For those who showed up today:
Name and then time based on week 1-5 and cumulative avg time
Chris Burke 20:27 19:45 20:37 20:21 20:40 23.9
Matty Burke 20:30 20:20 23.8
Gary Stafford 19:39 19:14 25.0
Geoff Williams 20:24 19:13 19:58 19:57 19:16 24.6
Jack Tickle 19:32 20:54 19:06 24.5
Aaron Derdowski 19:58 20:12 24.2
Dave Foley 19:43 20:08 19:53 24.4
Jack T and Gary S both beat me today on TT bikes with aero helmets. I thought it might have been faster this week, it felt faster to me, but looking at the times it is hard to say other than I knocked a hell of a lot of time off.
I felt good.
Packing the ice for the end was a nice treat to cool down with. My backpack and lunch box got a bit wet from the melting of said ice in a leaky ziplock combined with the high humidity but they will dry off.
For the record, last week Jonny Bold came out and ticked off a 16:47, the next fastest was Brier at 18:27 and Mike Mederos at 18:31 and then Chris Phenix at 18:51 (all of them on full TT bike with aero helmet, disc wheel, the works).
The only concession to wind i'm offering is the aero bars and the 60mm deep dish wheels (front and back). Other than that it is a bike mechanic time machine. Y'all know the bike, right? Hell I think I could drop the bars another 2 inches and still be able to pedal pretty well.
I almost thought I could have gone harder in a few spots but, by the end I laid it all out and it was what it was. The headwind coming home on the bike path off the water wasn't so hot, at least it felt okay until I walked into the air conditioned house.
Made some kick ass pasta tonight, ate three big bowls of it, now am trying to unwind. These Thursday night TTs usually get me 2h45m on the bike for the day. Counts as long day and really hard day.
Felt good... felt good. Now to unwind enough to fall asleep.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Bring on the Heat
So I popped outside to get a slice of pizza to supplement my peanut butter and home made waffles for lunch. Figured the extra sodium is going to be pretty critical going into tonight's TT effort.
Gonna be warm. Someone shared this article. Makes me feel a bit better about it. That said two weeks ago was pretty tough, at the end of the ride we were all pretty damn warm, last week not so bad.
The heat, it is all in your head.
Assuming you don't dehydrate too far or get heat stroke. Which oddly are usually coupled together. The body cooling system works really well on the bike as long as you are moving and are hydrated enough. Once you drop below the critical hydration level body says "fuck, i can't spare any more water - we're in trouble - no more sweat" well yeah you're gonna do some major damage. hydration isn't just during though. Right? Yall know that.
It is all about the previous 24hrs. Not just water but sodium intake in that time too. Excessive sodium chloride will boost your ability to hold water and since you sweat both... hey that's how it works.
WUGAZI has been pretty f'n awesome. Cranking this stuff.
Soundtrack for the day - at least after the Tour finished (I have a lot of cleaning to do at the desk, i'll actually get started on it tomorrow maybe). Oh language warning. (what would expect from a mix of Wu-Tang Clan and Fugazi). Props to one of the nicest guys out there Jeff carrying the SLAMMABAMMA HAMMAH Bramhall for the link and suggestion.
grab a quick read of this... about food
And then there is this on Google+
That alone makes Google+ the antithesis of Facebook. Facebook has been taken over by brands, companies. Sure why not you have a huge massive captive audience. 'Your' "advertising" is even more effective there than on TV. Some people are joking that all anyone does on G+ is talk about how awesome G+ is. Have to say, I disagree, that is what FB is for!
Track 10 is on repeat... and LOUD
heddwch
G
Gonna be warm. Someone shared this article. Makes me feel a bit better about it. That said two weeks ago was pretty tough, at the end of the ride we were all pretty damn warm, last week not so bad.
The heat, it is all in your head.
Assuming you don't dehydrate too far or get heat stroke. Which oddly are usually coupled together. The body cooling system works really well on the bike as long as you are moving and are hydrated enough. Once you drop below the critical hydration level body says "fuck, i can't spare any more water - we're in trouble - no more sweat" well yeah you're gonna do some major damage. hydration isn't just during though. Right? Yall know that.
It is all about the previous 24hrs. Not just water but sodium intake in that time too. Excessive sodium chloride will boost your ability to hold water and since you sweat both... hey that's how it works.
WUGAZI has been pretty f'n awesome. Cranking this stuff.
Soundtrack for the day - at least after the Tour finished (I have a lot of cleaning to do at the desk, i'll actually get started on it tomorrow maybe). Oh language warning. (what would expect from a mix of Wu-Tang Clan and Fugazi). Props to one of the nicest guys out there Jeff carrying the SLAMMABAMMA HAMMAH Bramhall for the link and suggestion.
grab a quick read of this... about food
And then there is this on Google+
That alone makes Google+ the antithesis of Facebook. Facebook has been taken over by brands, companies. Sure why not you have a huge massive captive audience. 'Your' "advertising" is even more effective there than on TV. Some people are joking that all anyone does on G+ is talk about how awesome G+ is. Have to say, I disagree, that is what FB is for!
Track 10 is on repeat... and LOUD
heddwch
G
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Seattle weather...
Yeah - I'm one of them.
I love the summer weather they are getting this year.
L
O
V
E
it
what are they getting? 78 minutes of summer.
Hell we've got more heating in 20 minutes here in RI today than they've had all summer. I'd be cool with that. Ecstatic about it in fact. Riding in 65-75 degree weather is brilliant. Perfect. A bit of rain? No worries. No sun? No problem.
That said, I did grow up out there. I am firmly one of those who rusts, and forever am on the look out for the rust stained T-shirt that proudly states:
"Washingtonian's don't tan they RUST!"
Check out the Seattle Times and then the KOMO weatherman's web log.
It has been a challenging day and reading those two just now has made me much happier. Of course now I have to get on the bike and ride in the nice cool - oh wait, it is cool. 85° out there. Hey it is a nice dry 50% humidity too. Um. Yeah that sounds awesome.
Tomorrow, TT. When it is over 90° the air is less dense right? Lower drag=faster times, right? No update on the web page yet. We also have to wait to see if they have a substitute for Dave (not foley) the time keeper/official. Will check w/them tomorrow pop an update here, twitter or on G+...
heddwch
G
I love the summer weather they are getting this year.
L
O
V
E
it
what are they getting? 78 minutes of summer.
Hell we've got more heating in 20 minutes here in RI today than they've had all summer. I'd be cool with that. Ecstatic about it in fact. Riding in 65-75 degree weather is brilliant. Perfect. A bit of rain? No worries. No sun? No problem.
That said, I did grow up out there. I am firmly one of those who rusts, and forever am on the look out for the rust stained T-shirt that proudly states:
"Washingtonian's don't tan they RUST!"
Check out the Seattle Times and then the KOMO weatherman's web log.
It has been a challenging day and reading those two just now has made me much happier. Of course now I have to get on the bike and ride in the nice cool - oh wait, it is cool. 85° out there. Hey it is a nice dry 50% humidity too. Um. Yeah that sounds awesome.
Tomorrow, TT. When it is over 90° the air is less dense right? Lower drag=faster times, right? No update on the web page yet. We also have to wait to see if they have a substitute for Dave (not foley) the time keeper/official. Will check w/them tomorrow pop an update here, twitter or on G+...
heddwch
G
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
everyonce in a while
I actually read something that makes me want to share with everyone.
Yeah. So I found one. The headline that got me to click was "How fat saves lives." It isn't a short read. But then again it is in an Ivy League Alumni magazine, a place that by design or demand often has long, in-depth and complete articles. I think there's a bit of overlap in those three adjectives, no?
despite my fumbling with the written word, that article is great. Now bittman and others have been pushing the no meat thing. CCC pushes back with his woody for the paleo fad. And then you have the folks saying gluten protein is like sand paper to your guts and screws you up even if you don't have celiac's.
There is information, mostly opinion sadly, proliferating itself supporting all aspects of what we should eat, shouldn't eat, when we should eat, how we should cook things (or not cook them).
My first nugget that sucked me further in was this:
Physicians seem to primarily spend their whole time as med students focused on diagnosis and treatment of acute medical issues. Common chronic issues become not so much how to prevent them and what people really should do and how they should fix them but more how to manage these. Type II diabetes for example. Treatment vs cure. Type I could almost fall under the acute conditions because it is very specific, and the cause is something you can put a finger on. Type II not so much.
Food.
All comes back to food.
Last night, trying to wind down and fall asleep, I grabbed the latest issue of Gastronomica and read the article (a memoir) titled 'Bodily Souvenirs' by Alexis Schaitkin. It is a chronical of dealing with an intestinal parasite and reviewing the potential sources and all the food that was consumed that may have lead to the invasion.
Big clincher there for me, we are what we eat... the drugs that cleared out the parasite killed her appetite and as such it acted like a transition, a cleansing or a real manifestation of change from being made up of thai food to being back into USA food.
We are what we eat. Every word on the ingredient label you cannot pronounce becomes part of you. Do you want that all to be part of you?
back to the original article, the catalyst for this extra post today (one that actually gets a label for the first time in a long time), it is a pretty crazy low amount of "animal" protein as my friend Mark pointed out over in G+. Yes 6oz of poultry and 8 oz of seafood a week is not much. Hell how many people essentially eat that much every day? There is probably a balance somewhere between, but if you are looking for ways to reduce the food budget, or to make room for fancy organic fruits and veggies (in season or flown in from Chile), animal protein is a good place to cut back.
heddwch
G
Yeah. So I found one. The headline that got me to click was "How fat saves lives." It isn't a short read. But then again it is in an Ivy League Alumni magazine, a place that by design or demand often has long, in-depth and complete articles. I think there's a bit of overlap in those three adjectives, no?
despite my fumbling with the written word, that article is great. Now bittman and others have been pushing the no meat thing. CCC pushes back with his woody for the paleo fad. And then you have the folks saying gluten protein is like sand paper to your guts and screws you up even if you don't have celiac's.
There is information, mostly opinion sadly, proliferating itself supporting all aspects of what we should eat, shouldn't eat, when we should eat, how we should cook things (or not cook them).
My first nugget that sucked me further in was this:
Flynn, a nutritionist who studies the relationship between diet and disease, believes strongly that most physicians are poorly equipped to give their patients nutritional advice or to help them lose weight.Bombshell.
Physicians seem to primarily spend their whole time as med students focused on diagnosis and treatment of acute medical issues. Common chronic issues become not so much how to prevent them and what people really should do and how they should fix them but more how to manage these. Type II diabetes for example. Treatment vs cure. Type I could almost fall under the acute conditions because it is very specific, and the cause is something you can put a finger on. Type II not so much.
Food.
All comes back to food.
Last night, trying to wind down and fall asleep, I grabbed the latest issue of Gastronomica and read the article (a memoir) titled 'Bodily Souvenirs' by Alexis Schaitkin. It is a chronical of dealing with an intestinal parasite and reviewing the potential sources and all the food that was consumed that may have lead to the invasion.
Big clincher there for me, we are what we eat... the drugs that cleared out the parasite killed her appetite and as such it acted like a transition, a cleansing or a real manifestation of change from being made up of thai food to being back into USA food.
We are what we eat. Every word on the ingredient label you cannot pronounce becomes part of you. Do you want that all to be part of you?
back to the original article, the catalyst for this extra post today (one that actually gets a label for the first time in a long time), it is a pretty crazy low amount of "animal" protein as my friend Mark pointed out over in G+. Yes 6oz of poultry and 8 oz of seafood a week is not much. Hell how many people essentially eat that much every day? There is probably a balance somewhere between, but if you are looking for ways to reduce the food budget, or to make room for fancy organic fruits and veggies (in season or flown in from Chile), animal protein is a good place to cut back.
heddwch
G
Not as funny as I was hoping
I'm Comic Sans, Asshole from joehollier on Vimeo.
esp since the rec came from RTK3000 on twitter but hey - decent enough
F'Yeah Bike RACING!
Nah I sure as hell am not doing much more than the Thursday Night TT (still no results from last week posted). Jonny Bold came out and kicked everyone's time in the nuts, and of course went out and stomped some mountain biker nuts this weekend. He's a nut stomper that guy is.
When he went flying by at the finish on thursday not only was there a vacuum following him that sucked even those of us sitting on the stone wall in towards the road but his bike was protesting the 6,000 watts he was generating, that thing sounded worse than Domarski's Dura-tech CX bike rattling over the roots in Goddard Park.
So this bike racing i'm giving a F'Yeah to is the Tour. Last year it took me a while to get sucked in. The Giro this year was dead to me half way through, snooze fest. The tour this year? HOLY HELL this has been some fucking KICK ASS bike racing. Yeah. so good it deserves all the fucking eff bombs I can throw at it. And you know I can fucking throw eff bombs with the best of them.
Tommy V has no chance really, he knows it, he's said as much. But fucking hell how awesome would it be if by some miracle he managed to hang on to it going into the TT on Saturday? Could the race really come down to the TT on Saturday?
There was complaining that the last mountain finish was lame, why didn't someone attack, why didn't Frank and Andy go one two one two one two until there was no one left. why didn't condadork attack, why didn't evans? it was still pretty good racing. a bit cat and mousy but it stayed tight and more importantly Voeckler hung in there.
Fucking Tommy V. Who doesn't love that guy. The emotional choice to win, no?
Then we've got fuckin THOR HUSHVOD. World Champ stripes and he's killing it. Two stage wins and the team TT win? Rainbow curse? NO WAY. Dude goes downhill like he actually practices it.
Unlike Frank and Andy. man did they look pathetic. Tilford makes a few good points about descending. You've got to practice is. Yah. Actually spend some time doing it.
Shawn P tweeted that it looks like most of those guys are reverse downhillers, practicing riding to the top of the mountain but then getting a ride down. probably some truth to that. They do definitely practice going up hill and man going down is cold and they are tiny and like a hummingbird might die if they get too cold or stop moving.
Scotty D suggests it is best just to not use your brakes. But watching THOR SMASH the down hill, there was definitely some braking involved. But compared to the Frank and Andy show, he didn't touch them. Pretty funny actually. Not so much the braking is the issue but getting back up to speed. Like a crit, slow down for the corner but then get back to speed as fast as possible, and that actually requires WATTS, not watts/kg, real honest to goodness WATTS (that THOR has in spades). That and big brass balls (Tommy V has those).
And it takes practice. you have to know how fast you can take a corner and you have to make that judgement quickly and when you see the next turn. The only way to think fast enough and to react in a way that gets you down the mountain faster than others is to practice it.
I disagree with the tweet from Keith C that Steven the MasterBaiter retweeted. CX racing won't help them with their descending skills. At least I don't think it will. It is very different, CX is pretty slow motion compared to going down a mountain.
but then what do i know (not much - you can all say it together).
I do know that for me personally this tour has been one of the best in recent memory, not good that so many guys have been taken out of the race due to injury. that's not good. Take all that away and it has still been pretty f'n exciting.
Oh right. Some people are actually going to be racing tonight, tomorrow and thursday night up at WMSR but not me. Tried that once. Can't actually really get much work done and do that race living down here. Either go up there and stay somewhere near the course each night or pretty much bail on working during the day, in part just to get there on time w/o an anxiety attack (i was w/in 5 min of missing the sign in due to unexpected traffic on 95) and getting home so late and so wiped that getting up early enough to get to work to actually get anything done is next to impossible. It was fun, and I'd love to give it a go sometime again. For now, I'll sit back. Brier says this would be his last race as a Cat 4. We'll see if he keeps to his 'plan' and upgrades (I think he's just hoping to win the stage race as a 4).
One thing that has been eating me a bit. A team-mate mentioned that a decent Saturday morning road ride has a huge number of people that show up and ride it with earbuds. A group ride with an iPod/music device? Seriously? That actually makes me angry. not in a good way. In a rant and swell up and go all HULK SMASH on people who have the selfish audacity to show up on a group ride and use them. By yourself is one thing. But in a group? On a group ride? Really? It is a ride i've been meaning to try and get to, but hearing that really lowers the priority/desire to show up.
I'd better hit publish before i get myself more worked up about it.
heddwch
G
When he went flying by at the finish on thursday not only was there a vacuum following him that sucked even those of us sitting on the stone wall in towards the road but his bike was protesting the 6,000 watts he was generating, that thing sounded worse than Domarski's Dura-tech CX bike rattling over the roots in Goddard Park.
So this bike racing i'm giving a F'Yeah to is the Tour. Last year it took me a while to get sucked in. The Giro this year was dead to me half way through, snooze fest. The tour this year? HOLY HELL this has been some fucking KICK ASS bike racing. Yeah. so good it deserves all the fucking eff bombs I can throw at it. And you know I can fucking throw eff bombs with the best of them.
Tommy V has no chance really, he knows it, he's said as much. But fucking hell how awesome would it be if by some miracle he managed to hang on to it going into the TT on Saturday? Could the race really come down to the TT on Saturday?
There was complaining that the last mountain finish was lame, why didn't someone attack, why didn't Frank and Andy go one two one two one two until there was no one left. why didn't condadork attack, why didn't evans? it was still pretty good racing. a bit cat and mousy but it stayed tight and more importantly Voeckler hung in there.
Fucking Tommy V. Who doesn't love that guy. The emotional choice to win, no?
Then we've got fuckin THOR HUSHVOD. World Champ stripes and he's killing it. Two stage wins and the team TT win? Rainbow curse? NO WAY. Dude goes downhill like he actually practices it.
Unlike Frank and Andy. man did they look pathetic. Tilford makes a few good points about descending. You've got to practice is. Yah. Actually spend some time doing it.
Shawn P tweeted that it looks like most of those guys are reverse downhillers, practicing riding to the top of the mountain but then getting a ride down. probably some truth to that. They do definitely practice going up hill and man going down is cold and they are tiny and like a hummingbird might die if they get too cold or stop moving.
Scotty D suggests it is best just to not use your brakes. But watching THOR SMASH the down hill, there was definitely some braking involved. But compared to the Frank and Andy show, he didn't touch them. Pretty funny actually. Not so much the braking is the issue but getting back up to speed. Like a crit, slow down for the corner but then get back to speed as fast as possible, and that actually requires WATTS, not watts/kg, real honest to goodness WATTS (that THOR has in spades). That and big brass balls (Tommy V has those).
And it takes practice. you have to know how fast you can take a corner and you have to make that judgement quickly and when you see the next turn. The only way to think fast enough and to react in a way that gets you down the mountain faster than others is to practice it.
I disagree with the tweet from Keith C that Steven the MasterBaiter retweeted. CX racing won't help them with their descending skills. At least I don't think it will. It is very different, CX is pretty slow motion compared to going down a mountain.
but then what do i know (not much - you can all say it together).
I do know that for me personally this tour has been one of the best in recent memory, not good that so many guys have been taken out of the race due to injury. that's not good. Take all that away and it has still been pretty f'n exciting.
Oh right. Some people are actually going to be racing tonight, tomorrow and thursday night up at WMSR but not me. Tried that once. Can't actually really get much work done and do that race living down here. Either go up there and stay somewhere near the course each night or pretty much bail on working during the day, in part just to get there on time w/o an anxiety attack (i was w/in 5 min of missing the sign in due to unexpected traffic on 95) and getting home so late and so wiped that getting up early enough to get to work to actually get anything done is next to impossible. It was fun, and I'd love to give it a go sometime again. For now, I'll sit back. Brier says this would be his last race as a Cat 4. We'll see if he keeps to his 'plan' and upgrades (I think he's just hoping to win the stage race as a 4).
One thing that has been eating me a bit. A team-mate mentioned that a decent Saturday morning road ride has a huge number of people that show up and ride it with earbuds. A group ride with an iPod/music device? Seriously? That actually makes me angry. not in a good way. In a rant and swell up and go all HULK SMASH on people who have the selfish audacity to show up on a group ride and use them. By yourself is one thing. But in a group? On a group ride? Really? It is a ride i've been meaning to try and get to, but hearing that really lowers the priority/desire to show up.
I'd better hit publish before i get myself more worked up about it.
heddwch
G
Monday, July 18, 2011
Seriously cool kit
Have to give props and a shout out to one of the coolest kits I've seen in a while.
I've got way too much plastic clothing to think about adding to it at this point but if I lived any closer to the 541 (translation if I lived in the 541 or anywhere else in that crazy state, heck if I was up in the state to the north i'd probably not think twice).
No this isn't really a plug for the kit, although it is seriously cool (the coolest part of the kit is the pure universality of it), it is more a plug for a guy running a shop, that from way over on this coast sounds pretty awesome. I like the media presence he's got.
Anyway, solid products, solid skills and if you find yourself in the 541 (yeah i know it isn't the smallest area code but hell if you're out there scale is different) stop in and say hey for me (and buy lots of shit).
heddwch
G
I've got way too much plastic clothing to think about adding to it at this point but if I lived any closer to the 541 (translation if I lived in the 541 or anywhere else in that crazy state, heck if I was up in the state to the north i'd probably not think twice).
No this isn't really a plug for the kit, although it is seriously cool (the coolest part of the kit is the pure universality of it), it is more a plug for a guy running a shop, that from way over on this coast sounds pretty awesome. I like the media presence he's got.
Anyway, solid products, solid skills and if you find yourself in the 541 (yeah i know it isn't the smallest area code but hell if you're out there scale is different) stop in and say hey for me (and buy lots of shit).
heddwch
G
SNR
Can't quite get it right today. Brain not working flawlessly.
People showing up 15 min early for an appointment and then expecting you to drop whatever you are doing and start the session because they are there throw me off.
Being early is good. Esp if it is your job.
My grandfather always said: You are on-time if you are 5 min early, if you show up on-time you are late. Suggesting that you should be ready to work at the appointed hour. Works well in retail. One shop in particular that I worked at was like that. We opened at 9am or something, but staff hours were always 30 min before opening. The sales dudes would vacuum and dust and organize the sales floor and the mechanics would get a head start on the repairs for the day. It worked well. Mostly because the manager was pretty dedicated and was always the first one there.
Lead by example. It works. Setting an example, even if you set yourself up for ridicule isn't such a bad thing, right?
Google +
i like it
it works
it is cleaner and has a better interface than other places
unlike other places you can control which group of friends sees what you post
it is slick
and has the potential to replace a blog... a public post there is akin to a blog post. But it is also very different writing there... vs here.
This is more comfortable. But if you want to explore Google + and need an invite send me an email, who doesn't have my email? gewilli at gmail pretty simple. Drop me a note and I'll fire off an invite.
heddwch
G
People showing up 15 min early for an appointment and then expecting you to drop whatever you are doing and start the session because they are there throw me off.
Being early is good. Esp if it is your job.
My grandfather always said: You are on-time if you are 5 min early, if you show up on-time you are late. Suggesting that you should be ready to work at the appointed hour. Works well in retail. One shop in particular that I worked at was like that. We opened at 9am or something, but staff hours were always 30 min before opening. The sales dudes would vacuum and dust and organize the sales floor and the mechanics would get a head start on the repairs for the day. It worked well. Mostly because the manager was pretty dedicated and was always the first one there.
Lead by example. It works. Setting an example, even if you set yourself up for ridicule isn't such a bad thing, right?
Google +
i like it
it works
it is cleaner and has a better interface than other places
unlike other places you can control which group of friends sees what you post
it is slick
and has the potential to replace a blog... a public post there is akin to a blog post. But it is also very different writing there... vs here.
This is more comfortable. But if you want to explore Google + and need an invite send me an email, who doesn't have my email? gewilli at gmail pretty simple. Drop me a note and I'll fire off an invite.
heddwch
G
Friday, July 15, 2011
Heading to the Girls Rock Showcase Tonight
Going to be loud. And fun.
TT last night was intense. Game was upped mostly because JONNY BOLD showed up and KILLED IT. Slayed that course. It was about the same as the previous week for me. w/in a second or so.
I'll wait for the results before going nuts with the analysis.
That said I left it all out there. Finding time is going to be less about going harder and more about going smarter on the course. Granted going harder is good and hopefully going my hardest will slowly decrease my time. There are a few weeks left before the series is over and CX season starts.
Party tonight. I'm actually going to a Show. Insane.
TT last night was intense. Game was upped mostly because JONNY BOLD showed up and KILLED IT. Slayed that course. It was about the same as the previous week for me. w/in a second or so.
I'll wait for the results before going nuts with the analysis.
That said I left it all out there. Finding time is going to be less about going harder and more about going smarter on the course. Granted going harder is good and hopefully going my hardest will slowly decrease my time. There are a few weeks left before the series is over and CX season starts.
Party tonight. I'm actually going to a Show. Insane.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
TT tonight
Wind is going to make it slow, just how slow will remain to be seen.
Results are up.
Going to try and take it easier on the first section on Tremont and hope to have a bit extra for Reynolds so I don't die catastrophically. Here's to hoping the old fashioned bike computer thing works and I can get some feedback to help with the pacing. That first recorded time on the CX bike isn't helping my 'avg speed.' BUT, BUT that is not why I'm doing this thing. Okay part of it is, I'm competitive, face it. Really though I win by just making it out for as many as I can. THAT is winning. And that will hopefully make a difference in the Fall.
it might not, but I think it is already making a difference.
Leaving the shop at 5:45pm.
Results are up.
Going to try and take it easier on the first section on Tremont and hope to have a bit extra for Reynolds so I don't die catastrophically. Here's to hoping the old fashioned bike computer thing works and I can get some feedback to help with the pacing. That first recorded time on the CX bike isn't helping my 'avg speed.' BUT, BUT that is not why I'm doing this thing. Okay part of it is, I'm competitive, face it. Really though I win by just making it out for as many as I can. THAT is winning. And that will hopefully make a difference in the Fall.
it might not, but I think it is already making a difference.
Leaving the shop at 5:45pm.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Buttah
Smooth like buttah.
That's what a new drive train feels like. Tossed a much needed new chain, cassette and some salvaged pulleys on the Croll last night before riding home. Holy crap what a difference.
The drive train on there (chain, cassette) were new in 2009 when I put them on the Giant TCX at the start of cross season. Raced that season and commuted on that drive train until yesterday.
Worn? Duh. Stretched? Holy shit yeah.
But it was a shimano chain I took off, and you know what? It still hadn't broken. Imagine that. Durafuckingballer that stuff is.
Shifted still, but man it was all notchy and janky and noisy and felt weird.
New stuff? Sooooo smooth. With the Ritchey Drop outs in the back of the Croll the hanger is as rock solid as any you will find. Super strong too. Just not great with the trailer attachment on the other side.
The Jockey wheels were super pointy. Almost to the point of being little circles. The ones that I had salvaged off an exploded tiagra der (someone's bike fell over in the garage, lightly, and then the next ride it was shifted into the spokes ripping the der in two). So they didn't have the sealed bearings that the Ultegra ones that were worn but they worked, probably less friction than the old ones.
Chain was an LX/105 9sp one. Tend to have good luck with those on the 9sp bikes. Replaced it with the same, but I will admit to using a SRAM 9sp quick link. Yeah. I put a quick disconnect in on a shimano chain. And no, I haven't noticed a shifting issue.
Cassette now, here is where I'm dubious as to my choice. I went with an HG50 12-25. Figuring it is just going to see commuter duty and if it wears out sooner, well then I'll just replace the chain sooner. it isn't going on an alloy freehub so i dudn't need to worry about a carrier or anything. And it was cheap. And so am I. I also have a couple other (three?) drive trains to be replaced sooner than later so there was that. The rest will probably go with an XT/Ultegra (9sp) chain and 105 cogsets.
My donated Sigma computer/HRM is being a bit flaky. Speed is dropping out, sometimes HR drops out too. Sort of frustrating. New batteries all the way around too. I'm the second user of the system so maybe it is just tired and dead. Maybe I should take a chance and go with a new Bontrager system or just order a mess of batteries for the polar 720. I like that feed back of the HRM and speed, I'll admit it. I like the data. Mostly because it really does seem to help go both easy enough and hard enough. Oh well.
I'm off the bike today. Either going to be really fresh for the TT tomorrow night or stale. Hoping the former. The week is going well and so totally worth being off the bike.
That and the Rusty Trusty Race wagon is buzzing right along, shake rattle and rolling but still putting along. The lack of AC hasn't been so bad.
Ate all my lunch before 11:30. Going to go grab a Nice Slice To get me through the afternoon sessions.
heddwch
G
That's what a new drive train feels like. Tossed a much needed new chain, cassette and some salvaged pulleys on the Croll last night before riding home. Holy crap what a difference.
The drive train on there (chain, cassette) were new in 2009 when I put them on the Giant TCX at the start of cross season. Raced that season and commuted on that drive train until yesterday.
Worn? Duh. Stretched? Holy shit yeah.
But it was a shimano chain I took off, and you know what? It still hadn't broken. Imagine that. Durafuckingballer that stuff is.
Shifted still, but man it was all notchy and janky and noisy and felt weird.
New stuff? Sooooo smooth. With the Ritchey Drop outs in the back of the Croll the hanger is as rock solid as any you will find. Super strong too. Just not great with the trailer attachment on the other side.
The Jockey wheels were super pointy. Almost to the point of being little circles. The ones that I had salvaged off an exploded tiagra der (someone's bike fell over in the garage, lightly, and then the next ride it was shifted into the spokes ripping the der in two). So they didn't have the sealed bearings that the Ultegra ones that were worn but they worked, probably less friction than the old ones.
Chain was an LX/105 9sp one. Tend to have good luck with those on the 9sp bikes. Replaced it with the same, but I will admit to using a SRAM 9sp quick link. Yeah. I put a quick disconnect in on a shimano chain. And no, I haven't noticed a shifting issue.
Cassette now, here is where I'm dubious as to my choice. I went with an HG50 12-25. Figuring it is just going to see commuter duty and if it wears out sooner, well then I'll just replace the chain sooner. it isn't going on an alloy freehub so i dudn't need to worry about a carrier or anything. And it was cheap. And so am I. I also have a couple other (three?) drive trains to be replaced sooner than later so there was that. The rest will probably go with an XT/Ultegra (9sp) chain and 105 cogsets.
My donated Sigma computer/HRM is being a bit flaky. Speed is dropping out, sometimes HR drops out too. Sort of frustrating. New batteries all the way around too. I'm the second user of the system so maybe it is just tired and dead. Maybe I should take a chance and go with a new Bontrager system or just order a mess of batteries for the polar 720. I like that feed back of the HRM and speed, I'll admit it. I like the data. Mostly because it really does seem to help go both easy enough and hard enough. Oh well.
I'm off the bike today. Either going to be really fresh for the TT tomorrow night or stale. Hoping the former. The week is going well and so totally worth being off the bike.
That and the Rusty Trusty Race wagon is buzzing right along, shake rattle and rolling but still putting along. The lack of AC hasn't been so bad.
Ate all my lunch before 11:30. Going to go grab a Nice Slice To get me through the afternoon sessions.
heddwch
G
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
hangers
That cyclingnews tech bit about the hangers had me thinking a bit. Almost blog expansion worthy. Certainly too many words, too little specificity for twitter, hey lets use this thing.
some may have remembered my issue at Suckerbrook. The first race on the Blue.
The weekend before (or day before, I don't remember) after building it we had a bit of CX practice. During some start races (foot down race from a dead stop to a tree 50 meters down the way) I slipped the rear wheel out of the drop outs. Seems the QR wasn't tight enough.
I built the bike with that QR tension. Cranking it down seemed to be fine right? Should do much more than hold it all together better.
Well that assumption sort of screwed me at Suckerbrook where under load i shifted the rear der into the spokes and ripped the hanger in two bits. Fortunately I stopped pedaling before I damaged the chain or the derailleur. But no hanger = no more races.
With the new hanger the shifting was spotty at best all season. Hangers are supposed be bolt in and straight right?
Turns out they aren't. Building lots of bikes lately there are a surprising number of replaceable hangers that are out of alignment right out of the box. Matt at Caster's PVD suggested that maybe the rear hanger is out of alignment.
From my perspective that hanger alignment tool was for fixing tweaked steel frame hangers, not replaceable aluminum hangers. But being open to new mechanic tips and tricks, I checked it (early in the spring/late winter).
Holy hell. It was twisted and slightly wacked but in a subtle way not easily noticed visualizing the der cage alignment. But what did you know? The f'n bike shifted perfectly. Sonofabitch.
Now yes, they save the der, sometimes. More often than not though I still see destroyed ders and chains and sometimes wheels. I guess though they still do the part of saving the frame. And that is what they are designed to do.
But.
When you slightly bump those hangers or more specifically the derailleur itself these hangers are so soft that boom they move and suddenly your limit screw settings are meaningless. Most of the exploded bikes that seem to come into shops are a result of a slight miss-alignment from (for most people) unremarkable contact.
Where are the break away bolts? Personally I'd rather have one of these fitted to a wicked stout hanger like Gary Klein (and Stork) used.
Got me thinking. Yes it was nice that the hanger ripped off and didn't chew up the chain or the rear der or destroy the wheel. BUT a stronger hanger, better design, would have eliminated the problem in the beginning.
Heck they are lighter too. And don't seem to affect shifting performance or limit screws like the plastic-like flexi alloy hangers being installed on most carbon bikes.
Now I have said it before, destroying the frame is bad and often more expensive than blowing a der, chain and wheel even. But... a stiffer hanger would save lots of people headache and wallet ache and stuff would shift better.
ah well...
got that out...
Tour just got exciting, still a pile of paper work to get through. Best quote ever:
"Having things organized is only for small-minded people. The genius controls the chaos." - Jens Voigt
Like he says, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.
heddwch
G
Oh and Big Shout Out to Curtis Singmaster for winning the Attleboro crit (cat 4). Nice job my friend. Nice job!
some may have remembered my issue at Suckerbrook. The first race on the Blue.
The weekend before (or day before, I don't remember) after building it we had a bit of CX practice. During some start races (foot down race from a dead stop to a tree 50 meters down the way) I slipped the rear wheel out of the drop outs. Seems the QR wasn't tight enough.
I built the bike with that QR tension. Cranking it down seemed to be fine right? Should do much more than hold it all together better.
Well that assumption sort of screwed me at Suckerbrook where under load i shifted the rear der into the spokes and ripped the hanger in two bits. Fortunately I stopped pedaling before I damaged the chain or the derailleur. But no hanger = no more races.
With the new hanger the shifting was spotty at best all season. Hangers are supposed be bolt in and straight right?
Turns out they aren't. Building lots of bikes lately there are a surprising number of replaceable hangers that are out of alignment right out of the box. Matt at Caster's PVD suggested that maybe the rear hanger is out of alignment.
From my perspective that hanger alignment tool was for fixing tweaked steel frame hangers, not replaceable aluminum hangers. But being open to new mechanic tips and tricks, I checked it (early in the spring/late winter).
Holy hell. It was twisted and slightly wacked but in a subtle way not easily noticed visualizing the der cage alignment. But what did you know? The f'n bike shifted perfectly. Sonofabitch.
Now yes, they save the der, sometimes. More often than not though I still see destroyed ders and chains and sometimes wheels. I guess though they still do the part of saving the frame. And that is what they are designed to do.
But.
When you slightly bump those hangers or more specifically the derailleur itself these hangers are so soft that boom they move and suddenly your limit screw settings are meaningless. Most of the exploded bikes that seem to come into shops are a result of a slight miss-alignment from (for most people) unremarkable contact.
Where are the break away bolts? Personally I'd rather have one of these fitted to a wicked stout hanger like Gary Klein (and Stork) used.
Got me thinking. Yes it was nice that the hanger ripped off and didn't chew up the chain or the rear der or destroy the wheel. BUT a stronger hanger, better design, would have eliminated the problem in the beginning.
Heck they are lighter too. And don't seem to affect shifting performance or limit screws like the plastic-like flexi alloy hangers being installed on most carbon bikes.
Now I have said it before, destroying the frame is bad and often more expensive than blowing a der, chain and wheel even. But... a stiffer hanger would save lots of people headache and wallet ache and stuff would shift better.
ah well...
got that out...
Tour just got exciting, still a pile of paper work to get through. Best quote ever:
"Having things organized is only for small-minded people. The genius controls the chaos." - Jens Voigt
Like he says, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.
heddwch
G
Oh and Big Shout Out to Curtis Singmaster for winning the Attleboro crit (cat 4). Nice job my friend. Nice job!
Saturday, July 09, 2011
I had no idea
Other than Horner Crashed. I missed the whole aftermath and the fall out.
Seriously? He didn't know where he was, bleeding from his head and they put him on the bike and let him ride the rest of the way to the finish?
Really?
Neil's perspective is great, well said, thanks to Google+ and GCD for the link. It is encouraging to hear the Garmin-Cervelo team plan for head injuries. The inference is that Horner and Boonen probably would not have been allowed to continue on their squad.
Oh and there are some helmets that don't look like they are offering much more protection than the old leather hair nets. And I won't point a finger (a gewilli departure).
I like that giant melon cap of a helmet that saved my grey matter once already. It isn't as stylish, small, or light. But I have confidence in it.
--
Had a chance to drive the rusty trusty race wagon to the shop today. It was nice not having the pulley making a huge racket. Down side? I can now hear the rest of the rattles and sounds that I have been missing. Oh well. It is a work in progress, right? Slowly replacing everything, more or less.
Lots of smoke out of the gate, probably burning crap that had built up in the valves (Crankcase vent is still stock and blowing right into the intake as designed so there's a bit in there). Took a few miles to burn clear. But I noticed that the car wasn't rolling freely.
Weird.
It usually rolls brilliantly. Something wasn't right. Then it got a bit stinky. And the braking sucked more than normal.
Parked it at the shop, checked the corners, oh hey the left front wheel is a bit hot. Damn. Kind of put a bit damper on the first part of the day, about as much as the heat in the shop put on the rest of the day. After it cooled down I moved it up the hill to a flat section and it seemed okay, other than the blue rotor. And it seemed to release sitting there (heat usually works to fix somethings). I jacked it up and sure enough it spun okay. oh well, that wheel has a nice well mated pad/rotor now.
I've got wheels again, wheels that I don't have to pedal. I can now maybe think about going to a bike race... this fall.
Oh and Google + is pretty cool...
heddwch
g
Seriously? He didn't know where he was, bleeding from his head and they put him on the bike and let him ride the rest of the way to the finish?
Really?
Neil's perspective is great, well said, thanks to Google+ and GCD for the link. It is encouraging to hear the Garmin-Cervelo team plan for head injuries. The inference is that Horner and Boonen probably would not have been allowed to continue on their squad.
Oh and there are some helmets that don't look like they are offering much more protection than the old leather hair nets. And I won't point a finger (a gewilli departure).
I like that giant melon cap of a helmet that saved my grey matter once already. It isn't as stylish, small, or light. But I have confidence in it.
--
Had a chance to drive the rusty trusty race wagon to the shop today. It was nice not having the pulley making a huge racket. Down side? I can now hear the rest of the rattles and sounds that I have been missing. Oh well. It is a work in progress, right? Slowly replacing everything, more or less.
Lots of smoke out of the gate, probably burning crap that had built up in the valves (Crankcase vent is still stock and blowing right into the intake as designed so there's a bit in there). Took a few miles to burn clear. But I noticed that the car wasn't rolling freely.
Weird.
It usually rolls brilliantly. Something wasn't right. Then it got a bit stinky. And the braking sucked more than normal.
Parked it at the shop, checked the corners, oh hey the left front wheel is a bit hot. Damn. Kind of put a bit damper on the first part of the day, about as much as the heat in the shop put on the rest of the day. After it cooled down I moved it up the hill to a flat section and it seemed okay, other than the blue rotor. And it seemed to release sitting there (heat usually works to fix somethings). I jacked it up and sure enough it spun okay. oh well, that wheel has a nice well mated pad/rotor now.
I've got wheels again, wheels that I don't have to pedal. I can now maybe think about going to a bike race... this fall.
Oh and Google + is pretty cool...
heddwch
g
Thursday, July 07, 2011
a week... dang
so it's been a week. but then it has been a week since I raced. Make it race report here right? Why not.
Busy.
Hooked up the trail-a-bike to the Tandem for the 10 mile trip down to the Parade. 20 mile round trip hauling them around wasn't too bad, other than the heat, kind of fun. Crazy number of reactions, my wife liked hearing them all. We were quite the spectacle. And we were passing people, passing everyone. Kind of sketchy a bit, took quite the zen focus planning to pass everyone.
Then it has been a stay-cation week. Took the short week as a vacation week to hang out and have a couple days with the girls here at home. Got the car fixed. It purrs nicely now. No A/C anymore but hey, it is what it is, so quiet. Turns out the pulley bearings exploded. Got a junk yard compressor with a good clutch/pulley, makes all the difference. Back to two cars. Just in time to potentially need it next week.
Managed a commute into the shop for tuesday, wed night was a one way commute home, so not a total relaxed week. But mentally it has been very nice. Not quite total vacation but I've managed to catch ever stage since monday. Oh Sunday.
Right. So has anyone ever ridden 3hr 10min with an avg HR of 87? Reed had announced a coffee shop ride on Sunday morning. It was billed as a 2 hr ride, 20 min or so ride down to the start at the coffee shop. I figured a nice decently long mellow ride would be good to work out a few kinks and just sort of loosen everything up. And hell it was a great morning and I had the opportunity, so I grabbed it and wound up working with a guy on the ride who'd only been on a bike for two weeks. It was pretty damn cool. He made it the whole ride. Totally knackered at the end but he survived and learned a ton.
Hm. Not as much of an off week physcially as much as mentally I guess.
Tonight of course was another running of the BikeWorksMA.com time trial (bob is supposed to be putting the results on the web page, guess it hasn't been up there yet).
Much hotter tonight than last week. Wind definitely NOT favorable. But I felt much better going into it. No side stitch/cramps, decently fueled and two bottles of water. Took up position behind a not fat Burke (he's regaining form, watch out CX season). Eddie O came rolling in with Jack T just as we were lining up. Eddie started last, just like Solobreak did last week.
I hit it hard after a flubbed start (hitting the wrong button on the stop watch on the bike computer doesn't work to get it started). Anyway. Hit it and hit it hard.
Heart rate was in the 170s most of the ride. I pulled it back a few times but mostly just kept the pressure on. Hit my max for the season so far at 177. It was pretty brutal.
I felt like the effort tonight really eclipsed last week, but coming in about 100 yards out of the final turn and I checked the stop watch seeing a number higher than I expected was a wtf moment. It felt much harder, felt almost like i was going faster (but I wasn't).
19:58. Still kept it in the 19 range but barely. Eddie O was on his cannondale TT bike (normal helmet) and set the fastest time at 19:08 or something around there. Within a handful of seconds of my time last week. We were all way off. But pretty consistent.
I was a few seconds slower than big Joe, and Burke didn't let me get too close. Certainly hurt, and the interval was absolutely max effort, despite the crappy time I'm still happy with the effort. All this on a bike from 1986... at least the wheels are somewhat modern.
Earlier this week I was going to write about sunscreen and some more evidence or reasons not to use the hormone based chemical types but that got side tracked.
Some other ideas have been rolling around, like that Morgan Blue stuff, the photo in velonews with the SRAM approved wicked long rear-der cable housing loop. I should get my ass back in a routine. but hey. i don't want to force it. I should have mentioned the slight changes to the hummus recipe (add lemon zest and extra garlic) or pancakes (add choco chips and orange juice). Or the increasingly popular bean salad, and the knife work my oldest is getting chopping tomatoes for it (she's getting pretty good with the santoku).
Attleboro crit is this weekend. I don't think I'm going to make it. Oddly it might just be the closest race (aside from the Cox crit) and i've never done it.
Just going to keep plugging away at what I hope will pay off down the road. Suffering is good, right? 50 miles after 5pm isn't bad either. Right? Not so slow either. Well the last 5 miles were pretty slow. Fuel gauge on empty.
heddwch
G
Busy.
Hooked up the trail-a-bike to the Tandem for the 10 mile trip down to the Parade. 20 mile round trip hauling them around wasn't too bad, other than the heat, kind of fun. Crazy number of reactions, my wife liked hearing them all. We were quite the spectacle. And we were passing people, passing everyone. Kind of sketchy a bit, took quite the zen focus planning to pass everyone.
Then it has been a stay-cation week. Took the short week as a vacation week to hang out and have a couple days with the girls here at home. Got the car fixed. It purrs nicely now. No A/C anymore but hey, it is what it is, so quiet. Turns out the pulley bearings exploded. Got a junk yard compressor with a good clutch/pulley, makes all the difference. Back to two cars. Just in time to potentially need it next week.
Managed a commute into the shop for tuesday, wed night was a one way commute home, so not a total relaxed week. But mentally it has been very nice. Not quite total vacation but I've managed to catch ever stage since monday. Oh Sunday.
Right. So has anyone ever ridden 3hr 10min with an avg HR of 87? Reed had announced a coffee shop ride on Sunday morning. It was billed as a 2 hr ride, 20 min or so ride down to the start at the coffee shop. I figured a nice decently long mellow ride would be good to work out a few kinks and just sort of loosen everything up. And hell it was a great morning and I had the opportunity, so I grabbed it and wound up working with a guy on the ride who'd only been on a bike for two weeks. It was pretty damn cool. He made it the whole ride. Totally knackered at the end but he survived and learned a ton.
Hm. Not as much of an off week physcially as much as mentally I guess.
Tonight of course was another running of the BikeWorksMA.com time trial (bob is supposed to be putting the results on the web page, guess it hasn't been up there yet).
Much hotter tonight than last week. Wind definitely NOT favorable. But I felt much better going into it. No side stitch/cramps, decently fueled and two bottles of water. Took up position behind a not fat Burke (he's regaining form, watch out CX season). Eddie O came rolling in with Jack T just as we were lining up. Eddie started last, just like Solobreak did last week.
I hit it hard after a flubbed start (hitting the wrong button on the stop watch on the bike computer doesn't work to get it started). Anyway. Hit it and hit it hard.
Heart rate was in the 170s most of the ride. I pulled it back a few times but mostly just kept the pressure on. Hit my max for the season so far at 177. It was pretty brutal.
I felt like the effort tonight really eclipsed last week, but coming in about 100 yards out of the final turn and I checked the stop watch seeing a number higher than I expected was a wtf moment. It felt much harder, felt almost like i was going faster (but I wasn't).
19:58. Still kept it in the 19 range but barely. Eddie O was on his cannondale TT bike (normal helmet) and set the fastest time at 19:08 or something around there. Within a handful of seconds of my time last week. We were all way off. But pretty consistent.
I was a few seconds slower than big Joe, and Burke didn't let me get too close. Certainly hurt, and the interval was absolutely max effort, despite the crappy time I'm still happy with the effort. All this on a bike from 1986... at least the wheels are somewhat modern.
Earlier this week I was going to write about sunscreen and some more evidence or reasons not to use the hormone based chemical types but that got side tracked.
Some other ideas have been rolling around, like that Morgan Blue stuff, the photo in velonews with the SRAM approved wicked long rear-der cable housing loop. I should get my ass back in a routine. but hey. i don't want to force it. I should have mentioned the slight changes to the hummus recipe (add lemon zest and extra garlic) or pancakes (add choco chips and orange juice). Or the increasingly popular bean salad, and the knife work my oldest is getting chopping tomatoes for it (she's getting pretty good with the santoku).
Attleboro crit is this weekend. I don't think I'm going to make it. Oddly it might just be the closest race (aside from the Cox crit) and i've never done it.
Just going to keep plugging away at what I hope will pay off down the road. Suffering is good, right? 50 miles after 5pm isn't bad either. Right? Not so slow either. Well the last 5 miles were pretty slow. Fuel gauge on empty.
heddwch
G
Friday, July 01, 2011
Does it get any better?
Than this?
Now, maybe if it wasn't a 29er and it was a CX style, and they didn't cover up all the gorgeous metal with paint (not that the paint is bad - pretty bad ass paint but stainless or ti should be left alone to appreciate the craftsmanship).
Simply perfectly amazingly awesome.
can't wait to see the rest of the bike.
Now, maybe if it wasn't a 29er and it was a CX style, and they didn't cover up all the gorgeous metal with paint (not that the paint is bad - pretty bad ass paint but stainless or ti should be left alone to appreciate the craftsmanship).
Simply perfectly amazingly awesome.
can't wait to see the rest of the bike.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
ouch
damn that hurt. not as much then as it does now. felt like i left something on the table today... but about 15 min before we got to the course i had a side cramp/stitch that just wouldn't go away. Stayed with me the whole TT, hurt. It is gone now but i think it sucked a few seconds out of me.
19:13 today. huge improvement. We did have a tailwind, that made it faster a bit and the frankenbike worked well. Well it worked well other than the Reynolds free-hub sounding like i was grinding rocks or something. Disconcerting.
Went too hard in a few places before the right turn but it was good. Burke set pretty tough pace on the way home. At least it felt pretty brutal, I was at my limit until they peeled off across the bridge and I rolled on to the bike path.
doing that on one water bottle was stupid but i'd at least had enough water and salt leading up to it that i was okay.
20:42 - then 21:42 and today 19:13.
might be close to my fastest time ever on the course. going to work on getting some consistency with the TT going and focus on making the commutes either super super easy (like tomorrow morning will be) or really really intense, either intervals or steady state.
Maybe it will work.
falling asleep writing.
heddwch
G
19:13 today. huge improvement. We did have a tailwind, that made it faster a bit and the frankenbike worked well. Well it worked well other than the Reynolds free-hub sounding like i was grinding rocks or something. Disconcerting.
Went too hard in a few places before the right turn but it was good. Burke set pretty tough pace on the way home. At least it felt pretty brutal, I was at my limit until they peeled off across the bridge and I rolled on to the bike path.
doing that on one water bottle was stupid but i'd at least had enough water and salt leading up to it that i was okay.
20:42 - then 21:42 and today 19:13.
might be close to my fastest time ever on the course. going to work on getting some consistency with the TT going and focus on making the commutes either super super easy (like tomorrow morning will be) or really really intense, either intervals or steady state.
Maybe it will work.
falling asleep writing.
heddwch
G
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Monday, June 27, 2011
electrolytes, laxatives?
Really?
Hmm.
interesting
http://www.bobsredmill.com/blog/2011/06/27/hydration-tips/
i don't buy it mostly because the one "electrolyte" used as a laxative is consumed on a 2-5 gram dosage and Na+ and K+ are very different than Mg^2+ (former are easily absorbed latter not so much).
nothing relieves cramping symptoms like a quart of (commercially sold) tomato juice (or V8 for that matter - still mostly tomato but with just as much sodium chloride).
Tempting to point it out in a FB comment but kind of figure just to say something somewhere else.
I never cramped as badly for as long as after chugging the whole camel back of water through one hot lap at Great Glen... cramps lasted until I started pounding PILLS (multiple) of those electrolytes (mostly just salt).
Granted most people get enough salt in their diet (because they eat out too much - or don't prepare their meals from scratch) so it doesn't matter really. But if you eat well, wisely and all that, water often won't cut the mustard in the summer.
Gotta get your salt somehow.
Gatorade powder with some plain old salt added makes it work well. I should dig up the amount needed to add to the cheap powder to bring the levels of sodium up to the endurance formula. teaspoon or two iirc.
It's getting to be summer. Cramping isn't just loss of water. It is fatigue but more often your electrical system getting fucked up because there aren't enough ions to allow the signals to flow properly.
Hmm.
interesting
http://www.bobsredmill.com/blog/2011/06/27/hydration-tips/
i don't buy it mostly because the one "electrolyte" used as a laxative is consumed on a 2-5 gram dosage and Na+ and K+ are very different than Mg^2+ (former are easily absorbed latter not so much).
nothing relieves cramping symptoms like a quart of (commercially sold) tomato juice (or V8 for that matter - still mostly tomato but with just as much sodium chloride).
Tempting to point it out in a FB comment but kind of figure just to say something somewhere else.
I never cramped as badly for as long as after chugging the whole camel back of water through one hot lap at Great Glen... cramps lasted until I started pounding PILLS (multiple) of those electrolytes (mostly just salt).
Granted most people get enough salt in their diet (because they eat out too much - or don't prepare their meals from scratch) so it doesn't matter really. But if you eat well, wisely and all that, water often won't cut the mustard in the summer.
Gotta get your salt somehow.
Gatorade powder with some plain old salt added makes it work well. I should dig up the amount needed to add to the cheap powder to bring the levels of sodium up to the endurance formula. teaspoon or two iirc.
It's getting to be summer. Cramping isn't just loss of water. It is fatigue but more often your electrical system getting fucked up because there aren't enough ions to allow the signals to flow properly.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
cooking for a crowd
Big pile of Potato salad, some of the Ecuadorean bean salad, hummus, and locally made sweet Italian sausages and yes, hot dogs (those un-cured cancer salt free ones, yes wicked processed still but hey - it is summer f'it).
gotta finish cooking up the sausages and dogs, slap some sunscreen on and get the canoe over there. two edge sword being this close to the water. takes as long to get it on the car and back off as it does to walk it over...
oops time to flip the sausages.
pop the hot dogs on.
get some sunscreen
okay - one last coffee (lost count but fortunately losing count of how many cups of coffee isn't as dangerous as losing count of how many beers)
time to haul a canoe!
the weather has cooperated, paddle time!
gotta finish cooking up the sausages and dogs, slap some sunscreen on and get the canoe over there. two edge sword being this close to the water. takes as long to get it on the car and back off as it does to walk it over...
oops time to flip the sausages.
pop the hot dogs on.
get some sunscreen
okay - one last coffee (lost count but fortunately losing count of how many cups of coffee isn't as dangerous as losing count of how many beers)
time to haul a canoe!
the weather has cooperated, paddle time!
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