ride, hike, swim, climb, or whatever.

I took some pictures a few years back from near the top of a high
voltage transmission tower, looking down on the 750KV lines. I just
couldn't resist climbing it with my camera, 35mm, and using some
film. I even took one with my Huffy at the base of the tower. That
would have taken some explaining if a patrol car had come around,
a 50 something guy 75' up a steel tower.

Anyway, that is my motivation, just do it, something, anything,
then look back later and think "I did what?".
Bill Baka


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On 2004-09-28, Jacques Moser wrote:
Bill Baka wrote:


The thing about my riding is that it is random in nature and I never know
where I will wind up. Sometimes I start out thinking short ride and do a
long one, and sometimes I wind up hiking in the mountains and dragging
the bike along with me since that is how I got there.
I used to do a 6 mile training loop but that got so boring I gave it up.
Even the dogs knew I would stop and pet them if they came out without
barking.
Change is good.
Bill Baka



In the meantime I've read your other thread about what/who is a Fred, so
I understand better why you stick to this sort of clothes. Still, it
would be nice to find Levis with a padded bottom and no misplaced
sewings...

Jacques
Or, do what I do sometimes, wear the cycling shorts under the more durable /
warmer outer clothing.

Best of both worlds.

Mark


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Remove both wrongs to make the email address right.

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