[traylseeker]

Sometimes when I ride I get so charged up that I will push myself hard. The legs almost burn, but what is my vo2max. Can it be increased? The guys I ride with are intense and push themselves to the extreme, many times leaving me somewhere way behind. Does it help to push your limits?

 

[ArmySlowRdr]

Only way to improve is push your threshhold for uncomfort higher and higher.

 

[GotMojo?]

Sometimes when I ride I get so charged up that I will push myself hard. The legs almost burn, but what is my vo2max. Can it be increased? The guys I ride with are intense and push themselves to the extreme, many times leaving me somewhere way behind. Does it help to push your limits?

Trying doing intervals... or worse yet, hill intervals. They kill, and will make you hate your bike. But they do make you faster :thumbsup:

 

[TheBicFlic]

Trying doing intervals... or worse yet, hill intervals. They kill, and will make you hate your bike. But they do make you faster :thumbsup:

It also helps to have friends that are way better then you then you, they can make you do even what seems like an easy ride 50 times harder.

Believe me, I know.

 

[aword4you]

Er... I think I hurt everytime I ride my bike. Maybe I'm doing it wrong Though I did climb 4500 ft in 16 miles today in near freezing temps. Yes, that was painful.

 

[Tracerboy]

A race should push anyone to their limits.

 

[rkj__]

oh i felt a lot of pain last year. i did a fair amount of racing, and i also went on group rides, with people who were faster than me. it took everything i had to stay with those guys. i would often lose them, but they almost always made stops to allow stragglers like me to catch up.

when i ride solo, i don't usually push myself to my maximum, though i do sometimes up the tempo. long rides can be painful, even if only at a normal pace.

i love riding.

 

[Jayem]

Getting stronger will NEVER be comfortable, and it will hurt at times.

 

[wvphoto]

i'm fat and old..
every time i ride it hurts..LOL

but i love it..

 

[rm_racer]

today's high: 36 degrees. i rode before it got to that high. 12 mile ride. coming down was pain because of the insane windchill. going up was major pain, for my throat (from the near-freezing air attacking it), for my legs because my buddy is known as the ironman. he makes the impossible (in an uphill direction) look easy. and i tried to keep up. i will confirm that having a friend who is faster than you will help you get faster, albeit often painfully. he makes me (without knowing it) push myself untill my legs are jello.

 

[Tracerboy]

I will have to agree that being cold out adds another factor of pain. Riding 55 miles on the open road when its 20's and 30's out is not a walk in the park.

 

[rm_racer]

my hands were almost numb when i got home. but the coldness did not really affect my hands until about mile 9. it was wierd. then all of a sudden my gloves were providing no warmth. so my face and hands were freezing. the summers here are also pain, but it a different way. 115 degree highs sometimes. we have to wake up before it's light out and then get going right when light comes. by 8 or 9 o'clock the ride is usually done. i may even get a light and do super-early morning rides when summer rolls around..

 

[KRob]

Have I ridden until I hurt??? Oh yeah... especially when I crash.:thumbsup:

 

[mrpercussive]

yes... it's not a matter of if we get hurt... it's a matter of when...

 

[trigeek]

do some loops in forest hill park. that'll increase your VO2 max! while it's rainy this week, i've been riding the asphalt hill that goes through the center of fhp. i keep intending to do hill repeats (like mojo suggested), but riding up it fast once kills me so much i haven't done it more than once yet!

 

[_hamilton]

forest hill park...

forest hill park...someone else knows my pain. That place will slap you hard!
Why am I looking foward to my next ride?

 

[ziegi]

What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger.

I think a good mix of hard fast rides, long slower rides and intervals combine to make you better and faster but don't lose the point which is to have fun, look at the view, the wildlife, take some photos and hang out with your friends.

Go get em !

ziegi

 

[MtbRN]

Have I ridden till I hurt? Yes... every spring when the riding season starts. Those first weeks trying to get your fitness and strength back are killers. Especially climbing some of the front range trails like Mount Falcon or White Ranch, which are just endless, steep, unrelenting uphill slogs. They never get to be fun, for me, but they do get easier as the summer progresses. And the satisfaction I feel the day I finally ride the whole hill from bottom to top keeps me motivated to keep going back.

 

[Bawitdaba]

UUUhhhh, yeah. Isn't that the whole idea??? It's even better if you're bleeding...lol

 

[Anonymous]

Yer jokin', right?