Re: Dogs Was that covered in Nixonland? You want quads like this? http://www.grassyknolltv.com/2011/tour-de-romandie/photos/stage-03/320-RTR2LRL3.jpg (click on for larger image) Vino's quads are psycho Swimming is another excellent exercise!
Re: Dogs No. It is rather comical to think back how I was riding the bike when I first got it. It is much better now. No, but I am not a professional fitter. Nope. But that's what makes the original so comical. definitely not. My 5'4" wife has the same length legs that I have. The quad's are very strong. It's the hammies that are not (in comparison to the quads).
Re: Dogs In the winter 2-3 times, in the summer 1-2 per week. Of course, have been in a rut for about a month with youth soccer and bad weather. I've told all activities other than my soccer games to go f#ck it.
Re: Dogs That's odd, because based on that muscle imbalance, I don't think you should be having these ACL problems. I've got weaker hamstrings compared to quads - like a lot of rec soccer players - but I've never had an ACL issue (knock on wood). Do you have hip issues? Or, hip strength issues? That's one area that cycling stresses that could also lead to knee problems (alignment, etc.)
Re: Dogs No. I've been a soccer player longer than a cyclist. Like I've said, its my theory. Other than talking with orthopedic surgeons on my soccer team and physical therapists and some google searches, I haven't had a biology class since 1990. This may just be a superstitious ass from my elbow thought.
Re: Dogs Considering that there is no lateral movement involved in riding a bike, I don't really understand how cycling might contribute to hurting an ACL. I know that in the year or so before I had surgery to fix my blown out ACL, riding a bike actually helped restore support and stability to the knee. But I should point out that I'm absolutely no expert, except to the extent that I've had ACL reconstruction.
Re: Dogs The only thing that riding the bike does/did was make my quad stronger. In no way am I blaming the bike. My wild ass guess is that my quads being stronger than my hammies (due to a lot of cycling) contributed to the blown ligiment. That is all.
Re: Dogs Aaaahh. I get it. Well, from my experience with my bike, you may use too much of your lower quad muscle when you pedal. On my fixed - which obviously isn't the same - I build a lot of muscle in my lower quad. However, my knee is still a bit unstable, since the muscle builds in isolation on the bike - as opposed to free weight squats. I did find this: http://www.athleticadvisor.com/injuries/le/knee/preventing_acl_tears.htm So, maybe you aren't too far off after all.
Re: Dogs Are you snarky because it's Thursday, or because the shit upstate NY weather has kept us all in the house too much these last few weeks?
Re: Dogs The weather is just the start of it. This is definitely a diversion to avoid reality right now.
I'm experimenting with different (for want of a better word) strokes. 1. Do you point your toes when you pedal? Or are your feet parallel to the ground? The latter is more natural, but I stumbled upon the former and seem to get more power. 2. I have clip ins, so 360 degrees of pushing is possible. Do you try to achieve that? Or do you emphasize a different arc in the circle to work different muscles? I've done both. I'm not sure which is better, 360 degrees of moderate effort, or 90 degrees or so of max effort, and 270 degrees of minimal effort, changing the 90 degrees from time to time to work quads, hams, etc.
1. parallel will (or should) create more efficient / powerful stroke. Also helps me avoid calf cramping. 2. trying even out the stroke all the way around. Distributes the work load to quads, hammies, glutes and calves, as opposed to limiting it to the quads (mostly). Set up your trainer and practice one legged spinning.
Limits Right now, I'm at a point where I can do 18 miles or so pretty casually. If I had the time, I'm pretty sure I could do it every day. It's an easy evening ride. On the weekends, for my big rides, I get to about 25 miles and then start to labor. I can go some after that, but right now, I can't really imagine doing 40 miles. What is the key to going farther? Nutrition, specialized training, time?
Just keep going. Before you start to labor at 25 miles take in some nutrition and make sure to keep hydrated. I think you'll be able to get to 40 miles without too much difficulty.
Repetition, hydration, nutrition. KCFutbol is right. Keep the water and food moving into your system and 40 miles is quite attainable. I don't ride great distances very often, just a daily R/T commute of 3.2 miles. Every now and then I'll strike out on the road with a friend, or I'll do an organized ride. I worried about the long distances myself (I ride a single-speed bike), but I found that I was able to do 35 miles with a lot left in the tank, and last fall I did a metric century over windy terrain. That just about did me in, but I hung in there. With gears I think I would have been fine. Do you ride with other people? I find that it helps to be in a group, both for motivation and for a little wind protection.
I agree wholeheartedly with what both of you said but especially the last part. Even if it's just one person, the simple conversation is enough of a distraction that you are oblivious to any suffering.
Did my first 40+ mile ride of the year this morning. 2 water bottles, 1 with gatorade watered down, 4 fig newmans (2 at hour one, 2 at hour 2) and a granola bar (at the start) You may have an issue with comfort on the saddle for approx 3 hours. You may want to put some glide on your saddle area to prevent chaffing.
Maybe I need to bring more food. When I go on a long ride I usually bring an energy gel and eat that at 18-20 miles. I also go out with a Camelback...lately I've gotten these Gatorade powders and mixed them and then thrown in a bunch of ice. I don't think hydration is the problem, but fuel/carbs might be.
One gel? That might not be enough. I like to bring a banana, some crackers, and a bagel. I'm simple that way.
In a perfect world and/or hard ride, the gel mfr's would have you doing a gel every 15-20 minutes. They will burn off very quickly. And yeah, unless you were out boozing the night before and eating super salty mexican or asian food, 25 miles should be no issue with the hydration of a camelback or even two water bottle holders. That is enough fluid.
If I'm going to bring a banana, especially on riders longer than 40 miles (not as frequent anymore ) I'll slice the banana and freeze them in a baggie. During the ride they'll thaw and the nice chill helps a tiny bit.