Promoting - Trailer Thoughts

I've been stressing about Bethel for a bit now, for a number of weeks really, hence the scarcity of posts.

One thing is that a few things have changed in terms of the businesses in the area. The parking lot we used before, at 7 Francis J Clarke Circle, will basically be off limits to the racers. The racers, the finish line trailer, the finish line tent, anyone warming up, all that needs to go away from that particular parking lot.

This means moving everything relating to the race - the finish line, registration, the portapotties, even where racers congregate before they stage for their race. Without that the race really can't happen, hence my stress over the last 6 or 8 weeks.

The main goal will be to move things to Turn One. By keeping racers closer to that intersection they'll be, by default, somewhere other than 7 Francis J Clarke. It'll be close enough to the finish line, which will move down the hill a bit for 2014, and it still allows people to walk over to watch the finishes.

The first thing will be to ask the town for a town of Bethel "detour" sign on Second Lane, the other road that leads to the four way intersection at Turn One. Oddly enough, since Francis J Clarke Circle is a lollipop-shaped road, FJC Circle has the distinct privilege of having three of the four branches of that intersection.

By controlling traffic on Second Lane, and forcing any FJC Park tenants to use the main FJC entrance, we'll deal with traffic coming from just one direction. This will allow us to better manage the cars heading through the race course.

We'll move the portapotties to the old spot, pending landowner approval. If that works then the portapotties will be by Turn One also.

Next, because Second Lane should be closed to through traffic, we can use a bit of the shoulder near the four way intersection to hold registration.

In the old days we did it using tents and primitive propane heaters. We sometimes lost a tent to wind and we only stopped losing them when we anchored them to our own cars. Stuff got wet, it wasn't fun, and it's something I want to avoid, especially for the people working registration.

In the past I've mentioned the idea of a trailer for registration. It would be some kind of trailer with windows on the side, like a concession trailer. For Bethel it needs to be somewhat sheltered from the weather, maybe have some heat (details to be discussed below), and bring more than just "it won't blow away" to the table.

With a trailer I could set up registration much earlier than normal, like Saturday. When I say "set up" I mean actually set up - set up the computers, printer, monitors, everything. It would be all ready to go, in the trailer. If I could do that then I could just drive up to the course, open the concession windows, power up the generator, and be ready to go. I imagine this would take all of 5 or 10 minutes, mainly dealing with parking the trailer.

This is, of course, dealing with an ideal trailer. Most enclosed trailers out there are meant to be used simply for transporting things like cars or motorcycles. They have a big ramp door in the back and a smaller door up front. No concession windows, and typically no plugs or other things associated with, say, an office.

As someone pointed out, if I got a normal enclosed trailer then I'd have a compromise trailer, one that isn't exactly what I want for the job. I joked that I would get the "real" trailer later.

Of course when I say stuff like that it really means that I'll never get the "real" trailer and that I'm really just going to deal with the compromise for a long, long time.

Well, said person asked if a custom trailer would make sense for me.

Custom trailer?

Well, heck, I got myself a custom frame, and now I'll never look at another factory frame again. The custom frame is totally functional - it's not custom because I wanted fancy lugs or a classic steel bike, it's custom because I wanted a frame that fit me.

For kicks I configured a custom trailer. I went all out - the idea is that I can eliminate things if I want, but at least I have an idea of the pricing. The configurator doesn't show prices until you select something so it's easier to select a lot of stuff and scratch some stuff off rather than select a few things and then wonder how much such-and-such would cost.

The custom trailer ended up a bit pricey, at least in terms of my initial expectations.

$10,000.

I'd have to have a few years of Bethel just to break even on the thing, and I wouldn't want to spend that kind of coin unless I really thought it would make a big difference. Heck, the thing would cost more than the tow vehicle.

With the custom trailer option now defined I started thinking of how the other choices could work for me.

For example, if I got a "compromise" trailer and took a Sawzall to the walls and put in some primitive concession windows…

Okay, never mind. That would just be a disaster.

Nevertheless I priced some used trailers. This is how you do it, right? You figure out your options and you weigh the advantages and disadvantages of each one.

So the used trailers… No concession windows, no power plugs, no nothing, just a big box on wheels. It seems that $5k or so gets one in the size I'm looking for, although right now it seems there are none actually available (no one has returned any emails so far). I'd have to register it and stuff, so I lose a day there, and then I have a trailer that has no warranty, no assurances that something weird isn't happening with the thing, and no place to go if I have a problem. I'd have to outfit it as I need, which, for Bethel, really means loading it up and trying to figure out how to get registration done without putting the registration people out in the cold.

I'd have a used compromise trailer.

I also priced a new trailer. I was looking at the $7k-8k range. This was a bit better in terms of me feeling comfortable with the trailer. I'd get the towing stuff (the ball, pin, some bar thing, and the brake controller, plus all installation) on the house, they'd register the trailer for me, so I could drive over, pick it up, and drive it home. No days lost and the dealer is about 30 minutes away from the house. Easy peasy.

This would leave me with a new compromise trailer.

I'd have a place to go if I had questions or something weird happened with the thing. I'd have a warranty. But I'd be dealing with no concession windows, no power stuff in the trailer (except an extension cord passing through an open door), etc. I'd be dealing with the same issues as far as how to set up the trailer and such.

Plus, at that price, I might as well get the custom trailer.

Sort of the trailer I'm looking at; they call it a "car hauler".

No custom options I want are included in the picture.

There are custom options I don't want, like the alloy wheels.

I think this trailer is longer also, it might be a 24' trailer.

The $10k is a fully loading, to the max trailer. It would have 12 feet of concession windows, minimum.  The smallest window is 6 feet wide and 4 feet high - it only gets bigger from there - and I figured two windows would make sense, one for pre-reg, one for day-of, and for big races two for pre-reg or something like that.

I skipped AC and heat, and I'll get to that in a bit.

I added a spare tire because it seems that whenever I see a trailer on the side of the road it has a flat tire. Okay except the few times I saw the whole shebang (tow vehicle + trailer) on their side in the median after the driver lost control of the massive trailer.

I added extra lights on the outside because I don't want to start making a left turn and then have someone drive through the trailer.

I added an awning because when it's raining people want to wait in shelter, not in the rain. I still have two 10'x10' tents, and I'll probably use them if necessary, but the awning would be awesome. 18 feet long so it would be huge. The only thing is that I'm not sure it would work with the concession windows. If it doesn't then I'll save a lot of money or I'll put a smaller one up or something.

I added a 110v system. It works like a house backup thing - you get your generator, use the 30 amp plug, and plug the thing into the side of the trailer. Then on the other side you have your outlets and distribute as necessary. This works perfectly for a registration gig - run the generators outside, wires run in, it's all good. UPS and surge protectors on the inside and we're good to go.

This is where the AC and heat come into play.

Registration for a bike race draws very little power. A couple laptops, a wireless broadband connection, a printer, and charging some radios and phones. When it's really cold I'll use an 800w microwave to reheat coffee or even food from home. I suppose I could put in a dorm fridge in it - they run pretty low wattage, like 150w or so, and in the summer some cooler drinks would be nice.

An electric heater wouldn't do very much when you consider that there would be at least 12 feet of windows opening directly in front of the registration folks. It would pull a LOT of energy, 1500 watts or more, and it would really tax the generators. I'd be using a total of 3200w for the generators, a pair of  small Hondas running in tandem.

I think that with such an open set up (ramp open in the back or at least cracked open, front door cracked, and the sides open) we could set up a propane heater somewhere without asphyxiating ourselves. If it came down to it we could plug in an electric heater if the trailer was all closed up for whatever reason. Therefore I think I don't need to pay for a permanent one in the trailer.

Likewise a roof mounted air conditioner would require maintenance, a little more care when dealing with low clearance stuff (ever see YouTube clips of low clearance bridges?), and attract a thief's eye. I'd rather do one that sits on the floor and has a tube going to the outside. I could remove it when I don't need it and then it's not a hundred pounds I'm driving around in, say, the first weekend of March.

Finally, when working registration at summer races, I never had a super oppressing day. An air conditioner would be great but I'll get it if and when I need it.

So right now I'm eyeing the custom trailer. It would be a huge commitment for me. I'd have to finance it otherwise I'd totally blow myself out of the water money-wise for 2014. This means I would be relying on having another, say, 3 years of Bethels and the one day gigs I do for other promoters simply to pay for the trailer.

If I fail to do that I'd have a really expensive trailer that only another race promoter would want to own. The market for such trailers is really non-existent as far as I know. I guess a race car guy might want one so they could show off their car without pulling it out of the trailer.

Yeah, right.

So it's about commitment to the race series. Commitment to doing registration gigs, and significant ones at that. Commitment to trying to put on new races. It's all stuff I want to do, for sure. The trailer represents commitment in a concrete (or metal, as it were) form. Getting it would mean I'm committed for a minimum number of additional years.

I haven't taken the plunge yet but if I do it'll be very, very soon.

Six weeks until Bethel. Yikes.

Equipment - Steelman Stem, Part Deux

So I have a custom stem from Steelman Bikes. I put up a shot of it on the bike but nothing really detailed. I didn't have time to work on posts and such but now I do so you get to see the stem and all that I've done with it so far.

First the stem arrival and stuff is detailed in this post. Other than the one distorted picture of the stem on the bike you really can't tell much about the stem so now I'll try and explain how the thing looks and how it positions the bar relative to the previous set up.

Distorted picture of the bike.

I went through a thinking/exploration process in the fall after deciding to commit to a custom stem. I could either limit my bar selection to "deep drop" bars (I couldn't find one I liked) or I could use a compact type bar (which I like) and get a stem that would allow me to choose virtually any compact type bar for my bike. The custom stem made more sense so I thought it through and ordered it.

I have to admit the numbers would make even my back ache - a 14.5 cm stem with a negative 32 degree rise. However, once you see where the drops are before and after, you'll see that there is virtually no change in the drop position.

The FSA Energy bars, 15 cm drop, with a Deda Pista stem (-20 degrees, 14 cm).

These bars felt high and the drop shape made them effectively higher than the 15 cm "drop". I grasp the bars where they're a bit curved so I don't use the flatter part, which is where they measure the drop. Therefore the drop to where I hold the bars ends up in the 13 or 14 cm range, not 15 cm.

The FSA Wing bars, 12 cm drop, with the Steelman Bikes stem (-32 degrees, 14.5 cm)

This was during my first trial ride so I hadn't moved the levers/cables over yet.

Note the cut down bars - I cut them down when I first got them an eon ago.

The drops angle isn't quite right but the bars are next to my tire, which is approximately where I need them based on my BB height. Remember, the whole point of the exercise was to promote stability and power in the sprint, which for me is out of the saddle. In such a sprint I only have two main contact points - the bars and the pedals. The pedal position is determined by the bottom bracket location and the crank length - those are not very negotiable. Therefore I need to bring the drops to the right place relative to the bottom bracket.

A slightly zoomed out view of the stem. The bar is next to the tire, give or take.

I took this picture after moving the levers over. By now I'd committed to the stem.

As some sprint experiments showed me the stem works great. However, in its raw steel state even a long week in Florida led to some noticeable surface rust. I decided that before I got back on the bike at home I'd need to paint the stem. I had some zinc-permeated primer (zinc is what they dip car bodies in so they don't rust like they used to in, say, the 70s) and some chassis paint (specifically designed to be chip resistant; I got it for the Expedition) so that's what I used.

In the "paint booth".

The front cap was already black so I left it alone.

Blue tape to protect clamping surfaces and threads.

I will not criticize a paint job again.

The front cap came that color, a matte black.

The next stem, for the black bike, I'll have Steelman powder coat it or whatever for me.

I remember when I had the Z that some people commented on the poor paint. Okay, I had perfectionist body shop guys who work on exotic cars all day criticize the paint, one even doing so unknowingly in front of me. That led to a whispered, "Dude, the guy over there owns this car," and a muttered, "Oh."

I never really noticed whatever was wrong with the Z's paint so it didn't bother me. However even I can tell that I did a crappy job on my stem, just like I did a crappy job on a black BMX bike when I was in high school.

(The BMX bike started out as a 20" wheels TT bike project and I bought the bike because it had tear drop shaped tubes but that's a whole different story.)

I will never criticize a paint job again, at least not until I know how to do it right.

I ended up with what I'll call a "20/20" paint job. It looks fine from 20 feet away or at 20 mph, at least to my uneducated eyes. Maybe those exotic car guys would rate it a 50/50 job. Still, for me, I wanted to keep the rust away from the stem and so far it hasn't rusted so it's good enough for me.

On the bike, with the safety spacers on top.

Note the not-so-shiny part in the middle - that's the 20/20 bit.

Now the bike sits on the trainer, destined to be there for the next couple months. I need to adjust some cable lengths - I already shortened the rear brake cable but I need to shorten it more. The front brake is a bit of a puzzle since the cable ends up snaking up to get to the barrel adjuster on the brake. In Florida I tried to run the cable over the top of the bar but it looked horrible and it didn't reach and I didn't have any extra cables or Nokon housings and liners. Here at home I have both so I might spend some time fiddling with it.

All in all though the position in the drops feels great. I feel hunkered down and stable and that's all that I wanted from the stem.

I don't know if I'll get it ride it outside. Taking pictures of my bike right now is a bit tough so I'm afraid that's what you get for now. All willing it'll be out racing and sprinting in March and I'll be able to get some better shots then.

Life - Year Summary 2013

So my year end summary, in one picture:

Me on Strava.

You can see that I started the year with some ambition. The Missus had given me a number of "5 hour ride" coupons so I could do some massive training even if I couldn't get out to my SoCal training camp like I had in 2004-2011.

Towards the end of January Junior got sick, I got sick, and then I threw out my back. I didn't ride for the latter half of February. You can see just how little riding I did in March. April's numbers jump up a bit only because I went for a long ride to pick up the van from Bethel. Take that 5 hour ride out of the month and you're left with just 10 hours total.

May, June, July, and August followed a similar pattern. I'd try to do the Tuesday Night race, I'd try to do a race race on Sunday, and otherwise I got in an hour here or an hour there.

The tail end of August hints as a bump in training. This continued into September, where I thought I could get some fitness for the Hartford Crit (no way). A trip to Maine gave me time to do a few really good rides. Ironically I did most of my elevation there, something like 20,000 feet of climbing.

October and November followed with a lot of solid rides, mostly on the trainer, some outside, and I actually started feeling pretty good. I would bet that at some level I was probably stronger at that point then I was in, say, May or even June.

December got sporadic, with holiday family stuff. A week plus in Florida meant a number of training days outside, although I was deathly ill for the first two days, and the last day was so hectic that even though our flight didn't leave until 10 PM or so I didn't get a ride in.

I had two main equipment things happen this year. First I got a Stinger 7 front wheel (75 mm tall) and a Stinger 9 rear (90 mm tall), my now-primary wheels. The Stinger 6s I had previously (60 mm tall) have been relegated to back up duty.

Second I got a custom stem in December, allowing me to use a normal FSA Compact bar. This has absolutely altered the sprinting characteristics of the bike. I need to get a second one for the other bike and then I'll be set.

A final thought is that of crank length. I'm fully committed, for now, to 175 mm cranks again. The 170s  leave me a bit flat - I lack some of that oomph that I need to accelerate out of corners or to sprint well. The 175s let me do that. I think in my old age I need leverage and I no longer have the power to spin up the shorter cranks.

So that was 2013. In Strava you can get "kudos" from other riders. If you click on the rider's name you get a side-by-side comparison of the last 4 weeks of your training as well as all time stats. It's interesting to see pro's name somewhere in Strava, click on it, and then get your mind blown by the insane hours the pros do.

For me it wasn't even a pro that blew my mind last. One rider commented that I was training a lot more so I naturally clicked on his name. His average week was in the 22 hour range - if you look at my 2013 chart above you'll see that I only did more than that in a month three times this whole year.

Personally I know that a 22 hour week would destroy me, if not in a week then definitely in two or three weeks. I've done longer weeks in SoCal - I think my biggest was 33 hours - but 20 hours is a ton of hours to do week in, week out. Since I do about a half hour a day average it means that if I can do 7 hours a week it's great for me - an hour a day average. If I do more than that then I'm really, really training.

I realized over the last few years that I've fallen below the minimum fitness level required to be competitive in the 3s. I mean, okay, I can sort of hang in when at certain courses, but the reality is that I need to be more fit.

With that in mind we'll see how 2014 goes.

Training - Anclote Road Sprints

One of my big goals for Florida was to get out and do some actual sprints. This was the main reason for getting the Steelman Bikes custom stem and I wanted to test it before I sprinted in a race.

Since my rocking trainer experiment is on hold (more on that later) I don't have a proper indoor way of doing a real out of the saddle sprint to test the position offered by the custom stem. Florida would be the last time I'd get outside, realistically, before I start racing in March.

Therefore I needed to get out and do some sprints.

I tried a few half hearted jumps here and there but they weren't impressive at all, and in fact I was so weak (based on both feel as well as SRM numbers) I started getting worried about my lack of power. I sort of forgot about being deathly ill on the way down here as well as the first day where I could barely do anything, but at the time even if I were sick I felt I should have been better.

Almost a week later, in warm-even-for-Florida temperatures, I felt much better. On Christmas Eve day the Missus booted me out of the house to go ride. I obliged.

When I headed down my now-normal route I realized that I'd have a friendly cross-tailwind the southward bits of road. I'd have one on the eastward stuff also but there wasn't a lot of eastward stuff where I could sprint.

There was a southward section though. It was just before the road loops back into a busy road, one that I wouldn't want to ride, so it worked out perfectly.

I zipped down to the bit of road in 20 or 25 minutes, about 7 miles or so, a decent clip for me if I were at home. I rolled through the sprint zone slowly the first time, trying to get some landmarks down, trying to figure out where to jump and where to sit up. For me sprints are much more productive with a real, solid finish line, but without one my sprints end up really kind of blah. I need to throw the bike at the finish to really finish the effort.

Unfortunately I never figured out a good finish line nor did I figure out where to jump. I just jumped when I thought it was getting a bit late to jump and I sat up when I knew I was about to blow. A finish line might have bought me another 20-30 meters of focused speed, but, well, if I get down there again then that's what I'll do, set out a finish line and try and do a better sprint.

Later, when I got back, I created a Strava segment (Anclote Road Sprint) for that bit of road so that I could easily see what I did for each sprint. (Unfortunately I created the segment without viewing the helmet cam footage so I really missed in the finish line point, making the segment way too long.)

That first roll through took me 50 seconds to cover the bit that ended up becoming the segment. The next one took me 27 seconds. I rue the fact that I was alone because with a proper leadout I think my speed would not have dropped under 35 mph. Even alone I managed to roll from 27 mph up to just over 40 mph, hold it for a bit, then drop down until I blew and sat up.

The important thing was the feel of the bike in the sprint. The whole reason for the custom stem was to get the drops down to where they were with the 3ttt Gimondi and Mavic bars. With the FSA Energy bars I was close but the bar shape was such that I was actually a couple cm higher. With the FSA Wing bar, whose shape I love, I was a good 3 cm too high.

This led me to get a stem that would drop the bars 3 cm. It would also make sure my reach was closer to what it was - the compact bars reduce reach by 3 cm and this stem would take back a little over 2 cm of that, maybe 2.5 cm.

I hoped that this would let me get forward enough and low enough to weight the front wheel properly. In my 2013 sprints the bars have simply been too high. The bike felt skittish and I never had a good jump, not ever. There were  few sprints in training where the bike was so skittish I unclipped while at 100% effort due to the front wheel not doing what I needed it to do. It wasn't just once, it was a few times, and this really made me hold back when sprinting (the few times I did sprint).

So how did the custom stem work?

It worked great!

That first sprint wasn't totally foreign to me. I'd done a few jumps here and there and I knew that there was potential. I just hadn't done an all out sprint at sprint speeds.

View of the section of Anclote Road in Tarpon Springs, Florida. Wesley Avenue is to the left.

Still, though, that first sprint was like coming home. I rolled through the right turn into the straight, waited a bit, and then jumped as a car approached me.

My first jump point.

For an instant I thought, "Oh, man, I'm gonna hit a 35 mph wall of wind just as I jump," but the thought quickly dissipated as I focused on doing a super hard jump.

Thumb to shift.

Jump again.

Thumb to shift.

Jump again.

A bit longer, then thumb to shift again.

Jump again.

I started bogging down - I probably should have tried to get more rpms out of the lower gear instead of getting into the high one.

When I sat up. That bush up ahead to the right would be a good finish line.

In Strava I put the finish is a good distance away, maybe 100m or more.

I looked down. I was in the 11T.

Well now.

I don't think I've done a decent sprint in the 11T in, what, in forever actually. I don't remember the last time I sprinted in the 11T. 12T, okay, 13T, whenever, but 11T… it's been a while. I mean, yes, I've shifted into the 11T but I haven't been able to get it turning.

I turned around and headed back to do the bit again.

I did three more sprints, two of them ending in the 11T, one of them in the 12T. I actually thought that I wasn't shifting into the 11T for the second or third sprint but when I sat up and looked down the chain sat on the 11T, not the 12T.

The last sprint I blew up before I really got up to speed - my base conditioning isn't really good for more than a few sprints - and I knew I was in the 12T and I knew I wasn't going fast.

Around where I jumped there was a dip in the pavement. A few inches, nothing major, but definitely something you notice when sprinting. For me it meant the front wheel was airborne for a moment, waiting to land, and since I seemed to be in the middle of a power stroke each time I hit it, the wheel was landing a bit sideways.

With the FSA Energy bars or the regular stem FSA Wing bars that would have been disaster. The front wheel would have not been planted, it would have done a wobble or something, and my bike wouldn't be 100% under control.

In the sprints where I unclipped I was trying to muscle the bike back into line, putting some lateral force into the pedals, and that caused me to unclip really hard. Unfortunately I can't increase the pedal tension any more so that meant I had to ease off on my body English.

This sprint resulted in no such shenanigans. I could sprint, the bike went straight, and nothing weird happened.

When I blew up on that fourth sprint I was already feeling queasy. I knew from experience that if I had some fitness I'd be able to push through that queasiness, substantially even, but I didn't feel today was the day to make the effort.

I rolled back to home base slowly, satisfied that my bike was finally working the way I wanted it to work. Hopefully it makes my racing just a bit more solid, a bit more rooted in its foundations. I felt like my speed was always in danger of evaporating last year, where I could never really dig hard. It became such that I remember feeling really good the few times I felt the rear tire dig in as I jumped out of a corner. That should be a normal occurrence but last season it was unusual.

Hopefully this year I feel a lot more of that.

Training - Outlook For Today is Sunny, Fast, and a Drum Brake

I was itching to try the new stem (and the rest of the bike) a bit more, but things kept me off the bike for a day. Therefore it was Sunday before I could get on the bike. With the high the prior day at 86 degrees and similar temperatures on tap for today I knew the ride would be hot.

I just didn't realize which hot.

I usually approach group rides with a bit of trepidation. I'm not strong overall and I rely on being able to draft effectively in order to stay with the majority of riders. I prefer larger groups that have a reasonably low proportion of very fit riders.

My guide today, like it was back in 2009, was a fellow BikeForums rider named Dennis. He selected a ride based on my temporary base camp, his home, and the ride start location. He chose a ride that would be "about 46 miles" that would take about 2 hours.

46 miles? In two hours? That's really fast, at least for me.

On the other hand this was Florida so it'd be flatter. Unfortunately for me (or maybe fortunately) I didn't realize the implications of the whole "there are no hills" thing.

It meant everything revolved around wind.

It also meant there were no downhills; other than a few seconds here and there we had no "easy" spots. In other words it was a full out FTP type of ride, exactly the wrong type for me.

All this was in the future of course. First my ride host drove me to the meeting lot. As we arrived first I got to meet everyone as they rolled in.

I got my bike ready, easy enough with just putting the front wheel on and checking the tire pressure. I had my various stuff all set, a saddle bag with my tools and two tubes, and a valve extender taped to the downtube. I had a third tube, phone (Strava), wallet, and a few bars in my jersey pockets. It was over 70 degrees at the start, and when I got my arm warmers and vest out, my host Dennis grinned and told me it'd heat up quickly and to leave them behind.

The tandem couple told me we'd be seeing a WW2 era tank and an animal shelter/farm kind of place that had a zebra, ostrich, buffalo, and some other unusual animals. My eyes lit up with the mention of the tank - I love military history stuff, especially to do with WW2, and I enjoy being able to see tanks above all. I asked if he knew what kind of tank it was - maybe it was the ubiquitous Sherman but it might be a more unusual Chaffee or a Stuart (we have one in Connecticut that I've seen) or an exotic Grant. He admitted he didn't know but that I could tell him what it was. Deal.

With introductions all around we set off, the tandem couple leading us, six singles (aka regular bikes) following. One single rider told us in advance he'd be peeling off quite early, netting us five single bikes for the majority of the ride.

As a novice tandem rider I have to admit I was in awe of the tandem couple's skills. I guess riding a tandem for 27 seasons will do it, covering something like 1000 miles a month. A month!

They stood and sat without any signals or words, and the stoker (the rider in back) would stand alone sometimes to give the bike some oomph.

Both riders standing fluently on the tandem - impressive!

We headed out and my stiff back and new stem combined to make things a bit uncomfortable. I did a short pull after the tandem couple dragged us through the first section of turns and such. When I pulled off they said, "Nice pull!" Very supportive, and something that happened regularly through the ride, this unexpected support from people who were strangers to me.

One of the guys, probably the strongest on the ride, asked me where I lived. I told him Connecticut, where it was 16 degrees when we left. His mouth dropped - he couldn't even think about temperatures like that.

It got a bit more business like once everyone warmed up and we were rolling along in single file in short order.

The group flying through a park that fascinated me the last time I was here.

I hung on while we drilled it through a park. I started focusing on keeping the gap closed, on staying on the wheel.

Things got fast on the MUP section heading north, with everyone raving about the tailwind and how fast we could go. Well unfortunately for me a tailwind means less shelter and the enthusiastic pace made it hurt even more.

I realized I was spinning pretty quickly (for me), spinning a bit quicker than some of the others on the ride. I'd stayed in the small ring (a 44T in this case) and it seemed to work fine. I looked around, though, to see what the others were doing, and they were all in the big ring.

I shifted into the big ring.

My cadence dropped a bit, I could stand effectively, and I could keep up without overspinning when the pace surged.

I started digging deeper, going into the red.

We headed off the trail and then north again. At some point the guys were really pushing, going hard, and then they spread out a bit, fanning out behind the first rider. I sensed a sprint coming up but without any references, without any info on the sprint, I didn't know when or where to go.

Plus, to be honest, I was so tweaked I couldn't think about going.

When the guys started going I just kept my pace constant, watching them ride away from me.

The group starts to go for some invisible line; unusually I merely sat up.

I somehow got 4th fastest on Strava for this "First Monty" segment.

Sure enough this was the bit just before we stopped for food and water. Someone bought a gallon of water and we all partook. The heat - I think it was 85 degrees - affected me a bit more than I thought and I drank a bunch of water.

We set off and I started getting a bit dizzy. I ate a protein bar for breakfast and that's it, and I didn't feel that great anyway, and now I was hungry. I chowed down a bar, feeling pro, and started feeling a bit better.

At some point we passed a tank. My Contour battery died (I'd plugged it into the wall not knowing it was controlled by a light switch so when others turned off the light for the night my Contour didn't charge) so I don't have an image or even location of it, but another rider asked me about the tank.

"Vietnam era, M60 tank."

I realize now it may be an M48 tank (to me that's most likely) or an M47 or M46 tank, all Patton tanks. Whatever, at that moment I was proud simply that I could lift my head enough to see the tank, forget about trying to ID it.

At some point we went by the animal shelter/farm place but I had no clue what was happening at that point. I was deep in the red, my legs twinging, my eyes were probably starting to roll around in my head.

I kept pushing, driving, trying to stay on wheels. The relentless pace on the flat roads was totally different from the peaky type style I prefer. Florida emphasizes FTP. Connecticut emphasizes short term power. I have no FTP. I have short term power.

After another five minutes, another five minutes, another corner, another skipped pull, my mental walls started crumbling. I realized that I'd have to sit up shortly, to ease up. I didn't have it in me for another five minutes, another intersection. The gaps would start opening soon and not closing.

My pair of deuces wasn't enough for this card game.

I prepared myself to holler to my host that I had to fold. I quickly chowed down on a second energy bar, washed down with some still-cool water. I looked down at the SRM, I'm not sure why. The top line, which alternates every five seconds between time and miles, read 44.6 miles.

Waitaminute. The ride was "about" 46 miles. With this relentless just-over-my-comfort-level FTP type pace, I couldn't go another 30 or 40 minutes but I could definitely make it another mile.

I even responded to the last semi-surge before we got to the parking lot.

I made it.

The tandem couple had a cooler in their minivan with lemonade and ice tea. Although I passed on the ice tea (actually I didn't know about it and already returned my cup) I took in the cool, soothing lemonade.

(The lemonade is a great idea for summer rides and races, btw.)

I learned that one of the guys used to do Bethel (he's from New York). The others were mainly in Florida, but incredibly none of them raced, not for 6 or 8 or 10 years minimum (the New York guy), and the others not really at all.

I clipped in and out of another rider's Keo Blade pedal. It didn't seem as tight as my original Keo Carbons. I want to try the new Keos that have a much higher retention pressure (the Blades were 16 nm, the new ones are 24 nm).

We headed out as if on signal and Dennis dropped me off at my home base. I felt a bit better by then, not quite as shell shocked as when I first climbed off the bike.

I had some more thoughts on my ride and experience as well.

First, this was one of the first proper group rides I've been on since I think 2011. I've ridden with someone, meaning I've caught or been caught on a training ride, but I don't remember actually starting and finishing a ride with a group since I used to ride with a local shop's Monday and Wednesday rides.

I was surprisingly unnerved when we first rolled out so I intentionally sought out the tandem. I knew it would be less jumpy, sort of like an 18 wheeler versus a sports car. After about half a mile I got over my nervousness and within 10 or 15 minutes I was comfortably sitting a few inches away from the next wheel.

Second, I had some back issues at the beginning of the ride. Due to Junior being awake for a large part of the night I was up as well. What little sleep (1.5-2 hours) I got was on a strange-to-me bed so it wasn't an ideal night of rest. Therefore I arrived at the ride with really stiff back and I worried a bit about my somewhat radical looking stem. It basically keeps my drops at my earlier level but drops the tops and hoods by 3 cm.

At first the stem was a bit much with my back protesting for probably the first hour of the ride. As things warmed up, both temperatures and efforts, my back loosened up considerably. I found myself on the drops more and more, getting to the hoods only to stand up to relieve pressure (and focusing on not pushing my bike back when I stood up). Except once, when I inadvertently swerved when checking my six, I think I succeeded in being a smooth enough rider.

Third, when I'm maxed out FTP-wise I'm not inclined to sprint.

Fourth, I appreciate a friendly and open group. The riders accepted me without any problems, rode smoothly, and allowed me to take short pulls (the latter was critical for me!). My host thought I took short pulls because I didn't know where to go but they were all more than accommodating in terms of hollering out directions and such. I feel confident that I'd have had no problems leading the ride, at least from a directional standpoint. From a strength one? No way.

Unfortunately the trip wouldn't allow me to schedule another ride so it meant I'd be doing solo efforts until we headed home. Although slightly disappointed I kept in mind that the main reason we headed down was to visit family, not for me to do a training camp. I was fine with doing solo rides when I could and even not riding if necessary.

I just hoped that I'd be able to do some efforts on the bike, mainly so I could see how the stem (and the resulting bar position) affected the bike. I hoped for, and planned for, an improvement, but obviously I wouldn't be able to confirm that until I went out and ripped out a sprint or two.

That's the plan anyway. We'll see how it goes.

Training - The New Stem

I finally got to ride the bike outside. It wasn't in the bitterly cold snow at home - I managed to get away and down into some warmer temps down in Florida. Although deathly ill for the first couple days here I bounced back quickly and got out on the bike Friday.

On Monday this week the stem arrived from Steelman Bikes. It's a custom bit, -32 degrees, 14.5 cm, and designed to put my drops back to where they belong.

The stem made an interesting journey, getting delivered to the wrong house with the same number as our house but on a different street. Ironically the resident there happened to be a cyclist that knew me so she decided that she'd just drop it off at our house the next day.

Me, on the other hand, I was feeling a bit worried that the custom stem had gone missing. I called FedEx, they figured out where the stem went, and went to the house and picked it back up. Then, later that night, a slightly embarrassed driver hand delivered the stem to our door. I gratefully accepted it and let the worried Steelman folks that I had the stem in my hands.

Stem - weight is secondary to function

I forgot to weigh the stem that came off the bike but I think it's about half the weight. I don't expect the weight to make a difference.

The steerer tube side of things

The bar side of things

Detail on the rear bits

I ordered the stem unfinished, mainly to save a bit of money. I happen to have some chassis paint left from my Ford Expedition "chassis reconditioning" project and I figured such a paint would be perfect for a stem. Satin black, not too shiny, not too dull, chip resistant, durable.

For now, with no time to play with, I'm riding the stem in its natural raw state. On late Monday (technically just after midnight so it was Tuesday) I managed one trainer ride with the stem, and after a very short "test fitting" I went full hog and moved the levers and cables over to the FSA Compact bars I like so much.

(As a note I checked the "42 cm" Wing bars and they measure about 41 cm. They are only one cm wider than the 40 cm Wing bars I bought. I decided to go with the 41 cm "42s" because my favorite bars have been 41 cm bars.)

After a short ride on the new stem and newly refitted bars I packed the bike up for a trip to the South. In the meantime I'd caught a bad cold, remnants I think of Junior's explosive vomiting and the Missus's not-quite-so-dramatic-but-still-unpleasant illness. To give you an idea of how bad it was hers was bad enough that she took her first sick day this year.

After a much longer packing process than normal I hoped that the bike would get to its destination okay. I left installing the new rim strips (I've had a couple flats due to migrating rim strips) and the bar tape for later.

I spent most of two days flat on my back but by day three I felt a bit better. The 80 degree weather helped a lot and motivated me to get my bike assembled (I had to wrap the bars too). After yet more delays (I got hungry, I misplaced my one bottle I brought), I finally headed out. I took the time to stop and take a pan shot of the bike.

The bike as I rode it today

Yeah, it looks really radical. The twin tail lights and the Chiquita-Minion stickers on the top tube. Radical, right? An ordinary water bottle. Pump along the top tube.

Radical.

Oh, the stem?

Oh, yeah, that too.

The picture makes it look more radical than it really is, but, yes, the tops of the bars are lower. So much lower that I can't fit the pump between it and the quick release skewer. Hence the pump on the top tube.

So the stem… The lower bar position, meaning the drops, is basically in the same position as when I first got the bike. It's just that the shorter bar drop and reach made it necessary to move the bar clamp spot forward and down, 2 cm and 3 cm respectively.

In total I lost about 1 cm in reach but I think that's okay. Drop didn't change in the drops, but the hoods and tops are 3 cm lower than before. The drops feel totally normal. The hoods and tops feel lower.

Rover Three engaging!

On the way out I had a close call with a dog. He came scrambling out (from under the boat on review). The dog didn't attack me per se but it definitely had the same feel as the ride in Maine when two rovers put holes in my ankle.

I meant to do some out of the saddle jumps during the ride but the wind was so steady and strong and unfriendly that I didn't feel any motivation to do those jumps. With a steady wind off the water, and my route following the shore, I basically had a strong crosswind the whole time. The Jet wheels felt really heavy and slow, further demoralizing me. I thought I worked pretty hard during the ride but I felt just slow.

In fact it was the first time that Strava underestimated my power, at least so that I noticed. Strava said I did 129 watts for the ride; the SRM, which I carefully calibrated before I left (and it seemed right), said I did 145 watts average.

I didn't break 700 watts, even when I made some half hearted jumps. I could hold 234 watts for two minutes (I was doing a two mile loop so I did about 2 minute efforts, not quite a mile at a time). The numbers weren't impressive.

On the good side the bike worked fine. The stem was good. I felt good in the drops, even around some of the faster 90 degree corners. The bars felt great.

And it was good to be out in the warm weather.

Life - Wah Wah For Me

Over the last couple weeks I've started a bunch of posts with good intent but found myself derailed before I could finish them enough to post them. Even the last couple I've posted have been pretty sparse. I know it's all first world problems - I mean, seriously, whining about not being able to blog is a first world problem.

Junior was sick, yes, and then he got better just in time for Thanksgiving at a friend's house. After a week of bliss he started acting a bit quiet again. He's been waking up frequently at night, maybe every hour to two hours sometimes. Since I'm the first responder on most nights I've been up with him but that means little sleep at night. I make up for the missed sleep during the day, which is nice, but then  I can't sleep at night.

Then yesterday he got sick all over himself again.

Wah, wah, right?

This time it's worse because the Missus is sick also. So far I've had just a bad stomach ache, like I did last time.

To try and put that in perspective I've gotten a bad stomach ache after meals where other people at the table have gotten full blown "food poisoning". I'll get these stomach aches after eating some maybe-sketchy food so I tell people I have a cast iron stomach. In other words if I have a bad stomach ache then something is up.

With some cold weather maintenance necessary around the house (window pellet stove is not usable right now, some shoveling etc), some indoors maintenance (moving trainer to the basement, starting to get Bethel stuff ready), some bike maintenance (working on the second try of the rocking indoor trainer), and life in general (kitty litter - it sounds minor but to have 12 bins to clean it's a big deal, especially with my semi-bum back), I've found it hard to set aside time for the blog.

I've been able to ride here and there. One thing that interested me was if I actually heated a room while I rode. I know I get all hot and stuff but I figured it had to be more than just me working. I got an inexpensive "weather gauge" to read both temperature and humidity.

10:30 PM, give or take. 68 deg F, about 51% humidity.

This is before I started on the trainer (unheated basement that has a furnace in it).

12:40 AM, give or take. 72 deg F, about 57% humidity.

Note baby monitor (white thing with a screen) - Junior did wake up once.

Although I can't vouch for the accuracy of the numbers at least the relative change is significant. I can conclude that I do heat up the room a bit, in this case two connected rooms. There are wall vents to circulate air to the other parts of the basement but honestly they don't circulate that much. I'll call it just two small rooms in the basement. I guess if we have about 10 riders on trainers we could get the house up about five degrees and about 5 % humidity.

Of course that doesn't take into account the trainer noises, the sweat, etc.

It's not just the rider though. The fluid resistance unit gets really hot, like you can burn yourself on it hot. Not only will the trainer try to break your ankle as you walk by (if you hit the trainer with your ankle by accident), it'll also try to sear you medium rare when you're done with your workout.

At any rate I've found little time to do less-critical stuff. When Junior is barfing all over himself then suddenly blogging becomes less critical (as does keeping myself clean, doing dishes, etc.). When we need to move cars into the garage in preparation for snow, training takes a back seat as I organize the garage to make room for the cars. And when it's all I can do to stay awake while looking after Junior, it's less important to do anything once the Missus can take over - it becomes nap time for me.

All first world problems, I know, but I do have a number of drafts I want to finish for the blog. At first I  liked having a few unfinished posts in reserve - I could just grab one, polish it up, and post it. Now, with about 180+ unfinished posts, it's hard even to look through them. Many of them have lost their immediate significance; others require some pictures to finish (and I'm not getting many pictures on the bike with the snow on the ground). Some lost their way, meandering to nowhere, and some haven't even gotten out of the blocks.

When I finally do get some of these done I'll post them.

For now though it's chores, taking care of a sick Junior and Missus, and prioritizing from there.

Life - Junior Sick

In my previous life I'd take time off from riding if I got sick or if I had a ton of chores to do. In this life, after Junior arrived, he takes precedent over pretty much everything else. In the last week or so our main focus has been on taking care of Junior while he battles a stomach bug. He's getting sick each day (i.e. projectiling, enough so that we were doing a load of laundry each time) and has had such a marginal appetite that I can't believe he has anything left to give. He's tired and much more needy than normal, probably because his stomach isn't feeling good.

I've spent a lot of time simply holding him, his arms tucked in against his chest (he does that as he gets comfortable), his head resting sideways on my shoulder. I don't have a picture of that since I wasn't thinking of taking a picture when I was holding him (but I admit I did afterward).

Holding his giraffe, courtesy a former teammate Tom who lives up in Maine.

When he was on my shoulder that was basically him except he was on my shoulder and his elbows were at his side.

He doesn't look sick.

The bar hints at a future post.

At any rate his schedule of waking up in the middle of the night to get sick, followed by an early wake up call, then a slew of short naps during the day… it's got me all discombobulated. I tried to ride but was too tired when I had the time. I also had some pretty bad stomach cramps so I might have had a minor version of what he had. On the other hand I managed to get the garage cleared out before the temperatures dropped too much, but, honestly I really haven't gotten much else done in the prior week.

Before.

I know, it's basically clear (I did a big push on a warm day in October), but usually the right bay is full of Bethel stuff which is now becoming more "Carpe Diem Racing Event Services" stuff. Instead of putting it all away for the season I've been working a few more races, doing registration mainly, and I just pack that stuff up and head out. After Silk City Cross I finally put everything away.

My big job in the above picture was to move the shelf out of the middle of the garage. I wanted to clear that out, toss or organize the stuff on it, and give us more room. More "forgiving" room, to be completely clear - hitting a sharp edged metal shelf with a fender isn't very good. Hitting a plastic thing that will move is much better.

I also needed a day where the Missus could look after Junior. I needed to move some big stuff to our storage bay, including the tent (the tall blue thing in the middle). It would fit in our Jetta Sportswagen but that would mean removing Junior's seat. Since I have to drive to the storage bay that means that Junior wouldn't have a good place to sit so that precluded doing the work when I had responsibility for him. The Missus took over Junior's supervision for a long afternoon and allowed me to move stuff back to the storage bay.

After. The cars are waiting to pull in.

The plywood tilted against the left wall is to act as a door shock absorber. Works well, btw.

It does look a bit better. I swept the floor after I cleared stuff out. The tent, the middle shelf, my bike, some soil, and a few knick knacks all found homes. Of course I have thoughts on what I want to do next spring but we'll see how life treats me. The biggie would be doing a true epoxy floor covering. Another biggie, much less realistic, is insulating the garage. Smaller and more realistic things include shelving, more storage hooks, and organizing the stuff behind our garbage/recycling bins better. I also want to surround the air compressor with rigid foam insulation to try and quiet it down. But that's for another time.

You can see the modular work benches in the back of the left bay - they work together, the two tall ones and the one shorter one, so that I can use the miter saw (on the shorter table) and the surface of the miter saw lines up with the other two benches. This means I can support a 2x4 along the two taller benches while cutting it in the middle. I used them to cut wood for a couple projects already and it's nice not having to worry about cutting a 2x4 and then having a long piece dangling over the bench edge. The "waist height" miter saw is great too, no kneeling on the floor, and it's easy to put away. I highly recommend such a system.

The idea was to have the benches latch together to form a unit but I haven't done the latches. They roll on locking casters so if I remember to lock the wheels then the bench won't go rolling down our steep driveway.

Forgiving stuff we can hit.

You can see that the stuff between the poles is much more forgiving to a car fender. It's mainly ice melt stuff, sand, and a couple empty litter bins. The litter bins are great for water tight storage for things like sand, ice melt, and even safety equipment (I store eye and ear protection in one).

You'll notice the two "no spill" yellow (yellow=diesel) cans of fuel. We buy diesel for our two diesel cars using food points. Since the points really add up we try and buy a lot of diesel when we buy it. This means a trip with both cars plus the auxiliary fuel cans, and we park in such a way that we can fill up everything without moving any cars.

Out of view is the yellow can on the ground.

Picture is from January 2013 but you get the idea.

This saves us more money, allows us to make one trip (Junior sits in one of the cars), and helps control that "I need to get fuel" anxiety. With 10 gallons of diesel on hand it's basically a normal fill up for a 14 gallon tank. The last time we got fuel, over last weekend, we paid $2.49 per gallon for diesel. We got over 30 gallons but stayed under the 35 gallon limit, and based on the points we saved in the 40+ dollar range on that fuel trip.

Today, Wednesday before Thanksgiving, Junior has made huge progress. It started yesterday, when he finally had a "BM" (bowel movement aka poop). It's hard trying to guess what he's feeling because he can't communicate what he's feeling - we have to interpret a whimper or a sad wail or an intense shriek (the latter when he's really in trouble). However, based on our experience in the last week, a BM (or, in his case, three of them in a day) is a really good sign that whatever stomach bug he had was working its way out.

Now he's still a bit tired, fatigued-like, but alert and curious and wanting to do stuff. He's eating a lot more than before - one day he basically had one strawberry, some saltines, and some milk and water. He's not quite at the "grilled cheese and a half" record meal from a month or two ago but that's okay, we'll take the progress. We have to change his diaper during the day instead of changing it "just in case" so he's a lot more hydrated.

After what amounted to a week pause in my life I can now get going again. I have a couple things planned for the bike, some unexpected stuff to handle, and some long shot stuff to work on.

Hopefully Junior's schedule returns to normal. It's tough watching him suffer, but in this case we could only console and comfort him.

Training - A Warm November Day

Today I went out for a training ride, a rarity for me. The last time I trained outside was on the 17th of October, just about a month ago. I did the same loop, the one I call the Quarry Road loop.

I didn't try to ride that hard but I found myself complete out of breath by the time I got to the top of the hill leading out of the complex where I live. After that I tried to ride steady.

My two rides are as follows:
October 17th

Some major milestones of that ride - it took me 58:30 to do the ride. It took me about 3:03 to climb the "hill" to get home.

November 16th

Some major milestones of today's ride - it took me 1:01:08 to do that ride, so about 2:40 longer to do the exact same loop. I did a little jump in town but didn't do a proper jump at the last right turn. This led me to be much fresher for the hill to the house and I did it in 2:32, 30 seconds quicker than in October.

I made one major change on the bike for this ride - I switched wheels to the Jet 6/9 front/rear combo. I haven't ridden the Jet 6 front since I think 2010 and the Jet 9 since sometime last year. The heavy wheels really affected me, and whether the effect was actual or purely psychological the result told the story - I basically got shelled every time I rode with this setup on my bike.

I preferred the much lighter Bastognes, wheels that brought me a silver in the Nutmeg State Games, a win of sorts in a rain abbreviated TuesdayTheRent, and much less shelling overall.

However, with the off season being the off season I decided to give the wheels a shot. Plus they look cool.

Off season staring.

I have to admit that I still stare at racing ads and pictures. Not many of them - a very few of them. The one above is one of my favorite pictures. I love the big aero wheels, the compact bars, the casual fitness of the rider (he happens to be Viviani, a bonus since I didn't know who he was when I first saw the picture).

Except for the fact that he's a contender in field sprints in huge ProTour races he could be a very fit rider you see at the weekend crit or, more likely, at some big group ride.

Part of it is the "scene" - it's a group ride, literally, not a "beyond my abilities" field sprint or TT or climb. The group ride thing makes the rider more real.

So having been staring at that picture regularly for a month or so I decided that I'd put those heavy wheels on my bike.

Because they just scream the undefinable essence of bike racing life.

I put the Jets on the bike the day before to check them out. A short ride on the trainer, running through the gears, and the bike seemed okay. It shifted fine, as it should since the Jets and Bastognes share hub models, and I didn't experience any gear skips. I decided to give the bike a passing grade.

Bike as I rode it; the Jets have the same model tires as the Bastognes.

Not as sexy as the group ride picture.

I double checked the brakes (okay), tightened up the blinky tail light, and slipped in a 60mm valve tube and an 80mm valve tube. Also, although it's virtually impossible to see, there's a valve extender tucked in under that velcro strap wrapped around the down tube. The valves barely stick out of the rims, just enough to tighten them down, so I need the extender if I need to use the pump.

My now-standard frame pump mounting point.

Speaking of which I almost forgot my pump, literally walking back into the house to get it. I mount it to the left side of the bike, a good spot that has worked out well so far.

Big aero wheels look great when dreaming about bike racing but the reality is that they weigh more, especially my clincher variety. I mentally tortured myself before I even got going - wheeling the bike out of the office was hard work, the extra weight in the wheels noticeable when swinging the bike around.

My start wasn't too auspicious either - by the time I got to the top of the hill leading out of the complex I was so out of breath I actually put a foot down. I fiddled with the helmet cam but the reality was that I could have done it while rolling along slowly. I made the choice to stop because, frankly, I needed to stop.

I rolled along at a moderate pace. The big wheels rolled a bit more consistently, resisting changes in speed. That included accelerations but it also included the slight slowing when I did a more aggressive pedal stroke.

I found that if I didn't emphasize the downstroke as much that the bike seemed to roll better - this worked well on the slight upgrades or if I was just standing to power the pedals a bit.

I spent most of the ride in a praying mantis position, both hands holding the center of the bar, covering the stem and the SRM. On the hills I'd move to the hoods, and every now and then I'd go to the drops to remind myself they were still there.

As noted before I really don't like the shape of the drops on these bars. Since I expect to have a better drop position in a bit I decided not to torture myself and ride in the weird angle/shape drops more than I have to.

Plus, as I pointed out before, this is the off season.

I did one push about 3/4 of the way around the loop, nothing major if it was the summer, but today it really wrecked me. I had to ease and actually had to encourage myself to keep going just to finish one loop.

Five minutes later I still felt mentally defeated. With a schedule to hold I decided against pushing my luck and trying to do a second loop faster than the first. I headed home instead.

I practiced my "rolling stand thing" where I try and pedal a bit more evenly while standing, versus the stamping motion I tend to do. Since I hadn't gone very hard during the loop I could push on pretty well up the last hill on my ride.

Compared to my pretty fast ride last month I climbed the hill 30 seconds faster. Not bad for having much heavier wheels. I actually felt pleased that I did the hill a bit faster. The anti-Strava folks will shake their heads and wait for me to blow a red light or something but I find the Strava segments a nice way of checking my own status. I wouldn't even call it "progress", it's just a check to see where I sit within my realm of possibility.

Of course I think I was going much faster toward the end of 2010, when one day the Missus passed me going up the hill. I got home a minute or two after she did and she actually commented on my speed up the hill, her eyes wide with surprise.

"You were going really fast up that hill!"

Normally she doesn't say much about my riding when she sees me, other than saying stuff like, "I saw you on 10/202", so to have her comment on my speed on the hill, that meant something.

Unfortunately that hasn't happened since then.

My goal is to try and elicit that spontaneous response again.