training 1-31-07

I haven't made a blog entry in a week. Hmmm, that might mean something. It could be a sign of overtraining or it could be a sign that I have nothing to say. One could argue that my having nothing to say never stopped me from posting before so maybe there is something to the overtraining thing.

I have to admit that my last recumbent ride put me into a deeper hole. I don't mind that as long as I come out stronger. My next recumbent ride will give me a good idea how things are going to play out. I'm planning for next Sunday. That will give me eleven days between performance rides. It was supposed to be ten but my daughter's schedule got twisted around and I had to pick her up on training day. It's a 300 mile drive so I had to postpone my training a day.

My last three rides have all been bike walks on the DF averaging between 12.3-12.7mph. The first two were the usual 32.4 miles but today's I cut short to 20 miles. I question the benefit of putting the extra time on the bike at such a low intensity. It's just a recovery ride so I don't see the point of stretching them out to 2.5 hours or longer. I'll try the 1.5 hour range and see how that goes. If I get the itch to go longer, I will.

I added up my monthly total for January. I did fifteen rides; eight on the recumbent and seven on the DF. My total miles was 430 (58.4% recumbent/41.6% DF). My total time was 26.85 hours (42.2% recumbent/57.8% DF)

My Sunday's performance-ride-on-the-recumbent pace will be dictated by how my body feels. I'm not going to try and duplicate or better my last performance if I'm not up to it. If it doesn't want to perform then it is likely that I need to go back to a more tolerable intensity. That would probably be in the 22mph average range.

one last diversion

Here's a view from the cabin. My neighbors cows are relaxing under the trees. The cows keep everything (38 acres) mowed and their owner keeps an eye on my cabin.

upperbody aerobics

Here's my HPW (human powered well). I pump water from about 100 feet below the surface. The well is 130 feet deep. I bought the hand pump from a company in Reno, Nevada. If I ever wuss-out I can sellout and switch to electric. At the top of the picture you can see the power lines and how close they run by. I don't see that happening though.

The Canadian border agent turned me on (in more ways than one) to this cast iron tub that was being given away. Btw, the border agent was a women :-)

view

This is the view towards the St. Lawrence River Valley around Montreal. My land borders Canada. There's plenty of endurance racing in New York and the Boston-Montreal-Boston's turnaround in Huntington, Quebec is just a few miles from here.

Wally

This is my best friend Wally and I standing on our rock. Wally is an Australian Cattledog.

Fogcom's retirement home

This is my other hobby: My cabin and land in New York. I built this about six years ago and I'm eventually going to live there full time. I'll be doing it old-school, off the grid. It's my way of sticking it to the man

training 1-24-07

I guess those two bike walks helped. I did a 24.8(23.5)mph average run today. I kept the cadence high and didn't hammer at all. That's the best ride I've had in the past year. It helped that I hit all green lights (there are only a few the entire way). When I dump the panniers and put on some good racing tires I should be able to easily hit PRs. The Stelvios that I'm using look like a cross between Don King and a tennis ball. I can't believe they're holding up as they look very suspect.

It was 57 degrees when I got home so I can look forward to at least another .5mph increase when it warms up. I'm definitely starting to lean towards the Nissan event. When I'm in shape I'm pretty sure I could do 30mph for the hour unfaired under ideal circumstances (indoor on a smooth velodrome). I suspect I could have done 30mph at Hellyer in 2005. I was using that event as training and was loafing at 27mph up on the banking and occasionally bumping it up to 30mph to reel in Jim Verheul on his Nocom whenever he surged.

I have to be very careful what I do from here on out. A little too much, too often could have devastating effects on my plans. I'm going to err on the side of too easy. I need to determine the optimum frequency of the harder rides. It was six days from my last recumbent ride. Being that I had such an increase in average speed I may need more time between. Perhaps eight, or even ten, days. I had decent results with the ten day span and no rides in between. Ten days with four bike walks in between may be just what the doctor ordered. We'll see.

I'm a proud papa today

I just found out that one of my "children" "faired" well (get it) in a coastdown test.

Peter Borenstadt, on a dual-700, unfaired carbon highracer (that was converted to a 650c front, hence, raising the seat angle) with spoked wheels out-coasted Michael Cvetich on a VKII with M5 tailbox and dual wheel discs. Granted, Peter had a weight advantage but who's counting such trivialities.

I don't know why this pleases me so. It feels much better than winning a race. In the words of the 'hood, 'that's what I'm talkin' about.

training 1-22-06

I did the same route as last time. Thanks to being in a more recovered state my walking speed increased to 12.7mph (whoa there, big fella). I should be up for a recumbent run on my next ride, Wednesday.

Boy, I can't get Nissan out of my mind. Bogus attempt, or not, it's calling me. It's on the same date as the Davis 12hr. Challenge. Hopefully, it will be one or the other and not neither.

If I do go I have to decide what mode of travel I'll use. If I fly I'll have to make another bike that will fit into legal-sized luggage. That would be fine with me because it'll give me an excuse to build a really aero unfaired bike; one that would make the Fogcom looked like a fat, American tourist. Another option would be to resurrect Woody. With two 700c wheels it may be the best choice.

what a great hobby

I don't even really enjoy bike racing (it hurts) that much but it is the perfect form of expession when I factor in all of the forces that drive me. From self-sufficiency and independence to a desire to build or pursue goals, it covers it all.

I've always liked the idea of being self-sufficient and living simply. That's a big reason bicycles have appealled to me. I remember what a thrill it was when I started bicycle commuting to work; to transport myself under my own power; to not need gasoline or the machines that consume it. Part of it, I must admit, was the feeling that I was giving society the finger. I guess I've always harbored a bit of contempt for society. It's not that I think I'm better, because I fully realize that if everybody were like me humanity would still be in the stone age. It's just that I just don't fit right. I don't like the feeling of being a cog in a machine. Anyway, I always had the feeling that I was somehow "getting over"and beating the system.

The major part of being self-sufficient is being able to do for yourself (of course). Once again, bicycles provide an outlet. One of the most enjoyable things I've ever done was building bicycles. Though I'm not crazy about the building process, I do love the designing aspect. I love drawing bicycles and have done hundreds, if not thousands, of them. The best part, though, is the finished product. To create is satisfying in itself, but to create something that you love, like recumbents, is extremely pleasurable.

That brings me to goals. As far as I'm concerned, If I don't have a goal to pursue then I'm just passing time until the day they put me in the ground. I must be goal-oriented because that's what I believe life is all about. As a matter of fact, the quickest path to depression for me is to not have one.

I especially like physical challenges (perhaps because I lack mental tools?) whether it be powerlifting, bodybuilding, arm wrestling, MMA, or cycling. If it's not one, it's another. One might say this is some sort of macho, ego-gratification thing but I don't believe it is. For me it's personal. I like competing against myself; doing battle with my physical limitations; countering less than ideal DNA sequencing. It's never about beating the other guy. I could be just as easily satisfied testing myself with a cross-country tour. My choices are determined more by a desire to operate from a home base (to be near my daughter).

When all is considered, bicycle racing is the natural choice. The fact that lowracers are so damn sexy makes them the obvious bike of choice. I could look at the photos at RSC Speedbike all day. Perhaps one day, as is my goal, I'll make it to Europe for a race and see my smiling face looking back at me.

training tweaks

Since I'm not 100% happy with how my body has been responding lately I decided to make more changes. As I said before, I suspect that my easy days aren't quite as easy as they should be, based on mph averages.

I decided to lower the intensity to bike-walk, recovery speed. In addition, I will do this on my flat, back-country road course on the DF. As a result, today's 32-mile ride took two hours and forty-seven minutes. That's a whopping 11.6 mph average.

So, the plan is to do these rides, exclusively, between the harder, "performance" rides done on the recumbent. Hopefully, doing this will increase the frequency of quality rides. Instead of playing around in the 18-21 mph average speed range I'll try and nudge up the intensity to beyond the 22mph average speed range. How often I will do the performance rides I do not yet know. I'll just do one whenever my body is ready.

In a way this is a melding of the two training methods I used for my two best Fiesta Island TT's. I get the superior aerobic training from one and power training from the other. I've got to be very careful with the intensity though. As I've stated in the past, it's my achilles heel. I figure the safest way to go is to ease my average speed up a little each time over the next couple of months. That way I won't be in too big of a hole if I find that I pushed too far and can back off before, once again, driving myself out of racing.

A couple of minor benefits from doing this is all of recumbent rides will be performance-based. It will train my body/mind to perform whenever it's on a recumbent. The other is, I believe that DF's are superior for easy, recovery training due to the fact that the legs are under the heart and enjoy greater blood supply.

We'll see how this works for a while. Should my body wake up I may revert back to what I have been doing, now, and what's worked in the past.

training 1-18-07

Had a good session today. 22.3 (20.3) mph avg. It seems I have better rides after using the DF (which I did Tuesday). Maybe the break from the recumbent muscles does them good. I'll try going back to the DF more for the easier rides.

I rode with a slightly different position today. After I modified the seat I had fore/aft slack in my seat which allowed my body slide back when I took off from a start. This made take-offs less stable but didn't seem to affect normal riding. I placed a half-inch layer of padding in front of the nose of my seat which pushed my body back and locked me in tight to the seat. Take-offs are nice and solid now, as they were before the modification.

I realized that I did something really stupid in the process of all this. Since my left shin is shorter by 3/8" I used a shim under my cleat. When I chopped back my seat I decided to eliminate the shim and adjust the cleat placement instead. Yesterday I realized that when I adjusted my cleats for the discrepancy in leg length I did so backwards. In effect I made my short leg shorter and my long leg longer. Boy, how stupid can you get. How did I not feel this during the past couple of weeks?

I blew my diet the last couple of days. I kept getting signals to eat, and eat is what I did. Oh well, I know better than to fight my body too much. This is the story of my life. This is what happens when a clydesdale tries to look like a svelt, Euro-pro. Oh well, it could be worse. I have the physical and mental makeup of someone who could easily be morbidly obese. Given the dietary abuse I have committed, the psychological eating over the years, I'm surprised that I'm relatively lean.

Speaking of crazy, I've been wanting to do the Davis 12hr Challenge the last three years but something has always prevented me from doing it. I got the urge again while on my ride today. The craziest part of all is that if I do it I won't modify my training at all. It will be 29 miles every other day. How's that for preparation? I have a theory though. My theory is that is precisely the best volume of training for me for any one-day event, regardless of length. I know, lunacy.

When I was training for last November's Piru TT I was doing so with the Davis 12hr Challenge in mind. That's why I was doing 70 miles every other day. It occured to me, though, that doing that much volume didn't seem to be helping anything. I didn't feel fast nor did I feel I had greater endurance. I definitely didn't feel I had better speed-endurance.

So, with this in mind, I will strongly consider entering this year. I'm not going to put pressure on myself to do well. I'm going to treat it as a training ride. If I start to bonk, or otherwise crack, I'll just call it a day.

There is also a possibility that I may get to crew for RAAM. How awesome is that? I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I won't say anything else on the subject until I hear something concrete.

new helmet mods 2

I know, I know, it looks funny. Oh well, this ain't no beauty contest. It's just for races anyway.

Once I build an aero face mask it should eliminate some of that Mr. Magoo quality. Though it may not look like it my vision is excellent both frontally and peripherally.

I made the side flaps about 1.5" lower to completely cover my ears and brought it forward and curved it around my cheeks to prevent too much air from entering the helmet if I decide to use it without a face shield. I'm not sure what material I'm going to use for the face shied but I would like it curve under my chin and cover my face up to below my eyes.

The rear of the helmet was built up and then notched for the wheel and provides a nice trailing edge for the air to transition from my head/neck to the wheel. Given that the head (especially mine) is such a large percentage of the frontal area on a laidback recumbent I hope to see a measurable difference in speed compared to a more blunt-ended helmet and especially a stock Garneau helmet with its air scoop in the back.

The pictures don't show the precise positioning as I don't have my headpad installed nor do I have my straps adjusted properly. I have the straps taped into a fixed adjustment for the old position. I did that to prevent them from creating too much drag.

new helmet mods 1

elevated heart rate???

Measured my morning pulse for the first time in a few weeks and it was 53bpm. I'm normally at 46 when I'm well rested. WTF? My training doesn't warrant this. Maybe my electrolytes are a little out of whack from my diet. Maybe it's the weather or maybe it's something else. I have experienced an erratic heartbeat on a few occasions in the past weeks. Sometimes it gets to beating so fast that I feel my limbs starting to go anaerobic. Good times. I would have it checked out but one of the sacrafices I made to retire early was to give up medical coverage. Oh well, I'll take freedom over security any day.

I had another easy ride today with an 18.7(18.2)mph average. I felt good but definitely didn't want to push it. That's probably due to a lack of calories as much as anything else. I haven't weighed myself but I can definitely tell the weight is coming off as I look much leaner in the mirror.

There's a possibility that an hour-record attempt opportunity might present itself at the Nissan test track in Casa Grande, Arizona. That is one of my goals but I'm not sure if that is the right place or time. I have to be picky how I use my racing budget. Another thing to consider is the bogusness of the record I would set if I can set it at all. I don't think anything less than 30mph would be respectable. It doesn't make much sense for me to spend a lot of money to set a record that can be easily beaten by numerous European racers. Still, the right opportunity would be hard to pass up.

My primary goal is to set the Piru course record. According to uncletren.com the lowest time is 26:55. A claim has been made that its around 24 minutes set by, I forget his name (Steinlicht?), but I highly doubt that. No, that's impossible. I checked his numbers at other TT's and they are similar to Matt Ford's (whose done low 27's at Piru). Steinlicht(?) has done in the 26 minute range on the much faster Fiesta Island course. So, until it's proven othewise...

Another goal is to beat my unfaired time at Fiesta Island. They've repaved the rough section on the long course and are now using it again for the TT's. I'm not sure what effect this will have on times. The long course was definitely slower when I rode there the first time. The road was so bad that tandems would suffer pinch flats. When I hit the rough patch my speed dropped 3mph. I'll have to see how this February's times compare to last year. If it's slower I will just stick with Piru as it is 150 miles closer and allows me to not have to drive through Los Angeles.

training and diet 2

It was a cold and windy ride but nonetheless, it was a beautiful, sunny day. My legs aren't wanting to perform up to their 70% capacity as frequently as I would like so I need to take a look at a couple of things.

One, is the intensity level of my easy rides. I like to see a 50% output on these days which is typically about 20mph on the flats. Given the elevation changes on my training course I should be seeing 17-18mph averages instead of 19-20.5. Hopefully, reducing intensity on the easier days will make my harder days faster. It's possible, though, that this could be mental. My body may not feel the need to perform seeing as how I have no races in the near future. My body may be saving me from myself. Looking back, my body has always told me what it needs. It doesn't look to the speedometer for entertainment or ego gratification. Today's average was a relaxed 18.2 (16)mph. Considering the wind, I could drop the intensity even more.

The second concern is my cadence. I use an 80" top gear for training and I typically see top speeds of 35-7mph on downhills. Regardless of how little pressure I put on the pedals I believe fast-twitch fibers are being recruited when cadences exceed 140. My maximum aerobically efficient cadence is about 130, I believe. I've decided to loaf a bit on the downhills to prevent cadence-induced oxygen deprivation. Though I have no hard evidence, I believe that oxygen deprivation, from whatever source, has a negative effect on my fitness. It's hard to know for sure since oxygen deprivation usually goes hand in hand with other forms of destruction.

On the diet front, I'm locked in. I made the decision and it "clicked" so I know I won't fail (famous last words). It shouldn't take me too long to hit 170. For experiments sake I might even go lower, perhaps 165. If, years ago, someone told me that I would one day weigh 170lbs (I did), much less 165, I would have told them they were out of their mind. When I get down to the desired weight I'm going to post before and after pictures. The before will be from 2000 when I started racing.

I've got my latest helmet mods well under way. It's just a matter of sanding to the final shape and reinforcing with glass bubbles and, maybe, fiberglass.

training 4 and diet

It was another slow/easy day for me, 19.6 (18.8)mph. That's okay, I just do what my body dictates. I found a juicy piece of coroplast at my turnaround point so I rode with that under me and sticking out to the side. My torso was a bit twisted and may have lost a couple of tenths. The wind is starting to pickup as well.

Boy, I need to get my diet in check. I got in a bad habit of not declining every piece of junk food that floats by over the holidays and I haven't broke it yet. I got my wake up call today. I barely made it home from my ride without crapping my pants. It was a close call. That reminds me, I left my bike laying in the driveway.

Anyway, maybe if I make a commitment in my log I'll stick to good eating and maybe, while I'm at it, I'll just go ahead and lose weight. If nothing else, I'll end up with those sexy, Euro-racer cheekbones. I've made numerous attempts over the past few weeks to lose weight but for some reason I'm just not psychologically ready. When I dropped down to 170lbs. during early 2005 the weight just came off and I never felt hungry.

That brings up something I noticed. When I was training for the May 2005 Fiesta Island TT I trained entirely in a semi-bonked state. I trained in the morning without breakfast and consumed no food or other source of calories during the ride. I noticed that my body feels so free-breathing in this state. Because I was maintaining such a unnaturally low bodyweight I never did eat that much so my fuel reserves were never full. I guess my body became very efficient at burning bodyfat. The fact that I limited myself to lower intensity helped. Regardless, my upper limit represented 25mph on the flats, unfaired and I could do that seemingly effortlessly for who knows how long.

The downside of holding that bodyweight was that I did lose muscle mass and some of the brute force that goes with it. Also, when rising rapidly I would experience temporary drops in blood pressure. That's not the most pleasant thing in the world, wondering if this is the "big one" until the blackness clears from my eyes. But, I guess that all comes with the specialization of trying to be a relative master of one, opposed to a jack-of-all-trades.

for Larry

This is not to scale but it'll give you the general idea. The trick is to get the right strap, one that is strong yet flexible. Banding that is used by shippers might work and you can find scraps of it everywhere.

A derailleur pulley may even work for this application. One with sealed bearings would be choice.

If you choose to do something like this you might need to fill the vee between the straps to keep them from being pulled together and touching the idler.

Mind you, I've never actually used this setup myself.

weight matters (or does it?)

After seeing the photos and powermeter data from Hans Wessels and Thomas Schott's hour-record runs I got to thinking more about bodyweight.

Hans, especially, looked extra lean. Moreso than in any other pictures I've seen of him. I wonder if he purposely lost weight for the record attempt or if his leaness was part of his normal body cycle.

More important was the fact that he weighed 44lbs less than Thomas Schott and produced about 25(?) watts less. This combination led to a faster speed. I was surprised to see weight have such an effect but the Kruezotter calculator confirms that it does indeed. I assumed that aerodynamics were the primary cause of the difference.

So, what does this mean for me? Maybe a lot. My normal adult bodyweight has always been around 200lbs and that is the weight, up until 2005, that I raced at. My best TT time was in May of 2005 when I weighed between 175-180 (after a three-day carb load) but that was with a tailfairing. The October prior I posted my best result unfaired weighing ~200lbs. These two races were at the same venue under similar conditions so they are the best comparisons that I have.

Speed....... 28.28.............. 29.81

BDWT...... 200................ 175-80 (edited: had weights reversed)

Bike.......... FogCom.......... Woody (tailfaired)

Training... A...................... B

I know it's not a good idea to compare the results from two different bikes but according to my experience both bikes (unfaired) are so similar in speed that I couldn't say which was faster if my life depended on it. Numerous coastdowns confirm this. The effect of the tailfairing is a big question mark.

To complicate things further, my training for these two events were drastically different. For the unfaired, October 2004 I trained (A) only once every ten days for 38 miles at 90%+ TT effort. This was over a months time (three rides). Afterwards I was cooked and, once again, quit racing.

Training for the May 2005 run was (B) as I stated earlier: every other day, about 100 miles per week, and nothing over 70% effort. I felt better for this race, both during and after. Instead of being driven to quit racing I actually felt good enough to increase my mileage (more on this at another time) after the TT.

Now, according to the Kruezotter calculator, if I assume both bikes (unfaired) have the same amount of aero drag and I factor in the different bodyweights, the tailfaired result required less wattage. So that indicates that my weight loss resulted in a loss of power (13 watts?). When I juxtapose the numbers though, they favor the lighter bodyweight by about .2 mph.

Of course I have to ask what would happen if I used the training that I did for the tailfaired run for the unfaired one. Would that account for the difference? Or would it even accomplish greater results?

It's all so close to tell that I think I should stay right where I'm at, in the middle ground (183-8), and see what develops from here. I can always use weight loss down the line as icing on the cake. A heavier bodyweight at this time is probably more conducive to development anyway. When I was weighing 170lbs I did feel a bit peaked at times.

my shoes

Boy, this blog is going downhill fast. It's a good thing I don't have hemorhroids or else I might resort to writing about them. Anyway, these are my cycling shoes. These are the same shoes I started riding with in 1992 and as you can see, they've seen better days. I've mended the tears with kevlar and replaced worn rubber with shoe goo. I'm afraid it's all dowhill for them from here. I can't see them lasting any longer than another fifteen years. Alas.

Today's ride was slower. I haven't recovered from last Saturday's ride and that is as it should be. It usually takes me four days to recover from a harder intensity ride when followed by an easier one two days later. Todays average speed was 19.7 (18.6)mph. As I get in better shape the difference in speed for the harder and easier days should become greater.

for Warren

I used 1/2" aluminum tube from Home Depot and mounted it in glass bubbles. Once the proper angle is achieved you can add a carbon overlay to reinforce.

I'm sure you know the routine but just in case:

I wrapped three layers of carbon around the boom that was wrapped in Saranwrap. I used the reversed electrical tape method for compression.

The derailleur clamps onto the plastic slider (which I pinned to the post) that I cut with a hole saw. I cut a flat section in that and then made a radial cut for compression. The piece below is the cable housing stop (duh). The whole unit can pop off without having to mess with re-adjustments every time you use it.

If your NoCom requires an unorthodox method the base should serve you just the same. Mine slips on and holds pretty snugly on its own but I wrap a piece of electrical tape around the boom for insurance.

training 3

Until recently I was spending a large percentage of time on the DF. I had a theory I wanted to test. I was curious as to what was the mechanism that made 70% effort my limit. I train by feel and there is a distinct feeling that I get at a certain point. I call it, for lack of a better term, anaerobic shift, because that is what it feels like.

I noticed that the same effort on a DF doesn't quite produce the same feeling. I suspected that this was due to increased oxygenation from having my legs beneath my body instead of in front. I suspected that riding a recumbent, with its lower blood pressure to the legs hence, less red blood cell availability, was akin to training at altitude; that my body was operating in a relatively oxygen-starved state. Could this create the nasty chemical by-products that plague me? Would riding a DF allow me to trick my body into tolerating higher intensity. Would it allow me to develop more power? After all, the major downfall of training at altitude (or recumbent riding?) is that there isn't adequate oxygen to develop the power that you would at sea level.

It only took me a few weeks to realize that once again I was full of crap. It wasn't oxygen depletion that was hindering me, it was simply excessive tissue breakdown from muscular contractions. Oh well, at least I got to feel smug for a couple of weeks.

Now, I suspect the reason that I'm limited to lower intensities is because I have a relatively high percentage of fast-twitch fibers. Above 70% effort the fast-twitch fibers begin to be activated to a greater degree. This would explain the "oxygen-deprived" sensation. Based on results, I don't think fast-twitch fibers appreciate being used for aerobic endeavors. This is why I'll just let them lay dormant until race day.

Of course there are other factors involved. I've never responded well to extended anaerobic efforts and, as I stated earlier, cannot train my sprint. That's just my particular physiology.

training 2

Here are the average speeds over the last ten days since switching to less mileage.

1) 19.6 (18)
2) 21.3 (20.2)
3) 21.1 (20)
4) *13.5
5) 22 (20.9)

The course was the same except for ride #4 when I rode the bike pictured. In that case I shortened the ride and eliminated the final 2.5 mile climb.

The number in the parenthesis is the average speed for the first, more uphill, half of the out and back course. The 22mph result is pretty good compared to past efforts. When I was in my best shape in 2005 I typically averaged between 20.5 and 22.5 mph (using the 70% rule) in training. When in top shape I can, if I dropped the hammer, average 25mph on the first half.

Of interest (to me, at least) is the fact that the training schedule I've settled on is exactly what I was doing in preparation for my 29.81mph, tailfaired run at Fiesta Island on May of 2005. The story of how I fell into that regime was that I had decided to quit racing the fall prior. I rode my touring recumbent every other day throughout the winter on a 33-mile flat course. I rode with no intent other than to keep my body in shape for touring the next year and my typical average speed was 15.5mph.

In April of 2005 my friend and fellow racer, Peter Borenstadt came over to pick up the FogCom for his brother-in-law. We went for a ride, he on his Zox lowracer and me on my touring rig, and he gave me a sound spanking. This got my competitive juices flowing again so I decided I wanted to race again. Now this presented me with a problem as I had just given my racebike away. Over the next week I built a new bike, Woody.

Since I was used to riding in a more upright and closed position on the touring bike and since I only had five weeks before the Fiesta Island TT, I decided to do something smart for a change. I decided to limit the intensity of training while my legs adjusted to the new, open position. To make a long story short, the limit, later to be determined to be 70%, netted good race results.

About the bike in the picture, thats a Trek 9800 carbon fiber mountain bike that I modified. I put on a 700c carbon fork on and strapped on a brake bridge. I then put on 20" wheels (it takes 700c as well). 140mm cranks makes this possible. Eventually I'm going to cut the frame in half and make carbon couplers to make it a travel bike.

The reason it's set up in such a funky configuration is that I wanted to closely mimic the open position of the lowracer. As a result I sit very upright and catch a lot of wind. This makes for very slow going but that's okay because it's a feeling in my legs that I'm going for and not speed.

road setup

This is my road setup. I've got a cheap set of panniers sitting on a homemade rack made from scrap aluminum.

I carry a pair of sandals in case of a breakdown and they are wrapped in that safety vest. I also carry a spare front and rear tire, two front and rear tubes, tools, pump, water, etc.

who needs a helmet?

Here's how the helmet fits on me on the bike. I think a piece of spandex attached to the bottom rear of the helmet that goes around the back of my head might be a good idea, at least for looks. A full face-shield should priovide an aero benefit as well.

On the issue of safety, I think I should get an exception from the HPRA. I mean, look at that head. What's going to do damage to it. I feel sorry for the car, or whatever else, that runs into it.

I'm reminded of something that happened to me when I was eighteen. I had a run-in with some Mexican gangbangers. One of them sucker-punched me from the side, hitting me in the jaw. Nothing happened to me but when I turned to look at him he started crying and walked away. They wouldn't have anything to do with me from then on. I guess my head is pretty hard.

training

Training has been improving the last week and a half. After years of trial and error I have settled on a plan that I can live with in the long term. I have pushed the envelope of intensity, frequency, or volume to the point of putting me out of racing on a regular basis and sometimes off the bike completely.

In the back of my mind, based mostly on the knowledge I've gained about my body from competing in powerlifting, I knew the answer was less. I also knew the end result would be very unorthodox. The program that I've ended up with I'm sure would cause many to scoff, laugh even. I'm sure some might even believe I'm just lazy but that'sa just not true. My mind is willing to take on any amount of punishment but unfortunately, my body has other plans.

Anyway, here's the training ground rules I've come up with:

1) never ride more than one day in a row.

2) never ride over 70% aerobic effort

3) keep weekly mileage at ~100

4) never sprint

I used to commute to work by bicycle, sometimes as much as a year-and-a-half straight. I've never seen any physical benefit from doing so. Other than the satisfaction of transporting myself under my own power I haven't noticed any mental benefit either. Eventually, no matter how slow I ride, it takes a toll on my fitness, health, and feeling of well-being. So, that's out.

For some reason riding over 70% aerobic effort causes all sorts of funky things to happen. I feel like a million bucks when doing it but down the road I suffer the consequences. By 70% I don't mean of maximum heartrate, I'm referring to wattage or force on the pedals of my time trial effort or anaerobic threshold. Also, 70% yields different outputs depending on my recovery. Some days it yields 50% speeds (say 20mph on the flats, opposed to 25mph) when I'm still beat from the previous higher-intensity ride.

This is a puny effort indeed but it causes enough breakdown to elicit a training response. It's also enough to make me want to stay off the bike the next day. What helps make this work for me, I believe, is the fact that when I'm training it's solid, non-stop work. There is no coasting (except down my coastdown test-hill), it's a brisk effort while at the same time my feet feel like they are hardly pushing the pedals.

Mileage is where I can give myself the greatest leeway. I have a 29.2 mile loop that I do now that suits my needs perfectly but I can do 40, 50, or even 70 miles without to much trauma. The thing is, I don't believe I'll see any extra benefit from doing that. Not only do I not think it will increase my TT fitness, I don't think it will help my endurance either. I'm pretty certain that I can do 29.2 miles every other day and be faster in a century than if I trained in the 40-70 mile range. My experiences support this. The only benefit extra mileage will give me is the enjoyment of doing it. Otherwise, I think my body's resources are best spent in other areas.

Now comes the cruelest part of all-sprinting. When I got into cycling I wanted to be a track sprinter. Coming from powerlifting it was an obvious choice. Unfortunately, I have little ability to tolerate extended anaerobic efforts. I'm great at micro-burst sports like powerlifting and armwrestling where efforts last about a second but when it comes to 10-second to a minute-plus efforts like the 200m sprint or kilo, I might as well drink a glass of poison.

So this is what I have to work with. I'm left with envying those who can spend endless hours on their bikes. I have to work with the body I have and not the one I wished I had. I have to go with what has proven to work for me regardless of what the "experts" say I should be doing.

kevlar wheel covers

Here's the kevlar wheel covers I made and how they will look when I finish them and bond them to the wheel.

They are lightweight, flexible, and strong. I'll attach them with a thin bead of silicon on each spoke.

I already have a rear disc made by covering a Specialized front trispoke with a sheet of carbon fiber. This neccesites I use a freewheel. The seven speeds limit me somewhat but since it will be for TT's and track races I'll manage.

aerospoke repair

A few months back my Aerospoke wheel started creaking. I assumed that the bond between the rim and the carbon body was failing. Due to the way the wheel is constructed this posed no danger but the noise was driving me nuts.

I sprayed a little lubricant in the joint and it temporarily stopped the noise so I knew that was the problem. Now, what to do about it.

I decided to cut out the carbon between the spokes. I used an angle cut on both ends and they slipped right off the wheel. Once I removed all five spans the spoked remnant was able to rotate on the rim. I then cleaned the rim thoroughly and applied silicone caulk to the section of rim where the spokes would make contact. After that dried I roughed up the rest of the rim and epoxied the carbon spans back in place. The reason I used silicon under the spokes is because I wanted a pliable advesive that wouldn't crack (and creak) in the future. The epoxy on the spans will prevent the spokes from spinning in the rim.

I don't believe the spans are even necessary. I test rode the wheel without them. The rim alone feels very strong.

Disclaimer: I'm sure Aerospoke does not condone my actions. That's okay, I don't condone $150 leaving my wallet for a replacement :-).

helmet2

To achieve proper orientation to the wind I cut a notch so that the helmet could rotate forward. My nose acts as a stop.

I also took off the over-sized face shield.

helmet

Dennis Grelk asked how I was able to get a helmet to work without rubbing the back wheel.

Recently, I cut off the offending tail of my Louis Garneau TT helmet. This is not the way I used it at the last Piru TT. Even though my head was much higher then, the tail of my helmet hit the tire many times. This is not good for speed or safety.

I know this goes against HPRA rules but I think this is an area that needs to be reconsidered. Helmets were not designed with recumbent racing in mind.

Anyway, this is what I'm starting with. I may add an aero face-shield and side extensions that fair my head into the rear wheel (HPRA be damned :-)) But seriously, I got my ass chewed at Northbrook for applying electrical tape and foam to my helmet in an effort to seal off the underside of the tail to prevent it from becoming an aero-scoop. I think that is being pennywise and pound foolish when it comes to safety. If race directors want to fret over something, consider that I have no formal welding training or expertise in composite construction.

handlebars 2

and this is how my hands fit over the bars.

handlebars

Here's my chopped down bars. There's enough room to fit the pinky of my left hand and the the pinky and ring finger of my right hand. Everything else wraps around the tiller.

Luckily, the bike handles fine like this. My original lowracer built in late 2002 had a slacker headtube and whenever I tried to move my hands together the ride would get pretty wild.

another angle

As you can see, I have some cosmetic work to do. I slathered a coat of glass bubbles on the exposed styrofoam of the seat. I'll put two or three layers of 1.45oz. fiberglass on top of that then paint it and the balsa additions.

You can see my modified cranks. These are Doteks that I shortened to 140mm and reduced the Q-factor. Until recently I was running a triple up front but decided to focus only on time trials so I removed the extra rings and installed a shorter bottom bracket. Hopefully, bringing my feet closer together will make some difference. I figure, the more air I can get to go around the sides of my body instead of up through the middle, the better.

On second thought, that drive-side crank is a Sugino that I took from an old tandem I had. Another thing that I like about this layout is the minimal chain deflection. This bike and my FWD's have the lowest drivetrain resistance. Why the FWD's, with their high level of chain deflection, would have such low resistance, I haven't a clue.

latest mods

Here's what it looks like without a rider. The main frame is 2x1.5x.065" mild steel tubing. The rear stays are 1x1x.065 square tube and the fork is squashed down 1x.065. round tube. The tiller and handlebars are 3/4"x.049 round tube.

The seat was initially a thin sheet of aluminum but I changed that to an integrated foam and fiberglass one. The are two carbon channels running perpendicular to the frame inside the seat for extra support. Also, there is some surface carbon in the seat for extra stiffness and a couple of strategically placed pieces of kevlar should the bike go down.

I recently chopped down the rear portion of the seat. Based on pictures from the Piru race in November I saw that my shoulders and head were too high. My chest was rolled forward as well creating a dam. By cutting down the rear of the seat my shoulders dropped down and back a couple of inches and opened up my chest for freer breathing (though breathing was never a limiting factor). The top of my head dropped about four inches.

Also, I lowered the handlebars. The old tiller was at the same angle as the boom and now it is pretty much level. Now my hands are almost laying in my lap and my arms are sealed tightly to the top of my torso. I had to shorten the width of my handlebars to achieve this position.

Since squares aren't very aerodynamic, I added rounded balsa wood with a fiberglass skin to the forward exposed frame members. You can see them (unpainted) on top of the boom and under the downtube.

I was considering doing major surgery to get the seat angle down to 10 degrees instead of its current 15 degrees. After looking at the pictures I took today I don't know if I would see much benefit. I think having my arms so tight to my body and my hands so low makes up for the extra 5 degrees of seat angle.

The reason the 10 degree seat angle appealed to me is because that is what my dual-700, FWD carbon bike had that was a fast bike. Unfortunately, it suffered from crank interference as well. It was a viable road bike and I trained exclusively on the road with it but I don't like having to think too much about where I go. It was fine on the rural roads where I train but I felt uncomfortable having to negotiate intersections in do-or-die (possibly humiliating)circumstances.

So, other than disc wheels, I think I'm pretty much done.

Grand Opening

Since there isn't as much recumbent racing chatter as I would like I thought I'd create my own blog where I could at least talk to myself.

After building bikes and racing for a few years I have finally settled on this bike, the FogCom, and this is the latest iteration.

I built this bike in the fall of 2004 and it was initially intended to be an extreme, track-only, dual-700. If you stick on a 700c fork and wheel you'll have an instant "highracer".

I decided to see what happened if I put a 20" wheel and fork on and I liked the result very much. Unlike the 700c front, I had no drivetrain interference. This made for a very streetable racer. As a matter of fact, the geometry is very much like an M5CLR except that the headtube is steeper. This makes the bike stable at low speeds.

Over the past couple of years I've tweaked this bike, lost interest in it, instead focusing on big wheels. I've only raced it twice. The first time was at Fiesta Island on Oct. 2004 one month after I built it and two years later at Piru on Nov. 2006. At Fiesta Island I set the unfaired recumbent course record of 28.28mph formerly held by Andreas Wiegel at 27.8mph. I think I hold the recumbent record at Piru as well but the records that I can see only go back about three years. Anyway, I intend to lower my time there quite a bit this year.