For a newbie, it turned out ok.
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Retaping the handle bars
Now that I've had the giant for over a year, the white bar tape was looking grungy. I decided to buy some tape from nashbar and retape. This is only the second time I've tried to retape road handlebars. The first time was retaping my wife's old Trek road bike. This time it was a bit easier. At first I tried nashbar blue, but after it was on, I decide it looked ugly. Good thing I ordered white and blue. It was pretty cheap 6.00 for each.
For a newbie, it turned out ok.
For a newbie, it turned out ok.
Saturday, September 15, 2012
Experimentation with Clif Shot Mocha Gel
This summer I've been experimenting with nutrition and trying to figure out how to avoid lulls in energy. The first two years I didn't have any issue with cramping or dehydration, since most of my rides were less than 1 hour. On the longer rides, like centuries I didn't push myself. My goal was to just have a good time and finish.
At this year's King Tour of the Quabbin double metric, I managed to stay with the A guys for the first 100 miles. Right as I was getting dropped at mile 99, our average was right at 20 mph. Luckily, the last rest stop is at mile 100, so I was able to regroup. I saw lots of 7HW people at the last rest stop and tried to cram down as many calories as I could.
When we took off again, my legs were feeling tight and I felt a little dehydrated. As I expected, once they kicked it up, I couldn't hang on. I managed to tag along with some 7HW people and finish the ride with an average of 19mph. After KTOQ, I started to pay more attention to proper hydration and eating. Before that, I tried to follow the rule of drink before your thirsty and eat every hour.
Now that I've been experimenting with Clif shot gels, I've noticed a few things. If I eat 1 gel right before I start my lunch ride, I'm able to push hard going down reservoir street. At the turn around point my legs feel fine. If I eat a nectarine, plum or asian pear before a ride, I'm able to push hard down reservoir, but I start to fade half way up reservoir. I've also tried eating a gel at the turn around point to see if that helps. So far it feels like it doesn't help going up reservoir, but I do have more energy at the end of the ride.
The last few times I climbed Wachusett summit, I ate a gel 15 min before the climb. As a result, I've beat my personal record several times. In the past, I would eat a Clif bar 15 min before the climb, but that wasn't enough time to digest. The only way to know "when" to eat the clif bar, I'd have to experiment to gather some data. Since it's close to the end of the cycling season, I will leave that for next year. I like the taste of clif bars, but they are hard to eat at 22mph. On group rides where we stop to rest or regroup, I can cram down half a bar.
I don't pretend to know nutrition science and my methods are 100% guess work. But even without rigorous scientific method, I've been able to increase my lunch ride average up to 20mph. One could argue that is the natural progression through the season. I honestly don't know. Slowly, I'm learning about how to feed my body so that I get consistent performance.
At this year's King Tour of the Quabbin double metric, I managed to stay with the A guys for the first 100 miles. Right as I was getting dropped at mile 99, our average was right at 20 mph. Luckily, the last rest stop is at mile 100, so I was able to regroup. I saw lots of 7HW people at the last rest stop and tried to cram down as many calories as I could.
When we took off again, my legs were feeling tight and I felt a little dehydrated. As I expected, once they kicked it up, I couldn't hang on. I managed to tag along with some 7HW people and finish the ride with an average of 19mph. After KTOQ, I started to pay more attention to proper hydration and eating. Before that, I tried to follow the rule of drink before your thirsty and eat every hour.
Now that I've been experimenting with Clif shot gels, I've noticed a few things. If I eat 1 gel right before I start my lunch ride, I'm able to push hard going down reservoir street. At the turn around point my legs feel fine. If I eat a nectarine, plum or asian pear before a ride, I'm able to push hard down reservoir, but I start to fade half way up reservoir. I've also tried eating a gel at the turn around point to see if that helps. So far it feels like it doesn't help going up reservoir, but I do have more energy at the end of the ride.
The last few times I climbed Wachusett summit, I ate a gel 15 min before the climb. As a result, I've beat my personal record several times. In the past, I would eat a Clif bar 15 min before the climb, but that wasn't enough time to digest. The only way to know "when" to eat the clif bar, I'd have to experiment to gather some data. Since it's close to the end of the cycling season, I will leave that for next year. I like the taste of clif bars, but they are hard to eat at 22mph. On group rides where we stop to rest or regroup, I can cram down half a bar.
I don't pretend to know nutrition science and my methods are 100% guess work. But even without rigorous scientific method, I've been able to increase my lunch ride average up to 20mph. One could argue that is the natural progression through the season. I honestly don't know. Slowly, I'm learning about how to feed my body so that I get consistent performance.
Friday, September 14, 2012
Laurens Ten Dam pain cave
This video with Rabobank's Laurens ten dam is funny.
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/I8QJtgOKf3s?list=UUbYYfGZUK_m89e6JAnrm79g&hl=en_US" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
What surprised me is the grade is so steep even a pro needs compact crank.
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/I8QJtgOKf3s?list=UUbYYfGZUK_m89e6JAnrm79g&hl=en_US" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
What surprised me is the grade is so steep even a pro needs compact crank.
Monday, September 10, 2012
Hilarious video on bikes
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/eLLJr0RChDg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
I clicked on this video on YouTube. It is hilarious. I don't necessary agree with everything the guy says, but it gave me a good laugh.
I clicked on this video on YouTube. It is hilarious. I don't necessary agree with everything the guy says, but it gave me a good laugh.
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Tarmac on sale
Today I went to bike alley to check out trainers. Unfortunately, the fluid cycleops model they had on the floor was setup on a big bike and I'm small. The noise level was good and a lot less than wind trainers.
While I was there, I asked if they had a Specialized Tarmac 49. To my surprise, they had a 2010 Tarmac 49cm 2010 tarmac elite. The price was discounted from 1999.99 down to 1499.99. That's 500 off the MSRP. I'm tempted to get it, especially if I can apply my 7HW discount.
To be honest, I don't really need another bike. It's not like the Tarmac will magically keep me from getting dropped on Wednesday rides. I'm just not at the same level as those guys.
While I was there, I asked if they had a Specialized Tarmac 49. To my surprise, they had a 2010 Tarmac 49cm 2010 tarmac elite. The price was discounted from 1999.99 down to 1499.99. That's 500 off the MSRP. I'm tempted to get it, especially if I can apply my 7HW discount.
To be honest, I don't really need another bike. It's not like the Tarmac will magically keep me from getting dropped on Wednesday rides. I'm just not at the same level as those guys.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)