Better, stronger, faster.....
- Thread starter bigW
- Start date
bigW
Well-Known Member
After 150K miles the suspension my Jeep was shot so just for kicks I had OK4WD put in a new suspension with a 2” lift, steel rims and larger tires.
bigW
Well-Known Member
Random training update #2
13 weeks back on the bike.
Still as fat as a house.
Finally off beta-blockers as of last week. The will to push on biking with all adrenalin shut down was fading. Very happy for this milestone.
Doing a good bit of riding so hoping that progress will continue.
Pretty much given up on any single-speeding this year. Likely not gonna be in good enough shape for that to be a positive move.
Thought about the worst things about SS ( road and gravel )
#1 the intense pain of trying to stick with a fast group ride through rolling terrain. Smash-spin-smash-spin-smash-spin. Aaaah!
#2 that awkward grinding climb that is too difficult seated but too spinny out of the saddle. Sit-stand-sit-stand-sit-stand...
#3 on super long rides ( 120+ miles ) the legs drop into Zombie mode and the cadence plunges such that any flat section at the end is either brutal or done at 12 mph.
Then I consider the best things about SS and it is the same #1, #2. pain is good.
Nothing good about #3, so I would add the pure excitement/joy of rounding a bend and suddenly staring up at a wall. Sound the dive klaxon and immediately push the throttle to 11.... sometimes it goes well other times the cadence drops to 25 at the top.
Oh well, 2019 is gonna be epic....
W
PS: need a pic so i’ll put a plug in for the pastrami hash at Talula’s in Asbury Park. Made 130 miles worthwhile
13 weeks back on the bike.
Still as fat as a house.
Finally off beta-blockers as of last week. The will to push on biking with all adrenalin shut down was fading. Very happy for this milestone.
Doing a good bit of riding so hoping that progress will continue.
Pretty much given up on any single-speeding this year. Likely not gonna be in good enough shape for that to be a positive move.
Thought about the worst things about SS ( road and gravel )
#1 the intense pain of trying to stick with a fast group ride through rolling terrain. Smash-spin-smash-spin-smash-spin. Aaaah!
#2 that awkward grinding climb that is too difficult seated but too spinny out of the saddle. Sit-stand-sit-stand-sit-stand...
#3 on super long rides ( 120+ miles ) the legs drop into Zombie mode and the cadence plunges such that any flat section at the end is either brutal or done at 12 mph.
Then I consider the best things about SS and it is the same #1, #2. pain is good.
Nothing good about #3, so I would add the pure excitement/joy of rounding a bend and suddenly staring up at a wall. Sound the dive klaxon and immediately push the throttle to 11.... sometimes it goes well other times the cadence drops to 25 at the top.
Oh well, 2019 is gonna be epic....
W
PS: need a pic so i’ll put a plug in for the pastrami hash at Talula’s in Asbury Park. Made 130 miles worthwhile
Agreed. SS mtbing can be fun, SS road is way too hard to have fun.
Disagree, except for the Monkey Knife Fight, that sucked big time
Hell of Hunterdon 2017.
Monkey Knife Fight 2018, 99% of my road rides are on the REEB Gravel Grinder SS, Which by the way just came back yesterday from REEB with a new paint job due to a rust issue.
bigW
Well-Known Member
Captains Log : the date 11.16.2018
We have entered the bloated, out-of-shape system. Work is delivering the usual busiest time of year beat down, holiday food binges have started, repaired shoulder has started to complain again and L4/L5 are nearly a steady 24x7 ache.
Uncharcteristically I have a relaxed feeling that all is as it should be. Two years crowded with obligations and plans are behind me and a fucking kick-ass 2019 beckons.
I’m calling bottom now and easing into the wind-up for crushing some uncharted biking territories next year.
W
We have entered the bloated, out-of-shape system. Work is delivering the usual busiest time of year beat down, holiday food binges have started, repaired shoulder has started to complain again and L4/L5 are nearly a steady 24x7 ache.
Uncharcteristically I have a relaxed feeling that all is as it should be. Two years crowded with obligations and plans are behind me and a fucking kick-ass 2019 beckons.
I’m calling bottom now and easing into the wind-up for crushing some uncharted biking territories next year.
W
bigW
Well-Known Member
Well here we be at the end of 2019 and I think I called it right...not what I expected but definitely ALL GOOD.
Got a lot of riding and other festive activities in this year. Decided to focus on my ‘short game’ and thankfully Watchung Wheelmen tolerated my SS eccentricities in group rides all year.
Ran HillyBilly, LuLackaWannaHundo and MonkeyKnifeFight on the 1x10 Spooky and it was awesome ( LLWH was a DNF after I was lucky enough to get lost in cold driving rain and wind up at the start ? )
Hammered HellOfHunterdon pretty good on the Spooky ( Avg HR 158 if I recall correctly )
Ran 42x15 gears all season long and used that to have three solid century days in the front group of CycleForTheCause.
Did Liberty52 SingleSpeed as a warm up for a bucket list SingleSpeedNoFootDab HillierThanThou route (solo ?) Won’t be doing that one again.
Survived IronCross 2019 SingleSpeed at the new venue, even better than the original. Not gonna miss that race again.
Foot pain returned in August and defied various attempts to address it. A chill fall schedule and tossing all my old shoes seems to have moderated the situation and consultation with Foot Doc has indicated that severe high arch ( Peds Cavus ) is likely the source of my woes. On the upside this same defect had me abandon attempts to become a runner and start this journey in biked-land ten years ago...
All goddam good stuff, 2020 should be a awesome experience as well, thinking about ‘going long’ as a general theme
W
qclabrat
Well-Known Member
Jeez Hillier on an SS, impressive
What's the big one next year?
bigW
Well-Known Member
The 225 mile version of the Nightmare Tour with 22,000 feet of climbing and the long version of UNPAved, 200 mile DirtyKanza all seem good but to prevent those from being torture I need to be doing century rides in the winter and 150-180 milers in the spring..
?
W
bigW
Well-Known Member
While I’m stranded in a hotel room on the other side of the world, thought I jot down some notes about my experiences with trying to jam some rides into a biz trip in some far flung location ( India in my case )
Firstly : renting the god damn bike is 90% of the work.
-Find a place that rents ROAD BIKE.
-Check that they have a bike your size ( think S,M,L )
-Ask them to put two water bottle carriers on ( otherwise you will get zero or one )
-Ask if they can remove the pedals.
-Figure out how to get the bike to the hotel ( usually you will need to ride it to the hotel )
-Try to get the bike to your room by zipping through the lobby
-Load open source maps unto an SD card insert into Garmin and cross your fingers.
-Get Google maps app and some DATA on your cell plan.
Pack your cycling clothes, gloves, glasses
Pack your cycling helmet, cycling shoes
Pack your Garmin and Garmin mount
Pack your seat bag with gear( minus the CO2 )
Pack a small tire pump for pocket
Pack two big water bottles
Pack your bars/GU
Pack a cable bike lock
Pack a tail light and a good headlight
Pack Sunscreen
Pack single use chain lube
Pack single use chammy butter if you use it.
Past years the bike I rented had the pedals fused to the crank arm :-(
This year the mega cycle shop only had a single road bike for rent and it was a ‘medium’ had to think that through and went for it. Hand them put on my SPD pedals and as soon as I took it from the shop, I sent the seat to the sky and flipped the stem from -N degrees to +N degrees.
Too lazy to get maps loaded, forgot to take a Garmin mount. Seems to be impossible to find a piece of scotch tape when you need it. :-(
Bike lock is useful even if you don’t intend to stop as using a restroom or popping in to buy water could result in stolen bike and losing a deposit worth a lot more than the bike.
W
Firstly : renting the god damn bike is 90% of the work.
-Find a place that rents ROAD BIKE.
-Check that they have a bike your size ( think S,M,L )
-Ask them to put two water bottle carriers on ( otherwise you will get zero or one )
-Ask if they can remove the pedals.
-Figure out how to get the bike to the hotel ( usually you will need to ride it to the hotel )
-Try to get the bike to your room by zipping through the lobby
-Load open source maps unto an SD card insert into Garmin and cross your fingers.
-Get Google maps app and some DATA on your cell plan.
Pack your cycling clothes, gloves, glasses
Pack your cycling helmet, cycling shoes
Pack your Garmin and Garmin mount
Pack your seat bag with gear( minus the CO2 )
Pack a small tire pump for pocket
Pack two big water bottles
Pack your bars/GU
Pack a cable bike lock
Pack a tail light and a good headlight
Pack Sunscreen
Pack single use chain lube
Pack single use chammy butter if you use it.
Past years the bike I rented had the pedals fused to the crank arm :-(
This year the mega cycle shop only had a single road bike for rent and it was a ‘medium’ had to think that through and went for it. Hand them put on my SPD pedals and as soon as I took it from the shop, I sent the seat to the sky and flipped the stem from -N degrees to +N degrees.
Too lazy to get maps loaded, forgot to take a Garmin mount. Seems to be impossible to find a piece of scotch tape when you need it. :-(
Bike lock is useful even if you don’t intend to stop as using a restroom or popping in to buy water could result in stolen bike and losing a deposit worth a lot more than the bike.
W
Biyf