It's been 3 weeks since the end of Over the Hump. I continue to ride 4-5 times a week, but not with nearly the same intensity as OTH. That said, I've gained a few lbs. Still under 250lbs, but I fear I am getting complacent. That is why I will commit myself to racing Counting Coup 2011! I'm not sure I can get a spot, but I'll sign up as soon as registration opens on Oct 1.
For those who don't know, Counting Coup is a race put on by the Warrior Society. It is arguably the easiest of their three races, but still requires 40+ miles and 8,000+ft of climbing. The first checkpoint is 4 hours into the race at the bottom of Silverado and Maple springs. That's 18 miles and approximately 4500ft of climbing (thanks to Weyland for the stats!). As a test run, I tried to make the first checkpoint last Saturday. I made it halfway to the first checkpoint in 2h and 20 minutes before failing and turning around (9 miles and 2100ft climbing). By my estimation, I was 20 minutes behind the minimum pace, and I gotta keep it up for another 30 miles! I'll continue to pound through Blackstar until I can get my half-to-first-checkpoint time in the 1h 45m range. Sounds "unpossible" at the moment, but with 7 months left, I'm hoping to drop 5lbs and shave 5 minutes per month.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
In The Books
Over the Hump 2010 is in the books! 12 races, 15 weeks, hours of countless fun. Instead of rambling on in an essay-style post, I will deviate from the norm and go with a list of notable events over the last 12 races.
- It is very dusty.
- DFL to 16th is a big win.
- I wonder if @Mark will place today.
- Keep my heart rate down.
- Can't nose breath through anything!
- HR=170. I don't feel terrible, though.
- HR=184. Getting dizzy...
- Did Tinker Juarez already lap me?!
- ANY race for a clyde is an endurance race...
- Hydrate!
- Don doesn't seem to like gears.
- Keep it rollin' on 29ers!
- Where is Adam B.?
- Vs. Adam: WLLWWLLLL.
- A B1 clyde class will be exciting and close.
- It is very dusty.
- DFL to 16th is a big win.
- I wonder if @Mark will place today.
- Keep my heart rate down.
- Can't nose breath through anything!
- HR=170. I don't feel terrible, though.
- HR=184. Getting dizzy...
- Did Tinker Juarez already lap me?!
- ANY race for a clyde is an endurance race...
- Hydrate!
- Don doesn't seem to like gears.
- Keep it rollin' on 29ers!
- Where is Adam B.?
- Vs. Adam: WLLWWLLLL.
- A B1 clyde class will be exciting and close.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
A Pint's a Pound...
"A pint's a pound the world around."
Why quote a cooking maxim? Well, I have been losing weight these last few months. A lot of it was sweat and dirt, but some of it was water weight. Water weighs 1lbs per 16 fl oz (16 oz = 16 fl oz of water).
Two months ago, I weighed a consistent 263 lbs. My routine 11.5mile road ride took 41 minutes. As of Tuesday morning (day of OTH), I weighed 247lbs. 16 lbs loss. However, the same routine 11.5 mile ride actually dropped to 42:30. Consistently. I lost 16lbs of weight and recorded worse times? Something had to be wrong. I started weighing myself before and after every ride, tracking my food and water consumption, and determining how much water I lose per hour of riding. It turns out that I was dehydrated. I used to drink about 1.5 gallons of water per day, plus 1 liter per hour of cardio. My water consumption has been woefully low, so I've been drinking 6 more pints of water per day (read: 6lbs). I weighed in this morning at 253lbs and logged a 39:40 ride. That's more like it. So even though I can't look at my weight and congratulate myself, I'm feeling faster, stronger, and more energetic.
Moral of this post: Drink more water.
Why quote a cooking maxim? Well, I have been losing weight these last few months. A lot of it was sweat and dirt, but some of it was water weight. Water weighs 1lbs per 16 fl oz (16 oz = 16 fl oz of water).
Two months ago, I weighed a consistent 263 lbs. My routine 11.5mile road ride took 41 minutes. As of Tuesday morning (day of OTH), I weighed 247lbs. 16 lbs loss. However, the same routine 11.5 mile ride actually dropped to 42:30. Consistently. I lost 16lbs of weight and recorded worse times? Something had to be wrong. I started weighing myself before and after every ride, tracking my food and water consumption, and determining how much water I lose per hour of riding. It turns out that I was dehydrated. I used to drink about 1.5 gallons of water per day, plus 1 liter per hour of cardio. My water consumption has been woefully low, so I've been drinking 6 more pints of water per day (read: 6lbs). I weighed in this morning at 253lbs and logged a 39:40 ride. That's more like it. So even though I can't look at my weight and congratulate myself, I'm feeling faster, stronger, and more energetic.
Moral of this post: Drink more water.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Crankbrothers Eggbeater 3
Here is what happens when a manufacturer supports the local races:
There are three words every clyde rider wants to hear. "No weight limit." I heard it on my Specialized Roubaix, and now I hear it on the Crankbrothers Eggbeater 3 pedals. During one of the Over the Hump races, Tim @ crankbrothers mentioned that there's no rider weight limit on any pedals except the 11s. At a published 278g, I couldn't resist the upgrade. Actual measured weight is 281, but ~1% variance is acceptable to me.
Review:
Compared to my previous pedals, I lost 80grams and tension adjustment. While I do miss the tension adjustment, it isn't really a big deal. I got used to the release fairly quickly, and the engagement is positive - once you get positioned correctly. I am having a bit of trouble finding the pedal cage, but a few more weeks and the pedals should be ubiquitous to my ride.
Highlights:
Cromoly steel spindle - I asked Tim @ crankbrothers about the change from stainless steel spindles on their SL line to the all cromoly in their current eggbeater lineup (except the 11s, which sport titanium spindles). He said the cromoly is stronger and the later productions of the "SL" were not stainless steel, but cromoly. Good enough for me!
Needle inner bearings - An upgrade over the eggbeater 1s and 2s. Should have higher load limits with smaller bearings.
Body and construction - The eggbeater 3s sport a full cast stainless steel body/wings over the stamped steel on the 2s and 1s. A slight weight penalty, but should be more durable in the long run.
There are three words every clyde rider wants to hear. "No weight limit." I heard it on my Specialized Roubaix, and now I hear it on the Crankbrothers Eggbeater 3 pedals. During one of the Over the Hump races, Tim @ crankbrothers mentioned that there's no rider weight limit on any pedals except the 11s. At a published 278g, I couldn't resist the upgrade. Actual measured weight is 281, but ~1% variance is acceptable to me.
Review:
Compared to my previous pedals, I lost 80grams and tension adjustment. While I do miss the tension adjustment, it isn't really a big deal. I got used to the release fairly quickly, and the engagement is positive - once you get positioned correctly. I am having a bit of trouble finding the pedal cage, but a few more weeks and the pedals should be ubiquitous to my ride.
Highlights:
Cromoly steel spindle - I asked Tim @ crankbrothers about the change from stainless steel spindles on their SL line to the all cromoly in their current eggbeater lineup (except the 11s, which sport titanium spindles). He said the cromoly is stronger and the later productions of the "SL" were not stainless steel, but cromoly. Good enough for me!
Needle inner bearings - An upgrade over the eggbeater 1s and 2s. Should have higher load limits with smaller bearings.
Body and construction - The eggbeater 3s sport a full cast stainless steel body/wings over the stamped steel on the 2s and 1s. A slight weight penalty, but should be more durable in the long run.
Monday, August 9, 2010
Clyde Causalties
Being 250lbs has it's strains on bicycles parts. Cranks, chains, and brakes are prone to faster wear. Seatposts, handlebars, stems, saddle rails, wheels, and frames are subject to snapping catastrophically. Yes, just about everything on a bicycle needs to be carefully picked out for a clyde. I will start cataloging parts that fail and fare well with clyde abuse.
So I posted about the first one...
Item in question: Hope aluminum freehub
Length of use: Jan 2009 to June 2010
Failure: Cracked freehub body
Cause of failure: Typical use
Analysis: It's fairly well understood that an aluminum freehub is prone to cracking under heavy load. This doesn't seem to be exclusive to clydes.
Result: Hope sent me a steel freehub body that's been rock solid so far. It's nearly 50% heavier and made of steel, so I doubt I'll have any problems with it.
So beyond the actual bike itself, I recently found another casualty of my clyde-ness. My shoes.
Item in question: Shimano M122 Clipless Mountain Shoes (2 bolt)
Length of use: November 2008 to July 2010
Failure: Torn sole. Loss of shoe stiffness. Walking with bike introduces gobs of sand in my shoe.
Cause of failure: Hike a bikes, typical use.
Analysis: I never thought of shoes as a consumable part. In the waning rides leading up to the failure, I noticed my shoes lost a lot of stiffness. I guess this is typical, but tearing the shoes apart is not a normal occurrence.
Result: I ended up with some Sidi Dominator 5 shoes. 1 year 8 months of use out of a pair of shoes is decent enough. I hope the Sidis will last at least 2 years. Still, upgraditis has me eying the Dragon 2 SRS already...
So I posted about the first one...
Item in question: Hope aluminum freehub
Length of use: Jan 2009 to June 2010
Failure: Cracked freehub body
Cause of failure: Typical use
Analysis: It's fairly well understood that an aluminum freehub is prone to cracking under heavy load. This doesn't seem to be exclusive to clydes.
Result: Hope sent me a steel freehub body that's been rock solid so far. It's nearly 50% heavier and made of steel, so I doubt I'll have any problems with it.
So beyond the actual bike itself, I recently found another casualty of my clyde-ness. My shoes.
Item in question: Shimano M122 Clipless Mountain Shoes (2 bolt)
Length of use: November 2008 to July 2010
Failure: Torn sole. Loss of shoe stiffness. Walking with bike introduces gobs of sand in my shoe.
Cause of failure: Hike a bikes, typical use.
Analysis: I never thought of shoes as a consumable part. In the waning rides leading up to the failure, I noticed my shoes lost a lot of stiffness. I guess this is typical, but tearing the shoes apart is not a normal occurrence.
Result: I ended up with some Sidi Dominator 5 shoes. 1 year 8 months of use out of a pair of shoes is decent enough. I hope the Sidis will last at least 2 years. Still, upgraditis has me eying the Dragon 2 SRS already...
Monday, July 12, 2010
What the Q?
I've been selling off as many parts as I can. My garage is getting cluttered, and I need to recover something from this money pit of a sport. However, sometimes there are items for sale that make you pull out the credit card, whatever the circumstance. Last week, I pulled the trigger on some used Rotor Q Rings. My brother has raved about them, but I've found their $260 price tag ridiculous. I found a set of used rings on mtbr.com. It didn't include the big ring, but I don't really spend much time in the big ring. At a huge discount, I had to just try them out...
... and they feel amazing. I installed the Q rings on the Orbea and headed out to Peters Canyon. The difference in the 2nd gear was immediate. I felt smoother and faster from the get go. The granny felt a bit jerky for me, but I'll give it time to smooth out. For the first time ever, I cleared the reservoir climb, and for the second time ever, I cleared Big Red. Two monstrous climbs in one ride! I know these climbs are just normal training rides for you athletic types, but I'm not the athletic type =). Anyways, the Q rotors will prove to be a big help when trying to catch Mark at the Over the Hump races.
... and they feel amazing. I installed the Q rings on the Orbea and headed out to Peters Canyon. The difference in the 2nd gear was immediate. I felt smoother and faster from the get go. The granny felt a bit jerky for me, but I'll give it time to smooth out. For the first time ever, I cleared the reservoir climb, and for the second time ever, I cleared Big Red. Two monstrous climbs in one ride! I know these climbs are just normal training rides for you athletic types, but I'm not the athletic type =). Anyways, the Q rotors will prove to be a big help when trying to catch Mark at the Over the Hump races.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Anything You Can Do
In lieu of the Tuesday Over the Hump race, Mark and I decided to do a little training at Whiting Ranch.
A Little Background...
Two weeks ago, I rode Whiting on my 26" Zaskar. It was the first time I could clear the Mustard climb on 1-2. I kind of cheated by using an 11-34 cassette instead of 11-32, so my gearing was kind of 1-1.5. Whatever. Big win for me. In my mind, clearing Mustard on 1-2 with the Zasky showcased the improvement in my physical fitness. If I can do it on 1-2, I surely can granny it on my 29er. I need to do it on my 29er. I need to validate buying the Orbea 29er. Today's the day the Orbea meets Whiting.
Oh The Pain...
Even before the ride, I sensed some pain in my future. It all started with a quippy, "Let's do Whiting twice" comment from Mark. To understand the gravity of the comment, we have to rewind to last Thursday, when I decided it would be a good idea to do some resistance exercises at the gym. I think I dislocated my shoulder when bracing my body to do some standing leg lifts. Since then, my shoulder has been popping in and out of the socket resulting in sharp, blinding pains. So doing Whiting twice didn't really appeal to me. Still, we ride on.
Anything You Can Do...
The ride starts out as well as can be. High 60s, very light rain in the morning packing down the loose sand. Borrego doesn't pose that much of a problem, and my shoulder is in good condition. I just have to take pressure off the bars. Then we hit Mustard. I start out in 1-2 thinking I'll shift down when I hit the really steep stuff. To my surprise, I started climbing Mustard in 1-2! All throughout the climb, I had a mental musical playing in my head. It went kind of like this:
Orbea 29:
Anything you can do, I can do better.
I can do anything better than you.
Zasky 26:
No you can't.
Orbea 29:
Yes I can.
Anything you can climb I can climb better.
Sooner or later, I'm climbing better than you.
I can smash a steep incline,
without the resulting supine.
I can roll through a rut,
with out much fuss.
Zasky 26:
=(.
Ok, so I'm not the best lyricist, but the music kept me going. I ended up killing mustard on 1-2. A very proud day for me and my 29er. On the second go around, I did Mustard in 1-1, but I still didn't stop. All said and done, the 29er felt faster on the climbs, felt less like I was going to flip backwards, and navigate through sand like nothing. On my Zaskar, I did mustard in 15:38. Orbea 29er did it in 13:03 and 13:56. Not exactly the same bike or the same test, but a very marked difference.
On another note, there was a downed tree on Serrano. It kind of sneaks up on you if you're the type to push it.
The big branch is a bit under eye level when I'm on the bike, so it required quite a bit of squatting to get under it.
A Little Background...
Two weeks ago, I rode Whiting on my 26" Zaskar. It was the first time I could clear the Mustard climb on 1-2. I kind of cheated by using an 11-34 cassette instead of 11-32, so my gearing was kind of 1-1.5. Whatever. Big win for me. In my mind, clearing Mustard on 1-2 with the Zasky showcased the improvement in my physical fitness. If I can do it on 1-2, I surely can granny it on my 29er. I need to do it on my 29er. I need to validate buying the Orbea 29er. Today's the day the Orbea meets Whiting.
Oh The Pain...
Even before the ride, I sensed some pain in my future. It all started with a quippy, "Let's do Whiting twice" comment from Mark. To understand the gravity of the comment, we have to rewind to last Thursday, when I decided it would be a good idea to do some resistance exercises at the gym. I think I dislocated my shoulder when bracing my body to do some standing leg lifts. Since then, my shoulder has been popping in and out of the socket resulting in sharp, blinding pains. So doing Whiting twice didn't really appeal to me. Still, we ride on.
Anything You Can Do...
The ride starts out as well as can be. High 60s, very light rain in the morning packing down the loose sand. Borrego doesn't pose that much of a problem, and my shoulder is in good condition. I just have to take pressure off the bars. Then we hit Mustard. I start out in 1-2 thinking I'll shift down when I hit the really steep stuff. To my surprise, I started climbing Mustard in 1-2! All throughout the climb, I had a mental musical playing in my head. It went kind of like this:
Orbea 29:
Anything you can do, I can do better.
I can do anything better than you.
Zasky 26:
No you can't.
Orbea 29:
Yes I can.
Anything you can climb I can climb better.
Sooner or later, I'm climbing better than you.
I can smash a steep incline,
without the resulting supine.
I can roll through a rut,
with out much fuss.
Zasky 26:
=(.
Ok, so I'm not the best lyricist, but the music kept me going. I ended up killing mustard on 1-2. A very proud day for me and my 29er. On the second go around, I did Mustard in 1-1, but I still didn't stop. All said and done, the 29er felt faster on the climbs, felt less like I was going to flip backwards, and navigate through sand like nothing. On my Zaskar, I did mustard in 15:38. Orbea 29er did it in 13:03 and 13:56. Not exactly the same bike or the same test, but a very marked difference.
On another note, there was a downed tree on Serrano. It kind of sneaks up on you if you're the type to push it.
The big branch is a bit under eye level when I'm on the bike, so it required quite a bit of squatting to get under it.
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