compton rear end terry posted:

I've posted a couple times looking at various bikes. Canyon has the Grail 6 marked down to $1,400 right now. Any gotchas on this model? Seems to check all the boxes for me and then some (Front chaining, hydraulic brakes, CF fork), mostly pavement riding with a some dirt.

Right now my limiting factor is garage space, I realistically will not be able to do the n+1 lifestyle. I'll have to cap out at 2 bikes. I have a hybrid now, I'd keep that for things like riding places where I'd leave the bike locked, and then use the Grail for everything else.

compton rear end terry posted:

I've posted a couple times looking at various bikes. Canyon has the Grail 6 marked down to $1,400 right now. Any gotchas on this model? Seems to check all the boxes for me and then some (Front chaining, hydraulic brakes, CF fork), mostly pavement riding with a some dirt.

Right now my limiting factor is garage space, I realistically will not be able to do the n+1 lifestyle. I'll have to cap out at 2 bikes. I have a hybrid now, I'd keep that for things like riding places where I'd leave the bike locked, and then use the Grail for everything else.

amenenema posted:

Sweet bike. As someone who never uses any tape that isn't black or grey, surprisingly I say yellow here.

Serendipitaet posted:

I did my longest ride last Saturday, totaling 211km in about 7:20h of riding and close to 10h of total elapsed time. This was a group ride of 12 riders for most of the time, with a couple folks joining later or splitting off early. The group worked really well together for most of the time and we had a handful of strong riders who did a lot of work on the front for long stretches. The route planning was amazing and took us through some of the most beautiful countryside in northern Germany, over soft rolling hills and among beautiful lakes, mostly over quiet farm roads with good surfaces, touching the Baltic sea and then taking us back into Hamburg for the finish.



Prep and fuel
I was actually a bit nervous going into this, because I only did a handful of 100k rides this year and in general was feeling that my fitness wasn't as good as in prior years, especially on longer rides. I also had a lot of job and relationship stress and anxiety this year, hence my sleep and recovery hasn't been great at all. All the while, I wanted to push myself and contribute to the group by doing work on the front, PLUS I wanted to try a few things out for fueling, which may have been a few too many asks on myself.

I got up at 6:45, feeling pretty exhausted from the week before and was struggling to get off my rear end to get ready in time and have breakfast. I opted for a bowl of muesli as I wanted to get some slower carbs in, although I wasn't really feeling it. Then I hosed around for a while and suddenly was running late to get to the train station. This was a not an ideal start, as I was simultaneously feeling tired, anxious and my stomach was not feeling super great. I also missed the opportunity to pick something up to eat on the 1h-ish train ride.

For food on the bike, I had packed 3 clif bars (each 35g carbs, 105g total), 3 gels (each 25g carbs, 75g total) and a bottle with a mix of maltodextrin, fructose and some flavored sirup, which I assume is mostly sucrose, plus some electrolyte powder. I don't remember the exact composition of the bottle, which was a mistake not to write down. I think I was estimating 7h of riding and was aiming for something like 50g per hour/350g in total just to be safe, because I knew we would do breaks but I wasn't sure when and what options would be available. This would put the bottle at something like 170g of carbs, which is probably an ok estimate.

The actual ride




We reached our starting point at 10:00am, took a pretty cool suspension ferry to cross a canal (Rendsburg High Bridge - Wikipedia) and got going. The first 2h/55km were very relaxed, I was in the middle of the group and honestly a bit bored. I finished a clif bar and took a few sips from my energy bottle until we stopped for our first break at a grocery store/bakery. I had a black coffee and a cheese pretzel stick because I wanted something non-sweet and was trying eating solid food for as long as I could. Probably 30-40g carbs in this.



After the break, I spent a lot of the next 2h on the front because I had been kinda bored before and was feeling a bit restless to get break a sweat and do some work. This coincided with the route going through some very scenic but also much more hilly terrain than I am used to (my usual riding is almost completely flat). These are not big hills by any imagination, just soft rolling hills, but we were constantly working and my power output was spiking a couple times.

I had another clif bar and a few sips of mix over the next period, until, after a good 2h/60k, we reached the Baltic sea and had our second break. I got a local delicacy, a pickled herring roll. This was an experiment, but honestly I felt great after eating this, because it was such a palate cleanser after sugary bars and drink mix. I would estimate this was another 30-40g in carbs, plus a lot of fat and some protein from the fish.





After the second break, at 5:30h elapsed time and 110k, my stomach felt really good, my legs were a bit heavy, my lungs were aching a bit and I was feeling quite tired overall. I took two puffs of my salbutamol (asthma) inhaler to help with the lungs and ~half of a 200mg caffeine pill to help with the tiredness. I was riding a bit deeper in the group again, trying to recover. The salbutamol and caffeine were kicking in and I was feeling pretty good, my legs were also starting to come back. Somewhere here, I think, I had a gel, not sure when and I was still sipping mix. I think longer breaks off the bike really don't work well for me on rides like this, because it takes me so long to really get going and into a good rhythm again. Unfortunately for me, at 6:30h/145km we had ANOTHER break coming up. I had a coke and a piece of cake here, not really feeling it. Although I didn't feel bad afterwards, I think I should have skipped this one.



We got going again and I was pretty fatigued, but still doing ok. We had a little bit of headwind (like 45° semi-headwind) and the group cohesion was getting worse as other riders were getting tired as well and starting to leave gaps. After tight turns and hills it took longer and longer to get into a tight group again, which made efficient drafting a bit more challenging. On the upside, the terrain was mostly flat again and actually a very minor negative grade for most of the time. I think during this period I had another gel. At 8:30h/175km we hit the last "climb", which is a 78m hill and I climbed it as slow as possible because I wanted to conserve energy/not stress my legs.



Half an hour later, I had the third and final gel because ??? reasons. I was really tired by this point. This, I think, was a crucial mistake. Or maybe it wasn't and it was just a small decision on top of all my other subobtimal decisions. In any case, once it hit my stomach, I started getting cramps and it felt a bit like concrete was slowly making its way through my guts. This was not a good feeling! Luckily, the way home was only about an hour and I knew the route, which made it mentally much easier, recognizing familiar landmarks. Still, my stomach was churning all the way and I really wanted to get home. After we hit the finish, I said fairly quick goodbyes and went home.

Once I got home, I beelined to the toilet and had some very unpleasant diarrhea and stomach cramps. My partner had made dinner, but I couldn't eat all night. I tried a bit of plain pasta, which was ok but not great. Anything else caused very painful cramps. I felt like poo poo for a while, really cold and just exhausted. I took two imodium/loperamide, which helped and after some tea, my stomach relaxed too and I was starting to feel much better.

Recovery
I didn't sleep great on Saturday night, waking up quite early feeling hungry and a bit dehydrated. I took the day really easy, tried to eat whole foods high in protein, but still easy to digest (fish and veggies), which worked pretty well. Still slept kinda bad on Sunday night. Monday I was feeling really off, like super tired and mushy brained. Felt a bit an oncoming cold. Monday night I could finally sleep a really deep sleep and am doing pretty good today.


Stats
The heart rate is a lie, because my sensor crapped out for long periods




All in all, it was a cool experience and we made the most out of an absolutely beautiful day with near perfect conditions. Average of 20° C, a mix of cloud and sun, barely any wind, quiet roads. The end a was a bit unfortunate for me, but I just have very little experience with rides of this length/duration and have only started to seriously think about nutrition on the bike.

Hope you guys enjoyed my little trip report.

compton rear end terry posted:

I've posted a couple times looking at various bikes. Canyon has the Grail 6 marked down to $1,400 right now. Any gotchas on this model? Seems to check all the boxes for me and then some (2by, hydraulic brakes, CF fork), mostly pavement riding with a some dirt.

Right now my limiting factor is garage space, I realistically will not be able to do the n+1 lifestyle. I'll have to cap out at 2 bikes. I have a hybrid now, I'd keep that for things like riding places where I'd leave the bike locked, and then use the Grail for everything else.

Serendipitaet posted:

I did my longest ride last Saturday, totaling 211km in about 7:20h of riding and close to 10h of total elapsed time. This was a group ride of 12 riders for most of the time, with a couple folks joining later or splitting off early. The group worked really well together for most of the time and we had a handful of strong riders who did a lot of work on the front for long stretches. The route planning was amazing and took us through some of the most beautiful countryside in northern Germany, over soft rolling hills and among beautiful lakes, mostly over quiet farm roads with good surfaces, touching the Baltic sea and then taking us back into Hamburg for the finish.



Prep and fuel
I was actually a bit nervous going into this, because I only did a handful of 100k rides this year and in general was feeling that my fitness wasn't as good as in prior years, especially on longer rides. I also had a lot of job and relationship stress and anxiety this year, hence my sleep and recovery hasn't been great at all. All the while, I wanted to push myself and contribute to the group by doing work on the front, PLUS I wanted to try a few things out for fueling, which may have been a few too many asks on myself.

I got up at 6:45, feeling pretty exhausted from the week before and was struggling to get off my rear end to get ready in time and have breakfast. I opted for a bowl of muesli as I wanted to get some slower carbs in, although I wasn't really feeling it. Then I hosed around for a while and suddenly was running late to get to the train station. This was a not an ideal start, as I was simultaneously feeling tired, anxious and my stomach was not feeling super great. I also missed the opportunity to pick something up to eat on the 1h-ish train ride.

For food on the bike, I had packed 3 clif bars (each 35g carbs, 105g total), 3 gels (each 25g carbs, 75g total) and a bottle with a mix of maltodextrin, fructose and some flavored sirup, which I assume is mostly sucrose, plus some electrolyte powder. I don't remember the exact composition of the bottle, which was a mistake not to write down. I think I was estimating 7h of riding and was aiming for something like 50g per hour/350g in total just to be safe, because I knew we would do breaks but I wasn't sure when and what options would be available. This would put the bottle at something like 170g of carbs, which is probably an ok estimate.

The actual ride




We reached our starting point at 10:00am, took a pretty cool suspension ferry to cross a canal (Rendsburg High Bridge - Wikipedia) and got going. The first 2h/55km were very relaxed, I was in the middle of the group and honestly a bit bored. I finished a clif bar and took a few sips from my energy bottle until we stopped for our first break at a grocery store/bakery. I had a black coffee and a cheese pretzel stick because I wanted something non-sweet and was trying eating solid food for as long as I could. Probably 30-40g carbs in this.



After the break, I spent a lot of the next 2h on the front because I had been kinda bored before and was feeling a bit restless to get break a sweat and do some work. This coincided with the route going through some very scenic but also much more hilly terrain than I am used to (my usual riding is almost completely flat). These are not big hills by any imagination, just soft rolling hills, but we were constantly working and my power output was spiking a couple times.

I had another clif bar and a few sips of mix over the next period, until, after a good 2h/60k, we reached the Baltic sea and had our second break. I got a local delicacy, a pickled herring roll. This was an experiment, but honestly I felt great after eating this, because it was such a palate cleanser after sugary bars and drink mix. I would estimate this was another 30-40g in carbs, plus a lot of fat and some protein from the fish.





After the second break, at 5:30h elapsed time and 110k, my stomach felt really good, my legs were a bit heavy, my lungs were aching a bit and I was feeling quite tired overall. I took two puffs of my salbutamol (asthma) inhaler to help with the lungs and ~half of a 200mg caffeine pill to help with the tiredness. I was riding a bit deeper in the group again, trying to recover. The salbutamol and caffeine were kicking in and I was feeling pretty good, my legs were also starting to come back. Somewhere here, I think, I had a gel, not sure when and I was still sipping mix. I think longer breaks off the bike really don't work well for me on rides like this, because it takes me so long to really get going and into a good rhythm again. Unfortunately for me, at 6:30h/145km we had ANOTHER break coming up. I had a coke and a piece of cake here, not really feeling it. Although I didn't feel bad afterwards, I think I should have skipped this one.



We got going again and I was pretty fatigued, but still doing ok. We had a little bit of headwind (like 45° semi-headwind) and the group cohesion was getting worse as other riders were getting tired as well and starting to leave gaps. After tight turns and hills it took longer and longer to get into a tight group again, which made efficient drafting a bit more challenging. On the upside, the terrain was mostly flat again and actually a very minor negative grade for most of the time. I think during this period I had another gel. At 8:30h/175km we hit the last "climb", which is a 78m hill and I climbed it as slow as possible because I wanted to conserve energy/not stress my legs.



Half an hour later, I had the third and final gel because ??? reasons. I was really tired by this point. This, I think, was a crucial mistake. Or maybe it wasn't and it was just a small decision on top of all my other subobtimal decisions. In any case, once it hit my stomach, I started getting cramps and it felt a bit like concrete was slowly making its way through my guts. This was not a good feeling! Luckily, the way home was only about an hour and I knew the route, which made it mentally much easier, recognizing familiar landmarks. Still, my stomach was churning all the way and I really wanted to get home. After we hit the finish, I said fairly quick goodbyes and went home.

Once I got home, I beelined to the toilet and had some very unpleasant diarrhea and stomach cramps. My partner had made dinner, but I couldn't eat all night. I tried a bit of plain pasta, which was ok but not great. Anything else caused very painful cramps. I felt like poo poo for a while, really cold and just exhausted. I took two imodium/loperamide, which helped and after some tea, my stomach relaxed too and I was starting to feel much better.

Recovery
I didn't sleep great on Saturday night, waking up quite early feeling hungry and a bit dehydrated. I took the day really easy, tried to eat whole foods high in protein, but still easy to digest (fish and veggies), which worked pretty well. Still slept kinda bad on Sunday night. Monday I was feeling really off, like super tired and mushy brained. Felt a bit an oncoming cold. Monday night I could finally sleep a really deep sleep and am doing pretty good today.


Stats
The heart rate is a lie, because my sensor crapped out for long periods




All in all, it was a cool experience and we made the most out of an absolutely beautiful day with near perfect conditions. Average of 20° C, a mix of cloud and sun, barely any wind, quiet roads. The end a was a bit unfortunate for me, but I just have very little experience with rides of this length/duration and have only started to seriously think about nutrition on the bike.

Hope you guys enjoyed my little trip report.

tildes posted:

Does anyone have recs for a bar tape which looks like this but is not $50? https://supacaz.com/product/bling-tape-oil-slick-w-oil-slick-plugs/

I realize this tape is maybe not objectively attractive but for whatever reason making my bike look like a counter strike skin rly appeals to me

E: some cheaper versions like this https://a.co/d/eGsf4nU and some Ali express ones out there actually. Curious if there are specific manufacturers people like for bar tape though

It also seems like they ditched the proprietary stem/handlebar setup? That seems like it just makes an already good bike better even than it was

Serendipitaet posted:

I did my longest ride last Saturday, totaling 211km in about 7:20h of riding and close to 10h of total elapsed time.

...

Hope you guys enjoyed my little trip report.

corona familiar posted:

after getting trainer-pilled I've got a few things on my mind now:

[list]
[*] can I get a power meter for outside on 2 bolt SPD cleats without spending more on that than my actual bike (Triban RC120, so a pretty cheap road bike)

charliebravo77 posted:

Check out Stages refurb/blemished and see if they have a left side crank option that works for you. I just ordered one for my bike for $209.

https://stagescycling.com/en_us/product/power-meters/recycled

Serendipitaet posted:

compton rear end terry posted:

Edit - Any Spd shoe recommendation for wide feet?

corona familiar posted:

impressive pace! sounds like a great day for a long ride. I like the photos as well

I did my first metric century two weekends ago and I started feeling it around km 80, so 200km+ is aspirational for me. it was a bit of a loop around the Marin area north of San Francisco with some hills

after getting trainer-pilled I've got a few things on my mind now:

• can I get a power meter for outside on 2 bolt SPD cleats without spending more on that than my actual bike (Triban RC120, so a pretty cheap road bike)
  
• is it even worth getting a power meter for a cheap bike or non-road-bike cleats? I want to measure my outdoor rides so I can compare with trainer performance (specifically climbs and sustained FTP) but maybe makes more sense to get a bike with better parts or bike fit or something else first
  
• out of two bib shorts I got, I started noticing numbness with the thinner chamois on the trainer but not when outside (probably because I'm moving around less on the trainer). the thicker one has no issues so I'm starting to look into replacing the saddle my bike came with to reduce pressure on ~ the anatomy ~
  

any recs on either? for saddles I was looking at the Specialized Phenom since it's kinda on sale and has good reviews, but would be interested in others

evil_bunnY posted:

NGL those snacks are loving SUS. Good job pushing through!

ilkhan posted:

You've got a couple options for power meters, I like pedals because they are easily portable between bikes if needed. The Shimano dual sided ones are my plan when I decide to pull the trigger. Not cheap, but good quality and can switch cleat style if needed.

Literally Lewis Hamilton posted:

Do you mean the Garmin Rally pedals?

Literally Lewis Hamilton posted:

Do you mean the Garmin Rally pedals?

Safety Dance posted:

I fuckin love Fischbrötchen, it's a shame I can't get it in the US

Mederlock posted:

What's the cheapest power measuring system?

tildes posted:

Does anyone have recs for a bar tape which looks like this but is not $50? https://supacaz.com/product/bling-tape-oil-slick-w-oil-slick-plugs/

I realize this tape is maybe not objectively attractive but for whatever reason making my bike look like a counter strike skin rly appeals to me

E: some cheaper versions like this https://a.co/d/eGsf4nU and some Ali express ones out there actually. Curious if there are specific manufacturers people like for bar tape though

tildes posted:

Does anyone have recs for a bar tape which looks like this but is not $50? https://supacaz.com/product/bling-tape-oil-slick-w-oil-slick-plugs/

I realize this tape is maybe not objectively attractive but for whatever reason making my bike look like a counter strike skin rly appeals to me

E: some cheaper versions like this https://a.co/d/eGsf4nU and some Ali express ones out there actually. Curious if there are specific manufacturers people like for bar tape though

TacoHavoc posted:

Try buying it from these folks? https://bikecloset.com/product-category/builders-corner/ I stumbled across them looking for something else, but noticed they had a bunch of cheap supacaz tape. The internet seems to think they're legit, just occasionally slow to ship.

Bar tape is one of those things that's expensive and it shouldn't be, but every time I try to buy cheap stuff it loving sucks and I end up replacing it earlier. The whole Sam Vimes Boots Theory thing in action.

Wifi Toilet posted:

Bike Closet is legit. I’ve ordered from them a couple times with no problems.

ilkhan posted:

You've got a couple options for power meters, I like pedals because they are easily portable between bikes if needed. The Shimano Garmin dual sided rally ones are my plan when I decide to pull the trigger. Not cheap, but good quality and can switch cleat style if needed.

Mederlock posted:

What's the cheapest power measuring system?

Shadowhand00 posted:

The Assiomas usually go on a decent sale during Black Friday - https://cycling.favero.com/en

Shadowhand00 posted:

Awesome!

Have you looked at joining your local Audax/Randonneur group? - https://www.audax-randonneure.de/

corona familiar posted:

impressive pace! sounds like a great day for a long ride. I like the photos as well

I did my first metric century two weekends ago and I started feeling it around km 80, so 200km+ is aspirational for me. it was a bit of a loop around the Marin area north of San Francisco with some hills

evil_bunnY posted:

NGL those snacks are loving SUS. Good job pushing through!

Serendipitaet posted:

Keep it up and you’ll get there! Most important thing for me is being comfortable in the saddle. I got a bike fit including a new saddle this year and it has made a huge difference. Then comes fitness and fuel.

Serendipitaet posted:

I stand by the Fischbrötchen, it really hit the spot.

TacoHavoc posted:

Try buying it from these folks? https://bikecloset.com/product-category/builders-corner/ I stumbled across them looking for something else, but noticed they had a bunch of cheap supacaz tape. The internet seems to think they're legit, just occasionally slow to ship.

Bar tape is one of those things that's expensive and it shouldn't be, but every time I try to buy cheap stuff it loving sucks and I end up replacing it earlier. The whole Sam Vimes Boots Theory thing in action.

ilkhan posted:

I bought some black bibs shorts a while back and while barely using them have decided they are too big for me. Any suggestions of a good place to list them for sale? Ebay or craigslist probably, but anywhere else?

Fork of Unknown Origins posted:

Marketplace has a ton of that sort of stuff if you have Facebook.