The great thing about cycling is that I am in good shape and feel healthy. The downside is that New England winters suck ass. The bitter cold, snow, sand and salt make riding in winter difficult. After my ride on thursday, I felt good for about 30 minutes from the adrenalin rush. A few hours later though, I really started to hate New England weather. I really @#$@%^ hate new england winters.
My body needs the endorphin rush of riding for 1-4 hours on the bike. Going to the gym really sucks from an mental and emotional perspective. Physically I can get in a good workout in 30 minutes, but I'm left with an emotional void.
I long to get out on the road for the hum of the wheels and solitude of tackling a big hill. The joy of pushing and spinning the wheels up a steep slope for 2-5 miles is emotionally and spiritually satisfying. It is similar to the spiritual high I used to get surfing in southern california.
I really do hate new england winters. I just want to get on the bike and ride.
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Thursday, January 19, 2012
I must be crazy
Today I was itching to ride, so I looked out side. The streets looked clear and the sky was partly cloudy. Around lunch time I headed for a ride. I wore the Pearl Izumi AmFib tights and pro soft shell jacket.
Outside, there was still snow on the ground from the snow earlier in the week.
For the first 3 miles, my fingers were freezing. At first I was planning on a 14 mile loop, but after 3 miles I decided a short ride was wiser. Getting frost bite is not my idea of fun. Around 6 miles, my hands started to warm up, but they were still freezing.
A sane person would not ride 8.5 miles in 24 degree temperature. Including wind chill, it felt like 15 degrees. The Sigma Rox8 bike computer I bought worked well. One feature I really like is the heart rate zones. It tells me how long my heart rate was in each zone.
The worst part about riding in cold weather is the cold air on the lungs. I don't know about others, but lower than 32 degrees it really stings to take a deep breathe. Under 20 degrees it's just hard to get a full breathe.
Outside, there was still snow on the ground from the snow earlier in the week.
For the first 3 miles, my fingers were freezing. At first I was planning on a 14 mile loop, but after 3 miles I decided a short ride was wiser. Getting frost bite is not my idea of fun. Around 6 miles, my hands started to warm up, but they were still freezing.
A sane person would not ride 8.5 miles in 24 degree temperature. Including wind chill, it felt like 15 degrees. The Sigma Rox8 bike computer I bought worked well. One feature I really like is the heart rate zones. It tells me how long my heart rate was in each zone.
The worst part about riding in cold weather is the cold air on the lungs. I don't know about others, but lower than 32 degrees it really stings to take a deep breathe. Under 20 degrees it's just hard to get a full breathe.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
No ride today
This morning I woke up and saw snow in the backyard. After breakfast, the kids went outside and started to clear the driveway.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Annual maintenance
Last week I took my Giant into Barney's for my annual tune up. I had them tune the brakes, tune the shifters & derailers, clean the bottom bracket and replace the chain. Since I rode over 2000 miles on the giant last year, it's a good idea to replace the chain.
Now the sqweeeeking sound is gone and the shifting is smooth again. I don't know about other, but I sweat a lot. The bottom bracket was quite dirty and crusty. Even though modern bottom brackets are sealed, it's still a good idea to clean it out yearly. The little bits of dirt, sand, sweat and oil will build up. The same with the derailers. Last year I washed and cleaned the giant once a month. If a ride was wet and dirty, I tried to wash the bike within a few days.
One thing I need to do is adjust the tension on my dolce. My son rides it now and the shifters are too hard for him. I tried to look on shimao's website, but the pdf manuals don't show how to adjust the tension. I'm not sure if it's even possible to make it easier to shift.
Now the sqweeeeking sound is gone and the shifting is smooth again. I don't know about other, but I sweat a lot. The bottom bracket was quite dirty and crusty. Even though modern bottom brackets are sealed, it's still a good idea to clean it out yearly. The little bits of dirt, sand, sweat and oil will build up. The same with the derailers. Last year I washed and cleaned the giant once a month. If a ride was wet and dirty, I tried to wash the bike within a few days.
One thing I need to do is adjust the tension on my dolce. My son rides it now and the shifters are too hard for him. I tried to look on shimao's website, but the pdf manuals don't show how to adjust the tension. I'm not sure if it's even possible to make it easier to shift.
How far off is GPS altitude?
Today I went for a ride with the Sigma Rox 8. Accord to Rox, the total ascent was 1166 feet. Cyclemeter says 957 feet ascent, which means 1166 - 957 = 209 feet off. I'm inclined to trust Rox over cyclemeter for the ascent. Here's a picture of some of the values from Rox.
Overall, I am pretty happy with Rox 8 so far. Unlike the VDO unit, Rox worked just fine in 25 degree weather. The heart rate monitor also worked well.
Overall, I am pretty happy with Rox 8 so far. Unlike the VDO unit, Rox worked just fine in 25 degree weather. The heart rate monitor also worked well.
Monday, January 9, 2012
Snow, cold weather and riding
Earlier this week, we got a dusting of snow in the morning, but luckily nothing stuck.
Last week I purchased Sigma sport Rox 8. Today I installed it on my giant. Here's some pictures of it.
I bought it at nashbar for 150.00. Rox 8 has speed sensor, cadence sensor and heart rate monitor. The unit also uses barometer to measure altitude. I look forward to trying it out and see how it performs.
Last week I purchased Sigma sport Rox 8. Today I installed it on my giant. Here's some pictures of it.
I bought it at nashbar for 150.00. Rox 8 has speed sensor, cadence sensor and heart rate monitor. The unit also uses barometer to measure altitude. I look forward to trying it out and see how it performs.
Saturday, January 7, 2012
iPhone altitude is totally off
I've been using my iPhone to log all of my rides since I got it back in 2010. The thing is, using GPS to calculate altitude is horrendously inaccurate. According to Google Earth, my home altitude is 815 feet. Right now I'm looking at the altitude in MotionX and it fluctuates between 835 and 880 feet. Granted I am indoors, but even out on my drive way, it rarely shows 815 feet.
This week I bought myself a new Sigma sport Rox 8 bike computer. This one can record speed, cadence, heart rate and altitude. It uses barometric pressure to measure the altitude. Of course weather can affect the measurement, but it should be much better than GPS calculation. I hope the next iPhone gets a built-in barometer. That would improve the altitude measurement.
Today the weather was great in the mid 40's around 1pm. I managed to get out for a 25 mile ride around Holden. I hope we get a few more days of good weather this month. During my ride, I saw 3 other cyclist. One thing I'm thinking about is how to record Mount Greylock century this year. It would be cool to record the climbs of the century and the descent down Route 2 Mohawk Trail.
This week I bought myself a new Sigma sport Rox 8 bike computer. This one can record speed, cadence, heart rate and altitude. It uses barometric pressure to measure the altitude. Of course weather can affect the measurement, but it should be much better than GPS calculation. I hope the next iPhone gets a built-in barometer. That would improve the altitude measurement.
Today the weather was great in the mid 40's around 1pm. I managed to get out for a 25 mile ride around Holden. I hope we get a few more days of good weather this month. During my ride, I saw 3 other cyclist. One thing I'm thinking about is how to record Mount Greylock century this year. It would be cool to record the climbs of the century and the descent down Route 2 Mohawk Trail.
Friday, January 6, 2012
Random thoughts on bikes
I took my bike into Barney's this week for a tune up and general preventative maintenance. In the time that I've had it, I've logged over 2K miles. Looking back at my experience with my Dolce and Avail, the difference is significant. Honestly I wouldn't have believed it myself back in June 2010 or June 2011.
During Charles River Wheelmen Fall Century I sprinted 2-3 miles before the rest stops. Based on the zone stats in cyclemeter:
range: 10-20 mph
ride time: 3:42:11
distance: 56.111 miles
average: 15.10
range: 20-30 mph
ride time: 1:30:52
distance: 34.73
average: 22.94
range: 30-40 mph
ride time: 4:53
distance: 2.57
average: 32.5
The average for the miles before the rest stop:
mile 26: 20.73
mile 27: 23.44
mile 28: 19.9
mile 42: 23.77
mile 43: 21.6
mile 44: 26.73
mile 45: 25.26
mile 46: 21.76
mile 47: 22.57
mile 65: 23.62
mile 66: 21.92
mile 67: 17.68
mile 68: 23.83
To sum up the difference between Dolce and Avail in one sentence is this. "on the avail I can go faster longer and hold a high speed for a longer time."
When I showed up to 7HW rides, lots of people said "that bike looks fast". The thing is, it really does feel fast. All those little aero features of the avail does make a difference. I'm really glad I got the Avail instead of the madone or roubaix. It's not that either is bad. Both are great bikes, but they don't have the aero shaping of my Avail advanced. Those features make a big difference at the end of a long ride like a century. On both CRW Fall Century and Major Taylor century, I felt fresh at the end. The combination of carbon fiber and aero shaping makes it easy to do a century.
On a different note, Specialized Venge looks like an awesome bike.
The aero shaping is pretty sweet, but I'll never be able to afford it though. 5-10K is just too much to spend on a bike.
Giant has also come out with a new line of road bikes. What used to be Avail advanced is now the avail composite line. The new Avail advanced has a new frame layout using the same exact ride geometry.
One trend in frame is using carbon nanotubes in the resin, which makes the bonds stronger. Many top end bikes have that now, but it's way too expensive. From the look of it, it's atleast 10K to get a frame that uses carbon nanotube infused resin.
During Charles River Wheelmen Fall Century I sprinted 2-3 miles before the rest stops. Based on the zone stats in cyclemeter:
range: 10-20 mph
ride time: 3:42:11
distance: 56.111 miles
average: 15.10
range: 20-30 mph
ride time: 1:30:52
distance: 34.73
average: 22.94
range: 30-40 mph
ride time: 4:53
distance: 2.57
average: 32.5
The average for the miles before the rest stop:
mile 26: 20.73
mile 27: 23.44
mile 28: 19.9
mile 42: 23.77
mile 43: 21.6
mile 44: 26.73
mile 45: 25.26
mile 46: 21.76
mile 47: 22.57
mile 65: 23.62
mile 66: 21.92
mile 67: 17.68
mile 68: 23.83
To sum up the difference between Dolce and Avail in one sentence is this. "on the avail I can go faster longer and hold a high speed for a longer time."
When I showed up to 7HW rides, lots of people said "that bike looks fast". The thing is, it really does feel fast. All those little aero features of the avail does make a difference. I'm really glad I got the Avail instead of the madone or roubaix. It's not that either is bad. Both are great bikes, but they don't have the aero shaping of my Avail advanced. Those features make a big difference at the end of a long ride like a century. On both CRW Fall Century and Major Taylor century, I felt fresh at the end. The combination of carbon fiber and aero shaping makes it easy to do a century.
On a different note, Specialized Venge looks like an awesome bike.
The aero shaping is pretty sweet, but I'll never be able to afford it though. 5-10K is just too much to spend on a bike.
Giant has also come out with a new line of road bikes. What used to be Avail advanced is now the avail composite line. The new Avail advanced has a new frame layout using the same exact ride geometry.
One trend in frame is using carbon nanotubes in the resin, which makes the bonds stronger. Many top end bikes have that now, but it's way too expensive. From the look of it, it's atleast 10K to get a frame that uses carbon nanotube infused resin.
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