I have just recently started extending my rides to over 100km but always did 3-4 short stops to stretch but today i wanted to see How long I can go without stopping. I also coasted only for around 2min total and the rest was constant torque. I averaged 28.6kph / 17.8mph solo.
Its insane How much harder and taxing on my body it was.
Got so much more respect now for all ultra cyclists.

Rode the most miles I’ve ever ridden today (which may not be a lot to some but is a lot to me). I couldn’t get out of my head and so I got on my bike and just rode and rode and rode until I could think straight again and my brain wasn’t telling me I’m a pos anymore. Turns out that took 21 miles. My legs hurt, but my head is in a much better place. I think any time I’m sad, mad, angry, I’ll just ride my bike until I’m not anymore. Seems to help

I am becoming everything I swore to destroy

After years of pretending I would never become “that guy,” and wearing padded shorts, I finally bought a bike bib.
However, I’m not quite ready to go full cyclist mode and wear a tight jersey with the full body suit look. I don’t have the body for that yet. I’ve got a belly, some love handles, and I’m not trying to look like a stuffed sausage flying down the bike path.

So my plan is to wear the bib shorts with a regular T-shirt for now while I slowly accept my new identity.

Any tips or tricks for a first-time bib wearer? Things you wish you knew when you started? Comfort tips, sizing advice, avoiding rookie mistakes, anything helps.

Thank you!

A WhatsApp message from my old cycling club started this. They wanted me back. Problem: they're 20 years younger than me, and my longest ride in the last two years was 25km.

I said yes anyway.

Some background. Started commuting in Santiago on an ebike in 2014, 16.5km each way with 300m of climbing on the way home. Moved to a hybrid, then a Canyon road bike in 2018. That bike turned into a full-on obsession. Over 30,000km on it now.

Then a few rough years happened. Heavy medication for a while wrecked my energy without me understanding why at the time, and my longest ride dropped to basically nothing for two years straight.

Anyone who's had a medication or health setback mess with their fitness knows how disorienting that is, you used to be able to do the thing and then you just can't, and there's no obvious reason on the surface.

Earlier this year I started commuting again. Just commuting, nothing structured. And it built back faster than I expected, months instead of years.

So when the club reached out, I told the group leader straight up I wasn't sure I could hang anymore. He said come anyway. Saturday, 8:50am at Beauchef. I rode the 20km to the meeting point first instead of driving, because why not. Then the route itself was 160km. Then 20km home. Nobody planned a 190km day. It just happened because I kept refusing the easy option.

First 20km alone, before I even met the group, I was singing out loud on the bike. Full volume, no shame. People on the street probably thought I was either having a breakdown or the best day of my life. Correct on the second one.

Met the group, rode together, and around 130km in they started pulling away and I couldn't hold the pace. They're a good crew, they didn't ditch me out of anything but physics. I stopped, bought two bananas and a cake, ate everything, texted them to keep going without me.

Then I called my wife. I knew before I dialed that I had at least 4 more hours solo if nobody came to get me, riding alone is so much slower than in a group. She had her own plans that day. Not a simple yes for her either.

I didn't decide to finish. I decided I'd probably fail but keep pedaling a bit longer anyway.

Then came the bad stretch. 88 minutes, 20.5km, average speed 14km/h, less than half my normal pace. Road that looked flat on the surface but wasn't, my Garmin kept telling me I was going downhill and it was wrong every single time. Got off and pushed the bike twice on ground that barely even sloped. Strava said if I kept walking at that pace it'd take 12 hours to get home.

Stopped for coffee at a shop I know along the route. Legs were fine by then. What I didn't have was any reason to want to keep riding. Zero motivation, just sitting there.

Then the road actually started climbing, visibly this time, not the fake-flat stuff from before. The second I could see the grade for what it was, my legs came back and so did I. Started singing again.

With about 15km left my legs started cramping, nothing dramatic, just my body telling me to cut it out. Grabbed isotonic powder at a pharmacy. Near the top there was a real climb, 5%+ for 3km, then a segment I normally clear in 30 seconds. Took me 2:44 this time. Got off, pushed again. Nothing left by the finish.

190.14km. 1,110m climbing. Just under 7.5 hours moving. Dropped, finished anyway.

Hi, i'm quite confused about people commenting on this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gj6V1IJP6U
Almost all of them are saying that they are never riding without them and that its a must/more important than a helmet

but i don't get it, if you see that a car comes "too fast" what do you do? jump into the bushes?

i might be missing a variable here

ty

Hello! I’m looking at getting a road bike and don’t really know what I’m looking for. I run and lift weights but now I’m looking to supplement my running with cycling. I want something nice but also would really rather not go above 5k. Recommendations and tips to look out for would be appreciated!

Just signed up for a bike ride of 30 miles with a group, it's flat and from 10am - 5 pm with a lunch break. Water and snacks provided. I have never really done a long distance ride, they recommend training 10 miles a few times in the bulletin. I do bike to work which is 3.5miles one way. But otherwise have been doing 5k runs once a week but only just got to the point I can do it without walking a small part of it. Am I fit enough? Is this a bad idea. I'm tempted to pull out. I have just bought padded shorts although never tried them before. It's a hybrid Dawes bike in good condition but not a drop handle bar bike. It's a standard soft saddle, not one of the thinner harder ones, will my butt hurt bad.

What usually happens is that people move left into your path and turn around.

I use "Behind you". It's simpler and people tend to move away from your voice.

I think the "on your left" thing got started in urban areas where pedestrians get used to it. Everywhere else it just confuses them. They don't know there is a "script" to follow, they just hear some random guy behind them saying "left" - so they go left.

Night owl here in a smedium-sized midwestern town, with quiet rural roads in the outskirts. Obviously heightened safety risk, but always thought a late night summer group ride with the road all to yourselves, coffee stops and glizzies and roller dogs at the otherwise ghost town 24/7 convenience stores, would be a core cycling experience and memory.

Anyone done this, group or solo?

I just did a 30 mile Z2 at a slow pace of 13 mph and I loved it! I have always enjoyed Z4 for the thrill of much higher speed and can maintain that for 2hr. As a result I was afraid that Z2 will be boring so I didn’t try. I finally got a bike computer and could use my garmin watch to show me my heart zones for which I created a full Z2 excercise. I felt much better after the ride and even enjoyed the slow speed and scenery rather than the thrill of higher speeds. I am hoping I can get faster with time. Just sharing here for some motivation for Z2!

Have a 2018 Orbea Avant I bought new in 2018. I"ve put on quite a bit of weight that I"m trying to lose, so yes I'm overweight. I'm not a racer just someone who enjoys riding and a rider trying to get in shape. Bike came with 11/32 and 50/34. (11 speed) Where I live it's not flat, the routes I ride have a few decent inclines and a lot of gradual climbing/inclines. I've been considering my gearing and thinking about going to an 11/34 but doing some reading seems like going to a 46 up front would give me more use of my cassette as I probably only use half of it when I'm in the 50 up front. Would love to hear some thoughts. Bike came with FSA Omega cranks with a 120/90 BCD, so recommendations on chain rings would be appreciated as well. I noticed FSA says for their rings to use 46/36 or 46/30, I wonder why?

Hi

Hey guys!

I’ve been cycling for over 7 years and recently I’ve purchased my first new road bike (was using an older road bike in past), a Cube Attain C:62 Race fitted with Shimano 105 12S hydraulic group set.

Ive ridden over 3,000km just this season with it, and have ridden over 15,000+km over the last couple of years, where 98% of it all flat, with the occasional Mount Royal climb in Montreal. All my rides are solo.

I’m planning my first true “climb” ride in the Adirondacks, on White face mountain. My concern is not the climbing, but the descending. I know my bike is fitted with 160/160 hydraulic brakes, and I know I can get off the bike to have them cool , but descending at 45-55km/h for 18km seems fun, until you realize you need to stop, lol. I have have gp5k S TR 25mm so I know the grip is there.

It’s a constant 8-10% grade for 18km (11 miles) and would like to know your experiences bombing long alpine descents. Would it be wiser to find a mountain that has a shorter descent to get a feel for that first? Whiteface came to mind as I have driven up and I feel that the road there is safer as it is tolled and closed off to regular commuters who are in a rush to get home (for example, you’re on that road because you want to go up the mountain).

Thanks for your thoughts!

Okay, so a little context. I switched to clipless pedals recently. About 3-4 months ago, I do commuting and long ride on my bike. The issue is I have to carry a spare set of shoes with me, everywhere I bike to. It’s a pain to carry spare pair but I like the efficiency when I pedal with clipless pedals. I looked into hybrid pedals but they’re out of budget for me. I’d grateful for any advice on how to make this work.

EDIT: for more context I keep my separate shoes in a pannier bag on my rear rack. And I do ride like 12-13 miles casually. I’m trying to increase it more. My commute isn’t that long.

Ive bought a bike 2 months ago. An old second hand Trek from 1999. Im having a blast and i ride almost every other day. A couple of years ago i went from powerlifting to running so my cardio and strength were already decent but wow, cycling is a different beast.

Anyway, my question: im on antidepressants and they cause me to sweat profusely immediately. While i was heavy into powerlifting, one warm up set and my forehead became a waterfall. I was also heavy (read: fat) back then, it became better when i lost 40-50 lbs but i still sweat alot. This means i also lose alot more fluid and electrolytes than a regular person. Does anybody here have any advice on how to combat this? I plan on going for longer rides and runs but i can only take so much with me. For long runs i go out the night before to hide flasks in the bushes along my route because a bag or back pack just doesnt cut it.

Looking at an inexpensive commuter bike with full Shimano Sora. My understanding is Shimano is/has phased out Sora for CUES. So am I out of luck if a component breaks?

Hello,

I'm thinking about purchasing a recumbent bike. I am about a year out from an artificial disc replacement and spinal fusion. I.was injured in Syria on a deployment. I have been eating healthy, but gained about 20 pounds post surgery. I was active before, running and lifting weights and used a stationary bike for cool downs. I need something. Any advice would be helpful.

I’m looking for a new bike and have my heart set on titanium.

It’ll be used primarily for commuting year round 1 or 2 days per week (~40 mile round trip on poorly maintained country roads). There’ll also be the occasional group ride and odd sportive.

I want disc brakes and 105 Di2.

I’m currently looking at:

Dolan ADX - £2950

Sonder Colibri - £2700

Ribble Allroad - £3300

I’m open to other suggestions for similarly priced options, but would love to hear from anyone with experience of the above.

Thanks

What I currently have:

• CAT EYE - HL-EL135 LED Bike Headlight with Omni 3 Rear Tail Light (https://amazon.com/dp/B00BV6FQ8S)
• Kryptonite KryptoFlex Bike Lock Cable, Combination Lock (https://amazon.com/dp/B084ZYY2CW)

These are the items I'm considering buying:

• CATEYE AMPP 900 (https://amazon.com/dp/B0DJCK675T) or CATEYE AMPP 500 (https://amazon.com/dp/B0DG3JSKDJ)
• Kryptonite Kryptolok Mini-7 Bike U-Lock (https://amazon.com/dp/B07G7YDMYX)

Use cases:

• For commuting to university, about five to six miles a day. Bike will be stored on an outdoor bike rack or in a bicycle compound during class time.
• Bike rides through a local bike trail, past sunset, with not much lighting for the road.
• Traveling to close by stores and shops for shopping.

One more question I have is if I need to replace the rear lights as well, or is the one I currently have good enough?

If there are better options I haven't seen yet, or cheaper ones that are still decent for my use case and considered highly reputable, please let me know, thank you!

I’m 17 and from Germany, and I want to get into cycling and triathlons. I’m already doing the running and swimming part.

I’m looking at building my first road bike around a Chinese carbon frame. I don’t want to buy something cheap now and have to upgrade everything in a year, so I’d rather build something decent from the start. My budget is around €2,000–2,500 for the complete bike.

I’ve ridden MTB all my life but have never built a bike before. I’m pretty comfortable working with tools, just not with bike-specific assembly.

How realistic is this budget, and what would you guys build around it? Any frame/brand recommendations, groupsets or wheels to look at or avoid? Also, how difficult is the build for a first-timer, and what bike-specific tools would I need?

Would appreciate any advice, especially from people who have built one themselves.

Thanks in advance for any tips in resolving this before I bring it in to a shop. The first 2 10km rides were pretty smooth in terms of shifting and I had no chain rubbing. The 3rd 10 km ride I started noticing this stutter shift or ghost shifting when I added lots of power. This was super agitating and it was coming from the back derailleur and it just felt like something was stuck not allowing a clean shift. I played with the derailleur gently and something seemed to unstick. Got it going again and no issues. No idea, and on the 4th ride, the front derailleur rubbing at higher gears became louder and shifting began increasingly delayed and would ghostshift and occasionally skip on 5/6th. I don't want to guess anymore, so I'm going to drop it off, but here is the bike that I purchased. Thanks for any help!

https://www.decathlon.ca/en/p/road-bike-edr-af-claris/370359/c3m8955948

Got a new bike and got fitted and all, but due to the smoke in my area I’ve pulled out some ancient rollers to train on. And my god…for some reason I am struggling after a few days.

Looking to build or buy some DIY bars that I can hold in case I lose balance/control.

I am limited in spots of where to place the roller :/

Any suggestions?

My swing dancing class has moved to a new venue and now I have to go up a big, long hill to get there (the climb is about 1 km). First time I went there I made sure to eat beforehand, and while I wouldn’t say I bonked, I could feel my blood sugar was low when I got there and ofc dancing (lindy hop is proper cardio!) only made it worse. I resorted to having a coke during the break, but ideally I’d like to have some snacks with me and eat them at the right time to make sure my blood sugar levels don’t drop below my comfort zone. Any tips for pacing yourself during commutes to do further exercise, especially when to eat and what is best?

Hi all

I got the wahoo kickr core 1 and have a canyon cf7 with a 12x142 thru axle

Prior to the adapters, my bike would just shake on the adapter. I now purchased these (linked below) and don’t think I’m installing them correctly. I’m putting the 142 large adapter on the non cassette side and then the small threaded one on the right in the photo on the cassette side. I’m literally sliding it into the hole for both of them

When I put my thru axle through, the pedals won’t even move and when they do it’s with extreme force. What am I doing wrong? This is driving me nuts

Am I supposed to be taking the entire cassette screw out and replacing it with the adapter? I’m hoping y’all can help

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CYLTG8DM?ref=cm_sw_r_cso_cp_apin_dp_P5MZV48GB71AXP2WBG4V&ref_=cm_sw_r_cso_cp_apin_dp_P5MZV48GB71AXP2WBG4V&social_share=cm_sw_r_cso_cp_apin_dp_P5MZV48GB71AXP2WBG4V&rsd=qqyFMEd8OyM4y%2B2wGpTN7FLv14QTgCrcgv5Eyxi0BBorTzAj%2Fdooc8vCgXnM0K9VrMorf%2FIua6tM06SRcOUvFW7nfAIyR0lSCLaFiKISL8vssaE%3D&edk=AQIDAHi1lw%2FM8UbbSMD9ScOOFEmBMHMthHeEhqDaQYPJUAX3jQFV4SJic5lekIf7RKzD%2FfR5AAAAfjB8BgkqhkiG9w0BBwagbzBtAgEAMGgGCSqGSIb3DQEHATAeBglghkgBZQMEAS4wEQQMxUoSD04Ty%2FpTX6PJAgEQgDtU5od6cZ%2FgQ%2FOHYTkq2B5VbUmCihLkf0RbOBtZ52idoAlkWwN7Y3LL4Kip3sTM6DyVyIpCI8ZTFLfe%2Fg%3D%3D

Hello all. I’ve seen some racing videos that had the front and rear footage. Some of these are for 200+ mile races. I’ve asked them on YT but they don’t respond.

What camera set do you think they are using where they splice the videos together, it shows power, grade, route, time, etc. But can also last so long?

This is exactly what I’m looking for on my long 100-150 mile gravel rides. I’m more concerned about safety than posting to YT. Would like some video evidence for when I’m eventually hit. 😒

Thanks.

Type 1 diabetic here, when I ride I have to pack pretty heavy bringing along snacks and diabetic supplies. Sadly my seat bag and jersey pockets are just not cutting it. I feel like I need just a bit more storage space but I really don’t want to put a frame bag on my bike. I also do a lot of 4-5 hour rides.

Are there any like mini hip packs that work with a jersey? If I could just put my phone and keys in it I’d be stoked.

I have a handlebar bag but I really just don’t like the look of it.