top view...

to better show its actual contour.

co2 vent

the hood

Training 12-30-12

Folsom Canal, 44.5 miles. QuestXS (foothole covers). 21.8mph average.

Training 12-28-12

Folsom Canal, 44.5 miles. QuestXS (foothole covers). 23.7mph average.

and more...

cont...

hood under construction

I started on the hood and have the base finished. I made a full flange to fit into the cockpit opening so it stays on without fasteners.

Training 12-26-12

Folsom Canal, 44.5 miles. QuestXS (foothole covers, hood base). 22.6mph average.

Training 12-24-12

Folsom Canal, 55.5 miles. QuestXS (foothole covers). 25.4mph average.

Training 12-21-12

Folsom Canal, 44.5 miles. QuestXS (foothole covers). 22.2mph average. Wind and rain.

Kevlar foothole covers

Training 12-19-12

Folsom Canal, 44.5 miles. QuestXS (foothole covers). 23mph average. I used the same easy effort as last ride. The foothole covers work. They're 2" convex so I suspect they increase air pressure at the wheel well. My next project will be to make inner wheel well covers.

Training 12-17-12

Folsom Canal, 44.5 miles. QuestXS (open cockpit). 21.0mph average. This ride was done at a health-inducing ~50% effort. I have a sneaking suspicion, just as I did back when I was riding every other day and alternating 50 and 70% days, that training exclusively at this (50%) intensity might be the best possible way for me to achieve maximum race fitness. I call it Under-the-Radar-Training (URT) as opposed to what I have been doing lately, Hardly-Under-the-Radar-Training (HURT). By under the radar I'm referring to the endocrine system. Training above a certain intensity causes a rise in the production of anabolic hormones. That's great for a while until the pendulum swings the other way in the body's effort to maintain homeostasis. With my old body that return swing comes pretty quickly. Since I don't have access to a time machine and am unwilling to use drugs to counter the catabolic onslaught I think I'll try sticking with 50% and not swinging the pendulum; just focus on maximum health and when race day comes just go kamikaze-style. Another way I'm reducing stress is going back to riding on the Folsom Canal Trail. Thoughts of not wanting to deal with traffic have been entering my mind and that's a sign of overtraining for me. Also, I put the 140mm cranks back on. After the previous two rides I've been feeling a little knee pain. Too much intensity probably caused some of that but even though I raised the bottom bracket I still feel it needs to be raised another two inches. As it is, with the increased range of motion my knee angle is too acute at the top of the stroke.

Training 12-15-12

Galt, 30 miles. QuestXS (open cockpit). 20.7mph average. I rode the first ten miles at my usual-of-late pace and then it finally hit me that I need some easy ride time so I took it easy the rest of the way. I've been way too focused on the manhood validator (aka the speedometer). I'm turning into one of those tiny-balled dipshits who shoot their miniscule wad every ride and wonder why they never have any race fitness (am I angry much?-- another sign). I need to relearn how to wear a 20mph average speed as a badge of honor, instead of being such a douche, and go back to the days where I was torn between fearing that I was going too slow to possibly build fitness and feeling like a smug mofo who thought he knew something others didn't by doing so. In other news, I was able to raise the bottom bracket 3/4" again. I had to cut off the ends of my shoes to make it work. They still rubbed a little but I have some extra room to trim.

Training 12-14-12

Galt, 30 miles. QuestXS (open cockpit). 24.8mph average. 3000(+) calories isn't going to cut it. I had to eat more last night. Ahh, screw it, my training isn't going to tolerate caloric deficits for any amount of time. Besides, I still weigh the same as I did in high school. I was heavier than I am now when I was riding the dual-20 FWD and setting training course records. I need to give up on my poseur dreams.

Training 12-13-12

Rancho Murieta (long course), 29 miles. QuestXS (open cockpit). 24.1mph average. I was slower than expected. I had a 23.1mph average at the turnaround point. My best on the tailfaired, dual-20 FWD was 26.0mph at that point. I'm wary of the fact that I'm doing a lot of moderate powered rides without any easy ones. This is the first year I've ever trained like that. I may be killing my aerobic top end by doing that. When I was riding the dual-20 FWD I was alternating harder and easy rides for six days per week. It would probably serve me well to do that again and keep my average speed below 22mph on slow days. That's probably what I SHOULD do. I'll see how I feel tomorrow. I don't want to hold myself back if I don't feel like it. Another way I can look at it could be that this is winter base training and I should only concern myself with putting in work and not concern myself with my aerobic top end at this time. Then when race season comes I can start taking steps backward to get a running jump to race fitness. These mild beatings I'm taking on an almost daily basis might actually be saving me from myself by preventing me from flying too close to the sun when it doesn't matter. After all, I did burn out when I was riding the dual-20 FWD. I was flying high, breaking training records, then suddenly crashing like Icarus. Even though I'm not exhibiting record-breaking fitness I feel pretty good.

Training 12-11-12

Galt, 30 miles. QuestXS (open cockpit). 25.0mph average. Each day with the long cranks I feel I'm using more hamstring and less quad. It sure seems like the best way for me to get speed with the velomobile is to over-gear, almost bogging down, and digging my way out of the hole with my hamstrings, slowly accelerating up to higher than normal (with traditional pedaling technique) speed. Once there it's pretty easy to stay on top of it even though it almost feels more like a weightlifting exercise than cycling. I blew my diet last night. I guess 2300 calories is too low for what I'm doing. My blood-sugar crashed and my body told me to eat now and eat a lot. So I did. That's two small steps forward and one big, Neil Armstrong-step back for fatkind. Oh well, I don't feel bad. It was one of those cases where if I did manage to fight the urge I would definitely burn more muscle than fat. Anyway, I'm going to add two cups of oatmeal and three tablespoons of sugar to my daily diet. That'll put me a little over 3000 calories.

Training 12-10-12

Galt, 30 miles. QuestXS (open cockpit). 24.4mph average. I'm still running a caloric deficit. Today's ride was entirely on fumes. I'm on a strict diet and passed my first test by declining a plate of baked goodies after my ride today. My diet consists of a dozen eggs fried in butter and a half-gallon of 2% milk. That's about 2300 calories per day. I also take a multi-vitamin/mineral and extra vitamin E and a gram of vitamin C. I've been fickle about my body weight over the past few years because I wasn't convinced that losing weight would help for the kind of cycling I do. I've done relatively well weighing 200lbs or 170lbs. My first three trike TT's this year, the first time I've raced in the closed position, suggested that being lighter is the way to go as I was sucking wind. My legs had an aerobic capacity higher than my heart and lungs could supply. Losing a bunch of unnecessary mass should help in that regard. It'll probably help summertime velomobile riding, as well, being less of a sweat hog.

Training 12-9-12

Galt, 30 miles. QuestXS (open cockpit). 24.2mph average. I feel my quads working a little more than I'd like. That's due to having to put the bottom bracket down to the original height and the extra knee bend. But, it's a new range of motion for my quads so hopefully it will go away on it's own. If not, there's always the foot holes in the lid option. I ran a significant caloric deficit yesterday-- probably 1500 calories under maintenance. I've been pretty much on a surplus every day until now.

Training 12-8-12

Rancho Murieta (short course, plus), 30 miles. QuestXS (open cockpit). 23.8mph average for the RM portion. I felt slow today. That's probably because I had to contend with the extra damage caused by the longer cranks.

Training 12-6-12

Galt, 30 miles. QuestXS (open cockpit). 24.2mph average. Given the change in crank length and the two harder rides earlier in the week I figured I'd be doing an easier 22mph ride. The long cranks feel so much better for my body position in the velo. I like the longer time under load per cycle along with the reduction in cadence.

Operation Long-crank

Thanks to my new seat I was able to install 170mm cranks. I had to elongate the foot holes in the back. With the 140's I can't tax my heart and lungs to the max aerobically. I know from my TT's this year that I can with the 170's. I feel my heart and lungs have the most room for improvement so that is the area I want to stress.

Training 12-4-12

Galt, 30 miles. QuestXS (open cockpit). 24.6mph average.

Training 12-3-12

Rancho Murieta-Ione, 48 miles. QuestXS (open cockpit). 26.0mph average. At the shooting range at 19 miles, which was my old test destination, my average speed was 24.8mph. As a comparison I've done 24mph on my first, steel, dual-700 highracer and 25.1 on my Fogcom steel lowracer. At the turnaround point of today's ride I had a 25mph average. I'm coming to the conclusion that in the 20's the open, un-aerodynamically enhanced Quest has little advantage over a good racing recumbent bike. Once I hit 30 it's a whole different ballgame and then it's not even close. I finished today's ride cruising at 32mph. My Coastdown Hill speed was 41.4mph today (done, as usual, with a 25mph run-up). My new seat works fine. It's much stiffer than stock and takes up much less room.

new seat for the Quest

I made this with a very low-tech method. I made a one-sided mold from a "ONE WAY" traffic sign I found on the side of the road. I laid up two 18-20oz layers of carbon fabric, wet them out and compressed them to the pre-formed sign. Once cured I glued on a 2"x3" cross-sectioned piece of styrofoam for a spine then sanded to shape. I covered that with a layer of 18-20oz. carbon, wet it out and just hand pressed it into place. I covered with plastic wrap to remove air. I made an improvised oven with an electric heater. Once everything dried I placed it in front of the fireplace for a few hours to fully cure. Despite the low-tech method the seat came out light and strong.

Training 11-27-12

Galt, 30 miles. QuestXS (open cockpit). 24.6mph average. I rode today because there's a series of storms coming that are supposed to be really wet and windy. Rather than compromise my training by riding in that stuff I added today. I woke up tired and toyed with blowing off the ride but I know I'd feel worse if I did with the layoff coming. Given my average speed I'm glad I didn't. The day I did 26mph average I woke up tired as well. The off days will give me a chance to tweak the velo some more. I've got an idea for a different seat that will allow me to sit at the velo floor level. I've got to mock one up and see if there's any unseen complications before I commit to carbon. If it works out I'll sit about an inch lower which, most importantly, will effectively raise the bottom bracket. I should also be able to sit further back which will allow me to move the bottom bracket back which raises it due to the angle of the subframe. The aerodynamic benefit will be nice as well.

Training 11-26-12

Galt, 30 miles. QuestXS (open cockpit). 22.3mph average.

Mini velopalooza, training 11-24-12

Rancho Murieta-Ione course, 48 miles. QuestXS (open cockpit). 22.9mph average (not a steady-state ride). Peter Borenstadt and Greg Thomas came over with their velomobiles for the ride. We did some coastdown comparisons and though we equalized our weights there were too many small differences that clouded the results. The speeds were too close to say for certain one way or another which was more aero. Peter's Mango with visor and faired wheel openings was surprisingly aerodynamic, though. I moved the seat farther back, to the absolute max, and steepened the seat angle even more. I also raised the bottom bracket 3/4". It feels much better now. On the ride home I spent a great deal of time over 30mph without taxing myself. I broke training speed records on many parts of the course. I even climbed equal to my best speeds on my unfaired bikes on the longest climb. On one downhill I beat my usual good-day speed by over 10mph.

Training 11-21-12

Galt, 30 miles. QuestXS (open cockpit). 23.2mph average. After that I continued the ride by doing my Rancho Murieta short course of 23 miles with an average speed of 25.4mph. Even though the R.M. course is hillier, with 559 total feet of climbing compared to 225 for the Galt course, it's significantly faster. The R.M. course has my coastdown test hill and I did 40.7mph for the maiden run. That's about as good as I've ever done in the best of conditions (a tailwind). Today the wind was from the side. I think I hit 40-41mph twice before out of hundreds of attempts. My seat feels much better but it's still a ways off from my dual-20 FWD. About the only improvement I can make from here is to raise the bottom bracket about 1/2". I wish I could raise it three. Hmmm, Milan-esque footbumps? If I did that my feet wouldn't stick out of the bottom footholes and I could close them off flush. Another idea I was toying with is removing the top and building a whole new one. That way I could perfect my position and then build around it.

I think I got it

Instead of having the seat all the forward I shoved it all the back (and up two spaces on the rear seat support bracket). Not only did I add back the second shim behind my hips to fill in the seat bucket, I added a third. This did two good things. It increased the seat angle, closing my overall body position while at the same time opening my hip angle. That's important. While I like an overall closed body position I don't like closed hip angles. It's much better for me to achieve the proper body angle by curving my spine so that it's concave from the front. This is a feature that my beloved dual-20 FWD had. I noticed that Barbara Buatois uses this same setup in the Varna she rides. I might achieve even better results if I pad the area behind my trapezius if I have the shoulder room.

seat adjustment

As I was laying in bed with my bothersome quad tendons I realized I made a big mistake when I removed one of the two pads behind my hips that I used as shims. While it gave me a better distance to the bottom bracket, which admittedly felt too close all along, it negated the benefit by reintroducing lumbar curve (which is significant on the stock Quest seat). Nothing does more to load up my quads and knees than lumbar curve. While it feels great as a seat it does bad things for my physical performance. I learned that a long time ago when I was a powerlifter. Even though it is "correct" form to arch your back when you squat I used a neutral, or even slightly rounded, spine. Arching my back only resulted in losing at least 50lbs. of squatting power. Arching my back on the bike reduces my ability to activate my hips and hamstrings. What I should have done since my bottom bracket is at the limit of forward extension is to move the seat back 1/2". Oops. The other option is to trim the leading edge of the channel that the bottom bracket is welded to. That will allow it to slide farther forward. But, that will lower the BB even more, though slightly, opening the body angle as opposed to closing it by sliding the seat back. That's a no-brainer. Luckily I have just enough shoulder room. Now that I have shoulder pads in place it makes a nice comfortable pocket to brace against. Before the pads the shell was digging into my shoulders. Well, I hope this works out. I'm running out of options. As I'm reverting back to my three day per week routine I'll be taking today off. It's not easy to do once you condition your brain to get out there everyday. Of course, I've learned countless times over the decades how foolhardy it is to demand that your body cater to its psychological needs. That's probably the number one cause of unrealized fitness potential. Yet, still, it's such a tempting trap to fall into. Yes, it's due to craziness but unfortunately some crazy is needed to convince yourself that how fast you can ride a bike has any meaning in the grand scheme of things. Or, to realize that it doesn't and carry on anyway.

training thoughts

I took some measurements of my position and came up with a seat angle of 28 degrees, seat height of 5.75" and bottom bracket height of 14" (40 degrees and 11" over is my ideal position). This is much more open than I was hoping for and I'm really feeling it. I can feel the ache in my lower quads now. I was hoping to do six-day per week training throughout the winter but as things are I have to rethink that. Daily training is taking a toll on my quads and no amount of trying to work around it is giving me adequate relief and my other, primary muscles, are getting short-changed when it comes to workload as a result. I've tried to finagle my body every which way to involve them more without adding further damage to my weak link but there just isn't room inside the shell. (If I could make paragraphs with Blogger I'd start a new one here). There is a remote possibility that I will trade my XS for the larger size. Barring that, it would probably be a good idea if I go back to my old training method of training every other day, or better yet, three days per week and alternating an easy session with a medium-intensity one. This has always worked well for me in the past when I was racing laidback bikes and, as I said, my velo feels just like them. I really wanted to avoid riding in that position because I lose so much power. Another option, and one I considered before I bought the velo is to build a Birk Comet clone which would, in essence, be a rear-wheel drive version of my tailfaired, dual-20 FWD. I could train to my hearts content on that. Anyway, I want to give myself at least 1000 miles in the XS to see if things change before I do anything that extreme.

Training 11-19-12

Galt, 30 miles. QuestXS (open cockpit). 22.0mph average. I removed one of the camp-mat pads I used for a shim behind my hips. This made my knees feel better and my legs feel better overall today. Still, I was slow. Part of that might be that when I tried to top off my Risse shock I couldn't get the pump off without letting most of the air out. As a result I'm back to lowriding in the rear and probably catching more air underneath. One more problem.

Lid woes

Training 11-18-12

Galt, 30 miles. QuestXS (open cockpit). 22.3mph average. Easy day. Still catering to my knees and quad tendons. I hope they eventually adapt because as they are, in this position, they are too much of a weak link. Edit: It's possible I could have caused trouble with the Romanian deadlifts. They don't hit the quad tendons at all but they are very hard on the hamstring tendons and could have a collateral impact.

Training 11-17-12

Galt, 30 miles. QuestXS. 19.5mph average. Easy day. Very windy with rain. I started off with the cockpit cover but after a nature call it was too windy to get back on. I don't like having the thing in my face anyway. When I make my hood it's going to have an open space in front of my face all the way to the front of the cockpit opening. My quad tendons are still beat up after my last harder ride three days ago. Some hunters pulled over in front of me, got out of their truck and took pictures of me as I went by. It's amazing how much more tolerant and friendly motorists are when you're driving a velomobile.

Training 11-15-12

Galt, 30 miles. QuestXS (open cockpit). 21.3mph average. Easy day. Tomorrow off.

Training 11-14-12

Galt, 30 miles. QuestXS (open cockpit). 26mph average. That's kind of an all-time record for a training ride on this course. I did 25.9mph on my tailfaired, dual-20 FWD but that Galt course was 10% longer with more stops. Speaking of stops, I think I might have to switch courses on my harder training days. I've been giving an all new meaning to the term "California stop". Even though I'm riding out in the country it's only a matter of time before the sheriff gets me. I had to put the rear seat bracket back on. The velcro isn't enough to keep the chain cover at full height when I'm sitting on it (obviously). Oh well, I like it better that way anyway. A little more stretch in my posterior chain. It only raises my head an inch and my shoulders not at all since they're inside the shell. I'm getting the proper pedaling technique down for this position. On my trike I could push with my glutes and hamstrings without over-involving my quadriceps. In the velo I can't. Any attempts at pushing the pedals above a certain threshold and my quads are on fire. Instead, I'm having to rely primarily on pulling with my hamstrings from the top of the stroke down. As a consequence of this I'm having to use a lower cadence to get optimum activation since my hamstrings are slow(twitch). If I try to spin faster they can't keep up (contract fast enough) and my quads, being fast-twitch, jump in to help with unpleasant results. Interesting, to me at least, is that I can't make my hamstrings burn no matter how much force I put to the pedals. My hamstrings aren't strong enough. Well, if hamstring strength is my limiter then, whoop-dee-doo, I get to lift weights. Until now my lifting has been limited to standing clean and presses and lying triceps presses with whopping 9lb dumbbells, doing sets of 25 on the overheads and sets of 50 on the triceps presses. Now, I think I'll add in some Romanian deadlifts. edit: did Romanian deadlifts, 110lbs x 20 reps for starters

Training 11-13-12

Galt, 30 miles. QuestXS (open cockpit). 20.8mph average. Easy day. I needed to give my quad tendons a break.

Training 11-12-12

Galt, 30 miles. QuestXS (open cockpit). 24.5mph average. I modified my seat position. I eliminated the rear seat support bracket and replaced it with a small aluminum angle. I know this is supposed to be a no-no, placing the stress on the rear flange of the seat but the narrower tail on the XS seat seems to be plenty beefy for the job. I did have issues though. When I made the modification I checked for drivetrain clearance and everything seemed okay. During today's ride, though, I noticed the chain wouldn't travel backwards when I back-pedaled. When I finished the ride and was going slow enough I could hear the drag. It ends up I was sitting on the idler. The seat was pressing on the idler/chain guard which was pressing on the idler flange. I had the chain guard slightly off center which effectively lowered the height over the idler flange. Centering it seems to have corrected the problem.

My new position. Hopefully it will allow for an extra low-profile (home-made) hood.

Training 11-11-12

Galt, 30 miles. QuestXS (open cockpit). 24.3mph average. I guess my legs are starting to get used to this position. My legs feel like they are propelling a laidback bike. The primary stress is around the knee. On the bright side, if I ever choose to race an unfaired bike again I will be ready.

Training 11-10-12

Galt, 30 miles. 22.7mph average. Level check (photo).

Training 11-9-12

Galt, 30 miles. QuestXS (open cockpit). 22.2mph average.

Training 11-8-12

No training. I had to take today off to go out of town for my daughter's 25th birthday. Just as well, I'm a little sore in new places and the rest will ease my transition into the new position.

Training 11-7-12

Maiden voyage in the Quest XS (open cockpit). 30 miles to Galt. Only 21.8mph average. This is much slower than I expected. Yesterday's unfaired trike ride was 21.1mph average. Granted the wattage was significantly higher yesterday but I would have done at least 19mph average today. I was expecting to at least average 25mph today, not a measly less than 3mph increase. The position is more open and quad-centric so I'll need some time to acclimate. Oh well, I'm sure it will all work out in the end.

Training 11-6-12

Plus 2 days. Folsom Canal. 225 watts average.

It's here!

Training 11-4-12

Plus 1 day. Folsom Canal. 202 watts average. 194.5 watts average for about seven steady-state hours this week. Average increase in watts this week (not counting the first days) is 16.2.

Training 11-3-12

Plus 1 day. Folsom Canal. 201 watts average.

Training 11-2-12

Plus 1 day. Folsom canal. 191 watts average.

Training 11-1-12

Plus 1 day. Folsom Canal. 184 watts average.

Training 10-31-12

Plus 1 day. Folsom Trail. 181 watts average.

Training 10-30-12

Plus 2 days. Folsom Canal. 208 watts average.

Training 10-28-12

Plus 1 day. Folsom Canal. 188 watt average. This was my sixth and final day of my training week. I'm surprised to see that I got stronger (for the prescribed PRE). Like the night before my second highest output I had a 1500 calorie bowl of oatmeal last night. I had it earlier in the evening this time (and didn't have quite as wild of dreams as a consequence). The other thing in common on these two days was that I didn't have breakfast before the ride as I was still plenty loaded from the night before. My usual breakfast consists of six eggs. I had three no-wind days like today. Today's ride was .9mph faster than the other two. One of them, yesterday, was done at 172 watts, a 16 watt difference. The weekly run went 174-172-169-177-172-188 (this is kind of skewed as the first day was on a different bike and position). This is a good weekly workload (~130miles/unfaired trike). When I was playing around with the higher outputs I noticed a spike in my testosterone production. While this felt good it also concerned me. Given the cyclic nature of nature I know that what goes up must come down and at this stage of the game I don't want to rock the hormonal boat. My goal is to coax my aerobic power up by not doing more in any one day than I can recover from in a day. As a race approaches I will include more rest days per week (probably four instead of one) and let my output rise naturally as, hopefully, my body overcompensates.

Training 10-27-12

Plus 1 day. Folsom Canal. 172 watts average.

Training 10-26-12

Plus 1 day. Folsom Canal. 177 watt average. I ate about a 1500 calorie surplus yesterday.

Training 10-25-12

Plus 1 day. Folsom Canal. 164 watts average.

Training 10-24-12

Plus 1 day. Folsom Canal. Switched to trike. The 700c Powertap wheel raised the seat and lowered the bottom bracket. The BB is now 6" over the seat and the seat angle is 45 degrees. Not ideal but close enough. I definitely feel more pull in my hamstrings when I push. The different muscles being used and the excitement of the newness of the new position probably skewed the no-days rest output. I ended up with a 172 watt average. Like yesterday, I rode without being able to see the output during the ride. 170, 174, 172. That's interesting. Those are the wattages I put out when I went strictly by feel. Surely, it'll be less tomorrow.

Training: 10-23-12

Plus 2 days. Folsom Canal. I decided to revert back to the daily, low-intensity, P.R.E.-based training that I was doing before I acquired the Powertap. I felt horrible yesterday due to my last training session so didn't even do a recovery ride (thanks in part to heavy rain). I set the display on the Powertap to "max watts" so I wouldn't know what my current output was and wouldn't be tempted to look. I went at a pace that my body knows is right. My average watts was 174. That will be on the high end of the output spectrum as I had a days rest. The 174 watts was very close to the 170 of five days ago when I went by feel. That represents 62-63% of my aerobic capacity. I suspect the next sessions with no rest days in between will be in the 50s.

Training 10-21-12

plus 3 days. Folsom Canal-usual distance. My legs felt strong today so I decided to do a little testing. Even though they felt strong their aerobic capacity didn't seem to improve. I did two short efforts. The first was 3:30 with an average wattage of 315 and the second was a lower intensity effort of 6:30 for 277 watts. I expected the second effort to be easier for the given load and it gave me the familiar feeling of riding a dying horse. Some of that might be due to my position. Even though the overall body angle is good the forward rotation makes the push portion of the stroke too quad dominant (my recent quad growth verifies that). As a result, when going hard the whole thing feels funky and not mechanically efficient. When I'm rotated back I can push with my hips and virtually deactivate my quads. Anyway, I don't think I'm going to have a lot of success chasing watts with this configuration. I need to hollow out the stays of my trike so I can fit a 700c wheel back there again and then put some bend back in the frame. That will be a lot less work than what I'd need to do to make the two-wheeler optimal. The two-wheeler as it is is great for general, low-wattage riding. The handling is so neutral that it isn't any more stressful to ride than the trike. edit: also, adding the lumbar support shifted more emphasis on my quads. I realized it right away but with my back in the condition it was I had no other choice.

Training 10-18-12

Plus 3 days. Folsom Canal, usual distance. Easy day with a total ride time of 1:06 and average watts of 170 (stayed under 200 for the entire ride). I had some very small, slightly achy spots from last session so took it easy. My seat is killing my lower back causing excessive pressure on my spinal discs. I've shimmed the lumbar area with extra padding for the mean time. When my velomobile gets here (they're crating it next Tuesday) I'm going to reconfigure the frame (of the two-wheeler) to match the position of the velomobile. I'll eventually do the same with my trike.

Training 10-15-12

Plus 3 days. Folsom Canal + 3 miles with a 60 minute block of 226 watts average. I purposely did a lower watt (but longer) effort to avoid the trap of feeling like I had to beat my previous effort. I need to remind myself that I'm in a building phase, not a peaking one.

Training 10-12-12

Plus 3 days. Folsom Canal course (same). 32 minute block with a 244 watt average. I didn't mean to increase so much (or at all) but I experienced a marked increase in pedaling efficiency (my third training session with this setup). Near the end of the block I noticed my wattage dropping by about ten. I realized I was relying too much on the pull portion of the stroke and letting the push portion coast too much. I rectified that and my wattage returned to normal. Thanks again, Powertap.

Training 10-9-12

Plus 3 days (from last training ride). Did a 33 minute block with a 217 watt average (79%). Overall ride about 1hr 15min. Switched to 140mm cranks.

TT result, training with power and experimentation

I haven't seen the official results but I was told my time was 23:34 (about 25.45mph) which is slightly slower than the last two results when I was using a 20 degree steeper seat angle. Oh well, so much for that and I'm glad because now I can focus on the position that allows me the most power. I never was too crazy about riding laidback. It always felt like I was taking too much muscle out of the equation. After a couple of days rest I used my Powertap (my second used one) for the first time. I installed it on the bike pictured at top. It's no speed demon, for sure, but what I like about it is that it has the exact same body angle (~124 degrees) as the one below it. That bike (the one below) was GOD, and I felt like god riding it. It allowed the perfect balance of glute, hamstring and quad activation (much glute and hamstrings, little quads) and because of that it not only allowed me to produce more power it enabled me to train with higher intensity and more frequency. As I have said many times before that, I believe, is because my glutes and hamstrings are predominantly slow-twitch (and therefore my nemesis when I was a powerlifter) and my quads are fast-twitch (my nemesis in cycling). Mind you, I've never ridden this bike in the current configuration before (excuse) and I'm back to using 170mm cranks after using 140's for the past month (another excuse) so my pedaling technique and overall efficiency wasn't too great. Anyway, in the middle of a 30-mile ride I did a 3-mile threshold test. I ended up with a 275 watt average (at a bodyweight of 84kg). I was a little higher on the ascent portions and a little lower on the flats and descents. The important thing I learned (besides how pathetic I am... but I already knew that) during the entire Powertapped ride was how lazy and sloppy I've allowed myself to get with my pedaling. The Powertap lets you know what efficient (watts produced/muscular effort) is. I've been allowing myself to evolve from an efficient turbo to a lazy diesel. This wasn't a surprise as I've notice my cadence drop in the past two years but now I can easily see the consequence. I could see the power drop as I went from an attentive spinner to a mindless quasi-masher. Job one this off-season will be to rectify that. The other thing I need to figure out is how to inject more intensity into my training without burning out. The way I've been training (lots of steady state but relatively low intensity) for the last seven years has worked okay but it's only going to take me so far and the low power outputs are okay when you assume an extremely aerodynamic position but I'm not doing that anymore. I need to get in real shape. For starters I'm going to try doing a ride of at least 30 miles while staying above 200 watts the entire time and then follow that with however many short rides (6 miles) at below 100 watts it takes until I'm ready for a ride at 200+ again. 200 watts is pretty easy but it does require concentration if I want to maintain it without going into mash-mode. If I hope to nudge the output up over time I definitely need to avoid mash-mode and it's ability to find my weak physical link and destroy it. Another thing I've changed is protein consumption. In past seven years I've probably averaged 70-100 grams per day (counting only animal sources). Now I have upped that to 140-200

Preparations...

for the last TT of the year. I got in one week of training in the new open position before leaving for Battle Mountain. Without a bike I didn't get to train at all while there but did end up with the flu and a torn quad. Now that I'm home, despite my feeble state, I'm resuming daily training using a super-low intensity protocol. My current physical state is a blessing in disguise as it will make it very easy to limit myself to no more than 60% of my aerobic capacity. I'll do that for the next two weeks then take off the four days before the race. Battle Mountain was quite an experience. Helping Greg Thomas was vastly more stressful than any race I've actually ridden in myself. There's just so much that can go wrong. It was a week of feeling like I was wrung through the wringer. Luckily, nothing went wrong. Though I've never had much interest in streamliners it was pretty neat seeing the different designs and innovations and the people who build and race them.

me on trike

Despite modifications to my tailfairing to allow better breathing along with some other small aerodynamic improvements I managed to go about 20 seconds slower in last Wednesday's TT. What's up with that? Mostly, I think racing three times in five weeks was too much even with the user-friendly closed position. Also, I was still sucking wind. Even with unrestricted airflow my lungs couldn't process enough oxygen to supply my legs. This is so out of the norm for me. In the open position I can pedal to my heart's content and not breathe heavy. In a fit of post-race disappointment/mania I made like Michael Jackson's plastic surgeon and took a hacksaw and utility knife to my trike. I lowered the seat all the way down to the frame and reshaped the tailfairing. If I can't feed the power then I might as well minimize the power requirement. I'll try and recover for the last race of the season on Oct. 3rd.

8/15 TT result

23:15 for a speed of 25.81mph. That's an improvement of 2.16mph from three weeks ago. I found out the hard way that I need to reshape my tailfairing behind my head. Since I don't wear a helmet or breathe very hard in training I didn't know I was restricted. A mile into the race I began to suffocate. I couldn't put my head back far enough to open my airway fully. When I tried my helmet would lift up off my head. Eventually I had to jettison it into a field. That improved things a bit but still I could have used more air. This is a new phenomena for me. In the old open position I could never develop enough power to tax my lungs (or heart). I went back to look for my helmet but I didn't find it. I wasn't too motivated to get it back. It was a nineteen year-old helmet. I'll have to make one now. I have a few more things to do to clean up the aerodynamics of my trike and with improved respiration I'm hopeful of eventually hitting 27mph. I heard some pings near the end of the race. It sounded like spokes. I could see the finish line in the distance and I was praying that if something was going blow it would wait until I posted a time. I would hate to do all of that work for nothing. The next 10mi. TT is in two weeks. Before this last race I was considering backing off for a while and just doing easy rides as I'm starting to feel extra tiredness creeping in. Afterwards, though, I'm thinking of giving it a go. Maybe that will change when the post-race funk hits (probably this afternoon).

more trike mods

I rotated my body position back about ten degrees, raising the bottom bracket into a more aerodynamically desirable position. This new position is very similar to what I'll have in my Quest. I built a proper racing tailfairing and made front wheel covers. I should go faster. Next race is the Putah Creek TT on August 15th. One thing I really like about the closed position on a recumbent is it allows me to train harder, more frequently and race more often. This is due, I'm fairly certain, to the emphasis on the glutes and hamstrings which for me are predominantly slow-twitch as opposed to my quads which are emphasized in the open position. Also, it's so much nicer riding around with my head oriented in the position it was designed to operate. It's a win-win. The only down side is aerodynamics but that's what tailfairings are for.

No more flat-backing it for me

After three rides I decided that riding flat on my back is for the birds. Actually, I decided that when I stopped riding my dual-700. I AA-ed that bike. Good riddance. My new bike now has a 20 degree seat angle which will be slower but at least it'll be enjoyable to ride again. If it had 700c wheels it would be so bad but with the 20's in addition to the seat height I'm afraid it has exited the realm of viable race bike and will be good only for showing how slow I really am. Oh well, I still have no power-side idler and can turn on a dime.

Until my velomobile gets here...

I'll race with this. Idlers? I don't need no steenkin' idlers.

Another shell comparison

Quest vs Quest XS

Coming late summer (I hope)

Carbon Quest XS (on the left).