Bloody weather is going to drive me indoors!

[ColinJ]

The most brutal weather iv ever ridden today. Worse than snow... I was riding on an exposed moorland track and i had the choice between letting the rain lash my face with enough force tomake my lips bleed or pull my sodden buff up over my face and have the wind pin it so hard to my face that i couldn't breath.

...

It was ace.

That is some redefinition of the word 'ace'!

I took one look out of the window this morning and decided to stay in but I have just been invited for a meal 1.5 miles from here. I am debating whether to risk cycling, walking it, or playing the wimp card and phoning for a lift ...

 

[Julia9054]

Went shopping today instead. Particularly pleased with some Aldi thermal bib tights for £20.99

 

[AM1]

It was and still is very windy here today, didn't stop me going out for a couple of hours though

 

[united4ever]

My wife always hates my logical answer to her weather moans but we do live on a big rock perched on the edge of the Atlantic and north west Europe....by rights we should be a lot colder given how far north we are gotta be grateful to the jet stream.

Having said that.....i'd love to go out for a ride in some mild/dry/calm weather.

 

[Heisenberg71]

The most brutal weather iv ever ridden today. Worse than snow... I was riding on an exposed moorland track and i had the choice between letting the rain lash my face with enough force tomake my lips bleed or pull my sodden buff up over my face and have the wind pin it so hard to my face that i couldn't breath.

i was knocked off by the wind at least 3 times when going slow up 15% dirt tracks

Also rode through a flooded track that was almost as deep as my wheels.... my sealskin socks were not sufficient!

It was ace.

You win today's Darwin Award Sir!
Risking life and limb for the love of turning pedals. Hats off.

 

[ColinJ]

A bit of a whinge, but I am seriously fed up of waking on a weekend to crap weather
I commute by bike five days a week battling wind and rain etc. I just want a weekend where I can wrap up warm and get out there without getting soaking wet.

Is it time to buy a turbo or rollers and head indoors. Not owning either I wondered what the individual merits were and which way I should head? I should add I can't afford any Ant+ high end stuff. I'll probably go second-hand. Any recomendations?

Whether one will be found riding in foul weather or not ... that is the Heisenberg71 Uncertainty Principle! (Compare with the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle.)

 

[HLaB]

Cambridgeshire seems to got off lightly this weekend compared to other places. I got out early for 60miles yesterday in not bad weather. Today was a bit stronger winds and showery but I got out early again for another 60miles. Watched something on tv and got out again for another hour before the constant torrential rain started.

 

[Brandane]

My wife always hates my logical answer to her weather moans but we do live on a big rock perched on the edge of the Atlantic and north west Europe....by rights we should be a lot colder given how far north we are gotta be grateful to the jet stream.

Having said that.....i'd love to go out for a ride in some mild/dry/calm weather.

I assume you mean the GULF stream? The jet stream is the one responsible for all the high winds and directing all the low pressure systems at us!

 

[Heisenberg71]

^^^^^^^^ Exactly ^^^^^^^^^

 

[DiddlyDodds]

I bought a proper spinning bike of E bay, its great sat in the bedroom music on full whack whilst the rain lashes against the window.

Much prefer it to the turbo.

 

[Accy cyclist]

Your turbo trainer is broken, or useless, or you are not adjusting it properly! (Or you are using a ridiculously low gear ...? )

Every turbo that I have used can be set to the equivalent of climbing at least a 10-15% gradient. I can set the resistance so high on my current gym bike that I can't even turn the pedals through one revolution, so probably like going up a 45% gradient, not that such a road is likely to exist ...

I'd say that I probably average at least 140 bpm on that gym bike, rising to about 180 bpm for more intense efforts. I would be gasping for breath and incapable of saying more than one or two words at a time.

So I'd say that a turbo should be able to give you the hardest workout you could possibly cope with. I couldn't even walk after some of mine in the past!

I've been on it this afternoon for 90 minutes. I had it on such a high resistance that i had to stand on the pedals to keep them moving smoothly. If i sat down to pedal it took about 5 seconds for a full rotation, but no matter how hard it was to turn the pedals my heart rate didn't go above 80 to 90 bpm. I don't know why but it just doesn't have the same affect as climbing does. Years ago when it was too bad to go for a ride i'm stick a 20lb weight in a rucksack and step on and off a chair for about an hour. Now that did get the heart pounding and the legs aching!

 

[cyberknight]

Spent the day with family , or should i say chasing after mis behaving kids instead

 

[400bhp]

Do you need a turbo if your already riding 5 days a week???

Yes, and?

 

[briantrumpet]

And another day like it tomorrow... grrr. It's not much consolation saying "Well at least it's not cold" when it's constantly windy, dark and damp. If I didn't have work here, I'd be going to a far, far better place...

 

[ColinJ]

I've been on it this afternoon for 90 minutes. I had it on such a high resistance that i had to stand on the pedals to keep them moving smoothly. If i sat down to pedal it took about 5 seconds for a full rotation, but no matter how hard it was to turn the pedals my heart rate didn't go above 80 to 90 bpm. I don't know why but it just doesn't have the same affect as climbing does. Years ago when it was too bad to go for a ride i'm stick a 20lb weight in a rucksack and step on and off a chair for about an hour. Now that did get the heart pounding and the legs aching!

It sounds like you have the resistance too high rather than too low!

Try setting the trainer to a resistance that you can only pedal against to a maximum cadence of (say) 50-60 rpm and pedal at that rate for as long as you can. By definition, if that is the quickest you can pedal then you are working as hard as you can and therefore your heart rate will shoot up. If your heart rate has not shot up, why wouldn't you be able to pedal faster?