Cycling UK Forum

Hi,
Here I am in Tenerife since 3rd Feb. Beautiful sunshine, empty roads, no pedestrians, fantastic, except I'm in complete lockdown. Only allowed out for food, bank or medical reasons. Can't buy a turbo, no shops open. Alternative exercise required. Using a small folding step/stool at the moment to do step-ups. It's 13" high and I'm increasing by 10 steps per day. I usually do a 14 mile ride, with over a thousand feet of climbing, in about an hour, and I was wondering just how many steps I would have to do to be equivalent to the ride. I couldn't possibly survive for an hour.
Anyone else in this position and had to find alternatives? What did you do?
Cheers... Alex

Plenty of exercises on Youtube. Several on the BBC website too.

If you know your usual pedalling rate in rpm then multiply it. The whole exercise is going to seem very long and drawn-out but with a bit of practice you might be able to do it while reading a book.

Look at sports England website for links to exercise workouts online. Many commercial trainer's websites now offer one to three months free during the lockdown.

https://www.sportengland.org/stayinworkout

HIIT type workouts might suit you but take a look and you might find something that meets your needs.

Thanks for that peetee. Cadence usually 65ish x 60 = 3900. I probably wouldn't walk for a week if I did that many steps. Step-ups at that height must be far more difficult than a pedal push and what I would like to know is, "Can anyone relate the effort of pedaling to the effort involved in step-ups?" I've been off the bike now for over three weeks so lost some fitness but I can only manage a paltry number of step-ups before realizing I'm near my limit. I would love a number to aim for, something near to the effort of the ride, so when I'm able to ride I won't have to build up from scratch again.
Many Thanks... Alex

I gather you're stuck out there?
Are there no flights back to Blighty or even mainland Europe?

Thanks Tangled Metal, had a quick look at the site and it seems like general exercise, which is great but not the specific alternative, which is what I'm after, but I'll have a longer browse later.
Alex

Hi Mick F.

Mick F wrote:I gather you're stuck out there?
Are there no flights back to Blighty or even mainland Europe?

Although we can't get home because all flights are cancelled, (see TFS Departures,) we're not really "stuck" here. Usually we arrive in December for the winter but were delayed this year until early February. We had intended to fly home on 29th April but Jet2 cancelled the flight so we decided to sit it out here in relative comfort and safety, rather than go back with a plane full of potential sufferers to a country with a much greater spread of the virus than Tenerife. Mainland Spain is seven times worse than Tenerife, UK about four times worse and when you take the weather into account it was a "no brainer". Don't know when we'll get back now, I just wish they'd let me ride the bike while all the roads are empty.

Cheers... Alex

Poor you!
At least you're safe and sound out there. Cycling is a luxury maybe. Keep well, and look after yourself is the main thing.

Sorry, can't advise about "cycling" exercise for you. If you're allowed to go out for shopping, can you walk there and back? Is the distance walkable?
Can you run there, and carry your shopping home?

Did all my running (marathons) between 1996 and 2011 when I took up cycling again. Running gave me plantar fasciitis and chronic bursitis in my bum. It's only 100 yards to the supermarket, downhill, so not a lot of exercise, but coming back with the shopping, alone, as only one person at a time can go out, is a lot more strenuous.
Hope UK doesn't ban exercise but with today's virus figures I think it's inevitable.
Keep safe all of you... Alex

Talk is of a ockdown for Easter weekend....

As to exercise. I take it your in a flat. Could you not run around the compound? Might be 10 Laps to do 5km?

My wife did 5k round our house last Saturday - 83 laps.

5k would be equivalent to your 14m ride I would think.

I've a smart watch with a historiographical chart of exercise intensity and cycling often records lots of yellow and orange whilst running puts me up into the pink and red.... AVG heart rate of 135 Vs 155.

Cheers James

Hi Jamesh,
I'm not sure you've understood the implications of plantar fasciitis. It's a repetitive strain injury to the foot, caused, in my case, by marathon training. It's very difficult to get rid of and hurts like hell immediately you get out of bed. At the moment it's OK but a long walk or a short run will no doubt aggravate it. In my vicinity, there are no soft or grassy areas, everything it tiled. This injury was the reason I gave up running and got a bike again.
Cheers... Alex

Hi sorry I didn't realise it was still current.

I had it in run up to my first marathon (Dublin) not pleasant!

How about a couple of resistance bands which could put round your next and down to your feet whilst sitting on floor and cycle against the resistance they give?

https://peaksupps.co.uk/products/resist ... VSEALw_wcB

Cheers James

I don't think that you will easily find an equivalency between the two. I would just suggest keeping on until it 'feels' equivalent.

Can you mail order a turbo?

Jamesh wrote:How about a couple of resistance bands which could put round your next and down to your feet whilst sitting on floor and cycle against the resistance they give?

Yes, that's a great idea. I have none and can't get any but I wonder if an inner tube will do the job.
Alex