so what are YOU built for?

[BikingAt50]

I live in the Dallas area too. I just got my bike in October 2004, and I bought it so I could do triathlon's.

We ride White Rock Lake almost daily. We try to ride the White Rock Trail which is 14 total and around the lake which is 10, plus the ride from home and back. It's a good ride. We have some good hills coming and going from our neighborhood. My schedule is so crazy, it' shard to schedule our rides, When I get home, I rush to vhange clothes and go! Sometimes, we get caught in the dark on the way home. So, I'm trying to start earlier and ride faster! LOL!

You must be in very good shape to do the tri's. Good luck...maybe we will pass each other somewhere

[Dianyla]

We do have a few big hills up north of me, and on a century I did this year the last 10 miles had about a 2 mile climb at about a 7% grade. I did about 14 up that thing. Riding up to it it just looked like a big wall lined with trees. You don't see that a lot around here so I was like oh this should be fun.

On a related note I would love to do the Seattle-Portland ride, but I'm curious as to how I'd train for that other than going up to WI or something to get in some decent hills.

I just did the STP last weekend and you sound like you're in way better shape than I am. The first 100 miles are not very hilly, it starts out pretty flat and then around mile 40 there is one large-ish hill that you actually have to gear down for, followed by gradual long 1-2% inclines and some rolling hills. The second 100 miles is certainly hillier, there are a handful of short steeper hills and then the last 50 miles are rolling hills all the way to Portland.

Considering our topography here in the Pacific NW is fairly bumpy, this ride probably does follow the smoothest possible path from Seattle to Portland. It's certainly not as flat as some people made it sound, but it's certainly not a hill ride.

[alison_in_oh]

I'm still trying to work that one out. On the group ride, I'm always the last up the hill, but I'm getting better at powering over rollers. The guys on that ride praise my ability to accelerate for a burst of speed, but on most of my other rides my acceleration is definitely my downfall! Power is the area I train the most right now, and I'm working on my sprint too. Because I'm always the last up the longer climbs, I don't consider myself a climber, but the race I just won was the longest hill climb I'd ever done to that point! So it made me wonder if I'm a climber who's just being outclassed by all these guys with a superior power-to-weight ratio! (Then, looking at betagirl's stats, I'm ashamed to think that! My personal "time trial" course is a 1.5 mile ~8% grade, and I'm lucky to be doing 9 mph up that thing! Sigh.)

I dunno. I do think I'm built to race though. The motivation of competing gets me all kinds of fired up. I'll keep trying different courses and as I see how I fare on them, I'll learn better what kind of riding suits me best!

[RoadRaven]

I dunno. I do think I'm built to race though. The motivation of competing gets me all kinds of fired up.

LOL... I can sooooooooooooo relate to this... I had no idea I was so competitive til I hopped back on a bike - so competitive that I have not entered anything more than fun rides with my youngest children - because I want to do good times when I enter an actual race. So doing heaps of riding and training towards my first real races around October... a 50km road race and a 20km TT

I really enjoy my training TT rides best - looking forward to the "real" thing

[betagirl]

Thanks for the tip Dianyla. I love it up there, much more picturesque than the Midwest.

[LBTC]

Built for?

DH says sex. hahahahahaha

really, I think I'm a dirt Diva. love the trees and winding single track. love being the only girl on the ride. but only because then I'm the fastest girl. hahahaha

i'm still too inconsistent to be built for "one" thing....unless that just means I'm just generally a good rider. heh.

of course, I am talking mountain bike here. on the road I feel like I"m quite pathetic. it's a fabulous training tool, but I would never think of being competitive on the road!!

here, though, there's no such thing as flats. I keep trying to figure out a good way to get in an hour long spin with no climbing effort. If I drove about an hour west I think I'd find a few sections that way...otherwise it's a hill in every direction and a hill to get home.

ah, but the singletrack! ah!!

tho I really do have to stop noticing the unusual and large mushrooms this year! very distracting! hahahahah

Namaste,
~T~

[KkAllez]

DH says sex.

Too funny! I make sure to be careful bending over when DH is around or I get rammed from behind. (He's such a goat, but a cute one!)

I'm built for endurance. While not a speed demon over the long haul I can go long distances and come up with explosive speed when needed. I just love passing the guys going up the hills in a headwind.

BTW, you guys mentioned Hotter N Hell, well, we were going to go the full hundred miles this year (already got our hotel resevervations) however, I'll probably be lucky to do the 50 after this surgery. If I can only do the 25 though, I'll still be there! We ought to have a Team Estrogen get together at HHH.

[BikingAt50]

BTW, you guys mentioned Hotter N Hell, well, we were going to go the full hundred miles this year (already got our hotel resevervations) however, I'll probably be lucky to do the 50 after this surgery. If I can only do the 25 though, I'll still be there! We ought to have a Team Estrogen get together at HHH.

Lucky to get a hotel room at the HHH. We love to stay at the YWCA downtown. It is $10 a night. They call it indoor camping. Last year it was packed! They let you use the pool, showers, locked and guarded bike storage, and low cost massages afterwards. It is near the convention center, so it is in a good location. Save your money and stock up on socks, shirts and other bike related gear. The show is great and they have wonderful prices! I am new to riding and will do the 25 or 50. My hubby does the 100. We were from that area and love to see how the city supports the ride. Everone gets into it! If anyone from TE is going, we should plan a quick meeting. I would loveto put faces to the names.

[KkAllez]

If anyone from TE is going, we should plan a quick meeting. I would loveto put faces to the names.

Oh that would be great! I called the very first of the year and got reservations at the Radisson. Only at the time I thought it was the hotel right that at the convention center at the start of the race. Wrong! I don't care though, cause last year we had to stay at Laughlin, OK because everything was booked in Wichita. At least now we are in the same city.


But yeah, it would be fantastic for me to meet some of you in person!

[nicolezoie]

Build-wise, I'm ALL lower body - wide hips & big legs. My strength is in endurance riding - I can keep going and going and maintain basically the same pace the whole way.

[joyrider]

Although I've gotten faster, slightly, I find that I like longer rides at a continuous moderate pace. Also, I'm finding that I don't really hit a groove until after I've been riding for about forty-five to an hour. Then, once I'm there, I have that invincible feeling that I could ride all day, even though I actually can't. Especially if I started my ride by way of Peet's as I try to always do. Hills are a big challenge for me, at 5'8" and 214 pounds, it takes real effort. And on a moderately steep hill of any lenghth, it's likely that I'm going to have to stop for a breather a couple of times. But I'm so proud of myself when I get to the top it's just ridiculous! I love to work and get sweaty, although I chuckle to myself as I watch the skinny spandex crowd swoop around me up the hills, standing on the pedals, breathing evenly. Did I mention that standing on the pedals on a hill isn't an option for me? It's hard enough to climb up those hills without having to actually lift my giant butt into the air at the same time!

[bikerchick68]

Build-wise, I'm ALL lower body - wide hips & big legs. My strength is in endurance riding - I can keep going and going and maintain basically the same pace the whole way.

nicole... that's ME too! I'm a "pear"... can wear a size 6/8 top but need a size 10/12 bottom!

[MomOnBike]

Oh Lord, to be 215 again. <big sigh>

I never was fast. Even when I was skinny, I just didn't have the speed to compete. My horses, on the other hand...

The problem is, my head is built for speed and competition and my body is built more for long slow distances. This is often a problem on the local trails.

[BikingAt50]

nicole... that's ME too! I'm a "pear"... can wear a size 6/8 top but need a size 10/12 bottom!

LOL! I wear a size 6/8 pants and 1X top. I went to Walmart today to find some sleeveless tops for work. By the time I get a top big enough in the breast, the sleeves are too big and open, the sleeve seams are down my arms, the body part is too big & too long, and the neck opennings are down to my belly button So, I guess I am an upside down pear shape.
That's why I can't find a jersey like I want.


I think I will develop a clothing company for big boobie women with smaller bodies.