cycling: TT at Worlds; 32.8mph

52.91 kph, or about 32.8 mph... Over 57.8 km or ~35.8 miles.

I believe I can touch that in a sprint. To do that for over an hour...

Back when I was road riding with groups, I did one A+ ride with some Cat 1 and 2 races. The casual warm-up pace was at 25 mph in a double pace-line. When they got serious, the speed jumped to 32 mph in single paceline. I hung on for one pull at the front (it felt like riding into a brick wall when the guy in front of me pulled off) and got spit out the back like a spent shell.

The thought of holding that pace solo... for an hour... ...those guys aren't human.

The Whizzinator!!! NFL tested, Lance Armstrong approved

Ian F wrote: The thought of holding that pace solo... for an hour... ...those guys aren't human.

That's why like 75% of riders have been caught doping already...

This is one of the reasons I'm so torqued at cycling's sanctioning bodies, many athletes, coaches, etc...

I think there's once again a real movement toward cleaning the sport up, but I also can't blame anybody for taking a pretty jaundiced view.

It's sad.

This Friday, the UCI will either re-up Pat McQuaid as the President (oh, please, no...) or vote in a new one. Nothing and nobody is going to fix this quickly, but getting the cartoon-level corruption out of the top tier has to be a start.

Javelin wrote: That's why like 75% of riders have been caught doping already...

I don't even care. I could take any amount supplements or drugs and I couldn't do what they do.

Javelin wrote:

Ian F wrote: The thought of holding that pace solo... for an hour... ...those guys aren't human.

That's why like 75% of riders have been caught doping already...

Some of the B main guys I used to ride with around town are juicing its so prevent. I have no idea how fast a clean human could actually do this.

In reply to wearymicrobe:

That's mental.

I would like to leave we can leave it behind almost completely, but the idea of doing that to your body to enhance your finish in the East Nowhere Industrial Park Criterium Series, I just can't understand.

I know it happens. There are even guys in the freaking Masters ranks doing this...

No contract on the line, no hope of a career racing to cling desperately to... Just a complete failure of perspective and understanding of the (un)importance of how you do in a bicycle race for old guys who have to go to work on Monday...

Sad and wrong for young guys. Stupid and vain for old guys.

ransom wrote: In reply to wearymicrobe: That's *mental*. I would like to leave we can leave it behind almost completely, but the idea of doing that to your body to enhance your finish in the East Nowhere Industrial Park Criterium Series, I just can't understand. I know it happens. There are even guys in the freaking *Masters* ranks doing this... No contract on the line, no hope of a career racing to cling desperately to... Just a complete failure of perspective and understanding of the (un)importance of how you do in a bicycle race for old guys who have to go to work on Monday... Sad and wrong for young guys. Stupid and vain for old guys.

PEDs when taken sensibly, and in the case of steroids taken with estrogen inhibitors and proper post-cycle therapy offer none of the side effects you saw Ben Affleck develop in that E36 M3ty infomovie they played in highschool. Those Masters guys you see who are taking TRT are enjoying an incredible quality of life improvement.

If the financial cost isn't straining other aspects of their life, let 'um ride.

We have a Tuesday/Thursday evening ride through Rock Creek Park by where I live called "The Goon Ride". It's only 25 miles but they bang it off in under an hour. The mid point is a hard switchback climb that I do in my 39/23. They do it in the big ring and barely slow down.

I see them on the way back fairly often and the bunch is strung out over about 5 minutes. What fun!

Cookson beats McQuaid! No guarantees, and a long road ahead toward regaining credibility (or deserving it), but removing that walking stack of corruption from the UCI was a prerequisite.

Osterkraut, I have no idea what movie you're talking about. And EPO isn't, as far as I know, a sensible part of anybody's anti-aging regimen. I'm dubious of the steroid usage, but I also don't know nearly enough to refute what you say, and I have to admit that ignorance plays a role in my apprehension there.

ransom wrote: Osterkraut, I have no idea what movie you're talking about. And EPO isn't, as far as I know, a sensible part of anybody's anti-aging regimen. I'm dubious of the steroid usage, but I also don't know nearly enough to refute what you say, and I have to admit that ignorance plays a role in my apprehension there.

This movie, with the best part shownhere. The punchline is that "roid rage" is about as true as "reefer madness."See the abstract of this study for details.

While EPO is a PED, and one quite commonly used in endurance sports, "juicing" (like wearymicrobe said) can consist of a lot of other options, and mostly implies steroids, which are very effective (even in endurance sports) and a potentially very safe option. Saying it's mental and heaping scorn on those "juicers," especially when coming from a self-professed position of ignorance is a little mental in itself.

EDIT: My tone in this discussion has been E36 M3ty. My being wound up over the hopeful end of an era of corruption and doping that made my favorite non-motorsport look like a mob-run WWF is no excuse. Apologies to anyone reading this, and especially Osterkraut.

This much I think is true: the rules of the sport don't allow PEDs. Until that changes, they are like a hot cam in spec miata; they steal experiences and achievements from people who play by the rules, and leave them with the choice between losing to a cheater, or the risk and expense of cheating themselves (not to mention how that diminishes the experience for someone who wouldn't by nature cheat).

Never mind that the hot cam has no real health ramifications. However much improved today's understanding of them is, most PEDs have a health risk well above that of a B-vitamin supplement.