Has anyone taken up Bycyling?

[TexasFire 84]

I think there are a few of us here that may be a tad OCD! (Myself included.) My Dad always says we are ALL crazy...just by different degrees...and I believe that 110%! I heart you all!

[mbsbike2002 0]

B-

God love ya, I think you might be a little OCD.

:)

Maybe a little bit...

While we're on the subject of Biking and OCD, I have a question for ya...

I have the sense that I can muddle my way to reaching my biking goals by plodding along a little farther a little faster over a period of time. I also completely buy into Vygotsky's "Zone of Proximal Development" and see value in riding with others whose abilities are somewhat better than mine, but who won't be held back too much by riding with me.

I also have the sense that I will develop the fitness and ability to reach my goals if I take a more methodical approach. In many respects, I see that my training should be broken into two parts - roadwork for building miles and endurance, and the trainer for being able to focus on aerobic capacity, training to lactate threshold, etc., while taking out some of the variables that go with riding on the roads.

The problem, though, is how to get that structure. A personal coach is obviously the best way. One local guy charges about $100 an hour, which seems a little steep for more than the occasional check-up or treat. In short, I don't think that will yield the consistent improvements that I desire. I bought one of the training videos from Carmichael, and it seems that they were developed to address the needs of people who have reached a moderately high level of fitness and are striving for that next level. Maybe I could adapt them to my needs?

I bought a polar heart rate monitor (what I should have done instead of the BB) so that I can get accurate feedback on fitness, aerobic capacity, etc. Does anyone have any thoughts, or any good books, on maximizing trainer time for aerobic/fitness enhancements?

B

[OH Juli 15]

B,

Golly...here are my thoughts off the cuff.

Is there a biking group you can join? You'll find the other riders who can improve your game there.

And I'd be cautious of a trainer because finding one who meshes perfectly with you might be hard, only because my limited experience is that trainers have a limited knowledge base (like not biking) and often have their own agenda or can't hear what you are looking for. But it doesn't sound like you're going down that road.

As for developing aerobic strength on the trainer and endurance on the road I don't see them seperate objectives...but I'm also talking out my ass a bit. Explain yourself more here, could you?

What is your one primary goal pertaining to biking?

[TexasFire 84]

Wow, B! It sounds like you are as focused on your cycling as I am on body building! (That is pretty damn focused!) I would love to know what you finally come up with for the bike training to see if it is something I should glean from. I am really looking forward to getting my trainer set up and going so I can ride that much more. We need to chat soon and set up a ride time and hopefully I can pick your brain for training ideas then, as well.

I can tell you are REALLY loving Buttercup! That's great!

[mbsbike2002 0]

J / Stephanie,

Here's what it boils down to (or, in proper grammar, "Here is that down to which it boils")...

By August of 2011, I want to be in the condition of what is basically a world-class athlete. But, as I have written before, "Okay, so you think you might want to ride a bike from Paris to Brest and back, a distance of 1200km, which has to be covered in less than 90 hours. But - you weigh 300 pounds. WTF. You might need to work on your fitness some..."

I know there are no shortcuts to getting from fatass to world-class cyclist, but there are smart and efficient ways of getting there, and there are effective, but not necessarily smart or efficient ways of getting there. I prefer the former.

J - I think my 3.5 rating earlier may be optimistic. The Polar Fitness Test says that I'm in the crappiest shape I can be in and still be alive. Cute new pic, by the way!

Stephanie - we do need to get together and ride soon - you have more endurance than I do at this point, so it'll need to be a shorter ride than some of your longer ones. Over the spring, though, I'll be working to build endurance, so we'll be able to ride longer. The trainer can be a little boring, but it is great that I can ride no matter if its cold, raining, dark, etc. I've ridden outside or on the trainer every day for the past week. It's good to be able to listen to some music - I don't like to do that on the road...

B

[TexasFire 84]

"Fat-Ass to World-Class..." I love that! That is exactly how I feel. I have come so far, and yet have so much more work to do to accomplish my goals. I wish there were a shortcut! I want to be a skinny fit bitch RIGHT NOW!

B - No problem with the endurance for the rides. That will come. How many miles are you going now?

[mbsbike2002 0]

"Fat-Ass to World-Class..." I love that! That is exactly how I feel. I have come so far, and yet have so much more work to do to accomplish my goals. I wish there were a shortcut! I want to be a skinny fit bitch RIGHT NOW!

B - No problem with the endurance for the rides. That will come. How many miles are you going now?

There's a book I read last spring before I started biking again called "Heft on Wheels" that basically tells the fat-ass to world-class tale. [ame=http://www.amazon.com/Heft-Wheels-Field-Guide-Doing/dp/1400052416/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1198751304&sr=8-1]At Amazon[/ame]

My longest outdoor ride with Buttercup has been about 12 miles. I could have gone longer, but I didn't want to take a chance on over doing it, and I was getting frustrated with the pedal situation. I was a little sore the next morning, but not too bad.

I've gone almost that far on the training stand since then and not been sore afterwords. My goal for this weekend is to get in 2 or 3 rides of that length and then bump it to 15-17 miles on Tuesday to get the new year started off right. From there, I'll add 2-3 miles per week. That seems to be a common training regimen for road work. During the week, I'll either take shorter rides outside (I hate this time of year when it gets dark so early), or I'll ride in the training stand.

One thing that I have to keep in mind is that I'm basically starting over - I have only been able to ride once or twice since late July due to lapband and getting snipped, and I'm on a different kind of bike. So while I may be a little frustrated with my current abilities, I should see fairly rapid improvement. I just have to get out there and do it consistently.

B

[mbsbike2002 0]

B-

God love ya, I think you might be a little OCD.

:confused: :confused:

How's this for OCD - [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A16Z0XtUSZc]Unclipping video on YouTube[/ame]

For what it's worth, it looks to be about the same angle for each foot. Also felt more natural today...

B

[Suzzzie. 3]

Lol B.

You can find ANYTHING on you tube! I learned how to crochet there the other night after watching a few videos!! I have a lovely new scarf!

[OH Juli 15]

Dude, those are some sexy bike shoes. And thanks for the nod to the new picture. :eek: I don't change it up that often.

Okay well if 3.5 is where you are now how soon before you think you'll hit 4?

TX-

You're body building as well as riding? How'd I miss that? I'm not body buliding specifically but the non running days I'm working on program that's geared toward serious weight lifting. Some of what I'm doing deadlifts and overhead dumbbell swings, push ups and renegade rows. They are done in succession and rather quickly so the heart rate stays up. The trainer is pretty systematic and has some serious long range goals for weight lifting for us...(that goes back to comment about trainers with their own agendas) It's intense but worth doing for the time being.

What are you doing? Are you taking lots of pictures, before, during and after? Your body is going to change considerably and seeing it in pics is very cool!

Howdy to the rest of yous guys.

[mbsbike2002 0]

Dude, those are some sexy bike shoes. And thanks for the nod to the new picture. :eek: I don't change it up that often.

Okay well if 3.5 is where you are now how soon before you think you'll hit 4?

Thanks on the shoes! Not so sexy on the scarred up legs though. I wore my hi-top bike socks to hide the nasty scar from my crash the first time out on the 'bent...

I think that the road from 3.5 to 4 is probably fairly short, probably within 1 month, with the proper training.

Gotta get ready for work - will post more when i get to the office.

B

[mbsbike2002 0]

Lol B.

You can find ANYTHING on you tube! I learned how to crochet there the other night after watching a few videos!! I have a lovely new scarf!

Well, if there's ever an emergent need for a video of a fat guy unclipping from Speedplays on a recumbent bike, I've got 'em covered :eek:

B

[whosyadaddy 0]

Ok im joining this thread. I read it alot as you guys are hilarous.

I started adding cycling to my rountine at the Y because i really want to be able to ride in the spring.

My first problem: I can only do 20mins max as i cant feel my butt (and other things) after that time. I walk around and lift some weights for a break and then do another 20 mins. I swim and run too but im really really hoping as my weight goes down this wont be such a problem. Did any of you experiance this at first?

Thanks......

[OH Juli 15]

Whosya,

I'm gonna leave the details to Brandon or Jody because they are the fellas and can better share their experiences...

However, everyone has a period of time where you need to just suffer through getting used to the saddle. That's typically less than two weeks if you ride 3 times a week.

Sounds like you're doing some overall great working out. Swimming, running and biking??? Do I see a triathelon in your future? :eek:

[whosyadaddy 0]

Thanks juli...maybe a tri athlon...they do one every year at my y and its a big deal. 15mile ride, 3 mile run ..1/4mile swim..not to bad.

Only thing is the swim is in lake michigan Brrrrrrrrrrrr even in August. I was thinking of maybe volunteering to help so i could see how the whole thing goes down.