training 1-31-13

Folsom canal, 32.5 miles. Zox (unfaired). N-21.3, S-22.9, N-22.0, S-23.4.

training 1-30-13

Folsom Canal, 33.5 miles. QuestXS (foothole covers, hood w/shield). N-26.4, S-24.7, N-28.2, S-25.1.

newer handlebar setup

training 1-29-13

Folsom Canal, 32.5 miles. Zox (unfaired). N-20.5, S-20.7, N-19.0 (front flatted, again), S-23.2 (wind picked up). Hobbled home on a soft rear tire. WTF! Damn, Primo Comets. I don't remember ever having so much trouble with them.

training 1-28-13

Folsom Canal, 33.5 miles. QuestXS (foothole covers, hood w/shield). N-26.8, S-28.2, N-28.3, S-29.3.

training 1-27-13

Folsom Canal, 32.5 miles. Zox (unfaired). N-23.2, S-23.8, N-22.4, S-24.5. I encountered a slew of DFers and I think it affected my PRE on the first pass.

training 1-26-13

Folsom Canal, 33.5 miles. QuestXS (foothole covers, hood w/shield). N-28.2, S-26.0, N-29.3, S-26.3. My tendons were a little tender so I took it a bit easy, hardly breathing heavier than if I was resting.

training 1-24-13

Folsom Canal, 33.5 miles. QuestXS (foothole covers, hood w/shield). N-25.6, S-27.1, N-26.7, S-27.2. Easy money at the end of a 230-something-mile week. I feel rested and relaxed after the ride.

training 1-23-13

Folsom Canal, 32.5 miles. Zox (unfaired). I'm going to start only tracking my speed on the trail. I want to avoid the concern about lights and traffic skewing my data and my tendency to roll through right-hand turns on red. I'll break up the ride in 5+ mile sections where I have to reverse direction. All intervals will be standing start and without rest in between. "N" and "S"denotes direction. 1)N-22.3 2)S-22.2 3)N-22.2 4)S-22.8

training 1-22-13

Folsom Canal, 33.5 miles. QuestXS (foothole covers, hood w/shield). 25.8mph average. After yesterday's ride I could feel the Zox miles in a new position catching up to me. My legs were hurting a little (though I wasn't pushing hard) and I was feeling a bit testy. Again, I thought for sure I'd be crawling today and would have been glad to do it if needed but I ended up easily cruising at 28mph while on the trail. The Zox position, even though I feel very unaccustomed to it at this point, complements the Quest position very much, changing the weak points. So far.

training 1-21-13

Folsom Canal, 32.5 miles. Zox (unfaired). 21.3mph average.

training 1-20-13

Folsom Canal, 44.5 miles. QuestXS (foothole covers, hood w/shield). 23.9mph average. After yesterday's relatively fast ride and the addition of the Zox miles in an untrained position I thought for sure I'd be hobbling along in pain with a 20mph average.

training 1-19-13

Folsom Canal, 33.5 miles. QuestXS (foothole covers, hood w/shield). 26.2mph average. Folsom Canal, 21.5 miles. Zox (unfaired). 20.9mph average.

added ride

7 easy miles on the Zox with a 20.4mph average. 170mm cranks with an 11"+ over bottom bracket and steep seat angle (just like my old dual-20 FWD). It's one sweet ride.

training 1-17-13

Folsom Canal, 33.5 miles. QuestXS (foothole covers, hood w/windshield). 23.9mph average. The new windshield configuration worked well. There's no fogging when in motion and just a wisp of air coming in that I can sense but don't feel an actual stream. Still, I'm soaked to the bone (not that I care) and it's cold out. Summer will be interesting. Perhaps a summer hood is in order.

windshield modification

I can adjust the opening as needed.

training 1-16-13

Folsom Canal, 33.5 miles. QuestXS (foothole covers, hood w/windshield). 24.1mph average. The difference with the shield in place is dramatic. It's so much warmer and less windy inside and I must have sweat three times as much. It feels faster but given the fluctuations in my daily fitness a given PRE yields too much of a difference in speed to know how much. I need to cut a vent in the shield to reduce fogging. Maybe a crimp along the vertical centerline left untaped will provide enough airflow without much added drag.

training 1-15-13

Folsom Canal, 33.5 miles. QuestXS (foothole covers, hood). 22.2mph average.

training 1-14-13

Folsom Canal, 33.5 miles. QuestXS (foothole covers, hood). 21mph average.

new handlebar setup

training 1-13-13

Folsom Canal, 33.5 miles. QuestXS (foothole covers/hood). 23.2mph average. Since I've experienced a significant drop in fitness this last week I'm going to revert back to daily, shorter rides and hopefully build back up to the first race in March.

training 1-11-13

Folsom Canal, 44.5 miles. QuestXS (foothole covers, hood). 21.3mph average.

training 1-9-13

Folsom canal, 55.5 miles. QuestXS (foothole covers, hood). 24.2 mph average.

training 1-7-13

Folsom Canal, 55.5 miles. QuestXS (foothole covers, hood). 21.7mph average.

training 1-5-13

Folsom Canal, 55.5 miles. QuestXS (foothole covers, hood). 28.6mph average. Over 30mph the entire time on the trail except for accelerating from a stop at each turnaround every five miles.

da hinge

training 1-3-13

Folsom Canal, 55.5 miles. QuestXS (foothole covers, hood). 24.6mph average. Easy day; ~27mph steady on the trail, just loafing. I really like riding with the hood. It fits with my introverted personality.

training 1-1-13

Folsom Canal, 55.5 miles. QuestXS (foothole covers, hood). 27.2mph average. First ride with the hood. I rode without a windshield and received a strong jet of air directed straight at my mouth. That will be nice in the summertime.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Ever since I switched back to short cranks and easier efforts I automatically reverted back to my flatback style of pedaling which is higher cadenced and quad-dominated. I've noticed that towards the end of my ~2hr rides my quads start to fatigue a little and my cadence and speed drop slightly. In the beginning I would just finish the ride like that but for the last few rides I've switched to a more closed position style of pedaling using my hamstrings in a bigger gear with a lower cadence. My speed always goes up when I switch modes. I think training both modes is a good thing to do because come race day it will be all hands on deck. I don't want to enter a race with undertrained hamstrings.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------I'm very happy with the hood. On a windless day on the trail, without the hood, my training speed is 25mph in spin mode and 26mph in hamstring mode. Today, with the hood, in spin mode, I was doing 27-28mph into the wind and 30-31 with it. After switching to hamstring mode I decided to go over the hills of the TT course instead of bypassing them as I usually do. The bypass is flat but has poles that I have to thread and they are on very bumpy ground. At 30mph it can get pretty hairy. Anyway, I came off the short hill at 34mph and was able to easily hold 33-34mph for the three plus miles until the turnaround point while breathing easy.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------I have five more aero add-ons to make. The windshield, the front wheel well inside covers, the inside front wheel covers, the rear wheel well cover and the tailcone.