Riding Bikes

I'm hesitant to throw my Marin on there but I feel like an aluminum bike with sealed bearings would fare best.

 

Well gents, I’m coming over from the running thread to the biking thread. Picked up a 2022 Trek Elmondo SL6 off Craigslist for $1,300. Figured I could take some pounding off my legs by riding. And like a total rookie, I signed up for a 70 mile ride at the end of June. Today was the longest ride in the saddle, 18 miles. Any guidance or advice to make me a more efficient rider would be much appreciated.

 

First thing I noticed is a really low cadence. You want to spin faster so you're offloading pedaling from pure strength to cardio. Better for your knees too. Any issues you've noticed with knee pain or saddle soreness? I'm going through the solutions there myself. You want to sit your sit bones in the wide part of the saddle and have your knees vertically over the pedal axle at 90° forward from top, so make sure the proper position is obtained by adjusting the saddle rail position if it's off. Avoid cyclist's palsy by holding your body up with core muscles and wearing padded gloves. The ideal zone for endurance training is Zone 2 but it's likely you have good endurance already coming from running. Just seems like your heart rate zone in the app is lower, but depending on age the zones vary.

Keep in mind I'm no expert and only relaying my own findings in my search for fitness.

 

I figured my cadence was way low. I know you want to spin about 80-90. I need to learn to shift and not keep it on the big sprocket and try to pedal out of it. My left knee was a little sore after yesterday’s ride, but today it was fine. No saddle soreness today and I just rode in gym shorts. I have a pair of bibs coming soon. I don’t have gloves, I’ve never been a glove guy in anything I do. I have a little lower RHR than some people, it’s not uncommon for it to dip into the high 30’s. I am 35 and have been running for a few years.

The bike frame is 58 and I know I should have gotten fitted for it before I bought it. One of our Engineers was a huge cyclist before he had to slow down for some health concerns. He told me what to look for and how the knee shouldn’t lead the toes at the top of the pedal stroke. I do need fitted into this bike to make sure my riding position is as good as it can be.

Im really just dipping my toes into the water, but I don’t want to start out with bad habits that will take longer to correct. So don’t be afraid to speak the truth, we all started somewhere.

 

I think it's just as simple as you need to push harder. I'm still fairly out of shape and I can still push 120W average for 4 hours. I saw the 150 and I thought that was pretty good but I noticed next to it is 78 average. You've got to get that heart rate up.

 

Just so I’m understanding this correctly, pick up the cadence, increases the power, which increases the HR?

 

I think increasing the cadence with the same perceived effort might bring you there. Might be best to aim for over 150 bpm. I think maintaining a high heart rate it's easier on a bike than on your feet. 70 miles is a long way. That's probaby over 6 hours in the saddle depending on hills.

 

I got back in the bike today used the tips from Tbone. My legs definitely feel much better and not spun out. I did a lot more shifting to keep it between 80-90. I think I did alright but still want to hear where I could improve.

 

My biggest concern is that you're expecting to do 3.5x your longest ride in a month. Especially doing one ride a week I'm not sure that's enough time. If you really want to make it you probably need to add 15 miles each time.

 

@DeereRunner97 Any plans for a 35 mile ride today? Seems like Sunday afternoon is your go to.