A Non-Cyclists Guide To Common Cycling Terms

I published this ages ago in my previous blog. But I was reminded of it my Mrs M and, taking a look, it still stands the test of time so here it is again. I'll be on the lookout for new terms to add and try to keep it updated.


My note that I rarely bonked in an earlier post caused some splutters. So just for Mrs M (and other non cyclists) here is a short glossary of cycling terms and what they do (and sometimes don't) mean.......

Bonk: Means- running out of energy, usually on a long ride. Caused by not eating enough, solved by eating something... Does not mean: bonking

Rollers: Means- gadget that lets you emulate a hamster in a wheel, pedaling furiously, getting nowhere but getting very hot and bothered. Used for winter training, often in garages due to smell of sweat...Does not mean: things put in hair to make it curly.

Turbo: Means: - another gadget to make like a hamster. Smell of sweat often mixed with smell of burning rubber as back wheel engages with a brake of some sort. Can be very noisy....Does not mean: thing I put on the bike to make it go very very fast.

Wiggle: Online shop that sells bike parts... Does not mean....

Crank: Bit of the bike that connects pedals to bottom bracket...Does not mean: someone who spend his time in garage on Wiggle's turbo rollers.

Assos: Well known, expensive brand of clothing worn by good self on account of it being Swiss like what he is.....Does not mean: what most cyclists have a very big one of, made obvious due to overtight Lycra

Bibs: Shorts with shoulder straps to keep them from falling down when riding a bike. Very inconvenient if suffer pre race nerves....Does not mean: proof that cyclists are all big babies at heart.

Wedges: Something that you put between cleat and shoe to correct bow legs...Does not mean..what wearing too tight Assos bib shorts feels like

Cassette: Something that fits on the back wheel with lots of sprockets. Current record is 12. Does not mean: 70s precursor to cd that made music sound rubbish and that involved spending more time winding/rewinding/getting out of tape recorder when it came unwound than actually listening.

Compact: Smaller chain ring. Used to make it easier to get up hills whilst still looking like a "real" cyclist. Only drawback is that most compacts are used by those who are not compact....Does not mean: what lady cyclists carry in their saddlebags so as to be able to do a quick bit of makeup before crossing the finish line.

Durace: Top of the range brand of bike bits and pieces. Does not mean: Item sometimes worn when bonking

Probably The Greatest Cycling Organisation In The World

The latest edition of Arrivee magazine arrived today.

That's a reason for me to pay tribute to the cycling organisation, if there were to be such a vote, that I consider to be the greatest in the country and indeed the world.

Which may be contradictory given I have only taken part in a few of the events which they run. And because their central ethos is almost the opposite of how I like to ride.

But still I stick to my guns. Audax (Arrivee is their regular magazine) is an inspiration.

For those who don't know (which unfortunately is probably the vast majority of cyclists) Audax is a worldwide organisation which originated in France way back in time. Typical of its style they have no official global title. We in the UK just happen to use "Audax", others do different.

It's main function is as simple as they come. To hold events which will be of interest to cyclists and in which everyone, regardless, can take part.

As befits its French orgins the events are called "randonees" which is slightly difficult to translate directly into English. It implies a journey, with purpose, but done for fun where the objective is definitely just to take part, nothing like a race.

The US branch call themselves "Ranonneurs USA" and they sum it up very nicely
 
"Randonneuring is long-distance unsupported endurance cycling. This style of riding is non-competitive in nature, and self-sufficiency is paramount*. When riders participate in randonneuring events, they are part of a long tradition that goes back to the beginning of the sport of cycling in France and Italy. Friendly camaraderie, not competition, is the hallmark of randonneuring."

(* whilst self sufficency is paramount it is also the case that if you take part in an randonee and run into any sort of trouble you will not be short of a friend to help you out even if they have never met you before in your life)

Randonees happen pretty much all year round. They vary in length from 100km to well over 1000km. They could not be easier in terms of format. You simply turn up at a HQ and get a "brevet" which is a card with spaces to be stamped. You collect these stamps by following a route from checkpoint to checkpoint, usually returning to the HQ. True to its nature the route is suggested, its up to you if you follow it or not, just so long as you get back to the HQ with the requisite stamps. There's only one other rule really. You can't go too fast. The maximum average speed is a sedate 30km/h which encourages folk to linger at the various checkpoints refreshing themselves with tea and a cake. There is also a minimum speed limit but this is pretty generous for all but the very longest of events (where it assumes that you don't need much shuteye).  The cost. Peanuts. Well a few bags of them but still nothing like a sportive or road race.

Quaintly, sometimes there are not even checkpoints. Just puzzles that require you to visit somewhere in order to find the answer. Such as what is the name of the pub in Chipping Snodbury? You could ofc look this up on Google but anyone low enough to do so would not by definition be taking part in an Audax in the first place. And it is the taking part that counts.

The reward? Another cup of tea and a cake. And a badge or "brevet". That's it. No winners, no losers. Just a badge. The competition as such is between members to collect as many badges as they can, of varying mileages. The prize? A mention in Arrivee and another badge. And for those who get enough badges another mention in Arivee and another badge.

Audaxes are fun even you don't participate. The cyclists who take part in them are some of the most relaxed people you are ever likely to meet and you will see, in one place, a greater variety of human powered machines than anywhere else. Some Audaxers actually take a preverse pride in making things as difficult for themselves as possible by for example using single speed fixed bikes, Bickertons, tricycles or elipticals. You can see everything from something dating back to men wore plus fours to machines that look more like spaceships No UCI nonsense here. So long as it has wheels and is propelled by muscle its OK.

Even if you never ever take part in an Audax, if you are interested in cycling then you should find out more about them.

Because, even in this day of the internet, Strava, Garmin and route planners galore if you want a really good journey on a bike your safest bet is to ride an Audax route.

This is because they have been planned by real people to be as interesting as possible to ride.

The options come in two forms.

You could just pick any Audax run anywhere and ride its route, there will be a gpx of it somewhere.

But for a real adventure try doing a "permanent". This is a special type of Audax which is not run as an event. Instead it can be undertaken as a challenge by anyone any time. Each permanent has an organiser. You contact them and just as above they send you a brevet.

The only difference from an event is that their are no event checkpoints to visit. Instead you must go into venues like shops and get something to prove you have been there. In many countries this is great fun as the shopkeepers are used to mad cyclists turning up and have a special stamp for the occasion. Other times you just need to buy your cup of tea and a cake and keep the receipt.

These permanents can be simple. Or they can be epic, the greatest adventure in a cyclists life.

Just two of the latter that I have done are

• One that starts by you dipping your bike in the Atlantic Ocean, then riding across the full length of the Pyrenees to dip it into the Mediteranean.
• Another that starts in Geneva, crosses the Alps and then the Dolomites to finish in Trieste from where Venice is close to hand as a final destination.

There really is only one fault I would find with Audax. They don't just hide their light under a bushel. They dig a 20 foot deep hole, put the light in it, fill it with concrete then erect a sign saying "nothing of interest here".

The prime example of this is the only Audax I regularly take part in, either as a rider or volunteer (the latter with the very welcome company of Mrs M)

It's the LEL. A 5 day jaunt from London to Edinburgh and back again. Some 1400km and a bit in the height of the British summer with all that entails. It's epic. Hundreds of riders from every part of the globe come to take part. Yet next to no-one is aware it happens, not even the inhabitants of the towns it passes through. 

It's a pity.  Or maybe not. For those aware of it Audax is an unspoiled treasure. Perhaps it's best it stays that way. 

Beginners Guide To Power Zones - 9 Using Power Zones To Find Out What Sort Of Rider You Are

Power meters have been in widespread use for a while now and so there is lots of data from lots of different types of riders. As a result we know the wattages typical for every type of rider from a grand tour winner to complete beginner.

This means you can easily compare your test results with those of other riders as in the table below. It adds four additional, imaginary, riders (all the same weight as me) to my data showing their wattages by zone and rating them according to how they compare with the population as a whole

	Duration	Alex	Bernie	Chris	Don	Me
Endurance	5 hrs	259W Very Good	180W Moderate	175W Moderate	245W Very Good	212 Good
Tempo	2.5 hrs	280W Very Good	238W Good	210W Moderate	273W Very Good	269 Very Good
Lactate Threshold	1 hour	335W Excellent	269W Good	231W Moderate	295W Very Good	301 Very Good
VO2Max	5 mins	370W Very Good	340W Good	340W Good	362W Very Good	373 Very Good
Anaerobic	1 mins	592W Good	657W Excellent	641W Very Good	608W Very Good	485 Fair
Neuromuscular	5 secs	1080W Moderate	1042W Moderate	1530W Excellent	1233W Very Good	748 Novice

Each rider is clearly very different.

• Alex is a typical “time triallist” not particularly good at short efforts but getting stronger as the going gets longer.
• Bernie is a “pursuiter” with a huge turbo so would make a great 1k rider or short hill climber.
• Chris is a “sprinter” very much stronger in Zone 7 but finding long distances tough.
• Don is an “all rounder” very good at everything but not best at anything
• Lastly, like Alex I am a time triallist but even more so.

The four categories above are known as “power profiles”. A useful first step after testing yourself and getting your personal numbers by zones is to find out what sort of rider you are and how you match up against others.  

The link below gives more on the subject along with some sample tables

https://www.trainingpeaks.com/blog/power-profiling/

My earlier post below is also based on power profiles, specifically for masters riders

https://bahzobsblog.blogspot.com/2020/06/world-class.html


The result can stack nicely with setting targets. You may find that you are just a few watts away from the next classification upwards. It can be rewarding to set yourself the challenge of moving up a level and then succeeding.

TTT BMI

We are just having a discussion about Zwift team time trial tactics.

I've proposed a simple one and it struck me that it follows a universal formula that I have applied with great success not only to cycling but all my life.

As with all great ideas it requires a TLA, so this one is "BMI".

• Baseline: Deciding where I am at the moment for whatever I want to make better, basically what exactly it is
• Measure: Just do it and find out where I am
• Improve: Improve the measure in some way. Which takes me back to B.

So for the TTT the baseline I'm proposing is we keep it dead simple and just aim that the lead rider holds 5.0 W/kg  (Baseline) for a minute(Baseline) then the next rider moves up. So everyone will end up doing 1 minute at or over FTP and 4-7 minutes under, which should be possible (and also happens to a very good workout).


Depending on whether it turns out to be easy or hard (Measure) it will be a simple matter to change either of the 2 key variable of target power or duration, hopefully in the "Improve" direction.

Zwift TT Tests

In an attempt to understand Zwift's drag calculation I ran some test on Tempus Fugit.

The timed section was 2km starting at 0.5km from the inception point and finishing at the end of the sprint. I chose this because it made it easy to log in/out whilst changing weight and height. It also has the benefit of not being completely flat but rolling slightly.

The runs were all pretty much the same, ramp up watts then start timing at 0.5km. I used manual timing for the test but those below come from a Strava segment that I setup so should be accurate. 


I tested 2 setups. 

The first was a warmup with the best TTT bike (Venge + Super 9).  The "down" runs were towards the sprint and have more drafting benefit because more riders go that way. The "up" are the reverse.  No surprise here, more draft = faster speed.

The last Venge run was at 325W the target for the test. I chose this because it should be fast enough to highlight any trends and it's the ballpark target for a TTT..

The second setup was a Zwift TT frame with Classic wheels. This setup is slightly slower than the Venge can manage (with some drafting assistance)

I also did one run with the best possible TT bike just out of interest.

The final "polarised" run was just to see if going hard when the gradient was positive and easing back when negative made any difference. It did, it's worse.

Most weight/heights were extremes just to test but a couple are for me and Ian. (Zpower seems a bit bugged as it does not show height for some riders so could not do more)

Results below. There is not enough data to work out Zwifts algorithm but there is enough to see that weight clearly does have a bigger effect than I thought even on a flat course. 

There may not be enough to work out what's going on inside Zwift but there is IMO enough to set a clear target for the lead rider and a simple basic strategy.

That is, the lead rider should target holding a steady 5.0 w/kg. I

Shifts are done using the main clock which is ofc the same for all of us, doing transition in last 10 seconds of every minute.

• Lead rider does 1 minute at 5.0w/kg
• Second rider starts slowly accelerating to 5.0 w/kg when the clock passes mm:50  so that they are level with the lead rider by mm:58
• All others pick up pace but they will not need to up their pace by as much due to drafting.
• Lead rider drops to back.
• For all riders this should mean 1 minute at or above FTP but  nowhere near red-line and 4-7 minutes under depending on the number of riders. This should be enough recovery time to allow all or at least most to get to finish.
• It should also make it as easy as possible to ride in a pace-line rather than a blob which means more recovery for all those drafting.

It will also be easy to change on the fly. If things are going well then the target can just go up say to 5.2 W/kg, if not it can come down.  The Tick Tock course is especially good for this, at the end of of the short desert climbs there is time on the descent to up or reduce the pace.


This is not the fastest possible way to ride but it will be a good baseline and we can judge how to improve it once we have seen how it goes. 

Test run results (Venge in order they were done, TT in speed order, fastest first)

Run	Lap	Frame	Wheels	Kg	Cm	Watts	Time	Dir	W/kg	AVS
1	3	Venge	Best	68	170	159	03:29	Down	2.3	34.45
2	6	Venge	Best	68	170	168	03:32	Up	2.5	33.96
3	8	Venge	Best	68	170	210	03:14	Down	3.1	37.11
4	10	Venge	Best	68	170	210	03:17	Up	3.1	36.55
5	12	Venge	Best	68	170	327	02:38	Down	4.8	45.57
8	18	Zwift TT	Worst	50	150	328	02:29		6.6	48.32
9	20	Zwift TT	Worst	50	170	324	02:33		6.5	47.06
10	22	Zwift TT	Worst	50	200	330	02:38		6.6	45.57
Best TT	30	Felt	Best	68	170	330	02:38		4.9	45.57
7	16	Zwift TT	Worst	68	150	325	02:39		4.8	45.28
11	24	Zwift TT	Worst	60	190	329	02:42		5.5	44.44
Me	14	Zwift TT	Worst	68	170	326	02:43		4.8	44.17
12	26	Zwift TT	Worst	70	180	344	02:43		4.9	44.17
Ian	28	Zwift TT	Worst	68	177	333	02:43		4.9	44.17
Polarised	32	Zwift TT	Worst	68	170	337	02:43		5.0	44.17

Feet Are Not and Are Hands

In a recent post I mentioned my Vibram Five Finger "shoes"


https://bahzobsblog.blogspot.com/2020/06/feeling-my-feet-vibram-fivefinger-shoes.html

I did so as a prelude to this post.

I've been very lucky regards aches and pains while cycling. But recently I have had issues with my right foot.

It's been all sorts of issues, I won't go into the gory details.

However, finally, thanks the Cyclefit London I got the root of the problem.

Long story short my right toe is arthritic and this means my right foot cannot make a proper arch.

Which is a lead in to my favourite scientific area - evolution.

IMO Charles Darwin and Alfred Wallace were two of the greatest scientists to ever draw breath and the theory of evolution is the most beautiful thing that the human mind has ever devised/discovered.

The foot is a wonderful example. As humans we are among an extremely rare group of bipeds. Great apes our closest "cousins" (an evolutionary incorrect term but still useful all the less) can use their feet as extra hands.

We cannot.  Our feet have morphed into something unique thanks to our foot arch and, despite living with them for all our lives, we are still discovering new things about them.

https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/science-and-technology/2020/03/why-human-feet-evolved-arches-and-what-happens-if-you-lack-them

Like so many other aspects of our body our foot arch is something you either use or risk losing.

The risk is especially big since the foot is so often hidden from display. The design of many shoes exacerbates the issue, with insoles and soles that prevent them feeling the ground as they were intended to.

This is why I love my Vibrams so much. While your feet are not hands it is useful to sometimes imagine they are and practice trying to grip the floor.  

Most workouts ignore the feet, but they need tlc too. Just trying to squeeze the floor by itself is good for your feet. It is also the best way to prepare for any activity that will load up your body. 

Just like a skyscraper it is best to build on firm foundations. So if lifting anything start by

• Grip the floor with your toes, really feeling the arch lift (tip if you check in a mirror the ankle bones of both feet should be level)
• Counter rotate your feet, (so left goes anti-clockwise, right goes clockwise)

This simple act will automatically engage your entire lower body, stabilising and strengthening it so it behaves more like the Empire State than the Leaning Tower of Pisa. 

PS I could not possibly mention feet without thinking of Douglas Adams, one of the 20th century's greatest authors, philosophers and comedians. It still hurts so much that we lost him so soon. 

He came up with many brilliant notions, including the shoe event horizon, more about which here,


https://hitchhikers.fandom.com/wiki/Shoe_Event_Horizon

Genius, pure genius.

The Picture That Changed My Life

This picture changed my life. To me it is a thing of pure beauty.

Actually to be accurate it was a picture like this not this one.

But it doesn't matter because the beauty lies not in the picture itself but what it represents.

Way back in 2007 I became interested in taking training more seriously and followed the blog of Flamme Rouge Tony. 

http://www.flammerouge.je/home/home.htm

He's a guy who lives in Jersey and he was way ahead of the trend in many ways. Just one was his love of sportives, at a time when most British cyclists had never heard the word and he was was on the reasons I started trying them for myself.

But the thing that was really special about him was that he was power mad. He was absolutely clear that power meters were the way ahead and his infectious enthusiasm came across in every one of his posts.

He was so convincing that I arranged to go and see him, in order to perform my first ever ramp test. He made me very welcome and also took me on a tour of the island with a couple of his mates. One of them owned a bike shop and before the trip we had agreed a price on a Powertap wheel, my first ever power meter.

After the island tour Tony opened up his lap top, connected his Garmin, did a bit of stuff then told me to take a look. This was another baptism, my introduction to WKO.

He took me through the ride we had just done, explaining the various graphs and I loved every minute of it. Seeing the long steady drags, the really tough hills and the peak when we had a sprint.

But then he showed me the picture like the one above. He explained that what it showed was something called "mean maximal power" (or MMP). This is a complicated name for a simple idea. It just captures on one line how much power you can produce and how long you can hold it for.

It's a plot of watts vs time so it starts high in the top left because you can produce a lot of power for a short time. But if you try to push for longer the power comes down. In fact it comes down very quickly. The time axis on the bottom is a logarithmic scale, so the left hand side is represents much less time than the right. (It has to be like this or it would not be possible to see any detail,)  For illustration, In the example above the line near halfway is just under 2 minutes while the extreme right is 20 hours.

As an example, at my best, if I go all out I can just about produce 800W. But for a minute the max is around 500W. For 5 minutes its around 400W, for 20 minutes 340W, for an hour 310W and for 4 hours 250W. So its very obvious how quickly power changes with time, In fact my power changes less than most others which is why I'm more comfortable doing longer events that do not involve and sprinting.

You can choose to report on any time period. So the line may just be for a single ride. Or a week, or a month.

But the magic came when Tony told me what he was showing me. He said the bottom line was this year's power. The upper line was his best ever power. He explained that he had a simple mission, every year he wanted to get the lower line to meet and ideally pass the upper line.

In plain English this meant that his goal was to set new personal bests, but seeing it as a picture like this felt so much more real than just a set of numbers.

My life changed at that instant. From then on, through to the present and for the rest of my days Tony's goal became my goal. I love going for rides, downloading my stats and seeing how close I have come to a new PB.

I reset the bottom line every birthday and the graph above is about one month in. It's obvious I still have a way to go. Still there is already good news, which the line highlights, I've already managed to a small nudge up.

One of the main reasons for starting this blog is to give me the motivation to keep pushing so I can post updates when another breakthrough happens.

Technology has moved on so now I can even see the picture when I am riding. On many occasions it has been the spur to make be push harder as it changes colour at that point which means more to me than any race finish position,

But watts are not all that there is to this picture.

The really great thing about it is the bottom time axis, because it ranges from 1s to as long as you can ride a bike. So the quest to move the entire line upwards means I have been encouraged to try pretty much every form or road bike riding from criteriums where I could try (and fail) to win a sprint finish to 1000 mile epics riding continuously for days with barely a pause to sleep.

I would never have done this or even a fraction without the drive to raise the line. I will forever be in Tony's debt for changing my life for the much much better.