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My road to Haleakala

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My road to Haleakala

Old 09-25-19, 09:00 AM
  #76  
Syscrush
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Because this is a training & nutrition forum, I wanna share a bit about my experience so far with doing intermittent fasting for weight loss plus cycling for fitness.

First, like anything related to nutrition in general or weight loss in particular, there is a ton of "bro science" surrounding IF. There are legions of true believers who will assert that autophagy is the panacea for all of life's ills. Only by going extended periods of time without consuming any calories will you trigger your body to enter this magical zone of accelerated weight loss, increased energy and focus, body repair, etc. etc. Put some milk or sugar in your morning coffee? Sorry bro - no autophagy for you, hope you like being fat and having low energy and probably cancer. What is autophagy? It's when your body starts effectively digesting itself by finding tissues or cells that are ready for expiration, are damaged, or otherwise candidates for deletion, and breaks them down for calories. More info here.

There's no good evidence for how long one would have to fast to trigger autophagy, or what (if any) health benefits would come with frequent, short periods of autophagy.

Personally, I think it's hype. I think that setting strict eating windows is a valuable tool for managing caloric intake for some people, but it's not a cure-all. I also think that it's not for everybody - I can go a day or even two without food and feel basically OK, but if my wife tried it I'd be dead or divorced by 3:00 PM on the first day.

At this point, my approach is to aim for at least 20 and preferably about 22 hours of fasting each day. Most days I'm having my one meal of the day at about 6:00 PM, and then a snack or two afterwards, and no more eating after 8:00 PM. If I just decided to have anything and everything I wanted during that 2-4 hour window, I could definitely stay obese (although probably not 250+ like I was before starting this cut). For me, this is all about limiting intake in a way that is easy to manage. I've done multiple large (~40 lbs) cuts over the last 25+ years, most of them long before I had ever heard of IF, but I had always followed a similar approach of strictness and flexibility, and that combination is what I like. My target rate for losing the weight is 2-3 lbs per week, and so far I'm right on track. I think that as long as I'm in that territory I'm losing at a sustainable and healthy rate.

It's strict and simple in terms of having no eating outside of the allowed window, so I'm not counting or tracking or even planning anything. But if I get a craving for something, the response isn't "oh, no, you don't eat that anymore". It's "Well, see if I still want it later when it's eating time." For me, this is generally a pretty effective way of dismissing the craving instead of feeling overwhelmed like if certain foods were completely off limits. It's very flexible in that I let myself have anything (but not everything) I want during my window. I do still have to be conscious of eating only to satisfy hunger instead of eating for its own sake.

About 35 years ago when I was first starting to learn about lifting and body building, I read what was already then an old-school book (so probably written in the early 60's) that said something about weight and nutrition that has really stayed with me: "To gain weight, eat when you're not hungry. To maintain weight, eat only when you're hungry. To lose weight, stop eating while you're still hungry." Nothing in my experience as a fat slob, a lean runner/cyclist, or a relatively muscular powerlifter has contradicted that simple guidance. With that said, I've never been a competitive athlete fueling for top performance or extreme leanness, so I'm sure it breaks down when trying to push into any kind of elite territory - or when using PEDs.

I will likely do almost all of my training rides of 100 km and under while fasting. My reasons for doing this are:
  1. I've done it in the past and was able to do it without experiencing dizziness or other problems that would make it dangerous.
  2. It means greater calorie deficit and therefore burning fat.
  3. As I've noted elsewhere, I think that any suffering serves the end goal of HTFU. Riding fasted or in crap weather, or tired all contribute to the ability to just keep going - which will be an important ability when facing the Haleakala-specific difficulties that I can't directly train for.
Training rides above 100 km will include some fuel past the 5-6 hour mark. Fuel at that point is to allow me to keep the intensity from just completely collapsing. I have done 160 km with no fuel in the past as an experiment (at a bodyweight of ~185 lbs), and while it felt OK at the time, the recovery was so long and difficult that I think the last hour or even two was probably of very little training benefit.
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Old 09-25-19, 12:54 PM
  #77  
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Originally Posted by Syscrush
Personally, I think it's hype. I think that setting strict eating windows is a valuable tool for managing caloric intake for some people, but it's not a cure-all. I also think that it's not for everybody - I can go a day or even two without food and feel basically OK, but if my wife tried it I'd be dead or divorced by 3:00 PM on the first day..
A good balanced view of IF IMO.
Originally Posted by Syscrush
"To gain weight, eat when you're not hungry. To maintain weight, eat only when you're hungry. To lose weight, stop eating while you're still hungry."
I like that a lot.
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Old 09-30-19, 01:00 PM
  #78  
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Originally Posted by zacster
That doesn't sound like it is going to work. Are you sure the spacing matches? A 26" frameset is likely 135 spacing at the rear but a 700c single/fixed wheel is likely 130. Maybe a shop will be able to do it by removing spacers since the hub probably is only one size and uses spacers to fit either size. It also probably doesn't have cable stays.
It fit by removing one spacer and re-dishing the wheel. You're right about the cable stays, but that was addressed with some clips and a hanger. I picked up the bike and went for a shakedown ride with Dan yesterday and I am triple happy with it:
  1. My favorite bike gets a new lease on life.
  2. Everything works nicely and the changes make it way more comfortable to ride.
  3. It looks like I'll be able to sell the Gios frameset and Sputnik wheels for a bit more than the bill for doing the conversion, so I end up with more space in the basement, a workable bike, and a bit of money in my pocket.
With that done, I've made arrangements to get out for a hard training ride every Sunday morning. I'll score some power meter pedals soon and will start measuring and tracking my output as I continue cutting.
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Old 09-30-19, 01:07 PM
  #79  
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Old 10-06-19, 05:33 PM
  #80  
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I tried riding Haleakala on Rouvy today, starting at the switchbacks. I didn't even make it up one mile! The grade in Rouvy was at 12% but I don't remember it being that steep. Also the higher grade started on my trainer before it appeared on screen so I wasn't quite ready for it.

I think I'll do some other hill training before I attempt this again on Rouvy.
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Old 10-07-19, 07:32 AM
  #81  
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I finally got out for a dedicated training ride - I consider this a "pre-baseline", where my real baseline ride will be once I'm set up with a power meter & computer (hopefully before the snow flies).

I went for a very flat 63 km ride, because I felt like that would be enough to be taxing but not overextend and risk getting myself into some kind of trouble. It was cool at about 15C, wind was 20-25 kph with gusts up to 38, and it was raining a bit when I left (just light rain). I went early morning, and had a tea with milk & sugar before I left - no other calories before or during the ride. I meant to bring a water bottle, but forgot it. I figured that I could stop for water if I really needed it, but also thought that for just 60k I could do without it - and I also believe that riding fasted and a bit dehydrated is good for teaching myself to just push through suffering. I did need to urinate on my return home, so although my mouth and lips were quite dry, I don't believe that I pushed too hard by going without water.

The bulk of the ride was along the shore of Lake Ontario, but I live near the Don Valley and did dip down there on the way back. All of my training rides will finish with a ride up Pottery Road, which is a short and relatively steep climb (just under 40m of climb at about 10%). Total climbing over the whole ride as reported by Runtastic was just under 700m, which has to be pure bull. There's just no way. Google Maps says more like 100m, which to me seems way closer. Getting home to look at the details of the ride, I learned that Runtastic has been purchased by Adidas, and it's pure garbage now. I started using it about 5 years ago because my brother and brother in law were using it and they had some routes to share with me. It served my needs fine as a casual user, but with the eradication of the web interface, it's basically worthless for any kind of analysis. I'll switch to Strava and connect my bike computer to it once I have one.

Anyhow, my thinking in terms of trying to get fit and prepare for the big ride is to just focus on constant pressure on the pedals, regardless of speed or conditions. At this point, I can't really manage that. This was my first real ride in years on something like a road bike - and it ended up being about as much as I can do right now. When I got home, I couldn't get my leg over the bike to dismount, ended up spending a bit of time straddling the bike and resting my chest on the bars before figuring out a way to get it out from under me. I went in and drank a liter of water and felt better, after my second liter and another tea I was basically OK. I still managed a 23h fast, which was tough - but I've set a tough goal for myself and it's past time to get serious about it.

From 253 lbs at start, I'm down to 235 now. Another 15 and there are a bunch of shirts in my closet that I can put back into service - I hope to get there by Christmas.

Last edited by Syscrush; 10-07-19 at 09:23 AM.
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Old 10-07-19, 07:35 AM
  #82  
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Originally Posted by zacster
I tried riding Haleakala on Rouvy today, starting at the switchbacks. I didn't even make it up one mile! The grade in Rouvy was at 12% but I don't remember it being that steep. Also the higher grade started on my trainer before it appeared on screen so I wasn't quite ready for it.
12% doesn't jibe with my own experience there or this chart:
https://veloviewer.com/segments/638944

EDIT: Actually, looking closer, there are some kicks to that 10%+ range there on the switchbacks. If you turn on "Gradient" markers in that page, you can see them - they're all like 10-50 meters, but they are there.

Last edited by Syscrush; 10-07-19 at 07:40 AM.
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Old 10-07-19, 05:52 PM
  #83  
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Originally Posted by Syscrush
12% doesn't jibe with my own experience there or this chart:
https://veloviewer.com/segments/638944

EDIT: Actually, looking closer, there are some kicks to that 10%+ range there on the switchbacks. If you turn on "Gradient" markers in that page, you can see them - they're all like 10-50 meters, but they are there.
At the hairpins the grades are steep on the actual ride. It just seemed too steep when I was on the bike and I couldn't turn the pedals anymore. RidewithGPS doesn't show it being that steep either.

It was only a short distance on Rouvy, but the simulation made it feel even harder that it is, plus I started in the middle of the uphill, not that there is any flat anywhere on the ride.
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Old 10-20-19, 09:46 AM
  #84  
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Hill Hunting

For today's Sunday training ride, I decided to keep it short but intense, so it was just 20k, but with 10 repeats of a short nearby hill that averages 5% but has stretches steeper than that.

My target climbing pace for Haleakala is 10 kph, and it would appear that right now I'm able to maintain that on a similar/steeper road for about 5 minutes - so with a modest 70x improvement I should be right in the ballpark.
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Old 10-21-19, 12:25 PM
  #85  
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Originally Posted by Syscrush
I finally got out for a dedicated training ride - I consider this a "pre-baseline", where my real baseline ride will be once I'm set up with a power meter & computer (hopefully before the snow flies).

I went for a very flat 63 km ride, because I felt like that would be enough to be taxing but not overextend and risk getting myself into some kind of trouble. It was cool at about 15C, wind was 20-25 kph with gusts up to 38, and it was raining a bit when I left (just light rain). I went early morning, and had a tea with milk & sugar before I left - no other calories before or during the ride. I meant to bring a water bottle, but forgot it. I figured that I could stop for water if I really needed it, but also thought that for just 60k I could do without it - and I also believe that riding fasted and a bit dehydrated is good for teaching myself to just push through suffering. I did need to urinate on my return home, so although my mouth and lips were quite dry, I don't believe that I pushed too hard by going without water.

The bulk of the ride was along the shore of Lake Ontario, but I live near the Don Valley and did dip down there on the way back. All of my training rides will finish with a ride up Pottery Road, which is a short and relatively steep climb (just under 40m of climb at about 10%). Total climbing over the whole ride as reported by Runtastic was just under 700m, which has to be pure bull. There's just no way. Google Maps says more like 100m, which to me seems way closer. Getting home to look at the details of the ride, I learned that Runtastic has been purchased by Adidas, and it's pure garbage now. I started using it about 5 years ago because my brother and brother in law were using it and they had some routes to share with me. It served my needs fine as a casual user, but with the eradication of the web interface, it's basically worthless for any kind of analysis. I'll switch to Strava and connect my bike computer to it once I have one.

Anyhow, my thinking in terms of trying to get fit and prepare for the big ride is to just focus on constant pressure on the pedals, regardless of speed or conditions. At this point, I can't really manage that. This was my first real ride in years on something like a road bike - and it ended up being about as much as I can do right now. When I got home, I couldn't get my leg over the bike to dismount, ended up spending a bit of time straddling the bike and resting my chest on the bars before figuring out a way to get it out from under me. I went in and drank a liter of water and felt better, after my second liter and another tea I was basically OK. I still managed a 23h fast, which was tough - but I've set a tough goal for myself and it's past time to get serious about it.

From 253 lbs at start, I'm down to 235 now. Another 15 and there are a bunch of shirts in my closet that I can put back into service - I hope to get there by Christmas.
you need to ease into the fasted rides. no more than an hour to start for months at first. Bring gels as an emergency bonk backup. Once you get the powermeter you need to keep power in the Zone 2 range to start ie no intensity until you are adapted on the bike. Don't go into intervals fasted as that is about quality and you should be fueled for that type of work. I'm to the point of being able to ride ~2 hours hard in a fasted state following a 16:8 IF protocol
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Old 10-29-19, 09:19 PM
  #86  
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What about the other way?

I admire your goal and can only imagine how hard a ride up Haleakala would be. But the funny side of me thought "why not just ride it down?". A whole lot less training required!! :-)

I did the organized beach cruiser ride down years ago and it was both interesting and boring. The moon-like scenery of Haleakala was amazing, but a cautious, organized ride down was slow to the point of boredom. We were sorted by size, with bigger guys at the back. I was near the back and pretty much rode my brakes the entire way, versus screaming down the mountain like many of us wanted to. My small wife was the first person behind the tour guide and has a completely different memory of the ride. It was also cool (no pun intended) that we started in long pants and heavy jackets at the top of the volcano, and by the time we got down to Paia we had stripped all that off.

I've heard that the cruiser rides down the mountain don't exist anymore but not sure if that's fact or nonsense.

At any rate, good luck to you. Post pictures!!!!
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Old 10-31-19, 11:03 AM
  #87  
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My understanding is that the cruiser rides are no longer permitted in the park itself, but start beyond the ranger station. They take you to the top and then back down for the ride. And yes, it is a lot of fun to blast down the mountain on a real road bike even though I didn't make it to the top on my attempt. I saw lots of groups coming down on the cruisers when I was on my way up 5 years ago. That is one long climb...
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Old 01-07-20, 12:08 PM
  #88  
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HAPPY NEW YEAR

Hey all. Late fall and early winter kinda sucked for me in terms of cycling & prep for this goal - my rotator cuff and/or bursa are so jacked up that I had to stop even commute rides, much less hard training rides. I also struggle with getting out in dark and freezing conditions, need to HTFU.

I finally cracked and saw the doc about my persistent arm & shoulder pain and will be going for x-ray and ultrasound this week and starting some physio soon. I also treated myself for my birthday and found a good deal on the Assioma Duo: $650 US at clevertraining.com. This is way better than anything I could find on Amazon, eBay, or at local bike shops here in Canada, so I went ahead and ordered today. Their price for the ELMNT BOLT was comparable to local in-store prices, so I prefer to buy in person. Once my pedals arrive, I'll pick up a computer along with the necessary new cleats and shoes.

I should have baseline power numbers in Feb sometime - I admit that I'm dying of curiosity.

I got through the holiday season without cracking on my no-booze pledge. Despite having some real cravings for a nice beer now and then, I am confident that I can keep refraining for another 12 months. So far, it just hasn't been a real challenge or issue for me. When I get a proper craving, I imagine cracking a tallboy at the top of that mountain. I'm framing this year as going out and chasing that beer.

However, I haven't been consistent in managing diet and continuing to cut weight. This means that I really don't have any slack anymore, and need to remain focused and strict for the next year to have any chance of getting close to my target weight. It's still doable on paper at a non-extreme rate of loss (5-6 lbs/mth every month for a year would get me there fine) - it's not easy but it is simple. As this is a training & nutrition forum, I might as well share the fact that when I'm stressed I tend to self-medicate with food - and I've had a lot of work-related stress over the last few months that I failed to manage in a healthy way. I suspect that this is a familiar story for at least some others on here. If you're having trouble getting to your goal weight and being able to do what you want on a bike, for what it's worth you can know you're not alone. The positivity and support that people have shown on this thread are genuinely helpful for me to find a better mindset and refocus on improving my fitness, and I really appreciate it.
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Old 01-07-20, 02:06 PM
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I cracked & broke the training routine yesterday.

The family matriarch passed on. So we though it best to go to a Mexican restaurant, and get trashed with a giant margharita, a couple of beers, flan, & a large bowl of Rocky-Road ice cream. Just to process events by having all her favorite things. (She really knew how to have it good. )

Anyway, with that aside, we all have our set-backs & things we wished we did differently. It's back on focus for today. There is no place to go but forward. So, onward with purpose!

Obviously I'm not doing Haleakala anytime soon. But, our goals are the same. Stronger, faster, lighter. In that, you have my support.

...So, get on it! WIN!
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Old 01-08-20, 09:18 AM
  #90  
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Originally Posted by base2
(She really knew how to have it good. )
I'm very sorry for your loss.

There is no place to go but forward. So, onward with purpose!
AGREED!
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Old 01-08-20, 10:59 AM
  #91  
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You won't need cleats, they come with the pedals.
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Old 01-09-20, 11:03 AM
  #92  
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Originally Posted by zacster
You won't need cleats, they come with the pedals.
That's helpful info, thanks!
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Old 01-10-20, 09:05 AM
  #93  
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Originally Posted by Syscrush
That's helpful info, thanks!
NP. Even though they say they are Keo compatible, I found that my old Keo cleats didn't fit, and my new Assioma cleats don't fit in my Keos. When I needed new cleats I ordered the Assioma branded ones from CleverTraining.
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Old 01-22-20, 09:34 AM
  #94  
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X-rays and ultrasounds indicated that I should not require surgery, but I'm having a consult next week anyhow. Physiotherapist gave me a list of stretches and exercises to do and said that from what she observed I should be OK in 8 weeks or so. To me, it seems a bit too much like home remedies for colds that have you feeling better in a week or two. If the story is that careful stretching and easy use is good for it, then just using some thought and care in my day-to-day routine should be fine rehab, IMO. I'll go back in a week or two and see what she says then.

I've found that Robax with ASA is much more effective than ibuprofen or acetaminophen for making me functional. It's also harder on my digestion and problematic for my BP, so I'm being very sparing in its use.

We had a warm spell last week and I got back on my commuter bike for a few days. I had pain hustling the kids on and off, as well as just riding, but I think the overall effect was therapeutic. I felt better in the days after. Then my new pedals came and I scored some shoes & a computer a few hours before a big snowstorm. I keep an eye on the 10 day forecast hoping for a window when I'll have time and cooperative weather at the same time so I can get out for a ride and see some numbers.

In the meantime, there's not much to do but be disciplined about diet and try to help my power-to-weight ratio from the weight side...
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Old 07-06-20, 11:49 AM
  #95  
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Well, we plan, covid19 laughs... Through some combination of time, careful use, and the covid-mandated changes in my routine, my rotator cuffs are feeling almost 100% better. It took longer than what the physio guessed, but I also think that what she and the surgeon said was a bunch of BS. It all just sounded like bro science. The idea that severe pain in a joint is because one weird supporting muscle is somehow too weak just makes zero sense to me. Why would it be unbalanced? It's not like I'm a bodybuilder hitting the Nautilus machines to hyper-isolate specific shoulder muscles and ignoring others. Everything I do with my arms is natural compound movements - functional stuff like loading kids into and out of various conveyances, etc. It's an overuse injury, and probably related to my hypermobile shoulder joints.

The pandemic has completely disrupted life for me and my family - the need to care for young kids and try to balance that against work commitments was all-consuming and anything like training just got shoved out of my life. I also did a poor job of managing all of the stresses and self-medicated with food. I didn't gain significant weight, but didn't lose anything, either. On the other hand, I've stayed on the wagon - zero cheating on the injuction against booze. Back on disruptions, there's no way that we're gonna be in a position to hop on a plane to Hawaii in Jan 2021. I would love to be wrong about this, but I'm assuming that HI in the next 12 months is probably a no-go. I'm on the fence about whether to keep the same goal and just defer it, or to come up with a new goal. I have time to think about it.

As the work-kids tension was too much out of balance for our family, I'm taking leave now to focus on caring for the kids. To get some training in, I've decided to finally do what I joked about for a long time - the power meter pedals and the bike computer are on the cargo bike, and I've started doing HIIT-type training rides of up to an hour with both kids loaded up and the e-assist disabled. The weight of everything as we're rolling down the road is right around 400 lbs right now. It's quite a workout even at modest speeds and the relatively gentle hills around here.

I'm still weighing options for how best to review and analyze the data from my Assioma Duo power pedals, and how to set good goals and track progress.
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Old 07-06-20, 04:48 PM
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Originally Posted by Syscrush
Well, we plan, covid19 laughs... Through some combination of time, careful use, and the covid-mandated changes in my routine, my rotator cuffs are feeling almost 100% better. It took longer than what the physio guessed, but I also think that what she and the surgeon said was a bunch of BS. It all just sounded like bro science. The idea that severe pain in a joint is because one weird supporting muscle is somehow too weak just makes zero sense to me. Why would it be unbalanced? It's not like I'm a bodybuilder hitting the Nautilus machines to hyper-isolate specific shoulder muscles and ignoring others. Everything I do with my arms is natural compound movements - functional stuff like loading kids into and out of various conveyances, etc. It's an overuse injury, and probably related to my hypermobile shoulder joints.

The pandemic has completely disrupted life for me and my family - the need to care for young kids and try to balance that against work commitments was all-consuming and anything like training just got shoved out of my life. I also did a poor job of managing all of the stresses and self-medicated with food. I didn't gain significant weight, but didn't lose anything, either. On the other hand, I've stayed on the wagon - zero cheating on the injuction against booze. Back on disruptions, there's no way that we're gonna be in a position to hop on a plane to Hawaii in Jan 2021. I would love to be wrong about this, but I'm assuming that HI in the next 12 months is probably a no-go. I'm on the fence about whether to keep the same goal and just defer it, or to come up with a new goal. I have time to think about it.

As the work-kids tension was too much out of balance for our family, I'm taking leave now to focus on caring for the kids. To get some training in, I've decided to finally do what I joked about for a long time - the power meter pedals and the bike computer are on the cargo bike, and I've started doing HIIT-type training rides of up to an hour with both kids loaded up and the e-assist disabled. The weight of everything as we're rolling down the road is right around 400 lbs right now. It's quite a workout even at modest speeds and the relatively gentle hills around here.

I'm still weighing options for how best to review and analyze the data from my Assioma Duo power pedals, and how to set good goals and track progress.
My guess about the shoulders is that you're right and they're wrong. Unless you had a hard fall or a weight lifting injury, impingement is the more usual cause of shoulder pain. https://www.sports-health.com/sports...er-impingement

The problem is that we used to spend a lot of time hanging from our hands - remember monkey bars in school play yards? Now that we're adults, our arms have gradually drug our acromion down, reshaping that bone and making the space beneath it smaller. The fix is very simple: hang by your hands from an overhead bar for say, two 1-minute hangs every day. That's it. If that's the issue, it'll fix the pain inside a month. If it isn't, well hanging from your hands is good for you anyway. After the pain goes away, maybe once a week will keep it gone. Been there, experienced that, fixed it.

I use a Garmin Edge 800, now many years old, to acquire power and all other data. I upload it to TrainingPeaks for storage and analysis. I have a Premium account, totally worth the $119/year or whatever it is. It takes some experience, reading, and a bit of research to figure out what the data means and how to optimize one's training, or indeed how to "train" at all and see the sort of improvement you're looking for. My guess is that just lots of riding is what you need to do right now. lots, like 2-3 hour steady rides, gradually working up to 10-12 hours/week. I'd put the HIIT way on a back burner. I know it's very hip, but unlikely to do what you need to do, which is build a huge amount of endurance. The only way to build endurance is to endure, which means lots of riding.

Yes, I think you need several intermediate goals. The usual progression is 60k, 100k, imperial century, 200k, 300k, double Imperial century. You probably don't need more continuous distance than that, though amount of climbing is another story. That's not going to happen in a few months. Depending on where you live, all this can be done solo in the Time of Covid.
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Old 07-07-20, 06:53 AM
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Originally Posted by Carbonfiberboy
My guess about the shoulders is that you're right and they're wrong.
Well, you just made a friend for life, buddy!

I'm not doing HIIT type training right now because it's hip, but because with a 5 year old and a 2 year old (and me off work as the primary caregiver), 1 hour a day is the absolute outside limit. And by riding the cargo bike 3-up but with the e-assist shut off, I can do short duration, high intensity rides - at least as my baseline.

I still want to climb Haleakala, but realize that the training I can manage now is not conducive to that, and also that it may be years before getting on a plane to HI makes sense.
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Old 07-07-20, 09:15 AM
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My piece of crap Wahoo Bolt died at the start of my second ride with it. My sincere advice to anyone looking to get power meter and bike computer is to just pay the premium and buy both from Garmin. All of my research and reading of reviews failed to turn up reports of the kind of failure I've experienced, but once I had it and looked for that specific failure, I found several others having the exact same problem - and that the resolution is to return it for a replacement:


I bought it from MEC, and they'll give me credit towards a Garmin Edge 530 (luckily for me, they are 100% out of stock for the Bolt, so my decision to upgrade to the Garmin is an easy one).

Remember earlier in this thread when I said that I resented having to pay for a computer to use power meter and HRM? I managed to convince myself that I was just being paranoid, but now here we are.
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Old 07-07-20, 10:01 AM
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My bolt is sitting on the desk right in front of me. I've had it for two years now and other than a software bug with the turn by turn being a bit off I haven't had any problems at all with it. And I can't say I've heard of people having problems with it either aside from this. Every device will have a story or two of a lemon.
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Old 07-10-20, 08:53 AM
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Originally Posted by zacster
My bolt is sitting on the desk right in front of me. I've had it for two years now and other than a software bug with the turn by turn being a bit off I haven't had any problems at all with it. And I can't say I've heard of people having problems with it either aside from this. Every device will have a story or two of a lemon.
Thanks. I originally chose the Bolt + Assioma Duo combo based on your recommendation, plus I think that it looks nicer than the Edge - I was really pleased that I was able to find the Edge in pink. The color display of the Edge is garish, IMO, and I was concerned that it would be harder to read in direct sunlight. The lower price for the Bolt was a plus, too.

I know that the majority of Bolt users will never have the problem I had, but I'm clearly not alone. The video above has comments from about a dozen people who had exactly the same failure, some multiple times. Given that a small number of people are experiencing multiple failures, I suspect that something about how those users are storing or using their bike computers are causing problems for the Bolt. If MEC had a replacement Bolt in stock, I might have taken one instead of spending the extra for the 530, but at risk of jinxing things, I feel better having made the switch.



As for training with a heavy-ass electric assisted cargo bike, I will say this: I am starting to understand why they don't sell 200 lbs race bikes.

Slogging my guts out for an hour with the e-assist turned off, I'm covering about 10 km. But the aerobic workout is really serious. For establishing a baseline fitness, I think that this has some merit - even if I look like an absolute doofus out there. So far, the kids are tolerating it OK. It feels good being able to finally get out and really work hard on a bike again.
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