Thursday, January 31, 2013

training 1-31-13

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

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

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.

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

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.

Monday, January 28, 2013

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.

Sunday, January 27, 2013

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.

Saturday, January 26, 2013

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.

Thursday, January 24, 2013

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.

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

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

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

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.

Monday, January 21, 2013

training 1-21-13

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

Sunday, January 20, 2013

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.

Saturday, January 19, 2013

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.

Thursday, January 17, 2013

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.

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

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.

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

training 1-15-13

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

Monday, January 14, 2013

training 1-14-13

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

Sunday, January 13, 2013

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.

Friday, January 11, 2013

training 1-11-13

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

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

training 1-9-13

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

Monday, January 7, 2013

training 1-7-13

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

Saturday, January 5, 2013

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

Thursday, January 3, 2013

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.

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

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.