Freedom!

[Gearoidmuar]

I live in Cork city and I've cycled on average about 120m/week for the guts of 35y. This Covid-19 plague affected that, in that for the first few weeks we were restricted to cycling within a 2 km radius of home. Where I live, on the west side of Cork city it allows you to cycle on paths which had become very busy, on main road, same problem or on very hilly terrain, hitting 15% not infrequently. I did work out a nice route for this but 16 miles was enough of the harder one. One did stray beyond the limit where one imagined one could get away with it, but as one was on one's own, one would own up to no wrongdoing! Enough ones for one day!
Then it was 5km. That was a bit better but still hilly. Cork is surrounded by hills except on its eastern boundary. Got up to 25m 3d a week (cycling every day on these routes would drive me nuts.) Did two 35m days and then, suddenly we were unexpectedly allowed to cycle anywhere in Co.Cork, or whatever county you lived in. Cork is the biggest county and is the size of Corsica or Crete or Cyprus.
Hadn't done a 60 miler since January. Decided I'd have a go yesterday.
Cork, Crossbarry, Bandon, Timoleague, Kilbrittain, Ballinspittle, Kinsale Cork. I'd often done it.
Headed off, pulsemeter, trying to keep pulse below 120 but getting up to 130 here and there and once to 140. Riding Thorn Raven Tour, my 35lb 11y old touring bike. Much rather this on a long ride on slightly bockety roads, Rohloff hub.
Anyway, I did it rather easily, average speed 12mph. I wasn't aiming for any speed but on my spins around Cork during lockdown, I was averaging 10 to 11 and on these trying to keep my pulse down too.
Yesterdays ride is hilly but there was nothing above 8% on it, I think, and little of that.

Lesson:
Short hilly rides, if that's all you can do, will make you pretty fit!
Bockety: A brilliant Cork slang word. A rickety chair is a bockety chair. A bockety road is a smoothness-poor road. Means ramshackle as well.
Every place on earth has its own slang words. Long may they live!

P.S. I'm just seventy.

[John Holiday]

A mere youngster!

[Audax67]

A mere youngster!

Yeah... when I was 70 ah never mind. Suffice to say that after our 2-month no-cycling-at-all lockdown my condition has gone to hell and doesn't want to come back, at least it drags me down with it when I try to reach 100k.

Heigh ho.

[Gearoidmuar]

A mere youngster!

Yeah... when I was 70 ah never mind. Suffice to say that after our 2-month no-cycling-at-all lockdown my condition has gone to hell and doesn't want to come back, at least it drags me down with it when I try to reach 100k.

Heigh ho.

Train slowly. Nothing as effective as it. Fast training doesn't really increase your aerobic fitness enough.

[ANTONISH]

Sean Kelly said that hills are a cyclist's friend.

[Gearoidmuar]

Sean Kelly said that hills are a cyclist's friend.

They are in smaller doses! I did a lot of the big ones in my time, Tourmalet, Marie-Blanque, Aubisque, Stelvio, Galibier, Restefond, Bealach na Ba, Holme Moss, Fleet Moss and dozens more. Taking it easy on touring bike with low gears. But, aged 70, the power has dropped a good bit and though I'm lighter since I was 64, I wouldn't dream of doing the really hard ones now.
The ideal cycletouring terrain is gently rolling, like Denmark, Connemara, Cumbria etc.

Sean Kelly is the most practical of men. Says little but it's usually pretty wise! He was a hard hard hard hard man. Did I say hard? His book, Hunger, about his races is a great read.

[Audax67]

A mere youngster!

Yeah... when I was 70 ah never mind. Suffice to say that after our 2-month no-cycling-at-all lockdown my condition has gone to hell and doesn't want to come back, at least it drags me down with it when I try to reach 100k.

Heigh ho.

Train slowly. Nothing as effective as it. Fast training doesn't really increase your aerobic fitness enough.

Yes well, in 2016 I was off the bike for 10 weeks while various bods poked stuff into my heart via my extremities, and it took me a month to be back up to 10ok rides. Weather's been a pig here, though. In 2016 it was perfect.

Heh: remember that old adage about the way to a man's heart being through his stomach? When I had my first stent the way to this man's heart was through his, er, groin.

[Cyril Haearn]

What is Sean Kelly up to now?
..
How and why does one try to keep ones heart rate down?

[ANTONISH]

Sean Kelly said that hills are a cyclist's friend.

They are in smaller doses! I did a lot of the big ones in my time, Tourmalet, Marie-Blanque, Aubisque, Stelvio, Galibier, Restefond, Bealach na Ba, Holme Moss, Fleet Moss and dozens more. Taking it easy on touring bike with low gears. But, aged 70, the power has dropped a good bit and though I'm lighter since I was 64, I wouldn't dream of doing the really hard ones now.
The ideal cycletouring terrain is gently rolling, like Denmark, Connemara, Cumbria etc.

Sean Kelly is the most practical of men. Says little but it's usually pretty wise! He was a hard hard hard hard man. Did I say hard? His book, Hunger, about his races is a great read.

In 2014, I set out to ride the tourist Pyreneen raid. This is a 10 day ride taking in more climbs than the 100hr ride.
Some of the climbs may be unfamiliar - first day I was riding up the Col de Burdincurucheta. I had no food with me (long story) and I was starting to bonk. Ahead of me was a German VW camper van - there was a woman and two children in it.
I thought of begging some food but perhaps it was a mistake to wave some money - the lady may have mistaken my intentions and she was very nervous. She didn't speak French or English and my German was extremely limited " ich wil essen " was all I could bring to mind.
She did give me some rice cakes and a few biscuits - wouldn't take any money.
Then she hurriedly jumped in the camper and sped off at speed.
It was a disastrous trip.
The Tourmalet was closed
I diverted through Bagneres de Bigorre, came off and did something to my back which only manifested itself when I was climbing.
Had to abandon the high route but still managed to get to my planned stops ( apart from one at Luchon.)
On the penultimate day I had to climb the Col de Jau - which is not normally the hardest of climbs.
After a few km I had to stop and take some Ibuprofen which had little effect. I got into a cycle of ride 200m, walk200m stop for a few minutes to let pain subside and so on. I was overdosing on Ibuprofen supplemented with Paracetamol.
It took hours to get to the col.
Not long to descend to Prades. Next day my back seemed OK but it was mainly flat riding.
I was 73 - so I reckon you could still do some climbs - if you wanted to

[Gearoidmuar]

I could indeed but I'd be too tired for comfort. I did Lejog with the CTC for the 4th time in Sept 2017. I was bloody tired after it, I can tell you!

[ANTONISH]

I could indeed but I'd be too tired for comfort. I did Lejog with the CTC for the 4th time in Sept 2017. I was bloody tired after it, I can tell you!

I did Jogle once. I hoped to get the midges and the rain out of the way first - that's how it worked out - I didn't fancy the A9 so I crossed over to the west. The A82 in the rain with tourist coaches bombing past (how do they see any scenery ?) was a wonderful experience.