Fifty Plus (50+) - Serves me right to suffer

I remember -not that long ago- that I looked for rodes to climb despite the suffering that goes along with it.
Now I look for rodes to climb because of the suffering.

I punished myself on Saturday and then did a lot more riding up and down up and down with Mrs S on Sunday. I was feeling it, I'll tell you. Then one day of rest -yesterday- and tonight I was at it again... a good 20 mile after work ride (hello DST) and -I think- half of it uphill. I hit my old friend, Roberts Road, the 1/2 mile 7-8% climb that I use for my training (such as it is) and it hit me, as I was grinding my way up, I LIKE this.

I'm actually finding the suffering of slowly crawling inch by inch at 4, 5, 6 mph to be FUN.
I look back and I realize, it's a trend. I'm actually building my rides around the hills

Sick. Truly sick.

I remember -not that long ago- that I looked for rodes to climb despite the suffering that goes along with it.
Now I look for rodes to climb because of the suffering.

I punished myself on Saturday and then did a lot more riding up and down up and down with Mrs S on Sunday. I was feeling it, I'll tell you. Then one day of rest -yesterday- and tonight I was at it again... a good 20 mile after work ride (hello DST) and -I think- half of it uphill. I hit my old friend, Roberts Road, the 1/2 mile 7-8% climb that I use for my training (such as it is) and it hit me, as I was grinding my way up, I LIKE this.

I'm actually finding the suffering of slowly crawling inch by inch at 4, 5, 6 mph to be FUN.
I look back and I realize, it's a trend. I'm actually building my rides around the hills

Sick. Truly sick.

I suffer alone? This I cannot believe

Nope. Not at all. I've only been on the bike a few weeks now, after not having ridden for the best part of forty years, and I've adopted that attitude right from the get-go. If it don't hurt it's not a challenge.

Not too many hills where I live, on the flood plains of three rivers, but the initial rides I've been doing have included quite a bit of riding into a freshening (and sometimes rather strong) afternoon breeze. My initial goal is to get 'right' for a ride up to my lakeside retreat (http://pcpowerplay.com.au/forums/showthread.php?t=90377&highlight=slice+heaven), about 150km away by road. The first 80km of that includes some reasonable stetches of gradual climb, and the following 70km is through quite hilly country. I'm looking forward to the challenge. A ride of 40 km a few days ago was the furthest I've gone on a bike in my life, I think :D



I gave myself a treat today. Finally got around to putting more than 20 lbs of air into the tyres.

Masochist!

Nope. Not at all. I've only been on the bike a few weeks now, after not having ridden for the best part of forty years, and I've adopted that attitude right from the get-go. If it don't hurt it's not a challenge.

Not too many hills where I live, on the flood plains of three rivers, but the initial rides I've been doing have included quite a bit of riding into a freshening (and sometimes rather strong) afternoon breeze. My initial goal is to get 'right' for a ride up to my lakeside retreat (http://pcpowerplay.com.au/forums/showthread.php?t=90377&highlight=slice+heaven), about 150km away by road. The first 80km of that includes some reasonable stetches of gradual climb, and the following 70km is through quite hilly country. I'm looking forward to the challenge. A ride of 40 km a few days ago was the furthest I've gone on a bike in my life, I think :D



I gave myself a treat today. Finally got around to putting more than 20 lbs of air into the tyres.

Sounds like you are already making great progress.

Why bother with air in the tires at all?

And, welcome!

I love hills, I love the challenge of finding routes to avoid them wherever I can. :D

I'm actually finding the suffering of slowly crawling inch by inch at 4, 5, 6 mph to be FUN.
I look back and I realize, it's a trend. I'm actually building my rides around the hills

Sick. Truly sick.

There's just no hope left for you, SKT:D:D

Keep this up and you'll need to find steeper hills soon.

heh heh....

Is it really masochism, though? I suspect that, like me, SaiKaiTai is just simply 'driven' to not allowing obstacles to be impediments unless they really HAVE to be. I suspect that, like me, he's blessed with the physical potential to take on some challenges that would be unrealistic for some of our contemporaries. I can see, from a glance through the topics he's posted, that his main 'competitor' is himself.

Is it masochistic to want to see what you can achieve, and to enjoy the struggle it takes to get there? I hardly think so. I think we all do that, in our own way. The goals we set for ourselves vary quite a bit, but we're still all doing what it takes to achieve them. I'm a long, long way short, yet, of where SaiKaiTai is, but I believe it's an achievable goal for me to be able to struggle through the climb up those hills, without my heart exploding and without it taking so much out of me that I'm left unable to coast down the other side and then take on the next one. And I'm damned sure I'm not going to allow myself to do anything else but enjoy it!


A bit earlier this evening I took a seven year old granddaughter for a ride around town. She was wanting to show Grandad that she could be responsible at intersections, and that she could ride a "long way!" We were travelling through a local park when she tried to turn a but sharp, and came off taking some skin off her hand. She didn't want to let it interrupt her ride with Grandad, or let him see her crying over it, so she swallowed the tears and, after a wee break, continued on. A bit further around the track she stopped at a 'climbing wall' activity station and showed me that she could climb it, grazed hand notwithstanding.

We all have our hills to climb, don't we? And we all enjoy climbing them? surely that isn't masochism?

:D

How can you figure out the slope of a hill? I run into a number of them on a few of my rides but I don't know what the slope is. I see group rides nearby that talk about tough routes with sections with X degree slope. But I don't know if what they are describing is similar to what I have done or tougher. I don't think eyeballing works - Capitol Hill, DC a few blocks away looks like 20 degrees to me. But I know that has to be way high.

I thought this was another John Lee Hooker discussion. ;)

Topographic map?

http://geology.isu.edu/geostac/Field_Exercise/topomaps/slope_calc.htm

How can you figure out the slope of a hill? I run into a number of them on a few of my rides but I don't know what the slope is. I see group rides nearby that talk about tough routes with sections with X degree slope. But I don't know if what they are describing is similar to what I have done or tougher. I don't think eyeballing works - Capitol Hill, DC a few blocks away looks like 20 degrees to me. But I know that has to be way high.

There are gizmos you can buy that will measure it for you.

Simple level type: http://circlecitybicycles.com/inclin.htm

Built in to cylometer: http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/?pg=fullstory&id=3786

Part of a GPS package: https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?pID=331&tab=edge305

Have you thought about professional help? :eek:

Have you thought about professional help? :eek:

That won't get you anywhere...the pros do this all the time.

I suffer alone? This I cannot believe

Believe.


I don't let a hill stop me. But I ride to get somewhere. Suffering has no value to me. Maybe its the buddhist influence. :D

Have you tried going up the hills on a kickbike? That might increase your suffering. ;)

"up and down up and down with Mrs S on Sunday."


Doesn't sound like suffering to me. :rolleyes:

Now you are really getting into cycling, racing may be in your future. Pain is what I love about sports and cycling in particular. It is exquisite to push yourself until you are a puddle of sweat and suffering, to push your envelop and then have the guts to do it again and again.

I don't know if it is the pain or the endorphins but I have always found that in running or cycling when you can embrace the pain is when you find the zone. When you find the zone the pain no longer matters and this is when your best performance happens. I love the pain.

I've been riding for 12 years and averaged around 3,000 miles a season. Last year my two sons, both of who were college swimmers, began riding. After two or three rides I was following and then holding them back. At the end of last season I decided to "move up a level" and set goals and even start racing. I particapted in an indoor cycling program, over the winter, that concentrated on cadence and power. I now know "suffering" again! It's just like my college track and field days. It's great to suffer again and come back the next time to only do it again make sure nothing is left at the end of the workout, except the river of sweat and a little puke.(only once after a finishing sprint in zone 5) My wife doesn't understand why I do it and she also think my goals for the year are unresonable for a 55 yr old. She'll be surprised when I attain every one!

I love hills. I don't consider a ride to be truly complete without lots of hills. I'm not even a particularly strong climber, I just like doing it. Plus, I like the reward of the downhill afterwards. Wheeeee!
The only hill I don't like is the one up to our house, because it comes at the end of the ride when I am pretty much spent.

How can you figure out the slope of a hill? I run into a number of them on a few of my rides but I don't know what the slope is. I see group rides nearby that talk about tough routes with sections with X degree slope. But I don't know if what they are describing is similar to what I have done or tougher. I don't think eyeballing works - Capitol Hill, DC a few blocks away looks like 20 degrees to me. But I know that has to be way high.

You get an eye for a %age of the hill- but In my area- Hills are marked by Gradient signs. So once you have climbed a couple of signed 10% hills- you know what a 10% feels like.

Only thing is in my area- I am convinced that a few of those 12% are a bit on the leanside. Confirmed it by the Garmin and those 12% hills-----Are 12% hills. Just wish my legs and lungs knew better before attempting them. And the funny thing is- Mountains are not a great deal worse- %age is not a great deal more than my local hills- Just a little bit longer- and higher.

And SKT- Keep up the good work. It may be classed as masochism- but there is not much else to do if you live where hills keep popping up under the front twheel.

Stapfam, I know you've mentioned it before, but what was the gearing of your bike when made it up Ventoux?

Aside -- ancients use to walk up Krough Patrick in their barefeet in order to atone for their transgressions, then perhaps purchase indulgences if that didn't cover it. Could this self-inflicted pain be the same thing (and I won't even bring up carbon credits right now)?

I love hills. I don't consider a ride to be truly complete without lots of hills. I'm not even a particularly strong climber, I just like doing it. Plus, I like the reward of the downhill afterwards. Wheeeee!
The only hill I don't like is the one up to our house, because it comes at the end of the ride when I am pretty much spent.

This is me, in a nutshell. I look for the hills. I make sure I take a route that will put them there in front of me. If come to a fork in the road with one way being flat and the other a climb, I will take the climb.
Why? Just because.
I'm not great at it, either. I'm better than I was -repetition has its rewards- but it's still a challenge. But when you're at the top -before the reward ("Wheeeeee")- mn, there's something about saying you made it. And maybe this time you went farther before you had to shift down or maybe, even, you stayed in a higher gear than ever before. It just feels GOOD. And any struggle/pain/suffering is temporary; all you have to do is get through it... a few minutes or so, at worst. Most climbs within town are only 1/2 mile or so with a couple of ~2 milers when you want to get out of town. The grades -for the most part- have only been 6-8%. Except for that last climb home... 10-11% for about 300 yards. Oof.

One way that I have found to determine the %'d of grade is to to divide the total feet climbed into the length. For instance if you climbed 300 feet over one mile (5,280') the % of the hill would be 5%. A climb of 450 feet over 6/10th (3,168') of a mile would be a climb of 14%. A 50 foot climb over a 1/4th mile (1,320') would have a grade of 3%. I also have a GPS that will do the calculations for me:D.

Stapfam, I know you've mentioned it before, but what was the gearing of your bike when made it up Ventoux?

Aside -- ancients use to walk up Krough Patrick in their barefeet in order to atone for their transgressions, then perhaps purchase indulgences if that didn't cover it. Could this self-inflicted pain be the same thing (and I won't even bring up carbon credits right now)?

Ventoux was 30/28. I trained on our local hills doing repeats up the steep ones till I got bored. Since then I have got Boreas. A lighter bike with a compact double and lowest gear is 34/27. Took a bit of confidence building but those hills in training that I struggled up with 30/28- I now struggle up with 34/27.

And how many of us were in the forces???? Ex marine here and I do NOW welcome that character building they gave me of putting me through extreme pain at times.

How is it sick if you like it and it makes you healthier and stronger? Everyone should be so sick.

Welcome to the dark side. I think you are ready to test yourself on Old La Honda.;)

Welcome to the dark side. I think you are ready to test yourself on Old La Honda.;)

Oh, no... I don't think I'm ready for that
Everything I've heard about Old la Honda Rd scare the bejeebers out of me. No, not yet, my master.

But I am thinking about heading down the coast from Montara to San Gregorio and then taking Stage Road back up to Hwy 1.

Hmmm. We may have severe endorphin addictions here.

And how many of us were in the forces???? Ex marine here and I do NOW welcome that character building they gave me of putting me through extreme pain at times.

I was in the forces (kind of), but now I'm strictly in it for the endorphins.