- It's time yet again for another edition
of Ask GCN Anything?
But in this week's show I'm gonna attempt a world record.
Yes, 13 questions in the rapid fire round
will be attempted by myself.
But first up, by way of a warm up,
is this question from Kris Reed
down in the comments section, who says,
Hi GCN, I'm new to cycling and I have just purchased
my first bike spending a whopping 10,000 pounds
for my yearly ride out with my friend
who is also apparently having a midlife crisis,
how can I be more aero?
And can my super light carbon bike make me super fast
even though I weigh 16 stone?
Well Kris, thank you very much for getting in touch.
That is a serious investment you've made there
with that bike, 10,000 pounds, lot of money,
and I sincerely hope you'll be riding it
just a little bit more than once a year.
But in relation to your question about aero,
well aero is considered to be everything in cycling
these days, and there are numerous ways
that you can get aerodynamic,
or improve the way that you cheat the air.
First and foremost is get yourself an aero bike,
get yourself some deep section rims with a wider profile,
and also a wider tyre.
You can also get yourself an aerodynamic helmet,
and finally, you can get yourself some aero kit
that's nicely fitted and tailored.
But fundamentally, the most important thing
that you need to consider when trying to cheat the air
is yourself, basically your position on the bike.
Because put simply, you need to punch a smaller hole
through the air as is possible to maximise the power
that you are producing,
and this video will show you how.
With your back flatter and your torso lower,
you'll probably find that it's your head
that's the biggest obstruction in the wind.
But it is pretty easy to fix.
But also pretty easy to forget when out on the road,
so lower your head between your shoulder blades,
whilst keeping your eyes fixed on the road ahead.
Next up we have this question from Ross Brannigan
who asks, you guys obviously do a lot of riding,
so how do you deal with knee pain?
Stretches, strength training?
Well Ross, thank you very much
for getting in contact with us.
Now along with lower back pain,
knee problems and knee pain
are one of the most common issues faced by cyclists,
and there can be many many reasons.
Now over the years, I've had my fair share of knee problems,
but to be perfectly honest with you,
it's generally come about as a direct result of crashing.
But luckily, I've never had any chronic knee pain
to deal with, and the best way of getting through
any issues with the knee, if they go on for a long time,
first seek the advice of a specialist.
But secondly, is have plenty of rest.
And just to answer your question directly,
if you're experiencing knee pain,
the last thing you want to do
is any sort of strength training,
so shy away from training,
wait til the pain subsides, and then slowly but surely,
gradually build up the intensity of your training.
Now there are lots of other reasons
why you can get knee pain, apart from the obvious one
of falling off your bike.
It could be that you've got a shoe plate
in the wrong position, that's happened to me in the past,
and another very innocuous one a few years back,
I had quite a lot of problems with my left knee,
and eventually found out after a couple of weeks,
that one of my saddle rails was actually cracked,
and my saddle had essentially collapsed in on itself
without me even noticing, resulting in my pelvis
tilting to one side and then knee problems.
So lots of knee problems are avoidable and preventable.
And we look at this very issue in this video.
- First place you should start
is by looking at your saddle height and position.
Now, get it too high or too low
and you'll be putting considerable extra strain
on your knees.
Now talk to a fellow cyclist,
with one look they should be able to tell you
if there are any glaring errors in your position.
But you can of course do it yourself as well.
- A world record attempt is about to take place
in the rapid fire round.
Mike, can you count me in please sir?
- [Mike] Three, two, one.
- Here we go, first up is this from Nicky Ross.
How did you start, what was your first club
and do you still keep in touch with them?
Well thanks Nicky, my first club
was Hemel Hempstead Cycling Club.
I do still keep in touch, went to the club dinner last year
and they made me a life member, how cool is that?
Second is this from RAF3AKY in the comments section.
What's the best way to get back into the swing of riding?
I've had a few weeks off
and can't seem to get back into it as well.
Best thing to do, if you've had a bit of a lay off,
is to set yourself a few objectives,
write them down, and also if you can,
ring a mate and arrange a time and a place
to get out on your bike, and get yourself into a routine
as soon as is possible,
and that should definitely help.
Next up is this from Matt Taylor over on Twitter.
What kind of coffee do you presenters drink on a ride?
Is there a coffee that is better for you than others?
Don't know about the scientific proof about best coffees
and the differences between coffees,
but I prefer on my own a nice flat white or a cappuccino.
I think Lloydy likes a flat white too,
and I think Si is very keen on the flat white.
And actually come to think of it,
Lasty likes a flat white as well.
Next up is this from dottigirl.
Any chance of some washing tips from torqueback please?
I try to avoid buying white kit,
but club jersey has white and gets very very grubby.
My advice would be,
apart from watching my little cheeky video
that I made in Alta Badia on washing your kit in a hotel is,
to give your kit a pre-soak as soon as you get in.
Don't leave it in the washing basket,
give it a nice pre-soak before giving it a wash
and that should definitely help,
and non-bio often works a little bit better as well.
Matthew Briley asks, good evening.
My brakes keep rubbing on the rims on my road bike
after they've been pressed.
How can I solve the issue?
Well Matthew, without taking a look at your bike,
difficult to know exactly why
but there's probably two issues at play.
Number one, it could be that your calipers,
your brake calipers have seized,
so it's worth taking them off your bike,
giving them a bit of lubrication
and kind of applying them on and off as well yourself,
but secondly and most likely the cause of the problem
is that either your outer cable or your inner cable
are catching.
So take out your inner cable, give it a grease,
put it back in, and that should work again.
And if you can't do that,
it's worth taking it down to your local bike shop
to take a look at.
That's probably the main cause.
Next up is this from kyle1995.
Hello GCN.
Hello Kyle.
I've recently got back into cycling after a couple of years,
but I am having difficulty with bike saddles.
They seem to put too much pressure in places
I'd rather not have pressure on.
I've tried cycling shorts with little success.
Any suggestions?
Well if you only just got back into cycling,
sitting on one of those small narrow saddles
can be quite hard work.
I generally advise to just persevere, persevere,
the more riding you do, the better it will become.
Alternatively, get yourself off to a bike shop
and look at the range available
because there are, if you're having problems
with your perineum, there are cutaway saddles
that are available that can help with that particular issue.
Next up is this from mart21129.
You guys often mention that you shouldn't do junk miles
from a training perspective.
Can you define what a junk mile is more specifically
in relation to power and heart rate zones?
Well thanks Mart.
Junk miles really is a little bit of an unfair term.
Basically junk miles are essentially zone one
in your heart rate and zone one power.
Basically where you're riding along at very very low power,
hardly even needing to turn the pedals over,
and also that the physiological benefits
from riding at that speed are negligent.
But those kinds of rides are important
if they're used as recovery rides,
and also for social rides.
But basically the reason we call them junk miles
is because if you do them too often
you won't get any training benefit at all.
You won't get stronger and you won't get faster.
Next up is this from John Rego.
At the end of stages in grand tours
the coloured jersey is for winning,
the coloured jerseys for winning
have the team livery on them.
Are they printed on the spot
or are the jerseys already prepared for them
in anticipation of a win?
In the big grand tours, they're done on the spot
just behind the podium.
It's all very very quick, very very professional.
Nick Humphreys asks,
should you replace your tyres when the rubber
has started crazing?
Or is it superficial?
Definitely replace them if they start crazing
because they get a glazed effect,
they start cracking and they're perished,
and basically the integrity of the rubber is compromised.
Take 'em off your bike, little bit dangerous,
definitely prone to puncturing if you leave them like that.
Next we have this from se7enTse7en,
why are 16 tooth cogs on cassettes so rare?
Because of the wider ratio blocks that we get these days,
but I'm also with you.
I love a 16 block, but the block to look out for
on 11 speed is 11-12-13-14-15-16-17-21-23-25,
that's the ideal block.
I know Shimano and SRAM do those blocks.
Have a look around, you will find them,
but I think with the trend toward far wider ratios,
the 16 is almost a thing that could be consigned to the past
but I'm with ya, love a 16,
especially on the flat.
Next up is this from defredius,
why is that there's such a long time between releasing the A
and B samples when somebody is busted for doping?
Surely the samples can be tested at the same time
or a day apart.
Basically the reason why there's an A and a B sample,
first off, the A sample is the one that's tested in the lab.
If it's found to be positive,
what happens is the B sample is then opened
when the athlete is present,
and that can obviously take a period of time.
So the athlete can opt to accept
the results of the A sample,
or if they're in doubt, they can go and watch the B sample
being opened, and the integrity of that sample
is not compromised.
That's the reason there's a delay between A and B.
Next up is this from Oliver Lane.
Penultimate question, how can I avoid skinny arms,
oh it's the last question.
No, it's the penultimate question.
How can I avoid skinny arms but still be a good climber.
Should I train my upper body but not as much as my legs?
Basically skinny arms, if you look at Alberto Contador,
Chris Froome, Simon Richardson,
skinny arms are part of being a good climber.
You can build them up if you want a little bit,
maybe a few press ups if you like reps,
but if you start building a little bit too much muscle mass
you become inefficient as a climber.
So basically skinny arms, you're gonna be a good climber.
And finally, this question from Billy Norton.
At a short pro Crit race of one hour,
I noticed lots of riders using embrocation cream
on their legs.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of using it?
Thank you very much.
Well, the scientific proof that embrocation
makes any difference whatsoever is pretty negligible.
I'm not actually aware of any at all
because what the cream does, what the embrocation does
is affect your skin at a subcutaneous level,
so just through the skin,
really penetrates deeply into the muscle.
But what you will get in cold weather
is the sensation of heat, which is fine
especially for racing in cold weather.
Also makes it easier for your legs
to get massaged as well.
But the drawback is, if you have a particularly hot balm
and then go in the shower, boy can that hurt.
Well I'm gonna wait back from Guinness
to see if I've got the official world record
but I'm pretty happy with that.
I think I just might have nailed it,
so the final question, I'm gonna slow things down once more
with this from Simchi Rubenstein
down in the comments section,
who asks how important is fueling on a ride?
How often should you fuel?
And what is the best food to eat?
#torqueback
Well thanks Simchi for getting in contact.
Now the simple answer to this question
is that it is very important indeed,
especially if you're riding for over one hour.
Now there are so many different factors to consider here,
so first and foremost I think
it is your ability and experience as a rider.
So has your body got the ability
or is it trained to actually utilise the fuels within it?
That's one big factor.
Secondly is the length of the ride,
the intensity of the ride.
So what is the course?
What sort of pace are you gonna be riding at?
Weather conditions
are another really important factor indeed.
Is it gonna be hot?
Is it gonna be cold?
If it's hot, you need to make sure
you have the right hydration strategy on board,
and also are you riding multi days as well?
Is this day one of an event
that you'll be riding like 50 or 100 miles a day?
Because if that is the case,
you need to actually think about the days ahead
as well as the day that you're riding for.
So the general rule in terms of fueling on your bike
across the board, if you're riding for over an hour
is to try and drink little and often,
every 20 minutes to half an hour,
and that's a really good base place to start.
And we look at this subject in a lot more detail
in this video with Si and Dan.
- Actually if your ride is gonna be less than 90 minutes
in duration, then really you don't need anything at all.
That is because your body is capable
of storing enough carbohydrates to fuel you
through a ride of that duration
no matter how hard you're going.
- Anything more than that though,
you're gonna need to start taking on board
some carbohydrate.
Not only is it gonna top up your energy stores,
it's actually also gonna help you absorb water
from your gut.
- Well I'm a little bit exhausted now to say the very least,
but that is it for another edition of Ask GCN Anything.
Thanks as ever for getting in contact.
It is great fun reading through all of your questions,
and as you can see, I do try,
or we do try to answer as many as possible.
But keep those questions coming
using the #torqueback down in the comments section
and also across on social media as well.
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