A short run down of stuff:
Brakes. The one thing you really don't want to spend any time thinking about on your bike. You want them to just work, require little care and don't want to hear a peep out of them. Sadly that's not how the stock brakes on Beast have been. They've required a readjustment every time I removed and replaced a wheel, the feel has been poor, as has been the overall power. Frankly it was pissing me off. I decided to do something about it, and replaced the front brake with a new Deore BR-M590 in black. Amazing! Really, since I'm running the odd combo of a bar end lever, v brake and Problem Solvers to make them compatible, this may be the most awesome combo ever. The old brakes had longer arms (even though the M590 says "New! Longer Arms!" the old were even longer) which meant the lever/problem solver combo was a bit short on pull and therefore stopping power. The M590 is really an awesome brake for very little money. I should have gotten both front and rear.
Work. I now have a second part-time job. I'm working a couple days a week at one of the local bike shops. It's not a ton of money, but every little bit helps. It seems weird working on plastic bikes. It's a nice commute, with nearly 1000' of climbing on the way in and 1500' for the 22 mile round trip.
Heck of the North. Currently it's beginning to look like it may not happen for me this year. While I think the race will be fun, and I'm in decent enough shape to complete inside the time limits, in reality the main part of the trip was the fact that I'd get to go visit friends that live up that way. Sadly, it doesn't look like it will be a good time for a visit and I don't want to spend the money to travel up there if I'm not going to get to see them.
The next Populaire is this Sunday. The route is not finished, as my first attempt to drive it was today, and a closed road, with a large construction area blocking it, meant it's back to the drawing board. I could make it a very fast route by staying on the main roads, and there is a chance it may come to that, but I'm trying to get it on at least some side roads, but in that area there's a good risk those are gravel. While I'm fine with that, most of the people coming out for the ride wouldn't be.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Friday, August 19, 2011
Ridin' Around
Took Beast out for a spin yesterday. I had made a couple minor changes: removing the front rack/bag and the rear fender. This lightens it a bit, maybe 3 lbs, and cleans up the aerodynamics a good deal. It also lightens the steering and lets a bit more road vibe through. Oh, and because it was raining a bit when I was out, means the tire throws a lot more crud in my face, off the top of the tire, and the downtube crud guard does a decent enough job keeping my bottles clean.
On the flats, with no headwind, I can keep a pretty consistent 18-19mph as it was. Honestly that seems pretty similar to the speeds I run with the bag, rack and fender. The front crud guard really does catch a good deal of air, and I remember it slowing me a good 1.5mph when i installed it. But for the gravel event it needs to be on, and I see no reason to not train with it.
I ended up with a pretty flat 71miles, and a moving average of 14.9mph. I rocked out my first 8.3 miles at 17.8mph. Probably my best sprint on Beast.
In all, training is going well. I'm not quite where I'd like to be, with a proven loaded, sub 8hr century. Madison will be my benchmark for that, and I should get out and ride it again soon, loaded. Last attempt was 8:37, it got warm that day, with my GPS showing highs of 96 (not counting the stupid temps seen when stopped)
On the flats, with no headwind, I can keep a pretty consistent 18-19mph as it was. Honestly that seems pretty similar to the speeds I run with the bag, rack and fender. The front crud guard really does catch a good deal of air, and I remember it slowing me a good 1.5mph when i installed it. But for the gravel event it needs to be on, and I see no reason to not train with it.
I ended up with a pretty flat 71miles, and a moving average of 14.9mph. I rocked out my first 8.3 miles at 17.8mph. Probably my best sprint on Beast.
In all, training is going well. I'm not quite where I'd like to be, with a proven loaded, sub 8hr century. Madison will be my benchmark for that, and I should get out and ride it again soon, loaded. Last attempt was 8:37, it got warm that day, with my GPS showing highs of 96 (not counting the stupid temps seen when stopped)
Sunday, August 14, 2011
I Scream Populaire
Today was the second of the trail run of LBC sponsored Populaires. It was also the first route I had designed entirely from scratch. I think I aimed too high, as the response from the five people who showed up was overwhelmingly positive! Five people was about half as many as I had hoped for, but it was a good group. I had been warning people that it was pretty climby, and I might have scared a few people off who might have come otherwise, and would have been fine. Depending on what you use to measure it, it comes in @3700, 4800 or 5200 ft of climbing. My Garmin 500 is at the low end. RidewithGPS is at the high end.
I couldn't have even hoped for as fine of weather as what we had today, with highs around 80F, cloudy skies and pretty light winds. Skies threatened rain, but other than a few sprinkles, held off. It made me very sad that I was driving a van from control to control to do the paperwork, as I could schedule this every weekend and not manage to luck into the kind of weather we had today. When I had scheduled it way back in May, I had expected a mid-August Populaire to be hellishly hot and humid.
The riders are asking me to put this on again, and no doubt considering the amount of time and effort I put into designing it, I will. However, I don't think I'll put it on too often, as I think it's special enough to dole out sparingly. Perhaps twice a year at most, probably once as a Populaire and another time as a club ride. I'm really tempted to see if I can continue to schedule it as a "Picnic-Alternative", and use it as a Populaire at some other point of the season, perhaps in Spring as soon as Polly Freeze opens. Trying to do it when the leaves are turning is problematic as a Populaire, as I have to schedule so far in advance that I could end up scheduling it on top of Harvest Homecoming, and the route overlap in enough sections to be confusing, which could endanger the HH riders.
I couldn't have even hoped for as fine of weather as what we had today, with highs around 80F, cloudy skies and pretty light winds. Skies threatened rain, but other than a few sprinkles, held off. It made me very sad that I was driving a van from control to control to do the paperwork, as I could schedule this every weekend and not manage to luck into the kind of weather we had today. When I had scheduled it way back in May, I had expected a mid-August Populaire to be hellishly hot and humid.
The riders are asking me to put this on again, and no doubt considering the amount of time and effort I put into designing it, I will. However, I don't think I'll put it on too often, as I think it's special enough to dole out sparingly. Perhaps twice a year at most, probably once as a Populaire and another time as a club ride. I'm really tempted to see if I can continue to schedule it as a "Picnic-Alternative", and use it as a Populaire at some other point of the season, perhaps in Spring as soon as Polly Freeze opens. Trying to do it when the leaves are turning is problematic as a Populaire, as I have to schedule so far in advance that I could end up scheduling it on top of Harvest Homecoming, and the route overlap in enough sections to be confusing, which could endanger the HH riders.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Midnight Runs
Or: It's too damn hot to ride.
It's been over 2 weeks now since I last rode my bike. Heat indexes in excess of 110F will do that. It's been just miserably hot and muggy. Not riding makes me crabby and want to smoke (cigarettes, not cigars which I tend to puff on once or twice a week regardless.)
I've decided that to help counter this, I'd break out the running shoes a few nights a week at midnight. I'll pop in my headphones, toss my Garmin in my pocket (though it's not highly accurate in there), and pound the sidewalk. A couple simple rules: not on nights when I've been drinking (to avoid injury) or on nights when I plan to ride the next morning (to avoid soreness). Yes this means I have to be honest about whether I'm actually going to ride the next day, but I tend to be pretty good about that, and if I really planned on getting up and riding, I'd probably not be thinking about running at midnight anyway.
I have been planning on getting more serious about running anyway, as I promised a bunch of friends that I'd do the Bourbon Chase with them in 2012 (we couldn't get registered for the 2011 version or we'd do it then) and that means I need to be in good enough shape to run 15 miles split up in 3 legs over the course of a weekend. Oh, and the team of 12 has to maintain a 10 minute miles pace. I'd like to not be the slowest person, so I'm shooting for 8:45 as my goal pace. That's a bit better than the average pace of the average marathoner. So considering the shorter distance, I think it's probably easily obtainable with some effort and with over a year to get there, I hope to be able to achieve it.
It's been over 2 weeks now since I last rode my bike. Heat indexes in excess of 110F will do that. It's been just miserably hot and muggy. Not riding makes me crabby and want to smoke (cigarettes, not cigars which I tend to puff on once or twice a week regardless.)
I've decided that to help counter this, I'd break out the running shoes a few nights a week at midnight. I'll pop in my headphones, toss my Garmin in my pocket (though it's not highly accurate in there), and pound the sidewalk. A couple simple rules: not on nights when I've been drinking (to avoid injury) or on nights when I plan to ride the next morning (to avoid soreness). Yes this means I have to be honest about whether I'm actually going to ride the next day, but I tend to be pretty good about that, and if I really planned on getting up and riding, I'd probably not be thinking about running at midnight anyway.
I have been planning on getting more serious about running anyway, as I promised a bunch of friends that I'd do the Bourbon Chase with them in 2012 (we couldn't get registered for the 2011 version or we'd do it then) and that means I need to be in good enough shape to run 15 miles split up in 3 legs over the course of a weekend. Oh, and the team of 12 has to maintain a 10 minute miles pace. I'd like to not be the slowest person, so I'm shooting for 8:45 as my goal pace. That's a bit better than the average pace of the average marathoner. So considering the shorter distance, I think it's probably easily obtainable with some effort and with over a year to get there, I hope to be able to achieve it.
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Populaire Kick-Off
Today was the first of the LBC Populaires. This is a trial series of events to see if there is sufficient interest in having the club host a full P-12. The RBA and I have decided to do these as social and intro to randonnuering events. With good food and post ride socializing, we hope to get a decent following.
This first event went well, with an outstanding turnout of 38 riders, most of which completed the course with not issues. There were a few lost brevet cards and a pair of people just missed the time limit.
The fairly challenging, but scenic route, offered a great intro for the new riders. I was one of the first-timers. Despite the fact that I've never done a brevet before, I was one of the driving forces behind the event, taking care of the marketing end (drumming up interest) and helping to get club approval to put it on.
I was a bit astonished at how long I took, mostly at how long I wasn't moving. One hour and forty minutes my bike sat still. Massive waste of time. While these are social rides, I need to be a bit more deliberate in how I spend my time. I will have to learn that by the next Populaire, a route which I planned. I have no choice, as the next route has 50% more climbing than today. If I waste as much time as I did today, I'll not make the time limit.
This first event went well, with an outstanding turnout of 38 riders, most of which completed the course with not issues. There were a few lost brevet cards and a pair of people just missed the time limit.
The fairly challenging, but scenic route, offered a great intro for the new riders. I was one of the first-timers. Despite the fact that I've never done a brevet before, I was one of the driving forces behind the event, taking care of the marketing end (drumming up interest) and helping to get club approval to put it on.
I was a bit astonished at how long I took, mostly at how long I wasn't moving. One hour and forty minutes my bike sat still. Massive waste of time. While these are social rides, I need to be a bit more deliberate in how I spend my time. I will have to learn that by the next Populaire, a route which I planned. I have no choice, as the next route has 50% more climbing than today. If I waste as much time as I did today, I'll not make the time limit.
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Beastly Mileage
Today I rode Beast 100 miles (okay 95 point something to be technical) for the first time. Beast was, as I tend to ride it these days, fully loaded. I averaged 15.7 mph...for the first half, after that I slowed considerably. Final average moving speed was 14.6ish. Add in stops and it took me 8.5 hours to go the distance.
How much of that slowness was the weight of the bike, and how much was me not being ready for that distance on that bike, how much was the heat (it hit 95F) and how much was just stupidity (like not riding enough during the week, poor nutrition preride, poor feeding strategy during the ride.) I'm sure i will never know.
There were sections of flat road where I was only moving 8-9mph. I felt horrible, mostly about keeping the RC out that long. I had thoughts of throwing in the towel and calling for a ride, but didn't actually want to give up, just didn't want anyone else watching me being so out of sorts. I was actually quite cheerful and my attitude stayed positive throughout, the there is that. I knew I could make the distance, just had no idea how long it might take me. I had hoped for a sub 8 hour century and will have to keep working to make that goal, as I hope that a sub 8 hour road century will translate to a sub-10 hour gravel century.
How much of that slowness was the weight of the bike, and how much was me not being ready for that distance on that bike, how much was the heat (it hit 95F) and how much was just stupidity (like not riding enough during the week, poor nutrition preride, poor feeding strategy during the ride.) I'm sure i will never know.
There were sections of flat road where I was only moving 8-9mph. I felt horrible, mostly about keeping the RC out that long. I had thoughts of throwing in the towel and calling for a ride, but didn't actually want to give up, just didn't want anyone else watching me being so out of sorts. I was actually quite cheerful and my attitude stayed positive throughout, the there is that. I knew I could make the distance, just had no idea how long it might take me. I had hoped for a sub 8 hour century and will have to keep working to make that goal, as I hope that a sub 8 hour road century will translate to a sub-10 hour gravel century.
Friday, July 1, 2011
Beastly Heft
Beast, my 99 Trek 930, was never light. While I removed the stock suspension fork (also not light) and replaced it with a Surly 1x1 rigid fork (lighter, but still not featherweight), it's still well north of 20lbs. As I normally ride it, with fenders, a Nashbar Mini Rack and matching bag that has tubes, tools and other stuff, it tips the scales at around 32lbs (plus water)
Interestingly, that not much heavier than the normal as-ridden weight of my aluminum road bike. Of course, it has fenders, bags and such as well. By "not much" I mean about a single pound.
Start adding in stuff to be self-supported for a 100mile gravel road race in October in MN and suddenly it get really heavy. Current estimate is about 45lbs heavy (this time counting water, but not counting the water in my 2L hydration pack). 13lbs heavier. A bit over 8lbs of which is water. 3.5L (plus bottles)...and that's assuming I don't decide that a total of 5.5L is cutting it too close for 100 miles. It will have to be pretty cool, or I may have to find a way to carry more.
Currently the spare tire, 3 tubes, tools, puncture kit, spare quick-link, and first aid, and other personal items packed are all in the front bag. In a Jandd frame pack is the 2L bladder, with the small pocket having some energy bars. I like having this there, as it really helps to balance the bike and all the front weight means the front tire doesn't tend to lift on climbs. I have a Profile bento box mounted at the stem, it'll hold about 10 gel packs. That's usually more than I need for a century, but I know it won't be enough for one where there are no other food sources than what is on my bike. In the rear is a Carradice Super C Saddlepack. It's listed at 5L capacity. The plan for this is food and clothing. Clothes will depend on the weather of course. Food is going to be a trick to figure out. I'll need something calorie packed, shelf stable (as the start time means it'll be packed in the bag the night before), and satisfying.
Oh, and if I want to keep the bike under 45lbs, I only have room for 3lbs of clothes and food. I have this feeling that my hopes to take along a change of socks and gloves might be nixed to make weight.
Interestingly, that not much heavier than the normal as-ridden weight of my aluminum road bike. Of course, it has fenders, bags and such as well. By "not much" I mean about a single pound.
Start adding in stuff to be self-supported for a 100mile gravel road race in October in MN and suddenly it get really heavy. Current estimate is about 45lbs heavy (this time counting water, but not counting the water in my 2L hydration pack). 13lbs heavier. A bit over 8lbs of which is water. 3.5L (plus bottles)...and that's assuming I don't decide that a total of 5.5L is cutting it too close for 100 miles. It will have to be pretty cool, or I may have to find a way to carry more.
Currently the spare tire, 3 tubes, tools, puncture kit, spare quick-link, and first aid, and other personal items packed are all in the front bag. In a Jandd frame pack is the 2L bladder, with the small pocket having some energy bars. I like having this there, as it really helps to balance the bike and all the front weight means the front tire doesn't tend to lift on climbs. I have a Profile bento box mounted at the stem, it'll hold about 10 gel packs. That's usually more than I need for a century, but I know it won't be enough for one where there are no other food sources than what is on my bike. In the rear is a Carradice Super C Saddlepack. It's listed at 5L capacity. The plan for this is food and clothing. Clothes will depend on the weather of course. Food is going to be a trick to figure out. I'll need something calorie packed, shelf stable (as the start time means it'll be packed in the bag the night before), and satisfying.
Oh, and if I want to keep the bike under 45lbs, I only have room for 3lbs of clothes and food. I have this feeling that my hopes to take along a change of socks and gloves might be nixed to make weight.
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