# heart rate for newbies



## eagles633 (6 Mar 2018)

hi, i'm a newbie tx for letting me join.
iv'e got my bike and all the gear. the missis even bought me the garmin with the heart rate monitor for xmas. being new i'm well out of shape, beer belly and all that.
iv'e been out today and done a 10 mile ride. stopped a few times knackered. anyway my worry is on the garmin connect app my avg heart rate is 156 with a 174 max and i'm %60 of the ride in zone 5, red zone.
is this normal for a new chunky way out of shape guy?
hope thats made some sense. sorry for the poor spelling and grammar. i'm crap at it. 
tx


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## Slick (6 Mar 2018)

Nobody cares about the spelling and such. Obviously I'm no expert but it sounds normal enough to me, but we are all different apparently.


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## Slick (6 Mar 2018)

As you get a bit fitter, you can probably get that max rate up a bit. 

If your worried, talk to a pro.


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## welsh dragon (6 Mar 2018)

My advice is to forget the heart rate monitor. Just enjoy riding your bike. Take it slowly. Do not push it it too far. If you get tired, stop. Concentrate on the time you spend on your bike not distance. Gradually build up your time in the saddle. With time, your fitness will increase and couple that with eating better you will lose weight which in turn will help with fitness levels.

Just have fun. Forget the rest.


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## Markymark (6 Mar 2018)

Been cycling for a number of years. Never measured my heart rate. Never wondered what it is. I cycle. I enjoy. I get fitter. I go further.


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## HLaB (6 Mar 2018)

If you haven't set the max HR in garmin and you've got a higher max than the default according to the garmin you'll mostly be in the red even if you aren't. My max HR is set to 200bpm but IIRC the default is 178bpm. Occasionally a garmin update has restored the default making it look like I was in the red, when I wasn't. If you want to train on HR you need to find out what your actual max is and don't use the default which for most cyclists its way off. Your max if it was truly found shouldn't change as you get fitter just the longer you can operate before burning out . Or some rides which were pushing the max are now done at a lower HR for the same or better pace.


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## MrPorridge (6 Mar 2018)

I'm no expert in heart health but I am a bona-fide expert in being a fat, out-of-shape bloke.

I don't have a proper heart rate monitor but I'm currently using an exercise bike and I monitor my heart rate using a fitbit wrist tracker. I had the same concerns as you in that much of my sessions are spent in the red "peak" zone, i.e. 85% of my theoretical maximum heart rate. The results I get from the fitbit seem to match the readings from the handlebar sensors on the bike so I'm guessing that it's reasonably accurate.

I too was worried about potentially doing myself harm by spending so much time in the "peak" zone, as I've read that this can be damaging to your heart. I have also read that these maximum heart rate calculations are estimates (typically 220 - your age) and that we all vary. I believe that the only way to find your true maximum heart rate is to be monitored while pushing yourself to the limit which, for obvious reasons, should be done under expert supervision. Given that my estimated maximum heart rate is 220-51=169 and that I've regularly been in the 170s and occasionally hitting 180 without any ill effects (other than sweating and some huffing and puffing) I'm guessing that my maximum heart rate isn't 169. 

I've recently had a health check at my GP and all seemed ok, other that being overweight (hence the health kick). The gist of the advice I've received is that these things are only a guide and that as long as you feel ok (i.e. not in actual distress or pain) you're unlikely to be doing any damage. That said, it might be worth getting a check-up if you're unsure or in any way concerned by how you feel when exercising. Better not to gamble with your health and all that.


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## I like Skol (6 Mar 2018)

Another vote for putting the garmin away. Just enjoy your cycling, ride to places you want to see/visit. Make pleasure your ride barometer and forget about monitoring your heart rate.

I'm no pro cyclist or elite athlete but I can turn a tidy pace when needed and give many riders a good run for their money on any of the local Pennine hills. I have never, ever even considered monitoring my heart rate when riding. Just isn't necessary.
Enjoy your riding or you won't keep at it!


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## bpsmith (7 Mar 2018)

I echo the above on enjoying your riding. There’s no point otherwise.

I do have to disagree with some points though. I love stats of all kinds and there’s plenty you can use when cycling. I like looking at power and at HR both during and after a ride.

If you like stats, it’s great, and adds to the enjoyment. If you don’t then don’t bother. We’re all different.


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## Reynard (7 Mar 2018)

+1 for putting the Garmin away and simply going out and having fun with your bike.

Just go out for a regular bimble, enjoy the fresh air and the scenery. Start small, build up distance gradually at a comfortable pace and fitness will come in its own time.


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## Alan O (7 Mar 2018)

Welcome eagles633, and congrats on the 10 miles. When I got back to cycling a couple of years ago my first ride was just 5 miles - and it hurt!

Some people suggest putting away the Garmin, but I disagree as I love gadgets like that - but let me tell you a story about the time I was in cardiac rehab after surgery...

I already had a blood pressure thing, and I bought a heart rate monitor when I saw one on offer - the chest strap kind. At the end of one session, I got talking to one of the cardiac physiotherapists about them, and she told me they don't recommend them to most patients - because they tend to cause too much stress. People see their HR a bit high and start worrying, and don't really realize that there's a big natural range which is really no problem providing the average stays reasonable and there's no noticeable ill effect. Watching your HR rise can cause anxiety... which can cause your HR to rise.

Your time in your peak zone doesn't surprise me at all, certainly not if you're unfit, overweight, and it's your first ride - if you stopped a couple of times because you were knackered, I'd expect that to mean you were pretty close to your Max HR.

I have a wrist-based Fitbit device, and I like it a lot - and now that my fitness has improved a lot, it's more of a challenge to get my HR into my peak zone than keep it out!

I say keep using your Garmin (especially as your good lady bought it for you), but don't read too much into high HR readings - you'll see them for sure, especially in the early stages. Unless you have a medical condition or you're feeling unwell (more than just a bit knackered), it shouldn't be a problem. And it might help you learn the right pace to keep going for longer distances. It can also be a good way to see how your fitness is improving with time (in addition to feeling better).

Reynard says "Start small, build up distance gradually at a comfortable pace and fitness will come in its own time", and that's absolutely right.


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## Joffey (7 Mar 2018)

My Garmin & HR monitor enhance my enjoyment of my rides. I enjoy looking back at the stats when I get home and seeing what kind of effort I was putting into a climb etc.

If the OP enjoys this also then fair play to him.

I'm a chunk and your HR readings don't look out of the ordinary to what mine can be. If you are worried have a work with your GP. If you haven't done any exercise for a while it can be wise to speak to them first anyway.

If you like stats etc join Strava and enjoy then segments on there. Good luck!


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## Jody (7 Mar 2018)

As others have said don't obsess with heart rates. When I started back after a decade break my heart was getting on towards 200 at points which as an untrained person can't be good but the more you ride and the weight drops the more this will come down with a similar effort. Best thing to do when you are pushing that hard is wind it back a little, take your time or just have a minute at the side of the road to catch your breath. 

I stopped using the BT heart rate monitor and just ride to what pace I want to keep on a given ride.


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## buzzy-beans (7 Mar 2018)

In no way shape or form am I a qualified expert in these areas, but here is my half penneth on this subject.

For the moment @eagles633 forget about anything which measures your heart rate and ride your bike comfortably, stopping quite frequently for a relaxing breather and as the time goes by you will discover that the gaps between your stops will gradually become wider. These infernal electronic gadgets will in real terms do absolutely nothing for you apart from make you worried!

Your diet is (or rather should be) the singularly most important factor in getting fitter throughout your body. Quite simply, if you put in the wrong fuel your engine will simply continue being coked up and result in generally lackluster and frequently breathless performance.
So for me, this is what @eagles633 should be doing by ensuring a balanced regular diet with very little or preferably NO processed food, reasonable levels of sugars and salts all combined with regular fluid intakes.

I would also undertake a general, but light, fitness and exercise programme, such as not using lifts or escalators, walking more frequently rather than using the car, doing a few press ups twice a day as well as a limited number of trunk curls, squats etc. etc., by doing this your overall body performance will gradually become far better and in not to long a period of time the all important BMI (Body Mass Index) figures begin to improve.
When cycling it is amazing how an overall fitter, more flexible and muscular body will help as, if you are cycling properly, it isn't only the legs which are working but a combination of muscles throughout the body and it is for this reason why cycling is one of the best forms of physical exercise to practice.


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## eagles633 (7 Mar 2018)

wow thanks for all the great replies. i'm just playing with the gadgets at the moment. got the strava and i'm not going for any koms any time soon. i'm in the bottom %20 in most sections ha. i was watching a youtube video about using heart rate for training. the guy said try and stay in zone 2 to burn fat. the garmin app says i'm in zone 1 %zero of the time and zone 2 %one of the time.
when i finished yesterday the garmin flashed up i should rest for 72 hours. do you think iv'e overdone it for starters? 
like i say, i'm not to bothered about the garmin. it's just something to play with and enjoy with the cycling.


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## I like Skol (7 Mar 2018)

eagles633 said:


> wow thanks for all the great replies. i'm just playing with the gadgets at the moment. got the strava and i'm not going for any koms any time soon. i'm in the bottom %20 in most sections ha. i was watching a youtube video about using heart rate for training. the guy said try and stay in zone 2 to burn fat. the garmin app says i'm in zone 1 %zero of the time and zone 2 %one of the time.
> when i finished yesterday the garmin flashed up i should rest for 72 hours. do you think iv'e overdone it for starters?
> like i say, i'm not to bothered about the garmin. it's just something to play with and enjoy with the cycling.


I don't understand a word you just said! I think you are taking it too seriously?


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## Alan O (7 Mar 2018)

eagles633 said:


> wow thanks for all the great replies. i'm just playing with the gadgets at the moment. got the strava and i'm not going for any koms any time soon. i'm in the bottom %20 in most sections ha. i was watching a youtube video about using heart rate for training. the guy said try and stay in zone 2 to burn fat. the garmin app says i'm in zone 1 %zero of the time and zone 2 %one of the time.
> when i finished yesterday the garmin flashed up i should rest for 72 hours. do you think iv'e overdone it for starters?
> like i say, i'm not to bothered about the garmin. it's just something to play with and enjoy with the cycling.


I think you should judge your ride distances and rest times based purely on how you feel, not on what the Garmin might suggest - but a day's ride that was a bit of hard work followed by a couple of days rest might be about right.

I'd completely ignore "training" videos, certainly at this stage, as they seem to be more aimed at competitive speedy folk rather than complete beginners just out on their first ride.

As for "zone 2 = fat burn", that's really a completely arbitrary naming. It's really just energy usage, and the device has no idea whether you're burning carbs, fat or whatever - that depends a lot on your food intake and your glycogen levels. Just think of higher zones as burning more energy, and remember that in zone 3 you'll be burning more than in zone 2, etc.

The "it's just something to play with and enjoy with the cycling" approach is exactly the right one, in my opinion.


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## eagles633 (7 Mar 2018)

don't mean to come across to serious. just playing with my new toys


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## HLaB (7 Mar 2018)

eagles633 said:


> wow thanks for all the great replies. i'm just playing with the gadgets at the moment. got the strava and i'm not going for any koms any time soon. i'm in the bottom %20 in most sections ha. i was watching a youtube video about using heart rate for training. the guy said try and stay in zone 2 to burn fat. the garmin app says i'm in zone 1 %zero of the time and zone 2 %one of the time.
> when i finished yesterday the garmin flashed up i should rest for 72 hours. do you think iv'e overdone it for starters?
> like i say, i'm not to bothered about the garmin. it's just something to play with and enjoy with the cycling.


I think the max HR is set to default whereas your actual max HR like a lot of folk is higher and you are not overdoing. Regardless just being out there and enjoying will burn more fat if thats your aim than trying to stay to a specific zone, then stressing out and going home too early or not going out.


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## eagles633 (7 Mar 2018)

HLaB said:


> I think the max HR is set to default whereas your actual max HR like a lot of folk is higher and you are not overdoing. Regardless just being out there and enjoying will burn more fat if thats your aim than trying to stay to a specific zone, then stressing out and going home too early or not going out.


oh i see. i went up a steep hill and was nearly lights out knackerd. had to stop. my heart beat hit 180 so that's probably my max heart rate. now iv'e got to suss out how to change the settings. tx


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## T.M.H.N.E.T (7 Mar 2018)

At the risk of data overload so soon, wear the hrm but don't be fretting about it.


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## Bazzer (7 Mar 2018)

Just listen to your body.
If it feels like when you are climbing your lungs are coming out of your chest, then its probably time for a stop and breather until you get fitter. Its not a walk of shame. It may stilll happen when you are fitter, but hopefully past experience will then come into play and you will have more of an idea how hard to push yourself when you get that feeling, (If that is what you want to do).
The same as rest days after riding. As you get fitter and ride for longer, your recovery period after shorter rides will fall away. But in the meantime, if you have sore muscles the day or two after a ride, see how it feels going for a short ride. Might be a relief, or it could be that your legs have no power, so need a bit longer; at least to begin with. 
As you spend longer on the bike, play around with the recovery period and your rides. You might find for example, that you can ride 100k one day and on the following day 50k is your limit, without wiping your legs out. But if you have a rest day after the 100k, then you are good for 80k.
There are plenty of training programmes on the interweb and whilst these may suit people, they are only a guide.


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## crazyjoe101 (7 Mar 2018)

To begin with I would forget HR, calories and any other metrics other than distance and average speed. Judge your effort based on what your legs, lungs and heart feel like and allow your body to recover in between rides, if you feel fatigued or exhausted when you start a ride then take it very easy and don't make any efforts as you are not yet recovered from your last ride.

To use heart rate in your training you'll need to perform a threshold test when you have built up a base of fitness and your body is somewhat conditioned to cycling, then once you know your threshold heart rate you can begin to use it as a useful piece of information, before then it is only an inaccurate guessing game. The British Cycling insight zone on their website is a great place to learn about training even if you are not intending to follow their plans or full lists of activities there is lots of useful information there especially with regard to how you should use readings such as heart rate.

Short: *Just ride and have fun for now*, ignore whatever the Garmin says and listen to your body. Later, start to incorporate training from metrics if you with to.


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## eagles633 (7 Mar 2018)

some great advice tx. whilst i have no muscle soreness today i am feeling pretty run down. whilst i want to go out again today i think it's wise i take a rest. 
I agree just going by feel on whether or not to ride is sound advice.
it looks like garmin and the recovery time they give has some science about it. found a thread on their site. seems they are on the right track. 
https://forums.garmin.com/forum/into-sports/cycling/edge-1000-aa/131104-how-does-recovery-work


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## viniga (7 Mar 2018)

One thing you could check, because you should quickly see an improvement and seeing improvements will keep you motivated, is how fast your heart rate recovers after exercise. Note your heart rate before starting your ride and when you finish see how long it takes for it to go back down to about the same rate. As your heart gets fitter you should see this happen faster. You will also probably notice a lowering of your resting heart rate if you check for it. Mbe check one a week.

Other than that, weight loss, muscle gain and trousers that are suddenly too big for you will be other motivators, they certainly helped me! 

As others have said, for now I wouldn't worry about what your HR is on the bike and go by feel. Build slow and do rest.

I actually bought a HRM about a year after starting cycling and set my Max to 220-Age. I also set a max heart rate warning on the Garmin and went for a ride - in a flappy polyester T-Shirt that caused static electricity to build up and alarms to go off. I s*** myself as my heart rate was displaying as 270BPM and wouldn't go down and I was thinking I was going to have a coronary!

Our bodies seem to be quite good at actually stopping us causing harm to our heart, which I am now glad of when I do 10 mile time trials where my HR stays at a steady rate just in the red for 30m.

Enjoy the bike!


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## buzzy-beans (7 Mar 2018)

eagles633 said:


> don't mean to come across to serious. just playing with my new toys



Throw the bloody things away and listen to your body instead!!


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## vickster (7 Mar 2018)

eagles633 said:


> some great advice tx. whilst i have no muscle soreness today i am feeling pretty run down. whilst i want to go out again today i think it's wise i take a rest.
> I agree just going by feel on whether or not to ride is sound advice.
> it looks like garmin and the recovery time they give has some science about it. found a thread on their site. seems they are on the right track.
> https://forums.garmin.com/forum/into-sports/cycling/edge-1000-aa/131104-how-does-recovery-work


Get into the habit of warming up slowly at the start of your ride and warming down towards the end. Also, get into the habit of stretching after you ride, quads but especially calves, hamstrings and glutes

Ignore the nonsense calorie numbers spat out by devices too


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## boydj (7 Mar 2018)

As you are just setting out on the journey to fitness, the folks telling you to ignore heart monitors are right. Listen to your body. The important thing is to build up the time on your bike slowly without putting too much strain on your body. That means keeping your effort at a level where you could carry on a conversation if you had a companion with you. If you are having to stop, then you've been working too hard. Relax and enjoy it. Get into a routine that makes it easy to stay with the program longer term.

Obviously, there will be times where you hit a hill and you have to work at it and may have to stop, but otherwise keep the effort level low until you have built up a fitness base. There are no shortcuts - it's a long-term project. Stick with it and after three or four months you'll find things getting easier and you'll be able to start pushing yourself a bit harder.


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## eagles633 (7 Mar 2018)

boydj said:


> As you are just setting out on the journey to fitness, the folks telling you to ignore heart monitors are right. Listen to your body. The important thing is to build up the time on your bike slowly without putting too much strain on your body. That means keeping your effort at a level where you could carry on a conversation if you had a companion with you. If you are having to stop, then you've been working too hard. Relax and enjoy it. Get into a routine that makes it easy to stay with the program longer term.
> 
> Obviously, there will be times where you hit a hill and you have to work at it and may have to stop, but otherwise keep the effort level low until you have built up a fitness base. There are no shortcuts - it's a long-term project. Stick with it and after three or four months you'll find things getting easier and you'll be able to start pushing yourself a bit harder.


I think my problem is i'm in a hilly area. soon get used to it though as you say. 
I posted the heart rate stats just to see if it was normal to be so near flat out for the majority of the ride. 
like everybody has said i need to take it easy at first. 
when your new you just want to get out there though.
although i am knackered today. how people manage 50 miles staggers me.
tx for taking time to post. it's all good stuff.


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## boydj (7 Mar 2018)

Don't forget to allow rest days in your training plan. That's when your body recovers and builds the new muscle and connections.


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## Alan O (7 Mar 2018)

eagles633 said:


> although i am knackered today. how people manage 50 miles staggers me.


You'll surprise yourself. My first ride when I got back to cycling after a long break (and with too much of a beer belly too) was just 5 miles and was about all I could manage, and less than a year later I managed a 100-mile ride.


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## eagles633 (7 Mar 2018)

boydj said:


> Don't forget to allow rest days in your training plan. That's when your body recovers and builds the new muscle and connections.


yeah,will do. was no chance i was going to do any good today.


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## eagles633 (7 Mar 2018)

Alan O said:


> You'll surprise yourself. My first ride when I got back to cycling after a long break (and with too much of a beer belly too) was just 5 miles and was about all I could manage, and less than a year later I managed a 100-mile ride.


wow 100 miles is fantastic. i did 4 miles the first day last week and still needed to stop on the way home.


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## Slick (7 Mar 2018)

eagles633 said:


> wow 100 miles is fantastic. i did 4 miles the first day last week and still needed to stop on the way home.


I remember that very well. It always made me smile when I cruise past the spot I stopped at the first time out.


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## eagles633 (7 Mar 2018)

Slick said:


> I remember that very well. It always made me smile when I cruise past the spot I stopped at the first time out.


haha iv'e stopped at the same bus stop the last 3 rides on the way home. just before the crest of a hill. pretty sure i'l nail it next time though :-)


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## ADarkDraconis (7 Mar 2018)

eagles633 said:


> haha iv'e stopped at the same bus stop the last 3 rides on the way home. just before the crest of a hill. pretty sure i'l nail it next time though :-)


That's always my motivator! Ok, this hill I will climb better than last time, this hill I won't need a stop at the top like before, etc. I also live in a hilly area and there are a couple of doozies on my commute! It gets you a workout!


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## eagles633 (7 Mar 2018)

ADarkDraconis said:


> That's always my motivator! Ok, this hill I will climb better than last time, this hill I won't need a stop at the top like before, etc. I also live in a hilly area and there are a couple of doozies on my commute! It gets you a workout!


well i say it's a hill. it's about a mile drag at about 3% with a little bobble at the top. it's a little bugger for me at the moment though ha. An older chap about 65 passed me the other day on it, gave me a smile and a hello. pretty sure i made his day. all good fun.


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## Slick (7 Mar 2018)

eagles633 said:


> haha iv'e stopped at the same bus stop the last 3 rides on the way home. just before the crest of a hill. pretty sure i'l nail it next time though :-)


I remember stopping at the top of a gentle down slope as I was frightened just in case I couldn't get back up. I was a lot fitter than I realised, even back then but I was certainly lacking confidence and even understanding of what I was capable of. Enjoy


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## Slick (7 Mar 2018)

eagles633 said:


> well i say it's a hill. it's about a mile drag at about 3% with a little bobble at the top. it's a little bugger for me at the moment though ha. An older chap about 65 passed me the other day on it, gave me a smile and a hello. pretty sure i made his day. all good fun.


Lol, I bet you made his day for sure.


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## eagles633 (7 Mar 2018)

Slick said:


> Lol, I bet you made his day for sure.


not as good as my 10 miler yesterday. iv'e got a 1.5 mile avg 4% hill on my route. goes all the way up to a canal humpack bridge. iv'e just got to the bridge, snot and spit smeared across my face going walking pace..a guy pops out from the canal toepath on a bike with a kid off the back of him connected by some sort of pole in a little buggy. he glided past me tootling away just sniggering ha. i'm there on my posh bike,snazzy winter boots,cycling shorts,nice winter cap with the ear flaps,a smart windproof jacket and my cycling glasses. I felt a right dipstick haha


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## Alan O (7 Mar 2018)

eagles633 said:


> haha iv'e stopped at the same bus stop the last 3 rides on the way home. just before the crest of a hill. pretty sure i'l nail it next time though :-)


For me I started with circuits round a local park. It's about a mile round, and a third of that is gradually uphill with a little increase in the gradient just before the top.

First few times I always had to stop just before the final lump to get my breath back, and it felt really good the first time I didn't need to and could just carry on.


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## Slick (7 Mar 2018)

eagles633 said:


> not as good as my 10 miler yesterday. iv'e got a 1.5 mile avg 4% hill on my route. goes all the way up to a canal humpack bridge. iv'e just got to the bridge, snot and spit smeared across my face going walking pace..a guy pops out from the canal toepath on a bike with a kid off the back of him connected by some sort of pole in a little buggy. he glided past me tootling away just sniggering ha. i'm there on my posh bike,snazzy winter boots,cycling shorts,nice winter cap with the ear flaps,a smart windproof jacket and my cycling glasses. I felt a right dipstick haha


Don't, nobody of any note is sniggering.


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## iancity (7 Mar 2018)

I'm going to go against the trend a bit here 

Love the gadgets myself, the more the better :-) One of the main motivators for me is looking at the stats after a ride, how far, how fast, what was my heart rate on that segment/hill etc, its fun and enjoyable. Obviously each to their own but it seems some people dont understand that other people get enjoyment from these devices, and the figures they give you. To say forget about the Garmin and just enjoy the ride/scenery, to people like me, and it sounds like the OP as well, would just take half the enjoyment of cycling away.

However, while its good to take note of the numbers, all you are looking for are trends. I wouldn't say I take too much notice of the actual figures, but if it shows my speed increasing on a particular segment, or recovery time for a ride that use to be 12 hours is now say 8 hours for example then its good to see that my fitness is going generally in the right direction.

As the Op says, there are a lot of science behind these metrics the gadgets produce, most of the numbers are not just picked from thin air and can be a useful motivator.

The one caveat I would add is wrist based heart rate monitors for cycling (your fitbits etc) - see DC Rainmakers review of any wearables and the figures they produce for heart rate, while cycling, are hugely out compared with chest straps . Even allowing for my 'ignore the actual figures just follow the trend' above is useless as they tend to produce such wild erratic figures that they are, in DC's words (*just for cycling, and its just wrist based wearables*) "useless". For the general 24/7 measuring heart rate etc they are fine, but any high intensity activity sends them haywire, in his opinion.

Continue to enjoy the rides, continue playing with your new toys, and enjoy them both :-)


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## vickster (7 Mar 2018)

As the Op says, there are a lot of science behind these metrics the gadgets produce, most of the numbers are not just picked from thin air and can be a useful motivator.
....

Until it comes to the fabricated wild guesstimate calorie burn especially on garmins!


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## iancity (7 Mar 2018)

As I said, its trends you are looking at. However I do accept that if any of the numbers are picked from thin air, then the 'calories burned' is one of them


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## eagles633 (7 Mar 2018)

iancity said:


> I'm going to go against the trend a bit here
> 
> Love the gadgets myself, the more the better :-) One of the main motivators for me is looking at the stats after a ride, how far, how fast, what was my heart rate on that segment/hill etc, its fun and enjoyable. Obviously each to their own but it seems some people dont understand that other people get enjoyment from these devices, and the figures they give you. To say forget about the Garmin and just enjoy the ride/scenery, to people like me, and it sounds like the OP as well, would just take half the enjoyment of cycling away.
> 
> ...


great post !
i got the chest strap monitor with the bundle when i was bought the garmin.
i'l be interested to see the changes as i go along.


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## bpsmith (7 Mar 2018)

I am currently a tiny bit heavier than my summer weight of last year and also not as fit yet as not ridden loads in 2018 yet.

I went for a short blast last night, chasing the light before it got dark. I pushed myself a bit and wore my HRM to see what the stats looked like when I got home.

I wasn’t out of breath but doing a reasonably hard equal effort for 11.5 miles. Here’s my HR data:







The start was mostly downhill and filtering in traffic. The rest was mostly bypass type roads and on the flat.

What it shows is that your heart knows what it’s doing and shifts the right amount of blood around. I didn’t feel unwell at any point, even when it peaked at 198 as have no idea where that happened. My point is, you can “listen to your body” as stated numerous times above. You can still do that whilst wearing a HRM, but have the added bonus of having the data to compare later on, once you get fitter.

At my highest fitness level last year, I could do an hour with an average HR of 183 and topping out at 205. At 40 years old, that definitely doesn’t meet the so called standard Max HR or 220 - your age.

We are all different! Just don’t panic if your HR is higher than expected. If you feel fine, then you usually are.


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## eagles633 (8 Mar 2018)

bpsmith said:


> I am currently a tiny bit heavier than my summer weight of last year and also not as fit yet as not ridden loads in 2018 yet.
> 
> I went for a short blast last night, chasing the light before it got dark. I pushed myself a bit and wore my HRM to see what the stats looked like when I got home.
> 
> ...


Thanks for this. put my mind at rest a bit more. My graph is a bit more up and down than yours. That's with all the stopping i'm having to do at the minute though. Snowing heavy here today so another days rest for me. Probably for the best.


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## bpsmith (8 Mar 2018)

eagles633 said:


> Thanks for this. put my mind at rest a bit more. My graph is a bit more up and down than yours. That's with all the stopping i'm having to do at the minute though. Snowing heavy here today so another days rest for me. Probably for the best.


I know my effort was a last minute blast, at fairly constant level, so not surprised at my graph.

You can certainly take comfort in your graph showing your HR dropping when you stop, then riding again with effort. Certainly shows your heart is doing what it’s supposed to. If it remained high after stopping, for continued length of time, then I would be a bit more worried.

Sounds like you’re certainly being careful with your approach, but don’t get too bog down by progress and stick with it. Once the legs and the lungs get used to this change in routine you will soon build up more endurance and be able to tackle longer rides.

It doesn’t get easier, you just get faster.


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## eagles633 (8 Mar 2018)

yeah taking it easy. Plan is 2 days off for everything to fully recover. Hopefully i'l get all the way around without stopping tomorrow. A couple of hills gonna get their arses kicked tomorrow #overthetop ha


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## bpsmith (8 Mar 2018)

Is the # cross-referring to an 80’s Sylvester Stallone movie?


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## eagles633 (8 Mar 2018)

bpsmith said:


> Is the # cross-referring to an 80’s Sylvester Stallone movie?


ha ha sure is from the movie,good spot! I remember watching at the cinema and actually liking it. I see it's on netfix now. Don't think it would of aged well


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## bpsmith (8 Mar 2018)

eagles633 said:


> ha ha sure is from the movie,good spot! I remember watching at the cinema and actually liking it. I see it's on netfix now. Don't think it would of aged well


Enjoyed the reference used to describe climbing the hills. Fair play.


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## Cuchilo (8 Mar 2018)

I haven't read the whole thread as most replies say dont bother and thats not what you are asking about .
You already have your max heart rate at 180ish ( mine is 193 i think ) you need to find your resting heart rate to set your zones . I did this by waking up one morning , putting the monitor on and laying back to snooze with the garmin running . 
Look at your heart rate after riding to see what you are doing , you know the ride so can see what zones you are in .


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## eagles633 (9 Mar 2018)

Cuchilo said:


> I haven't read the whole thread as most replies say dont bother and thats not what you are asking about .
> You already have your max heart rate at 180ish ( mine is 193 i think ) you need to find your resting heart rate to set your zones . I did this by waking up one morning , putting the monitor on and laying back to snooze with the garmin running .
> Look at your heart rate after riding to see what you are doing , you know the ride so can see what zones you are in .


Thanks for the info.
My heart rate was set to 30 on the garmin. I'm going to reset it for next time.
I did check my resting heart rate when i first got the monitor. It was under 60 if i recall. Below avg as i'm definitely not an athlete.
Been out today and did 14 miles 850 feet elevation. 
zone five 40%. zone four 40% on the garmin app
Stopped a few times on the hills so not sure if it means much at this stage.
Sun shining, no wind and over 5 degrees temperature.
Felt great :-)


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## buzzy-beans (9 Mar 2018)

eagles633 said:


> Sun shining, no wind and over 5 degrees temperature.
> Felt great :-)



And as each mile went past you no doubt heard a blob or two as varying degrees of blobby blobby dropped off


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## eagles633 (9 Mar 2018)

buzzy-beans said:


> And as each mile went past you no doubt heard a blob or two as varying degrees of blobby blobby dropped off


Lets hope so as that's my main goal for getting on the bike.
With it being so cold lately iv'e been going out wearing 4 layers. 
Still wore 4 layers today when it was scorching 5 degrees and nearly melted in the sun.
Was soaking wet when i got home. Addicted to the scales at the minute.Can't go past the bathroom without checking my weight :-)


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## vickster (9 Mar 2018)

Assume you've changed your diet too? You won't lose weight just by cycling, you'll hopefully feel fitter


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## eagles633 (9 Mar 2018)

vickster said:


> Assume you've changed your diet too? You won't lose weight just by cycling, you'll hopefully feel fitter


I'm trying my best :-) 20 days off the booze after being a drunk for 30 years. 
Iv'e stopped the crisps and crap. 
I'm not too concerned at the moment cutting to much just as i start on more exercise. Don't want to crash and burn before i get started.
Thought i'd lost a pound in weight earlier but it turns out i wasn't wearing my trainers ha 
tx for posting


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## Alan O (9 Mar 2018)

eagles633 said:


> Thanks for the info.
> My heart rate was set to 30 on the garmin. I'm going to reset it for next time.
> I did check my resting heart rate when i first got the monitor. It was under 60 if i recall. Below avg as i'm definitely not an athlete.
> Been out today and did 14 miles 850 feet elevation.
> ...


Excellent. The "Felt great" bit is what really counts - as long as you're feeling good after a ride, you'll want to keep doing it.


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## eagles633 (9 Mar 2018)

Alan O said:


> Excellent. The "Felt great" bit is what really counts - as long as you're feeling good after a ride, you'll want to keep doing it.


yeah felt good. feeling a bit ropey now mind as i did push myself up the hills .
The garmin has given me another 72 hours estimated rest needed.
Feels about right to me at the moment.


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## ADarkDraconis (9 Mar 2018)

buzzy-beans said:


> And as each mile went past you no doubt heard a blob or two as varying degrees of blobby blobby dropped off


I'm sure this was meant well, but forgive me for saying that it sounds kind of rude. Just because someone is working on losing weight, referring to any part of them (yes, even their fat) as blobby blob is kind of disgusting and degrading. 

Insinuating that it will fall off that quickly is also delusion or ignorance (some people think that very overweight people just need to move at all and the weight comes off, like they are overweight because they are sedentary and the slightest exercise will make a thin person in them magically revealed.) It will help them but it takes time and hard work.

As someone who was always heavier, even a healthy diet and cycling daily as my sole form of transportation was not enough to help me lose a lot of weight, I had to do more. Even though I felt healthy and fit I have never been small. I think it is more helpful to encourage someone to *feel* better (which is what counts!) and the weight loss is a big plus. Automatically assuming the weight will fall off will make the new rider all the more frustrated if it doesn't. Muscle also weighs more than fat, and the scale often goes up a bit if you are working hard and converting fat to muscle, but a lot of times it doesn't show right away as far as appearances either. You can, however, recognize that you feel stronger and have more endurance. 


You're doing a great job, Eagle633! Keep it up and build that confidence!!!


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## si_c (10 Mar 2018)

ADarkDraconis said:


> I'm sure this was meant well, but forgive me for saying that it sounds kind of rude. Just because someone is working on losing weight, referring to any part of them (yes, even their fat) as blobby blob is kind of disgusting and degrading.
> 
> Insinuating that it will fall off that quickly is also delusion or ignorance (some people think that very overweight people just need to move at all and the weight comes off, like they are overweight because they are sedentary and the slightest exercise will make a thin person in them magically revealed.) It will help them but it takes time and hard work.
> 
> ...


I'm fairly sure the comment wasn't intended to offend, and was probably a light hearted reference to Mr Blobby 






Possibly a bit UK-centric though!


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## ADarkDraconis (10 Mar 2018)

si_c said:


> I'm fairly sure the comment wasn't intended to offend, and was probably a light hearted reference to Mr Blobby
> View attachment 399256
> 
> 
> Possibly a bit UK-centric though!


Perhaps. I am not sure I would be pleased to be compared to that, even in jest. It would be kinda like someone comparing you to Eddie Murphy's Nutty Professor/Klump character... yes, he's supposed to be funny (in an obnoxious sort of way) but it is still pretty unpleasant to be referenced as such.

And considering the commentor's previous remarks on people's weight I was unsure of the intent and if there was anything underlying.


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## buzzy-beans (10 Mar 2018)

No offence implied to anyone the World over who has a clinical condition which results in them being overweight.

However for the very vast majority of overweight people, their conditions are entirely controllable, so if they cut out all sugary drinks, stop eating almost all processed food and do regular exercise then their condition should be controllable.

This makes for some interesting reading http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs311/en/

As does this: - https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/health-statistics/overweight-obesity

In the UK any person working for the Army, Airforce or Navy have to undertake regular fitness tests, as such, generally speaking, it is a rare sight to see an obese person working for these institutions. Now in stark contrast, the UK's National Health Service go on so much all the time about obesity being arguably the number one cause of so many health issues and yet, why is it that so many people employed by them are so grossly overweight?

When you are doing your shopping at the supermarket, you will see one hell of a lot of overweight people which is no surprise when you see the kind of foods and drinks they are buying, such as fizzy drinks, pizzas, cakes, chocolates, crisps, oven ready chips you name it and very little fresh meat, fish, fresh vegetables etc. etc.

I am sorry to hark on about it, but I once had what was thought to be dangerously high bad cholesterol levels I was also borderline diabetic and my weight was becoming a bit of a problem, so I sat down with my self taught dietitian of a wife (by qualification she is a food hygienist) and we planned out a diet and exercise regime programme and within 3 months we had both conditions under control.


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## ADarkDraconis (10 Mar 2018)

buzzy-beans said:


> No offence implied to anyone the World over who has a clinical condition which results in them being overweight.
> 
> However for the very vast majority of overweight people, their conditions are entirely controllable, so if they cut out all sugary drinks, stop eating almost all processed food and do regular exercise then their condition should be controllable.
> 
> ...


There are very thin people who can eat nothing but 'fizzy drinks, pizzas, cakes, chocolates, crisps, oven ready chips you name it and very little fresh meat, fish, fresh vegetables etc. etc.' and who are terribly unfit and have underlying health conditions (both of my grandfathers and my mother were whip-thin and yet all had diabetes and heart conditions), and there are heavier people who do watch what they eat. A lot of it has to do with body type and ectomorphs generally are more slender and have a harder time gaining weight in either fat or muscle while endomorphs gain fat and muscle easily but have a harder time losing it; don't even get me started on mesomorphs. For an example- for years I was always much fitter than my brother, who ate nothing but junk food (he could/can eat 3 medium pizzas in a sitting, drank nothing but soda and ate junk constantly) and sat on the couch playing video games with no physical exercise. I was a strict vegetarian who ate mostly fresh veggies and legumes and deliciousness, in moderation, never enjoyed sugary drinks, and exercised regularly. He has always been excessively thin (with a 'cyclist body' even before he cycled) while I have always been heavier even though I was in better physical shape. I have never had any health problems caused by weight (that just as many thin people have as well), I just have a bigger jean size. No one tells the thin yet unhealthy people to stop eating like crap and exercise, they just always comment on how they wish they could eat like that and still stay thin  I am am endomorph while he is an ectomorph, it shows in body shape and characteristic.

So it irritates me when people assume all overweight folks just need to do is stop shoving cake at their face and move a bit and the pounds will melt off, as in the real world that is not how it works for most folks. Also assuming that thin folks=healthy exercisers and overweight folks=sugar guzzling slugs is ridiculously small-minded.

But we are straying a bit far from the topic...


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## buzzy-beans (10 Mar 2018)

ADarkDraconis said:


> So it irritates me when people assume all overweight folks just need to do is stop shoving cake at their face and move a bit and the pounds will melt off



Apparently, it is less than 1% of overweight people who have a proven medical reason for being so.


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## ADarkDraconis (10 Mar 2018)

buzzy-beans said:


> Apparently, it is less than 1% of overweight people who have a proven medical reason for being so.


'Proven medical reason' is not the same as someone's natural body type, that would be something akin to a thyroid probelm or medication that causes weight gain, things of that nature. With body types it is your body's natural state of affairs, and not a physical ailment, that leads you to these predispositions of shape and mass. Do some research and have a think before you start berating heavy people for your apparent dislike of them and prejudging their lifestyles. I see you have no judgement for the naturally thin but unhealthy folks...


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## eagles633 (12 Mar 2018)

Been out for another 11 wet and windy miles today. Tried the new settings on the garmin and the results were almost identical. Still 60% in the red zone for the ride.
Going to be interesting to see if anything changes as i get fitter.
On a positive note the recovery time from the garmin adviser has gone down from 72 hours to 68 hours 
As for the weight. Iv'e booked a holiday for may. Iv'e set myself a target of losing a stone before then. Gonna be easy i reckon


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## nickAKA (13 Mar 2018)

eagles633 said:


> Been out for another 11 wet and windy miles today. Tried the new settings on the garmin and the results were almost identical. Still 60% in the red zone for the ride.
> Going to be interesting to see if anything changes as i get fitter.
> On a positive note the recovery time from the garmin adviser has gone down from 72 hours to 68 hours
> As for the weight. Iv'e booked a holiday for may. Iv'e set myself a target of losing a stone before then. Gonna be easy i reckon



Without reading every post in the thread here's my quick 6-month breakdown on cycling for fitness/weight loss using a HRM, so apologies in advance for any repetition...

I started cycling 'semi-seriously' last summer, getting out for 30-60 minutes whenever I could but aiming for 60km a week minimum. I bought a garmin vivoactive, HRM & speed & cadence sensors to track things. 
The local hills killed me initially, but the HRM taught me to know when I should stop - if I hit 175bpm+ I'd topped out so I had a rest, end of. Bought a turbo trainer when the weather turned and boned up a bit on training for fitness with online articles & books, using strava & the stravistix extension to track improvements.
Subsequently I went for a smart trainer & zwift to improve the experience, which has worked really well (for me).
Stravistix reckons my fitness score is now double where it was at the end of last summer, and I can really tell... I did one of my old regular loops at weekend, smashed my PBs on every climb but as an example of how my threshold has improved, on one particular climb where I'd sometimes hit 180bpm and stop, I got no higher than 160bpm which I'm really pleased about (can you tell? )
Stravistix fitness trend chart also tells you when you're overtraining & need a rest which is important... I do 150km a week now comfortably, I have got over most of the mental barriers that were stopping me before, plus I've lost about 10% of my total body weight so crack on as you are, don't be frightened to push yourself a bit harder, you can do it! 

TL;DR, you can't have too much data!


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## eagles633 (13 Mar 2018)

nickAKA said:


> Without reading every post in the thread here's my quick 6-month breakdown on cycling for fitness/weight loss using a HRM, so apologies in advance for any repetition...
> 
> I started cycling 'semi-seriously' last summer, getting out for 30-60 minutes whenever I could but aiming for 60km a week minimum. I bought a garmin vivoactive, HRM & speed & cadence sensors to track things.
> Looking good. Iv'e never heard of stravafix before.going to have a google now.
> ...





nickAKA said:


> Without reading every post in the thread here's my quick 6-month breakdown on cycling for fitness/weight loss using a HRM, so apologies in advance for any repetition...
> 
> I started cycling 'semi-seriously' last summer, getting out for 30-60 minutes whenever I could but aiming for 60km a week minimum. I bought a garmin vivoactive, HRM & speed & cadence sensors to track things.
> The local hills killed me initially, but the HRM taught me to know when I should stop - if I hit 175bpm+ I'd topped out so I had a rest, end of. Bought a turbo trainer when the weather turned and boned up a bit on training for fitness with online articles & books, using strava & the stravistix extension to track improvements.
> ...


Looking good. So it can be done 
Never heard of stravafix before i'l have to check it out. Do you need strava premium for instance?
Iv'e not got the option of a turbo trainer as i'm in a 1st floor apt. don't think the neighbours would be to impressed. tbf though i don't mind the bad weather, makes me feel iv'e achieved more when i get home.
The only problem with the cold is all the salt on the roads. i'm struggling to clean the bike living on the 1st floor. I did wash my bike in the bath when i first got it. got a bit of a telling off for that though 
How many miles a week before the weight started coming off for you was it?
tx for posting


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## bpsmith (13 Mar 2018)

I got a Karcher OC3 portable pressure washer to save getting my huge hose out. Works brilliantly to be fair.

Others have had good experiences with the push pressure garden sprayers too.


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## eagles633 (13 Mar 2018)

bpsmith said:


> I got a Karcher OC3 portable pressure washer to save getting my huge hose out. Works brilliantly to be fair.
> 
> Others have had good experiences with the push pressure garden sprayers too.


never thought of the garden spayer before. great idea. that would work perfect.
This forum is great tx


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## nickAKA (13 Mar 2018)

eagles633 said:


> Looking good. So it can be done
> Never heard of stravafix before i'l have to check it out. Do you need strava premium for instance?
> Iv'e not got the option of a turbo trainer as i'm in a 1st floor apt. don't think the neighbours would be to impressed. tbf though i don't mind the bad weather, makes me feel iv'e achieved more when i get home.
> The only problem with the cold is all the salt on the roads. i'm struggling to clean the bike living on the 1st floor. I did wash my bike in the bath when i first got it. got a bit of a telling off for that though
> ...



If you've got a computer with google chrome (browser) installed - https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/stravistix-for-strava/dhiaggccakkgdfcadnklkbljcgicpckn?hl=en 

Hope that works as it's a link from my browser & may be linked to my account... Stravistix gives you some of the extra functionality you get in strava premium, for nothing basically. Shows you how effective your training is, keeps track of your mileage, fitness & fatigue - you probably get most of that with garmin but I just prefer the layout & presentation it gives plus there's lots of info on what it all means.
As regards my 'journey' to fitness, I cut out lunch completely 5 days a week and did 4 years family cycling without thinking about weight/fitness much at all and inadvertantly lost a few kilos. Once I got the road bike I upped my game, bought some connected scales (we never had any scales in the house before, which in retrospect was a poor decision), a fitness band and used a fitness app to track my data. 
I continued losing weight slowly but the real change came when I got the turbo and could get on the bike whenever I had time (I'm a fair-weather rider, to my eternal shame). I've been doing 4-8 hours a week which is nothing compared to people who commute every day for instance, but I've tailored it to suit my goals by doing workouts designed to increase fitness & FTP... I was dropping a kilogram every couple of weeks at first, then a kilogram every 4-6 weeks and kow maybe half a kilogram a month but that's fine, I'm happy with that!
If you're willing to go out whenever, it shouldn't be any different for you, just keep pounding away at 140bpm+ (do some short climbs, get out of the saddle!) and you'll be doing enough to have a good training effect on your body until you get to the next level... The first thing I noticed changing in myself was the recovery time; max out at say 170bpm, stop & time how long it takes you to get back to recovery of about 120bpm. garmin has apps for that too...
good luck!


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## vickster (13 Mar 2018)

eagles633 said:


> Looking good. So it can be done
> Never heard of stravafix before i'l have to check it out. Do you need strava premium for instance?
> Iv'e not got the option of a turbo trainer as i'm in a 1st floor apt. don't think the neighbours would be to impressed. tbf though i don't mind the bad weather, makes me feel iv'e achieved more when i get home.
> The only problem with the cold is all the salt on the roads. i'm struggling to clean the bike living on the 1st floor. I did wash my bike in the bath when i first got it. got a bit of a telling off for that though
> ...


To burn the calorie equivalent of a pound of fat a week, you'd need to ride around 100 miles at reasonable intensity (rough estimate of 30-35 calories a mile)

Cutting calories from your diet coupled with the exercise will yield better results


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## nickAKA (13 Mar 2018)

vickster said:


> To burn the calorie equivalent of a pound of fat a week, you'd need to ride around 100 miles at reasonable intensity (rough estimate of 30-35 calories a mile)
> 
> Cutting calories from your diet coupled with the exercise will yield better results



Yeah, skipping lunch / eating less generally / laying off the beer is quite important... seldom drink beer nowadays, just the odd couple as opposed to 20 pints at the weekend


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## eagles633 (13 Mar 2018)

nickAKA said:


> If you've got a computer with google chrome (browser) installed - https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/stravistix-for-strava/dhiaggccakkgdfcadnklkbljcgicpckn?hl=en
> 
> Hope that works as it's a link from my browser & may be linked to my account... Stravistix gives you some of the extra functionality you get in strava premium, for nothing basically. Shows you how effective your training is, keeps track of your mileage, fitness & fatigue - you probably get most of that with garmin but I just prefer the layout & presentation it gives plus there's lots of info on what it all means.
> As regards my 'journey' to fitness, I cut out lunch completely 5 days a week and did 4 years family cycling without thinking about weight/fitness much at all and inadvertantly lost a few kilos. Once I got the road bike I upped my game, bought some connected scales (we never had any scales in the house before, which in retrospect was a poor decision), a fitness band and used a fitness app to track my data.
> ...


just downloaded the stravafix chrome add on. looks great, loads more info.
you have just saved me money getting premium tx 
I'm going to have to play with it and see whats up. The fitness trend page looks interesting. Is that which one you used to see if you were overtraining? I seem to be in overload my last 3 rides.
Good to see you have done so well. good inspiration for us newbies.


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## eagles633 (13 Mar 2018)

vickster said:


> To burn the calorie equivalent of a pound of fat a week, you'd need to ride around 100 miles at reasonable intensity (rough estimate of 30-35 calories a mile)
> 
> Cutting calories from your diet coupled with the exercise will yield better results


yeah.. I'm already losing weight with giving up the booze and crisps. Not expecting to much from the cycling until i up my miles. Still, it all helps.
Iv'e lost 4 to 6 pounds in the last 10 days. Saying that i think it's all water. I could wake up tomorrow 4 pounds heavier again.


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## nickAKA (13 Mar 2018)

eagles633 said:


> just downloaded the stravafix chrome add on. looks great, loads more info.
> you have just saved me money getting premium tx
> I'm going to have to play with it and see whats up. The fitness trend page looks interesting. Is that which one you used to see if you were overtraining? I seem to be in overload my last 3 rides.
> Good to see you have done so well. good inspiration for us newbies.



I'm still a newbie really, will consider myself such until I've done my first 100 mile ride 
Look at the orange line on the bottom graph, that's your 'form' - if it hits the overload line you need a rest but you recover pretty quickly... keep that figure between -10 & -30 when training and your fitness will climb.


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## eagles633 (13 Mar 2018)

nickAKA said:


> I'm still a newbie really, will consider myself such until I've done my first 100 mile ride
> Look at the orange line on the bottom graph, that's your 'form' - if it hits the overload line you need a rest but you recover pretty quickly... keep that figure between -10 & -30 when training and your fitness will climb.
> 
> View attachment 399883


That's the graph. Looks like even though i'm only doing 10 to 15 miles i'm still maxing out over the -30 line. Looks like the garmin is right saying i should rest for 3 days . tbf i do feel knackered.
20 miles is my next milestone ha. Good luck with the hundred.


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## Tin Pot (13 Mar 2018)

eagles633 said:


> yeah taking it easy. Plan is 2 days off for everything to fully recover. Hopefully i'l get all the way around without stopping tomorrow. A couple of hills gonna get their arses kicked tomorrow #overthetop ha



Hiya and good luck.

One of the problems people encounter when they are new to regular exercise is that they think that if they are working really hard, it’s not worth it. If you’re not sweating, you’re not exercising. No pain, no gain. Etc.

The opposite is true.

You will gain _far more_ from lots of easy rides than a few murdered hills, and this where your heart rate comes in. Sticking with low heart rate rides makes you fitter and avoids the burn out and injury risk that sends people back to the couch.


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## eagles633 (13 Mar 2018)

Tin Pot said:


> Hiya and good luck.
> 
> One of the problems people encounter when they are new to regular exercise is that they think that if they are working really hard, it’s not worth it. If you’re not sweating, you’re not exercising. No pain, no gain. Etc.
> 
> ...


Good points. I am trying to take it easy to start off with. The trouble is whichever direction i go there are hills around here. The quote about kicking the hills arse was a bit tongue in cheek. Most people wouldnt even recognize it as hill 
It's all a learning curve. At least i havn't keeled over with a heart attack yet. which was my concern when i started the thread


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## bpsmith (13 Mar 2018)

eagles633 said:


> never thought of the garden spayer before. great idea. that would work perfect.
> This forum is great tx


I didn’t come up with the Garden Sprayer in fairness, so can’t take credit, just happy to share the info.


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## Tin Pot (13 Mar 2018)

eagles633 said:


> Good points. I am trying to take it easy to start off with. The trouble is whichever direction i go there are hills around here. The quote about kicking the hills arse was a bit tongue in cheek. Most people wouldnt even recognize it as hill
> It's all a learning curve. At least i havn't keeled over with a heart attack yet. which was my concern when i started the thread



I have the same challenge. Sit back, lowest gear, turn the pedals slowly, breathe in and out through your nose...you’ll get there. 

Of course there’s no problem giving it some welly occasionally, it’s just that most people go too hard and all the time.


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## eagles633 (13 Mar 2018)

bpsmith said:


> I didn’t come up with the Garden Sprayer in fairness, so can’t take credit, just happy to share the info.


picking one up tomorrow. can't believe iv'e never thought of it before. perfect for my situation  
https://www.screwfix.com/p/green-pr...ies+&+UGC&utm_content=TextLink&utm_term=47868


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## Ming the Merciless (13 Mar 2018)

At this stage I would stick with what is motivating you. Do not worry about short term trends or the days when you can't be bothered. Just stick at it. The improved feeling of well being is one of the best. Learning to listen to your body is a good skill to have. If you are tired, so a shorter ride, or go for a walk instead.


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## eagles633 (13 Mar 2018)

Tin Pot said:


> I have the same challenge. Sit back, lowest gear, turn the pedals slowly, breathe in and out through your nose...you’ll get there.
> 
> Of course there’s no problem giving it some welly occasionally, it’s just that most people go too hard and all the time.


I think iv'e managed to get a 32 cog on the back cassette so i can spin up steep slopes. Problem is i'm using it on 4% slopes at the moment 
I did manage to pass somebody the other day mind. going downhill using my weight advantage i took over a guy on his mountain bike taking his weekly shop home.


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## eagles633 (13 Mar 2018)

YukonBoy said:


> At this stage I would stick with what is motivating you. Do not worry about short term trends or the days when you can't be bothered. Just stick at it. The improved feeling of well being is one of the best. Learning to listen to your body is a good skill to have. If you are tired, so a shorter ride, or go for a walk instead.


i'm well motivated. It's all about losing the weight for me. Problem tonight is,,. I bought a family cheesecake 4 days ago. Iv'e been very good not eating it. It's out of date tonight though....


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## bpsmith (13 Mar 2018)

My Brother just bought a bike and we had our first proper ride together in about 20 years, last Saturday. He goes to the gym and does weights and has a hands on job, so isn’t hugely unfit, but it was comical at how quickly he slowed on gradient above 3% or so.

When I say Comical, it was because I totally knew it was coming as it was exactly what happened to me when I started about 4 years ago. There’s nobody I know of that hasn’t had to do the same when new to cycling. Doesn’t matter how fit or unfit you are, the muscles take time to adapt, so don’t beat yourself up!


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## Tin Pot (13 Mar 2018)

bpsmith said:


> My Brother just bought a bike and we had our first proper ride together in about 20 years, last Saturday. He goes to the gym and does weights and has a hands on job, so isn’t hugely unfit, but it was comical at how quickly he slowed on gradient above 3% or so.
> 
> When I say Comical, it was because I totally knew it was coming as it was exactly what happened to me when I started about 4 years ago. There’s nobody I know of that hasn’t had to do the same when new to cycling. Doesn’t matter how fit or unfit you are, the muscles take time to adapt, so don’t beat yourself up!



Yep I had the same. Then you find yourself on a ‘real’ hill and wonder why you made such a fuss for so long about the gradient you now regard as a ‘speed bump’. It just comes with time and experience.


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## bpsmith (13 Mar 2018)

Tin Pot said:


> Yep I had the same. Then you find yourself on a ‘real’ hill and wonder why you made such a fuss for so long about the gradient you now regard as a ‘speed bump’. It just comes with time and experience.


Exactly. It’s all relative.

Then just when you think you’re doing well, somebody flies past you on a climb. Don’t believe the hype that these guys are always tiny lightweights either, as there are plenty of guys and gals of all sizes that can really put you to shame.


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## eagles633 (13 Mar 2018)

bpsmith said:


> My Brother just bought a bike and we had our first proper ride together in about 20 years, last Saturday. He goes to the gym and does weights and has a hands on job, so isn’t hugely unfit, but it was comical at how quickly he slowed on gradient above 3% or so.
> 
> When I say Comical, it was because I totally knew it was coming as it was exactly what happened to me when I started about 4 years ago. There’s nobody I know of that hasn’t had to do the same when new to cycling. Doesn’t matter how fit or unfit you are, the muscles take time to adapt, so don’t beat yourself up!


I quite enjoy the hills really. think i'd get bored on the flat. Think iv'e got the worst bit over. The 1st 8 rides in the bag now.


bpsmith said:


> Exactly. It’s all relative.
> 
> Then just when you think you’re doing well, somebody flies past you on a climb. Don’t believe the hype that these guys are always tiny lightweights either, as there are plenty of guys and gals of all sizes that can really put you to shame.


My lass beat me on a hill the first week we started cycling. As long as i can start beating her i don't care who passes me


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## bpsmith (13 Mar 2018)

The fiat can be interesting too, with the right challenge. I like to go as fast as I can for a flat 10 mile out and back blast near where I live. There’s a little challenge going on with a few mates.

Hills are more interesting generally though.


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## si_c (13 Mar 2018)

If you want to get faster, on hills or the flat, ride with people who are faster than you. Nothing beats hanging onto someone's wheel while your eyeballs pop out of your skull and your legs explode to improve your fitness.


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## ozboz (14 Mar 2018)

hello and welcome , 
I started riding when I was 60 ish , for fitness and a hobby fixing up some old bikes , 5-6 miles was a killer ! but I can go quite well now , at present I try to do 30 miles a day , but I do have a break in the middle, I have only used apps on my phone for speed , distance etc , I don't bother much with those much now , I am not overweight but was initially concerned about stress on my heart , as time went by , my resting HB improved from 80 bps ish , and is now around 60 on average , it also recovers from very high whilst peddling uphill etc back to normal - resting quite dramatically , so that is the big incentive to cycle , also helping some lower leg muscular problems , as said take it easy , enjoy the bike and the ride , exploring new routes can make it interesting ,


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## HLaB (14 Mar 2018)

eagles633 said:


> Looking good. So it can be done
> Never heard of stravafix before i'l have to check it out. Do you need strava premium for instance?
> Iv'e not got the option of a turbo trainer as i'm in a 1st floor apt. don't think the neighbours would be to impressed. tbf though i don't mind the bad weather, makes me feel iv'e achieved more when i get home.
> The only problem with the cold is all the salt on the roads. i'm struggling to clean the bike living on the 1st floor. I did wash my bike in the bath when i first got it. got a bit of a telling off for that though
> ...


Im in an apartment but on the ground floor I would've said similar before and just done work on the rollers but preferring to go out in all weather's. But I bought myself an Elite Muin direct drive turbo and its relatively quite quiet. No one has complained anyway


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## nickAKA (14 Mar 2018)

bpsmith said:


> Exactly. It’s all relative.
> 
> Then just when you think you’re doing well, somebody flies past you on a climb. Don’t believe the hype that these guys are always tiny lightweights either, as there are plenty of guys and gals of all sizes that can really put you to shame.



Tell me about it... I was doing a difficult (for me) climb up Ogden; about 2/3 of the way up there's a 9% section that kills me every time so I stopped for a breather. See this enormous bloke, 6'4"+, bulging panniers, cruising up steadily. Gives me a cheery "morning" and saunters past. The ancient touring bike looks like it weighs 20kg. I set off and get within 20 yards of him and have to slow down, too embarrassed to even contemplate going past... A chastening experience!


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## eagles633 (15 Mar 2018)

Another 14 miles done. Took a full 2 days rest as was knackered yesterday.
Managed to max out my heart rate at 179 after my previous high of 175 last week.
I took on 10% hill and think 179 is def my max.
Thing of note, my stress score has been in the 160's after every ride. But my garmin app recovery time has gone down from 72,68 now 62 hours. So looks like things are going in the right direction


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## ADarkDraconis (15 Mar 2018)

eagles633 said:


> Another 14 miles done. Took a full 2 days rest as was knackered yesterday.
> Managed to max out my heart rate at 179 after my previous high of 175 last week.
> I took on 10% hill and think 179 is def my max.
> Thing of note, my stress score has been in the 160's after every ride. But my garmin app recovery time has gone down from 72,68 now 62 hours. So looks like things are going in the right direction


Yup, once you get into it and are regularly biking your body won't need so much rest time in between rides. It will become normal activity for it! I don't know about garmin stress scores, but I am always much less stressed after a ride  Glad you are enjoying it!


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## swee'pea99 (15 Mar 2018)

welsh dragon said:


> Just have fun. Forget the rest.



Works for me.


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## welsh dragon (15 Mar 2018)

swee'pea99 said:


> Works for me.



Same here.


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## eagles633 (15 Mar 2018)

swee'pea99 said:


> Works for me.


I am having fun. What i have learned from watching cycling on tv though is that it's a high tech sport nowadays. And incremental gains are the most important thing in the sport. Not much use cycling without a garmin and strava nowadays.


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## Alan O (15 Mar 2018)

eagles633 said:


> What i have learned from watching cycling on tv though is that it's a high tech sport nowadays.


To me, today's technology looks pretty much the same as my 1980s steel touring bike - pedals, chain, gears, wheels, brakes


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## ADarkDraconis (15 Mar 2018)

eagles633 said:


> I am having fun. What i have learned from watching cycling on tv though is that it's a high tech sport nowadays. And incremental gains are the most important thing in the sport. Not much use cycling without a garmin and strava nowadays.


I don't watch cycling on tv myself, but to me it is a good form of exercise, transportation, and fun! The most important thing for me is to have a good time, stay active, and not fall off! My preferred sport is hockey but I don't even take that too seriously as in my humble opinion if you are not getting paid and it is not your job it is just a fun game, so if I viewed cycling as a sport it would be pretty much the same. If it is a way to get fit, well people have been losing weight without computer measurements ever since man first decided he was a little pudgy round the middle. 'Incremental gains' at a beginner's standpoint (or any cycling proficiency, really) is usually making it up a tough hill or going a new distance or making a best personal time, you don't need technology to tell you that you feel stronger or faster or fitter. 

Any sport can be as high-tech or low-tech as you want it to be, all you need in this instance is a bike and legs and all you really need in hockey is a stick, a puck, and some skates (and not even those for field hockey). The rest is optional. If you enjoy using the extras feel free, but don't feel like you have to because the pros are doing it (often times they also do drugs and we don't recommend that either!)


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## nickAKA (15 Mar 2018)

ADarkDraconis said:


> I don't watch cycling on tv myself, but to me it is a good form of exercise, transportation, and fun! The most important thing for me is to have a good time, stay active, and not fall off! My preferred sport is hockey but I don't even take that too seriously as in my humble opinion if you are not getting paid and it is not your job it is just a fun game, so if I viewed cycling as a sport it would be pretty much the same. If it is a way to get fit, well people have been losing weight without computer measurements ever since man first decided he was a little pudgy round the middle. 'Incremental gains' at a beginner's standpoint (or any cycling proficiency, really) is usually making it up a tough hill or going a new distance or making a best personal time, you don't need technology to tell you that you feel stronger or faster or fitter.
> 
> Any sport can be as high-tech or low-tech as you want it to be, all you need in this instance is a bike and legs and all you really need in hockey is a stick, a puck, and some skates (and not even those for field hockey). The rest is optional. If you enjoy using the extras feel free, but don't feel like you have to because the pros are doing it (often times they also do drugs and we don't recommend that either!)



All very true, but...

SHINY THINGS!
GRAPHS!
STATISTICS!
KUDOS ON STRAVA!

Most men (especially myself) are suckers for all that stuff. It adds to my enjoyment of cycling and let's face it, if that wasn't a basic truth most of the companies making the stuff would be out of business post haste.


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## screenman (15 Mar 2018)

After a few years break about 6 or 7 years ago I got back to fitness using the Mathetone methods, I often go back to it now for a few weeks and it seems to work well for me.


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## ADarkDraconis (15 Mar 2018)

nickAKA said:


> All very true, but...
> 
> SHINY THINGS!
> GRAPHS!
> ...


I find the people that generally care about Strava bragging and such are in all likelihood similar to the people that care how many 'likes' on facebook on instagram they get. If you enjoy it, more power to you! I don't think it has anything to do with what genitalia you are equipped with.


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## si_c (15 Mar 2018)

ADarkDraconis said:


> I find the people that generally care about Strava bragging and such are in all likelihood similar to the people that care how many 'likes' on facebook on instagram they get. If you enjoy it, more power to you! I don't think it has anything to do with what genitalia you are equipped with.


There are a few people who indulge in strava bragging, but people use it for different reasons. Mrs C uses it to calorie track, and to be honest, that's also the biggest reason I started to use it, but then I also like numbers, more numbers = more fun.


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## bpsmith (16 Mar 2018)

ADarkDraconis said:


> ... you don't need technology to tell you that you feel stronger or faster or fitter.



You do on this forum. The moment you say “I felt faster” or similar, someone comes along and asks for the proof in scientific form and/or with the numbers to match. When you can’t quite put your finger in it or “prove it”, you get shot down.


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## ADarkDraconis (16 Mar 2018)

bpsmith said:


> You do on this forum. The moment you say “I felt faster” or similar, someone comes along and asks for the proof in scientific form and/or with the numbers to match. When you can’t quite put your finger in it or “prove it”, you get shot down.


That's a shame.


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## hoopdriver (16 Mar 2018)

I think the thing to do is ignore those people and leave them to their own private numbers-driven hells.


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## eagles633 (16 Mar 2018)

hoopdriver said:


> I think the thing to do is ignore those people and leave them to their own private numbers-driven hells.


It's not all about the numbers tbf. You need gadgets also


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## ADarkDraconis (16 Mar 2018)

eagles633 said:


> It's not all about the numbers tbf. You need gadgets also
> View attachment 400293


Gaaaaah, at least use black zipties!!!  Nice looking bike, though.


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## eagles633 (18 Mar 2018)

Had to wait for the snow to melt before nipping out for a 12 miler today. Did 5 mile outwards miles uphill and 5 miles back into a biting wind below zero degrees. It Felt like biking through sludge. Still got out there though 
Got back and the garmin said i needed 48 hours rest this time. That's down from 72 hours from a similar ride last week. So all heading in the right direction.
Gotta say thx to @nickAKA for the heads up on stravafix. I'd of probably overtrained without the info on there.


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## si_c (18 Mar 2018)

eagles633 said:


> Had to wait for the snow to melt before nipping out for a 12 miler today. Did 5 mile outwards miles uphill and 5 miles back into a biting wind below zero degrees. It Felt like biking through sludge. Still got out there though
> Got back and the garmin said i needed 48 hours rest this time. That's down from 72 hours from a similar ride last week. So all heading in the right direction.
> Gotta say thx to @nickAKA for the heads up on stravafix. I'd of probably overtrained without the info on there.



I wouldn't necessarily worry about overtraining tbh, just go on how you are feeling. If you fancy going out for a ride, go for it, don't worry about whether you should still be recovering or not. The body is marvellously adaptive and as long as you get a decent amount of sleep and eat properly, the worst that will happen is you will feel a little more tired than the day before, and your legs will ache a bit.

I'm currently hovering around -70 as my fitness/fatigue figure, but I know I'll have no real problems commuting to or from work this week, as I'm used to it.


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## eagles633 (19 Mar 2018)

si_c said:


> I wouldn't necessarily worry about overtraining tbh, just go on how you are feeling. If you fancy going out for a ride, go for it, don't worry about whether you should still be recovering or not. The body is marvellously adaptive and as long as you get a decent amount of sleep and eat properly, the worst that will happen is you will feel a little more tired than the day before, and your legs will ache a bit.
> 
> I'm currently hovering around -70 as my fitness/fatigue figure, but I know I'll have no real problems commuting to or from work this week, as I'm used to it.


Nice graph. Nice consistent effort you got going there. I'm hoping to replicate your work.
Interesting to see you're going into the overload. Iv'e been going over it and coming back down to the optimal level. I have been listening to my body and at the moment the 1 day training 2 days off seems to be good for me. Iv'e been shattered on my 2 rest days. The garmin connect app seems to be confirming what i'm feeling as in rest needed.
I think iv'e seen you comment somewhere that you are using cycling in helping weight loss. How are you getting on if you don't mind me asking.
The main reason i'm cycling is to aid weight loss.


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## Alan O (19 Mar 2018)

si_c said:


> I wouldn't necessarily worry about overtraining tbh, just go on how you are feeling. If you fancy going out for a ride, go for it, don't worry about whether you should still be recovering or not. The body is marvellously adaptive and as long as you get a decent amount of sleep and eat properly, the worst that will happen is you will feel a little more tired than the day before, and your legs will ache a bit.
> 
> I'm currently hovering around -70 as my fitness/fatigue figure, but I know I'll have no real problems commuting to or from work this week, as I'm used to it.


I had a try with the Strava chart thing, but I have to say I really can't make much sense of what I'm supposed to be getting from it - it looks like over-analysis from too limited data to me. And if you over-train, your body will soon tell you.


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## nickAKA (19 Mar 2018)

ADarkDraconis said:


> I find the people that generally care about Strava bragging and such are in all likelihood similar to the people that care how many 'likes' on facebook on instagram they get. If you enjoy it, more power to you! I don't think it has anything to do with what genitalia you are equipped with.



The bragging aspect is of little interest to me tbh but I wouldn't consider being 'proud' of our (small) achievments a negative thing, I personally find it motivating. I don't follow many or have many followers on strava, I just follow my mates who are like-minded - as in they're cycling / running for fitness, and being of a similar vintage it's good to see how their efforts compare with mine. Different strokes for different folks, there isn't a black & white right / wrong way of doing it so it's whatever makes you happy IMO...


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## nickAKA (19 Mar 2018)

si_c said:


> I wouldn't necessarily worry about overtraining tbh, just go on how you are feeling. If you fancy going out for a ride, go for it, don't worry about whether you should still be recovering or not. The body is marvellously adaptive and as long as you get a decent amount of sleep and eat properly, the worst that will happen is you will feel a little more tired than the day before, and your legs will ache a bit.
> 
> I'm currently hovering around -70 as my fitness/fatigue figure, but I know I'll have no real problems commuting to or from work this week, as I'm used to it.



Your base fitness level is the deciding factor in how much recovery you need, but I do find the stravistix 'form' measure pretty good for *me*, personally. I aim to keep my form above the recommended -30, which currently means I take a day off every 3 or 4 days - seems sensible to me. The forward projections are handy if you're working toward something specific so you know when to reduce your training to allow a fuller recovery.

DISCLAIMER - I am in *NO WAY* an expert, I'm quoting what stravistix say here and present this info without prejudice or favour...


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## si_c (19 Mar 2018)

Alan O said:


> I had a try with the Strava chart thing, but I have to say I really can't make much sense of what I'm supposed to be getting from it - it looks like over-analysis from too limited data to me. And if you over-train, your body will soon tell you.



Absolutely, I do find it seems to track fairly well with how I feel, but being able to quantify it helps me moderate the intensity of any work I do during the second half of the week.



eagles633 said:


> Nice graph. Nice consistent effort you got going there. I'm hoping to replicate your work.
> Interesting to see you're going into the overload. Iv'e been going over it and coming back down to the optimal level. I have been listening to my body and at the moment the 1 day training 2 days off seems to be good for me. Iv'e been shattered on my 2 rest days. The garmin connect app seems to be confirming what i'm feeling as in rest needed.
> I think iv'e seen you comment somewhere that you are using cycling in helping weight loss. How are you getting on if you don't mind me asking.
> The main reason i'm cycling is to aid weight loss.



I'd end up in the overload zone I think just from commuting week to week, as even with two rest days at the weekend it shows me as having recovered less than might be expected. However as @nickAKA says below, provided I have at least one solid day a week off the bike I'm not particularly fatigued on a Monday morning for the commute.

As for weight loss, in total I've lost a little over 6stone (~80lbs or 40kg), I'd quite happily lose another stone though, which is what I'm working on presently. But that has been over about 3 years since I started cycling, and last year my net weight loss was slightly below zero as I was far too happy eating lots of crap.



nickAKA said:


> Your base fitness level is the deciding factor in how much recovery you need, but I do find the stravistix 'form' measure pretty good for *me*, personally. I aim to keep my form above the recommended -30, which currently means I take a day off every 3 or 4 days - seems sensible to me. The forward projections are handy if you're working toward something specific so you know when to reduce your training to allow a fuller recovery.



Definitely agree, I've only been tracking it really since the start of the year, but it has hinted to me on a couple of occasions that perhaps I shouldn't go for th extended ride at the weekend and perhaps an extra rest day is a good idea.


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## nickAKA (20 Mar 2018)

si_c said:


> Absolutely, I do find it seems to track fairly well with how I feel, but being able to quantify it helps me moderate the intensity of any work I do during the second half of the week.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 
40kg off is some effort mate. More power to you!

Realistically I could stand to lose another stone to get to my 'fighting weight' but I think the wife would organise an intervention if I did...


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## si_c (20 Mar 2018)

nickAKA said:


> 40kg off is some effort mate. More power to you!
> 
> Realistically I could stand to lose another stone to get to my 'fighting weight' but I think the wife would organise an intervention if I did...


Do it slowly and she won't even notice.


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## cabbieman (20 Mar 2018)

I started out late 2016. My first rides were on a round of 10 miles door to door. I had to stop 2 or 3 times to catch my breath and it's a little hilly. The worst part of the hill was particularly bad for about 100 metres and would make me get off or stop at least twice. My times in the beginning were around 45 minutes. Last year I managed to do a total of 2500 miles, the majority between April and october and really enjoyed it as I still am although it's been all turbo over the winter. I still do that 10 miler once a month to measure my fitness and my best times are around the 35 minute mark so I've improved by about 25% over the year. I'm probably not going to get much better at 58 and 16 stone but it's all about enjoying yourself. Don't focus too much on the details like heart rate, just get out there and get the miles in and enjoy.


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## dave r (20 Mar 2018)

eagles633 said:


> I am having fun. What i have learned from watching cycling on tv though is that it's a high tech sport nowadays. And incremental gains are the most important thing in the sport. Not much use cycling without a garmin and strava nowadays.



I've never used either.


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## eagles633 (20 Mar 2018)

Nice going on the weight loss si_c. That's some commitment you got there! 

Iv'e managed to get out today after only 40 hrs rest for another 14 miles. 
The garmin is telling me i'm down to 34 hours rest next time 
Instead of ramping the miles up, i'm going to try the same 10-15 miles a time but with a days less rest or a bit.
Sunshine and not much wind today. Still struggling to get over freezing but layered up and sweated up good.
I only follow the mrs on strava. The only person i want to beat on strava is myself. 
Got a pb today. well chuffed 
Just gotta stay off the munchies now


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## nickAKA (20 Mar 2018)

eagles633 said:


> Nice going on the weight loss si_c. That's some commitment you got there!
> 
> Iv'e managed to get out today after only 40 hrs rest for another 14 miles.
> The garmin is telling me i'm down to 34 hours rest next time
> ...



Once you get some timber off treats are permissable mate. I had a massive kebab last week, a couple of hours on the turbo & all is forgiven...


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## si_c (20 Mar 2018)

nickAKA said:


> Once you get some timber off treats are permissable mate. I had a massive kebab last week, a couple of hours on the turbo & all is forgiven...


Definitely, on sunday I had a carvery lunch and a curry for dinner. With alll the trimmings. Weight loss for the week 0, weight gain for the week 0  I'll take that.


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## buzzy-beans (21 Mar 2018)

But only weigh yourself at the same time each day, for me that is immediately after my first visit to the loo shortly after getting out of bed. Weighing myslef at other times of the day can see a weight gain of anything up to 2.5 kgs.


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## Alan O (21 Mar 2018)

buzzy-beans said:


> But only weigh yourself at the same time each day, for me that is immediately after my first visit to the loo shortly after getting out of bed. Weighing myslef at other times of the day can see a weight gain of anything up to 2.5 kgs.


Almost the same for me - after my first, erm, solid morning visit to the loo (which is usually the first visit anyway).


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## vickster (21 Mar 2018)

eagles633 said:


> I am having fun. What i have learned from watching cycling on tv though is that it's a high tech sport nowadays. And incremental gains are the most important thing in the sport. Not much use cycling without a garmin and strava nowadays.


What cobblers. Although I use Strava and have a garmin, the only thing you actually need for cycling is a bike and the ability to turn the pedals in some way  try riding without and see if you enjoy the actual bike riding more 

How's the weight loss going?

Pro cycling is not the same thing as recreational, leisure or utility cycling which I would expect accounts for 90% or more of people who ride a bike. Are you an aspiring pro cyclist?


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## vickster (21 Mar 2018)

Alan O said:


> Almost the same for me - after my first, erm, solid morning visit to the loo (which is usually the first visit anyway).


If you're passing 2.5kg of stool in the morning you may want to get checked out. It's more likely that you're dehydrated in the morning


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## vickster (21 Mar 2018)

si_c said:


> There are a few people who indulge in strava bragging, but people use it for different reasons. Mrs C uses it to calorie track, and to be honest, that's also the biggest reason I started to use it, but then I also like numbers, more numbers = more fun.



Presumably she takes it with a pinch of salt as device tracking of calories is a guesstimate as best  use two devices and see the discrepancies, garmin calculations are clearly utter nonsense


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## bpsmith (21 Mar 2018)

vickster said:


> If you're passing 2.5kg of stool in the morning you may want to get checked out. It's more likely that you're dehydrated in the morning


I don’t believe that’s what they said. They said it fluctuates at different points in the day. Toilet visit, dehydration, breakfast, coffee, clothing, all fall into the mix.


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## vickster (21 Mar 2018)

bpsmith said:


> I don’t believe that’s what they said. They said it fluctuates at different points in the day. Toilet visit, dehydration, breakfast, coffee, clothing, all fall into the mix.


I was jesting...


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## bpsmith (21 Mar 2018)

vickster said:


> I was jesting...


I know.


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## buzzy-beans (21 Mar 2018)

vickster said:


> What cobblers. Although I use Strava and have a garmin, the only thing you actually need for cycling is a bike and the ability to turn the pedals in some way  try riding without and see if you enjoy the actual bike riding more



I totally agree, what is it with people these days?

Life would actually continue if all the techi numpties were to ditch all of their electronic gadgets!

Believe it or not, there is no need to have a mobile phone plugged into your ear at all times and likewise when going out on your bike, yes have some gadget that measures the distance, but I have a watch to tell me the time.


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## si_c (21 Mar 2018)

vickster said:


> Presumably she takes it with a pinch of salt as device tracking of calories is a guesstimate as best  use two devices and see the discrepancies, garmin calculations are clearly utter nonsense


She does indeed take it with a pinch of salt, it's useful as a guide, but you have to use some common sense. But she's found strava to be reasonably similar in numbers to her fitbit, so she's quite happy for the most part.


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## eagles633 (21 Mar 2018)

Not sure if it was the cold yesterday. My Garmin froze and I lost a days data. So I've had to spend another£150 on a polar device. Now have 2 running I doubt I'll ever lose my ride again


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## eagles633 (21 Mar 2018)

nickAKA said:


> Once you get some timber off treats are permissable mate. I had a massive kebab last week, a couple of hours on the turbo & all is forgiven...


Ha ha after watching the Cal's all week I went to Aldi and chucked something in the basket I hadn't seen in years. Ate 2 and they were tremendous


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## vickster (21 Mar 2018)

eagles633 said:


> Not sure if it was the cold yesterday. My Garmin froze and I lost a days data. So I've had to spend another£150 on a polar device. Now have 2 running I doubt I'll ever lose my ride again
> View attachment 400891


Why not just use your phone?!


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## eagles633 (21 Mar 2018)

vickster said:


> What cobblers. Although I use Strava and have a garmin, the only thing you actually need for cycling is a bike and the ability to turn the pedals in some way  try riding without and see if you enjoy the actual bike riding more
> 
> How's the weight loss going?
> 
> Pro cycling is not the same thing as recreational, leisure or utility cycling which I would expect accounts for 90% or more of people who ride a bike. Are you an aspiring pro cyclist?


The weight loss is going fine vickster. Pretty much what people are saying on the thread. I can be 5 pound either way during a single day. I'd say iv'e lost 3 to 5 pounds since i started though. My swollen pot belly was solid to begin with. I can actually grab the jelly now


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## eagles633 (21 Mar 2018)

vickster said:


> Why not just use your phone?!


Too fiddly


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## Alan O (21 Mar 2018)

vickster said:


> If you're passing 2.5kg of stool in the morning you may want to get checked out. It's more likely that you're dehydrated in the morning


You should come round and try one of my curries some time


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## bpsmith (21 Mar 2018)

buzzy-beans said:


> I totally agree, what is it with people these days?
> 
> Life would actually continue if all the techi numpties were to ditch all of their electronic gadgets!
> 
> Believe it or not, there is no need to have a mobile phone plugged into your ear at all times and likewise when going out on your bike, yes have some gadget that measures the distance, but I have a watch to tell me the time.


Proper ironic, posting that on an online cycling forum. PMSL.

#AntiTechNumpty


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## Ticktockmy (22 Mar 2018)

I have to smile about all this techo, I am lucky that I am of an age were when taking up cycling, one bought a cycle, got on it and rode when one got knckered you stopped at a cafe or pub and bought loads of stoggy food and a couple of pints of fine ale or tea, when rested enough we wended our merry way. around the rest of our route. somehow we stayed slim and fit, no tech then a mile meter was a little gadget which clipped to the front stay where a pin on the spoke flicked a cog on the mile meter. recording the route was mainly committed to memory or a few scribbled marks on a paper map. Of course we had a good start wieght wise, as we still had food rationing, and because of the physical training that was done in schools and the fact that we had the freedom as kids and teens that is not prevailent these days we were fairly fit youths. Unless you are a pro rider, I say just get on your cycle and ride, cycling is about enjoying your cycling, looking at the countryside and the history surrounding. you..


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## eagles633 (22 Mar 2018)

I'm finding the hills too hard so I've bought some power pedals to help me. The extra power will help me over the hard bits. Got a good discount also.


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## ADarkDraconis (22 Mar 2018)

eagles633 said:


> I'm finding the hills too hard so I've bought some power pedals to help me. The extra power will help me over the hard bits. Got a good discount also.
> View attachment 401069


Could've saved you a bundle friend: hills get easier as you get stronger/more practiced. I have never heard of power pedals, why don't you just stand up? This is akin to saying 'I am finding going up stairs harder than regular walking' and buying something for that.


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## bpsmith (22 Mar 2018)

I am pretty sure that eagles is joking.


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## ADarkDraconis (22 Mar 2018)

bpsmith said:


> I am pretty sure that eagles is joking.


 maybe, hard to tell since he ran right out to buy a new computer because of missing a day's data.


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## buzzy-beans (22 Mar 2018)

ADarkDraconis said:


> Could've saved you a bundle friend: hills get easier as you get stronger/more practiced. I have never heard of power pedals, why don't you just stand up? This is akin to saying 'I am finding going up stairs harder than regular walking' and buying something for that.



But we old and crusties are all missing the point, it is yet another must have gadget which in all honesty will do absolutely NOTHING for the performance and satisfaction of cycling, apart from of course it will drain some more of the excess cash out of someones pocket who is finding difficulty in spending it all.


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## bpsmith (22 Mar 2018)

buzzy-beans said:


> But we old and crusties are all missing the point, it is yet another must have gadget which in all honesty will do absolutely NOTHING for the performance and satisfaction of cycling, apart from of course it will drain some more of the excess cash out of someones pocket who is finding difficulty in spending it all.


Just because it won’t fit on your penny farthing, doesn’t mean others can’t enjoy.


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## si_c (22 Mar 2018)

buzzy-beans said:


> But we old and crusties are all missing the point, it is yet another must have gadget which in all honesty will do absolutely NOTHING for the performance and satisfaction of cycling, apart from of course it will drain some more of the excess cash out of someones pocket who is finding difficulty in spending it all.



I'd disagree to a certain extent, I've found that additional data helps me to pace myself better. I'm quite happy to go out without, but particularly on longer rides, with more hills or inclement weather, I do enjoy the ride more if I can pace myself so I don't explode halfway around.


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## Ticktockmy (22 Mar 2018)

si_c said:


> I'd disagree to a certain extent, I've found that additional data helps me to pace myself better. I'm quite happy to go out without, but particularly on longer rides, with more hills or inclement weather, I do enjoy the ride more if I can pace myself so I don't explode halfway around.


I can understand in this day and age, one is easily convinced by the marketing guys that something is a must have. but as another old crusty, I find them so un necessary, as i tend to only travel at the speed of a striking slug. Unless I have gotten it wrong power pedals use power not give it, they are purly a recording mechanism. but I guess some one more tech savvywith tell me otherwise.


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## si_c (22 Mar 2018)

Ticktockmy said:


> I can understand in this day and age, one is easily convinced by the marketing guys that something is a must have. but as another old crusty, I find them so un necessary, as i tend to only travel at the speed of a striking slug. Unless I have gotten it wrong power pedals use power not give it, they are purly a recording mechanism. but I guess some one more tech savvywith tell me otherwise.



You have it right, they provide the amount of power you are currently producing to the bike computer of your choice, they don't help you up the hills!

I'm a statistician, and work with numbers all day, but for some reason I also like to come home and look at numbers!


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## ADarkDraconis (22 Mar 2018)

Ticktockmy said:


> I can understand in this day and age, one is easily convinced by the marketing guys that something is a must have. but as another old crusty, I find them so un necessary, as i tend to only travel at the speed of a striking slug. Unless I have gotten it wrong power pedals use power not give it, they are purly a recording mechanism. but I guess some one more tech savvywith tell me otherwise.


Yes, that is what I gathered from a quick online search. So seeing how much force you use on each stroke makes going up hills easier? That is apparently the reason for the purchase here.


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## si_c (22 Mar 2018)

ADarkDraconis said:


> Yes, that is what I gathered from a quick online search. So seeing how much force you use on each stroke makes going up hills easier? That is apparently the reason for the purchase here.



It's more about understanding how much effort you can sustain for a given period, and how that will impact you later in the day. If I'm doing a commute, I pay no attention to it, I just hammer along as fast as I can given the conditions. However if I was planning to do a 50/60mile ride I'd have to moderate that intensity otherwise I'd have to sit down after an hour and have a sleep!

Tracking the numbers (in my case I use heart rate) allows me to know whether I should ease off a bit more if going uphill or whether I can put a bit more effort in if I want.


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## cabbieman (23 Mar 2018)

eagles633 said:


> I'm finding the hills too hard so I've bought some power pedals to help me. The extra power will help me over the hard bits. Got a good discount also.
> View attachment 401069



A newbie with a sense of humour


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## eagles633 (29 Mar 2018)

I fell off the wagon one night. Made a complete fool of myself on here talking jibba jabba. Being a complete fool i got 1 litre vodka drunk before i signed on again. I doubled down making myself look worse. Now iv'e had to have another bottle of vodka to explain my 1st bottle of vodka.


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## Alan O (29 Mar 2018)

eagles633 said:


> I fell off the wagon one night. Made a complete fool of myself on here talking jibba jabba. Being a complete fool i got 1 litre vodka drunk before i signed on again. I doubled down making myself look worse. Now iv'e had to have another bottle of vodka to explain my 1st bottle of vodka.


Switch off your computer now, my friend, and come back when you're sober as the nice friendly guy you started out as - that's my suggestion. We all have demons, and I wish you well with yours.


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## eagles633 (29 Mar 2018)

Alan O said:


> Switch off your computer now, my friend, and come back when you're sober as the nice friendly guy you started out as - that's my suggestion. We all have demons, and I wish you well with yours.


obviously i am mentally ill. the way i have acted on here has made me admit that to myself.


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## eagles633 (29 Mar 2018)

Alan O said:


> Switch off your computer now, my friend, and come back when you're sober as the nice friendly guy you started out as - that's my suggestion. We all have demons, and I wish you well with yours.


i see my response has been stopped. it's awaiting the big brother approval. i'm ashmamed a british website has to refrain . orwell must be spinning


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