Beer Drinker Accountability/Appreciation Society - Open (Page 38)

Just make sure you are not rocking your body side to side. When climbing keep your body straight on the road. the bike should be the thing moving side to side. 

I can't say I've ever climbed on the aerobars, that seems like it would be wasteful because you don't get much benefit from being on the aero bars under 30 kph. Climbing out of the saddle grip the hoods for dear life. In the saddle sit as upright as possible and grip on either side of the stem. If you've got aerobars you can grab the pads if possible. Sitting up in this position activates your glutes and hams the best possible way. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEqQW1-casM

Watch this video. When Lance attacks he's on the hoods and the bike is swaying violently underneath him but his body is nearly motionless (side to side). Then at around 6 minutes you can see him go to the bar tops and climbs like that with great strength. 

As far as shifting goes, I agree with Charles on one point, shift early. When you're new to climbing you'll need to shift often. Once you've had experience you should be able to choose a gear at the start of the climb that is suitable for the entire climb. Shifting often puts undue stress on your derailleur and saps your momentum because you need to ease up on your pedal stroke with each shift. Unless of course the hill has a significant grade change, like an upward kick near the top. Pick a gear that you can climb at around 70-90 RPM don't worry about speed. And remember its always more economical to push harder up a hill than it is to push harder on the downhill. 

Garmin bike computers are great for biking. 

If you want all around use I suggest the garmin 310xt or 910. I use the 310xt with quick release feature. When swimming i tuck the garmin up under my swim cap then I click it onto my bike for that leg and then i click it onto my wrist during the run. The 910 gives you the added bonus of being able to count stroke cadence in the water when on your wrist, among other swim related functions. 

The 310xt comes in bundle package with HRM included for around $250 CAD. Far cheaper than the cycling specific computers. 

Garmin is by the far the best for compatibility. Just about every ANT+ accessory you can find will work with a garmin. That being said Garmin Express, their proprietary software for getting the activities from Garmin to Garmin Connect ( or Strava or whatever you use) is bloody awful. There really isn't much else out there though that can do what a Garmin does.. 

Also David, try to alternate your climbing intervals. Do a set at 70RPM where you can sit comfortable and climb slowly up the hill. Then do a set where you're climbing at 90RPM with your HR nearly maxed out. Each will give you a different benefit. One will train your legs for strength and endurance and the other will train your lungs and heart.

I have been kicking around the idea of a Tom Tom multisport that just came out. similar to Garmin 901 except heart rate built in watch. Also takes cadence and speed for bike from my wahoo Bluetooth...Plus price is attractive...

I have a Garmin 310XT and a 500.  I originally got the 310xt as a low cost all purpose watch.  As others have mentioned with the quick release kit you can do just about everything with the 310XT.  It works really well for every thing except swimming.  For swimming it will give you some really wacky graphs unless you put it under your cap like Alan mentioned.  Here is the last race I did while wearing it on my wrist.  I promise that I swam in a straight line down the river an did not at any point reach 55mph.  It also will not do heart rate during the swim.  I think only the Polar watches will.  My heart rate monitor crapped out right before the race on the swim below so there is not HR info. But had I been wearing one it would basically give you your HR when you entered the water and then when you got out.

http://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/546401415

The one thing that really bugged me about the 310XT was the quick release it adds a lot of bulk to an already bulky watch.  I also read a lot of stories about people loosing them in races if they wore them on their wrist, which I did.  So earlier this year when Garmin put h the 500 on sale I got one of those.  I really like it for a cycling computer.  Bigger screen, more info and the temperature graph in the results is fun, although a few deg high.

This year I have worn the 310XT on my wrist (without the quick release) for the entire race.  When I set my bike up in transition I start the 500 but have it auto pause so it will automatically start once the bike moves.  This way I have the 500 on my bars for info while riding and the 310 is recording everything but I don't have to move it.  This may sound really complicated but ends up being much simpler then moving the 310 around during the race.

With that said you can't beat the value of the 310XT.  You can get one for $162 with the HRM. (heartratemoniotrsusa + goggling for a 5% off coupon) I don't know if I would have gotten the 500 at it's current price of $200 for just the computer.

Read all the reviews at DC Rainmakers sight.  You will know more than you ever wanted to about each device when you are done.

http://www.dcrainmaker.com/product-reviews

-Matt

To clarify this sentence in my above post.  "I also read a lot of stories about people loosing them in races if they wore them on their wrist, which I did."  I wore the watch on my wrist with the quick release during races.  Luckily I did not loose it!

All is explained here under the section 'does equipment and weight matter'. Basically your wasting energy pushing downhill because the time savings are minimal. You're better off trying to minimize time loss on the way up and then getting a solid recovery on the way down. And that is a relative 'push'. If you're already riding at your maximal effort up hill, you're already doing everything you can to minimize time loss. For example, I ride on the flat at a comfortable 155 BPM. On a hill I'd have no problem pushing that to 165 BPM for a sustained climbing effort and then recovering downhill. But If I were already riding at 165 BPM pushing any harder than that would be more than what I could get back from a downhill recovery or rather more than I'm willing to give.  

http://myworldfromabicycle.blogspot.ca/2010/09/aerodynamics-in-cycling-and-how-to-be.html

I have a question of opinion for the group. I think I've made my decision but I would like others to weigh in. 

I recently sold my bass amp ( I used to play a lot in high school) and made a cool $600. I'm now debating whether I should upgrade my derailleur, buy a larger crank (mine is only 50T right now and I've outgrown that) and a new turbo trainer (already have one but it doesn't work the best) or do I buy a stages power meter. 

The mech upgrades will only give me a minimal performance improvement over training with a power meter but Chain reaction has amazing deals right now the mech whereas stages power meters are always going to be the price they are. 

Do I buy a power meter now and upgrade bit by bit for more money later or do I upgrade now at low cost and wait on the power meter?

With winter coming I think the power meter will help me to become a far better rider during my winter training so I'm leaning to that one.

What would you do? Or would you do something else entirely? 

(Wheels are not an option for me, however, in that price range I'm not gaining anything significant over my current wheel set.)

Well you should have an idea of what your highest HR or power output you can sustain on the flats for the IM bike leg and ride at that pace. When you come to hill I would evaluate your energy levels and how you feel. If you think you can push a little harder uphill without burning up too much energy then go for it. Otherwise play the safe card and maintain your ideal output on every grade even if it means slow climbs. 

The Effort is all about functioning threshold. My functioning threshold is up in the high 60s. I can hold 155 comfortably and push to 165 and start to feel it. When I started training in the spring, my comfortable HR was 145 and 165 would have left me panting and burning.

If you can go 132 and sustain that effort comfortably then ride that. You should be able to push a little harder for short durations and not have hurt your overall performance as long as you can effectively recover on a downhill. 

If you do primarily base building you won't increase your FT that much. My guess is your coach is having you work hard lately because he wants to increase your FT. That last portion of your training would be the 'build' period. You've put down big numbers at moderate intensities and developed a strong aerobic base for the last few months and now you're doing threshold and VO2 efforts to increase your power. Theoretically, after a few weeks (even a week depending on how you workout) you should notice that you can hold a higher HR with a lower RPE than you could before and therefore ride a little faster.