Turbo Club - Meet Ups / Events

[<Tommy>]

Think id prefer Alu as that what I got now yes compact or shallow is a must and not to heavy it seams as if carbon or Alu not much in the weight difference
Was looking at the pro vibe aero

I really like the look of pro vibe stems. You can get spacers to match the stem shape too. The front plates have weird fixing bolts which are sort of reversed. But you can get an out front computer mount that fastens between the plate and the stem which looks really nice and clean.

 

[berty bassett]

Lincoln GP Sportive was a great adventure, never done it before with it finishing up Michealgate, short sharp cobbled climb @ 12%

I wanted to get a longer ride and see if I was able to ride at 20+mph, yes, I know wasn't actually picking the best wheels and tyres to try that pace with 40mm G Ones. I actually averaged 20mph with a pack before the first food stop. what I noticed that whilst staying in the pack I had an HR 125-140 @ 20-22mph, soon as I found myself on the front it shot upto 170bpm. It took a little while for it to come back down once back drafting. So for ToC we will need to stick together or team up with others and regularly share the leading the front of the pack for short ish periods.

I rode most of the sportive after that alone. I eventually met the Wheeler's A team -4 riders. They thankfully let me hold their rear wheel and my pace shot up from 18mph to 22mph. I couldn't hold it though for more than 8 miles before I was dropped at mile 85. They made it look so easy and averaged 19.7 for the 100. Youfs

you found more than your fair share of hills out that way ! toc is gonna be flat and i think it will be a lot easier to keep speed up - as long as it isnt a breezy day - if thats the case then fight for position behind Paul

 

[CXRAndy]

you found more than your fair share of hills out that way ! toc is gonna be flat and i think it will be a lot easier to keep speed up - as long as it isnt a breezy day - if thats the case then fight for position behind Paul

weather/wind direction and speed are the biggest factors . ideally low wind speed and warm weather

 

[Randyberlin]

weather/wind direction and speed are the biggest factors . ideally low wind speed and warm weather

It's a circle route so wind at our backs at some point. Right?

 

[CXRAndy]

It's a circle route so wind at our backs at some point. Right?

Yes it is, but it's better to have low wind speed overall, a strong headwind will sap the strength and have less power to push later

 

[<Tommy>]

Yes it is, but it's better to have low wind speed overall, a strong headwind will sap the strength and have less power to push later

So cycling into the wind isn’t a good thing huh. Should be writing this stuff down?

 

[bobinski]

Looks like we should all be fine sheltering behind Andy and Paul as they rotate taking turns at the front

 

[berty bassett]

The fens on a windy day is something to behold ! Worse than any hill - and if it’s wet as well you won’t want to wheel hug anybody as they will be flicking up squashed slug
That’s the end of pep talk number 1

 

[CXRAndy]

Looks like we should all be fine sheltering behind Andy and Paul as they rotate taking turns at the front

New system youth first, then oldies

 

[berty bassett]

New system youth first, then oldies

Wish I was coming now

 

[<Tommy>]

To be honest maybe as always it’s better just to go with the moto; ‘let’s see what happens on the day’. Ok I just made that up... but it is sort of true!

I did the ride London which is slightly longer and slightly bumpier averaging 20mph. And I think it would have been closer to 21+mph if I hadn’t died in the last 15 miles. So on paper maybe that’s a target. But realistically I’m not sure targets like that are helpful are they?

Maybe we should decide what we want out of it before we set off. E.g for me personally I’d rather we all stick together as a group and cross the line together. That will probably mean looking after the weakest guy on the day rather than hoping he hangs on and dumping him if he can’t. Realistically that could be any of us on the day. But maybe some of you guys have set a target for how quickly you want to do the course in? Or that you want to do it in the fastest time you can. That will realistically mean we sacrifice the group for the fastest few. There’s nothing wrong with that if that’s what you want to do. But I suppose you can’t have your cake and eat it too!

So even though you can’t predict the wind and the rain this far out. We can decide what we want from the day.

 

[CXRAndy]

But realistically I’m not sure targets like that are helpful are they?

Best laid plans and all that. I would offer that we ride together and hopefully with others in a pack, if the speed/conditions are there great.

Stick together over the hills and the rest will take care of itself

 

[Whorty]

The fens on a windy day is something to behold ! Worse than any hill - and if it’s wet as well you won’t want to wheel hug anybody as they will be flicking up squashed slug
That’s the end of pep talk number 1

Phew. So glad I chose the DD over the ToC ..... Seems Wales will be a breeze (no pun intended) compared to those flats in Cambridgeshire

 

[bobinski]

i was going to suggest we all try and stick together but , to be honest, i don't want to be prescriptive about it. If anyone is feeling strong and wants to go for it then I wouldnt want to stop them. Its not often we get to ride closed roads. There will be lots of riders to tag along with.
There was an email this week with details of food stops etc so perhaps a loose plan to ride together, let people go and if realistic re group t the stops?

 

[CXRAndy]

Seems Wales will be a breeze (no pun intended) compared to those flats in Cambridgeshire

I actually worked harder on the flatter sections yesterday, pushing along tucked down to try and make up for my poor climbing speed