On this day last year I was lying in a hospital bed, awaiting the operation to repair my femur which I'd broken in a bicycle accident hours earlier. In memory of that occasion, I decided this morning to take another shot at a challenging technical trail which I'd yet to do a perfect run through. Fortunately I recorded the whole thing on video, because today I made it all the way without incident in 9 minutes flat. A video made in 2010 shows racers doing it in 7 minutes, so matching that time will be my long term goal. I can see right away that my biggest impediment is weak legs. Pedaling uphill through the toughest rock gardens had to be done while standing on the pedals, which wore me out in no time at all. Prior to my accident last year, I was doing three sets of ten reps on the leg press, using the entire 620 lb weight stack, so my year long absence from the gym has obviously had disastrous results. Luckily the solution is just a matter of resuming my weight training.
Hope it works out. I popped an impossible-to-find Ultegra spoke (my own fault, something fell out of my bento box and into the rear wheel) about two months ago. Really difficult to find a shop with one in stock, but after about 45min of calling around, I found one. Big shout out to Velo Pasadena for the amazing 15minute turn-around in a busy shop on a big sale day to get me sorted. Good crew over there. Even if the owner's son was selling a $$$$ TT bike to a fat dude being egged on by a buddy. "So I can just wear normal shoes on these pedals, right?" "Umm. We have flat pedals, but on a bike like this, you'll probably want to wear cleats." I hope it doesn't become a shirt rack. It was a nice bike.
Or the other extreme... "If I get that Cat Eye, it's 40g lighter than my Giro helmet and I'll be more aero! I need the new carbon fiber Sidis. These shoes are too heavy. Do you have any lighter energy bars?"
I am just about to get into MTBing, hopefully getting a bike tonight actually. If I ever start asking these questions, unless I am on a sponsored race team, one of y'all had better come to Tyler and slap me once right across the face. I'll buy you a brew for the trouble
Well given that all those guys are half my age or less, it's probably unrealistic, but it's something to shoot for.
Has anybody got any experience with the wahoo units for the iphone? It's getting *wildly* divergent reviews on Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/Wahoo-Fitness...&qid=1341588994&sr=8-3&keywords=wahoo+fitness
I just put this package together for the wife's 4S with Otterbox Defender case, I'll update when it arrives. Slipgrip for Otterbox Defender And the RUNTASTIC app
No experience with the Wahoo, but I use the iBike power meter and have had great success with it over the years. I'm now using their iAero power meter but will most likely switch to the iDash system when my phone contract expires in October. Prices seem close to what the wahoo setup goes for with a few upgraded options depending on what you are looking to get out of it. http://ibikesports.com/shop.html
Honestly, my ambitions are pretty modest. My mileage is getting up there - I can knock out 50 miles without *too* much trouble, and I'm aiming towards knocking out my first couple of centuries later in the fall. But I'm not 'really' a cyclist. I'm a triathlete DON'T HIT ME! The point of all this being is that I'm not sure I'm ready for a power meter - I'm not sure that this cat-6 fred-class racer is ready for that kind of data. I wouldn't know what to do with it. The only thing that motivates me towards a power meter is that every cycling workout I read starts out with, 'Turn on your power meter and...' I've had pretty good success just doing intervals, so far. I haven't felt the need to measure my power. But cadence would be nice.
They can be overwhelming and much of it is unnecessary if you're not competing regularly. I've used one just due to the fact that my coach trains me with it and my heart rate zones. (although I typically train using HR, rather than power numbers) Still, just offered it as an alternative than the wahoo.
