Cycling Horrors

[Mischa (backup account)]

I went cycling earlier today and a terrible thing happened to me during my ride. I am pedaling up a steep hill in a winding trail. This trail is about 10km in total and has many steep long hills. On one of the longer and steeper hills I have to stand up on my bike and use my body weight to pump the pedals and what crosses my mind half way up the hill.

"WHAT WOULD CYCLEGUY DO IN THIS SITUATION, SIT OR STAND?"

FUCK ME, the last thing I want to think about during the day is CG.: WTF!!!

PS. hey CG what would you have done?

 

[tales06]

Ride a motorcycle next time.

 

[Magic Man]

Since he's in shape from riding so much, he probably doesn't have to stand up to get the needed leverage, but it depends on the size of the hill and whether you're tired at that point from a long journey.

 

[supasta]

Why not just gear down?

 

[Marie]

Only if I could have a sexy big racked blonde riding shotgun behind me.



OH YEAH, I was beat, it was the last hill on the trail. I time myself so I always want to beat my time making the round trip. Speed is important to me. Although I am sure I'm not as good or a serious rider like CG, I could hold my own. I just don't want CG popping into my mind during my ride, NOW his wifey, maybe.:





I DID! Plus I used my 3rd. leg to help pump the pedals!!:twisted:

 

[Barb M]

Glad to see so many riders!

10K? Well for starters... I would have gone for about 30- 50!

Weeknights I usually do 30-35 and weekends around 50, but have gone as long as 85km. I mostly ride along river trails so they're fairly flat However I have this one trail I do which is 48 kms, and which I just finished now as a matter of fact, which does have a number of steeper hills. I usually gear down, but sometimes I do rise up out of the saddle. On long rides it is good to rise up out of the saddle periodically anyway... gets the blood flowing properly and guards against numbness in the lower extremities and in the groin area.


2 wheels + a motor = cheating!

The biggest hill on today's ride is near the end and is about 1 1/5 kms long... and in this case, the numbness was not an issue so I just kept peddling in a lower gear. I didn't have to rise up on the peddles

and I rarely have to drop down to the smaller 2 front gears. I usually ride from 23rd to 27th gear. On a few of the steeper hills, I will drop down to the 2nd of the 2 smaller front gears.

Alert members have already seen pics of the wifey posted on this site! :shock:

When it comes to cycling... hills don't bother me... wind doesn't bother me... riding up hills into a head wind are a good workout, but still don't bother me... Cold rainy weather isn't fun to ride in so I just prefer not to...

The only thing that DOES bother me? Crappy drivers! :roll:

So I average about 32 kph... How about you? (I'm off for dinner with the lovely Mrs CG so I likely won't be on until morning to continue this conversation...)

 

[mallos731]

I drive.

 

[Pompal 09.]

I do both but enjoy a ride along the waterfront trail in Sauga and Oakville. 20-25km is a good ride for me at about 25kmh. Enough to keep a good pace and not strain myself too much...oh yeah, the bike shorts definitely help with the padding of your taint

 

[Leila L]

ayup, HD big american V twin....the ONLY way to fly......

(btw, to answer the OP: stand up, even I know that!!!)

 

[JerseyGirl]

:

 

[CeciMoon]

I usually ride a heavy single speed cruiser bike, that's a workout on the hills.
I get a kick out of some racing bikers that gear way down, use your muscles!

 

[devilman bravo]

Actually it depends if he was riding on a gravel dirt road or pavement going uphill. On pavement standing up helps. If it is a steep gravel uphill, staying seated ensures that your rear tire doesn't spin out from under you. Trail riding differs from street cycling.

The other issue is the type of cycle being used. I would venture to say that the OP and CG use different types of cycles.

 

[Jalal]

Au contraire Auggie... the gears are there for a reason... on a long ride you don't wanna burn yourself out on a steep hill since you'll need to draw from that energy later.

Well said JJF! Also, on a full suspension mountain bike. I have a TREK Fuel EX 6.5 which has shock absorption in the front and back... standing up on the peddles and "slamming the hammer down" can be somewhat counter productive, since a good portion of that kinetic energy is lost through the rear suspension...

Currently I am concentrating on trail riding... (no cars!:??? and am riding the Trek mentioned above... A friend of mine whom I sometimes ride with has suggested that I am perfectly suited for road racing though, and since I have been on a mountain bike for the last few years, if I made a switch to a good quality road bike- the difference would be like night and day! So lately, I have been toying with the idea of procuring one of those nice Madone 4.5's! :mrgreen: But at a list price of $2G's, and with other projects on the go... that may have to wait awhile! LOL :shock:

Back on the subject of hills though... one thing that DOES bother me intensely is seeing a cyclist WALK up a hill! (Unless it is one of those hills in the Leadville 100!)

 

[Danika]

JJF did hit the nail on the head. My bike is a mountain bike and I have the option of locking up the front shock absorber so I don't waste energy on the uphills.

I wish I had the time for the long rides but since my time is limited I choose to hit a harder terrain but with more of a high impact ride. As Iceman likes to call my 30 minutes session- splash and dash, I guess I do that with most of my activities.:

The trails are gravel and yes my big ass on the seat does give my rear wheel better traction. Just before coming to the hill I will stand and hammer down to try and pick up as much speed as possible but once I am on the upside I sit and try to power the pedal along to make it up.

HOLY SHIT, I just noticed I am reviewing a FUCKING BICYCLE RIDE, "shaking my head in disbelief" OK I HAVE to go look at that camel toe thread again!!!

 

[Artyom2000]

Wow, CG. Give us out of shape cyclers a break, will ya? At least we're getting off of our asses and using some pedal power. Don't hate because we might have to walk a hill (or two). lol Sheesh!

 

[Dr Know-It-All]

OK... maybe I should have qualified that with a disclaimer... one thing that DOES bother me intensely is seeing a cyclist WALK up a whimpy hill! Say anything less than a 30% incline and less than a km long. View attachment 922

(And I wouldn't say "hate"... hate is a strong word which I rarely use...)

 

[astutewoman]

i bet after all this talk , CG doesn't even own a bike :

 

[Hmmm]

A cyclist ran into me yesterday while I was walking on the sidewalk. The road was empty.
He called me an asshole as he was getting up off the ground.
I picked up his bicycle with my bleeding left arm and threw it over a fence.
So ends my cycling horror story.

 

[somehuman]

Should have thrown the cyclist over the fence.

 

[Travelin Pete]

Okay, nice disclaimer. It doesn't make me feel quite as judged. haha Even if it's strenuous, I will do my utmost to get up that hill without walking my bike, but sometimes It's really impossible (for ME).

There is a hill here near downtown that I SWEAR is a 70% incline. I can barely walk up the damn thing, let alone bike up. Hell, you can't even bike DOWN that hill, it's so dangerous. Should you ride your bike down you run the risk of not being able to stop and going straight into traffic on the intersecting street.

btw...I would say you were hating on all of us 'bike walkers'.

heh.