Getting a bit fitter

[RobF]

Members with good memories may recall there is a hill near me which I've been unable to get up on several occasions.

Had another go today and, great joy, I wound up it in fairly good order.

The hill - Iveston bank, near Consett in County Durham - is not the steepest, but I couldn't manage it on the AVE a few months ago.

I conquered it on the same bike today, so I think that's a reliable indication I am (slowly) getting a bit fitter.

My fitness would have improved much more had I done all the intervening miles on an ordinary bike, but at least I'm getting there.

Any more fitness improvement stories?

 

[EddiePJ]

If I can now pedal 17 miles across the South Downs on an e-mtb with a dead battery I reckon that my fitness must have improved a hell of alot since getting back into cycling just over a year ago.
Having said that, I'm also a stubborn git and don't like to fail, so one way or another I would still had finished the ride yesterday. The difference being that I rode the bike and didn't push it. I saw pushing it as failure.

I'm sure that riding the e-mtb has definitely helped in respect of my shot knees. Frustratingly I do still hit a 40mile barrier with my knees though, which really gets to me, as knees aside I'm probably fitter than I've been in many years.

I was also never very good at pacing myself. Even at school, I was a 100m and 200m sprinter, and would struggle to even finish the 1,500m. On a bike, I wouldn't get tired out if I was following someone who was setting the pace, but put me out in front or on my own, I'd burn out in no time.
I've now overcome that issue, and can pace myself very well now, so I guess that has been an improvement for me.

One aspect that I still need to get on top of, is breathing correctly. This is currently pretty much the only aspect of cycling that I still need to get right. I'm working on it though.

Next year my goal is to take part in as many mtb events as I can, both on an e-mtb and pedal only. Clearly the BH won't be in the running for this though, unless of course it's just to level off a hole!

I also still have the challenge of two further hills to climb on my pedal bike. I can do both on an e-mtb, but have a mental block about trying it on a pedal bike. I'll do it though.

 

[RobF]

A tip I was told about breathing is to concentrate on the exhale rather than the inhale.

The idea is not to exhale more completely, but to help you establish a nice, steady rhythm which can be hard if you are trying to count inhales and exhales.

Does it work?

I think it helps me a bit.

I use it on stiff climbs, but my activity is probably not extreme enough for a proper test of the technique.

 

[neptune]

I find that when I am working hard, I time my breathing by " linking" it to the pedalling cadence. I take the timing from my dominant foot, my right one. So starting with that foot at top dead center, I breathe in for one revolution of the chainwheel, that is, until my right foot is again at top dead center. I exhale during the next revolution, and repeat. I find myself doing it automatically. Of course it is dependent on being in the right gear. If your legs hurt, you are in too high a gear. If your lungs hurt, you are in too low a gear.

 

[Croxden]

I used to hold by breath on hills, not on purpose, didn't realise for a long while, wondered why I went light headed.

 

[Jonah]

Someone else was telling me about a girl who hired an electric bike and rode up a big hill without breathing and promptly fainted at the top.

 

[Artstu]

Having a broken e-bike means that if I want to cycle I have to ride one of my normal bikes.
I managed to ride up a hill the other day on my old racing bike that would have been impossible for me to get up two years ago. So my fitness must have improved.

Mind you I did drop just over 3,000 places on the leader board, from 1st place on the e-bike to 3,004th place. but I wasn't in last place.

 

[Jimod]

Mind you I did drop just over 3,000 places on the leader board, from 1st place on the e-bike to 3,004th place. but I wasn't in last place.

It's great when you put a strava time in with a non ebike and realise you're not last.

 

[jackhandy]

I wasn't in last place.

That would probably be me, then