Hypno Toad

LMAO

WhyFi

Video is too long - which pro is humbling me today?

Ferrouscious 

An entire video made by Backwards Hat Dyan. fun.

unterhausen

watch

rydabent

That is why I say Idle back and just enjoy cycling!!!! There are thousands faster than you.

tankist

Relax, they have access to the best medical chemistry and fresh blood on the side.

canklecat

That's the first Dylan Johnson video I turned off after a few minutes because of the overall d!ckishness.

Then I realized he was doing Backward Hat Dylan. I missed the entire intent.

Not one of his best videos anyway. Backward Hat Dylan is best in small doses as a counterpoint to Dylan's usual solid videos based on evidence.

BTW, even in "failing" his most recent Everesting attempt, Phil Gaimon was still cranking out more climbing power for four hours than I can hold for 10 minutes on our puny 2%-5% hillettes. He bailed out before finishing so the support crew of volunteers wasn't waiting for 7-8 hours for a hopeless attempt at breaking the record. Phil's fails are better than my best day ever. There's a perverse comfort in that.

Monday I walked 10 miles home from my immunology appointment after buying a new pair of walking shoes. That was a mistake -- the toe box was a bit tight with the thick socks I wore. I can modify the insole to make 'em work. But the final two miles was painful.

The main lesson was: I spent a little more than 3 hours walking continuously, two miles in some pain, and realized I do not have the tenacity or pain tolerance to tackle Everesting, a 7-8 hour commitment for the strongest men and women, more like a 12 hour commitment for me.

Danhedonia

I used to climb - it was all about extending misery and ignoring discomfort. One of my 'summit days' in the Andes was over 40 hours long. Exhilirating experience I wouldn't repeat.

But you can condition yourself to prolong unpleasant or trying experiences. Really a matter of motivation.

Hypno Toad

Thanks, I posted from my phone last night ... and now I see that didn't work.

thehammerdog

it some times hurts when you try to go on what is for me a huge sprint going bawls out dying for say 100-200 yards and see you never broke 30mph.....
as i watch pro's doing 40mph in groups.

CAT7RDR

It's their full-time job.

Now, someone like Emma Pooley is really special to earn an advanced graduate degree in a STEM profession while winning championships and breaking records. That is amazing.

BAM Egypt

Good, Thanks

Hypno Toad

I laughed hard watching this - 'cause I'm that guy and I mock that guy!

Yes, I do watch the winds and love to find segments to target. You don't need a spreadsheet, VeloViewer has all the segment details (and there are other tools out there too). I'm less interested in KOMs and more interested in my VeloViewer score. It's just as pointless and silly as KOMs and I know it doesn't make me 'better' than other riders*.

* I was excited last week to climb Alp du Zwift in under an hour. I was wrecked and then look at my power for one hour and see it's not even close to what a pro can hold all day. Also, I also ride real-world races and I'm solidly a middle of the pack rider, I need to look for esoteric challenges to be 'the fastest' ... Like in 2019, I was the fastest fatbike at The Filthy 50 (gravel race).

IMHO Strava is like Candy Crush with bikes, fun but at the end of the day pointless.

freeranger

"less than a pros"--mine might be lower than some I ride with!!

burnthesheep

The TT bike can be a great equalizer. You just have to still do all the work associated with it. I love hearing people say "if only I had one of those also!". Bull crap. You'd also need to ride it 1/2 of your training hours, have also done the hours of aero testing, and still make some acceptable power. It's not as simple as going on Craigslist and buying one and hopping on.

I've done right at 350w for 5min on the TT bike and done about 430w for 2min chasing a segment. Given my guesses at my CdA in full race trim for both the TT setup or the road bike, I'd have to make about 150w at the 350w or 170w+ at the 2min effort. Air gets really thick.

I've recently given up on the ones that aren't old USAC time trial routes or USAT bike leg courses. Chasing some of the Strava KOM stuff I feel really took away from productive training weeks as the efforts aren't ideal for a workout. For a workout you want to spend repeatable time in the zone, not go all out one time for 5min and puke on the pavement then limp home.

Oddly enough most KOMs I get these days are the "ones you didn't know were there" and you get them with a tailwind while out riding some tempo or sweetspot.

Hypno Toad

^^^ OMG that is so true. I get reminded every time I go on my club's hills ride ... they are kind enough to let us old slow riders catch up at the top of the climbs.

hubcyclist

yeah, why bother with cardiovascular improvement when you can just go slow and stagnate

Hypno Toad

So there's no middle ground?

Honestly, most 'relaxed' riders have better cardo than majority of people who never get off the couch. Feel free to push yourself without expecting everyone else to 'go deep'. Biking has enough room for both relaxed riders and competitive riders .. even if some rider's idea of a bike is a recumbent

hubcyclist

Sure, there's middle ground, but the poster has a disdain for so called "racer boys" so I thought I'd offer a pithy thought on always going slow.

CAT7RDR

That's why I stay in the hills. At least I have a ready excuse for being slow.

My favorite is, "This is my last of a dozen climbs for the ride." Face-saving against those racer types that fly be me.

Hypno Toad

To be fair, many on BF express disdain for recumbents (I can't imagine who'd do that ... ).

At the same point, there are a lot of "racer boys" that take themselves way too seriously. I mean look at the dorky stuff we wear. And unlike the pros, "racer boys" pay buckets of money for bike, kit, and to race ... gotta admit it's kinda silly, right?

Russ Roth

My 5 min max power is as good as a pro's for 3 hours, I can even make it 6 minutes; I just need to rest for the duration of their 3 hours.
GNC did ones of these and I gave it a try based on their numbers and according to the trainer was able to keep up for nearly 6 minutes, having youtube on the basement TV is good for this kind of idiocy, I think their sport guy did it for 10 minutes or something like that.

Branko D

Yeah, it's way harder to push out power on a TT bike when not used to it. I do my indoor training on my wife's TT bike because it's a chore to change bikes and QR to thru axle adapter on the trainer when I can just lower the saddle by a centimeter and a half and ride, but doing stuff over threshold is really hard on it, or just doing sweetspot is harder in the aero position.

Definitely something you need to dedicate time getting used to if you're going to get one, it's not just a money investment.

Danhedonia

My disdain for racer boys seems to have kicked in right around when I got a lot slower.

Anyhow, I don't think it's silly to participate in a fascinating subculture. I have a couple of Eddie Merckx (and Coppi and Anquetil) replica jerseys. I don't pretend to be them (I did when I was a kid); I simply like feeling connected to the history of cycling some times when I go for a ride. Cycling has a lot more to it than competition (I believe this is Hypno Toad 's point, correct me if I misspeak for you) and if I recognize that I am not competitive with more-fit individuals, it doesn't make me less-legit unless we're having a race.

Sometimes it's boggling how people cannot imagine a purpose for riding beyond racing.

Feels good, man.

rosefarts

What'd you climb? I've been up Alpamayo and Huascaran Sur in ridiculous multi day no sleep pushes.