R'Ex welcome back.

+1! I've been so wrapped up in my own stuff I went right by this. :o

Climbing over the ridge between Sonoma and Napa - Franz Valley Road 13% grade.

http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps02f91a04.jpg

You have a serious wheelsucker there ^

The Eastern Sierras might be the most amazing natural transition around. Plates crashing into each other create massive mountains which stop the Pacific storms dead in their tracks...little question which plate is pushing he other one down.

The rain block is why we have roads named "Timberline". The transition between alpine and high desert happens in 20 feet. I've been up here since I was a young kid and the smells and sights still strike a chord. Today's ride was a bit of therapy.

First "big" ride since I started back. 3:02, 54.4 miles, hrTSS 186, IF .73, 1603 calories. That last one is important, my pants have been getting tighter lately. :eek: I was a bit tired after the ride - not dead, but more tired than I remember being from that distance.

My coach put up my schedule last night, testing this Wednesday. I don't know exactly how that'll pan out, but I have a feeling it ain't gonna be pretty! I'm working part time at the LBS, will be going full time ~10 June. I'll be emphasizing volume until I start full time, then will focus on intensity.

Welcome back Chuck!

Hiked today, broke in the new boots. Trailhead started at 6100'. Took an hour to do the 3.1 miles to the pond at 8300'. That's 13% for three miles. Passed a bunch of people and dropped the folks that started around me ;)

Did a bit of rock climbing to check out some of the lichens, looked at the route to the top of Mt. Rose, then headed back. Wildflowers are in bloom, clear day with $1m views thanks to the wind that was strong enough to take my hat and send it 20 yards down the trail.

I figure 160 TSS. Half a turkey sandwich, glass of iced tea, and a nap.

2:30 group ride along the coast on Pacific Coast Highway. The riding conditions were typical for the Pacific coast with overcast skies and temps in the low 60s. We had a 12 mph tailwind on the way-out increasing to 15 mph on the way back. This was probably my best ride. I stayed with the fast guys on the climbs on PCH which are not easy. PCH is not a flat ride.

My TSS was 229 and NP 209 watts for the ride. My power distribution was 23 min z6, 21 min z5, 25 minutes z4, 22 min z3, 24 min z2 and 38 min z1. This ride felt like another chainless ride. Speaking of chainless, my wife broke her chain and fortunately one of the cyclists had a spare 10 speed fast disconnect link and we had her riding again in a couple of minutes.

Nice, Hermes! Time to test?

Hermes - Almost a third of your ride was over threshold and you described it as "chainless?" Dayum. You're cookin'!

Saturday -
107 miles with ~8,000' gain; Social with a bunch of folks that liked to stop what seemed like every 30 minutes for 50 miles then just me and a team mate for another 57. The last 57 were not fun. Dag gum 4+ W/Kg team mates!

TSS 407
IF 0.91
NP - Garmin reports "You suck"

Sunday -
7.3 miles ru**i*g before Church then 40 miles with 1700' gain 'in the sticks'

TSS 125
IF 0.84

One full 45 min 'lap' without getting out of the sticks working on form and position.

Dang, IBO, I bet you slept well. ;)

Under my new program, we do not do FTP tests. I based my FTP upon a 90% of the average power for 20 minute climb I did last year so that I have a number to calculate a TSS. If one looks at the power distribution in the various buckets by zones from my group rides, one would conclude that my FTP must be higher. And not being negative but realistic, I doubt that I could ride for one hour at a greater power than my current FTP.

I used to have a coach that required one to qualitatively rate the ride as a 1, 2 or 3 besides sending in power files. 2 meant that the level of effort it took to produce the power seemed about right. A 3 meant that it felt harder to produce power than it should and a one was "chainless" or easier. Of course, producing z4 power and above is never easy but it can be easier that one thought it should. IMO, the feeling of how hard or easy something is comes down to state of mind and fatigue. I am going into the training sessions feeling pretty fresh and confident that I can do them.

Chuck, since November of last year, I have focused on tempo power and above - no base miles. So it does make some sense that I am finding it easier than I would have thought. And let's not forget the 400 to 600 jumps per week that I did from November to April.

5.4 mi ru**i*g. Almost got into the 8:30 pace. Missed it by 16 seconds.

Two more cortisone shots in the foot this afternoon so that will kill the ru**i*g bit until Friday. The upside is I can still ride

That I did Chuck.

6.5 miles ru**i*g during dinner -

rTSS 92

38 miles on the bike after work -

TSS 180
Avg Power - yes, for an old lady
NP - :roflmao2:

Chuck, Ex - welcome back!!

I'm in Davis, sort of meditating (sort of), riding a lot, and towing my boyfriend around (back and forth across the Yolo Causeway twice). I think I'm a little stronger, or something. Anyway, I've been off the grid until today.

This morning I did TT openers for the Putah Creek Smackdown ITT tomorrow evening. Oh, I like riding that TT bike! The schedule said FTP for a period of time, and then FTP plus 10% for another period of time, and then a longer stretch at FTP. No. Problem. Oh, it hurt, some, but sustaining it was not difficult, and my HR was relatively low through out. Speed was stupid - loved it!

i am looking forward to that ITT.

After the ITT there will be a "Ride of Silence" through Davis commemorating riders whom we have lost over the past year. Dan Taylor, who was killed by a car while riding in the very ITT I'm riding tomorrow will be on everyone's mind during the ride tomorrow. I think it's a very moving tribute, and I hope to be able to participate.

Wondered did you get lost; welcome back

:thumb:

Way to much of that stuff happening.

IBO, yes....and thanks!

Did the "Comstock Lode Loop" today. 4:03, 5335' of climbing, max gradient 18.9%, max altitude 6778'. Geiger Grade to Virginia City (VC), VC to Gold Hill, Silver City, Dayton, and just outside Churchill made the turn up 6 Mile Canyon to VC, then a long downhill home. At 3:15 hit the last two blocks into VC. 15%. 400w for 30s. That hurt.

270TSS.

Recovery ride on the TT bike tomorrow, then 3 crits on Saturday.

I know there's probably a whole forum for this, but it looks so weird to me that the crankarms are out of phase! How do you avoid pedal strikes on fast corners?

Pedal strike is not a problem in turns but speed bumps can be tricky with out of phase ("OOP") cranks.

I could write a novel about out of phase cranks. We have been riding tandems since 1980. We took delivery of our first Santana tandem and they shipped it with out of phase cranks. I questioned the dealer and he said to try it that way and if we did not like it, he would switch it to in phase. We learned how to ride that way and over the years trying both in phase and OOP, that OOP was much better for climbing and time trials because there is always power coming over the top and the neither the captain or the stoker can ride the other ones power. In phase is always used track racing and standing starts.

The reason tandems used be shipped with OOP cranks was that the bottom brackets were not stiff enough and in phase put in too much torque such that the tandem could snake along. With the new frame materials and finite element analysis on the frames, they are much stiffer so there is no technical reason for OOP.

The other thing I like about OOP is that it is always a conversation piece and I get a lot of questions from cyclists that generates discussion.

:thumb:

Today was a track workout in the AM and a roller workout at the cycling gym in the PM.

Hermes, I had a long discussion with a person who had just finished the Davis Double last weekend. He said that the savvier riders of that double always seek out the tandems to tow them around because of the draft they provide and the high (he said "insane") speeds they generate on the flats and on the descents. Made sense to me!

Day off for me today, I actually feel pretty good, considering the workout I had yesterday. Openers and sprint intervals tomorrow, and then a crit Saturday. I hope a field shows up, and not five or six riders.