Join in the fun; The Calorie-Count Cycling Club...

Welcome to all who have an interest in anything cycling of any kind.( road, mountain, commuting, stationary, whatever).

This is the place to come to ask that question you have been wanting to ask,

or tell that story about your latest adventure riding your bike,

find out how to use cycling to get in better shape, or anything else you can think of.

So, to start, tell us, what you ride, where you ride and what type of riding you enjoy.

Come back often too check out what's going on and see what's on everyones mind or add your knowledge to the group. 

 

gmule, that is just flat out scary. You never know what a weirdo he could have been. There are some crazy people out there.

Jane

Gmule: Smart move -- getting away from that guy.  He was up to no good.

A little catchup:  We left Sandy Spring around 7:30 on Saturday morning; stopped in Mt. Airy for snack break a couple of hour later (up to that point, we were moving along at a pretty good pace); and reached our motel about 1:30.  The hills didn't show up on the map when I was planning the trip but they were a real challenge on the actual ride.  One hill made me seriously consider getting off my bike and walking.  As near as I can tell from the GPS data the grade on that hill was 12.5%.  I have converted the profile based on my GPS output to a jpeg and uploaded it.  There were some interesting sights including an old building with a sign indicating that it served as our nation's capitol one day in August 1814 -- after the British sacked Washington.  I had my camera but couldn't seem to get my act together to use it.

Saturday afternoon, I spent a couple of hours battling cramps and wondering if I was going to be able to ride home on Sunday.  I was finally able to get rid of them with stretching exercises and a walk down to a family diner for dinner.

Sunday morning we left the motel in a moderate rain that lasted all the way from Thurmont to Frederick ("Who harms a hair of yon gray head, dies like a dog" -- referring to Barbara Fritchie who refused to hide her flag).  After that there were intermittent rain showers.  It was raining pretty hard when we rode by the Monocacy Battlefield, which is my excuse for not stopping to take pictures.

All in all it was a pretty good ride -- 120 miles with approximately 7000 feet of climbing in two days.

Tonight I took the Quest out for the first time since I got it back with the new drive train.  It rode nice.  My legs kept reminding me that they worked pretty hard over the weekend.  I think that I am going to have to adjust to the new gearing (50/34 on the front and 12/27 on the back).  One final thought, I wasn't able to do this ride in April because of back strain.  It was probably fortunate that I was forced to postpone the ride for 3 months.

Joe

Joe, that sounds like an awesome ride with lots of stuff to see. Bummer about the rain though.

Today is bike maintenance day for me. I have been riding in the rain and I am sure the chain is screaming for a good cleaning. I actually went out and bought a book on bicycle repair and maintenance. It has lots of pictures and easy steps so that dummies like myself can figure it out, lol.

Jane

Any Spin enthusiasts here?  I started spinning about 2 months ago, and now I am considering moving to outdoor biking (as soon as the weather gets a little cooler here in NC).  I'm going to schedule a bike fitting in a few weeks, then shop for my bike.  Any tips for a newbie for a first bike?  I'm considering aluminum or carbon for my frame -- which do you like better?  Also, I'm a little nervous about riding in traffic in a paceline for the first time (afraid to fall, get hit by car, piss people in the peloton off, fall behind, etc.).  Any tips?

Oh, I forgot to mention that I'm planning on getting a road bike and then training for my first century next summer.

Hi all,  Well I haven't been  around much lately, as you not doubt have noticed.  I think with time everyone seems to drift away from here and I am no exception.

I will try and drop by now and then and see what's up but who knows.

 Because the original post was made by me it won't get updated anymore, sorry.

I have enjoyed your company here and I hope that you and others carry on in the future, good luck with your riding and weight loss goals.

BTW in the 10000 mile personel challenge I have crossed the 7000 mile point and barring injury should make 10000 by the end of OCT.

Farewell and godspeed to you, DAN

mlb: I ride steel (cromoly) bikes with some carbon.  Aluminum has a reputation for being a bit rough.  Whatever you get, make sure that it at least has a reputation as a distance bike.  100 miles makes for a long day in the saddle.  Spinning is good training but it won't get you used to being in traffic.  Find a local bike club and join them on some rides.  They usually have various levels defined.  Pick an easy one to start with.  Most of the riders will probably be pretty understanding and supportive of a newbie.  As you get more comfortable you can move up to more challenging levels.

Good Luck.

mlbtracy, hi! i've been to some spin classes and if you're good at it you'll do great on a bike - it's a tough workout!

as for bike choice, i personally agree with the conventional wisdom that generally steel is more comfortable than aluminum & carbon fiber. Al & CF bikes are lighter & built for speed, and although exceptions exist, typically they are stiffer and therefore the ride quality can be more jarring over long rides & in day-to-day use. most importantly, make sure your bike fits properly & is comfortable for you - you'll ride it more if you don't have fit problems that make it awkward or unpleasant to ride. your shop should be very conscious of getting you on a bike that fits; if they aren't, you should question their commitment to you as a customer. it's unsafe to ride a bike that is too small or too big.

as for getting out on the road with cars & other cyclists, you're right to be a little nervous. it's dangerous out there and a little fear is healthy & normal. you need to always be on your toes to keep from being involved in a collision (or a solo crash). always respect the damage cars can do to your person & ride defensively. never pull out in front of a car if you are not 110% sure they've seen you and are honoring your right of way. try not to be too much of an obstruction to cars & give them a wave of thanks if they've been patient in passing or waiting for you to navigate the roadway. if you get into a confrontation with a driver, take the figurative high road, smile, be courteous, and let them pass (of course, if it gets ugly or threatening, get their license plate number and call the police on your cell).

for safety, i always recommend new riders read this site about How to not get hit by cars - it's advice is spot on & all of these situations arise all the time when you ride on the road. when riding with other cyclists, learn visual signals and verbal cues for what's going on.

common hand signals are used for turns (arm out left or right for turns), slowing and stopping (left arm out, forearm lowered with palm facing backwards or in hand a fist to indicate slowing/stopping); and verbal cues such as, "On Your Left" (called out when passing another cyclist, always pass on the left); "slowing" "stopping"; "car back" or  "car up" to indicate a car is passing the group either from behind (back) or from the front in the oncoming lane (up). also, if there is a problem in the road (a rock, a pothole, gravel, etc.), riders in front will point to it as they dodge it, alerting following riders to a problem in that area - watch the riders ahead of you for these signals pointing down to the right or left side. you should not follow other riders too close until you know more about drafting & have gained experience riding in a group. knowing these common cues will get you a long way riding in a group. most places have local clubs that welcome beginner roadies into the group & will go on weekly no-one-gets-dropped rides. those are a good way to start, but note that even rides for beginners can have high average speeds - so don't worry if the first few times you're lagging behind - they expect that & will take care of you :-)

other tips : always wear a helmet; hone your bike handling skills before taking to busy streets if you haven't been out on a bike in a while; use lights if you ride after dark; dress brightly so drivers are more likely to see you; wear padded biking shorts if you find yourself getting saddle soreness. also learn to change a tire on your own, and carry an extra tube, patch kit, tire levers & a pump with you. carry your cell phone and ID in case you get in an accident or need to call someone for a ride home.

that's about all i can think of at the moment. keep posting questions as you encounter them and we'll pitch in our 2 cents along the way :-)

Thanks for the great tips!  I found a great bike shop in town that has a fit bike and has a very good reputation among local cyclists, so I'm making a fit appointment.  My husband has a couple of friends who offered to take me out on the weekends in a small group to teach me peloton etiquette and the hand signals, and they have a good multi-group, no-drop group ride weekly.  Now I'm excited to get my wheels and ride!

I was on vacation for five days with no riding.  The day I got back I was eager to get back out for a ride.  I went out with a couple of friends and very early in the ride I got a cramp in my left quad.  I've not had cramping problems in the past and I tried to rdie through the cramp.  This didn't work and I had to stop and stretch and ended up limping home on the bike.  The next day the leg felt better so I tried again.  I started out easy and soon found the my left quad was still sore so the ride was aborted.  Day three the quad felt fine so i tried once again.  This time I got through the warm-up and everything felt good.  But then just 4 or 5 minutes later my right quad started cramping and again I had to turn for home.  I can still feel the ache in the right leg..

I've never had this before.  Any ideas as to what might have caused it or how best to proceed?

Dan, I hope you come back from time to time to post updates.  But yeah I too haven't been posting much lately.  I've just been so freakin swamped with events and I haven't been riding much lately since I have been training for a 5K that happens tomorrow in Anniston.  Anyway, still I come back and try to catch up from time to time.  Next week I start a new job and at the end of the month and starting that first weekend of september we are moving.  So it's been a bit crazy with so much going on and my new job will have me a lot busier than I am now.

Still over time things will settle down.  Nicely where the new job is and where we are moving I MAY be able to bicycle commute though it'll be all backroads.   But the new boss wants to have a full bathroom with shower and so on as well as exercise facilities in house, so this aught to work out one way or another to be a good move.

I'll update here again next time I ride.  Once I have this race behind me I'll be getting out a bit more on the bike.


New bike advice, aluminum isn't that bad at all. I'd  rather have a 26 pound road bike than a 40 pound bike.  Â It doesn't seem like so little weight would make a big differen ce, but it does greatly affect my enjo yment of riding.  I'd rather go faster , even if it's not as good a workout,  I can always add distance.

My riding is up in the air as well because summer school is over for my son and there is still a couple of weeks until school starts. Once school starts I am going to hit the roads hard!

Tomorrow I will try and get a good ride in though. It has been so very hot amd I haven't even been riding to work.

Jane

just to chime in on the aluminum vs. steel debate, the weight difference is only about 1 pound between my aluminum bike and my steel bike (20 vs. 21 pounds). we're not talking a 10# differential.

i ride both, and i love the way my aluminum bike leaps up hills, but for long rides i'll always pick steel for the long term comfort.

folks just need to know what to expect when they're comparing materials. in my experience, aluminum rides more harsh than steel, but the aluminum is more responsive & climbs brilliantly (and it'll never rust!). tough choices :-)

Anyone with some funny ride stories? I need some cheering up!

Jane

Thanks for the links autismjtm but thats not exactly what I was asking. The links just convert one unit of energy in to another. In this case Kj to C, what I was asking is how many Calories does a body burn to do 1Kj of work. Hope that clarifies things.

Jane: I don't know if this qualifies as funny.  I dragged myself out of the house on Saturday morning dreading to take on the climbs with the new double on my Quest.  But I knew I had to face the issue.  Next week is the Eat-A-Peach Challenge ride and I plan to do the century.

I started out taking it easy and was riding okay to headed out on a longer loop.  As I was going along, I came upon a guy wearing a Rabobank jersey.  Turns out it wasn't the Chicken -- didn't even look vaguely like MR.  But we chatted as we rode along.  The first questions obviously were how far are you going?  how far have you ridden so far?  Then where did you start out?  He started from Riverdale and I passed through Riverdale on my route.  I used to live in Rivedale -- well, actually in East Pines just behind the shopping center.  He lives on 67th Street a couple of blocks from there.  Really?  I ride down 67th on my way through Riverdale (East Pines).  As a matter of fact, I take that route on my commute to work.  So it turns out that I am the guy on a bike that this guy sees a couple of mornings a week as he is leaving for work.

By the way, the double wasn't a problem.  I had no trouble on the hills.  In some cases, I felt like I climbed better.

Joe

umneydurak: I am not sure that there is a direct ratio of Kc to Kj.  This is a link to a Chris Carmichael article that discusses the issue in connection with this year's TDF: http://www.bicycling.com/tourdefrance/article /0,6802,s1-7-403-16278-1,00.html

If I understand the article correctly.  Kc will be about equal to Kj because only a fraction of the energy generated (Kc) will be converted to work (Kj).  The rest will be dissapated as heat.  But each Kc produces about 4 Kj so even though the only a fraction of Kc are used to produce Kj, i.e., most of the energy generated is "waste", the number of Kj wiil be approximately the same as the number of Kc.  The exact ratio will depend on the rider and may even vary over time for a given rider.  This by the way is typical.  As I recall from my far away and long ago college days, automobile engines have efficiencies on the order of 20% to 30%.

Joe

PS I had to edit this after re-reading the article because I had Kcal and kjoules backwards in my first attempt.

Joe, wouldn't that have been funny if you were chatting with the chicken, lol. It's amazing how we zoom in on people doing the same thing we do.

I got over my horrible day and tonight I am going for a ride, since I just ate a disgusting(ly good) double cheeseburger from McDonald's.

I need to check out the gears on my new bike. I have only really been using the middle gears and the other day I pushed the big ones. I wasn't too impressed; lots of noises and feeling like they were about to skip on me. Time for some trouble shooting and maybe take it back to the bike shop.

umneydurak, sorry I can't be of more help. That one I wouldn't have a clue about.

Jane

Just found this group.

I ride a XL Giant TCR Composite (I love it over aluminum, but my alum. was still great). It's a double with an 11-23, so hills (everywhere around where I live is a hill - to my house, 836 vertical feet of climbing!).

My parents are huge into biking and I just recently got into it, I'm loving it, way easier on my body than racing. Recently did a 55 miler, seeking to do a Century before too long. Possibly starting racing soon with some Cat 4/5 racers at the local racing joints!

Scott

Welcome Scott. I am with you on the century ride. No racing for me thoough - still a newbie to the bike thing.

Jane