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Fred Whitton – arguably the
Fred Whitton – arguably the toughest in the UK, and as it is in May it means you have to keep the winter miles up.I’ve done what I am suggesting below, and know if I don’t have something to aim for next year I may well slack off over winter. I’m thinking about the Fred, but it would mean 2 nights away from home plus a day off work.
An Everesting? If you pick the right hill, it can be as much (or more) about the mental challenge of just keeping going. From my experience, I would recommend having someone drive you home afterwards…
Some riding in Europe? Any of those classics mentioned above are totally different to UK climbs, with the possible exception of Bealach. I did the Blockhaus in Abruzzo this year, 4 hours climbing (from the sea) and 90 mins to get back down again. Great feeling! And it doesn’t have to be a climb, certainly the riding in Italy and France I have done has usually involved less grief from other road users.
Is commuting a definite no-go for you? I get a real buzz from it, but I don’t make myself ride to work every day. I usually average 2 or 3 days a week, and vary my route. 70% of the time I use quiet country roads, but I do sometimes look for more busy routes; riding in traffic doesn’t have to be hell.
Slightly off topic, how
Slightly off topic, how bright is the front light? I want a small-ish front light to see with, I have plenty of the be-seen typeOP – have you got an Evans
OP – have you got an Evans Cycles near you? They were the best retailer I found in my hunt earlier this year. You have to pay a deposit and book it, but they let you test ride pretty much anything.
I found a lot of shops only have upmarket bikes for demos, Giant for example start their demo bikes at 2.5k and my budget was a grand less. The 2.5k Propel very nearly changed my mind though!
I demo’d a Fuji Transonic which was nice but harsher than the Propel and the spec was a bit lower in a couple of areas. Also tried a Supersix which again was nice but couldn’t sway me off the Propel. Another trial was of a Kinesis Aithein which I really wanted to like, but felt quite similar to the ally bike I had at the time, even with bike show spec wheels it had.
And there is a lot more to a demo than fit, ride quality, handling braking etc etc. Does it look good in the flesh? Is it going to make you want to go out in suspect weather, or take the long route home? Looks and colour are important too, sometimes that’s all you can use to separate two similar bikes.
So yes, I think demos are worth it. Fun too!If I’ve worked it out right,
If I’ve worked it out right, I’m at 950 feet per hour. I like climbing but live in the South Downs so not sure if that is as high as I would have expected. Legs of Steel in a couple of weeks…
My figures no doubt helped by climbing the Blockhaus last month; 6800 feet in 4 hours. And 90 minutes to get back down!Planing in boat terms is
Planing in boat terms is almost a different way of travelling ; the boat is more ON the water than in it. I can’t see how a flexing frame is any way like a planing boat, or how a flexing frame helps you climb?Chasmundo wrote:Helpful
Helpful reminder to check those creaks and rattles. Recently I thought I had a squeaky BB that would last a few more miles – until my left crank departed abruptly. Get well soon!My squeaky BB turned out to be my rear wheel QR not being done up properly. I’d just spent hours grinding up a mountain in Italy with it creaking away like granny’s rocking chair, my early start meaning I didn’t have to look away from all the serious Italian cyclists in embarrassment as they hadn’t started yet. I found it when the puncture happened on the descent after I crashed through a pothole and the lever almost flipped open before I pushed it. Thanks local bike shop!!!
I had a KOM through Parham
I had a KOM through Parham house, about 4km through a deer park, a bit like Richmond Park only it is infinitely quieter. It got flagged much to my chagrin, initially I assumed because someone was jealous of my fantastic abilities (it was a following wind kind of day, but I was completely alone) but the owners of the property seem to not like cyclists and have put up massive notices about it not being a right of way especially to cyclists so I think they don’t want bikes passing through. Perhaps they flagged it?
When I post my Blockhaus descent I think my indicated 214 mph top speed may cause a few issues!Dartmoor Classic is the best
Dartmoor Classic is the best I have done, but I found it tough. Well organised and friendly, great scenery.
Fred Whitton is THE UK sportive for most, I hope to do it next year.Dartmoor Classic is the best
Dartmoor Classic is the best I have done, but I found it tough. Well organised and friendly, great scenery.
Fred Whitton is THE UK sportive for most, I hope to do it next year.Good on yer! I can’t comment
Good on yer! I can’t comment on either bike other than I would plump for the Genesis just because they are more British than Fuji.
I find with commuting do it 2-3 times a week, if you do it every day it can become a chore, try and keep it fun. Make time to try different routes too.
Look into intervals, these can make a big difference to your fitness and weight without having to spend hours and hours a day in the saddle.
You could try riding fasted once or twice a week; go out in the morning before breakfast and ride for 60-120 mins. I find it helps me keep the weight off, but as with all these things build up to it and don’t try and do too much straight off.Bloody thing’s come back to
Bloody thing’s come back to life! :rolleyes::eek::confused: Don’t know what I did in the end. I cleared every ride down off the unit. I then fired up Garmin Training Center for the first time in 2 years and it told me there were un-downloaded rides on the unit, would I like to dl them? I did that but then couldn’t see any files after 2013. I then uninstalled Garmin Express, left it overnight.
Went for a fantastic ride off road on the Downs yesterday, used the Garmin as normal, and plugged in when I got home. Garmin Traning Center showed the ride and I then reinstalled Garmin Express and bingo, files uploaded. If it had got wet, maybe the water had dried out (yesterday was bloody hot) or maybe clearing down all the files fixed it.Anthony.C wrote:What worked
What worked for me with an Edge not showing up was to open my libraries folder, then the device showed up. When the device was showing but not syncing doing a disc check identified a corrupt file which I deleted and now it’s working for the first time in ages.
I’ve tried everything else, may as well try this! How do I do this?I’ve deleted it from garmin
I’ve deleted it from garmin Express several times, no luck.I’ve uninstalled Garmin Express and reinstalled it, no luck.
I tried a different USB port ( a usb 2.0 one if that matters?!) and it did some driver searching and said it was installing them but then it failed. Is this a clue?
I can see something in Devices and Printers, it says Garmin USB GPS, but this is working normally (allegedly). I can’t browse into this though, don’t know if it is a device, file or what.
I’ve just tried it on a different computer, had to do the whole process. Still getting the error message!
I bought a Giant Propel at
I bought a Giant Propel at the end of April, although only at half your budget. I absolutely love it, to my eyes it looks cutting edge in a way that non-aero bikes don’t any more. It also isn’t black/dark grey/stealthy.I Everested on it at the end of May, 230 miles in 27 hours so I think it has enough comfort, although that was such a one off event for me it may not be representative. I’ve also done the Dartmoor Classic on it which is a hard but traditional sportive.
At the time I demo’d a Fuji Transonic, which looked slightly more cutting edge, but the ride seemed noticeably harsher than the Propel. Although the purchase price was similar, the spec wasn’t quite as good.
I also demo’d a Cannondale Supersix which was lovely, but didn’t excite me as much as the Propel. It may be a more comfy option for you and not as upright as the Synapse?
I found Evans were good for demos – you have to book them, and pay a deposit, but you can choose pretty much any bike at any spec level you want. A lot of shops only have the top models to demo (I also demo’d a 2.5k Propel that blew me away) but with your budget that shouldn’t be an issue.
I’d try as many as you can, I’m not convinced the differences between a sportive spec and an aero spec are that huge. The biggest drag on a bike is you, so it may be better to work on your position, and your wardrobe!
Pick something that gets you excited to be going out for a ride, that makes you think I’ll just do another 10 miles when you are almost home.
surly_by_name wrote:Would
Would avoid the early start and the hassle of getting to Olympic park and (frankly pretty dire) ride from Stratford. You wouldn’t get an official time but its a sportive so who cares.You’re missing the point! The early start is part of the fun! The ride from Stratford is brilliant – it’s early, the roads are closed, but they are full of cyclists, most of whom are flying along! It’s effectively a motorway, 3 lanes wide in each direction, gentle uphills that don’t seem to slow you and downhills that add 10 mph. Then there’s flying through the Limehouse link, and into the City!
And there are people cheering you on! If you haven’t done it, then you don’t know what a brilliant experience it is. In my humble opinion.
