Welcome

I started this blog in 2010 when there were 11 weeks to go before my next Ironman triathlon. People have found it interesting (mainly my Mum!) so I continue to write.
The Ironman is a long distance triathlon; Swim 2.4miles, Cycle 112miles, Run 26.2 miles (marathon). I have competed in one every year since 2004. I hope this blog can help others see what is involved. I find the process of writing it makes me more accountable and motivates me to do the harder sessions when i'm not feeling like it!

Sunday 26 June 2011

Cycle

120 miles.
Multiple stops, a tyre blow out that left me stranded and Garmin GPS problems - total time 9 hours.

Went up to Bolton to ride the course. The main aim was to familarise myself with the course - it's very technical in places and a fair bit of time can be saved if you know which corners need to be slowed down for etc,

I have to say a massive thank you to Tracy and Jed who very kindly rescued me. The inner tube herniated through the side wall of the tyre and burst as did the second one I tried. This left me stranded. They gave me a lift to Halfords and drove me back to their house to repair it. I am now duty bound to perform the same act of kindness to a stranger in need and pass the karma on.



I also wanted to see how the bike performed - Did the position on the indoor trainer i've worked hard on convert to riding on the road?
The night before I changed the chainset to a compact - this has less teeth; 50/34 rather than the standard 53/39 you find on most bikes. I was surprised how easy this was to do. A ten minute job. Years ago it would have required specialist equipment (crank extractors etc,) and have taken an afternoon.
Bottom line - should have done this ages ago. It was far easier on the steep climbs, shifting was better and there were far more usable gears (less overlap of ratios and a better gradation of change between adjacent gears). Contact me on line if you want to know any more about it.

There's a good site by someone who lives and breathes cycling - http://www.sheldonbrown.com/ that has more about bike gearing. In particular look at his "gear calculator"

Other things about the ride - 90% in aero position, 60g of carbohydrate an hour, 6 hour pace for the 112miles or 180km seemed about right (30km/hr).


No comments:

Post a Comment