There was, recently, a huge cycling event in South Africa. The daughter of a friend was in it but failed to finish within a certain time limit and is gutted
The daughter – I’ll call her Miss Hunnybee – trained for the 95 km ride and is the right age for peak cycling fitness – not too old or young. So what has happened that kept her behind?
Apparently the ride is very hilly and that could be a major problem for many cyclists. Well, hills are a problem for EVERY cyclist, and this includes, in this ride, the ones that DID finish within time. What were they doing that Miss Hunnybee didn’t do eh?
The first thing I’d ask is: What is the ride like? Is it roads or mud or both?
If it’s roads then Miss HB should have had a bike something like Garage 10. (See links at top of page – there is a pic) Fairly high gears and toe-clips that hold the feet to the pedals so that on hills, the legs pull-up as well as push down to keep the cranks turning smoothly. Not too many gears either – five would be plenty and this also keeps bike weight down. The greatest resistance a cyclist has is the wind, so a low position streamlines the body and cuts down on wind-drag. Just these few simple ‘strategies’ may have taken a few minutes off Miss Hunnybee’s time. (She was only five minutes over!) If Miss HB was riding a ‘trendy’ Mountain Bike (as they call ‘em) then this could have been the problem. They are made for rough riding, not really road riding.
Of course if the ride was over mud or mud and roads (S.A. is bone dry at this time of year – so no mud!) then the Mountain Bike is ok – but with smoother, road (touring type) tyres fitted – these have a low rolling-resistance and as a result riders use much less energy in keeping them moving.
95 km is about the distance from Manchester to Blackpool, so Miss Hunnybee did very well anyway and, if she should read this would she tell Mrs Hunnybee that, in order to lose a little weight, cycling is very good! Oh, and age is no excuse as I am older and ride Roady’s, ATB’s and even BMX’s!