Wednesday, October 25, 2006

100K redux


I rode the same route as last week's 100k, but things went a lot better this time. I spent 4.6hrs riding 104kms for an on bike average of 22.6kph. My total time was 5.3hrs for a overall average of 19.6kph. Temps were 2 - 12 deg C and dry.

I had no problems this time out and before my break at the half way point in Bragg Creek I only spent 3mins off the bike. I spent 27mins at the gas station in Bragg Creek disposing off & replenishing fluids, eating and warming up. It was a nice and warm when I left Calgary so I was able to ride in shorts (thumbs up for the Volae recumbent shorts) and a long sleeve jersey. By the time I got to the half way point it had become a bit chilly since the sun was setting.

I rode in the dark the last two hours of my ride. No problems with my lighting, but in the cold I am not getting very good run times from NiMH rechargeables. They also take 7-8hrs to charge so you have to stay on top of this aspect of ride planning.

I used a Fastback Systems Double Century to carry a 2L bladder with water on one side. On the other side I carried heavier items (batteries) or items I didn't expect to need such as my first-aid kit. Being able to drink on the go was much better than my last 100K ride. I still have not mounted a bottle holder on my stem so I had to stop when I wanted to drink some Sustained Energy, but a Minoura water bottle clamp is on its way to solve this problem.

My Polar HRM doesn't seem to want to "find" the transmitter belt if you move away from the watch for more than 10mins. This is quite annoying as I have the watch attached to my handlebars for easy viewing and I don't want to have to take it off all the time. I solved the problem temporarily by stopping and restarting the watch. It was then able to "find" the transmitter belt, but I lost the total cumulative time of the ride and the HR info for that period of the ride. I need to do some trouble shooting at home and talk to Polar. Worst case I can just wear the watch, but that makes it much harder to get info from while riding.

Anna met up with me at the 80km point of the route and we rode back into Calgary together. I am pretty impressed with the lights and reflective gear we are using. She was almost painfully bright in the light of my dim headlights and I have even more lights/reflective material on my bike. It was nice to have some company on the last leg. Going as fast as I can - optimizing my speed/effort when alone is a challenge, but cruising along chatting is a lot more fun! The recumbent was fine when riding with her DF bike, but I was not comfortable drafting too close.

Lessons Learned:

- bladder hose with magnetic clip is convenient, but the hose can come loose and get into rear wheel. Definitely check this before any serious descents.

- my legs are not extending enough. Move seat back a bit.

- trouble shoot HRM problems.

- one of my MEC turtle lights fell off the left front fork leg. Reminder to self redundancy is good and anything not bolted down is likely to jump ship at some point.

- lights and reflective gear are effective.

- sore tendon in right leg needs some rest.

- I need to climb lots and lots of hills.

- I need to adjust my cleats to allow for an easier release.


1 comment:

Anna said...

You WERE bright! Riding behind you was like riding towards the red swooshing lights of a cylon space ship :-)

And I have never seen so many turning heads of people in passing cars: their mouths open, probably thinking: "what the frak is that?? This is the coolest / weirdest / most elegant bicycle I've ever seen!"

One car actually slowed down and was driving slowly next to you for a minute or so, so that the whole family could enjoy the URO (unidentified rolling object) ;-)

Keep enjoying your two wheels!