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Today - March 2012

joewein

Maximum Pace
Oct 25, 2011
3,532
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My new Brooks B17 saddle arrived last night:

IMG_1845.JPG


I applied the Proofide saddle cream and let it sit over night. This morning I polished it and attached it to the bike. Of course it then required an extended test run... :) 50 km later I'm happy to report that the Brooks is very comfortable. People write about having to break it in over a number of months, but to me from the very first kilometre it seemed more comfortable than my previous saddle.

On this ride I had my first puncture after 2000 km that I've put on my Bike Friday and its Primo Comet tyres. A 2 mm piece of glass had worked its way into the rear tyre:

IMG_1848.JPG


I removed the glass, secured the small cut in the tyre with some electrical tape from the inside and fitted the spare tube. Then on to the Tamagawa bike path down to the R15 bridge and back (HFC Tamagawa riders will recognize the landmark).

IMG_1849.JPG
 
Saddle looks good Joe, I have a brown one, the black one will bleed black into your shorts!

Put the saddle cream on the underside too, put it on thick and leave it, no need to wipe it off!

I too found my B17 comfy from the get go, but as you put more and more miles on it, it will become even more comfy :D

What tyres do you have that the glass worked it way into the tube?

I'm really liking the Conti tyres I have, I've removed several shards of glass from them and they have yet to have a flat!

Cheers!
 
The first day of spring brought with it the birth of my son.

Luca. 2.9kg born after a very short labour at 4.19am this morning. Everyone is happy and healthy.

not really cycling related in that it means I will be doing less than I was before!

:D
 
Hmm, I guess it is March...

(and congrats on the new one, Papa Blob!)
 
The first day of spring brought with it the birth of my son.

Luca. 2.9kg born after a very short labour at 4.19am this morning. Everyone is happy and healthy.

not really cycling related in that it means I will be doing less than I was before!

:D

Congrats!

Come buy the shop for a cigar!

Now start saving for university! :eek:
 
The first day of spring brought with it the birth of my son.

Luca. 2.9kg born after a very short labour at 4.19am this morning. Everyone is happy and healthy.

not really cycling related in that it means I will be doing less than I was before!

:D


Congrats!

Luca, eh? neat name. Aspiring motorcyle racer or cyclist? :cool:
 
The first day of spring brought with it the birth of my son.

Luca. 2.9kg born after a very short labour at 4.19am this morning. Everyone is happy and healthy.

not really cycling related in that it means I will be doing less than I was before!

:D

Congratulations! :beer:
 
Today was a VO2 workout along the Tamagawa.
15min warm-up, 5min LT effort, 5min recovery, then 3min x6(3min rec), 5min easy ride, then 2min x5(2min rec) followed by 25cool down.

And made it home in time for work!
 
The first day of spring brought with it the birth of my son.

Luca. 2.9kg born after a very short labour at 4.19am this morning. Everyone is happy and healthy.

not really cycling related in that it means I will be doing less than I was before!

:D

Job well done! Congratulations!
 
Today was a VO2 workout along the Tamagawa.
15min warm-up, 5min LT effort, 5min recovery, then 3min x6(3min rec), 5min easy ride, then 2min x5(2min rec) followed by 25cool down.

And made it home in time for work!

Great job! I'm inspired to give it a try tomorrow along Arakawa.:thumb:
 
Saddle looks good Joe, I have a brown one, the black one will bleed black into your shorts!

I was wearing dark blue jeans and will probably get black bike shorts pretty soon. But I guess I can't wear orange shorts any more now ;)

Put the saddle cream on the underside too, put it on thick and leave it, no need to wipe it off!

I did put it on the underside too and didn't wipe it off there, only on the top.

What tyres do you have that the glass worked it way into the tube?

They are Primo Comet (size 26-451 / 20 x 1 1/8") and it was the rear tyre which due to the weight distribution and drive train wears more quickly. It is no longer round but wearing into a flat 10 mm wide strip where it makes contact with the road. That's where it got penetrated.

How many km do people usually get out of a rear tyre? Do you ever swap front vs. rear to equalize wear as is common on cars?

I'm really liking the Conti tyres I have, I've removed several shards of glass from them and they have yet to have a flat!

There's definitely more choice with 700C or 26" than there is with 20", especially the 451 size (there are two incompatible form factors labelled as 20", 406 and 451). Conti does not seem to make a 451 tyre, only 406 (as in BMX and touring bikes). I may give the Primo Comet Kevlar (20 1 1/8, 451) a try.
 
The first day of spring brought with it the birth of my son.

Luca. 2.9kg born after a very short labour at 4.19am this morning. Everyone is happy and healthy.

Congrats, also to babyBlob and mamaBlob!

Your life will be back to normal again in about, uhm, 25 years! :D
 
I'm doing the Couch to 5K run program on my treadmill at home, today I ran for 20 min non-stop at 5.5 mph or about 9KM/h first time in a VERY long time I ran that long :eek:

To make this post cycling related :rolleyes: I'll say that I find my running is helping my cycling, I find I'm able to push a bigger gear and go faster longer since I started running! :D
 
Friday used my lesson gap to do hill climbing on the 16 out of the centre here. Wasn`t planning on pushing them too hard, but with setting off on the big chainring, I ended up ignoring the plan. So feeling ok, kept going. Was struggling after around 12 mins but as standard advice is for a L4 interval to be 15+ min of work, just stuck with it, as didn`t want to waste all the work I had done to that point. Knew it was fast, as nearly 1 min faster than previous best time, but figured it was down to the tailwind. Anyway, on analysing the file, hit 292.36 W for 15:30. As powertap measures power at the hub (missing drivetrain inefficiency) then adding back in the standard 2.5% would give 299.67 W (I only have a 105 drivetrain after all). Staggered by that, and still at a loss as to how I managed it - warmer weather, home made scones at lunchtime... Figured, I couldn`t do that sort of power past a VO2 session (8 mins), but was obviously wrong (assuming powertap is accurate of course!). Anyway, 15 mins down, 45 to go...don`t hold your breath though, as might be next year by the time (if) I make it...

Anyway, here is file (if it works - windows vista sniping tool).
picture.php


After that, just rode it again but at a more subdued pace (all I could manage!) and got that lovely `exercise high` feeling. Only problem being I had to rush back to teach again :(
 
Congrats, Blob! Best wishes to you and the new one! Felt a little better today so decided to hit the Arakawa for some 'basic training'. Nothing fancy, no meters, no derailers, just pulling a couple motorcycle tires down the river and back (8km) in the drops, standing.

Oh yeah - I'm using 2kg ankle weights now, as well.

http://app.strava.com/rides/4765197
 
First practice with my cycling club in Azumino. Started with 8 riders and in the end of the 80 km there was only 4. I dont think these guys know what LSD is cause it was allot of suffering. I was ready though! I was actually able to keep up on the climbs and even make some people hurt:happy1: Pretty Amazing given I have 30kg on all of them:eek: I did a allot of long turns at the front and took every chance to bridge gaps with a fast kick to prepare for my crit next weekend. Now its back to 2 hour slow rides for lunch and intervals on the rollers for desert after dinner. Also gonna keep with my hydrating routine of 1 bottle an hour:rain:. Also looked at track bikes that are available through the club owners shop. Leaning towards the Fuji Track 2.0. My club practices at the local velodrome on Thursdays and given my build I think the track suits me so I figure I will give it a go!
 
Chuck - That Fuji is a great track bike!
 
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