training the new position...

is becoming a real learning experience. The closed position feels like it's taking my quads (and knees) just about completely out of action. When I press hard on the pedals it feels like all glutes. It seems, based on last week's training, that my glutes are slow-twitch which is the opposite of my quads. Because of this I was able to train six days last week for a total of 240 miles with little trauma. I'm so happy about this. I hope it continues.

This discovery answers a question that has perplexed me from my powerlifting days. As a powerlifter I was never able to develop as much power using a powerlifter-styled squat and had to resort to using the Olympic lifter style of a close stance with lots of knee bend and quadriceps. This is very hard on the body and is a position of poor leverage compared to the wide stance and hip-centric style that most powerlifters use. I was able to squat well regardless by relying on speed. Trying to rely on hip power made me slow and heavy weights feel dead. I should have realized this before as I knew my triceps are slow-twitch while my biceps are fast.

Anyway, putting power to the pedals in the closed position doesn't make my muscles burn the way the open position does; I can hammer away with little ill-effect and am ready to ride again the next day without my body feeling like it was full of toxins. Unfortunately, there's still that matter of worse aerodynamics.

On today's 50-mile ride I broke my record speed for the hill that ends my TT training course at mile 14-15. My old record was 18mph but today I did it at 20mph. Also, all of the hill speeds were higher for the moderate level I rode today. My average speed for the whole ride was 22.3mph. This was done on my "performance course" which gradually climbs to the base of the Sierras. Considering the slowness of the bike that's not too bad. I'll have to check my records to see what I did on other bikes. The bike is about 2mph slower on the flats than before but I have a feeling my body's red-line will go up substantially. I can't wait to see what happens in the real steep hills. I think that's when the new position will really start to shine.

I've tried closed positions in the past and always felt the pinch of circulation in the crease of my hips. I think the key to making this position work for me this time was that I left the hip position (seat base) open as it was originally and made up the new steepness with spinal curvature. In other words, the bottom seat section is unchanged, only the top section was raised.

I remember when I'd do long rides in the laidback position. It would be no problem cruising along at 25mph or so after 100 miles but whenever I came to a stop I could barely get the bike started again because my legs felt so weak. I think that's going to be a thing of the past and I'm feeling really optimistic about tackling the hills of the Davis Challenge next year.

Pic, courtesy Bill Bushnell, of Hellyer Race

Me followed by, two much better cyclists than me, Fred Markham and Jim Kern. I'm looking real FOG-ish here.

introducing Pokey

After doing a four-hour ride last Sunday, mostly in the upright position, I decided to stick with that position.

I moved the tailfairing about 3-4" forward and made the necessary cuts. I also tilted it up in the back for better coverage due to my torso sticking up higher.

I changed the tiller angle to pull my arms away from my torso to increase cooling as it is very hot here in Central California. Since in the upright position it feels like you're always riding into a headwind it makes for cooler riding as well, compared to a laidback position.

Since it's more upright it's definitely slower but I'm hoping to make up for that loss with more efficiency in the mountains. I was well aware that my anaerobic power was much higher in the closed position but I'm surprised to find that my aerobic power is better as well. It won't make up for the aerodynamic loss but overall, hopefully, I may come out better.

During last Sunday's ride I felt my power drop every time I shifted to the lower seat position. Also, I realized I don't like making bigger circles with my body in an open position. In the closed position the longer cranks are spreading the load and shifting more emphasis to the upper hamstrings and glutes. Part of the aerobic benefit may be that my heart is higher and those muscles are low, unlike the quads.

Thanks to the better distribution I've been able to ride for the past three days consecutively with no ill effects from a muscular standpoint; my legs feel nothing but good and that was after Sunday's ride followed by a day off on Monday. I'll keep riding everyday just to see what happens. The rides have been my usual 34-mile flat course done at my usual moderately easy pace. My average speed is about 2mph slower than my big-wheel runs. I hope a decent-sized chunk of that is due to the 1 3/8" tires I'm using (one Primo Comet and one Schwalbe Marathon Slick).

Regardless of the slower speed, this is the bike I'm going to use whether it be for track racing, time-trials, endurance racing, touring, hauling groceries (note the trailer hitch) or just tooling around. I like the simplicity of using just one bike for everything.

lowered front-end

Even though yesterday's ride went fantastically, I decided to go ahead with the fork-shortening operation. I think it looks much better. The seat is now 11" high and the bottom bracket 22.75 as opposed to about 12"/25".

The 170mm cranks felt good. Even though I've been using 140's since 2004 I don't have a bit of leg or knee soreness from the two-hour ride I did. With the lower intensities I use it feels more natural; no need to stay on top of the gears at all times.

The lower front end raises the seat angle a bit but it's probably better suited to the bulbosity of my tailfairing and also the 60mm larger pedal-circle. If I ever feel the need for a more laidback seat angle in the future I can easily drop the rear-end a couple of inches.




The fork itself looks much better. I didn't like all of that open space between the wheel and the frame. I could have chopped the fork significantly more but I didn't want to ruin the shifting. There is now about a 16" distance between the idler and the drive axle. That is equal to the typical DF drivetrain. The idler is centered right down the center of the cassette to shifting remains flawless.

I don't think I ever have to worry about my fork breaking. When I cut through the legs I found that the walls were 3/16" thick. That combined with the large depth will give me a huge margin of safety. Going with the small wheels and the shorter fork also reduced stresses on the headset a great deal as well with the braking arm being six inches shorter.

If I wanted to be super-slick racer I could angle the rear fork up to take a 700c wheel that would have the axle (and fork) tucked inside the tailbox. I must be getting old as I'm shying away from extremes. Besides, I like have the rear axle accessible for easy wheel removal. Overall, I'm extremely happy with results as it is.

back to dual-20's

The Hellyer race went well but what didn't was my lack of enthusiasm leading up to it. I don't know what changed other than my getting older. Anyway, I took a week off of riding and I feel re-energized. I've been champing at the bit and am so looking forward to today's ride.

I decided to change back to dual-20's. Mostly, I wanted to switch to longer cranks and I didn't want overlap with the front wheel. I like having an overall smaller bike as well. The longer cranks give me an effective lower gear too.

Another change I'm considering is to cut down the front fork by two inches. As it is, the seat and BB heights are identical to a Birk Comet. With the seat in the upright position it feels fantastic which surprises me considering the longer cranks. That's just riding up and down the street though. I'll see if I feel the same way after forty miles or so. In the laidback position though, the larger pedal circle would probably be better lower. Who knows, if I end up liking it I may keep the upright position permanently and move the tailbox about four inches forward.


Cutting the fork is a scary proposition though. It would have to be done between the crown and the brake bridge. That's a critical spot. If I do it wrong I'm in for a world of hurt. Cutting the fork will improve the aesthetics, lower the seat height and reduce the difference in between seat and BB. We'll see. I'm off to Performance Bicycle to buy a new brake cable for the back brake. My collection of cables keep getting shorter and shorter for some reason.

On the training and racing front, if I do anything it will be to focus on the Davis 12-hour Challenge next spring. Tim Woudenberg did 208 miles on, I believe, an F-40. That should provide some good motivation. As I said earlier, I'm going to try longer, less frequent rides; ride when I get the itch to ride and most importantly, have fun with it.