Dem bicicletas dos, doe.

[D Griff]

Also, not strictly bike related but this seems as good a place as any to discuss. I've long been interested in an Ironman. I really can't swim for shit and haven't taken the time to learn yet, but to at least knock out one requirement prior to CF life, I've decided to sign up for the CLT Marathon in November.

I started casually training yesterday with my first long run in a while, 12 miles at a pace of 8:53/mile in Desertbreh Flyover Heaven AKA Columbus, OH. It was pretty flat but still felling decent about this as a starting point, certainly wasn't the easiest thing ever, but I definitely had more in the tank to go longer or faster.

The goal will be sub four hours.

Just casually ripping off a half marathon, NBD.



I've been "running" a bit more lately, really exclusively with the pup. We're always stopping so he can sniff and shit and whatnot but when we are running we're usually going along at a decent clip. I'd definitely need some solo runs if I want to actually get faster but it still feels like I'm improving.

The swimming portion of an ironman would kill me. I'd be the next Crossfit casualty, drowning in a river. Me sink like rock.

I like jogging with my dog but he struggles in the summer. He is fast but definitely likes to stop and sniff. It's a nice way to mix things up though, I love trail running with him off leash but it's more of a fall/winter activity.

[coogles]

I like jogging with my dog but he struggles in the summer. He is fast but definitely likes to stop and sniff. It's a nice way to mix things up though, I love trail running with him off leash but it's more of a fall/winter activity.

Mine does too (black dog problems), but we usually go in the morning before it gets hot. That works a whole lot better. I want to get better at running but it feels like a worthwhile sacrifice to give up some pace to spend some time with him.

[J-Ho-Fo-Show69]

I like jogging with my dog but he struggles in the summer. He is fast but definitely likes to stop and sniff. It's a nice way to mix things up though, I love trail running with him off leash but it's more of a fall/winter activity.

Mine does too (black dog problems), but we usually go in the morning before it gets hot. That works a whole lot better. I want to get better at running but it feels like a worthwhile sacrifice to give up some pace to spend some time with him.

I wish my Mav would get into it. But she doesn’t like running like that. She’s fine on the trail, but not so great around the hood. She gives out, especially in this heat. This is the way tho. Time with your dog should take precedent.

[D Griff]

Mine does too (black dog problems), but we usually go in the morning before it gets hot. That works a whole lot better. I want to get better at running but it feels like a worthwhile sacrifice to give up some pace to spend some time with him.

I wish my Mav would get into it. But she doesn’t like running like that. She’s fine on the trail, but not so great around the hood. She gives out, especially in this heat. This is the way tho. Time with your dog should take precedent.

You started up running in peak heat and just like us, dogs need to acclimate to it. Try it in the winter and I bet by next summer she’d do ok in the mornings. Charlie can do like 2 miles in the morning now jogging. Winter he’s good for 2-3X that or more if in the woods off leash.

[Johnny_P]

Killer bike Chris. Jelly. That bomber Z2 is a sweet fork.

[D Griff]

I guess this thread has been pretty innactive so I forgot to share my recent NBD!

I bought this frame back over a memorial day sale and slowly built it up:

-Lynskey titanium GR300 frame
-State Bicycle Co carbon 'Monster' fork
-Used a bunch of parts I pulled from my road bike - 105 shifters, front derailleur, crankset, brakes, Mavic
-Grabbed up one of those shock absorbing stems and some cheap aluminum flared bars (I think they're Salsa)
- Shimano GRX rear derailleur
-GravelKing 40 MM

[D Griff]

I removed the GR300 stickers and planning to remove the Lynksey ones as well, need to take it on some more exciting rides. Most of Western NC is closed right now, which puts a slight damper on things.

[Johnny_P]

I guess this thread has been pretty innactive so I forgot to share my recent NBD!

I bought this frame back over a memorial day sale and slowly built it up:

-Lynskey titanium GR300 frame
-State Bicycle Co carbon 'Monster' fork
-Used a bunch of parts I pulled from my road bike - 105 shifters, front derailleur, crankset, brakes, Mavic
-Grabbed up one of those shock absorbing stems and some cheap aluminum flared bars (I think they're Salsa)
- Shimano GRX rear derailleur
-GravelKing 40 MM

Oh sweet! Jelly of the titanium frame!

[coogles]

I guess this thread has been pretty innactive so I forgot to share my recent NBD!

I bought this frame back over a memorial day sale and slowly built it up:

-Lynskey titanium GR300 frame
-State Bicycle Co carbon 'Monster' fork
-Used a bunch of parts I pulled from my road bike - 105 shifters, front derailleur, crankset, brakes, Mavic
-Grabbed up one of those shock absorbing stems and some cheap aluminum flared bars (I think they're Salsa)
- Shimano GRX rear derailleur
-GravelKing 40 MM

This thing is dope. So wish I had somewhere to ride something like this.

[D Griff]

Thanks boyz. So far it’s been fun. Hoping to get a few more dece rides in prior to

Hit the greenway down to some single track last week which was a fun ride to link together.

[coogles]

Well, I have this totally bass-ackwards as usual, but now that it's winter I've been on a bike quite a bit.

Coming into 2024 I set the goal to finally get a 250W FTP test and was on the right track. I saw a nice jump from about 220W to 240W after my first 8 week training block, then I went right into another one and completely bonked the FTP test at the end. I might have come out of the gates a bit too hard, but it turned out I also had a bit of a chest cold coming on and I just couldn't fucking breathe about 15 minutes into the test. 3 days later my dog died, and at that point the only kind of exercise I wanted to do was throw around heavy objects while listening to Rage Against the Machine. Got the new dog, and then all I wanted to do was get outside and jog with him. I barely rode my bike at all the entire rest of the year.

Time to reset and try again, and that's what I've been doing the last few weeks. I'm changing up my training a bit too. Last time I spent a whole lot of time doing tempo work, which after awhile didn't seem to work well. Those workouts are tiring enough to produce fatigue that lingers, but not enough to really provide a new stimulus. This time around I'm doing a true polarized approach, with two targeted interval sessions each week and then a bunch of Zone 2. One interval session will target threshold, the other VO2 MAX/sprinting, and the rest of time on the bike will either be true recovery work or Zone 2 where I do nothing but slow nasal breathing. I'm still only going to have 3-5 hours on the bike each week but I'm hoping that'll be enough to get me there.

Here's today's workout.

[J-Ho-Fo-Show69]

Well, I have this totally bass-ackwards as usual, but now that it's winter I've been on a bike quite a bit.

Coming into 2024 I set the goal to finally get a 250W FTP test and was on the right track. I saw a nice jump from about 220W to 240W after my first 8 week training block, then I went right into another one and completely bonked the FTP test at the end. I might have come out of the gates a bit too hard, but it turned out I also had a bit of a chest cold coming on and I just couldn't fucking breathe about 15 minutes into the test. 3 days later my dog died, and at that point the only kind of exercise I wanted to do was throw around heavy objects while listening to Rage Against the Machine. Got the new dog, and then all I wanted to do was get outside and jog with him. I barely rode my bike at all the entire rest of the year.

Time to reset and try again, and that's what I've been doing the last few weeks. I'm changing up my training a bit too. Last time I spent a whole lot of time doing tempo work, which after awhile didn't seem to work well. Those workouts are tiring enough to produce fatigue that lingers, but not enough to really provide a new stimulus. This time around I'm doing a true polarized approach, with two targeted interval sessions each week and then a bunch of Zone 2. One interval session will target threshold, the other VO2 MAX/sprinting, and the rest of time on the bike will either be true recovery work or Zone 2 where I do nothing but slow nasal breathing. I'm still only going to have 3-5 hours on the bike each week but I'm hoping that'll be enough to get me there.

Here's today's workout.

Question, how are you measuring your VO2 max? I was tracking it on my watch, but turns out it’s wildly inaccurate. Like it made it seem like I was severely below average and gonna die. Then I did a physical thing and asked to test for it.

[coogles]

Question, how are you measuring your VO2 max? I was tracking it on my watch, but turns out it’s wildly inaccurate. Like it made it seem like I was severely below average and gonna die. Then I did a physical thing and asked to test for it.

In this case I'm talking about a specific output rather than an actual mL/Kg/min measurement. So my FTP right now is ~240 watts, so an interval to target VO2 max would be 120-125% of that number, so 288 - 300 watts. This last workout was sort of over and under that, the 3 minute interval was at ~280, the 50 second intervals were at 330, but generally they're looking to help improve that aerobic ceiling.

[coogles]

Also, I saw Zack's FTP test on Strava a few days ago and the dude averaged 322 watts for 20 minutes, so a result of 306W. Still blows my mind. I can sustain 322 watts for maybe 3 minutes at best.

[D Griff]

Also, I saw Zack's FTP test on Strava a few days ago and the dude averaged 322 watts for 20 minutes, so a result of 306W. Still blows my mind. I can sustain 322 watts for maybe 3 minutes at best.

I have no idea what I could do. Actually been considering for power meter pedals for our indoor bike because kid + new job + winter makes riding outside really hard now… but I don’t know if I feel like dropping 800 freakin’ bones on some pedals so haven’t looked into it.

Road a bike at a hotel this week and noticed the power meter maxed out at 500W and wouldn’t read any higher regardless of how much harder I pushed past that.

[coogles]

Also, I saw Zack's FTP test on Strava a few days ago and the dude averaged 322 watts for 20 minutes, so a result of 306W. Still blows my mind. I can sustain 322 watts for maybe 3 minutes at best.

I have no idea what I could do. Actually been considering for power meter pedals for our indoor bike because kid + new job + winter makes riding outside really hard now… but I don’t know if I feel like dropping 800 freakin’ bones on some pedals so haven’t looked into it.

Road a bike at a hotel this week and noticed the power meter maxed out at 500W and wouldn’t read any higher regardless of how much harder I pushed past that.

Do you a power meter crank on any of your bikes? If not, I'd definitely do the pedals so you can transfer them from bike to bike.

The Favero Assioma Duo seems like the favorite out there. No idea if this place is legit but they have them listed for $625.99.

https://www.tradeinn.com/bikeinn/en/fav ... 38044592/p

I'm probably going to do a crank with a power meter on my TCR. I want shorter cranks anyway, and Magene has their power meter cranks for just $300. Two birds with one stone. The 105 cranks on the TCR are 172.5mm and the Peloton uses 170mm. Seems like a small difference but the saddle has to be 2.5mm lower and that makes your foot come 5mm higher relative to the saddle. That narrows the angle at the hip even more when you're on a long and low race bike. I at least want the crank lengths to match, or I may even go down to 167.5mm on the TCR.

[D Griff]

I have no idea what I could do. Actually been considering for power meter pedals for our indoor bike because kid + new job + winter makes riding outside really hard now… but I don’t know if I feel like dropping 800 freakin’ bones on some pedals so haven’t looked into it.

Road a bike at a hotel this week and noticed the power meter maxed out at 500W and wouldn’t read any higher regardless of how much harder I pushed past that.

Do you a power meter crank on any of your bikes? If not, I'd definitely do the pedals so you can transfer them from bike to bike.

The Favero Assioma Duo seems like the favorite out there. No idea if this place is legit but they have them listed for $625.99.

https://www.tradeinn.com/bikeinn/en/fav ... 38044592/p

I'm probably going to do a crank with a power meter on my TCR. I want shorter cranks anyway, and Magene has their power meter cranks for just $300. Two birds with one stone. The 105 cranks on the TCR are 172.5mm and the Peloton uses 170mm. Seems like a small difference but the saddle has to be 2.5mm lower and that makes your foot come 5mm higher relative to the saddle. That narrows the angle at the hip even more when you're on a long and low race bike. I at least want the crank lengths to match, or I may even go down to 167.5mm on the TCR.

I’ve never used a power meter. Not super interested in it for outside but the versatility of pedals is nice, that could change.

Hmmm that price is decent, I may consider it.

Those millimeters can make a real difference on your fit! Honestly worth the little changes to get more comfy and avoid injury if you’ll be riding a lot.

[coogles]

I’ve never used a power meter. Not super interested in it for outside but the versatility of pedals is nice, that could change.

Hmmm that price is decent, I may consider it.

Those millimeters can make a real difference on your fit! Honestly worth the little changes to get more comfy and avoid injury if you’ll be riding a lot.

Yeah, it sounds minimal, but I can easily tell the difference in crank length between the two. I like higher cadences anyway, so the shorter cranks work well for me in that respect too.