Road bike thread

Christ said:
Go up the mountain more often. I’m not a great climber, I’m heavy at 210lbs. I have to push 300-330 watts when my lighter friends are pushing 250-275watts to follow me. I don’t spin my leg enough because I only use my strength. And 11-30 cassette will help big times.

James Piccoli a détruit le KOM sur le CGV hier alors que c’était même pas un tail wind sur le straight
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I'm roughly the same weight.
 
Gregster said:
Any climbing tips? I went up the mountain and almost got dead
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except loosing fat and training more, you could learn how to climb seated and out of the saddle the right way. Both method will use different energy system in your body and you can switch from one to an other.

Also, thoses both ways or climbing will be more suited for different climbs. At last, you will have a preference between both.

Otherwise, refer to rule #5 of the cycling bible.
 
Newbie here, looking to bike from West Island (DDO) to friends place in Terrebonne. Looked up the route on Google maps but I’m not sure about it 100% as I’m not familiar with all the streets it’s sending me on. Plus, not too crazy about riding (a decent distance) on Gouin, with tons of traffic...

Any thoughts, tips, suggestions?

Also, I have a Specialized Allez and kinda worries about the gravel part when going through Bois-de-Liesse...Should I ride on Gouin instead? Am I killing my bike by driving it on gravel?

Thanks for all your help guys, much appreciated!!!
 
Why not ride to ile bizard ferry, cross into Laval, go through Laval and up to Terrebonne. Riding through Montreal is going to be annoying
 
Gregster said:
Why not ride to ile bizard ferry, cross into Laval, go through Laval and up to Terrebonne. Riding through Montreal is going to be annoying
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I favoured the Montreal route because it’s 43km (2h19min) according to Google Maps. The other way seems much longer, 52km (3h1min)...Still haven’t made it in the saddle for more than 2h15min so kinda scared to jump to 3+ hours right away...
 
I did!!! After a night of poor judgement on top of it Hahahaha (had a few beers - after having ZERO alcohol for over 6 months + slept at 1am).

Nonetheless, a few electrolyte tablets and 2 energy gels later I did West Island to Terrebonne (56km) in 2h16min. Took the ferry to Ile Bizard and the bridge to Deux-Montagnes then the 344 almost all the way to my destination. Been slowly increasing my distance and this was a new record for me, looking forward to the next milestone but starting to realize I should brush up on my nutrition (pre and post ride) to have better performance. Might look into a nutritionist...
 
If you pace yourself and stay aerobic outside of uphill climbs, you can do a whole lot more clicks then that on just a cup of oatmeal and proper hydration. The only issue is saddle soreness which will resolve over time. Then again, I don't know what your goal is, endurance training or speed?
 
Larkee said:
If you pace yourself and stay aerobic outside of uphill climbs, you can do a whole lot more clicks then that on just a cup of oatmeal and proper hydration. The only issue is saddle soreness which will resolve over time. Then again, I don't know what your goal is, endurance training or speed?
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That's one thing I've learned. Back off effort a tad and distance/comfort improves massively. Same goes warming up.

Hydration and eating on the ride plays a huge roll as well.
 
Larkee said:
If you pace yourself and stay aerobic outside of uphill climbs, you can do a whole lot more clicks then that on just a cup of oatmeal and proper hydration. The only issue is saddle soreness which will resolve over time. Then again, I don't know what your goal is, endurance training or speed?
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What do you mean by «*stay aerobic*»? Not sure I understand and would like to know more...

As for my goal, I don’t even know! As a small background, I’m in my late 30’s and was overweight. Completely changed my eating habits and lost 60 pounds. A year and a half ago I quit smoking (was a sometimes heavy smoker my whole life) and starting cycling, so obviously I’m not in excellent shape but working on it slowly but surely. Ultimately I think what I’d like is to go long distances (100+ km) once or twice a week I guess.

Gregster said:
That's one thing I've learned. Back off effort a tad and distance/comfort improves massively. Same goes warming up.

Hydration and eating on the ride plays a huge roll as well.
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That’s 100% true. At first I was going out and giving it all I had, but once I started to pace myself it seemed like I made a huge leap forward.

Now I think the time has come to educate myself more on nutrition...

Christ said:
Or just get some buddies that will out shape you and the ego will kick in and you’ll do longer distance lol
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Would LOVE that! Unfortunately none of my friends cycle so that’s a no-go for now, but I’m on the lookout ;)
 
Putting it simply: Aerobic means you're using a source of energy that needs external oxygen (fatty acids.) Anaerobic means the intensity of what you're doing exceeds the oxygen your lungs, blood and heart can take in. Your body needs to turn to a source of energy that doesn't require external oxygen to complement the fat burning (Glycogen.) Your glycogen reserves are pretty slim, roughly 600 grams and your body won't let you go below 125 grams (this is when you hit the wall.) Your fat reserves on the other are cheap and cheerful, even for a a very lean person, you got pounds of it. So if you maintain an intensity that allows you to burn mostly fatty acids and maintain your glycogen reserves, you can sustain that exercise for a really long time.

Rule of thumb, ride at the highest pace you can without needing to breath with your mouth open. If you need to open your mouth to breath in, slow down a bit. As the weeks go by, you will find that your ability to burn fat will increase, your pace will go higher and you won't even be out of breath.

That being said, depleting your glycogen reserves once a week will do wonders for your metabolism, insulin sensitivity and your body will reward you for decades to come.
 
Christ said:
Or just get some buddies that will out shape you and the ego will kick in and you’ll do longer distance lol
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I'm pretty out of shape compared to last year thanks to an injury. Last year in the group I ride with I was top 3 "fastest" (we aren't that fast but you get it) now I'm freaking slow AF. I just can't find that rythm
 
for physiological responses to different efforts you can refer to this. The only problem is that thoses zones are created with a power meter and FTP, but you can refer to them with your RPE.

RPE zones will look like this rate from 1 to 10.

1-3/10 = Zone 1
3-4/10 = Zone 2
4-6/10 = Zone 3
6-7/10 = Sweet Spot and Zone 4
7-9/10 = Zone 4-5
9-10/10 = Zone 5
11+/10 = zone 7

For Fat burning and good physiological adaptations I like to stay in Zone 3 and Sweet spot. Zone 3 (5-6/10) like Larke said should be very hard. You should be able to keep a light conversation with someone, but not a monologue. The best zone for overall adaptations is the Sweet spot zone in my opinion. You breath not heavy but not light, you sweat a bit, but you can keep the pace for a long time (kind of In the zone) where the speed feels good and the effort to. You will be burning fat and having a lot of good benefits for less longer rides that zone 3 rides.


Expected-Physiological-Adaptations-in-Sweet-Spot.png
 
Larkee, Cassard & Gregster, thank you SO much for your help and explanations, it’s really appreciated. Your knowledge is very helpful to me and I very much appreciate you taking the time to share it!
 
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