Superbowl Sunday Ride

I got up super early on Sunday morning to do some laps around the park. It was a chilly 33º at 7:30am, and my legs were still fatigued from my ride the day prior. I had to do a workout that focused on riding at a certain power/heart-rate level for a lengthy interval while spinning a lower than usual cadence. I found myself struggling focusing on the numbers, but with anything new there's definitely a learning curve. Maybe I overdressed, but I overheated quickly. I was feeling really weak, despite passing everyone I rode by. I guess my goal was to build up endurance rather than strength, and my workout achieved that. I finished my ride early in preparation for a brunch, followed by a small Superbowl party at our place. Nothing like nachos, fried chicken and beer to top off a solid weekend of riding and training.

Back to Nyack

I rode up to Nyack again yesterday after taking Friday off. I was really pushing hard all the way through the 75 miles. I even took the hard way back by opting to ride Henry Hudson Drive instead of 9W on my return, which adds quite a bit more climbing. Overall I felt really strong compared to my last ride to Nyack, which I had a bit of help from. This time it was a complete solo effort.I even and rode past some of the Rapha Continental guys, which was pretty cool. I recognized them of course by their Independent Fabrication bikes as well as that one dude with the totally wild beard. You know who I'm talking about. I wanted to stop and chat them up, but I was on a mission to smash my last time and effort.

Instead of the popular stop at the Runcible Spoon cafe in Nyack I stopped at a nearby park for my mid ride snack of trail mix, and soaked in the view of the Hudson River. Normally on my way back I'd get caught by a large group, but this time I bridged onto two groups along 9W. I think this is a good sign of things to come if I keep riding consistently and continue to push my limits.

Double Flat

"Andy!", I heard being yelled from behind me. It was my friend Fred, halfway up the hill, whom I went with for a ride around Prospect Park on Tuesday. He had flatted somewhere between 4th and 5th Ave. We got to the top of the hill and proceeded to do what was needed, fixing a flat. I remarked how he carried not one, but two spare tubes with him. The first one mysteriously went flat in seconds. Must have been a dud. Luckily I brought my pump with me. We inspected the tire and yanked out a huge piece of glass from the casing. The second tube did the trick. Made me think twice about carrying an extra tube with me at all times in addition to a patch kit.

Garmin Edge 500

As much as I loved my Garmin Forerunner 405 watch I knew it wouldn't keep up with my evolving training schedule. The main problem is that the battery would die after four hours of use, which is fine for being a running watch, but my rides are gradually getting longer and longer. I picked up a new Garmin Edge 500 mainly so that I could sync it with my new Powertap G3 as well as make use of its long-lasting battery.

It does everything my 405 did and more. Making use of Garmin Connect's Courses feature, which by the way got a serious makeover recently, made mapping new routes a breeze. You can then upload it to the Edge 500 and follow the pre-plotted course. It's still a little buggy, but works fairly well. I also use the Workout feature and uploaded those to the Edge.

Besides that the Edge 500 is nice and light, and not too overbearing in size. The mount is simple and secure. The unit itself is weather resistant, but I don't like how hard the buttons are to push. The display is decent and has a number of options for how much data you want to see at any given moment.

I'm now fully hooked up; a heart rate monitor, a cadence meter, and now a power meter. It feels odd to be so connected to your bike, but it's almost become second nature by now. Learning how to associate the numbers I produce to how it really feels will be an important tool in the future. Right now I have a good understanding of my heart rate zones and cadence, but I'm still getting a feel for wattage and power zones.

Where's Your Head(set) At?

I felt a little play in my controls the other day. I rocked my bike back and forth with the front brake locked, and felt a little knock, which can only mean my headset was loose. I've got a Chris King thread-less headset with sealed bearings, and honestly the last time I looked into it was 1o years ago. I learned my lesson today that you should check your bearings at least once a year or two, not ten.

The first sign of trouble was the fact that I couldn't even slide the top cap off one the stem was removed. The thing had frozen shut. I went out and bought some WD-40 to loosen things up and hammered away till it became loose. Even then I had to tap it off the steering tube. No harm done, just needed to file away the dents I put into it (steering tube). Afterwards I sanded away any remaining rust spots and uneven surfaces, and proceeded to overhaul the headset bearings.

To my surprise the bearings were still well sealed and had a bit of original grease. I cleaned and repacked it any way. This headset is pretty much bomb-proof. Now I've got a happy headset. I'm beginning to suspect my bottom bracket is in the same dire need of a once over and at least a good spray of WD-40 to deal with possible rust. I just love stuff that I'm able to work on myself.

January

I thought it'd be fun to do a recap of my month of riding in January. I did just as many rides this month as I did last month, give or take two rides. Surprisingly I rode over 800 miles this month and 500 miles last month. Maybe it was due to the holidays and that I was traveling a lot more, but this is nearly double the amount. My average distance also went up from 20 miles per ride to 30 miles. I logged in 50 hours vs. 36 hours, granted I was doing more short power intervals compared to longer steady state intervals. But what really impressed me this month is the amount of climbing I achieved; 30,258 ft in January and only 6,562 ft in December. Again, I think it's because I spent more time on the trainer than on the road. My average speed is up from 14.7 mph to 16.1 mph, which is really good.

I think it's still too early to tell if I'm getting faster or not. I definitely feel stronger. The weather has been a major factor despite being able to train indoors. Regardless, I eagerly await my first cross-country race(s) in April.

Nyack and Back

Did quite a bit of riding this week, about 15 hours total. Four of which were spent on my ride to Nyack and back, 75 miles along the Hudson River. Early on I met up with guy named Sean along Riverside Drive, who was heading in the same direction, and asked if I wanted to trade pulls. Naturally, I couldn't refuse, being that I seldom get to ride with others. He proved to be quite strong and actually pulled me along more than half the way. It's been a while since I've ridden with someone well matched. It was a definite chain stretcher of a ride.

Fire In the Sky

Went for an afternoon 40 mile ride on Friday just after a storm past through. I prepared for the worst; rain jacket and shoe covers on. I did my normal intervals around Prospect Park for an hour then decided to finish off my ride down in Coney Island. The wind started to pick up, and I could make out another batch of storm clouds out in the distance. I encountered a 20 mph head on my way back and suffered through it. However, the sky did begin to clear up and I managed to get this beautiful snapshot before getting home.

Brain Dead

Being a home mechanic has its ups and downs. I recently went riding in the snow and noticed my fork wasn't working properly. The problem was that the rebound adjustment knob was sticking on my RockShox SID/Brain suspension fork. So I unscrewed the knob and tried to manually turn the valve. Since it's made from aluminum I accidentally applied too much torque and bent it. Doh! It's now being sent back to RockShox for further repair. No mountain biking for me. Lesson learned. Great suspension fork, otherwise.

Powertap G3

I pulled the trigger on a new CycleOps Powertap G3 hub recently, and built it up with a new Mavic Open Pro CD rim. I've managed a few rides on it already, and am starting to make sense of all my wattage numbers. It's a rather expensive piece of equipment, but, if you're serious about training, power meters are the way to go. They give you a definitive set of data that point out how much work you've done, as well as the areas you can improve upon.

The G3 is lighter and better than last years model. It's only a weight penalty of 60 grams or so compared to my Chris King hub. It features internals that are more easily serviceable. Rather than sending in an entire wheel you only have to replace the end cap, which is where most of the circuitry is enclosed.

The more I learn about training, heart rate zones and wattage, the more I'm realizing how cycling as a sport is much more calculated and precise. Even aero bikes, bars and helmets can amount to wattage savings. It's kinda nuts. Speed and efficiency can almost be bought to a certain degree.

I'll be following up with a more in-depth review of the Powertap and the numbers it produces.

Snow Day

It's snowed on early Saturday morning. I felt like a kid again, not being able to sleep in anticipation of the forthcoming storm. I woke up to about 4" of snowfall, and knew I had a small window of time before the white snow turned to black sludge. I geared up, hopped on my mountain bike and rolled slowly down the hill, then up to Prospect Park. People looked at me like I was crazy as I rolled by, but I love riding in the snow.

Riding in the snow is a bit easier than you'd think, as long as the snow is fresh. I have hydraulic disc brakes so stopping wasn't an issue. My mountain bike is also a 29er, and the bigger wheels help in providing more grip to surface. I did notice my front fork becoming slow and sluggish. It has Specialized's Brain technology, and I felt like it was the cause for its lack in performance, but who really needs to soak up bumps while riding in soft snow?

It was 25º outside and the snow was quickly turning into sleet and blowing sideways. I rode for an hour and a half and covered 18 miles. My fingers were frozen by the time I got home, and the streets were already turning into black rivers of sludge.

Cyclocross World Cup

Cyclocross World Cup start in Lievin. So fast, so furious. My heart started to race just watching the first lap. This weekend is World Cup #8 in Hoogerheide, NED, followed by the World Championships on the 29th in Koksijde, BEL.

I did a season of Cyclocross back in 1998. I got my assed kicked. I didn't even have a proper cyclocross bike, but back then we were allowed to race mountain bikes, which I retrofitted with a rigid fork with old-school Mud Max tires. Who remembers those? It was an ill advised decision since they didn't roll very fast.

I hope to get back into it someday. We'll see how my mountain bike season turns out first.

Day Before the Storm

I was half expecting snow on Friday, but instead we got sun and the bitter cold. I rode 35 miles in the 35º weather. Above is a stunning view of the Verrazano bridge along one of my usual Brooklyn routes. Hopefully by the time you read this there will be 2-4" of snow on the ground. The weekend forecast says a winter storm is rolling through. I'll most likely be on my mountain bike.

First Ride Back

May 8, of last year was the day I got back into cycling. What started out as a leisure ride around Prospect Park with my good friends Sam and Seth turned into a journey to Coney Island. We stopped to soak in the view of the beach and had Nathan's famous hot dogs for lunch. What I remember most from the ride was that sense of aimless and unintentional discovery. We didn't plan on riding that far, but our ride around the park was too short to call it a day for such a sunny Sunday afternoon. Since that day I've ridden almost every single day. So thanks guys, for getting me back on the saddle again.

Man's Best Friend

The little guy huddled in the shade is our dog, Marlow. He's a long-haired miniature dachshund. You'd think with short legs he have a hard time keeping up with me. He does, which is why rides with me in a messenger bag from Wagwear. In the warmer seasons I take him up to Prospect Park for off-leash hours in the morning to let him run around with other dogs. Afterwards we'd go for a lap or two around the park. I can't tell if he enjoys riding with me or not, but he's pretty docile and well-behaved once he's in the bag.