Quote:
Originally Posted by SadieKate
Oh crabs!!!
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SadieKate
Oh crabs!!!
I'm changing Lava's name to Sisyphus after last Saturday. That's how I feel when I'm on a hill.
If you're thinking about your speed as compared to other riders - as opposed to your speed goals for yourself - or you're in the "I don't care how fast I ride" camp (as I am)... You might appreciate two experiences I had in the past. These were both in the days when I still did organized rides.
The first was a 2-day MS ride I did that was a century each day. One of my co-workers asked if I'd mind if she rode with me. My reply, knowing that she was a much faster rider than I, was that it was fine to ride with me but that I thought she wouldn't be happy with my speed. We agreed to start together and we also agreed that she would take off when she met some faster riders to ride with. That happened at the first rest stop, and she was gone. As always, I was fine with riding alone. I didn't see her again until several hours after I finished the ride for the day, and my assumption was that she finished well before I did. Not so! I completed my ride at least 2 hours before she completed hers. Why? Because I rode at a consistent pace all day, stopping only to refuel and recycle (well not recycle - use the porta-potties!), while she raced off at a fast pace and then stopped at the rest stops for large chunks of time. She was pretty pissed at the end of the day that I'd finished before her!
The second was on a supported tour in California. We were riding from Eureka to San Francisco, and if I remember correctly our daily mileage ranged from 70 to 90 miles. There was one guy on the trip who blasted out of town each morning, speeding down the road. But somehow with my slow but steady pace, I always finished the ride well before him. I really didn't care - but he did! He couldn't understand how I finished first.
I think both of these were a classic case of the old "tortoise and the hare" fable.
But the point again is that we should all ride to meet our own goals - and not those of someone else!
Happy riding everyone...
--- Denise
Denise, I absolutely agree with you. When my SO and I go out, we practice pedaling at a consistant cadence and speed (and I practice changing gears on the hills). Neither one of us are out to win races, but to enjoy riding and the scenery! We stop at rivers, creeks, swamps, and sometimes to help a little turtle across the road.:p When we do organized rides, we are more prepared to do our steady pace and enjoy the ride! :D
Another "eh, yep!" from me!Quote:
Originally Posted by DeniseGoldberg
Ha! Good one! I just asked him and he said to offer up Andrew first since he's younger and faster. So the nice 22-yr old Cat 4 racer/wrench/college dude living here for the month gets thrown over the cliff first.Quote:
Originally Posted by Trekhawk
Bubba was so sweet on the TT. On the way back, he couldn't resist stopping to see if his sweetie needed help. He said he knew I could handle it but his chivalry got the better of him. I shooed him on but even after stopping to talk to me he got the same time as last week so you know it was going to be a fast night. What a guy.
Note to self: must find cliff here in the flatlands.
Well said!Quote:
Originally Posted by DeniseGoldberg
Quote:
Originally Posted by SadieKate
What a guy is Bubba!!! Always stopping to help a gal in need (like me and the PP on the tandem...). And here sacrificing his own results.
I think we'll be back for the TT beginning of August - will run the dates by DH. I know you won't let me ride it even if I promise not to crash.
You got that right. I'll attach the 3 full sets of snow chains we now seem to have acquired for the Bike Bus.
But the truly important question: are you allowed frozen margs?
Quote:
Originally Posted by SadieKate
Duh. What do you think?? :cool:
(I am just to have fewer of them than I might otherwise....)
Hmm, I'm sure we'll find takers for the remainder of the carafe.
mp, if you've built up a previous tolerance, you should be allowed more now!
Just don't have so many that you might lose your balance and bump your head and have that whole bleeding in your skull thing start up. SK - you'll have to make up the difference!
Sadly, my limited experience leads me to the conclusion that SK may not be up to the challenge. My previous tolerance being somewhat scary.... While on the rat poison, etc., my doctor advised 1 - 2 glasses wine max daily, with the key thing being consistency of amount - i.e., no benders.
I'm hoping they meant 8 ounce glasses!
Yes, she's got me totally outclassed. I do have a month to practice.Quote:
Originally Posted by maillotpois
It should be noted that the frozen margs are within walking distance of our house.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nanci
That's what I am going with...
Maybe they meant the big giant glasses...
Walking distance...sounds like a plan! Wish I could be there. I could handle a few.
That just bites it to the rim, eh? Don't you hate when that happens, feeling good, everything clicking, you know a personal best awaits you, then pssst?Quote:
Originally Posted by SadieKate
I endured two flats on BTC last week. One was on a climb with such a slow leak, I rode to the top before changing it. I was about 1/2 mile from the last rest stop on the last day. Needless to say, my sense of humor was gone.
I was glad no one was around to hear my very unladylike discussions with my tire. I retired to my abode and had very ladylike sips of a Mike's instead. I gotta train to take up MP's frozen margarita slack.
You may need some wind tunnel work for that.Quote:
Originally Posted by SadieKate
Wow... did this thread explode, or what?
I wanted to agree with Eden and BouncyBouncy way back on the first couple of pages...
Averages are really no more than an interest thing... a bit of fun... and don't really tell you much. There are too many variables...
The best advice in this thread I saw first was about page 6 I think from Eden... compare your average, fine, but only over the same course in similar conditions.
I have about four training courses, and about six club courses where I will try and do PBs.
I can compare myself to other riders on the club courses, and on my training course.
I try and choose days that I attempt my PB that have similar weather/wind/temperature conditions so the variables are minimised and I can measure my improvements more accurately.
To give an example of how averages do not tell you about ability UNLESS you have all the information...
On the 4th of June I rode flats for 9km but only managed an 18.5km av - this is way below what I am comforatable riding at but I was riding with my 10 year old son.
On the 5th of June I rode 83km at an average of only 22.74km - again, as a speed, not what I am comfortable riding at but this course has loads of hills and it was the first time I had ridden this far.
On the 2nd July my average was 31km per hour - I did a PB over a club TT course, though it wasn't a race situation and I think I would have done even better if it had been a club race.
I was happy with all those averages - but they need to be understood in their context.
I am much more of the opinion of time on the bike, and rides per week are the measures by which you watch your riding. While I was obsessed with averages to begin with - and it is a very real way to measure yourself as a beginning biker... I only fret about my average now in race (against others or myself) situations.
As for the stir that Lenusik made, well - I read the post and agreed with her... alot of the averages here are slow for me... now.
But I'd like to say to all the beginning riders... that all pro-riders started at a beginning level...
And to those who are not motivated by speed but rather by enjoyment and the pleasure of getting on a bike and increasing personal fitness ... don't get put off by people, like myself, who are obsessed with PBs (and beating my sister-in-law or my colleague at work).
We all have our own goals, and they are all valid.
The important thing is that we are all on bicycles, and we all get pleasure from the cycling we do.
So, when MP and Nanci average only 13.5 miles an hour over a 600k, they're only beginning riders?Quote:
Originally Posted by RoadRaven
13.5 maybe slow for you on your course with your equipment, terrain, age, weight, winds, etc., etc., etc., It can be damn fast in other situations. When you can ride a 600K faster than that, let us know.
Sorry, but you sound like the Bike Club president who told me I wasn't a serious cyclist because I don't ride ultra-distance events. Well, I haven't noticed Lance riding brevets either. You start out your post by agreeing that the variables are critical, but you end it with implying that slow speeds make you a beginning rider. You want to re-consider?
Thanks for ALL the input. Has made for very interesting reading . I really didn’t mean to open up such a can of worms - I will know next time and averages HAVE been put in much better perspective.
I am still pretty slow compared to others on the group ride but the leader said for the long haul on the tour I am training for I will be better off than some because the way I ride won’t injure my knees (lower gear but high cadence)
Another thing to note when everyone is quoting numbers are they all MPH unless specified KMH, I accidently switched my computer to kilometers and WOW was I good! my average was 22
Some of the numbers sound more like kmh than mph
AND thought of a new variable - computers! how accurate are they ? ? ?
Last night on the club ride I averaged 14.7 over 30 miles with a one mile long 9% grade climb,
wind was negligble ( x wind of about 5 mph - heavenly for this area - today is 14mph again). I rode pretty much neck in neck with another gal who got less than a 1/2 mile ahead of me for the last 5 miles. ( part was I had to wait for traffic but my computer stops on waits) My computer at the end said 14.7average and hers said 15.9.
SOOO we all decided that either computers lie or mine is running slow - the vote was cast and mine is running slow.:D
Thanks for the great discussions and the great personalities.
Lets all make peace and RIDE ON!
#1 rule for calculating average speed: if you start and end the ride with the same person, you use the longest distance and the highest avg speed, even if it is from two different computers.
Let's go back to talking about drinking.
I've only tasted (and recorded notes on) 170 bottles of wine since I began officially Tasting a year ago spring, (not counting repeats, some of which are 5 or more!, and restaurant bottles) so I am not sure if I am still a beginner or not.
I am right at my one year anniversary of really road biking, and have ridden roughly 5000 miles in that year. But since I found out we could consider our max speed our average speed, I think I am near the top with 49.1 mph.
Cheers to my two favorite things to do!!
Nanci
Hmmm. I love tequila but hate Marguaritas - what is a girl to do? ? ?
How can anyone hate margaritas???
BF makes these really expensive margaritas. I'm not sure of the recipe, but the two bottles of Anejo and Grand Marnier cost nearly $100. Then some fresh limes and powdered sugar. They taste very strong to me, but after the first couple, who cares?? This one time, at band camp, I was taking a shower. I heard this heartbreaking shriek followed by very much cursing from the kitchen, then silence. When I came running out, there he was, crouched on his hands and knees, sucking up spilled margaritas off the floor with a straw (frozen, luckily). I guess when you are unlucky enough to drop the blender-full, and the batch cost $$$$$$$$$, a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do. Man, I love teasing him about that!
I did my first wine tasting a year ago, made me appreciate wine a little more. I can now drink merlot or shiraz with dinnerQuote:
Originally Posted by Nanci
My BF likes wine - I like beer and tequila - not mixed:eek:
Heifeweisen, Black and Tan, Beamish, Muphy's, Red stripe, Pacifica, Corona, Coors light - its all good (must leave out Bud light - I don't like the name :p
Dream vacation: Cycling through Ireland doing a pub crawl and staying at bed and breakfasts
Just remember:
Beer before wine you do just fine
Beer before liquor never sicker
liquor before beer you're in the clear!
Now that is a true love of margaritas. We're having a Margherita pizza for dinner. Not anything like the drink, but good none-the-less. If you're a beginner Nanci, then I guess I'm a mere infant.
I hated margaritas also until I discovered that 1) you didn't have to have them with salt and 2) frozen ones are sublime after racing a time trial on a summer evening.
What is a margherita pizza?
A thing of yumminess...fresh tomatoes, basil, and fresh mozarella. Simple, yet delicious! It's from the ONE gourmet place we have.
Quote:
Originally Posted by eclectic
Duh. Shots.
Yumm. I'm also a big bruschetta fan.
Lemon drops are fun. Our local beverage store, suitably named "Beverages and More", has all the fun colored sugar and syrup. Oprah had half a show devoted to these things, which I happened to catch. :) Good thing!
Mmm, someone here is a lemon drop lover- I'm sure she will come out of the woodwork!
I remember seeing someone do that; only it wasn't margaritas it was cocai......Nevermind.:eek:Quote:
Originally Posted by Nanci
Ooooh! Ooooooh! **hand raised high**Quote:
Originally Posted by Nanci
Although the Caipirinha I had at dinner a week or so ago is still a fond memory....
*hand raised too!!!*Quote:
Originally Posted by snapdragen
And Caipiroska... Anything with lemon!!