but looking at that - feb 19th... damn freaking long time ago...
goals? aspirations? No i didn't want to wait until then to post the thing cause the Mike Walden stuff is coming into my head everytime i hear a spinning class reference.
its best to quote it:
Michigan coaching legend Mike Walden kept his road racers on a 42/15 fixed gear at a heart rate never to exceed 65% of their maximum until they had logged 1000 miles for the season, and he claimed a single sprint would negate all the "capillary developing" of this phase42/15
i wonder if i could do that... 1000 miles - 65% of the HR with no sprints?
Hell what would i do on my commute? no sprints? that's nearly impossible. very curious what his sprint limits are - cause even ann arbor ain't as flat as all that... a hill okay? Maybe as long as the Heart rate stays below 65%... well then what about sex? would sex negate the capillary development?
Lets post this question - query to the local email gang to see what they all say:
And boy oh boy - what a great wealth of conversation...
I hesitate to drag them over here willingly or unwillingly... a few of the main points that often, of course, i didn't think about... but read over there
if ya can... i haven't checked to see if ya need to be a member or not to read the messages... anyway some good stuff...
ride as much as you can... if you can't ride much ride harder ;)
but i'll say this - the best results i had were from having a good base - maintaining the base and then training hard for about 150% longer than the race event... that's the only real success i've had...
And since i'm working towards just racing Cyclocross this year (unless someone twists my arm into a decent road race) i've got a bit of time in the calendar... just a job and two kids and all that goes along with that kinda get in the way of riding 5-6 hours a day... even if i could do it on a trainer... so i do what i can... hoping that it'll be enough... hoping that maybe i can get out for a good ride at least once a week... and get a distance base on top of the commuting...
I figure if i can sustaing 90% max all the way into work (2 miles) that'll be not so bad as a benchmark... definately getting the sprinting done... but heck - who wants to hear this babble...
so I pulled onto Hope street (2 blocks from the pad) behind a red Mini (new one - S model) and caught it at the red light down the road a bit as it turned green and had a nice 300 meter sprint, keeping infront of it (albeit yeah the car was driven rather pedestrianly) till i turned off... the legs are recovering from the drinking... its a good thing...
my weight is down to under 190 for the first time in 7-8 years i think... my blood pressure is also down again to the point where i have blackouts and dizzy spells again (for the first time in about 7 years). resting HR is still only about 50... need to work on that a bit more...
-- this hybrid thing -- KL made a few comments there in the 'ouch' thread. I get carried away and passionate about stuff... its just who i am... (any reasonably astute person with time on their hands reading this blog will probably come to that conclusion)... hybrids are great - but as with the big SUVs are rarely used to their designed potential.
Why is it that Europe kicks our ass? In cars (efficiency, like the Polo and Lupo or the smart cars) and in cyclocross? is there a link to kickin ass in Cross and efficiency? maybe it has to do with sacrifice?
Are they willing to do with less to get by? Work harder for more? Or are we just fat and lazy and over-hoarders? Do we just buy to prepare for the worst case:
i'm going to buy a F350 V10 with the towing package for my 2 mile commute, just in case i need to move a steam roller on a trailer up to the cabin i plan to buymake sense? i dunno - that guy would be better off getting a small car or a bike and renting the F350 dualie to move his steam roller! Nah that'd make him look less like a real man...
ferfucksake...
Oh and Swobo kicks ASS. Have i ordered the jersey yet? nah - i will... when i can put the scratch together and also when i finally get sick of that old school bellweather longsleeve jersey... but here - I read through their stuff yesterday and this kinda made me sad:
"...the epitaph for the planet, I remember, which he said should be carved in big letters in a wall of the Grand Canyon for the flying-saucer people to find, was this:
WE COULD HAVE SAVED IT BUT WE WERE TOO DOGGONE CHEAP"
anyway (click quote to read the preface to the punchline)...
time will tell to see if any of my banter results in cyclocross results... and time will tell if the USA can get its collective head out of its ass... Bush Co. man does that gang make me furious...
'nuff reading... 'nuff blabbing... 'nuff of it all...
But... at least i'm not fat anymore... i might still be old and slow... but fat fortunately i aint
---
gonna close by adding a morning email blast i wrote about bike tune-ups:
Let me preface the following remarks with this: I'm a 'retired' bike mechanic, a grad of United Bicycle Institute, 2 years at the Pine Street Pro shop in seattle, 4 years at the Conn College mechanic and 6 years at Velocipede in Lansing. I've seen pretty much everything, done pretty much everything you can do to a bike, more than once.
Tune ups: In general, yes a tune up is a great thing to do. If you are not mechanically inclined having a good mechanic give the bike a once over annually is a very good thing. The money is well spent, but like a car - if you neglect it for too long the list of "needed" repairs can get rather extensive.
Chains and cogs wear together, and the lube you choose to use will determine its lifespan when coupled with miles and rider power. Never ever EVER change one without changing the other... Okay there is one exception. If you change the chain before it wears at all the cassette will last a long time, but you need to change the chain at about 1/3 its usable life. Oh and never ever use a degreaser on the chain... long story... i've said enough as it is
Cables. The type of shifting system will determine how much worn/corroded cables will impact it. Poor shifting could be sticking bad cables or just mis-adjustment. And as with the chains and cogs - cables should generally be changed WITH the housing.
brake pads - kinda no brainer... if they are worn replace...
All this can add up to a significant amount of money if they've been neglected. I have not yet had a chance to stop in to either Prov Bike or the Hub but i hear good things about those places. I have encountered shops that will reccomend replacing parts that aren't really needed. I have encountered more customers though that refuse to have NEEDED parts replaced.
And unless given the hearty and warm go ahead from the bike shop... don't bring your mail/internet ordered parts in to have them install them.
and to add: my bike wax of choice is Lemon Scented Pledge...
-G
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