Saturday, May 8, 2010

Training Report #2




Well, my carefully laid out training schedule has gone all to hell in the past couple of weeks. A combination of bad weather, a trip down to Portland last weekend, and two flat tires in one ride have taken a toll.

The flats were particularly frustrating. Heading out to UBC Wednesday evening, my front tire went flat, so I stopped, pulled the wheel, and put in a new tube (after checking the tire for sharp things). I pumped it up & put the wheel back on the bike, and BLAM! - the tube blew out before I could even get back on the bike. So, off with the tire, in with a new tube (good thing I had two), pump it up, no BLAM! this time, wheel on bike, back on road… and discover that now my rim has a little wonk in it, right at the site of the blowout.

So here I am, at 41st and Blenheim, with no spare tubes, a wonky front wheel and the sun starting to set - it’s time to pull the plug on this particular ride. I ride carefully home, using only my back brake and keeping my fingers crossed that my tires stay intact. They do, and I make it home, but it hasn’t been much of a ride, and I’ll have to get my wheel straightened out before I can get on the road again.



My thanks go out to the guys at The Bike Doctor who took one look at the rim & said that if I wanted to wait 15 minutes they could probably take care of it. I did, they did, and I’m a happy guy.

Adding to the general frustration of this week is my attempt to make the transition from my old-school Detto Pietro cycling shoes and Campy pedals & toe clips to new-fangled Sidi shoes with velcro straps, a ratcheting “Instep Closure System” and Shimano high tech adjustable 47 ways cleats and pedals. Jeez.

I admit that the shoes are pretty comfy - light, with a nice stiff sole, and when I’m clipped in everything feels pretty solid. Getting unclipped is easy enough - just twist my heel out and the cleat releases. It’s getting clipped in that’s causing the grief.

With the old-school system, the pedal always hung upside down. A flick of the foot to spin the pedal upright, slide your foot into the toe clip until the cleat fits over the edge of the pedal, and you’re on your way. And, if you happen to miss the connection the first time, you can still push on the bottom of the pedal to launch yourself through that intersection. With this new setup, if you don’t manage to click in the first time, don’t try to push down on the bottom of the pedal, because your foot will slip off and you will hurt yourself. Take my word for it.

I’m going to have another go at the UBC loop tomorrow. New shoes, new pedals, two spare tubes plus a patch kit. I have my fingers crossed.





Saturday, May 8, 2010

Much better. I’m getting the hang of it. Only bounced on my balls a couple of times.

Here’s my latest Training Report, and I have to say, it’s not looking too good:



There was some lousy weather (lame excuse) and a long weekend in Portland (unavoidable) which really cut into road time, but now it’s time to knuckle down and grind out the miles.

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