this thread is about improving through effort not doping.

i improved in a major way last week by starting to ride in the drops

today i decided to go further ( lower ) but my triceps were getting tired

i should probably poll the collective wisdom of the board on the matter of aerobars ...

Yeah not sure if I could maintain the 17 mph pace for 75 miles or not. I usually go at a faster pace for the first 40-45 miles and slowly come down form there as the winds pick up and I am going slightly uphill returning home.

Answer: good God, yes! I'm now doing challenging evening rides that a year ago would have been a weekend ride, while the weekend rides have become even more challenging. Reason is that in every direction where I live, there are mini mountains ranging between 1500 to 2800 feet in elevation, with numerous routes of various gradient, from gentle to extreme and everything in between. For 6 years after moving here I avoided riding the mountain roads, mostly because of the strong desire to avoid pain. Instead, I stuck to the flat routes along the beach, basin and valley.

But that all changed when my vintage bike was stolen one day in July, and so I bought an entry level triple cranked road bike. The new bike's low gearing, plus watching the TdF on Versus inspired me to attempt some hills. While embarrassing and painful at first, I kept at it, working through the necessary development and strengthening of muscles, connective tissues and cardio system needed for respectable climbing, and the occasional annoying of road nazi's.

So that's where I am at present: respectable and annoying.

Now that's a neat trick.

I'm definitely seeing improvement. There's quantifiable: my 2x20' interval times are better than April. And there's not so quantifiable: being able to stay at the front of the local hammer ride and take my share of pulls.

The time it takes you to do a 20 minute interval has gone down?:lol:

Yep. That's how good I've gotten!

(GRR.... what I meant to say is that the distance has gone up and my HR has gone down. Duh.)

Well, not the absolutely boundaries of physics, but I've pretty much reached the limit of bicycles, around 400-500 mph.

I'm 59, these words could apply: "Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!"

I don't really care. In just the span of a few months, I've already lost my dream bike to another buyer and on top of that left my bike outside overnight. :(

Every day and in every way, I am getting better, and better

Ok, I'll bite. Wtf are you talking about?

I have to admit I'm getting better, a little better all the time. Getting so much better all the time.

I've been addicted to road cycling for a little less than a year and have seen a lot of improvement and want more. I started out as a 41 yr old fat guy that could barely climb the hill to get out of my neighborhood, now I'm a 42 year guy (who is still fat by cyclist standards) that rides about 500 miles/mth.

The wife got me a powermeter for X-mas and it's great motivation to constantly push myself and track progress. My FTP has gone from 225 in Feb to 237 in April and I just hit 263 in a test last week. 5' has gone from 270 to 316 in the same time.

I'm around 180lbs, so the numbers are nothing to write home about, but it's still pretty cool to focus on something and see the results.

I have not done any structured intervals besides FTP stuff, so my 1' numbers are in the "untrained" zone and I get dropped bad every week on my group rides because of this. I plan to start working on some anaerobic intervals once I get a couple more months in my legs.

At some point, I would like to start crushing souls and dialing it up to 400 watts......I expect that will take at least a few years and/or some chemical help.

This is an awesome thread! More like this, please.

Yeeeeehhhhhaaaaa! The BF thread connoisseur stamp of approval is much appreciated.

I am finally getting thin. You are all in Big Trouble.

Amping up the miles now. 300+ last week. Another 50 today.

BIG Trouble.

How appropriate that pcad should drop in at this point. I was accused of drawing in the freds with this thread.

I take offense to that. I just spent all this time making a nice graph and all I get out of it is fredliness.

embrace it. nice graph by the way. very accurate.

What do you expect. I'm working with "paint"!

dreadful spring and summer. Caught a nasty virus and been sick on and off last two months. Every time I feel better I jump on the bike only to be worse next day. My summer heyday comes up on sunday when I´m supposed to ride/race a 150 km tour. Even a bloody knee stings. Improvements needs support!:notamused:

You're just in denial...... Fatty.