 Poster: A snowHead
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I don't often do it every day or even even couple of days - usually once a week on a Saturday morning.
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Megamum, sounds like a title for a new thread in the After Zone...
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Megamum, I hope you don't smoke afterwards as it would be counter productive. 
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Still looking for exercises I can do in the home that were similar to skiing, I found this. Not completely sure how closely it simulates the real thing, particularly when the arms are forward of the body. Plenty of interesting exercises on that website though and also here.
I've tried to increase the difficulty of the run by trying (initially) 8 intervals of 15s fast and 15s slow during the 30min run. I'm now curious about something. When I do the faster runs (certainly the first few of the session) I have a temptation to not bother breathing. I'm wondering if this is "normal" or a "remembered response" due to my time swim training when breathing was something to be avoided for short sprints 
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Well after two long bike rides last week, as well as the rest of my training, I've decided to have a week's rest this week.
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Kramer, Thats the most vital bit... enjoy and have a pint 
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Kramer, got any alternative activities planned? 
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Hurtle, he's got enough suggestions to be going on with...
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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peura said: I'm now curious about something. When I do the faster runs (certainly the first few of the session) I have a temptation to not bother breathing. I'm wondering if this is "normal" or a "remembered response" due to my time swim training when breathing was something to be avoided for short sprints..
peura, it is very normal. The moment you burst into a short sprint, you immediately utilise your fast twitch muscle fibres. These fast twitch fibres work ANAEROBICALLY without the use of oxygen. Fast twitch muscle fibres contract rapidly in order to give you instant stimulation, power and strength to burst into a quick sprint. But because your muscle fibres contract so rapidly, oxygen can't reach them fast enough to supply the needed energy to make them perform effectively. So instead an alternative source of energy is utilised which is a chemical naturally produced in the flesh of your muscles. The substance is called Creatine:
Every time you perform any type of intense exercise (e.g. sprinting, weight training) your body uses creatine to provide you with energy. Unfortunately, this substance’s stores only last for a maximum of around 10 seconds. This depletion is the reason why you can’t sprint or hump heavy weights for prolonged periods. Before you burst into a sprint during your run, you were working slow twitch muscles. These respond to slow muscle contractions which gives the oxygen plenty of time to reach your muscles to produce the energy needed for your muscles to work effectively. You were then working AEROBICALLY and breathing normally.
I hope that answers your querie. 
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You know it makes sense.
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Today my commuting by bike for the year went past 2000miles. Not sure its doing me any good as I had a very poor rollerski race at the weekend in sunny Durham. Not got the times back yet, but it felt slow. I'd hope to do the 15km in under 60 minutes, but I have my doubts I did. Its probably cos I'm coming down with a cold, at least thast my excuse.
Not much time to recover as the next races are this weekend (13th and 14th september) based around Huntly. A 7.5km time trial in free technique (we provide the skis) at the Huntly track on Saturday and a 8km hill climb in classic technique on Sunday.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Dave Horsley, it was hardly sunny in Durham this weekend, but I hope you at least escaped the worst of the heavy rain.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Helen Beaumont,
I'm afraid it was sunny (or at least sunny spells) in Hetton almost all weekend surprisingly. I got there at about 2pm and the track was dry bar the raging torrent of water crossing the cycle track from one of the smaller lakes to the main lake. The torrent was about 6" deep in places and fast flowing. Lead to the race on saturday being postponed. I left for Whitby at about 5pm when it was just starting to drizzle. Returned next day at about 11am and it was dry a sunny again. Even more surprsingly the torrent was gone and the track was dry. Sun kept coming and going and looked like it might rain but it never did. Race was run at 12pm. I left at ~4pm and it was still dry.
The worst of the weather was probably on friday afternoon when I drove down and overnight whilst I was staying with my parents at Whitby.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Dave Horsley, fortunate indeed.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Since I was one of the participants on this thread about 274 pages ago, I'm glad to report that a regime of tennis almost every day (replaced by swimming for 2 weeks of vacation) and cutting my food intake by about 15-20% (including a total ban on icecream for the last 10 days) has resulted in a weight drop of c. 5 kg. It may not seem a lot but I weighed between 87 and 91 kilos for a couple of years, and seeing the scale at 85 and still going down is an achievement. Especially as I have not really dieted - just avoided food when not hungry, ate smaller portions, mildly reduced chocolate and beer intake etc.
Another 4 or 5 and I'll achieve my aim, and then if I want to go to the gym I can spend more time on weights rather than CV stuff which I like less. Unfortunately the outdoor tennis courts close at the end of September...
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Helen Beaumont,
I hope you were OK flooding wise, can't have been pleasant for the people in Morpeth and in the general area. The road I drove down on (A697, Coldstream road) was closed due to flooding and a landslip on Sunday.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Dave Horsley, fortunately we were fine. We narrowly escaped a flood about 6 years ago, and they have put in extra rainwater gulllies and improved drains since.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Dave Horsley, that road is still closed between Powburn and Glanton.
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Smokin Joe,
I guessed it might be, usually takes a while to clear landslips. I took the A1 back on Sunday which was fine. The A697 was coned off when I drove past, I thought it might at least be open for access to Long Horsley and the other villages before you get to Powburn.
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October update: Its still not fun, but I'm still trying to cycle as often as the weather allows.
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It doesn't get any easier now its winter. Its cold when I go out and very dark. I'm struggling to find a combination of clothes that keep me warm enough and can keep the coldness of the night out whilst still breathing as I get warm with the cycling. I'm also trying to find an outfit that I've already got rather than buying something new. At the moment I'm experimenting with wicking breathable, walking style T shirts, and a couple of merino long sleeved cycling tops - However, the arms are not warm enough so I'm adding a fleece, but I am getting too warm so I'm still experimenting.
I'm also still working on rear lights on the bike - it came with a rear light, but it is only a single LED in a red reflector, I've got other rear bike lights, but they all require a horizontal or vertical bar to mount them on and amazingly the bike doesn't have a suitable mounting point that faces backward anywhere. Front light wise I've been finding that the forward facing light the bike came with, although nice and bright, isn't sufficient to clearly show me the edge of an unmarked country lane, and I find myself relying on other clues such as the hedgerow against the skyline and my knowledge of the road. It also bleeds light upwards and I find that this distracts the eye - I get on better if I cover the top with my hand so my eyes properly adjust to the dark. I think I may have to tinker with the light itself and/or try to tip it downwards more. What has been quite successful is my little cheap LED headlight - I can just about get it to sit on my cycle helmet and I think it is helping. I can see the gear indicators which I can't do without it, it helps with the forward lighting and is invaluable when I put the bike away in the dark when I return and haven't yet put the outdoor lights on.
What I was also wondering is what burns more calories - if you assume that I move with the cycle wheeels turning at a constant speed say once per second - so the speed along the road is constant, I can make them do this at each end of the gear spectrum - at one end I push the pedals around fewer times to get get the same number of revolutions, but the legs have to be stronger to push the pedals round. At the other end I push the pedals round very easily requiring less strength, but its more aerobic - I have to turn them round more often. Is the amount of calories burned the same or does the aerobic or strength side burn any more than the other.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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I read an article recently which said that to burn fat cycling it was best to be at 80% of max heart rate, do it for 2 hours, and not eat carbs for 2 hours before your ride. The optimum rate the pedals should rotate is around 100 revolutions per minute.
As for riding in dark lanes at night the main job of the lights will be to let cars see you, two rear lights together with reflectors and high vis clothing should be the minimum.
Take care.
PS just returned from two weeks cycling from Bayonne to St Malo and loved every day of it.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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jbob, I have kind of suspended one of my other red lights from the carrier at the back so I've got at least some other light at the back even if its a bit crooked. I also wear a sleeveless velcro high vis top - yellow with reflective strips and from my horse riding days I've got a couple of velcro hi-vis 4" bands with reflective strips which you used to put around a horses outside legs so that their movement can be seen in headlights. I've been wearing these on my own legs where they provide a dual function of added visibility and they make tremendously effective bicycle clips!!
MarjMJ, Thanks for the support - a strong motivator for the cycling is the benefit I hope it will bring to my skiing. As you will have probably read I have started to enjoy the skiing and I am sure that a large part of this and my new found ability is due to my increased fitness. I've got to keep it up - I've put in so much work over the summer that it will be a shame to let it default now - though when I look out at the horrid dark outdoors it doesn't encourage me to keep going out - a bit of bad weather and I spend the night in  I'll have a look for these indoor rollers and see what sort of size they are - they sound a reasonable compromise.
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Megamum, Don't you have a seat post? Thought that most lights fixed onto that these days. My brother has a neat little flashing rear LED that clips to the back of his helmet (cycle helmet you smutty lot!!!).
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You know it makes sense.
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Megamum, Well done on continuing to bike, it's easy to be put off as the weather gets colder.
When I used to do a lot of cycling, I had a couple of lights at the front. One angled where I thought it would most help people to see me, and another brighter one angled to help me see better. I wasn't sure of the legality of this so I would "dip" my lights when there were cars around (their lights made it light enough to see then). The other thing I did, was use two more of those bands around my wrists so that cars could see when I indicated. I've no idea what I looked like. Also as a car driver I've noticed that using the little retro-reflective strips I once put on the rims of my bike (between the spokes) make a noticeable pattern.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Megamum, I would suggest that on top of a merino long sleeved top you wear something like this: http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/ronhill-hi-viz-bike-jacket/CORERMEA07008 It will be windproof, which means you don't need as much insulation to overheat you, and will be safer as car drivers will see you easier. When running on country lanes in the dark I always wore something like this all winter. If you shop around you can probably find something for about a tenner.
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Poster: A snowHead
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My helmet (KED) has a pair of LED lights in the back, and my saddle (Fizik) has an interchangeable mount within the shell which can take either a rear LED light or a proprietary quick release saddlebag. Handy for people where not enough seatpin is showing (although that's not a problem for me though!).
I'd never use either as the only rear light, but at least it's a supplementary light, or something for emergencies.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Some good winter hints here. I use two front lights, one being a decent beam to navigate by on unlit roads and one flasher unit which can be seen from the sides.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Megamum, Well done for keeping going.
Lidl had some cycling gear in, a couple of weeks ago - cheap and functional. There were lights and clothes. Aldi also do cycling clothes at times, so if you have either of these handy, it is worth having a look. RobinS beat me to it with suggesting a windproof to keep your arms warmer without getting too hot.
As well as keeping your lights maintained, keep your pedal and spoke reflectors clean. IMHO they are the ones that really alert drivers to the presence of bikes. And choose your route carefully. Night cycling on unlit roads can be pretty risky.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| Scarpa wrote: |
| Megamum, Don't you have a seat post? ........ |
I would expect Megamum to have enough of a gap (she's got longer legs than me), but my seat is as low as it will go on both my bikes. My rear light is on a strap which I affix to the luggage rack, supplemented by dynamo light fixed in some magical way to the bit that holds the wheel in place (obviously Mr HL sorts this bit out)
as an aside I often see folk at the station with lights on the seat post, but once they set off you can't see the light for flapping coats.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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nordicfan, I dont run any reflectors. I smashed the pedal ones to bits within the first few months of having my bike and with the light mount on the seat post there is not further room as I often lower the seat all the way for jumps and steep descents. Anyway... as my bike is usually covered in mud by the end of a ride they would be useless LOL. Don'tcha just hate Welsh mud? 
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FAQ
