day of disasters?
Start the day out with all my gear packed and ready to go for a 35 mile ride.
New front derailleur, havent gotten to ride the bike since it was replaced.
New riding shoes, hopefully they are comfortable, don't need blisters from the new shoes.
I had on a new pair of bib biking shorts, and I was trying out some of the beljum budder chamois cream.
Aero bars freshly put onto the bike, never ridden with them before. This is the maiden voyage.
Patched rear tube. I had 2 flats my last ride, and I had to patch one of the tubes. I did have a spare, but I figured that at about mile 17.5, the furthest distance from home or humanity it would give it.
I have started really logging my fluid and nutrition intake when working out, so I had my newest batch of drink in the camelback and was ready to go.
So how did the day go....
I had my camelback all loaded up and ready to go. My wife decided it was in her way, so she moved it. When she set it back down, she set it down on the valve. About 10 minutes later we noticed that there was fluid everywhere. My camelback was soaked as was an assortment of papers that had been on the desk. So now I'm doing the ride without the camelback because it's all freaking sticky.
I'm now behind schedule and running around like a chicken with my head cut off. All of my bike tools, spare tire etc are in my camelback. I had to dig out my old seat bag and load it with stuff. Get my I.d. and phone med alert etc. etc all packed into new locations. I had to change my food, I had a protein bar in the camelback and it would have been o.k. there, but any other carying location I had would have reduced it to a pile of melted goo.
The camelback ended up being a non issue, I never missed it today.
To top it all off, everything else went wonderfully. The shoes were comfortable, and will be a definite winner for the triathlon, only 1 wide velcro tab to close the shoes, easy in easy out.
Derailleur worked flawlessly thank god. The tire held for the entire ride, so no side of the road swearing was necessary today.
The ride was supposed to be an A group ride, so it's a casual ride. However I always end up out in no mans land. The A group is usually too slow for me, but the B group drops me all the time.
Well today the B group took off and I followed them. I kept up with them for the first 6 miles or so, then it got hard to keep my speed. It felt like the tire was going down. I stopped to check out the bike and everything was o.k. but that gave them enough time to put some distance between me and them and I was again in no mans land. Well ahead of the A group and well behind the B group.
We stopped at a great little lunch spot where they regrouped everyone. I talked with the B group and come to find out they were actually C group riders, who were riding at a fast B or slow C group pace. I asked them if which group they thought I should try to hang with the B group. They said I definitely could and probably should try the C group a couple times. It really depends on who shows up. So I was pretty happy about that.
I managed to stay with them for the remainder of the ride. I hung in the back and played with different riding positions. I certainly did see a big difference with the aero bars. I was easily getting 2+ mph more with them and using the same or less energy to do it.
It was a great day for a beautiful ride through California wine country.
Joining the local cycling club has been one of the best things I have done. It haven't been on the same ride twice yet, and getting to enjoy the variety of riders and the scenery is great. We have covered areas of the county I have never been on before, and while some of those back roads are narrow, the amount of traffic for an early morning ride is pretty light.
Let me know if anybody is ever up in Northern California, we can certainly setup some nice rides.
Scott
New front derailleur, havent gotten to ride the bike since it was replaced.
New riding shoes, hopefully they are comfortable, don't need blisters from the new shoes.
I had on a new pair of bib biking shorts, and I was trying out some of the beljum budder chamois cream.
Aero bars freshly put onto the bike, never ridden with them before. This is the maiden voyage.
Patched rear tube. I had 2 flats my last ride, and I had to patch one of the tubes. I did have a spare, but I figured that at about mile 17.5, the furthest distance from home or humanity it would give it.
I have started really logging my fluid and nutrition intake when working out, so I had my newest batch of drink in the camelback and was ready to go.
So how did the day go....
I had my camelback all loaded up and ready to go. My wife decided it was in her way, so she moved it. When she set it back down, she set it down on the valve. About 10 minutes later we noticed that there was fluid everywhere. My camelback was soaked as was an assortment of papers that had been on the desk. So now I'm doing the ride without the camelback because it's all freaking sticky.
I'm now behind schedule and running around like a chicken with my head cut off. All of my bike tools, spare tire etc are in my camelback. I had to dig out my old seat bag and load it with stuff. Get my I.d. and phone med alert etc. etc all packed into new locations. I had to change my food, I had a protein bar in the camelback and it would have been o.k. there, but any other carying location I had would have reduced it to a pile of melted goo.
The camelback ended up being a non issue, I never missed it today.
To top it all off, everything else went wonderfully. The shoes were comfortable, and will be a definite winner for the triathlon, only 1 wide velcro tab to close the shoes, easy in easy out.
Derailleur worked flawlessly thank god. The tire held for the entire ride, so no side of the road swearing was necessary today.
The ride was supposed to be an A group ride, so it's a casual ride. However I always end up out in no mans land. The A group is usually too slow for me, but the B group drops me all the time.
Well today the B group took off and I followed them. I kept up with them for the first 6 miles or so, then it got hard to keep my speed. It felt like the tire was going down. I stopped to check out the bike and everything was o.k. but that gave them enough time to put some distance between me and them and I was again in no mans land. Well ahead of the A group and well behind the B group.
We stopped at a great little lunch spot where they regrouped everyone. I talked with the B group and come to find out they were actually C group riders, who were riding at a fast B or slow C group pace. I asked them if which group they thought I should try to hang with the B group. They said I definitely could and probably should try the C group a couple times. It really depends on who shows up. So I was pretty happy about that.
I managed to stay with them for the remainder of the ride. I hung in the back and played with different riding positions. I certainly did see a big difference with the aero bars. I was easily getting 2+ mph more with them and using the same or less energy to do it.
It was a great day for a beautiful ride through California wine country.
Joining the local cycling club has been one of the best things I have done. It haven't been on the same ride twice yet, and getting to enjoy the variety of riders and the scenery is great. We have covered areas of the county I have never been on before, and while some of those back roads are narrow, the amount of traffic for an early morning ride is pretty light.
Let me know if anybody is ever up in Northern California, we can certainly setup some nice rides.
Scott
The first time you do something - It's going to be a personal record!
"so no side of the road swearing was necessary today."
Speak for yourself!
I should have done the club ride I was invited on instead of the one I did, I think. My ride was jinxed!
Speak for yourself!
I should have done the club ride I was invited on instead of the one I did, I think. My ride was jinxed!
HW - 225 SW - 191 GW - 132 CW - 122
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Starting BMI 40-ish or less? Join the LightWeights
I need to learn how to do it myself. I actually called Mr. Mac and told him to come get me at one point. Then I called him back and said not to once the other guy got the tire on. (Luckily he hadn't gotten very far.)
HW - 225 SW - 191 GW - 132 CW - 122
Visit my blog at Fatty Fights Back Become a Fan on Facebook!
Starting BMI 40-ish or less? Join the LightWeights
Congrats on a great ride. When I get back with my local group I don't know if I'll be able to hang with the 'A' group riders anymore (they're the fast one's here).
It's not the sustained speeds that get me -- hell I was able to take short pulls at 25/mph. It's covering the sprints that'll get you. What I was told is you've got to fight like hell to stay with the group. If you start to fall off the rear put it all out to get back with the group. Once the gap opens you're toast.
Have fun with the 'B' and 'C' group guys. It's a great feeling when you jump up a group and hang with them for the ride isn't it?
It's not the sustained speeds that get me -- hell I was able to take short pulls at 25/mph. It's covering the sprints that'll get you. What I was told is you've got to fight like hell to stay with the group. If you start to fall off the rear put it all out to get back with the group. Once the gap opens you're toast.
Have fun with the 'B' and 'C' group guys. It's a great feeling when you jump up a group and hang with them for the ride isn't it?
I am one to believe that it is the engine powering the car that makes it get up and go, but I'm also now a firm believer in gear making a difference.
When I added clipless cycling shoes, I added a couple mph to my average speed. When I put the aero bars on my bike today, I was seeing another couple miles per hour increase on the flats.
With those 2 purchases I went from a 15 mph average cruising speed to 20+. That was just the casual ride speed. I think that it would have been more had we really been working at it.
I also found that when I was in the back of the pack and had the opportunity to get into the aero position, my closing speed was much better. I had to jump out of the aero position a couple times because I was closing too fast.
I'm certainly looking forward to a lighter carbon fiber bike with some aero wheels, and a lighter drive compact groupo. I'm sure at some point you see diminishing returns, especially as you get to the top of the game, but right now a 2mph increase is huge.
With more hill work (my weakness it really brings my average down) Enough that my average including hills was about 16 mph but my speed on the flats was 20+
When I added clipless cycling shoes, I added a couple mph to my average speed. When I put the aero bars on my bike today, I was seeing another couple miles per hour increase on the flats.
With those 2 purchases I went from a 15 mph average cruising speed to 20+. That was just the casual ride speed. I think that it would have been more had we really been working at it.
I also found that when I was in the back of the pack and had the opportunity to get into the aero position, my closing speed was much better. I had to jump out of the aero position a couple times because I was closing too fast.
I'm certainly looking forward to a lighter carbon fiber bike with some aero wheels, and a lighter drive compact groupo. I'm sure at some point you see diminishing returns, especially as you get to the top of the game, but right now a 2mph increase is huge.
With more hill work (my weakness it really brings my average down) Enough that my average including hills was about 16 mph but my speed on the flats was 20+
The first time you do something - It's going to be a personal record!
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