Things that suddenly make you faster or slower
09-21-20, 11:29 AM
#51
Senior Member
Probably all of it helped. I remember one of the first bike rides with the group on my old huffy. It was hard keeping up with it on a good day. But I had underinflated tires and it nearly killed me, and I couldn't keep up on this long slight hill at all. I always make sure my tires are well inflated now. And the lovely cooler temps (or warmer in my case with little wind) are lovely. Enjoy the good rides, because there is always the bad ones to contrast with.
09-21-20, 11:39 AM
#52
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cooler weather is faster!
resting a day or 2 makes you faster
coffee
having to go potty
resting a day or 2 makes you faster
coffee
having to go potty
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09-21-20, 01:49 PM
#53
Senior Member
Heat is a double edged sword for me, it makes muscles work better, but overall ability to do work is reduced. Possibly the higher the level of strength and conditioning, the more my muscles like warm temperatures. Times when I gotten closer to optimal fitness, warmup was more important and took longer for a thorough one. Something that doesn't seem to matter to me is my prediction of how I'll perform on a certain day. Some days I get on the bike and think I'm just going to take it easy and I'll kill it. Fresh or recovered legs is most important to me.
09-21-20, 02:35 PM
#54
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Heat and humidity do me in sooner, even with the modest mileage I put in.
Even up here, we had quite a hot summer.
Now that daily temps are in the high 50'/low 60's, I am doing my standard routes a few minutes faster.
Even up here, we had quite a hot summer.
Now that daily temps are in the high 50'/low 60's, I am doing my standard routes a few minutes faster.
09-22-20, 11:12 AM
#55
Experienced Oldie
09-22-20, 11:23 AM
#56
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09-22-20, 11:27 AM
#57
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Some supplements like beet powder also serve the same function at least for me. I cannot prove it, but I think it is more than a placebo effect.
https://www.swansonvitamins.com/swan...roduct-details
09-22-20, 11:53 AM
#58
Experienced Oldie
Nutrition- underated and often misunderstood
What if you could eat or drink something that doubled your endurance? What about speeding up recupe time from sore muscles or injuries? Improve your quality of life? Wouldn't you like to know how to see consistent speed improvement? Would you be interested?
I would like to start a thread or forum that talks about these ideas.
I have been studying these issues for 50+ years. I see a lot of ideas that are temporary fixes or don't work long term, to totally false ideas, to great ideas that really work. What do you think? Would you be interested?
I would like to start a thread or forum that talks about these ideas.
I have been studying these issues for 50+ years. I see a lot of ideas that are temporary fixes or don't work long term, to totally false ideas, to great ideas that really work. What do you think? Would you be interested?
09-22-20, 12:19 PM
#59
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^^^^^ You might checkout the Training and Nutrition sub-forum:
https://www.bikeforums.net/training-nutrition/
https://www.bikeforums.net/training-nutrition/
09-25-20, 06:44 PM
#60
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Can you elaborate on Dr. Guerrero's formula?
For me the temperature is not the reason, as my best record was set at 95 degree temperature. I attribute this to what I ate. I puposely tried something healthy that I grew. It seems to double my endurance, but in this case I noticed I did not feel the heat as well. Yes!!
Other factors that I noticed a difference:
Sleep -(huge) in that is giving your body a few days to recoupe, like running a marathon, don't expect to do something really hard after burning so many calories the day before. Example. I did a 40 mile round trip through an elevation gain of 4,000 feet to 8,000 feet above sea level. I thought it was not easy. I went across another mtn. pass, with a friend, a few months later, that the summit was 9300 feet above sea level. Basically it was 50 miles from my house to the summit and I burned 5,000 calories to get there, let alone coming home. The next Saturday , a week later, I tried the first summit that I mentioned that only went to 8,000 feet. It was like " a piece of cake". I couldn't believe how easy it was.
4 hrs sleep before a big race just doesn't cut it, it is not enough, as I discovered.
Now to mention a few other factors.
Nutrition
This includes hydration, cannot be over stressed. I use Dr. Guerrero's formula that triples your endurance in athletes. I passed this formula to a friend who runs 150 miles through Death Valley in June (crazy) temperatures even when running at night were not below 95 degrees. He reported to me that he really noticed a difference and it also helped him from getting delirious, like other Death Valley runs he had done before.
My daughter at 4 years old , rode her little 1 speed bicycle with 10 inch wheels ? about 13 miles? Amazed my wife and I, because the most she had done before was a few blocks around the house. I noticed later , that when we ate my homemade multi grain cereal she had lots of energy. When she had just eggs for breakfast all she wanted to do was go a few blocks and she was done.
Equipment - I noticed at least a two mile an hour difference when I bought my new Fezzarri bike where I had to clip my feet into the pedals. My joy riding up hills also increased when I was able to use more and different muscles as I was able to crank on the upstroke as well as the normal downstroke. Besides being lighter, this made a huge and an immediate difference.
As you mentioned, Tire pressure makes some difference, also your attitude and energy before starting. Keeping a bike tuned up increases my joy in riding. I love a quiet well oiled machine, especially no squeeking. (Ha,ha) On that note, I have been running a new chain oil that is the best stuff on the market. Probably should make a separate post about it. (No chain noise, best lube I have ever used, applied once a year ago, no mess, no plastics, waxes, or silicone).
Other factors that I noticed a difference:
Sleep -(huge) in that is giving your body a few days to recoupe, like running a marathon, don't expect to do something really hard after burning so many calories the day before. Example. I did a 40 mile round trip through an elevation gain of 4,000 feet to 8,000 feet above sea level. I thought it was not easy. I went across another mtn. pass, with a friend, a few months later, that the summit was 9300 feet above sea level. Basically it was 50 miles from my house to the summit and I burned 5,000 calories to get there, let alone coming home. The next Saturday , a week later, I tried the first summit that I mentioned that only went to 8,000 feet. It was like " a piece of cake". I couldn't believe how easy it was.
4 hrs sleep before a big race just doesn't cut it, it is not enough, as I discovered.
Now to mention a few other factors.
Nutrition
This includes hydration, cannot be over stressed. I use Dr. Guerrero's formula that triples your endurance in athletes. I passed this formula to a friend who runs 150 miles through Death Valley in June (crazy) temperatures even when running at night were not below 95 degrees. He reported to me that he really noticed a difference and it also helped him from getting delirious, like other Death Valley runs he had done before.
My daughter at 4 years old , rode her little 1 speed bicycle with 10 inch wheels ? about 13 miles? Amazed my wife and I, because the most she had done before was a few blocks around the house. I noticed later , that when we ate my homemade multi grain cereal she had lots of energy. When she had just eggs for breakfast all she wanted to do was go a few blocks and she was done.
Equipment - I noticed at least a two mile an hour difference when I bought my new Fezzarri bike where I had to clip my feet into the pedals. My joy riding up hills also increased when I was able to use more and different muscles as I was able to crank on the upstroke as well as the normal downstroke. Besides being lighter, this made a huge and an immediate difference.
As you mentioned, Tire pressure makes some difference, also your attitude and energy before starting. Keeping a bike tuned up increases my joy in riding. I love a quiet well oiled machine, especially no squeeking. (Ha,ha) On that note, I have been running a new chain oil that is the best stuff on the market. Probably should make a separate post about it. (No chain noise, best lube I have ever used, applied once a year ago, no mess, no plastics, waxes, or silicone).
10-02-20, 09:25 AM
#61
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The past couple of solo rides that I've made (30-35 miles), I've found myself going significantly faster. And while the purpose of riding isn't speed improvement, I'm still always curious as to what causes the ups and downs.
So, which of these things probably made the most difference?
-It was 75-80 degrees vs. 90-95 degrees and humid.
-In a good mood, eager to ride with nothing on my mind
-Tires inflated to 105 instead of 95 (I've gained a little weight to 210 and wondered if I'm squishing the lower-pressured tires)
-Got my gear lever fixed (wasn't always getting crisp gear changes going up hills)
-Got my chain lined up where it's quieter, not rubbing against something.
And what sort of things affect why you find yourself going faster or slower on a given day? Ever had a repair or bought something new (ie, tires), or tinkered with tire pressure and suddenly noticed a difference?
So, which of these things probably made the most difference?
-It was 75-80 degrees vs. 90-95 degrees and humid.
-In a good mood, eager to ride with nothing on my mind
-Tires inflated to 105 instead of 95 (I've gained a little weight to 210 and wondered if I'm squishing the lower-pressured tires)
-Got my gear lever fixed (wasn't always getting crisp gear changes going up hills)
-Got my chain lined up where it's quieter, not rubbing against something.
And what sort of things affect why you find yourself going faster or slower on a given day? Ever had a repair or bought something new (ie, tires), or tinkered with tire pressure and suddenly noticed a difference?
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10-02-20, 07:47 PM
#62
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Or a tailwind.
Anyone who's read Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency would remember the truckie who didn't know he was a rain god... Imagine always having a tailwind.
Anyone who's read Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency would remember the truckie who didn't know he was a rain god... Imagine always having a tailwind.
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Half-step triple, using double gear ~~~ 6400 STI rebuild walkthrough ~~~ Want 8/9/10s @126mm OLD? OCR. ~~~ Shimano cassette body overhaul ~~~ Ergopower Escape wear repair ~~~ PSA: drivetrain wear
List of US/Canada bike co-ops ~~~ Global list
10-02-20, 08:14 PM
#63
Senior Member
10-04-20, 01:36 PM
#64
Junior Member
Carb-heavy dinner night before, good sleep.
Previous day was no riding or very light ride.
Morning coffee, and a sweet-role, and plenty water.
Dialed-in bike:.....lined up shifting, well-oiled fresh chain, good air pressure (95PSI max for me....more makes me slower on my routes/tires), keep it less than 80-degrees.
Other things that provided progressive incremental improvements.
Several months of zone2 conditioning 3 or 4 times a week, each ride 1.5 hours Throw in a 3 hour ride from time to time. This gave me huge time improvements.
Speed training....dont do much of it at my age, but I expect it would help if I did.
Equipment upgrade. I got 1.5 MPH average improvement for entire ride JUST BY UPGRADING to aero wheels and quality 1X11 groupset/chain! Overnight!
Previous day was no riding or very light ride.
Morning coffee, and a sweet-role, and plenty water.
Dialed-in bike:.....lined up shifting, well-oiled fresh chain, good air pressure (95PSI max for me....more makes me slower on my routes/tires), keep it less than 80-degrees.
Other things that provided progressive incremental improvements.
Several months of zone2 conditioning 3 or 4 times a week, each ride 1.5 hours Throw in a 3 hour ride from time to time. This gave me huge time improvements.
Speed training....dont do much of it at my age, but I expect it would help if I did.
Equipment upgrade. I got 1.5 MPH average improvement for entire ride JUST BY UPGRADING to aero wheels and quality 1X11 groupset/chain! Overnight!
Last edited by pullings; 10-04-20 at 01:43 PM.
