Test Ride

One thing I can’t recommend enough to anyone is test riding.  Suit up with your shoes and pedals, make sure your seat height is set right and take the bike for a short spin.  Take any guess work out of test riding the bikes, I’ll explain more of those details shortly.

In the Details

#1 make sure each bike is setup the same in the fit.  If your seat is too high or too low, you’ll feel that in the response of the bike.  From there, make sure to compare like bikes, like parts and even like wheels when you start looking at higher end bikes.  If you are price point shopping take the time to feel the difference in shifting, weight and any suspension difference.

What I’m Riding

Today I’m test riding the Cervelo R3 with Ultegra 6700 components.  This is a two fold test ride, the new Ultegra shifting and the Cervelo R3 frameset.  My goal for this is to find a new due all bicycle that won’t time out after a year of technology change.  Look for a recap on both of these products!

Do you know of any Pink Shoes?

The customer has a wider foot, so a shoe more like Shimano or Pearl Izumi fit would be best. We found the Bont shoes, but have no experience with the molded shoes.

The best we found

DeFeet shoe covers in pastel pink

Sidi T2

The New York Times recently published an article on various bike trainers that a woman tested for 90 minutes at a time.  The article got me thinking about all the hours I spent on the trainer in Maryland and Massachusetts.  I hated every minute of it and even the famed “rollers” that were supposed to be 100% better, stunk.

Technology of Highend Trainers

As anything, technology is increasing and trainers are becoming an experience instead of a chore.  Computrainers and the Rock and Roll trainer are really pushing the envelope.

Computrainer

The best indoor trainers on the market, in my opinon.  These trainers hook up to you computer, using a profile or set thresholds the trainer changes resistance on your tire to make it feel very real life.   They also can be set up to 8 trainers connected to each other, then to the computer.  This allows you to ride with others, race, draft and really interact with others. 

I’m a bit spoiled as we have a fitness center inside of the shop I manage. We have 8 of these Computrainers and host multiple classes or rides per day.  You can really use this as a training tool and optimize your time during the off-season or daylight savings.

The catch on the Computrainer is the cost.  Starting at $1649, these trainers are for the diehard users.

Rock & Roll from Kurt by Kinetic

If you want to see a different way of thinking, check out the Rock & Roll.  The movie below can say more than I, so I’ll stop now.

The Rock & Roll will create a core strength as well as aid in the hard resistance on your body that you normally may feel on a trainer. 

Now, if you want the best of both world – take a Computrainer resistance unit and mount it to a Rock & Roll base unit.

My initial post about Pre-Season planning turned some heads over at Team Estrogen’s forum.  Many people were excited to talk about their 2010 goals, but after 4 pages of women’s goals there were a few asking me if I was crazy.  They looked at November and December as resting times, or they may still be trying to complete 2009.

All these things are fair, but I find planning out your season prior to the holiday season makes things easier and you may eat one less serving of mash potatoes.

We didn’t get many comments on the blog about 2010 plans, so let me start off mine:

• Training for Trans Iowa. The race is the end of April, and it will be roughly a 30 hour race across the “B” + “C” roads of Iowa.  Cyclocross and mountain bikes are much needed.
• The rest of the year I’ll be doing what I can, when I can.  Maybe continue the local weekly mountain bike series, hit a couple longer distance mountain bike races like the 100 miler, or 12/24 hour lap type.
• Smaller goals include stretching more, strength training and losing about 15 pounds of fat (hopefully gaining back 8 pounds of muscle.)

Now these are my goals, there are many things behind them like finding a better fit saddle for 300 miles on a cyclocross bike, the proper lighting, nutrition and preparing my mind for all of it.  I knew this task was daunting and overwhelming so I have suited myself up with proper testing and coaching.

Next time we will be talking about what type of testing, what coaching does for you and why even someone getting into cycling or trying to lose weight could benefit from all of this.

I’m often asked how I keep doing what I do.  5 a.m. mornings, endless miles on the trainer, in the pool.  Worn out running shoes… worn out dog.  Folks think I have some secret knowledge, or extra gear that keeps me uninjured, motivated, strong and healthy.  The truth is, there is no secret gear.  No magic pill, no religious practice, no expensive bike part that will bring you the results you want.  There is simply, moving your body, more than zero, every day.

It helps, if love your sport.  I love to swim, bike, and run with my friends. I’ve been doing it since I was a kid, and it’s still super fun today.   But there are still those days, when I’m feeling particularly unmotivated to move and I have to decide, is this injury or laziness?  A sign of overtraining, or a workout I need to push through?    I can’t answer this question until I start to move.  So I start; knowing full well, that I don’t have to complete the workout exactly as written.   I don’t have to run 6 miles if walking 3 feels like enough, or chase my friends on the bike if a yoga class sounds like a better idea. I do, however, have to do more than nothing.  So, I’ll strap the running shoes on, and start moving.  If I still feel rough after 10 – 15 mins, I’ll turn around and head back home, knowing that 20 minutes is ”more than zero” and my body is trying to tell me something. Nine times out of ten, however, I start to perk up once I start moving and I’m able to complete the workout as planned.

That’s it.  That’s how I keep doing what I do.  Every day, just enough.  Not more than I plan, not harder than I need.   Steady, consistent, training knowing that I’ll be doing more than zero tomorrow, and the next day, and the next.