I wanted to take a moment and wish everyone, cyclist or not, a Happy New Year. I'm looking forward to many miles on pavement, single track, and gravel with my friends old and new, along with those I have yet to meet, in 2009.
For those of you in the Des Moines area, The Degree Ride is tomorrow morning at 10 AM. The roads are clear and the weather will be nice. Get an early start on your 2009 mileage. Hope to see all of you there tomorrow morning. I'll be there at 9 or so for coffee and conversation.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Getting Fit
Been pretty quiet on the riding front lately. I've hit a couple of trainer sessions at Lou's, and snuck in cold, windy two hour mtb ride at Big Creek with Taylor, Sedore, Bruce and Kurt, but that's been about it. The holidays combined with a rather poorly timed head cold have even kept me off the trainer, let alone having a ride outside. Things are better now, and I hope that a streak of decent weather will let me commute into work this (short) week.
I did manage to schedule a road bike fit on the 26th with Adam at Rasmussen Bike Shop. Adam used the Specialized BG Fit II System during the session. I can say that this was a great fit experience for me. Adam started out by asking me number of questions about issues I was having while on the bike. Adam checked me for indications of a tilting pelvis, and leg length discrepancies. I made him aware of the pigeon toe that I have in my lower legs. When I mentioned my tight post-ride IT bands and soleus, he took the time to check the flexibility of my IT bands, hamstrings, and back. Next, Adam had me perform a couple of knee bends so he could watch the movement of my knees. He then put a set of footbeds underneath my feet, and had me repeat the knee bends, while he explained the theory behind their use. I noticed an immediate change in my knee stability with the foot beds underneath my feet. Convinced, I had him trim them to fit my shoes and put them in place.
With these checks out of the way, Adam prepped the computer and stood and watched while I warmed up on the trainer. The next change we made was adjusting my seat forward and leveling it out. I tend to run my saddles a bit on the nose high side so I don't feel like I'm sliding off the tip of the saddle. After a bit of time figuring out how to adjust my American Classic seat post, I was on the bike again. As soon as I was on the drops, I noticed how relaxed my elbows were and now naturally my hands went to the drops. Although it felt different, I knew that the seat adjustment was a good thing.
Next, Adam started monitoring my pedal stroke using the computer, two small video cameras, and two orange dots that were stuck to my knees. We spent the next hour playing connect the dots with the bottom, middle and top of my pedal stroke and making adjustments to both the cleats and the shims underneath the footbeds in my shoes. It took a good amount of time, a number of changes before Adam felt happy with the results. The post fit video shows my knees having a nice linear movement throughout the entire pedal stroke. Before the fit, my left knee was moving in a large arc or an oval. From the short time I was on the trainer in the shop, I felt like I was able to put more power to the pedals, as well as pedal more smoothly.
I'm hoping to get on the trainer for a couple of hours in the next day or two to see how it feels for an extended period of time. I'm sure it will take some time for my body to adapt to the new position. That said, I feel that the money and time I expended on the fit will be well worth the investment. Adam really took his time during the process and made sure that everything was as ideal as it could be, all without making any unnecessary changes to either me or my bike. If you haven't had a bike fit done, or it's been a few years since you had one performed, I would strongly suggest talking to Adam and scheduling a fit session with him.
I did manage to schedule a road bike fit on the 26th with Adam at Rasmussen Bike Shop. Adam used the Specialized BG Fit II System during the session. I can say that this was a great fit experience for me. Adam started out by asking me number of questions about issues I was having while on the bike. Adam checked me for indications of a tilting pelvis, and leg length discrepancies. I made him aware of the pigeon toe that I have in my lower legs. When I mentioned my tight post-ride IT bands and soleus, he took the time to check the flexibility of my IT bands, hamstrings, and back. Next, Adam had me perform a couple of knee bends so he could watch the movement of my knees. He then put a set of footbeds underneath my feet, and had me repeat the knee bends, while he explained the theory behind their use. I noticed an immediate change in my knee stability with the foot beds underneath my feet. Convinced, I had him trim them to fit my shoes and put them in place.
With these checks out of the way, Adam prepped the computer and stood and watched while I warmed up on the trainer. The next change we made was adjusting my seat forward and leveling it out. I tend to run my saddles a bit on the nose high side so I don't feel like I'm sliding off the tip of the saddle. After a bit of time figuring out how to adjust my American Classic seat post, I was on the bike again. As soon as I was on the drops, I noticed how relaxed my elbows were and now naturally my hands went to the drops. Although it felt different, I knew that the seat adjustment was a good thing.
Next, Adam started monitoring my pedal stroke using the computer, two small video cameras, and two orange dots that were stuck to my knees. We spent the next hour playing connect the dots with the bottom, middle and top of my pedal stroke and making adjustments to both the cleats and the shims underneath the footbeds in my shoes. It took a good amount of time, a number of changes before Adam felt happy with the results. The post fit video shows my knees having a nice linear movement throughout the entire pedal stroke. Before the fit, my left knee was moving in a large arc or an oval. From the short time I was on the trainer in the shop, I felt like I was able to put more power to the pedals, as well as pedal more smoothly.
I'm hoping to get on the trainer for a couple of hours in the next day or two to see how it feels for an extended period of time. I'm sure it will take some time for my body to adapt to the new position. That said, I feel that the money and time I expended on the fit will be well worth the investment. Adam really took his time during the process and made sure that everything was as ideal as it could be, all without making any unnecessary changes to either me or my bike. If you haven't had a bike fit done, or it's been a few years since you had one performed, I would strongly suggest talking to Adam and scheduling a fit session with him.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Cold Ride
Met Kurt, Kyle, Bruce and Taylor out at Big Creek this afternoon to ride the snowmobile trails. 30 minutes of attempting that and we figured out that the snow was not in the right shape for bike riding. We spent the next 90 minutes riding on the roads around the lake, and at some points, on the lake itself. The winds picked up while we were riding and the temperature dropped. By the time we finished up, the winds were blowing at 20 and gusting to 30 and temp had dropped to 7. A good two hour workout, and some good mental training. Meeting Lou, Pete and Pig for an indoor training fest tomorrow morning. Windchills are going to be too low for even this hardy soul to head outside.
Sunday, December 7, 2008
December = Good times
Has been a varied week on the biking front. Four days worth of commuting this week, despite the snow and the cold. This has kept me in shape, but cemented my decayed mental state with a good number of my coworkers. The good thing is that I really don't care. :) I felt like getting some extra miles in on Monday, so I met up with Kent and rolled down to the shop where Stirling remove a crank spider for him. We had a good chuckle at the guy who thought that studded tires were necessary already. Afterwards, I rolled with Kent to his house and then took Beaver Ave and the Trestle to Trestle trail home. Bonus 20 miles for me. Would be nice if businesses kept the sidewalks/trails in front of their businesses in better shape, but no issues for now. 23 miles of cold pavement for the day.
Wednesday found me heading out after work with Kent again. We rolled black label down to Denmans and cut first tracks through about half of the single track there (forgetting that Rick Blackford was headed out from the shop about the same time). Kent was having a tough time in the snow with his commuter geared Haro Mary, so we dropped onto Dirty Express about halfway through. Had a quick chat with Squirrel, Rick and Conlan and then rode black label and pavement to Kent's. I hooked back through Windsor Heights for some food and poker with friends. 3 miles of single track and maybe 12 or so on pavement for the day
Thursday's commute was damn cold, especially going home. Second time this week to bust out with the ski mask so my eyeballs didn't freeze solid. 6 miles of commute
Friday, I rode into work, and then raced downtown afterwards, getting some odd looks from cars as I passed them both along Ingersoll as well as between stoplights downtown. I met Kathy, Dan, Lacey, Tobin and Ellen at The Royal Mile for dinner and drinks at 6 PM, before The Nada's Silent Night show at Hoyt Sherman Auditorium. I snuck over to Carl's Place for Newcastle with the CITA boys before heading back over. Everyone else sat in the auditorium and enjoyed the show. I, along with Ryan, Squirrel, Ed, Kent, Sam and Justin spent the show powering 25 strings of christmas lights by powering a generator with a bike. We each rode for two songs, and spent the rest of the time off stage right drinking beer or Templeton and Coke. This was the first year for this, and it was a success. I think plans are in place to power more lights this way next year. Kathy and I headed over to the after party for a bit and then made our way home. I think I passed out in bed about 1 AM. A great day with a number of great friends. Probably 13 miles of cold pavement for the day.
Saturday morning , the alarm went off at 6 AM. Way too early considering the previous evening's frivolity. I got dressed and headed out to meet Sam by 7 AM at the north Sycamore trail head. CITA has taken over the Sycamore 8 trail run. Sam and I loaded up Sam's Bob and headed south along the trail, putting up arrows and signs so the runners could find their way to the finish line. With the trailer, the signage and a couple of stops for coffee, it took us about 90 minutes to mark most of the course. After a quick sweep of the course we headed to the finish for some very welcome soup and hot chocolate. After the last two finishers crossed the line, I helped pack up the truck, and then Kristin Reese and I rode the trail back North. After splitting off from Kristin a couple of miles later, I rode back and collected all of the signs that Sam and I had put up. 18 miles of snowy single track in 30 degree temps.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Vacation bike bits
On Tuesday, I met some of my fellow Rassy team mates along with some guys All 9 Yards for a 2.5 hour gravel grind. We headed out of Water Works park towards Cumming and Orilla and then back home through the Booneville gravel road and back in on surface streets. Scott Robinson from A9Y was rollin' single speed and we were riding a similar pace, so I rode with him and the other A9Y guys the entire ride. I finished the ride off with a short run through the frosty Dirty Express single track on my way back the parking lot. The temperature drop and the extra dampness near the river had me wishing for some extra clothing during the latter part of the ride. I now know that it's time to put my thin gloves away and wear a thicker outer layer. Since I screwed up and only tried on one shoe when I was at Rasmussen's on Tuesday, I was forced to ride in my Keens and shoe covers, so my toes were a bit cold as well. A quick run through Jimmy John's on the way home took care of my post ride hunger.
Thanksgiving morning found me meeting Lou, Pete, Pig, Rick, Hollander, Rich, Reed, and Tony at 6:45 for some coffee and breakfast at Hy-Vee. We then rolled out to Ashworth Park for the 9th Annual Turkey Day Ride. I brought both the Karate Monkey and the Singlecross with me. After seeing no other cross bikes, I opted to follow the group lead and ride a mountain bike. After a quick group photo, over 50 riders worked their way through all of the Science Center trails (including a newly opened Rhythm and the Ghost of J11. Squirrel gave us a quick introduction to the new Child's Play and Serpent while we were out and about. The new shoes (now in the right size) were a bit stuff, but worked well. A small amount of cleat adjustment might be needed to dial in the fit better. Ninety minutes later, I was back in the parking lot, shooting the breeze and drinking a cold adult beverage. I quickly loaded the bike up, and raced home in time to throw some food in the oven for our holiday guests and have a few more beverages. Curled up on the couch that night and finally watched Iron Man.
Friday, I was up at 7 and out in the garage starting my BB7 brake install on the Karate Monkey. I had the rotors on and the calipers mounted and adjusted when I was drawn away by the need to take Kathy to the doctor at 10. Eleven hours, and a long time at the ER later, we were home, but it was obvious that I was not going to be making it to Jingle Cross this year.
Saturday I got up, made a french press of Italian Roast for me, breakfast for Kathy, and then went to the garage to finish the BB7 install. I had decided to run full housing for both the front and rear, so my first task was to drill out the existing brake cable braze ons. Lacking a flexible attachment for my either my cordless drill or the Dremel, this took a while to complete. I still need to go back and hit the newly exposed metal with some primer so that it won't rust. A heavy duty cutting wheel on the Dremel made quick, neat work of cutting and sanding both the housing and the brake cable. The result after a couple of hours was a working set of disk brakes. I'll likely spend a bit of time Sunday adjusting the front brake to work better than it currently is. After a short break for lunch, and getting the truck in out of the snow, I moved some bikes around in the garage, and got to work mounting a spare set of SKS fenders and studded tires on the SInglecross. I was going to use a spare wheelset for this, but had completely ignored dish and dropout spacing differences between a single speed and a standard hub. Since my Cayne road bike won't see any use until spring, I used its wheelset insted. A couple of hours and a quick wipedown later, the Singlecross was ready for ice and snow duty.
Thanksgiving morning found me meeting Lou, Pete, Pig, Rick, Hollander, Rich, Reed, and Tony at 6:45 for some coffee and breakfast at Hy-Vee. We then rolled out to Ashworth Park for the 9th Annual Turkey Day Ride. I brought both the Karate Monkey and the Singlecross with me. After seeing no other cross bikes, I opted to follow the group lead and ride a mountain bike. After a quick group photo, over 50 riders worked their way through all of the Science Center trails (including a newly opened Rhythm and the Ghost of J11. Squirrel gave us a quick introduction to the new Child's Play and Serpent while we were out and about. The new shoes (now in the right size) were a bit stuff, but worked well. A small amount of cleat adjustment might be needed to dial in the fit better. Ninety minutes later, I was back in the parking lot, shooting the breeze and drinking a cold adult beverage. I quickly loaded the bike up, and raced home in time to throw some food in the oven for our holiday guests and have a few more beverages. Curled up on the couch that night and finally watched Iron Man.
Friday, I was up at 7 and out in the garage starting my BB7 brake install on the Karate Monkey. I had the rotors on and the calipers mounted and adjusted when I was drawn away by the need to take Kathy to the doctor at 10. Eleven hours, and a long time at the ER later, we were home, but it was obvious that I was not going to be making it to Jingle Cross this year.
Saturday I got up, made a french press of Italian Roast for me, breakfast for Kathy, and then went to the garage to finish the BB7 install. I had decided to run full housing for both the front and rear, so my first task was to drill out the existing brake cable braze ons. Lacking a flexible attachment for my either my cordless drill or the Dremel, this took a while to complete. I still need to go back and hit the newly exposed metal with some primer so that it won't rust. A heavy duty cutting wheel on the Dremel made quick, neat work of cutting and sanding both the housing and the brake cable. The result after a couple of hours was a working set of disk brakes. I'll likely spend a bit of time Sunday adjusting the front brake to work better than it currently is. After a short break for lunch, and getting the truck in out of the snow, I moved some bikes around in the garage, and got to work mounting a spare set of SKS fenders and studded tires on the SInglecross. I was going to use a spare wheelset for this, but had completely ignored dish and dropout spacing differences between a single speed and a standard hub. Since my Cayne road bike won't see any use until spring, I used its wheelset insted. A couple of hours and a quick wipedown later, the Singlecross was ready for ice and snow duty.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Catch up post - Nov
I was going through my mailbox tonight and was reminded about the results from this year's IMBCS. I managed to ride my way to a first place showing in the Sport Men's 35+ division. This was not due to any particularly good showing in any event, but making the commitment to race and finish in as many events as possible (you can't kill a camel easily, even in the mountains it seems). I missed one race this year (the season closer at Manawa), and I failed to finish only one of the events that I entered (Seven Oaks).
In the meantime, I'm hoping to bring a better skill set to the line if I decide to enter the IMBCS again in 2009.
Gravel road ride tomorrow night (Tuesday, the 24th). Leaving from the pedestrian bridge in Waterworks park @ 5:30. Bring your lights and be ready for a couple of hours of gravel riding south of town.
The 9th Annual Turkey Day ride is leaving from the Ashworth Park pool at 8:00 AM on Thanksgiving Day. At least one loop of all of the Center Trails should be in order. Figure 1.5 - 2 hours of riding and post ride socializing.
In the meantime, I'm hoping to bring a better skill set to the line if I decide to enter the IMBCS again in 2009.
Gravel road ride tomorrow night (Tuesday, the 24th). Leaving from the pedestrian bridge in Waterworks park @ 5:30. Bring your lights and be ready for a couple of hours of gravel riding south of town.
The 9th Annual Turkey Day ride is leaving from the Ashworth Park pool at 8:00 AM on Thanksgiving Day. At least one loop of all of the Center Trails should be in order. Figure 1.5 - 2 hours of riding and post ride socializing.
Just not feeling it
Met Lou, Pete, Rick, Cam and one other person for a Sunday morning MTB ride. This is the second fall/winter I've been doing this and it's something that I look forward to. We spend an hour or so drinking coffee and snagging some breakfast before heading out for a couple of hours riding the Center Trails. Yesterday's plan was to ride my November metric century in Denman's. As we hit the trails, some people were out to ride hard, so I let them go while my body came up to speed. I had a lot more miles to ride and I need 30 minutes of riding before I feel warmed up. Rick and I rode Rollercoaster and a lap of Hillside before catching up with everyone and heading into the Denmans/Squirrel's Nest complex. We had picked up Kent Carlson on Hillside and our group grew to seven. Rick and I rode Squirrel's nest backwards and then headed into Denman's to catch up with everyone else. We turned around and played catch up again about 3/4 of the way through. Rick took off to catch up with everyone else, while I took another trip through Squirrel's Nest and made a pass through Rhythm before heading back to the pool. Everyone else was packing up to head out to church or other activities, so I headed off for my second lap through. Rollercoaster & Hillside forward, Squirrel's nest & Denman's in reverse and then forward. Ran into Teri Sue out for a late morning ride on my reverse pass through Denman's we talked for a bit and then went our separate ways.
At this point, I had 32 miles in, the trails were getting greasy, and it was getting close to lunch. I took a break, rode the levee over to BK for a grilled chicken sandwich, and hit some surface streets to get my cell phone I left at Walgreen's during Cranksgiving. As I got back to the pool area, I just wasn't feeling it any more. About halfway up to the crest of Hillside, I turned around and came back down, loaded up the bike and headed home. I thought about grabbing the cross bike and heading west towards Dallas Center to get the last 20 miles or so in, but my mind wasn't into it. I changed out of my wet clothes, snagged a glass of Accelerade and called it a day.
I think I'm done with any more long off road rides for this year. Having to ride a certain distance on a certain surface has taken some of the fun out of riding this last part of the year. I still like riding gravel, but I've given up a lot of road rides and other events this year to do so. I don't really fit into the "roadie" or the "MTB" category like a lot of people around here. I just like to get out on my bike and ride. I won't be trying to get my November or December metric rides in for the Cup O Dirt. It's time to take a break and go for rides because I feel like riding, recharge the batteries for a bit and try and get myself prepared mentally and physically for TransIowa.
At this point, I had 32 miles in, the trails were getting greasy, and it was getting close to lunch. I took a break, rode the levee over to BK for a grilled chicken sandwich, and hit some surface streets to get my cell phone I left at Walgreen's during Cranksgiving. As I got back to the pool area, I just wasn't feeling it any more. About halfway up to the crest of Hillside, I turned around and came back down, loaded up the bike and headed home. I thought about grabbing the cross bike and heading west towards Dallas Center to get the last 20 miles or so in, but my mind wasn't into it. I changed out of my wet clothes, snagged a glass of Accelerade and called it a day.
I think I'm done with any more long off road rides for this year. Having to ride a certain distance on a certain surface has taken some of the fun out of riding this last part of the year. I still like riding gravel, but I've given up a lot of road rides and other events this year to do so. I don't really fit into the "roadie" or the "MTB" category like a lot of people around here. I just like to get out on my bike and ride. I won't be trying to get my November or December metric rides in for the Cup O Dirt. It's time to take a break and go for rides because I feel like riding, recharge the batteries for a bit and try and get myself prepared mentally and physically for TransIowa.
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