Wednesday 18 November 2009

Monday, Tuesday, yesterday I don't know what card to play.

MONDAY

Had to get up early for work which usually means me draggin myself out at the last minute and driving in . I got up very early and had a filter coffee ( can't stop drinking the stuff) and grapefruit for breakfast, which goes against my bonk training but is on hold for a while. I changed into my cycling gear and couldnt believe I had actually made it outside on my bike soooo early. Ride to work was dark and damp, just the way I like it but would have been perfec
t with traffic on the road. I've started to use some normal fluffy winter gloves instead of my specialized ones as when I arrive at my destination they are not soaking wet. I wish I timed my self this morning as even though I had a head wind I felt like I was powering my way through it. I dont set my computer sometimes because I have to reset the whole
thing and go through all the settings and I cant be arsed. New computer time! bollocks another expense. Finished work about 2pm and roads were generally quiet and didn't have any problems. I think I broke my record again for the journey home. I set the computer this time as I was felling good. My average this time was 17.7mph. Im hoping this sprinting home will do me good for the club track championships in December.

Triathlon club had just started a spinning class at Rochdale leisure cen
tre which lasts 1hr. Wasn't expecting many to turn up but there was about 10 of us. Same bikes as the Middleton one. I always give my all in a spin class as I know I can make it back home :) The class wasn't particularly well structured as the teacher wanted feedback so that she knew what our aims and goals were and to see what level of fitness we were up to. Hill climbs I used the hardest setting and wanted to give up but didn't and the high cadence stuff which I usually hate I liked this time as my legs weren't dying after a few minutes. At the end, as norma,l I was surrounded by a moat protecting myself and the bike from invaders. I asked for interval training as thats the only real stuff in my opinion that will give an all round improvement in the time but someone wanted aerobic endurance which I think is a waste of time as the session isn't long enough. Might as well go on a long bike ride. I guess he wanted to
maintain fitness over winter, might as well try to improve it.

TUESDAY

The night before I had one of my fabulous filter coffees so got to sleep quite late but still managed to get up to ride to work. Head wind into work and head wind outta work. Started at 8am and finished 5pm which is more like it, also had lots of traffic to contend with so time passed really quickly. I would definately be getting to work and home quicker on the bike especially at these times. I seem to get a lot of comments from pedestrians that the light is very bright, I just tell them not to look at it :) I angle it away from the right hand side traffic so I dont dazzle cars so peds on my side get a faceful even though it is pointing groundward too. I have to say the spread is a bit much and a more concentrated beam would have been more useful. It does mean I can be seen from near 180 degrees. It looked like the day was going to be nice and clear and sunny all day, until I finished work and had toget home when the heavens opened. Lucky I always take my waterproofs. Was going to swim tonight but was sooo knackered I went to bed at 6.30. ish.


Before bed though I had a bit of time to trawl ebay for more gear and purchased
a Selle Italia SLR which looks like it might suit my seating style. I dont seem to sit on my 'sit bones' or on the back of the saddle but more in between the legs towards the crotch and on the thin bit of the saddle at the front.
I think its because my legs are sooo huge I need something small between the them.
The black saddle (viper) on the vanquish is very comfy and I dont even need to wear a pad to ride it but its my commuter one and heavy and I need something similar
but lighter and longer for Jamis. The black/grey specialized one is the right size but sooo painful due to the cut out which puts huge pressure on where I sit. Its like sitting on two metal pins. I have to sit really far forward to ride this one it weighs 270g. The white Specialized one is average but you might be able to see that there is a slight cut out/ indentation down the middle so the outside bits put pressure on my sit area but it isn't as bad as the other one this weighs 350
g. The Slr seems to have a long nose and is rounded/convex like the viper and weighs next to nothing, 135g.

1 comment:

  1. Put a Brooks on the commuter. They're heavy 500+g and they look like they should be in a museam; but boy are they comfortable once they're bedded in.

    I can repair your tubes and they will stay inflated, well until it rains they will. I'm getting a lot of practice repairing tubes at the moment. I'm getting 2/3 flats a week. (Stupid cycle paths). I will let you know which kits work the best!

    ReplyDelete