Thursday, November 11, 2010

Wabash Cannonball - Long Loop

OK.

So, having few rides in during the past 30 days due in part to seasonal changes, i.e., less daylight and colder temps, I decided to just take a fast ride around the block as it were.

OK, now for the truth.

I was so discussed with the previous ride's attempt to push the envelope with faster HR SS intervals that I felt like a slug or damaged goods and should just stick with what I know; the Wabash Cannonball - Long Loop.

That said, I push hard through each section recording the usual average lap speeds as follows: 17.0 / 18.1 / 16.8 / 17.0 mph.

Surprisingly, this was my second best time for this route; the previous best of Aug. 13th may have had an easterly wind advantage.

Curiously, is the average HR of 152 bpm versus 142 bpm for the same previous ride, Aug. 13th as is the average speed of 17.1 versus 17.6 mph and a faster cadence, 85 versus 83 bpm.

So am I to conclude that the fewer rides of late has hurt my efforts till now? What is the reason for a 10 bpm faster HR? Was I less hydrated?

MXS: 24.8 mph.

Weather Conditions: Clear and cool. Light wind around 3.5 to 4.6 mph mostly from the ESE.
Min: 54 Avg: 60 Max: 63 ºF

Sunday, October 31, 2010

Steady State Intervals down County Rd B

Started out attempting to increase my interval HR range for Zone 3 using 170 bpm as my max HR (versus my previous 160). "...Of mice and men...."

However, it took half of the interval to reach the targeted HR range. Also, a HR within this range was unsustainable, i.e., too aggressive an update to the Garmin training table for Steady State intervals. Thus, I will adjust said table in Garmin to be more realistic.

MXS: 22.4 mph.

Weather Conditions: Clear and cold. Wind mostly out of the N / NW at around 6.9 mph ending around 4.6 mph out of the west.
Min: 48 Max: 49 ºF

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Hubert's Birthday Ride: 73 miles for 73 years.

The day began as a fun ride from Monclova School to Wildwood via Albon Rd and King Rd to pick up more riders onward to Metamora via Brint Road (later County Rd T) and North US-64 for breakfast returning via Secor Park via County Rd 6 to County Rd T.

The ride was fine until about a mile or two from Metamora where I got dropped due to high winds; I could no longer draft.  A break occurred during breakfast.

The ride out of town was just as difficult, again due to the the winds.  Got dropped from the two faster groups and rode alone all the way to Secor park.

Three riders about a half mile ahead of me lead me to go south on County Rd N from south bound Counrty Rd 6.  I figured "N" was Bancroft since I was 1 country road or a mile south of US-20 or Central Ave.  Secor Park would be somewhere ahead once I cross back into Lucas County.

Rode into the park and followed the drive all the way to Central Ave.  Turned around to avoid that route back to Monclova.  Decide I would pedal back to the Bancroft entrance.  I figured I would just head out on my own returning to Monclova.

Halfway back into the park I came across the last group who I apparently had been ahead of; Hubert who had been riding next to me on County Rd 6 had left my side.  I didn't know there was yet a third group.
I turn around to join and follow them to the rest of the group resting.

Left via Wolfinger Rd to Bancroft St to Centennial Rd to Angola Rd returning to Albon Rd to Monclova School.  I got dropped again on Albon just north of Garden Rd and finished the ride last.
So...group riding is great as long as you don't tired and get dropped.

I did not continue with the Sunday afternoon group ride from Monclova School which would have completed Hubert's Birthday Ride; 73 miles for 73 years.  I would only have gotten dropped again and the ride benefit of drafting would not have been there making for a miserable hour and a half.

Weather Conditions: Started out cool warming throughout the ride. Cloudy changing to clear skies. SSW winds at 6.9 mph increasing during the ride to a max of 19.6. Gusts to 24.2 mph. It was a beautiful day for a ride in the country.
Min: 63 Max: 72 ºF

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Wabash Cannonball - Long Loop

Grey, very grey. Rode the long loop for a quick jaunt "as it were". Lapped the journey in Garmin to see my progress from months ago. Lap speeds for the four sections of the loop are as follows: 14.7, 17.7, 17.8, and 15.4 mph.

The westward section was difficult due to the wind. For a 5.8 mph wind, it was harder than it should have been. Why? Perhaps the report wind speed via KTOL (Toledo Express) was not accurate.

Weather Conditions: Cool and mostly cloudy. Winds out of the SW at 5.8 mph.
Min: 56 Avg: 59 Max: 60 ºF

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Ride to Napoleon

Scattered clouds once leaving Whitehouse. Stopped at Cycle Works to welcome the store owner to the community.

Wore the new Hincapie Cycling Arenberg Bike Bib Tights that arrived last night via ebay and The Gear Movement.

I was more than a little concerned over the size; Mens XXL. I had tried Jimmie's bib shorts at XL and they were a little loose.

The tights I ordered the night before following the manufacturer's size chart lead me to believe that the XXL would be appropriate as was Jimmie's experience with the accuracy of the size chart. But his loaner made me a little nervous.

I tried the tights on prior to today's ride and they felt pretty good. Great sight of relief!!!

So off I went to Liberty Center. Pretty breezy wind from the west but the tights felt cozy as it were. The ride was enjoyable and I continued the route suggested by the TAB directions printed on the pavement as I rode through Henry County.

Pasted through Colson and found my way to LC via Maple and Kline. Not being able to leave enough alone and with Napoleon being about 9 miles or 36 mins. ahead, I decided to press on.

Crossed through US-24 and took US-424 into town along the Maumee River and found my way to the "City Center". Nice town. Look forward to a longer visit, perhaps in the spring.

Bolted north on Oakwood Ave out of town, crossing US-24, as the route turned into County Rd 13A. Continued to County Rd B (Fulton County) heading east bound which was largely fresh paved and thankfully so; my "seat bones" were more than a tad sore!

Planned on going north on Country Rd 1 to Wabash-Cannonball South Fork but some how missed the trail and instead took County Road C into town and home.

In all it was a good ride. However, I was surprised how the cooler air made things a little too cool given what should have been warm tights and a warm wind breaker. Layering, I guess can really be a challenge!

Average speed to Napolean was 14.6 mph; speed home 17.0.

I think the max HR reported about 15 mins.  into the ride is in error.

MXS: 22.3 mph.

Weather Conditions: Cool and mostly cloudy. Mostly a westerly wind at 11.5 mph  falling to 6.9 by the end of the ride.
Min: 57 Avg: 57 Max: 58 ºF

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Ride towards Liberty Center

Today was a fun ride. A little on the cool side and I wore for the first time the Hincapie Power Bib Shorts borrowed from Jimmie. The shorts felt ok; a little more roomy than I am use to given that the Pearl Izumi short are a large and these are a XL with no waist band. The shoulder straps stay put while cycling, but not doing otherwise.

I was more than a little too cool as I started out and while I was headed south and west from town I was not sure where I was headed. As I progressed west I thought I would just head west towards Liberty Center or even ride to Napoleon and see how things went. Of course, once I rode into Henry Country, I was lost in the sense that the county road signs meant little to me. Still, the ride was nice and I had sufficiently warmed up enough to just kicked back as it were. Found TAB's route signs several times along the way; will look later to find what route to which they gave directions.

The first lap before going north to return home averaged 16.2 mph. The head wind made consistent advancement difficult. The second lap home proved faster. Spent most of the ride east on County Rd C in the low 20s averaging 18.0 mph.

In all it was a pleasant ride since I had not ridden in ten days.  Looking at google maps, I missed reaching Liberty Center by about 3 miles.

MXS: 23.7 mph.
Weather Conditions: Cool and party cloudy. The sun was warm. Wind mostly from the north west from 12.7 to 10.4 mph with gusts of 17.3 mph.

Min: 63 Avg: 64 Max: 63 ºF

Saturday, October 09, 2010

Cervélo tops again at 2010 Kona bike count for sixth straight year

Written by LAVA on Saturday, October 9, 2010


Every year, dozens of triathlon industry employees take a break from the action of race weekend in Kona to find out what brands are the kings of the triathlon world. The annual Kona Bike Count involves five hours of tallying bikes, wheels, saddles, aerobars, aero helmets, power meters, and components as athletes check in their bikes the day before the race. The count gives the industry a scope of the previous year’s buying trends and an idea of who the players will be for the following year.

After an entire afternoon of tallying, the results are in and Cervelo is top dog once again. The Toronto-based bike builder has 468 bikes on the pier in Kona this year, 355 more than runner-up Specialized. Here are the complete results from all the categories.


Bikes

Cervelo: 468
Specialized: 113
Trek: 108
Scott: 98
Felt: 96
Orbea: 82
Kuota: 77
Cannondale: 72
QR: 62
Argon18: 58
Giant: 52
Look: 48
Kestrel: 46
Guru: 40
Ceepo: 28
Pinarello: 18
Isaac: 18
Stevens: 17
Ridley: 16
Litespeed: 14
Colnago: 11
Storck: 11
PlanetX: 11
Fuji: 10
Blue: 9
BMC: 9
Jamis: 7
Beyond Fabrications: 7
Cube: 7
Focus: 6
Parlee: 6
Willier: 6
Griffen: 5
Elite: 5
Canyon: 4
Aegis: 4
Seven: 4
Time: 3
Javlin: 3
Serotta: 3
Linskey: 3
De Rosa: 2
BH: 2
Principia: 2
Louis Garneau: 1
Valdora: 1
Teschner: 1
Lemond: 1
Wave: 1
Softride: 1
Cheetah: 1
Renovo Hardwood Bicycles: 1


Wheels

Zipp: 1910
Hed: 255
Mavic: 164
Xentis: 149
Bontrager: 118
Reynolds: 86
Shimano: 81
Easton: 81
SRAM: 45
Rolf Prima: 33
Lightweight: 28
Campagnolo: 26
Edge: 26
Corima: 25
Token: 25
FFWD: 23
Planet X: 19
Blackwell: 3
Beyond Fabrications: 8
American Classic: 7
Spinergy: 7
Ceepo: 6
Nimble: 4
Profile Design: 2
Fulcrum: 1

Aero Helmets

Garneau: 223
Giro: 221
Rudy Project: 114
Specialized: 62
Lazer: 57
Divers: 29
Spiuk: 28
Bell: 27
LAS: 10
Ekoi: 10
Met: 8
Catlike: 7
Limar: 6
UVEX: 4
Scott: 3
Alpima: 2

Saddles

Fi'zi:k: 508
Selle Italia: 347
ISM: 201
Specialized: 173
San Marco: 87
OE Spec'd: 70
Terry: 68
Cobb: 67
Profile Design: 44
SMP: 38
Prologo: 37
Bontrager: 35
Serfas: 27
WTB: 7
Forte: 6
Koobi: 5
Vision: 2
Pro: 2
Velo:

Aero Bars

Profile Design: 591
Vision: 446
Zipp: 136
Bontrager: 99
Easton: 88
3T: 69
Syntace: 67
Hed: 64
PRO: 56
OVAL: 51
Felt: 35
Argon: 27
Giant: 23
Specialized: 9
Deda: 8
Drop Handle Bars: 8
Xentis: 7
Cobb: 5
Most: 5
Use: 4
Shinamura: 4
Valdora: 3
ITM: 3
Scott: 3
Storck: 3
Uberland: 3
Ritchey: 2
Cheetah: 2
Walser: 2

Component Groups

Shimano: 1307
SRAM: 391
Campagnolo: 85
Other: 5

Power Meters

SRM: 163
CycleOps PowerTap: 153
Quarq: 51
Ergomo: 2

Hydration

Profile: 955
X-Lab Rear Carrier: 448
Hydrotail: 94
Speedfil: 86
Jetstream: 48
Bontrager Front Mount: 32
X-Lab Front Mount: 27
Specialized Rear Mount: 22
Podium Quest: 8
HED Lollipop: 8
TRAX Rear Carrier: 5
Never Reach: 3
Torhans: 2
Vision Front Mount: 2

Tires

Continental: 704
Vittoria: 193
Schwalbe: 164
Michelin: 144
Zipp: 108
Bontrager: 43
TUFO: 43
Vredestein: 28
Maxxis: 7
Hutchinson: 7
Specialized: 6
Challenge: 4
Panasonic: 1

Source:  LAVA

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