climbing off road ...

"elyob" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hey, hey, hey, looks like I'm getting fit again 🙂 Now to lose some

weight.

Quoted message said:

I sweat like a horse during my cycle, but don't see to lose any weight whatsoever .. 🙁 I presume
this is because muscle is heavier than fat?

Nick

Im desperately trying to lose weight too - i sweat like a pee eye gee.

I havent lost any weight at the moment and its frustrating!

Lee

elyob tried to scribble ...

Quoted message said:

So, what type of cyclist are you? Do you stay in your seat or do you get up and stomp on
the pedals?

Depends how I feel and the situation. Some hills are technical and slow, so I ride them in the
saddle mostly. Some are faster and are generally taken stood up, some need standing or seated at
different points .. 😉 I don't think anyone could categorically say they either sit or stand for
every hill, unless they have a problem standing and pedalling maybe .. 😉

Quoted message said:

The reason I ask, is that I'm desperately trying to beat 50 minutes for my 12 1/4 mile on/off road
route. I managed 51m11s yesterday, having dropped from 1h07m when I started a little while back.
There's a couple of hills where I normally stay seated, but I'm trying getting out of the seat,
but am finding it's a different muscle group and the switch back to seated needs to be timed well.

Try a lower gear and spinning faster. When you get used to it, and it can take a while, then go up a
gear, but try to remain at the same cadence. Speed comes when technique improves.

Quoted message said:

The one thing that really does speed me up, is seeing someone ahead of me, and trying to catch
them up and beat them. It took me 2 miles to catch this bike yesterday, but it was on the hill
that I made most of my catch up. I also recovered quicker at the top, and took off past him. I'm
just too competetive 😉

Heheheh .. 😉

Quoted message said:

Hey, hey, hey, looks like I'm getting fit again 🙂 Now to lose some weight. I sweat like a horse
during my cycle, but don't see to lose any weight whatsoever .. 🙁 I presume this is because
muscle is heavier than fat?

Dunno, but I found I lost a fair bit of weight quickly, for a while weight loss fluctuated, then
eventually it settled down to a steady loss, now I'm at a level I'm more comfortable with and which
is relatively constant on a weekly basis but is dropping on a monthly basis by about a pound or so.
I still sweat like the fat git I was/am .. 😉

--
Digweed

elyob said:

So, what type of cyclist are you? Do you stay in your seat or do you get up and stomp on
the pedals?

Used to be out of the seat lots. Then I switched to recumbents for road use and *had* to spin my way
up things. Switching back to an upright, I now find I spin up things far more than I used to. Unless
I'm absolutely in a short-term hurry or have run out of gears, I'll stay in the seat as much as I
can now. Works better for me, off road or on.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch University of Dundee Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Medical Physics, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK net [email hidden]
dundee.ac.uk~pjclinchOpen ↗

elyob <[email hidden]> wrote:
: So, what type of cyclist are you? Do you stay in your seat or do you get up and stomp on
: the pedals?

Ah, off road, tricky.

If it's a loose surface you have to stay seated for the traction. Soft suspension (esp full-sus) can
also make staying seated and keeping the power down the way to go.

Otherwise it can often be quicker (but harder work) to attack a short hill stood up and stomping the
pedals. Keep the bike moving over the crest of the hill so that you keep your speed and then recover
once you are up to speed again.

Arthur

--
Arthur Clune clune.orgclune.orgOpen ↗ "Techolibertarians make a philosophy out of a personality defect"
- Paulina Borsook

Lee muttered:

[snipped...]

Quoted message said:

Im desperately trying to lose weight too - i sweat like a pee eye gee.

I havent lost any weight at the moment and its frustrating!

Try eating less... ;-)

--
bob [at] bobarnott [dot] com bobarnott.combobarnott.comOpen ↗
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Crash programs fail because they are based on theory that, with nine women pregnant, you can get a
baby in a month."
-- Wernher von Braun

"Bob" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Lee muttered:

[snipped...]

Quoted message said:

Im desperately trying to lose weight too - i sweat like a pee eye gee.

I havent lost any weight at the moment and its frustrating!

Try eating less... ;-)

--
bob [at] bobarnott [dot] com

bobarnott.combobarnott.comOpen ↗

Quoted message said:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

--

Quoted message said:

"Crash programs fail because they are based on theory that, with nine women pregnant, you can get
a baby in a month."
-- Wernher von

Braun

Damn, really? Guess ill stick to being fat ;-)

shouldnt the advise be - eat more sensibly rather than eat less?

"elyob" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

So, what type of cyclist are you? Do you stay in your seat or do you get

up

Quoted message said:

and stomp on the pedals?

im a saddle guy im afraid, VERY rarely stand (unless i have a sore [censored] and need some air to
cool me down)

:-)

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

"Bob" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Lee muttered:

[snipped...]

Quoted message said:

Im desperately trying to lose weight too - i sweat like a pee eye gee.

I havent lost any weight at the moment and its frustrating!

Try eating less... ;-)

--
bob [at] bobarnott [dot] com

bobarnott.combobarnott.comOpen ↗

Quoted message said:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

--

Quoted message said:

"Crash programs fail because they are based on theory that, with nine women pregnant, you can
get a baby in a month."
-- Wernher von

Braun

Damn, really? Guess ill stick to being fat ;-)

shouldnt the advise be - eat more sensibly rather than eat less?

The trick is to eat cereal/toast for brekkie. Go out and do LOTS of miles on the bike. Have
something simple for lunch (sandwich etc.) and then a good dinner when you get home (white fish,
white meat) lots of veggies. And TOTALLY cut out out sweets (choccy, crisps etc.). I lost 2 stone in
3 months doing this (but I WAS overweight). It really works but then everyone is different.

Dene

Lee muttered:

[snipped...]

Quoted message said:

Damn, really? Guess ill stick to being fat ;-)

shouldnt the advise be - eat more sensibly rather than eat less?

Depends, if you want to keep on eating chips and chocolate or not... If you do then just eat less,
othewise instantlly convert to a raw vegan diet and become a hippy...

--
bob [at] bobarnott [dot] com bobarnott.combobarnott.comOpen ↗
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Crash programs fail because they are based on theory that, with nine women pregnant, you can get a
baby in a month."
-- Wernher von Braun

"Bob" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Snip!

Quoted message said:

become a hippy...

--
bob [at] bobarnott [dot] com

bobarnott.combobarnott.comOpen ↗

Quoted message said:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

--

Quoted message said:

"Crash programs fail because they are based on theory that, with nine women pregnant, you can get
a baby in a month."
-- Wernher von

Braun

Quoted message said:

Yeah man... cool

"Lee" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Im desperately trying to lose weight too - i sweat like a pee eye gee.

I havent lost any weight at the moment and its frustrating!

If you are cycling regularly you will be burning more calories -- the trouble is your body is
probably demanding a few more to compensate.

The good news is that improved fitness does not depend on shedding every last pound of fat -- and,
yes, muscle is heavier -- so you can lose inches without losing much weight.

Keep cycling and eat sensibly and, slowly, you will shed the weight. Its a long term project though
-- not a six week crash course.

T

elyob said:

So, what type of cyclist are you? Do you stay in your seat or do you get up and stomp on
the pedals?

The reason I ask, is that I'm desperately trying to beat 50 minutes for my 12 1/4 mile on/off road
route. I managed 51m11s yesterday, having dropped from 1h07m when I started a little while back.
There's a couple of hills where I normally stay seated, but I'm trying getting out of the seat,
but am finding it's a different muscle group and the switch back to seated needs to be timed well.

I get out of my saddle when I need a bit of extra oomph and when the surface is 'bad' - where the
value of 'bad' varies between my road bike and my hill bikes, of course. It gives you some extra
power but also seems to build lactic acid in your legs - or at least in my legs
- much quicker.

Quoted message said:

The one thing that really does speed me up, is seeing someone ahead of me, and trying to catch
them up and beat them. It took me 2 miles to catch this bike yesterday, but it was on the hill
that I made most of my catch up. I also recovered quicker at the top, and took off past him. I'm
just too competetive 😉

This is a well known effect and is much studied by psychologists. The speed of two cyclists together
is, allegedly, other things being equal, faster than that of the same two cyclists separate, and
three cyclists together faster still up to a maximum of (about) eight, after which the speed starts
to drop slightly with increasing numbers. I've read a very portentous paper somewhere a long time
ago which tried to argue that this proved that the 'natural' size of human hunting groups was eight
people, based primarily on this evidence.

So the real way to break your record may be to get seven friends to go with you. Of course if you
can assemble a pelleton around you you will potentially have some real measurable aerodynamic assist
as well as the psychological effects of competition.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) jasmine.org.uk~simonOpen ↗

'Victories are not solutions.' ;; John Hume, Northern Irish politician, on Radio Scotland
1/2/95 ;; Nobel Peace Prize laureate 1998; few have deserved it so much

"Tony W" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Lee"

<[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Im desperately trying to lose weight too - i sweat like a pee eye gee.

I havent lost any weight at the moment and its frustrating!

If you are cycling regularly you will be burning more calories -- the trouble is your body is
probably demanding a few more to compensate.

The good news is that improved fitness does not depend on shedding every last pound of fat -- and,
yes, muscle is heavier -- so you can lose inches without losing much weight.

Keep cycling and eat sensibly and, slowly, you will shed the weight. Its

a

Quoted message said:

long term project though -- not a six week crash course.

T

True, I think I am expecting too much too soon.

Does the sweating cease after a bit? ive noticed that I sweat less on a warm day when i walk to the
shops & back.

"Tony W" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Lee"

<[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Im desperately trying to lose weight too - i sweat like a pee eye gee.

I havent lost any weight at the moment and its frustrating!

If you are cycling regularly you will be burning more calories -- the trouble is your body is
probably demanding a few more to compensate.

The good news is that improved fitness does not depend on shedding every last pound of fat -- and,
yes, muscle is heavier -- so you can lose inches without losing much weight.

Keep cycling and eat sensibly and, slowly, you will shed the weight. Its

a

Quoted message said:

long term project though -- not a six week crash course.

Yup, I've noticed, and so have others, that I'm looking leaner, and I'm down to last hole on my
belt.. My weight hasn't changed though, so muscle is the only answer at the moment. I don't have a
huge appetite, and if anything, hasn't changed since doing an hour a day (well, 51m 11s ).

"Simon Brooke" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

elyob said:

The one thing that really does speed me up, is seeing someone ahead of

me,

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

and trying to catch them up and beat them. It took me 2 miles to catch

this

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

bike yesterday, but it was on the hill that I made most of my catch up.

I

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

also recovered quicker at the top, and took off past him. I'm just too competetive 😉

This is a well known effect and is much studied by psychologists. The speed of two cyclists
together is, allegedly, other things being equal, faster than that of the same two cyclists
separate, and three cyclists together faster still up to a maximum of (about) eight, after which
the speed starts to drop slightly with increasing numbers. I've read a very portentous paper
somewhere a long time ago which tried to argue that this proved that the 'natural' size of human
hunting groups was eight people, based primarily on this evidence.

So the real way to break your record may be to get seven friends to go with you. Of course if you
can assemble a pelleton around you you will potentially have some real measurable aerodynamic
assist as well as the psychological effects of competition.

I'm thinking of doing a mile around the block to warm up first. I'm now measuring my time by average
speed. Trying to keep this up gives me a more reasonable idea of how I'm doing. The bit that
surprised me yesterday was it was quite blustery. I guess I got some good tail wind, and I put more
effort into chasing the other bike. I'm going out today to give it my all. 🙂

"Lee" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

True, I think I am expecting too much too soon.

Does the sweating cease after a bit? ive noticed that I sweat less on a

warm

Quoted message said:

day when i walk to the shops & back.

I pretty much always break into a sweat once I stop. It's only on a decent cycle that I break into a
sweat whilst moving. I've been measuring my heart rate, and within 100-200m or so it's aleady up to
140, then settles at about 150-160. Maximum being around 190 ... The only answer is to slow down to
keep the body cool. You'll need to coast at the end, to help bring down your body temperature for
the dismount. Although, I am guessing, I never ride slow. 🙂

"Lee" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Bob" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Lee muttered:

[snipped...]

Quoted message said:

Im desperately trying to lose weight too - i sweat like a pee eye gee.

I havent lost any weight at the moment and its frustrating!

Try eating less... ;-)

--
bob [at] bobarnott [dot] com

bobarnott.combobarnott.comOpen ↗

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
--

Quoted message said:

"Crash programs fail because they are based on theory that, with nine women pregnant, you can
get a baby in a month."
-- Wernher von

Braun

Damn, really? Guess ill stick to being fat ;-)

shouldnt the advise be - eat more sensibly rather than eat less?

No, eat less do a lot of mileage and pedal like you mean it !

Graham

elyob said:

So, what type of cyclist are you? Do you stay in your seat or do you get up and stomp on
the pedals?

The reason I ask, is that I'm desperately trying to beat 50 minutes for my 12 1/4 mile on/off road
route. I managed 51m11s yesterday, having dropped from 1h07m when I started a little while back.
There's a couple of hills where I normally stay seated, but I'm trying getting out of the seat,
but am finding it's a different muscle group and the switch back to seated needs to be timed well.

The one thing that really does speed me up, is seeing someone ahead of me, and trying to catch
them up and beat them. It took me 2 miles to catch this bike yesterday, but it was on the hill
that I made most of my catch up. I also recovered quicker at the top, and took off past him. I'm
just too competetive 😉

Hey, hey, hey, looks like I'm getting fit again 🙂 Now to lose some weight. I sweat like a horse
during my cycle, but don't see to lose any weight whatsoever .. 🙁 I presume this is because
muscle is heavier than fat?

Nick

For climbing off road I tend to stay in the saddle. Your position when climbing off road is a fine
balance between getting your weight far enough forward to stop the front wheel coming up yet far
enough back to stop the rear wheel spinning on a loose surface.

Getting out of the saddle to climb off road is a recipe for disaster.

Scrumpy Joe said:

For climbing off road I tend to stay in the saddle. Your position when climbing off road is a fine
balance between getting your weight far enough forward to stop the front wheel coming up yet far
enough back to stop the rear wheel spinning on a loose surface.

Getting out of the saddle to climb off road is a recipe for disaster.

Oh how I feel that pain on off road climbs. Being a lardy [censored] and not very fit, uphill is where I
struggle most and it makes me very jealous when people sail past me like it's a flat.

Also being a lrdy [censored] makes the centre of gravity thing much harder, seemingly, than skinny folks -
I'm always switching bewtween fron wheel lifts and rear wheel spins.

--
dnc