Stans' Tubeless Road / CX Rims - Alpha 340

I'm looking forward to trying these. 

I've been running tubeless on my road wheels for about 2-years now without any problems.  I converted my Mavic Open Pros using Stan's CX Rim Strips.  I got them to work but must admit it was a bit challenging getting the Hutchinson Fusion Road Tubeless tires to seat.  The Open Pros have a super deep rim cavity- much deeper than more modern rims.  As such, harder to get tires to seat. 

While I haven't had any problems, in the event the tire blew, I don't think it would stay on the rim very well, if at all.  That being said, it wouldn't if I was using a standard tube setup, either.  The ride, I must say, is very buttery.  I'm sold on road tubeless for sure.  Oh yeah, I have had one slow lead (read: no flats) in two years!

Could this the rim that can be run with low pressures for CX and NOT burp?  The tubular replacer?   If so, Stan will sell a gazillion of them.  They go on sale in the Spring supposedly. 

A great MTB ride...

...on the road.  Not ideal but fantastic nonetheless.  I had been cooped up inside for nearly two weeks and I needed to get out breath in some fresh air.  I loaded up the MTB and planned for a lunch time ride at work.  It was cold and gray and motivation waned a bit but I managed to get out between meetings and enjoyed an interval set up Lookout Mountain in Golden.  No dirt, no singletrack and snow piled up on each side of the road.  No, nothing really epic, but the fresh air and just getting out made it great. 

RockyMounts Offers ‘100-percent’ Fit with TieRod Rack

As seen at www.singletrack.com

http://bit.ly/cjvCKu

RockyMounts is HQ'd right here in Boulder, CO.  Check out their goods.  The trays and heads are really nice stuff and they come in a bunch of colors to boot.

Teejay Van Garderen

It's cool to see this kid make it big.  I had the pleasure of riding with him a few years back.  There were about 25 of us on the RockyMounts squadra including Teejay's father, Marcel.  Teejay happened to join us.  I was in the front of the pack with him for a while.  I had no idea he was as good as he was.  I think he was 18 at the time and pretty humble.  We chatted a bit about various things and he told me he was going to try and become pro some day.  Wow - did he ever.  He's made it to the big time.  I should have realized this when he dropped me and the other 23 people, like a bad habit, on the last 10k of the ride.

Read on in his HTC-Columbia debut at CyclingNews.  The boy finished in top 10 (should have been better) with the likes of Contador and Leipheimer.

One of my Favorite Workouts - 20/20s

I wasn't able to be get on the bike for 4 days due to business travel.  Actually, I did ride the Lifecycle bike at the hotel.  You know the one with the seat that is more appropriate for a John Deer Tractor.  I mean c'mon - really?  It's so wide, I had to sit all the way at the tip so my legs wouldn't rub.  Clearly a cyclist isn't leading the product management effort for this thing.  "Comfort Curve Seat" - Ha! I ride on 160 gram seats that are far more comfortable.

Anyways, I was looking forward to getting home and burning some kcals outside in the fresh air.  Well, that didn't happen - MORE SNOW :-0.  3-4" Friday night and another 4" as I write.  So.... back on that damned trainer for one of my favorite workouts, 20/20s. 

I like this workout a lot because time flies and it is very painful (in a good way).  If you haven't done them before work into them with shorter intervals first and longer rest between intervals (BI).

20/20 Workout

* 10-15 min warm up
* 5 min interval x 4.  Each interval starts with 20 seconds hard effort (well above your Functional Threshold or maximum sustainable effort for 20 minutes- i.e. push very hard) followed by 20 seconds easy effort and so on until the 5 minutes is up
* 5 min EE - ~ 60% of max 
* 10-min warm down

This workout is effective because it forces you to ride well past your sustainable limit and over time forcing your body to adapt. Ultimately, it should help to increase your Functional Threshold Limit)

Throw this into your training mix once or twice a week and I guarantee you'll be faster. 







 

Good to be Home

I spent most of the week in Philadelphia.  I'm glad to be back.  Looks like a lot of folks agree Boulder is a great place.  We just we're ranked "happiest and healthiest" city in the nation.

http://www.dailycamera.com/ci_14404187#axzz0g30Lz9bb

Finding the Time

I mentioned in an earlier post that I'll be spending a lot of time traveling to Philadelphia since the company has agreed to be acquired.  Again, all good stuff but figuring out how to keep the fitness level up is going to present a new challenge and a new level of motivation.  I feel it - I just need to keep the sensation there.  I keep thinking Spring time when I know that the effort I put in now will make all the difference. 

As an example, I completed a 6am workout on the trainer this morning before heading to the airport.  I wasn't very motivated and more or less hate doing a forced workout that early - don't get me wrong, I like the AM but would rather be doing an early AM epic MTB ride.

It started off well intentioned - get a workout in as I won't have a chance to get on the bike until the weekend.  The planned workout was a good one for the trainer - especially with limited time ( I only had 45 minutes)

• 10 min warm up

• 3x5 minute intervals with 5 min BI

• Each interval consists of 1 min at 100% effort followed by 3 min at 85-90% effort, and then capped with 1 min by 100% effort with a sprint thrown in at the last 10 seconds. 

After the first interval I was demoralized.  Yes, I did it and could sustain the effort but it felt crappy.   I decided to change things up given I wasn't feeling up to another tough one.  Instead I did a 6 minute effort one-legged alternating each minute.  These are not the hardest cardiovascularly however they are painful on the quad (upper area connecting to the hip especially).  I was able to regain some composure after my next 5 min break and then was able to cap the workout with another 5 minute, hard effort, as planned.  Warm down for 5 min - all is good.

Fed the kids, kissed the wife, and off to the airport.

President's Day Weekend

No bike time for me this weekend.  Instead the family headed up to Winter Park, CO and did some skiing and hangin' out.  We spent the weekend with some good friends.  Two days of skate skiing and one tele-ing.  Five kiddies in total - they had a great time. 

More to come soon. 

Key Ingredients to a Decent Trainer Workout

I had a good session on the trainer this evening.  I used a fairly standard workout I picked up from The Time Crunched Cyclist by Chris Carmichael. 

15 min warm up with 3x8min Steady State (SS) efforts (85-90% of functional threshold) with 8min BI (between intervals).  Simple yet effective - I hope anyway. 

Key Ingredients:

1. Entertainment - HULU on the laptop is fantastic I must say. Especially when you've watched the 2006 Tour 23 times. 
2. A Good Fan - Unless you're taking it easy, a fan is critical IMO.  It keeps you from over cooking and feels more like on the road with a breeze at your face. 
3. Power Meter / HR Monitor - If you've got one or both great.  Very useful for precision workouts and if nothing else it allays some of the boredom by giving you something to look at and concentrate on.
4. Something to Drink - Probably stating the obvious here.  Remember to buy some of the Camelbak Podium bottles - no drippage / spillage. 
5. Sweat Mat - Don't sweat on the carpet, stupid! 
6. Sweat Towel - Keep that stuff controlled - no need to get it on the bike, floor, etc. 
7. Imagination- If you get bored do something different to get the workout completed.  I've often found myself mentally not into it.  Switch things up a bit - change the workout on the fly:

• 1- legged intervals - you'll be shocked at how odd it feels if you haven't done them before.  Those pretty circles you spin so well will feel like squares. 
• 20 / 20s - 100% for 20 seconds  then 60% for 20 seconds and so on for 3-5 minutes and an equal amount of rest.  Trust me - these are hard and time does go by more quickly. 
• 1 min All out x 3 min easy for the entire workout 
• Standup / sit down 

It's not always fun or easy but you can make it more so by trying different things and being prepared and well equipped.  I'll share some other workouts with you soon to help get through the Winter. 

Lower Back Pain

Good write up at 303cycling.com on lower back pain.  Most of us suffer from it.  I'm guessing few of us do much about it.  Personally, I tackled the problem about 18 months ago when I started doing yoga regularly.  My back pain is now gone.  It really works. 

Training Program

With all of the snow and cold hitting Colorado (and everywhere it seems this winter) I've spent far more time on the trainer than I would like to admit.  I hate the trainer to be clear.  It's an evil apparatus that spawns boredom and pain all at once.  Luckily I'm feeling a lot more motivated than I was last year.  Perhaps its because memories of our annual man-trip out to Fruita, CO where my buddies proceeded to drag me around the high-dessert terrain for 4-days straight.  I will defiantly be better prepared this year - maybe I'll just be "pulled" rather than "dragged" ;-).

Another challenge, a new one, has to do with my company;  we recently sold the company to a much larger company in Philadelphia.  It was a good transaction and great for me and the employees.  I will however be going to Philly a lot.  Figuring out how to get some solid workouts in while traveling will be a challenge - hell, maybe I'll actually miss having the trainer available.  

All this being said, most of us are challenged to remain speedy on the bike while managing family and work.  I mentioned earlier that I will be following The Time Crunched Cyclist by Chris Carmichael.  It's an 8-10 week program so I'll begin roughly in first half of March in anticipation of my first race of the year, The Battle at the Bear,  followed 2-weeks after with the second the Gunnison Growler (although I need to pull a few strings to get in as it sold out in only a few hours).

In the meantime I've been getting my 6ish hours in per week with some intensity work (85%-90%) a couple of times a week, to make sure I maintain my fitness and have a solid foundation before cranking up the intensity.  Despite hating the trainer, it works, and the anticipation of the man-weekend and the first race is keeping me focused.

I want to do well in the season opener at Battle at the Bear.  In 2008 I finished 3rd in the Expert class.  Last year, 17th.  That hurt but I knew I wasn't in as good of shape.  I'm hoping to improve this year.    
I've learned a lot about working out and balancing family and career.  I'm not the fastest guy around by an stretch however I do know what's worked for me and what hasn't.  I'll be sure to share shortly and attempt to couple those leanings with what' I've read in the Time Crunched Cyclist (which is a great read by the way and spot on for folks like us, IMO).

Camelbak Podium Cycling Bottle

I've finally found a bottle that doesn't:

a) leak
b) deform in the dishwasher
c) taste funny
d) require a manual open and close 

The Camelbak podium is the best bottle you can buy, period!  Buy one, three, or ten today and replace the ones you've got.  Don't forget to throw them in the recycling bin however. 

No more sticky down-tube.  There is also no need to open and close it with your teeth.  Throw it in your gear bag and don't worry about it leaking all over.  Use one on the indoor trainer and not worry about dripping Gatorade on your carpet.

It really is the bomb.

Snow Blows

On the trainer watching Super Bowl pre-game while the snow comes down.

Workout: 60min with 3x8min at 90% (or SS steady state) with 8min BI (between intervals)




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Big Weekend of Riding

I managed to get 7 hours of riding in this last weekend.  Yes it was still snowy and the trails are all but ridable.   A group of about 15 guys met and headed up Sunshine Canyon to do the Switzerland Trial to Gold Hill ride.  Which is mostly road but has a mix of dirt roads and climbs to about 8,700 ft with beautiful views of the Continental Divide.  I knew about half the guys and had a chance to meet some more avid cyclists.  The day was beautiful - blue skies, no wind, and about 43 degrees. 

The pace was set early and it was fast - very typical for a large ride in Boulder where there is ALWAYS someone faster than you.  I felt generally good and kept up with the pace as a few folks fell off the back.  We headed up towards Switzerland trail on packed snow and ice.  A group of five us set the pace.  A few folks were comfortable while I was at my threshold of a sustainable pace.  They chatted and I concentrated.  We got to the Switzerland trail and regrouped then headed up towards Gold Hill.  Fast pace again - too fast for me - so I settled in and pedaled at my own pace before reaching the top.  This as the most interesting part of the ride as it was either covered in snow or dry as a bone.  The dry part was always welcome.  The snowy parts were generally packed but not all the time.  Undernearth the snow was hidden ice.  As my tires tried to grab the undulating terrain the would slip out from under me quickly and unforgivingly.   This happened to a number of us with plenty of folks hitting the snow before reaching the top.

At the top, I had to bolt as I had to be home to take my daughter square dancing - yee haw! - so I didn't wait for the regroup.   Rob Batey joined me  and we sailed back down to Boulder.  Good ride - 3.5 hours in total, 4.3k ft of climbing, and plenty of fun mixing it up with the buddies.

The new Specialized Stumpjumper S-Works 29er road very well.  Still getting good sensations.  This ride wasn't technical at all so it really didn't server any purpose as far as evaluating the bike's technical handling prowess.  I can say that it fits me perfectly, however.  I'm a dash over 6' and the 19" Large fits perfectly with a 120mm stem.

Interesting to note on the ride that ONLY 3 guys were riding 26" wheeled bikes.  I was shocked by this.  This was a hard corp group of guys that are fit and competitive in regional expert / pro races.  Definately a testament to the 29er movement. 

More to come.  Thanks for reading.