Hey Joe Cyclist & Runner's page - Cross-training, Workouts&more

Hi all, this is my Tumblr page for my official sport releated website. https://heyjoecyclist.wordpress.com Mainly about my effort & my experience in any areas of wellness, healthy lifestyle. So you will be possibly find here some articles about avoiding bad, unhealthy habits or about sport & exercise, choosing the right, proper nutrition & so on. My personal favourite sport & topic is road cycling, so I would like to write about especially in this theme here but since I have regular cross-training, workouts too, there will be much more contents, topics too. If you are interested about where I cycling mostly or about my overall performance of cycling & running, you can follow me on the professional site, STRAVA. https://www.strava.com/athletes/6667997 (STRAVA is “Designed by athletes, for athletes, Strava’s mobile app and website connect millions of runners and cyclists through the sports they love.”)

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How to ride on a rode bike in snow?Liverpool - Denbigh (North Wales) & back in the saddle, all day endurance training in frosty, snowy winter weather

About my longest ride ever so far yet, in frosty, snowy winter weather condition. Just try to share here some of my personal experience & recommendations about winter cycling, such as: preps., necessary tools & equipment, forewarns...

 Yeah, some of my friends are just typically told me, when heard about my recent winter cycling plan: “You’re crazy!” (Usually colleagues, friends, who never really been involved in sport. Especially not in high-intensity, so got not much experience of the joy of any sports.)

Also some of them added also: “You’re crazy, but in the best way ! Good luck lad!”

(Usually colleagues, friends, close…

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[heyjoecyclist]

2 days off meant: 36 hrs without sleep, 31 hrs cycling & climbing with breaks from Liverpool 2 Snowdon Peak & back – Summary, YouTube video & pics Source: 2 days off meant: 36 hrs without sleep, 31 hrs cycling & climbing with breaks from Liverpool 2 Snowdon Peak & back - Summary, YouTube video & pics

[heyjoecyclist]

Short summary about my adventure in numbers

 This 333 km ( 207 miles) ride with 3635 metres (11926 feet) of total elevation within 19 hrs & 4 mins. of moving time with my extra weights (clothes, tools & equipment, 1st aid kit, food & drink, spare parts for my bike & so on) for this solo ride / tour & adventure on my 2nd lightest road bike, plus the climbing to Snowdon Peak instead of having some proper rest, break between my rides from Liverpool to Snowdon & back without sleep for 36 hrs was really challenging but also a fantastic experience! ^^ 😀

(The climbing / running & walking to Snowdon Peak from the bottom was only 6 km up & 7 km down (I chosen a little bit longer but easier track to go back) but I had to make some ascent (735 metres / 2411 feet) to up & ofc., after that I had to descent 735 m to back until the bottom. And the night ride from Snowdon back to Liverpool just started after that. 🙂 )

About my experience during this ride

 What was really interesting to me (kind of new experience), how much you can achieve, after you just decided (within only a second(!)) to make it. The power of our will.

Yes, I experienced this before but not so many times in a relatively smaller time interval as during this sleepless 36 hours. 🙂

I planned this route to ride approx. 6 months ago already but during winter & spring the weather was always totally awful to do outdoor sport for all day or when finally the weather wasn’t too bad, I had to do something else in my spare time. But now, last week the weather forecast was very promising plus I had enough spare time to do so. That’s where I already had to start to make some decision. Because on the morning before the start, when I woke up in my bed at 4 AM, the weather in Liverpool actually doesn’t really looked so great to be in the saddle for all day. It was a cloudy, dark, a little bit of windy & nearly rainy weather on this morning. Yep, I wasn’t quiet happy about this sad weather.

So, 1st I decided to wake up from my bed at 4 AM but I wasn’t sure then, I will really make it an all day ride. I just slowly woke up, made my coffee, my breakfast & so on. Before 5 AM then I made my final decision: “DAMMIT! I been waiting for this opportunity for too long already! I must try now or never!” I thought that & told for myself that & checked one last time bike, tyre pressure, the packs, etc.

 At 5:17 AM (21st of June, 2017) I started my ride finally from Liverpool. Of course as always, after a couple of minutes I had to realise again: if we make plan, pretty sure something will be happen to force us to make it another plan. Only this morning the Queens Tunnel was closed from the traffic (this tunnel is the only in Liverpool, where cyclist are allowed to go across under the River Mersey & only late & early hours, when the traffic is quiet, not so busy). So I had again a decision: find a new track or choose another destination & leave it Snowdonia for next time to discover.

Well, I found a new track, plus the weather was still cloudy but after a few hours was already pretty warm & after 9 AM was already quiet hot, plus some sunshine arrived as well finally. Also the wind stopped totally, so all in all my mood turned out well after 9 AM already & I was glad I continued my ride straight into Snowdonia.

And I arrived to the bottom of the Snowdon mountain around 6PM. It wasn’t a race but just a solo ride just for fun so I took much breaks & photos as was possible, since I 1st time visited Snowdonia! 🙂 My moving time was less than 9 hrs in he saddle but since it was a solo ride without any support, I had to carry a lots of clothes & tools, equipment & food & drink. Especially, I had to be sure I always have enough drink even in the middle of nowhere, since this day was for ages ago the hottest day in Snowdonia. Local people are just mentioned, told me when I met with them there in the villages & farms. I had to agree it was really hot, excellent weather to me for an all day adventure, all day of ride & climb. 🙂 So, after a break (I changes my shoes for climbing, etc.) I started to climb to the summit of Snowdon mountain at 6:21 PM & reached the top after 2 hrs. My moving time was only 1 hr & 21 mins. but yep, ofc., I took tons of pics during my climb, the views was stunning, landscape was so brilliant from the Snowdon mountain! 🙂

By the way, so far I had only once more a situation, where I had to make again a big decision:

I already rode in the saddle nearly 161 km on this 1st day and I was heading up to the Snowdon Peak but when I made already more than the half way to the summit, the weather suddenly changed: darker, bigger clouds & strong wind arrived with the smell of the rain. Also in the same time, I just met with a climber, who just came beck from the top & he is mentioned to me, probably some storm coming soon there. So, I had to decide to continue or stop my way to the summit & go back before the weather getting worst.

I chosen to do not stop but continue my way, since relatively i wasn’t too far from the summit already, plus I carried enough wind + waterproof clothes for this kind of situation. And yes, I just made it the right decision again, the weather again turned out well, when I just finally arrived to the top of the Snowdon mountain! 🙂  At 8:25PM I headed back to the bottom from the summit, the back way was a little bit less than 2hrs. Then I had a break again, I changed back my shoes for cycling & so on & I started then my night ride at 10:37PM from the bottom of the Snowdon mountain in the middle of nowhere, from the middle of the mountains of Snowdonia. 😀

To be honest, my ride didn’t go too easily between 2 AM & 4 AM, since I felt my self very sleepy but once I had the sunrise, I was OK-fine again. I had some bigger road closures not too far from Liverpool & some rainy weather also, plus I wasn’t able to reach in time to use with my road bike the Queens tunnel (bicycles only allowed to use this tunnel under the River Mersey during the nights until 6AM before the traffic getting busy as I mentioned before) so I had to reroute my track to home. I spent 10 hrs in the saddle to ride back to home & spent 13 hrs with the breaks together. So, I arrived to home on the next day (22nd of June) just before lunch time, before 12AM. Then I had to take a shower & eat, had to send message to my family members & close friends about I’m still alive, etc., so I went into my bed around 4PM. All in all I was very lucky with the weather & it was a great experience, amazing adventure, I been out to ride & climb for 31hrs & I was sleepless for 36 hrs! XD 😀

Just a short story before the pictures & YouTube video:

 I just stopped with my road bike at the Pen-y-grwyd Hotel for a short break just before I reached the bottom of Snowdon Peak & the road of Pen-y-Pass. It was great after almost the half-distance of my ride (approx. 161 km / 100+ miles) to have finally a half pint of cold beer (I drink alcohol very rarely, approx. every 4-8 months, so it’s means a lot, lol) & a large, big pot of coffee, 1st time after almost 12 hrs of short breaks & ride in the cracking, very hot weather.

 This lovely, little hotel in the middle of nowhere also included an also little (but also lovely & cosy) pub where I met with some tourists & also with some local people too. One of the local gentleman asked me about “Where did you come from?” (after, when he came out to the front of the hotel into the garden & seen my bike with my packs) & I told to him: “I rode here on my bike from Liverpool. I just started to ride here on the morning & I go back tonight after I climbed this great & popular Snowdon Peak here. :)”

Then he told me: “Oh, & they say British people are crazy. :)” He told me in totally neutral tone but in the same time he had a little smile on his face. Then we just enjoyed the weather & had a very little chat about where he came from & where I came from originally & this kind of things & so on.

Before he went back into the pub in the hotel, he is also asked me: “Do you like British beers?” Well, I don’t have any problem with most of the British beers, especially if it’s nice cold & I’m thirsty already. So I answered: “Yes, sure.” Then he just went back straight to his friends & from the front door he is already started to tell to his friends: “Hey, this guy came here from Hungary, just to have some British beer!” Well, my summary about local people in Snowdonia (Wales): they are maybe a little bit odd but probably that’s why I liked them! 😀 By the way in England also they, the Welsh people are the only one who still use their own languages, the Welsh language (Cymraeg) so far as I know. It’s also reminded me to Scotland, where everything is still written both in English & in Gaelic (Scottish language) too just like in Wales, where everything is both written in English & in Welsh too.

And now let me show my 31 hrs of adventure via my YouTube video, enjoy!^

2 days off: 36 hrs without sleep, 31 hrs cycling & climbing from Liverpool

to Snowdon Peak & back

Also my adventure in a few pics:

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My 31 hrs adventure also on STRAVA:

https://www.strava.com/activities/1050388892 – Part 1 My ride from Liverpool into Snowdonia (From the biggest city of Merseyside into the greatest mountains of Wales) until the bottom of the Snowdon Peak. 160km with 2000m total elevation. https://www.strava.com/activities/1050389480 – Part 2 My run & walk (climb) from the bottom of the Snowdon mountain (1085m) until the summit. Only 6km but had to climb 735m. https://www.strava.com/activities/1050390225 – Part 3 My run & walk back from the summit to the bottom of Snowdon mountain (the highest mountains of Wales & England). https://www.strava.com/activities/1050394124 – Part 4 Night ride back to home from the bottom of the Snowdon mountain to Liverpool. 172km with 1624m of total elevation.

My 31 hrs adventure on RELIVE:

https://www.relive.cc/view/1050388892 – Part 1 https://www.relive.cc/view/1050394124 – Part 2 https://www.relive.cc/view/1050389480 #3 https://www.relive.cc/view/1050390225 #4

More about RELIVE:

https://heyjoecyclist.com/2017/06/01/high-tech-base-part-2-now-you-can-relive-your-epic-runs-relive-makes-freaking-awesome-video-recaps-of-your-bike-rides-now-also-about-your-runs-on-3d-map-for-free/

You can find me:  https://heyjoecyclist.com/ https://www.strava.com/athletes/6667997 https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLyaxWOw0XkZ0gDbQNQBrve0X-hokolql4 https://www.facebook.com/cyclistheyjoe/ https://twitter.com/HeyJoeHUN https://heyjoecyclist.tumblr.com/ https://uk.pinterest.com/CyclistHeyJoe/ https://www.reddit.com/user/hedzsoooAkaHeyjoe/

#running #cycling #climbing #motivationalvideo #sportvideo #GoPro #Strava #Relive #CyclistHeyJoe #HeyJoe #hiking #adventurer #adventure #sleepless #withoutsleep #nosleep #Hungarian #mountains #hilly #hills #landscape #scenery #views #SnowdonPeak #Snowdonia #BritishSummer #Wales #England #UK #RoadCycling #UnitedKingdom #BeforeBrexit really start… #hikingadventures #wales❤️ #sport #roadcycling #cyclingphotooftheday #cyclingphotos #cyclinglife #runner #run #ride #runningday #challenge #climberlife #runnerlife #cyclistlife #adventurerlife

2 days off meant: 36 hrs without sleep, 31 hrs cycling & climbing with breaks from Liverpool 2 Snowdon Peak & back – Summary, YouTube video & pics Short summary about my adventure in numbers  This 333 km ( 207 miles) ride with 3635 metres…

[heyjoecyclist]

2 days off: 36 hrs without sleep, 31 hrs cycling & climbing from Liverpo...

[heyjoecyclist]

High-Tech Base - Part 2: Now you can ReLIVE your epic runs! Relive makes freaking awesome video recaps of your bike rides & now also about your runs on 3D map for FREE.

High-Tech Base - Part 2: Now you can ReLIVE your epic runs! Awesome video recaps of your run

 Relive just easily turns your cycling training or/& epic ride into a personal video worth sharing with your friends or/& with the public. Fly over your route on a great 3D map, & see where you’ve been, plus view your highlights! And now you can do the same after your RUNS too!!! 😉

Relive now, in May 2017 became available for running activities.

“A new way to share outdoor experiences” says the…

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Less than 3 DAYS TO GO: My previous efforts so far yet in 2017 – My training sessions for Saddleback Fred Whitton cycling challenge sportive #2 (Update)

Less than 3 DAYS TO GO: My previous efforts so far yet in 2017 – My training sessions for Saddleback Fred Whitton cycling challenge sportive #2 (Update)

As I mentioned before in the 1st part of this article, I want to finish the 2017 Fred Whitton road cycling challenge in decent time, so I aimed myself to able to do under 7 hours. Still, it’s not under 6 hours to do this route like some professionals did previously but since I’m not a professional & I don’t have anymore time for training, I think it’s just more than enough challenge to me. The…

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[heyjoecyclist]

High-Tech Base - Part 1: ReLIVE your epic rides! Relive makes freaking awesome video recaps of your bike rides on 3D map for FREE.

High-Tech Base – Part 1: ReLIVE your epic rides! Relive makes freaking awesome video recaps of your bike rides on 3D map for FREE.

 Relive just easily turns your cycling training or/& epic ride into a personal video worth sharing with your friends or/& with the public. Fly over your route on a great 3D map, & see where you’ve been, plus view your highlights!

How does is it work?

 Connect your favourite tracker app (Garmin, STRAVA) to Relive & the miracle just happen! After this Relive will take care of things. Once you had…

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[heyjoecyclist]

At the end of the last year after I received an e-mail, I was happy to realise I’m one of the lucky cyclist who won a place for the 2017 Fred Whitton challenge. But I also assumed: I did participate on long-distance cycling challenges (100 mi / 160 km), sportive in the last 2 years already and I finished both of these challenges in a pretty reasonable time BUT none of these challenge rides had the massive amount of climbs as the Fred Whitton challenge. So I tried from the very end of the last year / beginning of this year a little bit more to do than my average previous training efforts to be sure, I will have not just good endurance but also I getting enough strong for the epic climbs of Fred Whitton. Of course, if I just wanna finish the Fred Whitton on any place, then I don’t really have to be involved in any kind of advanced training plan but I would like to finish the 112 miles (180 km) Fred Whitton course in a proper manner and under a reasonable time as I did before on the previous challenge rides. The total elevation will be 3950m on 180km. The maximum gradient we will encounter 33% (at Hardknott Pass) after 98 miles. So far as I know, this is the hardest one day ride in the UK. The very top riders are able to complete the route in just under 6 hours but 11-12 hours (& over) are not uncommon for the average Sportive rider.

I aiming with my training plan to be able to ride the Fred Whitton challenge under 7 hours. That’s my ultimate goal: to be able to do this really difficult cycling challenge in not just acceptable but also respectable time.

But let’s see, what am I done already on my training sessions?

First of all, my new & most difficult part of my advanced training effort the CARDIO-TRAINING SESSIONS. It’s basically come about 2 parts: 1. Running sessions (outdoor in parks & also on treadmill in Gym) 2. Cycling interval mostly outdoor, usually at one of my favourite park but also sometimes on stationary bike in Gym.

The really new part was to me the running sessions. I didn’t really had regular training run in the last 10 years. I actually never really liked to run or at least not at all as I really like to ride on any bike, any time in any weather or/and season. So, when I was able to finish under 2 hours my 1st half marathon ever (2nd of April, Liverpool Half Marathon), I was really glad, happy with my overall training run efforts, what was done in the last few (4-5) months. End of the last year I already started to do some efforts to get involved in running but then I did only 15 running sessions, spent 6 hours all together & was done only 54.2 km. This year I already had almost 18 hours of running with the distance of 152 km during on my 40 runs all together. The beginning of my runs wasn’t much fun but yep, after a while, I just get used to it & I was able to achieve to do the Half Marathon with a not too bad pace.

So how I did it exactly, how I build up my legs for long-distance runs with good pace? I will write about as well but in a separate blog. #gallery-0-13 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-13 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 33%; } #gallery-0-13 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-13 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

But the cardio just one part of my training plan, I also try to keep my endurance on a good level, so at least once a week I go for a LONG-DISTANCE RIDE too. It is minimum 60km cycling. Usually I plan the course for these rides to avoid other big cities (& the traffic lights, too big traffic) but go on the countrysides across towns & villages so I don’t have to break my training, I can ride on my own pace without any hitch, disturbing moment.

The long-distance rides are always been the part of my training but in this year I also getting involved more & more in THE GYM. It’s mainly because I wanna be Fitness Instructor but also because I want some improvement on my overall fitness level, on my core strength too. I almost every week try out new exercises forms in Gym, I do some body-weight, free weight & resistance machine exercises too. During my outdoor training sessions I mostly have my workouts for my legs, plus for my heart & lungs but when I’m in the Gym, I do some solid efforts, workouts for my upper body too. It’s anyway especially important to me, since I pretty badly injured my right shoulder in July, in the last year, when I was hit by a car door. After 4 months of intensive training in Gym (so since the beginning of this year), I can confirm: my right shoulder again strong & happy. Still, not as before the accident but I can feel finally, I’m on the right way to get back the full strength of my right shoulder.

So far that’s all of the components of my training for the 2017 Fred Whitton challenge: Cycling, Running, Gym. I also started to do some interval training in DUATHLON style: run, cycle & run again. Sometimes I did twice, it’s depend on the distances as well, of course.

I recently participated on a small, local Duathlon race just to be able to compare my overall performance in this sport too. And it was also a great workout for sure.

I also had, participated recently, at the end of March in a cycling challenge on my workplace. In 1 hour slots me & my colleagues rode the distance of Liverpool-Paris within 2 days. The original goal was Liverpool-London anyway but everybody did very well on the indoor, stationary bike. Actually, many of my colleagues was able to ride my km than me during the 1 hour time slot. Everybody was surprised about that but also seemed very happy, so I don’t mind at all. The reason I did the same or even less km during my 1 hour because most of my colleagues rode between effort level 1-3 on relatively high cadence / RPM. Well, since I mostly rode only outdoor on real bikes earlier, I just made a bad decision about how to ride my 1 hour on the stationary bike: I choose to ride between effort level 14-20 for one hour. It was a great cardio-training to me but wasn’t too effective to achieve a great number of kilometres. The problem was only: the stationary bike counted the kilometres by the RPM number instead of the power effort on the pedals. Well, next time I will go on the stationary bike on lower resistance level too & just spinning as fast as possible. :)

28 DAYS TO GO: My previous efforts so far yet in 2017 – My training sessions for Saddleback Fred Whitton cycling challenge sportive At the end of the last year after I received an e-mail, I was happy to realise I'm one of the lucky cyclist who won a place for the 2017 Fred Whitton challenge.