jacksonhandy

Started TrainerRoad yesterday. Completed 8 min test, but felt fried from Sunday, so the peak number from Sunday and the test came out the same. Looking forward to trying TrainerRoad.

therhodeo

Sinus infection yay!

hubcyclist

You can also try their ramp test (it's beta so it won't come up as part of a plan, called "ramp test x" It's about 19-20mins, with the last 4-5 mins being all the pain lol Essentially, it's minute long ramps where I think most people end up at around ~136% of their FTP before failure. ANyhow, might be worth a try.

I also can't speak highly enough of their sweet spot base plans, you might be well past that at this point if you're already in racing mode, but I haven't done road racing since 2015 (I raced CX in the fall, but aside from racing I never really focused on those power zones) and after a long fall/winter layoff I basically had done only sweet spot all 2017 into the beginning of Feb, and now I'm in a general build plan. Although I started training in 2017 with an ftp deficit (dropped to like 230 from 265), following the TR stuff I was able to get my ftp to 280. I love the structure and I'm really bad at structure outside so I'm a huge fan.

hubcyclist

90mins of z2 with some 20 sec sprints at ~500w, felt a little more normal than yesterday, made sure to ride pre-shoveling. now time to dig out from the 20in of snow we got Bright side is burning more calories lol

TheKillerPenguin

Tweaked the hip muscle tear thing i ****ed up back in August doing openers the other day :-| it's not bad but I'm laying low for a bit to make sure I don't spend another 3 weeks off.

If I'm not injured I'm sick. Yay bikes!!!11

jacksonhandy

I will have to try the ramp test after this block. I’m going to try their build and specialty plans, as they’ll put me right in line with some July races that I’d like to at least finish with the group. It seems much more focused than Zwift, and their “Ask a Cycling Coach” podcast is great. I should have looked at this earlier and done a sweet spot block earlier in the winter.

Ygduf

wait until you're old and things stop healing. My hamstring strain from last August still hurts. And my tooth is killing me.

TheKillerPenguin

Maybe Valverde can give us some of whatever it is he's taking!

Ttoc6

45 minutes on the trainer only to discover a ****ed up link on my chain. On the road to Chico and I picked up a new one that I've bathed in acetone and simple green to clear off the factory grease. Bought some squirt lube to try. I typically wax my chain, but that's not an option on the road, so I'll settle for this.

Made it half way too Chico from slc. Misjudged one gas fill up and was a bit panicjed about making it to next town. Gaslight on, needle on e going down hill. I've never put more than 12 gallons in before and this fill up was 13.5gal. I guess the tank is bigger than I thought.

Also got a rural speeding ticket going downhill foot off gas. Fml. Luckily it's not much money and doesn't go on my record....

aaronmcd

Doesn't go on your record?? What is "rural speeding ticket" code for "bribe"??

And waxing a chain... Is that something ppl do? I think I read about it once but never heard of a real person actually doing it. What about after 500 miles or so? Or does it last 3000?

Ttoc6

The ticket says rural speeding on it. Idk, I didn't question the officer when he said he was lowering my punishment. I'll just pay the 75 bucks and learn my lesson.

Re wax. Been doing it for about a year and a half now. I can go into the process if you want, but it's supposedly the fastest method by a good margin over any lube. This is coming from the friction facts docs that I no longer have access to, otherwise I'd get the graph for ya. It lasts 3-500 miles in good conditions, significantly less in bad. You never have to clean your chain except under very rare conditions, boiling it in the wax takes care of all of it. Also makes your chain very clean to handle, no grease stains or residue left on hands or carpet once set up.

TMonk

+1 to the wax pot it's great. It's easy, low maintenance and best of all clean as it doesn't pick up crap like short-chain (hydrocarbon) wet lubes.

tommyrod74

What's he doing, weight training-wise, specifically? Just curious, as I'd be interested to hear exercises and rep schemes for my use.

furiousferret

Add me to the wax crew as well. I have a mini crockpot that I use specifically for it. I also use a sonic cleaner on my chains and cassettes every few months. Gets it spotless. I also exclusively use Connex chains, because my SRAM chain snapped, from what I think was taking it apart too many times.

wktmeow

Wax for me as well. I hate getting grease everywhere working on my bike. Its a pain to set up on a used bike, as you have to clean the jockey wheels and chainrings and cassette really thoroughly, but once set up it's great. I'll bring the crockpot with me to stage races in case of rain. Chain link pliers make it a snap.

jsk

I also wax. Connex chains are great because the "missing link" is reusable and easily goes on/off without any tools. Every few hundred miles seems to be adequate, with a bath in the ultrasonic cleaner before waxing if it's starting to look a little dirty. I don't travel with the wax pot, I have some squirt lube that I can use if I need to when waxing isn't possible or I don't have time.

Enthalpic

SRAM quick connects are single use

hubcyclist

back into the build workouts, today was 2hrs with 21 1min intervals at 127% (355w, 7 per set) followed by some z2, made it through the tough stuff, barely lol

one thing I've been noticing is that my quads fatigue a lot more during the really hard stuff, that maybe I'm not engaging glutes and hamstrings enough, curious if it's just my technique or if it's a saddle adjustment I need to do

furiousferret

Do bridges before rides. It forces the glutes to wake up. I used to have glute issues where my hamstrings and quads did all the work, and now that if it recurs, a few bridges seem to fix it. When they're asleep, pedaling feels like I'm grinding; when the glutes and all the muscles are active, pedaling feels more like a swinging motion.

If that's even the issue; its still a quad dominant sport regardless so they're going to hurt doing the hard stuff.

TMonk

nice one

Doge

The video is easier than describing.
What is different than the video is he lives at altitude now, and it is not year round riding as it was.
One day a week is high intensity aerobic plyos, 2 days gym, several roller sessions and short < 20 miles rides 2-3 days - MTB/cx/road. Now that it is spring, weekend racing.

The gym routine is about as in the video I've shown before. Leg press is one leg due to less weight being allowed on the press (school orders), and single leg turns out to bring in twists and core. Pull-ups is a thing at USAFA, so that is its own competition - more than needed for cycling.

I've posted this before before. The other kid who he shared the trainer with is now a pro for a Dutch cycling team.
This is 3-4 years old. Mostly 3 sets with increasing weight, fewer reps. 12+ reps, 8 reps then depending on the day, 50 or so to failure.
https://vimeo.com/113033767

furiousferret

Dude's bustin out 1,000 lb reps on the legs and has to steal the 3 lbs dumbells from the senior center when its arm day.

tetonrider

well, they're not, really. you can use them a bunch. it's just a liability issue.

connex links are much better: they don't require a special tool to break (and are easier to attach, too), and you can use them for a long, long time. i've used them for 10+ years. they can exceed the life of a chain (i.e., any stretch on them is minor and has never been an issue on a new chain).

for me, the tool-free feature is really nice when traveling and cleaning bikes. it's a no-brainer to remove the chain.

ymmv.

tetonrider

just buy some connex links. never having to worry about that tool is a really nice thing.

tetonrider

wouldn't be a trip across nevada without nearly running out of gas!

it's deceptive because you see signs like next town in 20 miles and you think you've got 40 miles until empty... then you realize the next town is a ghost town (literally). i've NEVER run out of gas but have had many close calls.

in the back of your car's manual will be a list of specs. you'll see the full capacity of the fuel tank, so you will know just how close you got with the 13.5.

good luck! chico looks.... wet right now. i'm thinking of going to a ski race in tahoe.