Turbo Club - Meet Ups / Events

[Whorty]

I think that cross wind on the Isle of Wight was the worst I’ve ever experienced. Like you say the fact we were on a cliff road which was pretty steep didn’t help at all! I remember you hitting the anchors right the same time I did. And we both gingerly limped down together.

I don’t remember the descents being that long or steep in Cambridge. My tip (which I’m sure you know anyways...) is try and make sure you’re not at the back of the pack either at the start of a climb or the start of a decent. The group naturally gets stretched in either scenario. But if you’re somewhere in the middle and you can pick a good strong wheel it’ll help to rejoin the group.

I don't recall any crosswinds on the IoW .... was I really there or was it all just a dream?!? But then I always descend on the brakes, rarely going over 30mph, so I was probably concentrating on slowing down and not landing in a bush

 

[bobinski]

I went with the Elite 950’s too. Used them a lot. Easy to grab and drink from.

 

[kipster]

I don't recall any crosswinds on the IoW .... was I really there or was it all just a dream?!? But then I always descend on the brakes, rarely going over 30mph, so I was probably concentrating on slowing down and not landing in a bush

After the descent on military road (after the climb to blackgang chine were we stopped for an ice cream) the road flattens off, there was a bit of a side wind coming off the sea, it split the pack a little, Tommy and Paul disappeared up the road and I think I rode it with Lee, Andy and Bob, but can’t recall. I know Bob was behind me on the climb before Freshwater bay, now renamed to ‘Bob, is the verge soft’

 

[bobinski]

After the descent on military road (after the climb to blackgang chine were we stopped for an ice cream) the road flattens off, there was a bit of a side wind coming off the sea, it split the pack a little, Tommy and Paul disappeared up the road and I think I rode it with Lee, Andy and Bob, but can’t recall. I know Bob was behind me on the climb before Freshwater bay, now renamed to ‘Bob, is the verge soft’

There just aren’t the right emojis here to do that justice

 

[<Tommy>]

I don't recall any crosswinds on the IoW .... was I really there or was it all just a dream?!? But then I always descend on the brakes, rarely going over 30mph, so I was probably concentrating on slowing down and not landing in a bush

The weather was great all day. There as a specific moment when we were descending a steep hill on the side of the cliff. It was completely exposed to he sea. Cross winds are compounded on deeper rim wheels and can create something known as ‘speed wobble’. It’s basically when the wind hits your front wheel from a certain angle and pushes it about. Bloody scary!

 

[bobinski]

2nd to last day in girona we went out to do a ride and nasty climb in wind gusting 40-60 kmph . It was long old day and we were blown across the road and there were times I felt I was leaning at 30 degrees in to the wind to stay up. Safish in a small group in empty roads. It didn’t look like we will face anything so challenging but I will hold back, take some space and concentrate even more on those around me.
11-32 will be overkill so will swap to a 28, possibly even a 25

 

[theboxers]

Hot I can live with ... windy though Gonna have to sit on TB's wheel

You're gonna have to fight the brothers for the space after showing them @bobinski's post. If I'm towing you as well as them it gonna be a long, slow day

 

[steverob]

Looking at this, seems the highest gradients are about 3% ... is this correct? There's me be dragging the SS up steep 6-10% climbs to get used to grinding 3% sections should be fine

The biggest climbs are probably only 3-4% average overall, but some do have short ramps in them that will get near 8-9% in parts. Those parts are less than 50 metres long though and few and far between. I think the problem is that RWGPS does tend to average out the gradients on short climbs so you don't see them reflected accurately.

EDIT - found some segments on Strava that are a little more representative of what you can expect:

Bullock Road @ 4.5 miles in - https://www.strava.com/segments/4927498
Caldecote @ 9 miles in - https://www.strava.com/segments/15151768
Salome Wood @ 20 miles in - https://www.strava.com/segments/1065396
Vinegar Hill (Alconbury) @ 31.5 miles in - https://www.strava.com/segments/1007971
Parallel to A1(M) @ 38 miles in - https://www.strava.com/segments/8208905
Haddon Hill @ 94.5 miles / 5.5 miles to go - https://www.strava.com/segments/1005438

I think that's all the major ones - as you can see, there's really not much to fear there, even on a singlespeed.

 

[bobinski]

It’s a big ring ride

 

[CXRAndy]

The biggest climbs are probably only 3-4% average overall, but some do have short ramps in them that will get near 8-9% in parts. Those parts are less than 50 metres long though and few and far between. I think the problem is that RWGPS does tend to average out the gradients on short climbs so you don't see them reflected accurately.

EDIT - found some segments on Strava that are a little more representative of what you can expect:

Bullock Road @ 4.5 miles in - https://www.strava.com/segments/4927498
Caldecote @ 9 miles in - https://www.strava.com/segments/15151768
Salome Wood @ 20 miles in - https://www.strava.com/segments/1065396
Vinegar Hill (Alconbury) @ 31.5 miles in - https://www.strava.com/segments/1007971
Parallel to A1(M) @ 38 miles in - https://www.strava.com/segments/8208905
Haddon Hill @ 94.5 miles / 5.5 miles to go - https://www.strava.com/segments/1005438

I think that's all the major ones - as you can see, there's really not much to fear there, even on a singlespeed.

If you look at those segments Carl nothing is major, be aware later on, any hill in the wrong gear could be a killer.

 

[Whorty]

If you look at those segments Carl nothing is major, be aware later on, any hill in the wrong gear could be a killer.

I'll always be in the wrong gear, unless it's on the flat

 

[bridgy]

All this talk about the weather has reminded me to get some bigger water bottles. Better late than never!

Tonight I’ve changed from climbing mode to flatlands mode (home alone and bored...). Gone are the Lightweights off the bike and replaced with the super wooshey 60mm Zipps. Never sure how much real world difference they make but I definitely feel like I can go faster on them. Swapped the cogs around a bit too and put a new chain on it. Now I’ve just got to start convincing my legs this is going to be fun

Has anyone got recommendations for big bottles?

If you're still after bottle recommendations, I got two of these 1 litre bottles from Planet X - https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/BOZEMAG/zefal-magnum-water-bottle

Used them on my 100 miler on Sunday and they were fine

 

[peterob]

I went with the Elite 950’s too. Used them a lot. Easy to grab and drink from.

It appears there'll be a whole load of us with the Elite 950's on Saturday!

If you do get these, make sure that they fit well in your cages, as they are not a 'normal' size/profile. My seat tube one is a bit awkward to remove/replace due to the extra height too.

 

[Norry1]

It appears there'll be a whole load of us with the Elite 950's on Saturday!

If you do get these, make sure that they fit well in your cages, as they are not a 'normal' size/profile. My seat tube one is a bit awkward to remove/replace due to the extra height too.

We should get Elite to sponsor us!

I had the height/fit issue with the 1 litre bidons I bought in France last year - hence getting the Elites - and they are fine on my bike but definitely check whilst riding before you take them to ToC. Looks like it will be fairly warm so litre bottles are a must for me.

 

[steverob]

I may be tempted to get a larger bottle for my down tube cage - currently I use a 750ml one, but think I should get a larger one in there (ooh er!) if the conditions are going to be as warm as suggested. Because of the bag/toolkit I've got hanging down from my top tube, I can only just squeeze a 500ml bottle in on my seat tube cage - and even then, can't easily get that out when on the move; only when I'm stopped.