Riding around

[Alistar]

Yeah I suppose it doesn't matter too much? Just hit the hill as hard as you can from the bottom and you'll reach your max pretty soon before it starts tapering off as you start to tire...

Man I need to go on some weekday rides! Just really hard to find the time unless I want to go riding in the cold and dark when the partner gets home from work...

Same ride as last week. Felt OK but those beers didn't help too much the last couple of nights...
The wind seemed to follow me the whole way around today- damned Nor' Easter! Was doing a similar speed to the week before but due to the wind was trying harder to maintain it, so faded a bit worse towards the end of the ride than last week...

65.56km 2hr49:58 23.1Av 66.3max

Up Gebbies 7:05
Up The big B 19:59
To SOK 1hr6:43
Last hill 6min10

[Alistar]

Should have followed my own advice. No more rides during the week unfortunately...
Gets to the weekend and the weathers shite. Cold, foggy and drizzly. Wasn't too bad so snuck out for a ride. Sou Westerly was pretty strong so slow going out to the Black tulip. Bit better from then but still not the good tailwind i was expecting. Rain set in after 1hr40, just as I hit the Dyers/Colombo roundabout. Got soaked pretty quick, kept it going, windchill wasn't so nice. Tried to do a reasonable time from Sumner to top of Evans pass putting a bit of effort in for the last half.
Didn't feel too bad at that stage. Got to the top and went oh oh!!Tank empty so a bit of a grovel from Lyttelton around the Bays and Back home. Bonked proper around 20k's to go so the last hills were agony. I was cold and wet and just crawled up the last hill. Jumped in the shower for about half an hour to warm up. Bliss after my feet warmed up- hate it when you put heat on too quick and your feet/hands get real sore before they de-ice!

89.2km 3hr50(worst time ever I think!) Av 23.2 max 62.9km/h

Gebbies 7min50
Evans from Sumner 10min51
to Colombo round about 1hr40
Lyttelton 2hr35

[Dave Noisy]

Oh yuck, don't remind me of what i'll be riding in three months from now.. ;)

[Alistar]

Sorry Dave!! Things are just starting to look up down here with Spring in just a few days!

Had a good ride today. Just did my short and hilly ride. Conditions weren't too bad but quite a strong Nor' easter blowing. Nice not to get rained on though! Got to the SOK in reasonable time and then on the first climb spied this fit looking guy just up ahead. Decided not to pass him as he was about as strong as I was, and didn't want to get in a race. Then noticed he had some tri bars...

Lucky I didn't pass him as he started pulling away from me a little when it flattened out a bit, but I'd start clawing back some time on the hills. Then I noticed he'd stopped, after a bad gear change had made him drop his chain so I went speeding past. 30seconds later he was back up and on my tail and stayed at about that distance for 5min or so. But I wasn't going to let him catch up and pass me though, so kept up the pace. Then when the next couple of hills came, I pretty much floored it (even though making sure it looked like I wasn't! ), and gave him the slip. I knew there were a couple of turn-off's into town he would probably take, just after the hills.

Started getting a bit hard at Rapaki as I started to tire on the way home. The last hill being a bit of a struggle like usual, but thankfully not as hard as last week

65.56km 2hr40:47
24.46km/h Av
HR max 180 Av 148 2hr14 within zone 20min over

Gebbies 6min57
The Bastard 18:38
SOK 1hr3:30
Lyttelton 1hr42
Last hill 5min58

[Alistar]

Whats this!A mid week ride?! Crazy!

Thought I'd make use of the warm Northely conditions before the front arrived. Headed out the door after making dinner for the family (and after I'd turned the house upside down looking for my cycling gloves ) Lovely night to be out and good to take the new bike for another spin.
Just went to Lyttelton and back which is a 48km round trip. No big hills but lots of smaller ones

Felt quite fatigued in my thighs esp from Sundays ride and noticed my HR was down a bit so was obviously still a little tired
Anyway...

1hr45:49
~48k's 27.22km/h Av

Av HR 140 Max 166 in time 1hr40 over 45seconds
32:31 to Gov'nors
52:47 To Lyttelton
1hr14 to Gov
Last Hill 4min27 (Good to do this with still some petrol left in the tank!)

[bob_summers]

new bike? do tell

maybe the HR is going down coz you're getting fitter. that's what i tell myself anyways....

[Mr. Cleetus]

Things are just starting to look up down here with Spring in just a few days!

right you were!! The wind is screaming thru Welly right now.

What racing do you have planned? I am thinking about heading up to K2 - as always a big group is going up from here, but there's a good chance I won't be able to get on the bike for much of Sept (work travel) and my current training is not exactly ideal for that. dunno....

[Alistar]

Yeah I'd love to do the K2 some day considering its the toughest race in NZ! Its just the logistics of getting there. That damned Cooks Straight . So I'm looking to do the Festival of Cycling down in ChCh in early December so lots of time I need it! Want to do Round the Mountain in New Plymouth in Feb I think? as my olds live there. Then Le Race in end of March

Hey Bob. Yeah I've done that mistake before! Was wondering why I couldn't get the HR up as it was sitting at 15 to 20points below normal for a given speed. Told myself "man I've got fit all of a sudden!". About 3weeks later blew a Glute medius muscle I wasn't fit just overtrained...didn't have enough recovery in my programme...

Anyway here's my new bike. Still haven't quite sorted out the position yet...




Its componentry is 105 Compact, with its stock training wheels. Full carbon frame is awesome though (the top Dura ace model has same frame and fork), nice and chunky around the BB and handles like a dream. Just need some lightish AC420's or Prolites for the hills, and stick my old Conti race tyres on it, and will be sweet!

[bob_summers]

nice, 105 is plenty. i don't dabble much in shimano but i've had 105 stuff before and it's been excellent.

and, what a view! is that your house?!

[Alistar]

Yeah functionally it works really well- not quite as crisp/smooth shifting as ultegra etc but you'd hardly notice. It just weighs a bit more so hopefully that just means it'll last longer!

Yeah thats from our deck. Beautiful on a lovely day like that

In the background is the Port Hills which is where the Summit Rd is where I do on my 65k ride along atm. Think it's highest point is about 470m or so. I go from Left to Right mostly. Gebbies/ B'stard is to the left out of shot. The SOK is where that TV mast is (to the left of pic) and Evans Pass is out of shot to the right. Then I just come home back around the bays. When fit I can do figure 8's etc, ride down the other side into town and around etc, just to keep things interesting

[fredrikw]

Yeah functionally it works really well- not quite as crisp/smooth shifting as ultegra etc but you'd hardly notice. It just weighs a bit more so hopefully that just means it'll last longer!

If you don't get crisp/smooth shifting with 105 it's more likely an error in how you have set it up, function wise the difference between Ultegra and 105 is practically none.

[bob_summers]

that's some ace riding country, mate. it looks drier than i would've expected but that could be distance/exposure on the picture.
similar terrain here, 450-650m climbs from sea level, although i wish i could see it from my front door

agree with fred, i replaced a 600 mech (pre ultegra?) with 105 and it was just as slick.

[Mr. Cleetus]

What goes on in the Festival of Cycing? Isnt the round the mountain later than that? I always associate it with miserable weather. Actually I think I am thinking of the 3 day tour - it must be the one that is. Ahh yep, just looked it up - its the tour that is normally Queens B-day weekend. Usually a group of friends from here head up for that.

[Alistar]

I stand corrected Will have to have a bit of a twiddle with the gears this weekend...

Yeah Bob, we're on the East coast of the South Island so its relatively dry here compared with the very wet West coast, and also much of the North Island which in general is a lot greener.

Mr C :The FoC is a celebration of the "Long bays" ride they used to do back in the day when all the roads were gravel. Not too long(~80k's but just means it's a bit of a sprint) but a cool course after getting to Gebbies Pass where the hills start. First day they have the elite/sponsored guys/gals and then the plebs(me) who start 5minutes later.

They've also started up a mtb race that goes on at the same time up the port hills if that's your thing.

Then next day they have all the crits in the centre of town with lots of different grades etc which is good to watch but I've never ridden in one.

Oh yeah gotcha...Round the Mountain is on January the 16th so hopefully good weather...

[Dave Noisy]

Good looking bike, congrats! =)

Beautiful area to ride too...