jmikami

Finally 80 degree temps are on the forecast for Portland, just in time for our weekly race series. Time to plan a trip out to the track for a training session this week. I am planning to head over on Wednesday after work, maybe I will run into some people.

Huffandstuff

I'll be there for the intro class, look for the hipster on a chrome kilo.

carleton

I'll be out there this week. I think I'll come on Wednesday afternoon.

DanAVL

Three days without training of any kind as the gym's event consumes all of our time. Felt great to ride today but with tenacious headwinds and punked out and instead of sprinting, did a 10k. Nice easy baseline pace. However, there was a roadie doing laps and it was very motivating to have someone to pursue. So that caused me to pick up the cadence a bit. Looking forward to actually chasing people.

Found a 54cm Dolan here that I might be able to get for 600. Fingers crossed for a big event bonus.

Excited to deadlift close to my normal 80% tomorrow. Knee's been feeling solid.

Jared.

Where are you in NJ? I'm going to T-town for my first intro class on May 18. Was planning on going to Wall tomorrow at the very least to watch, but I'm unsure of what they do when it rains, as far as cancellations go.

dro.pru

I'm in monmouth county about 20 miles north of wall. I talked to Sam, the promoter, racing is probably still going to happen. Forecast says 50% chance of rain. In regards to the future, the GSVA facebook page gets updated regularly. If they are going to cancel they put it up on there. Sam said he plans on getting to the track around 2 regardless i would check shortly there after. If you arent on facebook, check the website for sam's number and give him a call.

queerpunk

Guh. 34F and raining - as it's been since Saturday night and as it will be through the rest of the week. I hate the weather here. I can't believe I have to train indoors in late April.

gtrob

same here, pouring rain all week. Managed to get a few hard rides over the weekend so pretending to rest now. I refuse to get on my trainer in nearly May.

jmikami

It might have been windy, but finally an 80+ day to enjoy the velodrome for 60 minutes of TT bar practice to prep for kilo and pursuits the next two weeks. I even ran into Carleton who seemed to be enjoying the weather, and more track time planned for tomorrow. Things are going well in the pacific NW.

carleton

It was great to finally meet you. Yeah, it was unexpectedly nice today. I actually got a little sun.

Have fun with your kilo tomorrow! I'm gonna wuss-out and stick to the 500.

gtrob

Race/sprint practice on the track on Wednesday. Pulled out of my left pedal 3 or 4 times, time for new cleats I think.

First club TT of the year last night. I was 2 seconds off my PB from last year however it was like 9degrees and 40km winds, so Im sure my power was much higher. I would guess at least 20-30w higher than last year (20min tt)

Today Im trying to watch tour of turkey but I find road racing soooo boring. 2 hours of coverage and its like 5mins of actual racing.

queerpunk

I went and trained at the track!
It felt great!
I kind of felt like I was just mucking around with an 81" gear, but, it was really nice to jump and spin and probably better for my legs to start out light - especially with a fast crit tonight.

After almost 8 months of the track being closed, man, it sure is nice to get up on the banking again. A couple soft boards from a rough winter, but we've got a solid volunteer maintenance crew.

Racing starts in two weeks and I'm pretty pumped.

Dalai

Sounds good queerpunk!

I've finally been able to get back on the trainer over the last couple of nights. Only 15 min of Z1 each night, but happy to be turning the legs over again after getting the collarbone plated last wednesday...

DanAVL

We got a little bonus for our event going off so well. I was able to finally get proper shoes and clips like a real boy, and put some more cash in the bike fund.
Biffed it right onto my side on one of the busiest roads in town within six minutes of wearing them. The rest of the day went better. Being able to actually pull on the pedals is wayyyy more fun.
However, my knees are on fire this morning. Right under the patella. Is that normal?? Not going to try sprinting in them til tomorrow but I still have to commute today so...

Brian Ratliff

Did you adjust your saddle height when you changed shoes and cleats? Sounds like your saddle is too low. Knee pain of any sort is not normal.

DanAVL

The shop I picked them up from lowered the saddle a bit. I was a bit leery as it took me forever to find the height on that bike that I like. Bearing in mind that this bike is huuuge for me. I'm 5'7" and its a 58cm bike.

I think I'll raise it back up a bit and see what happens. Thanks Brian!

Baby Puke

Saddle fore-aft is crucial, as is cleat position. Is there a shop nearby that's knowledgeable about track set-up? If so I'd bring them a six-pack and ask for some assistance.

How you're pedaling can trump all. Try to keep your foot level all the way round the pedal stroke. That is, try not to drop it much on the downstroke or lift it much on the upstroke. See vids of Hoy for an example.

Quinn8it

I'm hearing this disputed lately…

DanAVL

There actually is a shop/studio that's racing-oriented just a mile from work. I was going to ride over later and ask him for some set up input. I have to get him to sort out the crankset on the bike anyways.

Thanks for the input on pedal stroke. I was thinking about this on the ride in this morning and playing with different ways to position/hold my foot. So, think like a smooth continuous circle with no real foot angle change??

Baby Puke

Everything is up for dispute, no argument here.

Would stand by not dropping your heel on the downstroke, though.

Baby Puke

That's what I've been told, but maybe Quinn would like to elaborate.

Quinn8it

first off-
id say that if you are totally new to all this- just try to pedal nice circles.. worry about the really technical stuff later..

I don't want to elaborate too much- or Spam someone else's product.. lets just say i learned some things from the "form of sprinting" video that i thought were valuable and worth the cost..

carleton

I've never heard of this video.

Jon (the guy in the video) is a really technical dude. This video seems to be very interesting and covers a lot that I don't see covered elsewhere.


Dan, a pic is worth a thousand words. Maybe post pics of you on a trainer on your bike with:
- Your leg fully extended (crank will be at around the 5:00 position)
- Crank arm at 90 degrees

Or better yet, a video of you pedaling slowly... just like a "check my form" video

If you have an iPhone or iPad, I'd recommend this software:


As with any repetitive activity (throwing a baseball, playing guitar, golf swing, etc...), it's important to learn good technique in the beginning because bad habits are hard to undo. I'm in the process of undoing my own bad habits that have recently come to light.

carleton

BTW, as I've mentioned before, that software above is geared diretctly to the triathlete/time trial crowd. I'm not recommending that you adopt all of the suggestions made in the software. I like it because you can video yourself and measure key angles and analyze it yourself.

This software does many of the things that $200 Specialized "Body Fit" or Retul bike fits do...using your iPhone...for $5.

Jon@serenity

Who said something about sprint form? Why does Katy Perry play in this forum?