my public statement, part deux

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bonefishjake

Strong like bull, smart like tractor
Team MTBNJ Halter's
i've been thinking, and the more i think about it, the more it seems relevant.

do i need to get more miles in this year? absolutely, especially if i want to keep up with the likes of the goat herder, norm and others (and by keep up with, i mean don't get completely dropped or have someone spinning in circles at the top of climbs waiting...).

i really realized this weekend that the spin bike is woefully inadequate. having never been on a trainer i can't speak to that, but i have to assume it's close to the same unless of course it changes resistances on it's own then all bets are off. anyway, the spin bike. i'm not sure what it equates to in terms of an analogy, but it just doesn't even come close to cutting it for training. honestly, running and the stair machine are far better. yeah, sure, it's a bike but it doesn't even come close to simulating a decent ride. the top resistances on it are sub-par for the type of riding i want to do. bottom line, actual saddle time is really the only answer. i knew this last year but having almost NO miles in 2006 and being 235 lbs i needed to do something and that was the answer. this winter i'm going to ride as much as possible. cold, windy, whatever. it's the only way to get better on a bike.

that said, in the early season, i'm not even 100% sold on the fact that the only training i should be doing is on a bike. i'm going to be riding as much as i can, that's a given, but i think the more important metric is getting my heart rate elevated through cardio training as many times a week as possible. that gets back to the 40 minutes thing but i think in this case it holds a lot of water. the cardio cross training (along with weights, hopefully 2x a week) should get me where i need to be.

so, in the early season, i think TIS is not the important metric, but rather HICS and since it's my blog and i'll make things up if i want to, that'd be Hours In Cardio Stress. so, if between the months of jan and march, TIS can at least equate to a HICS maybe to a degree of 80%, then we can assume the following:

HICS = TIS < 20% = weight loss = less fatarse to lug up hills = faster bonefish

either that or i should sleep more and stop smokin' the crack. :D
 

Nimrod

New Member
i really realized this weekend that the spin bike is woefully inadequate.

and the stair machine are far better.

Yep:)

The Stairmaster machine is the best MTB related equipment out there (spin Class = Stink-O).

Spend 35 minutes on the Stairmaster @60-70% max of the heart rate (2-3 times a week) and you'll be climbing like an aggravated Demon that’s on a mission to prove something.
 

bonefishjake

Strong like bull, smart like tractor
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Yep:)

The Stairmaster machine is the best MTB related equipment out there (spin Class = Stink-O).

Spend 35 minutes on the Stairmaster @60-70% max of the heart rate (2-3 times a week) and you'll be climbing like an aggravated Demon that’s on a mission to prove something.


i took two spin classes and couldn't get the damn songs outta my head for weeks. it was what i imagine a bad flashback to be like. everytime i get on an actual bike i realize just how horrible the spin bike really is. it trains you for...well...nothing.

anyway, to your point, when weather doesn't permit me to ride, that's what i'll be doing. i'm at about 25 min @ 60% or so max so w/in the next week or two i'll be right there.
 

Nimrod

New Member
i took two spin classes and couldn't get the damn songs outta my head for weeks. it was what i imagine a bad flashback to be like. everytime i get on an actual bike i realize just how horrible the spin bike really is. it trains you for...well...nothing.

anyway, to your point, when weather doesn't permit me to ride, that's what i'll be doing. i'm at about 25 min @ 60% or so max so w/in the next week or two i'll be right there.

Spin Classes are good for foot speed, thats it! The problems I had in spin classes where losing major endurance, The tops of my toes getting rubbed raw and My ass getting rubbed raw from that sofa seat they call a seat.

Since then its the Stairmaster, the Computer Bike thingy, Circut training, swimming, etc.... Also for a real "beating", I'll run "Suicides" on the basketball court for 30 minutes a couple times a month during the winter.
 

bonefishjake

Strong like bull, smart like tractor
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Spin Classes are good for foot speed, thats it! The problems I had in spin classes where losing major endurance, The tops of my toes getting rubbed raw and My ass getting rubbed raw from that sofa seat they call a seat.

Since then its the Stairmaster, the Computer Bike thingy, Circut training, swimming, etc.... Also for a real "beating", I'll run "Suicides" on the basketball court for 30 minutes a couple times a month during the winter.

foot speed, huh? bah. if i wanted to do that, i'd do it the right way and start jumping rope again. i'll be on a real and for true bike as much as possible, f that spinning thing.

Sweet Jesus :puke:

uh, yeah, what walt said. suicides for 30 minutes? good god man.
 

Nimrod

New Member
foot speed, huh? bah. if i wanted to do that, i'd do it the right way and start jumping rope again. i'll be on a real and for true bike as much as possible, f that spinning thing.



uh, yeah, what walt said. suicides for 30 minutes? good god man.



Truthfully I took 30 seconds between “them”. Interval training you know?

When I finished the Suicides, staggered into the Lockeroom, peeled off my shirt and (while standing) leaned my head on the wall; so I could get my thoughts together.

This gentleman who (obviously joined the gym as a New Years resolution) came over to me; he’s concerned, wanted to check on me; “Are you alright? Can I get you anything, etc?..............” Real nice guy, and all I'm thinking is how the hell am I going to drive home?

Then the other guys in the locker room (my "Buddies") laughed and said “Nah; he’s fine… he does this a couple times a week when he’s not riding his bike”.
 

bonefishjake

Strong like bull, smart like tractor
Team MTBNJ Halter's
operation mindcrime.

that's what this weather feels like. a mindcrime. see, mother nature tricks us into thinking it's spring. we start feeling good. we go out, ride, and then...WHAM! in comes the cold and two feet of snow. mindcrime.

either way, the last four days have been pretty good weather wise so i've been out as much as possible, especially yesterday and today. unfortunately motionbased isn't cooperating so good so i only have the data from yesterday's 'ye olde 20 miler' to share:

uh...ok...scratch that. i can't get that data either. nothing impressive though. i felt really good but i think the wind slowed me down a lot. (that's my story and i'm sticking to it! :D). certainly not my fastest time but i'll take it.

when the hampsters start spinning over there again, i'll post today's ride which was going to be a 30 mile jaunt but having spun almost 2,000 feet in a little more than 20 miles, i simply ran outta time. my legs felt really good though which i was surprised about. i got after my old nemisis, N. Four Bridges...acutally the back side which is Drakesdale road...which has one of the nastier switchbacks that i've ridden. fawking grade is like 27% or something stupid like that. i took a slightly different route at the top of the mountain b/c i wanted to extend the milage and dropped down the other side of the mountain. i still hate that hill.

anyway, i guess that a good thing though b/c i've decided that my 'ye olde 20 miler' route is a useless piece of poo for training. not enough vert, so when the weather is here i'll be out there doing that loop.

ok, so that's it. no biking for me for a few days as i'm off to ATL tomorrow - friday then in CHI on mon/tues. later children.
 

stb222

Love Drunk
Jerk Squad
i took two spin classes and couldn't get the damn songs outta my head for weeks. it was what i imagine a bad flashback to be like. everytime i get on an actual bike i realize just how horrible the spin bike really is. it trains you for...well...nothing.

anyway, to your point, when weather doesn't permit me to ride, that's what i'll be doing. i'm at about 25 min @ 60% or so max so w/in the next week or two i'll be right there.


I took my first spin class last night since my wife has a trail memebership to a local gym. How unsatisfing and painful. I found it stupid that I was doing a "climb" out of the seat for 3.5 minutes, I mean when was the last time anyone did that in a real world situation. I think the best part was watching the girl at 2 o'clock with the tight shorts. Not to mention I was sweating so much I was wishing for a 25 degree road ride.
 
D

DANSPANK

Guest
I dunno man, I did a lot of spinning last winter and it really improved my cardiovacular capabilities I think. My ride stats demonstrate a dramitic improvement on the regular loops that I do. It certainly doesn't take the place of real riding and no doubt that other gym excercises are perhaps better but when you combine the fact that you're on a fixed gear bike (having to always put effort in), typically in a room full of young ladies and at least on some form of a bike even when it's pissing down with rain then I don't think it's such a bad option.
 

bonefishjake

Strong like bull, smart like tractor
Team MTBNJ Halter's
mine went up too dan. BUT, and this is the major caveat, i was 235 and not even close to in real biking shape (not that i am now either, but at least i'm not 235!). when i get on the spin-o-rama now it's completely different. i can max our the resistance and just hammer. trying to do that on the road or the woods? nope. that's why i'm now a firm believer in the step machine thingy. actually, i'm more of a firm believer in going outside and staying off the hampster wheel type devices all together but sometimes ya just gotta.
 

stb222

Love Drunk
Jerk Squad
I can see doing it when other types of riding are going to suck, but overall, the outdoors are for me.
 

bonefishjake

Strong like bull, smart like tractor
Team MTBNJ Halter's
well, got on the stair machine of pain today for 30 minutes. when you crank up the speed on that thing it's brutal. that's it. tomorrow if the snow holds i'm off to chicago. this travel thing is putting a serious dent in my riding time...
 

bonefishjake

Strong like bull, smart like tractor
Team MTBNJ Halter's
mary gets a new...um...cockpit?

in the interest of keeping MY blog free of crack whores, NAMBLA, the wiggles and various other groups that wish to rain hell upon the mt. biking community of NJ, i kept the title of this post nice and clean. except for the word cock. :D

at any rate, i was in lovely CHI monday and tuesday and did a few of my most favorite things in the world, at least in CHI: go to the patagonia store and steal their stickers, eat BBQ at smoke daddy, drink beer (it was fat tire, gimme a break damnit...ok, i'm weak, i'm weak!!) and get business. i also went to this rub-a-riffic gym called the east bank club, situated on the east bank of some river, hence the name. anyway, this place is literally like no gym i have ever seen ever. i mean ever. they must have had 200 cardio machies in at least 15 different flavors. a weight room that would have made (my hero..) magnus samuelsson drool. oh, and there was A LOT of well appointed spandex. a lot. my point? uh...oh yeah, so aside from feeling obligated to use the coolest powerlifting platform i had ever laid eyes on, i also spent 20 minutes hunting matchy-matchy ballerinas in a coastal rainforest on this pimped out recumbant bike. the thing had a 15 inchish monitor that gave you a first person view of the handle bars. the object was to beat the pace guy but also to steer around the other matchy-matchies! fawking fantastic. you could even shift. it was amazing. i would have liked to ride around on it more but they clearly blew the wad with the R&D on and missed the boat on the seat. net-net, i smoked that damn pace bike. :D

so, on to today: i picked up ms. mary from the shop with her fresh new cock pit consisting of the thompson stem (just like walt), the ergon magneisum bar ends (just like walt) and the widest flat bar ever made, a new release kore (not just like walt) and off to KVSP i went to test my new cockpit.

i must say, my new cockpit worked very well despite the fact that mary looks like some angry, mutant bull. i can tell you this, as much as i liked the mary bars i really don't miss them. as much as i hate to admit this, sean was right in his assesment that for technical riding (not that KVSP is that, but anyway..) the flat bars rule. and they do. i noticed the handling differences immediately and really liked the way the new cockpit felt. it could be the stem as well, but whatever it is, it felt right. i may actually drop another spacer. we'll see.

i'm too lazy to sync my garmin right now and no one really reads this to see what i've ridden anyway so who cares. it's not like ben is sitting there going 'oh, shit! jake just put in another eight miles at KVSP with an average speed of 8.3 mph. i'm screwed!!' or maurice thinking 'damn, he took my advice on lowering his tire pressures and changing his cockpit. i may as well retire now.' hell, norm isn't even thinking 'gee, maybe i won't have to ride around in circles at the top of the climbs waiting for jake this year.' no, none of that is happening.

oh well, at least i had fun. and if anyone cares, no mud was harmed in the riding of the pretty much frozen except for the stream and one other spot on the white trail trails. oh, and it's snowing now.
 

bonefishjake

Strong like bull, smart like tractor
Team MTBNJ Halter's
you will ALL fear me!

ok, maybe some of you. uh, a few of you? hmmm. ok, the guy over there on the couch with the bag of chip and the ashtray full of marlboro reds. yeah, you! you'll fear me this spring damnit! today's FGI came in at 199, which puts me at -4 lbs since jan 1. pretty good so far.

been riding a lot lately (today did a pretty brisk 4ish mile run), and to encourage yet more fear, i did the 2005 LMC race loop with an average speed of 8.9 mph. that's right maurice...ben...chrisG...bill...and you too norm, that waited for me at the top of the climbs...just like rambo said in first blood, part two: "murdoch...i'm coming to get YOU!". of course then he destroys a vietnamese village with explosive arrows and a cofiscated russian chopper. my mary doesn't quite have that fire power.

either way, again, no one reads this for GPS data or anything informative, except maybe walt and i don't know if he really gets anything out of this either. but i entertain myself and that's really all i care about anyway. life's a stage. then again, according to haught, so is death. that may not be a good analogy. hmmm.
 
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Shaggz

A strong 7
i still read. did you really go running in that outfit i saw you wearing this morning ? :rofl:

BTW - CD worked, thanks.
 

bonefishjake

Strong like bull, smart like tractor
Team MTBNJ Halter's
oh gawd no. i have old gym stuff for that.

glad that cd worked out. i was wondering about that.
 

walter

Fourth Party
I read everything on this site, only because I have absolutely nothing to do for the next 2 months and I need all the fixes I can get.:)
 
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