2013 Road Cycling Thread

[2011SVT]

General question: Are you guys using purpose built GPS systems or Android/iPhone apps for your navigation/logging needs?

 

Thanks!

[evan9381]

i use a Garmin Edge 500. its built for cycling, but you can use it for other things im sure.

[evan9381]

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/294800788

 

how's that for some hill training? 22 VERY windy miles, and 2500+ feet of climbing. actually feeling quite good right now too.

[evan9381]

http://app.strava.com/activities/51036114

 

a little edited version of the Mid Ohio Century since we skipped a section at the start of the ride, made up the miles towards the end. last 25 were constant head/cross wind which sucked. i'll still take an 18+ avg for 105 miles.

[Tindall2006]

Just wondering...

 

Does anyone do GOBA? I used to do it when I was younger and had a blast with it.

[evan9381]

Is that the multi-day ride? I tend to stick with the 1-2 day rides unless its something really awesome worth scheduling off work for.

[evan9381]

Anyone doing TOSRV?

 

I'm in for the 2 day as long as the forecast doesn't change. My buddy scored a hotel room from someone who couldn't make the ride, and for $30, it sure beats sleeping on the ground of a gym and getting up the next day to do another 100+ miles back.

 

I'm leaving at 6am as part of a challenge with my brother, it'll be a SLOW first half getting to Chillicothe, then I'm doing the remaining 50 down and 105 back with my normal groups. gonna be 2 of my longest rides ever, back to back.

 

And this time when I get to Portsmouth, I'm taking the bridge over to KY to say i've ridden from downtown columbus to KY. last year i said fuck it and regretted not adding the extra ~1/2 mile to do it. not this year

[evan9381]

112.63 today between the ride, the short jog over to KY, and to the hotel. Similar mileage expected tomorrow...im exhausted now ans ready for 8-9 hours of sleep

[evan9381]

well, TOSRV ended up not so bad.

 

Saturday - I rode the first 52 with my brother to Chillicothe. He is not a cyclist, and had about 4-5 rides in prior to this, for MAYBE 80 miles. he just refused to train, and he's not a really in-shape kinda guy. he's maybe 6'1, 230lbs, so i wasn't expecting much. I was meeting friends for the 2nd half and Saturday in Chillicothe to finish and do some filming for them, so i knew we'd have to leave early to not get passed by them and miss my group. We left at 6:30, and within the first couple miles, hooked up with a guy in from Erie, PA. said he was a fairly serious cyclist, but that he wasn't looking to hammer, so he hung back with us and took it easy.

 

Luckily for my brother, we had a VERY favorable tail wind. even with his previous best ride/average was maybe 14mph, he was able to do a 17.2 average all the way down. me and the Erie guy pulled the whole way, but with the tailwind and those speeds, i had an average HR of 135 (which is insanely low for me. im usually at high 160s on a normal/fast ride)...i was definitely impressed with him. the down side? we got to Chillicothe about an hour before I guessed we would, so i had to sit around waiting for my group. he did take a spill at our first stop...the first thing i tried to pound into his head when he did his first ride was "get your feet out of the cages if you're not moving, or slowing to stop...well, he had one foot out, and tipped the other way. knee looked worse than it was due to mist we had all morning keeping it wet and dripping down his leg. he's fine now, so he says. the mist sucked, but it stopped about 10 miles from chillicothe, so about 9am.

 

second half of the ride the pace picked up with one of my regular groups. felt a lot better to ride at my pace. the beer at Tracy park at the end never tasted better. after making the extra 1/2 mile ride to cross the border into Kentucky (just to say i rode from downtown to another state), then going on a wild goose chase trying to find the place my overnight bag was going, and the ride to the hotel i was able to split with someone last minute, i was just short of 113 miles for the day...my longest day ever.

 

Sunday - started off chilly. my dumb ass doesn't have "mid-weather" gear...i've got summer, and winter. i didnt feel like packing full winter tights, so i just had bibs. luckily a guy who drove down with beer, gear, etc had some knee warmers he loaned me, which made all the difference. first 25 miles to Waverly, we were smokin. we had a 21.1 average, with much thanks to a guy who was a pro cyclist in the early 90s (qualified for the olympic time trial national team) pulling our group for probably 10-15 miles of it. we left around 7:15 to beat some of the forecasted 15-20mph winds out of the WNW, and it worked...until Waverly

 

Waverly to Chillicothe - the hills. lost some average speed, but still rolled in around 20.5mph (i think...over 20 for sure). some lunch, rest, time to roll again.

 

Chillicothe back to Columbus, and the stop in circleville was down right miserable. i would've taken the mist we had Saturday morning over that wind. it was BRUTAL. by the time we got back to columbus, our group of 7 was split into 2. Me and 2 guys rolled in first, with the others shortly after. i think by that point, we were at a mid 18 average for the day, so it REALLY dropped once we started getting the wind. and my luck, my Garmin last night and this morning said it was still at 100% battery...seemed odd, but i've never paid attention to it because it charges every time i upload a ride. since i didnt have my PC, i didnt upload anything. so, i didnt plug it in...of course, today, im at mile 99ish, and it says low battery. im OCD, and if it didnt log 100+ miles, even if i did them, it would drive me nuts. quick stop at the state house for a picture at mile 99.3, and hit the road to go meet my ride at Battele. made it to 100.67 miles before it died along the Olentangy trail. i was probably closer to 103-104...i'll have to check with my buddy who rode to Battele with me.

 

all in all, I had a great time. first full TOSRV ever (last year, only did Saturday down). also, first back to back centuries, and got my longest day ever. puts me at 3 centuries for the year (goal of at least 6), and about 1600 miles or so for the year.

 

maps -

Day 1 - http://app.strava.com/activities/53855771

Day 2 - http://app.strava.com/activities/53855750

 

few pics -

 

at the lunch stop. this is the group I usually ride with, but they were riding on a different schedule than me and my brother, as well as the group I was filming with/for, so we ate and got some pics

 

my brothers knee - like i said, looks worse than it is. misty rain kept it wet and bleeding for 20+ miles.

 

picture my brother and i took for our Mother, albeit a day early

 

view from the food stop in Waverly

 

Over the OH/KY line, along with my buddies video equipment mounted on my helmet

 

Early in day 2. maybe 6-7 miles into the ride

 

my friends for the ride back...and the little old 60+ year old lady at the front of the group. she's still crazy fast too!

 

THE END (well, about 3 miles before it)

[bmwohio]

Looks like a great TOSRV(aside from the cold)......congrats on the ride

[evan9381]

thanks! i could've done without the rain and wind, but that's what its notorious for, right?

 

i got spoiled last year only going one way. it was 72, calm winds...we averaged 19.5 for the whole way down last year. sunday on the other hand, i heard it was horrible. i didn't regret missing that. lol

[944s2]

thanks! i could've done without the rain and wind, but that's what its notorious for, right?

 

i got spoiled last year only going one way. it was 72, calm winds...we averaged 19.5 for the whole way down last year. sunday on the other hand, i heard it was horrible. i didn't regret missing that. lol

 

Looks like a standard TOSRV, I think I mentioned last year that I have not done one for over 10 years, I started when I was 9 or ten I think with my dad on the Burly Tandem and went till I was 17 Soloing for the first time around 13-14 years old.

[evan9381]

my buddy did the 1/2 with his 8 year old on a tandem this year. ran into them in chillicothe as they were rolling out around 1030, and passed them just before west portsmouth. kid said he had fun when i saw them at the park

[evan9381]

rides this weekend? i got in 4 rides in 3 days. 3 road, 1 mountain

 

Saturday - semi-casual ride with 3 friends. 48 miles - http://app.strava.com/activities/56214669

 

Sunday - started with a couple laps of mountain biking with 3 different friends. i don't have a mountain bike, but when one is offered to me to use, i'll take it every time. loop is actually 11 miles, but GPS signal sucks. plus, at the end of the first loop, me and my buddy backtracked to find the girls, so probably around 13 on the first one. i was happy, because i did the first loop in 1:01:xx, and my buddy said when he races there, he's shooting for just under 1 hour laps. 4th time ever mountain biking, i'll take it! loop 1 then 2 - http://app.strava.com/activities/56492135 http://app.strava.com/activities/56492128

 

THEN, i got home, had about an hour break, and a super relaxed group ride. it's about 7.5 miles from home, so i rode to it. about a 38 mile loop, then back home http://app.strava.com/activities/56492130

 

and if those 2 days weren't enough, did a 55 miler today. back to a semi-casual pace. had an awesome tail wind for the first half, a light lunch break, then an absolutely brutal headwind back. i did get in a solid 5 mile pull with a 15mph cross wind which just kicked my ass, but i know it'll make me stronger. http://app.strava.com/activities/56688660

 

about 180 miles for the long weekend, and finally over 2k miles for the year. definitely on pace to hit/pass my goal of 5k this year. last year, i told myself when i hit my 2k goal (which i ended up smashing by almost double), i'd buy myself a garmin. well, i hit that goal on a ride in lancaster with some hills, so knowing i was going to hit it, i bought the garmin a few days before so i could have it for that ride. that was around july 14th that i hit 2k last year, so im about 6-7 weeks ahead of last year.

[Flyin Miata]

Anyone have recommendations on an entry level road bike? Looking to spend no more than $1000 and hopefully a bit less (so very entry level). I used to ride a bit in college and want to get back into it. Was looking at the Trek 1.1, Specialized Secteur Compact or one of the low end Cannondales. Don't want to go spending thousands until I know for sure I'm going to get back into biking long term, but also don't want to cheap out either. Will mostly be used for solo rides, on some of the flatter trails near Lake Erie and probably the towpath and other routes through Cuyahoga Valley.

[evan9381]

i bought a 2011 cannondale CAAD8 for <$900 new. tiagra components. i rode the hell out of it last year. 4k miles or so, bunch on the trainer, then it served as a winter/rain bike over the colder months.

 

still shifts just fine, runs smooth, no creaks/etc. it does need new brake pads i saw recently, but thats super minor after what i've put it through. thought about selling it, but with as nice as it still is, i decided to keep it for future winters and rainy days.

[Flyin Miata]

Just picked up a 2013 Specialized Secteur Compact today. It's an entry level bike but considering I'm coming from a 1980's Schwinn, it feels like a Ferrari in comparison. Can't wait to get it out this weekend to break it in.

[Brandon]

Just ordered this bike - Finally am getting into road cycling, been into dirt riding for a long time. I always hated road pedaling because it bored me, but now the training aspect of it is awesome.

 

http://www.bianchiusa.com/uploads/pics/Y3B24U-Infinito-Ultegra-C.jpg

 

With in the last week my dad has been training me for what I consider to be a torutre fest...I am headed to Hawaii on saturday and will be on Maui to climb mt. halelaka (volcano, longest paved elevation ride in the world).

 

Here is a over view of the ride, while 34 miles is not far at all... 10k feet is...(be doing this next thursday friday, and will go pro sections of it for fun!

 

 

I should make it in 4 ish hours up and 1.5 hours going back down.

 

Went on the "death loop" last week in Lancaster, and had 6 climbs and 46 miles, all the climbs were 15% grade or higher with 3 of the climbs getting to 27%...Not been on a bike for 7 years on the road this was brutal. . . Then this week rode out two quick 45 miles runs, avg speed 18 mph the first night, and 20 mph today (difficult today).

 

If any wants to get a ride together let me know!

[evan9381]

did you go to hawaii to do this yet? i would think you'd want to plan a little more time getting up. to the top...theres 700 people on strava that have it logged, and 4 hours or less (4 hours ride time) is the top 150 of them. if you think you can do it, thats awesome. im interested in seeing your results. also, pics of actual bike? i love the new black ultegra groupset and wish i could trade someone my stuff for that. it looks so awesome.

 

as for lancaster, you may have hit some hills that peaked at 15%, but there is nothing down there that has an average that high. we were there last weekend to do the Tour de Cause century ride, 104 miles, 5500' of climbing (most of it after mile 50ish), ended up averaging 18.5 or so. savage hill (one of the nastier ones down there) averages like 9.5%, peaks about 19%, revenge is like 6% average, peaks at 18%ish

 

i should take some time to update this thread, but i'd rather be out riding. im currently at about 3300 miles for the year, a little over 100k' of climbing. done 5 centuries so far.

 

also, if you're interested in rides, a few you can join us on

 

Tuesday - Avery park (south lot) in dublin. 6:15pm roll time.

Wednesday - Hoover from the Dam parking lot. 6:30pm roll time

Thursday - Avery at 6pm or New albany from the elementary school at 6. i cant get out to new albany due to work schedule and travel time, so i usually ride dublin if we can get a group together. that ride is more of invite only, and isn't one put out by the local clubs like WBC or COP.

Sunday - Trek store ride from the Westerville store. 5:30 roll time. this is an easier ride, 18-19 averge for 35-50 miles.

 

here's all my rides. some good ones in there. had a couple with mid 22 averages, but since i dont race, i got tired of hammering and hurting for days...im good with 21ish average rides...easier ones if im riding with friends.

 

http://ridewithgps.com/users/84159 or on Strava http://app.strava.com/athletes/778362

 

shoot me a message if you want to get out some time...i'll let you know what we have planned for the following days.

[Brandon]

did you go to hawaii to do this yet? i would think you'd want to plan a little more time getting up. to the top...theres 700 people on strava that have it logged, and 4 hours or less (4 hours ride time) is the top 150 of them. if you think you can do it, thats awesome. im interested in seeing your results. also, pics of actual bike? i love the new black ultegra groupset and wish i could trade someone my stuff for that. it looks so awesome.

 

as for lancaster, you may have hit some hills that peaked at 15%, but there is nothing down there that has an average that high. we were there last weekend to do the Tour de Cause century ride, 104 miles, 5500' of climbing (most of it after mile 50ish), ended up averaging 18.5 or so. savage hill (one of the nastier ones down there) averages like 9.5%, peaks about 19%, revenge is like 6% average, peaks at 18%ish

 

i should take some time to update this thread, but i'd rather be out riding. im currently at about 3300 miles for the year, a little over 100k' of climbing. done 5 centuries so far.

 

also, if you're interested in rides, a few you can join us on

 

Tuesday - Avery park (south lot) in dublin. 6:15pm roll time.

Wednesday - Hoover from the Dam parking lot. 6:30pm roll time

Thursday - Avery at 6pm or New albany from the elementary school at 6. i cant get out to new albany due to work schedule and travel time, so i usually ride dublin if we can get a group together. that ride is more of invite only, and isn't one put out by the local clubs like WBC or COP.

Sunday - Trek store ride from the Westerville store. 5:30 roll time. this is an easier ride, 18-19 averge for 35-50 miles.

 

here's all my rides. some good ones in there. had a couple with mid 22 averages, but since i dont race, i got tired of hammering and hurting for days...im good with 21ish average rides...easier ones if im riding with friends.

 

http://ridewithgps.com/users/84159 or on Strava http://app.strava.com/athletes/778362

 

shoot me a message if you want to get out some time...i'll let you know what we have planned for the following days.

 

 

Let me start with the Lancaster ride I may not have gone in enough depth, we climbed rich hollow which peaks at 23% (all measurements are some GPS confirmed some very educated) , then starner rd climb peaks at 19%, then 3rd little twister carrol rd peaks 19%, then wagner rd climb peaks at 20%, then keifel rd which peaks at 25%, then clapper hollow rd peaks at 22% - total elevation around 3600 feet at the minimum, well over 4000 ft likely for 45 miles.

 

Savage is a hard climb, but tame compared to Keifel its a bitch and clapper is hard, and chicken coup isn't bad either. There is nothing "steeper" then keifel in Ohio that we have found, not to say there are not, just haven't found them. Most Ohio is .6 climb so nothing is that difficult.

 

Let me preference my Journey up Haleakala ride -

 

I hadn't touched a road bike in 9 years, and only began hitting dirt again for the last two seasons. I road 3 training rides before riding up the mountain, the Lancaster hill ride, and two more 50 mile rides...Then rode the mountain. I have never been in the saddle for as long as I was on the bike on the mountain before ever.

 

Well I made it up Haleakala in a little over 5 hours with two stops for water and then had to break once at 8000 feet to eat and clear my mind for the hardest part of the ride. (oh and my missed turn...)

 

It was the coolest yet hardest ride I have ever done and I feel very accomplished in completing the ride.

 

Here I will document the ride

 

I rented my bike at Maui Cyclery (great guys)

 

I picked up my rental the night before, I didn't splurge after all on the di shimano carbon bike, instead just a nice Orbea.

 

 

Laid out all my gear for the ride the night before and then left my villa at 6 am to start the ride at 7 ( I was 45 minutes away in Kapula and needed to get to Paia )

 

 

I began the ride at 7 am and set off...The first 2000 feet sucked, one because I wasnt warmed up and two mentally getting in the grind mode took a little while.

 

My wife went that morning for the sunrise ride down of the volcano, ran into her at 3100 feet at the Kula Market place where you refill bottles, that was cool, and my first stop...Oh this is after I missed the turn and climbed and extra 1000ft...(whoops...jack ass move, take this out and my time saves 30-40 minutes)

 

 

Had a quick fun thought being and Alumni

 

 

The first 2000 feet sucked, still pretty warm and very windy along the sugar cane farms. Then you hit 3000' wind dies down, climbing is getting eaiser, 4000' still not bad, cooling down slightly, in the trees a lot more and not much wind, 5000' same, 6000' little less trees, little more wind, but not bad.

 

Off from the market place I didnt stop again till the well known range station at 7000', and paid my 5 dollars to get in and get to the visitor center for another re fuel on water and eat some more waffles. Here I caught another rider up and we chatted for a bit, pretty fun. At 7000' trees are pretty well dissapearing and you are now seeing a few clouds and getting ready to ride through them. 8000' rode through the clouds and I am now really suffering, this is where more training would have helpped, I only had a 30 final cog, so I had to get in it and just grind. OH and the head winds 25-30 mph, AWESOME...Now 9000' the observation deck is well in sight, and I am motivated again, eat a gel at my 8000' mental slip. Then I climbed hit the vistor parking lot and found the worst and steepest part is the climb from the lot to the observation deck, complete bitch, mainly I was shot, and it was steep.

 

I made it. YES

 

 

 

I climbed roughly 11,000' total this day, with my missed turn...(grrr) GREAT accomplishment, in around 5 hours of pure suffering...

 

People all clap for you at the top and question you to death about how crazy you are, and any one who does this is in some way crazy. period.

 

Couple quick shots, after putting on my arm warmers, leg warmers, wind vest, skull cap ect for the ride down.

 

 

The ride down was a BLAST - took about 97 minutes to descend, I hit 47 mph as a peak, but keep it pretty composed as my focus was starting to go...

 

Made it back to the beach, and hit the road back to the villa to dominate some food. By estimations I used around 7000 calories doing the climb, and only eat 6 waffles and 8 gels...1800 worth of energy.

 

I would do it again in a heart beat, it was a blast, the views were incredible, the weather great, the ride epic.

 

FUN.

 

Once my new ride arrives I would love to get in on some rides. I will let you know when that happens!

[evan9381]

Awesome write up and great ride. Impressive you can do that well with so little road biking. Ive done a few mtb rides when i can borrow a bike, and its great cross training...i can tell my bike handling is mucb better from doing mtb rides. I did t think itd do anything for me at all, but i was wrong

[Brandon]

Awesome write up and great ride. Impressive you can do that well with so little road biking. Ive done a few mtb rides when i can borrow a bike, and its great cross training...i can tell my bike handling is mucb better from doing mtb rides. I did t think itd do anything for me at all, but i was wrong

 

Yeah at heart I have always just liked riding on the dirt, now I am second guessing some of that as the training you get on the road is exceptionally better. Hence why the best mtb'ers are very good on the road.

[kirks5oh]

bump

 

my wife just finished her second half ironman yesterday---nuts. she beat her previous time and finished 13 in her age group and 53rd out of all the women. i think there were over 3000 competitors--this was an official ironman sponsored event. pretty serious competitors there. her time was 5:31:21. the bike is her strongest event. she finished the 56 mile course in 2:39, for an average of 21.10mph. no thanks. 1.2 mile swim was against the current, with decent sized waves. she did fine for the half marathon at the end, as well.

[evan9381]

21+ average is really good. Can they team up with other riders to take turns drafting or do they have to stay separated?

 

 

I did 106 miles yesterday, 70 solo to and from my family reunion in delaware, and 36 for a group ride on the way home...ended up with an 18.4ish avg. Got me my 6th century for the year (goal #1) and now at about 3700 miles on a goal of 5000

[kirks5oh]

21+ average is really good. Can they team up with other riders to take turns drafting or do they have to stay separated?

 

 

I did 106 miles yesterday, 70 solo to and from my family reunion in delaware, and 36 for a group ride on the way home...ended up with an 18.4ish avg. Got me my 6th century for the year (goal #1) and now at about 3700 miles on a goal of 5000

 

106 miles----crazy.

 

 

i'm not sure how much drafting goes on during these events, i'll have to ask my wife. she does most of her rides solo---a few mixed solo/group rides, and then a fair amount on her trainer.

 

her ride is a felt carbon frame, with zipp wheels and a power meter sprocket. she wants a dedicated triathlon bike this winter for next season