First week of "real" riding complete

Completed my first week of "real" riding this year since my knee injury. I ended up going our with Sarah, her husband, and another friend on a ride this morning while it was still borderline too cold out. It turned out to be a great ride until the halfway point when we stopped. Got cold standing there and took 5 miles to get warmed up again. When the sun came out, it was a beautiful morning. Overall, it was 30.34 miles of pure enjoyment!

For the week, I ended up doing 5 rides for a grand total of 140.23 miles.

First attempt at the "EasyLoop" ride

It was a balmy 40 degrees outside today.... before the 15 degree wind chill. Some of the other die-hards were probably out, but I tend to hit the trainer until its above 50. So fired the unit up, browsed through the course list, and selected "EasyLoop". Its a nice 1.92 mile loop. I had planned on watching 2 episodes of "Lost" today so I selected 20 repeats of the loop, selected a scenery file... and hit start. Two episodes of a TV show, 5 minute warm up, 5 minute cool down. A good 1:30 hour trainer ride! The other benefit of doing loops is that you can get your times per loop and get a good idea of whether or not you are tiring.

I haven't analyzed any of the reports yet... but here are my stats:

• Avg Mph: 19.7
• Peak Mph: 25.4
• Distance: 30.47 miles
• Avg watts: 179
• Peak watts: 345
• Avg RPMs: 92
• Avg pulse: 155
• Peak pulse: 174
• Calories: 983

I'd be interested in seeing my lap times.... Overall the ride felt really good. Was pushing it fairly good, but still felt like I could put in another 30-45 minutes. The loop felt like a lot of the roads around the area so thats a plus. Can't wait to get back on!

Ride of the day

Still sticking to the trainer. Too afraid of hitting small hills outside and putting unwanted pressure on the knee. I'm trying to slowly build my strength back in my legs. So I loaded up the 10 mile course Ten_Mile_Beginner.3dc and off I went. The course has a max elevation grade of 5%, a min elevation grade of -6%, and an overall grade of -1%. Still trying to maintain 95 cadence.

I also had my first opportunity to evaluate my spin scan. Spin Scan is a software evaluation of you pedal stroke and your muscle groups efficiency. My numbers showed that my left leg was favored more providing around 51-52% of the power. Not terribly bad however it might be something I mention when I go for my bike fitting. Then there is the actual spin scan value. Mine was normally in the 65-70 range. I could get it up into the 75-80 range if I tried, but it just didn't feel comfortable. Maybe its lack of use of my hamstrings, maybe its just the fact that a tri bike puts a rider more forward forcing the use of different muscle groups, I don't know. Either way its something to work on.

Overall I ended the ride with the following numbers:

• Distance: 10 miles
• Avg Speed: 17.5mph
• Avg Cadence: 94rpm
• Avg heartrate: 152hpm
• Avg Power: ???

The numbers are kind of skewed because half way through I had to take a phone call and forgot to pause the system. I probably would have put an average of around 19mph otherwise. Its a really easy course. The 5% elevation gain was a little difficult, but it caused no pain in the knee.

Overall, I think I probably put in maybe 50-60 miles this week. I need to start keeping track of my miles better like Sarah does!

New Goodies

With a recession, what better thing to do than to travel around looking for some much needed cycling gear. Most of stores are struggling for business so there are plenty of great deals to be had. There were two main things I needed: helmet and shoes.

First, I had to get some funds. I had placed an ad on craigslist for my old Kurt Kinetic trainer. I ended up selling it to a fellow beginner triathlete in the area. So on I went to the stores with $$$ burning a hole in my wallet.

The first stop was a bike store where I purchased my first bike which I said I'd never go to again. When I got there, there wasn't any parking available as they had put up a tent for there annual season opening sale (more like a we need business badly sale). I was happy to oblige. They didn't have the shoes I wanted in my size nor a helmet either... however the wife did what any good wife would do and asked me if I needed clothes. I was fairly stocked on jerseys and such but was in dire need of some shorts. Off she went... She came back with a stack of several sale and clearance merchandise. After struggling in their meager fitting room, I ended up with these:


They are Specialized RBX Pro Bib shorts. And they definitely pass the initial "look" test. The material isn't the standard cycling short material. I don't know what it is, but it just feels good. And then there is the "pad". I believe that my body is going to thank me for these in more ways then one. There is only one problem with them, they are pricey! I've only bought standard shorts from Pearl Izumi (PI) and while some of theirs are good, these just blow them away.

So, we continued our tour of Rhode Island and hit REI. I wasn't expecting anything here, except they had a large clearance rack. After digging through that, I found a PI Slice Kodiak Light jersey that is perfect for New England spring/late fall conditions. Regular price was stickered at $95. It was on clearance for $34.93 plus an additional 30% off. Getting any kind of jersey for $25 is just a deal too good to pass up. Plus, its a great color scheme!! Can not go wrong with Scarlet & Gray.



The jersey has a nice full length zipper, three rear pockets, as well as one zipper pocket for keys/cell phone. The fabric material is PIs thermafleece material which is great at providing some wind stopping and keeping some of the warmth in.

Unfortunately, the last shop I wanted to go to closed before we could get there so I still don't have what I set out for. Perhaps tomorrow :)

First week back in the Saddle

I've just completed my first full week back in the saddle. I'm still doing my spinning. Trying to keep my cadence in the 95 range. So far its ben fairly easy pedaling. I've been using the Computrainer in standalone mode up until tonight, meaning I didn't have it hooked up to my computer and I was using the handlebar unit. So I'll start there.

The standalone mode of the Computrainer offers 2 modes: Ergometer and General Exercise. The Ergometer mode allows the user to control the load of the trainer in 5 watt increments. Once you set the watts, the trainer will consistently generate that load, so as you go faster, the resistance actually gets easier. The Ergometer mode is also very useful for doing power threshold testing. The General Exercise mode allows the selection of 50 preset programs based on just varying loads to varying mileage and loads. I used both modes.

The standalone mode was nice... but today I got a nice delivery. The missing stereo to serial conversion adapter. Popped the cable in, plugged in the adapter, and enabled the serial port and waited for all the glory that is the Computrainer 3D software. Started the software, created a profile, and then performed a COMM port check... Everything all set and connected properly. So now all I had to do was find a course. Hmmm, where should I start: right at the top at a Tour de France stage or Ironman World Championships? Nah, I think I'll go for a stroll around Central Park. Loaded up the profile and started the race. I didn't feel like watching the static biker so off went the trainer software and on went another episode of "Lost". Ok, I'm getting hooked on the show. 30 minutes later and I'm going up this never ending hill. I keep pedalling while watching. For 10 straight minutes I pedaled up this hill. Its Central Park for crying out loud. Well, what I hadn't noticed was that the handlebar unit said "Pause" and that I had reached the end of the course. Well the finish is a slight incline. So there was my hill. Kind of funny when you think about it.

I'm really looking forward to training with the thing. I hope it helps me improve my ITT times this summer. Wait, what am I saying... I just hope I can keep up with Sarah!

Workout room complete

With the addition of my new (to me) Computrainer and the replacement treadmill our house was in desperate need of a makeover of some of the rooms. Originally, I had setup the trainer in the "man" room in front of a large television. Then we had the treadmill and a bowflex in our "guest" room with a twin bed. Not very "guest" friendly. So I spent the better part of a week taking things apart and moving them to different rooms...

Here is the final product of my Computrainer setup:


As you can see, I have a very nice little setup. I'm relatively close to the monitor so I can view videos (currently I'm going through the "Lost" series). I have a fan to keep me nice and cool. A TV tray to keep bottles, gels, towels, etc. I even have a few candles for the summertime. Here is my view while riding:


So then I can step off the bike in foul weather or late nights and hop right onto this:

From the time I'm spent on it (True Z5), which is not very much at all due to the knee, this is a wonderful treadmill. It has one of the best deck/belt combinations I've seen. We have it facing the window to our backyard which overlooks a farm. I can't wait to be able to use it!

Overall, we have a very useful little home gym! A weight training machine and several aerobic machines. Now time to get to work....

Rehab rides begin!!!!

So after four weeks of doing nothing at all activity wise, I started my recovery rides to try and test out the knee. I've been relatively pain free for the last week and half, so I'd figure I would give it a go.

I also had to test out my new toy!! I thoroughly enjoyed the indoor rides on the Computrainer so much and after hearing so many good things about it from Sarah I decided I would look to get one. I came across a deal I couldn't pass up and purchased a used one! Who said anything about not spending money on cycling gear when you can't bike. Actually, when it comes down to it, the use of the Computrainer might actually be better for my recovery because I can control the resistance of the unit versus the KK Road Machine where it is a fairly static resistance. I unfortunately can't do a full writeup on it yet because I only have it working from the handlebar unit. Hey whatever... It works! So back to the rehab.

Everyone always talks about the show "Lost" and I've never seen an episode. So I borrowed some discs and have decided to watch the episodes during my recovery. Each one will give me about 40 minutes on the trainer. I think its a perfect amount of spin time. So on when the shorts and shoes and in went the disc. I had a very pleasant time! I think I was so happy to be pedaling again. And "Lost" is actually quite intriguing. Before I knew it, the episode was over and my ride was done.

So with little resistance in the 45 minutes I probable went about 8-10 miles. Not very fast and not very far. But that's not my goal. It is all about rehab. So we'll see how I feel tomorrow. If I feel good after the short ride and the standing all day (St Patty's day parade in Newport, RI) I'll give it another shot....