Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Rolling solo
The Solo-One that is. Took the KHS Solo-One out last night on a four hour ride to test several things. I was looking to see how the bike would perform on a longer ride and also where my fitness level is right now.
#1 - The bike..... I really like this bike and I feel it packs a lot of bang for the buck. I dig the steel and the softail helps when going over long stretches of rough grass. This bike is also really quick to recover from my errors. A couple of time last night I should have bit it and was able to straighten the bike up very, very quickly. Gotta love a stable platform. I'm starting to like the ugly WTB saddle and will probably stick with it for a while longer. The thing about saddles is you can drop hundreds of dollars trying to find one you like. There are a couple of things I need to change on the set up.
A - my hands, shoulders, and lower back were sore after about 2-1/2 hours. I think a shorter stem and ergon grips will help that problem.
B - I need to change my gear ratio for longer rides. Out of the box the bike comes 33x15 which is good for flat commutes and doing the local TT course, but this morning I had some lower knee pain and that is NOT GOOD!
Over all I'm happy with the ride and just need to make a couple of minor changes.
#2 - Eduardo.....How did I hold up on my longest and roughest ride of the year??? Awesome!! I really don't know why but my fitness is really good this year. I think a bit of a lifestyle change has really helped here. Working at the shop and being on my feet instead of sitting at a desk has helped. I have also been working in the back yard basically every night and on weekends, this has helped keep me in better shape than drinking beer and watching TV. Back to the ride, I rolled out with 60 oz of H2O in the hydro-pack and 40 oz of electrolyte in the Twin Six bottles. I was a hot day and I thought I would use every drop. I also had 2 hammer gels and 2 GU packets. I hit a Gel every hour and drank about 25-30 oz of water every hour. For the first 2 hours I felt great, trails were in good shape and I had really good flow on the bike. I then felt a bit sluggish but was able to come out of it and was strong the rest of the ride. No cramping and no bonking. I was very, very happy.
Looking at the big picture I wanted to see what I needed to do to be ready for the 6/12 hours of Cedar Valley in Late July. Answer - I'm better than I thought and if the race was tomorrow I could complete the 6 hour event without a doubt in my mind. So today while doing my normal blog reading I see Mr. 24 is hitting a marathon race in 2 weeks.... hummmmmm. 5 mile course, 4 hours, how many laps can you complete???? I'm in!!! What a great way to get my feet wet in endurance racing. No lights, a pit crew is really not needed, no second bike, I'm sold. This will be my focus for the next 2 weeks, I hope to keep everyone p0sted on how it goes.
Ed out!!
#1 - The bike..... I really like this bike and I feel it packs a lot of bang for the buck. I dig the steel and the softail helps when going over long stretches of rough grass. This bike is also really quick to recover from my errors. A couple of time last night I should have bit it and was able to straighten the bike up very, very quickly. Gotta love a stable platform. I'm starting to like the ugly WTB saddle and will probably stick with it for a while longer. The thing about saddles is you can drop hundreds of dollars trying to find one you like. There are a couple of things I need to change on the set up.
A - my hands, shoulders, and lower back were sore after about 2-1/2 hours. I think a shorter stem and ergon grips will help that problem.
B - I need to change my gear ratio for longer rides. Out of the box the bike comes 33x15 which is good for flat commutes and doing the local TT course, but this morning I had some lower knee pain and that is NOT GOOD!
Over all I'm happy with the ride and just need to make a couple of minor changes.
#2 - Eduardo.....How did I hold up on my longest and roughest ride of the year??? Awesome!! I really don't know why but my fitness is really good this year. I think a bit of a lifestyle change has really helped here. Working at the shop and being on my feet instead of sitting at a desk has helped. I have also been working in the back yard basically every night and on weekends, this has helped keep me in better shape than drinking beer and watching TV. Back to the ride, I rolled out with 60 oz of H2O in the hydro-pack and 40 oz of electrolyte in the Twin Six bottles. I was a hot day and I thought I would use every drop. I also had 2 hammer gels and 2 GU packets. I hit a Gel every hour and drank about 25-30 oz of water every hour. For the first 2 hours I felt great, trails were in good shape and I had really good flow on the bike. I then felt a bit sluggish but was able to come out of it and was strong the rest of the ride. No cramping and no bonking. I was very, very happy.
Looking at the big picture I wanted to see what I needed to do to be ready for the 6/12 hours of Cedar Valley in Late July. Answer - I'm better than I thought and if the race was tomorrow I could complete the 6 hour event without a doubt in my mind. So today while doing my normal blog reading I see Mr. 24 is hitting a marathon race in 2 weeks.... hummmmmm. 5 mile course, 4 hours, how many laps can you complete???? I'm in!!! What a great way to get my feet wet in endurance racing. No lights, a pit crew is really not needed, no second bike, I'm sold. This will be my focus for the next 2 weeks, I hope to keep everyone p0sted on how it goes.
Ed out!!
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
quick check in
Hello all... Again my blogging is sucking. Oh well, you do what you can. Currently the rain is killing me!!! Phase 1 of backyard rehab is very close to being done. All I need to do is roll the fresh dirt and seed it. Too bad it rain everyday and it's just a mud pit at the moment.
As for good news, JK and Buchanandale tore it up in Wisconsin this weekend. NICE JOB FELLAS. Thursday is the first MTB TT, hell yea! I say ride to the shop, do the TT, run the TT and then ride home. Training is good on the running side of things, only getting in a couple of rides per week, time to step it up! Also check out the blogging Twin Six team memebers to the right. Lots of kick ass people.
As blue would say,
Peace out yo!
As for good news, JK and Buchanandale tore it up in Wisconsin this weekend. NICE JOB FELLAS. Thursday is the first MTB TT, hell yea! I say ride to the shop, do the TT, run the TT and then ride home. Training is good on the running side of things, only getting in a couple of rides per week, time to step it up! Also check out the blogging Twin Six team memebers to the right. Lots of kick ass people.
As blue would say,
Peace out yo!
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
Between Rain Drops
Finally the sun came out today, only to be covered up again by the only rain storm in the state, WTF?? Rain = crappy off road trails. I did get out tonight for a great long run. Temps were still warm after sunset so I hit Ho-Chi-Min to Shaulis Road, then across 63 and ran the bike trail back to Hudson. Not sure of the miles, probably in the 7-9 mile range. There was a time when I called that a bike ride, ha! Legs were a little sore but it was one of those runs where they just keep asking for more, I love that feeling. I'll have to hit the bike tomorrow to help blood flow and speed up recovery time. I need to get one of these longer runs in every week leading up to my 1/2 marathon in July.
If the rain stays away I plan on getting some major work done in the back yard. One more load of fill and then one load of black dirt should let me complete the grade work for the top level. Steps should be in and seed planted by Sunday! Saturday is garage sale day in Hudson, watch out for the crazy people!!!
Ed Out!
If the rain stays away I plan on getting some major work done in the back yard. One more load of fill and then one load of black dirt should let me complete the grade work for the top level. Steps should be in and seed planted by Sunday! Saturday is garage sale day in Hudson, watch out for the crazy people!!!
Ed Out!
