[GERMAN M3]

That is great to hear Amber! 👍 Cycling definitely teaches you some self-discipline for sure. My only problem is dealing with some of the locals here in Georgia. They are not to receptive to the sport at all.

[Mr Tonka]

Originally Posted by amber-katie

I must say that road cycling has taught me to be disciplined..i am still a beginner and what makes it amazing is: you're fast, you're challenging yourself, you learn the ways of the road and you learn to be more respectful when you're driving your car. The scenery, seen at your own speed, and testing your limits make it all worthwhile! Love it!

And you can do it well into the later years of life!

Glad you're enjoying it! Never thought i'd like road cycling at all, but it's good fun, even in the flat environment i live in.

Originally Posted by GERMAN M3

That is great to hear Amber! 👍 Cycling definitely teaches you some self-discipline for sure. My only problem is dealing with some of the locals here in Georgia. They are not to receptive to the sport at all.

Start taking weekend trips 2h 30m north of you to Travelers Rest, SC. Loads of excellent riding up there and the people are very accustomed to cyclists on the road. Very courteous.

[Mr Tonka]

Originally Posted by Stoo

I rode the Chrono (TT) event at one of the qualifying rounds for the UCI Gran Fondo World Series this weekend just passed.

I won my Age Group (19-34) by a whole minute and narrowly missed out on the overall win by 40 seconds.

Qualified for the World Final in Albi, France in August where I'd like to be crowned amateur world champ!

That's fantastic!

Keep doing what you're doing. Seems to be working. Good luck at Worlds!

[GERMAN M3]

Originally Posted by Mr Tonka

And you can do it well into the later years of life!

Glad you're enjoying it! Never thought i'd like road cycling at all, but it's good fun, even in the flat environment i live in.


Start taking weekend trips 2h 30m north of you to Travelers Rest, SC. Loads of excellent riding up there and the people are very accustomed to cyclists on the road. Very courteous.

Yeah, my team is based out of Anderson, and we have done a few rides up and around that area. Great cycling community that is receptive to two wheels. 😂👍🇩🇪

[Stoo]

Originally Posted by Mr Tonka

That's fantastic!

Keep doing what you're doing. Seems to be working. Good luck at Worlds!

Thank you, all about those aerodynamics!!!

[Rayscott]

Originally Posted by GERMAN M3

That is great to hear Amber! 👍 Cycling definitely teaches you some self-discipline for sure. My only problem is dealing with some of the locals here in Georgia. They are not to receptive to the sport at all.

No problem just put a confederate flag on the back and lose some teeth.

[GERMAN M3]

Originally Posted by Rayscott

No problem just put a confederate flag on the back and lose some teeth.

haha.... That will probably work Rayscott! Thanks for the advice. I May even look for a Confederate Cycling Jersey, or a Camouflage Cycling Kit!! And instead of water bottles, put some Tall Boys in the water cages!!

[Rayscott]

I checked on the cycling competition at the recent Senior Olympic Nationals held in Birmingham. For my age group (70-74), my times in 2014 beat all competitors in the 5k, 10K, 20K and 40K. I may have to come out of retirement for 2019.

[Rayscott]

Originally Posted by GERMAN M3

haha.... That will probably work Rayscott! Thanks for the advice. I May even look for a Confederate Cycling Jersey, or a Camouflage Cycling Kit!! And instead of water bottles, put some Tall Boys in the water cages!!

I completed a century years ago in Thurmont, Md. Brutal heat and climbs. I was wearing an American flag jersey. I had 1 mile to go and was on my last climb when some redneck in a pick-up started blowing his horn at me. There was no shoulder and he was right on my ass. When he passed he yelled that I was disgracing the flag. WTF? After the climb I was heading to the finish and he parked his truck on the side of the road and just glared at me as I rode by. When i got to the finish line the adrenaline was so high I could have gone another 25 miles. I should have thanked him for the extra energy. What an asshole.

[leo95se]

Anyone here a di2 pro? I'm trying to upgrade to Bluetooth comms and hit a wall. I'm guess some parts of my system aren't compatible but I can't tell what they are since most aren't labeled. Yes that means I got a new (to me) bike

[Mr Tonka]

Originally Posted by leo95se

Anyone here a di2 pro? I'm trying to upgrade to Bluetooth comms and hit a wall. I'm guess some parts of my system aren't compatible but I can't tell what they are since most aren't labeled. Yes that means I got a new (to me) bike

I'm no help, sorry.

Congrats on the new bike. Hope you get it worked out.

[M_Six]

Dropped a deposit on a Trek Crossrip 1 today. The Verve 2 wasn't working out for me. I'm thinking I need something closer to dedicated road bike. The LBS said they might have it ready for the long weekend. Fingers crossed.

[GERMAN M3]

Originally Posted by M_Six

Dropped a deposit on a Trek Crossrip 1 today. The Verve 2 wasn't working out for me. I'm thinking I need something closer to dedicated road bike. The LBS said they might have it ready for the long weekend. Fingers crossed.

Congrats on the new wheels. Keep us posted.

[Mr Tonka]

Originally Posted by M_Six

Dropped a deposit on a Trek Crossrip 1 today. The Verve 2 wasn't working out for me. I'm thinking I need something closer to dedicated road bike. The LBS said they might have it ready for the long weekend. Fingers crossed.

It's happening...

[M_Six]

Originally Posted by Mr Tonka

It's happening...

It is indeed. I wish I had had a bit more experience before jumping into biking, but you live and you learn. Now I need to sell the Verve 2 and recoup some bucks. (Same thing I tell myself about my camera gear.)

I've been doing 12-mile runs 4-5 days a week. I've pretty much settled on a 75-80 cadence. Last week a father and son duo pulled out of a side street in front of me and just powered away from me. They were on pure road bikes and just left me in the dust. Some of that is just their being in shape and not carrying my weight. But some of it is the wide tires and upright seating of the Verve 2. I test rode a Crossrip 1 from a Portland, OR bike shop last week and loved it. Should have started out with one.

[Mr Tonka]

Originally Posted by M_Six

It is indeed. I wish I had had a bit more experience before jumping into biking, but you live and you learn. Now I need to sell the Verve 2 and recoup some bucks. (Same thing I tell myself about my camera gear.)

I've been doing 12-mile runs 4-5 days a week. I've pretty much settled on a 75-80 cadence. Last week a father and son duo pulled out of a side street in front of me and just powered away from me. They were on pure road bikes and just left me in the dust. Some of that is just their being in shape and not carrying my weight. But some of it is the wide tires and upright seating of the Verve 2. I test rode a Crossrip 1 from a Portland, OR bike shop last week and loved it. Should have started out with one.

Without ever riding road bikes, it's difficult to look at a road bike and think it'll ever be comfortable. I went into t wanting the most comfortable road bike i could get.

Maybe the shop will take your relatively new bike in on trade? Lots of trek dealers do that. If not, maybe consignment? Much easier for them to sell it than you.

75-80 cadence isn't bad. No specific cadence is bad really. But in theory, training your body to run a higher cadence usually pays dividends down the road and on longer rides.

Speaking of, have you considered making 2 of the 4-5 rides every week a bit longer? Maybe 20 miles? With that frequency, a couple of longer days will do a lot for your endurance. Our bodies respond well to mixing things up too. I know a couple of riders who consistently ride 25miles just about every time they ride. Then they go out on a 50mile ride and really struggle. Even if they did the same mileage and varied the distances they would have a more well rounded fitness range.

I'm guessing you're doing those 12 mile runs in about 45-50min depending on elevation.?.? When i say more miles i really mean more time. So instead of doing 20 miles, maybe just ride for 1h 15m two days a week with a goal of holding your normal pace.

Either way, glad your digging it.

[M_Six]

Originally Posted by Mr Tonka

Without ever riding road bikes, it's difficult to look at a road bike and think it'll ever be comfortable. I went into t wanting the most comfortable road bike i could get.

Maybe the shop will take your relatively new bike in on trade? Lots of trek dealers do that. If not, maybe consignment? Much easier for them to sell it than you.

75-80 cadence isn't bad. No specific cadence is bad really. But in theory, training your body to run a higher cadence usually pays dividends down the road and on longer rides.

Speaking of, have you considered making 2 of the 4-5 rides every week a bit longer? Maybe 20 miles? With that frequency, a couple of longer days will do a lot for your endurance. Our bodies respond well to mixing things up too. I know a couple of riders who consistently ride 25miles just about every time they ride. Then they go out on a 50mile ride and really struggle. Even if they did the same mileage and varied the distances they would have a more well rounded fitness range.

I'm guessing you're doing those 12 mile runs in about 45-50min depending on elevation.?.? When i say more miles i really mean more time. So instead of doing 20 miles, maybe just ride for 1h 15m two days a week with a goal of holding your normal pace.

Either way, glad your digging it.

The main thing limiting my riding time now is pain. My butt and hands/wrists are catching hell. After an hour of riding, my hands are numb and my butt is killing me. I'm hoping the narrower saddle on the Crossrip will be more to my liking.

I have a 4 mile loop that I've been riding. I run it 3 times in an hour, so about 12 MPH. I'm hoping the Crossrip, with its narrower tires and different gearing, will allow me to up that to 15 MPH. And I'd like to start doing 20 miles at a time and extend out beyond my loop, which is mostly flat. I've done some 10 and 12 mile rides that include some short but very steep (10%) hills, but the hills take a lot out of me. The other factor on long rides here is the wind. A couple weeks ago I went on a 12 mile ride with a 20 MPH steady wind from the SW that had gusts to 30. And most of my (poorly planned) ride was west and then south, so I fought that wind for the first half of the ride. At one point I had to be in a very low gear just to make headway on flat ground. Once I turned east, I was able to do 8 MPH on flat ground without pedaling at all. Just letting the wind push me.

The LBS is going to keep my bike there and create a Craig's List ad for it. The LBS owner said he's confident it will sell quickly. It was only $550 new, so $350-$400 will do nicely and give someone a nearly new bike at a big discount.

[Mr Tonka]

LBS owner sounds cool.

3 points of contact on a bike. Hands, butt and feet.

Your position or fit on the bike can affect the comfort level for all 3 points. You may look into getting a stiff soled shoe specifically for biking along with trying out different saddles for comfort. You'll likely be very surprised how a stiff soled shoe can help support your weight and transfer otherwise lost power to your wheel. Your LBS may even have a saddle program where they let you borrow a seat for a week of riding to test it out. Hands/wrists tell me that you're likely locking your elbows. Try keeping them (your elbows) bent at a 15 degree angle. This is going to make your upper arms and core work harder but going on the concept of many hands make light work, it may balance out some of the discomfort you feel in your hands/wrists.

With saddles, there is just about one measurement that you should find out and stick to when buying saddles. That's your sits bone width. LBS may have something to measure that width. If not, you can do it at home with a step that has carpet on it. Take a sheet of aluminum foil about the width of your hips. Lay it on the flat part of a step covered with carpet. Put on some tight undies and gently sit down on the step wth your feet on the step just below it so your knees are up in your chest. Whiteout scooting left, right, forward or back, kind of rock around gently on your butt's points of contact. Stand straight up and the 2 deepest dents were made by your sits bones. Measure from center to center and that is your sits bones width. Use that as a guide for buying the right width of saddle.

Sometimes, a wider saddle will make things worse, so just go as wide as you need it to be. Also, a soft saddle isn't always more comfortable. In my opinion, a good riding chamois, chamois cream and a firm properly wide saddle makes for the best comfort. I was never a fan of chamois cream, but once i tried it, i haven't gone back. I won't ride a bike for more than 30 min without chamois cream, which is to say, i never ride a bike without a chamois and chamois cream. If you're not comfortable putting everything out there in lycra, you can always throw some baggy athletic shorts over the lycra.

Or, the harder you pedal, the less weight is on the saddle. So there is that incentive as well. hehe.

I used to have a wide, super squishy saddle made for triathlon. Intended to be ridden for 5 hours straight. Upon SEVERAL suggestions, i tried a saddle that looked like a medieval torture device. To my surprise, it was very comfortable. I tried one more that had a little flex in the perineum area and haven't looked back.

This is what several people told me to try. It just had a little too much roll down on the edges for me and was a bit too stiff in the perineum area.




This is what i switched to and really can't imagine a more comfortable saddle. Little flatter in the rear of the saddle and though you can't see it, flexes about 1/2" downwards in the perineum area. So when tucked down out of the wind it's still comfortable.



Neither may work for you, just don't want you to discount something just because it looks too small and pointy to be comfortable.

[M_Six]

Actually smaller and pointier was what I was thinking. My saddle now is fairly wide. When I was a kid and rode all the time, I had a hard leather saddle. No padding at all. Never had any discomfort. But I was also a lot lighter then. Still, I'm thinking the narrower, harder saddle of the Crossrip might work out better. If not, I'll start trying others.

I always ride with padded shorts. Pearl iZumis to be exact. They help, but not enough. I think what you were describing as my sits bones are hitting the saddle frame. I always feel like I'm sitting on the very back edge of the saddle. My saddle is already set back as far as it will go, too. The Crossrip will be a 61cm, so I'm hoping that suits me better.

[Mr Tonka]

Originally Posted by M_Six

Actually smaller and pointier was what I was thinking. My saddle now is fairly wide. When I was a kid and rode all the time, I had a hard leather saddle. No padding at all. Never had any discomfort. But I was also a lot lighter then. Still, I'm thinking the narrower, harder saddle of the Crossrip might work out better. If not, I'll start trying others.

I always ride with padded shorts. Pearl iZumis to be exact. They help, but not enough. I think what you were describing as my sits bones are hitting the saddle frame. I always feel like I'm sitting on the very back edge of the saddle. My saddle is already set back as far as it will go, too. The Crossrip will be a 61cm, so I'm hoping that suits me better.

If it's still not large enough, you can get a set back seat post or a longer stem to help out with fit.

Give chamois cream a go. I never used it until i did and won't go without now. I've been using DZNuts. https://www.amazon.com/DZ-Nuts-Pro-C.../dp/B008F9J16M

Good stuff.

[M_Six]

The bike is in and built. I dropped my Verve 2 off tonight and they'll swap over all the add-ons (rack, device mounts, kickstand, water bottle cage, etc) tomorrow morning. I'm looking forward to a nice long ride with it tomorrow afternoon.

[wdb]

Once upon a time I was an ultra-distance cyclist. I came from the racing side of the sport into longer distances. Racing, while not the same thing, still demands a lot of saddle time. One thing matters above everything else: comfort on the bike. Find it, and your riding experience will be transformed.

"Sit bones" refers to the base of your pelvic bones. Find a saddle that supports them.

Don't be in a hurry to get into head-down racerboy position. Start with the bars up where you can tolerate them for a decent period of time, and work your way down.

When you think of yourself on your road bike, think of a horse. A horse hangs its torso between its shoulders and its hips. That's your ultimate goal.

Good luck!