So what’s this got to do with cycling?  Well for me it’s the difference between 175mm cranks and the 210mm cranks that are proportional to my size on my Zinn.  I’ve been adding a few interval sessions to my training lately – and one in particular is seated big gear climbs…  Where I find a gentle (ish) climb and put it in the big chain ring and climb with a low cadence.   It’s very much like doing weights on the bike.  Certainly makes you strong.  But also – it’s something where I feel I can make even better gains because of the long cranks on my bike.  Full range of motion can only help strength development.  The long levers of the Zinn custom cranks enable me to really develop the advantage I already have with the long levers of my body.  Means I can really get into the nooks and crannies of strength development – so to speak…

So what else have I been doing?

Well – we’ve had an awesome summer down here in New Zealand.  So, just as things are starting to cool down, I pick that as the time to ramp up my training.  Seems like I’m doing things backwards…

But – though it’s nice to go for a ride on a beautiful day – there is some perverse satisfaction to be had from gutsing it out into a stiff breeze in the dark on a long commute home.

I’m slowly but surely picking up my training volume.   I’m very mindful of the fact that when I last did a long lead in to an event I was training for – that I had a hiccup – in that I trained like a demon to start with and was making fantastic progress – only to be stopped in my tracks with a mystery illness that put a major dent in my training.  Whether or not that was caused by the training I was doing is hard to know – but I’m taking a bit more of a measured approach this time.

I’m adding volume by adding midweek rides.  I work 50km from home so I’m adding 1 or 2 one way trips (in the dark) to my schedule as work allows.  And I’m increasing the distance of my Sunday rides (that are normally done with a group) – pushing that out to 80 to 100km.    And I’ve started adding a few of those interval sessions.

Intervals are something I really enjoy – in a twisted sort of way.  Sure they hurt and you want to puke sometimes – but I love them.  I guess it’s some sort of learned hardship that I picked up from my rugby playing days – where we did a lot of interval training.  I know that my body seems to respond well to intervals –so they are something that will always be a part of my regime…

But they hurt bad when you haven’t done them for a while – and when your aerobic base isn’t what it was

So anyway – I’m increasing volume – and slowly introducing some interval work.  There is a Winter Series of races coming up in 6 weeks or so – so I’ll be targeting that as my first hit out with some intensity.  And will be racing as often as I can from then on in…

205 days till my first major goal which is the Taupo Cycle Challenge – so – steady as she goes….

Adrian

I’ve been in a bit of a holding pattern – still riding regurlarly – but only enough really to keep a level of fitness up.  Work and Family have been a priority for the last year – so as needs must – cycling has taken a back seat.

But with things settling down to manageble levels at work – I’ve decided to set some goals and really get into it again…  (Family is still the biggest priority – but they will benifit from a fit Husband and Dad – so all good there).

So – I’ve set a couple of goals this year…

1. A 4 hours 30 something ride at the 160km Taupo Cycle Challenge – in November.
2. A 40km TT in under an hour – before the year is out.

Yikes!

These are lofty goals.  Both of them will be new personal bests.

I’m starting from a position of reasonable – but not spectacular – fitness.  And a bodywieght that’s about 10-15kg too much too much to achieve my goal at Taupo – which has a lot of hills in the first 80km and a biggish one at the 120km mark.  So I have a lot of work to do.  We are heading into Autumn down here in New Zealand – so I’ll be riding and training through our winter – so I can acheive these goals in our spring.

Along the way – I will race in road races and TT’s as much as I can fit in – and generally get involved as much as time allows in the local cycling scene here in Kapiti, New Zealand.

And it’ll all be on my beautiful custom Zinn Dolomite Ti bike – that I’m as excited about riding as the day I got it a few years back.

This is a photo of me racing a few weeks back (one of the only races I entered this summer) – I doctored the photo via snapseed as it helps to hide the weight I’d been dropped when this photo was taken and in a world of hurt.  Good reminder that I need to work harder.

I’ll try to post a blog a couple of times a month about how I’m doing – or just cycling in general on my Zinn…

Adrian.

Boulder, CO, USA – February 21, 2013 – Lennard Zinn has updated his best-selling book Zinn & the Art of Road Bike Maintenance, the world’s most helpful and comprehensive guide to bicycle repair and maintenance. From basic repairs like how to fix a flat tire to advanced overhauls of drivetrains and brakes, Zinn’s clearly illustrated guide makes every bicycle repair and maintenance job easy for everyone. Zinn & the Art of Road Bike Maintenance, 4th Ed. is now available in bookstores, bike shops, and online. To preview the book and see what’s new, visit http://www.velopress.com.

* Basics: How to fix a flat tire, lube a bicycle chain, adjust the brakes
* Emergency repairs: How to fix a broken chain, tighten loose spokes, repair a bent derailleur
* Easy shifting: How to clean, lube, and adjust shifters and cables for smooth shifting
* Wheels: How to install a new tire, change a cassette, true a wheel, replace broken spokes, build your own wheels
* Overhaul: How to repair pedals, chains and chainrings, saddles, handlebars, stems, headsets, forks
* New tech: How to maintain 11-speed systems, electronic shifters, disc brakes, new bottom bracket formats
* Cyclocross: How to set up a ‘cross bike for racing, select the right components, and make quick repairs
* Troubleshooting: How to figure out what’s wrong with any bike and fix it

Click here to read the full description

-Lennard

Saturday started cool and dry and turned to pouring rain in the middle of my race. Fortunately, I had opted for tires with good tread (Dugast Typhoons) rather than fine tread, which would have been faster in the conditions at the start but which would have been sliding all over the place in the mud that formed rapidly the last two laps. I had lots of catching up to do in both races, since I started in the very back row both days. Unlike local races, in which riders are called to the line based on their points totals, the USGP in my and Emily’s categories do not have a points category of their own and don’t honor any other. Call-ups are based entirely on order that registration was received, and we registered late.

The challenge of passing all of those riders in my group plus lots of singlespeeders who were on course at the same time and had started 2 minutes ahead was great practice for me for upcoming national and world championships I’ll be doing in January. Being able to advance through traffic on a tight and technical cyclocross course is a crucial skill for success.

I am in my fourth season of racing cyclocross, and this season, since I just moved up to 55+ and will be the young guy in that category, added to the fact that the world cyclocross championships are in the USA–in Louisville, KY (the first time ever outside of Europe), I have been training for cycling for the first time in 30 years. I started racing cyclocross as a way to stay fit for cross-country ski racing in the fall, but now it has become an end in itself. And I got an early jump on the cycling season by tearing my triceps muscle in the Finlandia Hiihto and Vasaloppet ski races in Finland and Sweden in late February/early March. Instead of skiing into May, I hung up my skis after the first weekend in March, and I raced my first road season since 1982, in order to prepare for cyclocross season. My goal is to be on the podium at state, national and world championships in cyclocross this season. I am encouraged by this weekend’s results and am taking them as evidence that my training plan is working.

Wow.      So, this is where Michelangelo went to conceive his imagination, and give birth to a great sculpture.
The ride was pretty flat for about 30k, then the climb began. Firs gentle 4-8% (that’s gentle now), then it kicked up to 10 -15% for about 4k. It let up a little going through some towns. But the climb to the last town was steady over1 2% for 1.5k. Well, at. The turn for the town (which is a dead end on a point, I saw the sign for the “cave”, the marble mine. There’s actually several, but I think the approaches are all the same. So, there I was climbing 20% switchbacks, about 30-40 meters each. I made it  half way  up the 4th, really feeling it, when two mining trucks came, one up, behind me, and one down. I pulled into the flowers on the right and stopped , watching the trucks pass each other in a dance they must repeat all day long. The concierge told me that when they get to the top turns, there’s no room to even turn one truck so they have a place at each turn where they go into and then go up backwards, repeating this until they reach the mine. I was slightly above my destination town (see photo), and I turn and went down, but couldn’t resist going up to the town, which felt “easy” now at 6-10%. And there was a great fountain at the top! ( see photo ). So these are the white topped mountains I’ve been seeing froths distance all week if it were snow, you’ll need to bring your rock skis. home was supposed to be all downhill then a long 20k flat run home, avoiding the beach traffic. What the guide book said was when you get to the STOP sign at the bottom of the hill, in Carrara, make a left turn toward Massa. What the guide book didn’t say was as you approach the bottom get into a low gear, because when you make that left, from a full stop, your facing a 500 meter 8% uphill climb, before you reach that flat section.  Oy. The ride back to Viareggio on the alternate route was busy with traffic anyway. When I got to town, I immediately went to my new favorite Gelateria, for a dark chocolate mixed with dark cherry, and another wonderful flor that I haven’t identified yet. I’ll ask tomorrow. I cleaned and lube Sally for another ride tomorrow. Dinner at a grey restaurant. Chef’s choice, fixed price meal. Just what I was craving. Lots of fish. Pasta vongole, with clams and lots of mussels. And a mixed grilled fish and vegetables dish. I’m full, and I only had one piece of bread. Oh, and a carafe of very good house wine. I feel full, and I feel fine.
Time for. Bed soon. I’ll try to load some photos for you.
Click to view slideshow.

A rainy day here so I’ll catch up on some stuff.   Don’t know if you ever saw this bike after Dave T. dropped the toptube and added the extra stays.  You’ll remember that it was designed for dropped pedals.   I wanted to have two bikes exactly the same so I could go back and forth between them so I switched this bike to standard-pedal cranks.  The saddle is pretty far forward because it’s 4cm higher than it was with the dropped pedals.

I set each one up according to my tests and then measure them to make sure I wasn’t fooling myself.  The tests work!!!  You could take my bike apart and I would put it back together exactly the same without measuring saddle height, reach…..anything.  That could be an interesting challenge.

You remember the tiller aerobar?  I’ve been playing around with it ever since I got it but was never perfect until I got the saddle design worked out.  It’s too sensitive, so far, to changeable winds to be practical overall, but on a calm day or a steady breeze it works.  There are no forearm pads.  Don’t really need them.  My wrists touch the bars but there’s really no weight on them, or on the tiller either really.  My other bike needs some work so I haven’t tried the tiller on it outside yet.  It should at least be more stable since the BB height is 4cm lower.

There are several cool things going on as a result of this saddle.  My upper body stays in the same position regardless of gearing.  In the past I’ve mentioned how I set the hoods for 53/12 and my hands come back on the bars as gearing decreases.  But, in the past, my upper body rose as my hands came back, not the greatest for aerodynamics.  The tiller still worked but my grip moved down progressively.

Another cool thing is that I can put the cranks in any position and they will stay there.  With stock saddles, I can put either foot down around 4:00 or 5:00 and it will go backwards up toward 3:00.  That says to me that the dead weight of my legs is more on the back leg.

I’m ready to get back to Luca now.  I think I’ve figured out how to approach him.  I got a new Concor so I could be fully informed.  I thought it looked dorky in photos with those wings on the side but it looks pretty cool in person.  But it doesn’t work as well as the old Concor for me.

I’ve got to take some photos of the pelvis model on the various saddles.  I think you’ll be surprised.

Thanks,
Ron