Build Your Own Clone Message Board

I'm working on it!



Thanks! Found it a garage sale - just changed grips and tires. There are pegs on the front wheels. If you had your old dyno, I'd have to try and get it from you.

Sadly, at the time I lived in a not so nice neighborhood and it was indeed stolen. they actually broke into my basement it take it.. THAT'S how great a bike it was.

I also had a Hutch but I sold that to upgrade my guitar at the time.

Those bastards...

Oh, I know it's great out there. I'm moving into Phoenix, and even though I'd really like to have this bike out there, I'm pretty much just packing my car with what will fit and planning on buying a shitty not-so-attractive-to-thieves bike when I can. I was actually out there this past week, and was riding around on a borrowed mountain bike with crappily adjusted derailleurs and cruiser bars, and that worked just fine. I don't really want to get rid of this bike, but I am more or less broke and could really use the money.

That auction you posted ended, but there's another one up that I'm watching now. Mine is all stock, nothing fancy.

Nice. I'll hold back on all my Tucson-bred anti-Phoenix talk. You are moving to a very cool part of the country, the current political situation aside. If you do end up picking up a bike, a decent mountain bike will help you discover the near endless wealth of natural wonders out there, but don't go too cheap on a mountain bike out in the desert - you need something very sturdy and reliable since the trails will beat you and the bike up. Well worth it, though. I guess that's one less Pennsylvanian on the board - now go see a H8MTV show and report back!

It went very smooth, and I finished in 1:58 and a few seconds, better than I expected. And I felt it could have been faster.

Cool man - nice run! I think anything sub-2 hours is pretty fancy pants!

I should have been doing my first of the year in a few weeks, but I'm having some knee problems and my longest recent run has only been 7 miles ... oh well.

Reviving this old thread to talk about a breakthrough run today - only about 9.5 miles, but it was all uphill - up Spruce Knob, the highest mountain West Virginia (which, if you're from out west, isn't that high, but it's high enough for a 200 pounder like me...). Anyway - I'm training for an all uphill marathon in October and had to find some big hills to test the legs on - suffice it to say Pennsylvania is not the place to do this.

So - I ran it. Longest uphill I've ever run, and I felt pretty good. Actually did sub-10 minute miles, which may not sound like much but 1) I'm not a fast runner anyhow, 2) I'm carrying a helluva beer gut with me, and 3) the longest hill I've run in the last 20 years is 1.5 miles long.

So - who else is in training? And where else can I find some long-ass uphills? Next month I have a 16-miler scheduled . . . I need it to be, once again, entirely uphill - suggestions?

I'm slowly trying to get back into running/biking. Had ACL repair done April of 2010, and am just now able to run again without serious issues. Just got up to 3 miles running on the street.

I can't imagine even wanting to do an uphill marathon, let alone training for it. You've got the "sickness", don't you? Good luck, man! And keep us posted.

I'm a runner and an occasional mountain biker. The things I've seen guys do on mountain bikes defies the laws of gravity, so I just take it easy and don't even try to do what they do!

I stick to runner every few days, or once a week. I can do 3 miles at a steady pace, and when I push myself, I can do 5 miles. I am by no means a marathon runner, but, at least I'm out there getting some good cardiovascular workouts!

Nice. Good to see a couple of others on the board are out and about torturing themselves!!



Yeah - even when I was really into mountain biking I was never one of 'those guys.' I saw a lot of friends break a lot of things and always figured it just couldn't be worth it. Those of us who just rode used to have a saying: 'free riding is neither.'



I hate running too. Trouble is, I live in Pittsburgh now and the type of cycling I'm used to (meaning 50-100 mile rides on the road) is pretty much a death sentence with the roads and traffic out here, so I had to find something to do and running became 'it.'

As for the high? No. Never. I've run marathons. I've ridden over 250 miles in a day. I've run and rode over mountains, across states and whatnot. Never felt anything resembling anything other than pain and the need to finish.



What is the expected healing timeframe for an ACL surgery? Is that about in line - a bit over a year?

I don't know about the sickness - I used to have that when I was racing bicycles, now I just do it because I'm an idiot and if a goal isn't extremely hard I won't train for it. So last year I ran a couple marathons, but this year it has to be 'the worlds hardest road course marathon.' Hopefully my brain stops there and won't ask for anything harder, or at least let's me switch activities (how about 'marathon beer drinking' - I'd be good at that!)

Dude, you are an inspiration. And the healthcare industry thanks you for taking care of yourself

Biking has pretty much been my primary mode of transportation since I moved to Phoenix. I got a nice single speed (not fixie!) that's geared pretty high. It's 56 teeth in the front, 16 in the back. I think most fixie riders go 42-46/16. So I don't have much acceleration but once I get moving I really get moving. Wind and any slight incline kills momentum though. I take a combo of biking and lightrail to get to my main job, and once it cools down I'll probably start biking home as much as I can and maybe start riding to work in the mornings. There's a place 3 blocks from work where you can rent secure bike storage as well as use showers and stuff. My other job is a 5 minute ride away from my house so of course I just cruise there. Overall I'm too busy right now to do any meaningful riding during the week.

Saturdays have become my distance ride days. It just sucks in the heat. Yesterday I tried to do a 15 mile ride to Tempe and back but it was 1.) super hot out and 2.) a storm was coming toward me and the wind wore me out. As soon as I turned around though I was flying. I drank 2 liters of water during the ride. I'm trying to slowly build myself up to do longer rides, but the heat is killing it sometimes. Last weekend was a little cooler and I felt like I could have kept going for a while.

As far as runner's/biker's high, I think it hits me. I'm a lazy dude so for me to be like "Yo, I'm gonna take a good portion of my only day of the week off to ride my bike!", well, that's pretty good for me Last weekend I was pretty hungover and not feeling good and I laid around the house late into the afternoon. I was feeling pretty down on myself so I got out and rode. Good bye hangover, good bye blues.

That is the absolute truth!! Just get out there and do it!! Kettlebell!!

Yeah - I remember riding in Tucson in the summers . . . not a ton of fun. But still, you have access to so many places to ride long distances in relative safety that I'm jealous of Arizona riding. Around here it's not nearly as hot (though they swear it is - I keep telling people, no - 90 and humid and 110 are not comparable, nevermind the intensity of the sun out there!), but there are almost no bike lanes and the roads outside of town have almost no shoulder.

If you call the 'feeling better about life in general' feeling the 'high,' then - yeah - I get that too. I commute to work by bike or foot almost everyday. It's only about 6 miles, but it's a great relaxer and now whenever I have to drive it really sucks. Plus, yeah, best hangover cure in the world!!

Robert, man, I hate you. I'm just under 200 lbs, and carrying the beer gut. My 2.2 mile training loop has some uphills and downhills, but they are absolutely tiny and short compared to running over a mountain. I am averaging less than 10 minute miles as well. For a total of 2.2 miles.... I am training for a 5k this Saturday. I did one on Father's Day, and signed up for one in July and then had a nasty virus that kept me pretty much bedridden for a few days when I was supposed to be doing that one.

I do not get the runners high at all. Really just the pain, the cramping in the side, and the desire to finish. I did the 2.2 loop in the driving rain last week and that was pretty cool, it actually helped keep me cool so I could shave a min or so off my loop time, even though I was in soggy clothes and shoes.

I need to run today, Wednesday, and Friday to be better prep'd for actually running this 5k saturday, as opposed to jsut pushing to get through it. Trouble is, with a house and a big lawn and a toddler at home, I can't run all those days! Gonna -try- and mow half an acre AND run for 20 mins tonight after work but it's gonna be tough to squeeze it in.

If the run is Saturday, I wouldn't run on Friday . . . maybe a brisk walk to keep the legs loose. You'll get more benefit from being rested and relaxed than from any training the day before (actually, you'll get zero training benefit from a run the day before an event).

Also, if you are running 2.2 miles at a sub 10-minute mile pace you aren't out for long enough to really build your aerobic base, which you need to do before you can improve much. You need to have your heart rate elevated for at least a half an hour or more to realize much benefit. Speaking of which , do you use a heart rate monitor?

If not, I'd recommend it. It helps a lot to know how much you are exerting yourself and also to learn how to pace yourself appropriately. You'll probably find that to keep your HR in a good training zone you need to slow down. Follow that guide, slow down, keep your heart rate where it needs to be and you'll find your training runs hurt less and you can go out for longer periods of time. Once you get the length (in time, not distance) of your runs up and you learn to pace yourself, you'll start to improve more quickly, both in terms of endurance and speed.

Another thing that most people skip is sprinting. At the end of each run (unless it's a scheduled 'easy' run) just plot out a distance of a 1/4-mile or so and run it at a higher pace than normal. Walk back to the beginning and repeat a few times. Use a stopwatch to time yourself, and don't overdo it - a couple of sprints is enough at first. The idea is to run faster than your regular running pace so you can get your legs and body used to those motions. You won't see the benefit right away, but you will see your regular running pace increase more quickly over time.

For the cramping, there are good breathing exercises you can do. My favorite is to push your belly out while inhaling and pull it in while exhaling. You may find some others work better for you.

Keep running man! Really, just a little bit of structure in your training will carry you a long, long way! You've already got a pound-for-pound advantage over me (I'm just over two bills), so when the BYOC Olympics hit next year, you'll be ready!

Been wondering about that actually... I'll skip Friday. Really training 3x this week was ambitious. As pointed out by a friend of mine, I'm in my 30s, with a child. I have no time. For the rest, honestly I know I need to run longer - I'm just doing what I can with the time I have. about 45 mins total, including the run, the stretch/warm up before hand and after with the cool down. No heart rate monitor, no pedometer (just driving the route I run to measure the distance). This is why I'm doing 5k races instead of anything 'real'. Being signed up for the 5k forces me to do some training so I'll be able to run the whole 5k. Typically it's the only exercise I'm able to get with any regularity so...

Got any tips for where to ride? I think if I want to do anything more than 20 miles I should probably get a bike with more than 1 speed. Keeping a good pace on my bike is tough because it's harder to go slower sometimes, if that makes sense.

You are right about the heat. I don't miss the humidity from back east, that's for sure. Yeah 100+ sucks but it's not unmanageable. If I'm on a serious bike ride though I'm gonna sweat regardless, and I'd rather not have the brutal sun on me. I do miss riding on wooded back roads. The worst thing about intense dry heat is that sometimes you don't realize how much you are sweating. When it's humid, you know you are losing fluids.

Robert - that breathing trick (out breathing in, in breathing out) worked yesterday, no cramping. I pushed like crazy yesterday or at least it felt like it. Managed to run the same time for 2.2 in 85 and humid as I did last time in 70 and cool rain. So that was good, but it felt faster even though it wasn't so I don't know why that means.

Everyplace I ever rode out there involved some kind of a giant hill (read: mountain) . . . that was sort of my obsession and my specialty when I was racing bikes. If you get your hands on a geared road bike, I can put a list of good rides together for you, but it's probably best to talk to the guys at a nearby bike shop since traffic/conditions may have changed since I used to ride out that way.



Hey - glad to hear it! Now rest up a bit and have a good 5K this weekend!!

I ran this morning, and then rode into the office, and it feels pretty friggin' good . . . I look at my car with disdain these days.

I'm sure I get the runner's high.
Or maybe I'm just thinking about the cake I've "earned" after expending some energy?


I've gone from casual BMX as a nipper to being absolutely obsessed with skateboarding as a teen and into my early twenties, to mountain biking and now a mix of the biking and running too in my thirties. Got heavily into downhill racing in the 90's and even raced with sponsors for a couple of seasons. Myself and a couple of mates had the first ever Turner Burner downhill bikes in the UK as sponsorship 'Twas a privilege to be knee deep in the sport during it's early development but years of injuries mean I'm a bit calmer these days on the really steep stuff and I mix it up with cross country running too.
It's great how well the cardio fitness translates between running and biking and, simultaneously, a bit depressing how little leg strength/fitness does. Always the legs that give out first for me.

Would love to start doing triathlons but the thought of all of that swimming...

Nice fixie by the way noshoes.

I forgot to mention in my other post a page or two back:

Regarding running, biking, hiking, walking, etc... there is a really cool website that I use where you can map out your run, bike ride, walk, etc... and it displays the miles for you and the number of calories burned (depending on whether or not you filled out the heigh/weight/age stuff on one of the other pages.

Running
http://www.mapmyrun.com

Biking
http://www.mapmyride.com

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