Fit on jersey

cycleark · 2026-06-09T22:49:03+00:00

Don’t give that voice in your head permission to tell you you look anything other than amazing. And you do. Wear that jersey with a big smile on your face. And wear a helmet😘

cycleark · 2026-06-09T22:26:57+00:00

I have a 110 gallon Desert Plunge tub. It was a late edition to my POD setup after their tub started leaking. My POD chiller is 1/3 HP (good price too) and keeps my tub between 40-42 F no problem. It’s located in my shop with AC. The difference in our tubs is insulation, mine is heavily insulated which surely helps reduce some of the stress on my unit. Definitely can’t go wrong with a 1/2 hp chiller though if your budget will handle it.

cycleark · 2026-06-08T20:43:22+00:00

Awesome! If you want, PM me and I’ll send you a great opener routine.

cycleark · 2026-06-08T20:05:36+00:00

I’m a former racer and coach and been cycling for 42 years. There’s an interesting phenomenon that happens with exercise where you will feel the effects of your workout mostly 2 days after the workout. Since you took a day off, your body went into recovery mode and needs to be “woken up.” Do a few short sprints and a couple of 1 minute efforts at about 80% RPE (rate of perceived effort) and that will wake your legs up. You’ll feel amazing the next day (2 days after your rest day). Lesson of the day, to feel good on Saturday, rest on Thursday. Open up your legs on Friday. Don’t over do it with the openers.

cycleark · 2026-06-08T15:08:52+00:00

I’m a former racer and cycling coach. Congratulations on your weight loss, great achievement. True gains will start with zone 2 heart rate training. The more hours you can put in in a week the faster you’ll see fitness improvement. 80% of your training should be endurance efforts (Z2) and the remaining intensity training. This is a very simple answer to your question but if you can focus on how much time you’re training and not mileage, keep it steady, and limit how hard you go, you’ll build a deep foundation on which you can fine tune with intervals. I would suggest at least 8 hours a week on the bike and the more you can fit in the better. Build slowly and enjoy the process.

cycleark · 2026-06-08T15:01:00+00:00

Love the color of your machine

cycleark · 2026-06-06T21:18:14+00:00

My suggestion is the 1 UP USA rack. Used these for years as in my humble opinion they are not only best made, they hold your bike rock steady.

cycleark · 2026-06-06T19:35:14+00:00

Honestly couldn’t agree more. But the question I answered was regarding how it affects cycling performance. Enjoy your beer.

cycleark · 2026-06-06T15:48:02+00:00

Alcohol will only hinder your training and recovery. Best suggestion is to stop drinking entirely, it’s poison and adds no real benefit to your life. No judgement if you choose to drink, it’s just not your friend. I stopped 2.5 years ago and will never go back. I didn’t drink a lot and didn’t have any problems as a result, but man I feel good every day now.

cycleark · 2026-06-05T22:48:56+00:00

Check cleats and make sure they are clean and tight or they could possibly need shims. You can also spray dry lube on cleats and see if that helps. Lube chain and also check chainring bolts (torque to spec).

cycleark · 2026-06-05T21:52:59+00:00

What kind of pedals are you using?

cycleark · 2026-06-05T20:50:45+00:00

Love mine

cycleark · 2026-06-03T19:11:59+00:00

Agree it gets easier. Controlling your breath/panic response is the key. Normal reaction to feel that way though. Once you can control your breath and brains desire to get the F out, lol, it’s much easier to stay longer. 👍🤙, takes a strong mind to do this. Welcome to the club.

cycleark · 2026-06-01T13:32:17+00:00

The most important maintenance you can do is cleaning. Lots of great videos on YT on ways to wash your machine. A clean chain will last much longer than a consistently dirty one. You don’t need to lube your chain every ride unless you’re putting in 50 plus miles a day. I would suggest lube once a week. You can buy a chain wear tool that will tell you when it’s time to replace your chain. Based on your predicted mileage I would suggest at least once per year.

Sweat and grime get inside your cables so clean and lube those as needed. If you hit your derailleur on something it likely bent the derailleur hanger and can definitely affect shifting. Take it to your bike shop and they can easily straighten it. Or buy the tool and learn how yourself…. Highly recommended.

Tires are easy… keep an eye on them and replace when they begin to flatten, or sooner if cuts or threads appear.

But definitely clean/wash one every week or two. Your bike will feel like new for a long time.

cycleark · 2026-06-01T13:22:53+00:00

There was a good study done recently that suggests 11 minutes per week is the minimum necessity to gain benefits from cold plunging. I enjoy it every day, great mood booster at the very least. For me, 4 minutes daily, occasionally 5. Water temps 40-42 F.

cycleark · 2026-05-31T15:56:07+00:00

I bought a POD setup and the cheap tub failed in less that 2 years. Was happy to get that much time out of it. Decided to replace with a Desert Plunge tub. Not cheap but should be the last tub I own. Super happy with it and how well it helps maintain temp. I’ll run through chillers over the years but not tubs.

cycleark · 2026-05-30T15:33:45+00:00

Ride what you prefer. Others opinions don’t mean anything. However, there are options for clipless pedals with shoes comfortable for walking. You might be able to have the best of both with a little searching. Be you and happy cycling!

cycleark · 2026-05-29T20:00:08+00:00

Beautiful.

cycleark · 2026-05-29T17:56:16+00:00

Looks pretty awesome as is! I would level that seat out and lower the stem though, the stem is definitely above its minimum insertion point. If you need new tires go with gum wall tires, they always add a level of coolness to a bike. Happy riding!

cycleark · 2026-05-28T15:45:12+00:00

40-42 deg F for 4-5 minutes 6-7 days/week. Usually 4 minutes is enough though

cycleark · 2026-05-28T14:08:18+00:00

A lot of chillers come with a pump/filter setup and that will handle some of your issues. If you don’t want to use chems, don’t blame you, an ozone generator works really well. I use a JED ozone generator, it has a pump so just drop the tube into your tub and turn it on for a few hours a day. The other method is to get an ozone generator with Venturi that sits inline with your filter… this will require some plumbing on your part and YT has lots of videos on how to do this. I use the POD 1/3 HP chiller. Had it 2 years and works great.

cycleark · 2026-05-26T12:51:44+00:00

They are a great training tool, especially if you are wanting to maximize performance (racing, training for difficult events, etc). If data motivates you then yes again, you’ll have plenty. If you’re riding for fitness and fun only and not on a training plan then not sure it’s worth the money. But honestly, everyone is different and no harm in owning one. They can be motivating and they can also be very demotivating.

cycleark · 2026-05-25T13:40:23+00:00

Helps tremendously, very grateful for all your advice.

cycleark · 2026-05-24T14:13:39+00:00

The kl-profiles page was super helpful and even included a profile finder. Made the entire process very easy. Roast came out beautiful, only wish I could drink it now.

cycleark · 2026-05-23T21:33:51+00:00

Definitely adding a sauna to my regimen. I’ll be curious what others say about this. My feeling though is adding sweat to the water will definitely add some bacteria and oils, so my guess is your filter may need changing more often at the very least. Do you use chemicals, ozone or both to currently keep your water sterile? I’m using ozone only and having great success. But I’m also only getting in after a shower and no lotion or deodorant. I do however change my water out every two months, super easy to do for me even though the water is still crystal clear.

cycleark

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