Itchy Legs

It's hard being off the bike.

At first I felt great, like my legs just got to the weekend and don't have to get up in the morning. Nice and relaxed and, well... lazy.

But then my legs start to itch.

This week I've been sick. It's just a cold, a tickle at the back of my throat and a snuffly nose. I can't breathe properly and I've been feeling pretty rotten, so that means time off the bike to ensure I don't wear myself out and make it all worse.

When you ride 14+ hours a week it takes up a certain amount of time, including the extra time outside of that where you're washing bikes, greasing chains, and making sure that all your gear is washed and dry. Making sure that lights are plugged in and charging, that the training logs are up to date and the burn-down chart has all the details in it. Weighing in to keep an eye on the general mass that I'm dragging around... Eating lots of extra food, and generally apologising for doing everything I just mentioned.

When the routine is broken. There is nothing to do, and I found myself doing strange things...

I started eating breakfast at home - normally I eat after my morning ride. I also usually shower when I get to work. 3 mins in and out - I'm infamous for my quick showers ("I've been doing it for years, I got good at it"). Using the shower at home means I have time to laze around a bit more, and even shave off that pesky facial hair - so instead of my signature week-by-week stubble I've been relatively clean-shaven for the last 5 days. It's all a bit weird really.

I've also been re-introduced to the horrific concept that are Public Trains. Now, I'm not against mass transit - in fact I'm certainly in favour of it for many, many reasons - but going from the feeling of being free and out in the open to take in the world, to being smooshed into a fast moving tube - it's a juxtaposition that just isn't all that pleasant. At least I don't have to drive - trains have a relative lack of congestion and you can kick back and ready a book - not have to pay a hideous amount of attention to what people around me are doing; as I'd have to do if I were driving a car.... or riding a bike... ok, but it's different when you're on a bike... totally.

Trains aren't a completely foreign concept for me though - I do take the train when I am not cycling - bad weather or the need for a rest day - so on average I take the train once a week. When I do use it I feel like a visitor, a proverbial tourist of public trains - I'm having a rest from cycling, and I even get to feel a teensie bit smug that I'm only there because I've worn myself out from my primary commuting option. It really is a nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there all the time.

Plus my legs itch... I just want to get out and cycle around!

Then there is this 'walking' thing that one has to do to get from the train station to work. It simply isn't natural. After doing this for a few days my legs are starting to hurt in strange ways - my calves and ankles just weren't designed for this type of activity.

On the flip side of all this, though, I've had a lot of time to think about things.

I've finally read through the Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge Guide by Amy Tailor that I've been reading since the beginning of the year, and do some reflection on how things are going, and some concentrated thinking about where I'm going go next.

In March I rode 1261km and climbed around 10km in elevation. I spent around 52 hours in the saddle. The month seemed pretty good - I had a weekend where I didn't ride and another week where the weather must have been feeling about as bad as I do now. The training has been a nice mix of endurance and strength work, and I've seen improvements on times and efforts on some of the more regular climbs. I've also managed to consistently go slower on one particularly clallenging climb - every, single, time, but I also managed to smash 3 minutes off one particular climb, taking my time from 9 minutes down to 6. Much wow!

Next week I have a bike fit booked in with Anthony from BikeFitter. I'm really looking forward to getting my bike set-up done properly, and being in a place where I know all the niggles I'm feeling are expected and that I just need to harden up. More on that after it happens!

I've also been reminiscing on the darker days. The ones that come now that daylight savings has come to confuse our brains and have us wake up at 5am. Thanks Daylight Savings Guy. This, along with extra training rides in the morning has been putting a strain on my bike lights - the excellent Moonlight Comet and not-so-excellent-but-cheap $40 headlight I got on Trade Me - are struggling to keep up with my extended commutes, so I've spent the evenings snuggled up with a cup of herbal tea and the laptop, reading reviews on the different lighting system options out there... oh and also and watching video reviews, in German, with auto-translation-subtitled... seriously this is a source of complete amusement - if you thought that Bad Lip Reading was funny...

It simply is amazing the amount of time you can spend researching a product - something else that takes time away from the family and adds to the seemingly-infinite list of things that need to be sorted before the end of November. I think I've figured out what I'll order, so I'll put up a *gasp* product review (more like an expectations vs reality review probably) when I get around to ordering it.

I also got new pads for my old helmet this week. My helmet is a Scott Groove II - something I mention so you can laugh at me, rather than as a recommendation. I got it after I was hit by a car about a year ago and my old helmet split. It was pretty much the only thing I could afford that didn't have unicorns on it. After a year of sweat and general use the pads fell apart and I started shopping around for a new lid. I was seriously tempted by the POC Octal, but The Engineer brought me back to earth and suggested I look around for replacement pads. Who knew! They actually sell spare parts for helmets, so I got a couple of spare sets from Avanti Plus in Lower Hutt - only to find out that each 'set' comes with two sets in it, so I have enough spares for my helmet to last about 4 more years!

Aah how the mind wanders when I'm not doing anything...

I can see a guy cycling alongside the motorway as we trundle along in this hulking beast, and I'm jealous.

...and my legs have started itching again.

11 Apr 2016 No comments

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No surprises

I went for a mountain bike ride on the weekend. I love my mountain bike. It's a Giant XTC, a bit more cross-country than the full-suspension bikes that my riding buddies are all throwing around, but from my experience it's about the closest thing that you can get to a BMX and still be riding a mountain bike. A sweet, sweet ride.

Even though it was technically a training ride I didn't see the problem with inviting a few extra people along, so The Lawyer and I started off with a nice ride down the Hutt River Trail to get warmed up, before heading up Wainuiomata Hill and smashing out some trails in the Wainui Mountain Bike Park. We met up with a couple of other riders who knew the trails really well, so we were able to follow some sweet lines and had an absolute blast. It was absolutely awesome. After a couple of hours everyone had pretty much had their fill and were ready for the rest of their weekend, but I had a small problem - my training wasn't completely over, and I still had to get home.

The plan was to ride along the fire break/4WD track that runs along the top of the hill and provides access to the ECNZ Power Pylons. This track, on paper, connects the top of the Wainuiomata Hill with the top of the Pinehaven valley, where I live. The track goes through private land at two points, both of which appear to have public access but the common restrictions on motor vehicles and dirt bikes. When I say 'on paper', that's basically because there isn't an official track, so there are no directions or signs, and at some points there isn't even really anything that passes as a track. I love this type of riding.

I got lost. I hadn't actually deviated from the path I was supposed to be on... much... but the whole time I had one growing problem.

Time.

The ride was planned to start at 8:30am and finish around midday, based on the numbers that were in my personal training sheet. At one point, about an hour after I was supposed to be home, I texted B to let her know I was at the top of the ridge and about to descend into the valley. In reality I was actually still miles away from home, with no proper idea where I was going. Turns out it was pretty straight-forward to get out, but with an additional 15 minute deviation down, and up, someones 13% grade driveway doesn't count. It totally looked like the way I was supposed to go! Who the heck has a driveway like that anyway?

I got home at 2pm.

When I got home I wasn't in trouble. In fact B cooked me tuna wraps and bacon wraps (tuna and bacon wraps?), plied me with hot cross buns and a beer, and listened attentively as I told her about the amazing ride I just went on. She also shepherded kids for the afternoon while I recovered.

And she did this instead of doing work on her PhD.

All my cycling has an impact on the family that comes along in a number of ways. There's the constant tiredness, the obvious time that it takes to actually do the riding, and the expense of pursuing such a ridiculous endeavour, but some of the impacts are more subtle than being 3 hours late for lunch. One day last week my legs were so sore I couldn't walk properly - they felt like someone had been punching them. Hard. It was a really slow walk around the supermarket that day.

I am scared by stories that I've read - Josh Kench mentioned a relationship breakup which seemed to be due to his excessive training. Tyler Hamilton, who rode for the US Postal Team with Lance Armstrong, mentioned a break-up with his partner due to the incessant nature of his training and, little things, specifically, not being able to walk around markets because his legs were basically only able to cycle. It's a bloody good read, I recommend.
I'm not in the same league as either of these guys, I can assure you of that, but that doesn't mean it doesn't have a similar impact on those around me.

Right around the time that the Taupo events are on it is my daughters' birthday. It would be complete madness to drag her away on her birthday weekend, or even for just me to go away for that time, so I asked her what she thought. To my surprise we agreed that she would have her birthday and some awesome experiences in Taupo, and I am allowed to do the race as well - on the proviso that I have enough energy left over afterwards to sing Happy Birthday. Pretty awesome for a 10 year old. She's even taken to the idea of doing the kids race, where they get to ride the last 5km with a parent who is taking part in the even. It would be the last year she could do it as she is turning 11 on the day, but I just got told "there's nothing you can do to stop me!". You couldn't expect a better answer than that.

The trick has really been in talking about it, which is made slightly easier because talking about it is something I do all the time.

When I decided I wanted to do this it was in my typical manner; I got an idea stuck in my head and then carried on about how this was just the most awesome thing ever and that I really really wanted to do it. I obcessed. I researched, I planned, I gathered information; I talked about it non-stop. I think at some point it simply became tangible for us both - the realisation kicked in that this was going to happen, it wasn't just passing fad, I wasn't letting go; I was actually going to ride around Lake Taupo twice.

I still talk about it all the time, perhaps in a little more moderation, but all that talking helps; assuming they are not secretly tuning me out. Regardless, I natter on about how long my training rides are going to be in a few months time - My Top Secret Trainer has indicated that I'll be doing 200km+ rides on the weekends. That's a pretty long ride when you think about it, and it might take me hours to complete. This pretty much wipes me out for the whole day, and that has to be managed by us all; but everyone already knows about it and we are already starting to have conversations about how we'll handle it when it happens.

Last night we were working on the budget for my cycling for the year, scheduling in the regular maintenance that my bike will need and the parts that I'll be wearing out - if my chain needs replacing approx every 2000kms I'll theoretically have to fork out for a new one every 8 weeks. We worked through the numbers for all the parts and supplies that I'll be needing and came up with a timeline, a budget, and a plan. We talked about when things need to be booked in. B doesn't ride a bike, but she can organise a bike maintenance plan with the best of them. While I'm constantly amazed at how much money you can actually throw at a bike, we both know it and can plan for it.

It's about making sure everyone knows what is going on. Being open, honest. Planning ahead.

No surprises.

And so we move things around, we negotiate - I spend as much time as I can with the kids to allow B to get to her PhD. She lets me ride, encourages me to stick to my training. I make every effort I can to arrange my cycling around the family, and we schedule it in. I actively work at not being selfish about it, and when it comes to the crunch, if something has to give, I don't go for the ride - I figure out how to make up the time later, or I just write it off. We are going away to a conference for B's PhD at a point in the future, and for that whole week I can't ride. There isn't the time or space, so I've simply chosen to take that week off.

At the end of the day we all know what I've signed up for. We didn't realise it at the time, perhaps, and I know we'll find new and interesting ways that it will test us, but we are all on board with it, and that is the biggest reason I'll complete this event. Not because of all the training, but because they are all behind me every step of the way; because I know that I'll still have a family to come back to when it is all over.

28 Mar 2016 1 comment

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Keeping it ticking over

It seems to be the month for it! 3000km have come and gone since I purchased my bike and it's time for some scheduled maintenance.

I'm relatively happy about this. It's not going to be overly cheap, but apparently this isn't a cheap hobby (although a quick Google for 'expensive hobbies' returns plenty of lists which 'cycling' is not mentioned in. Perhaps I should take up Aviation?)

Throughout the rigmarole with the strange noises coming from my bike I've become more conscious about the wear and tear on the bike. The idea of losing brakes, traction, gears... any number of things could be devastating at any given moment, and even the best-case scenario means time off the bike or training rides cut short.

With this in mind I've been keeping an eye on my chain wear using the old 'measure it with a set of callipers' method, and at the time that the chain showed noticeable amount of stretch. I also noticed that the chain started to get louder, and the shifting started to get a little rougher - kind of louder and less crisp feeling.

So off to my Favourite Mechanic I went, bike in hand, and today the bike is in for a few little tweaks and upgrades:

• new shifter and brake cables
• new chain
• new bar tape
• headset tighten and check

I'm led to believe the shifter cables that came on the bike were pretty inexpensive. They were coated with some form of plastic that has worn off and gotten everywhere and all jammed up in the cable housings. The brake cables didn't seem to be that fancy either and have effectively corroded, and the rear brake is feeling sticky. It's not terrible, but there is a definite lack of modulation. Actually it's pretty terrible. The plan is to replace the cables with either Jagwire, or stock Shimano cables. It's going to be a bit of a surprise to see which one the mechanic goes for - either way it will be better than what I've got now.

I'm a bit sad about the bar tape. I was running bright orange Lizard Skins, which were tacky (as in 'sticky', thanks!) as heck and BRIGHT ORANGE! Unfortunately they have worn through and are rather dirty from all the use. The plan is to stick some orange fi'zi:k tape on there. It's more 'Orange' than 'ORANGE', but slightly more padded, and hopefully should stay a bit cleaner for longer. I've used the black version before and been pretty happy with it. The extra padding will be nice too; I broke my thumb a few years ago and it gets a little annoyed over longer rides. Of all the things, the bar tape is the one that I'm most attached to.

The headset is an interesting one that I've learnt an interesting lesson from, I think. A few months back as I was breaking in the bike the forks got a little play in them. I didn't think anything of it and got some tools out to tighten it all up - and accidentally pulled apart the compression plug that holds the top tube cap on. I managed to get it all back together, but in the process noticed that the top headset bearing had no grease around it. I had a look at the bottom bearing and it was all greased up, and after talking to a mechanic confirmed that I did make the correct decision by greasing it before putting everything back together.

The thing that I learnt from this, along with the bottom bracket going, was that it isn't to be assumed that a bike is put together correctly to begin with. The mechanics who were looking into the BB mentioned that they don't always get put together properly in the factory and it does happen that they miss things. If (or more likely when) I purchase another bike I'll be ordering a complete strip-down and re-build of the bike before I take it out of the shop. I might even have some idea of parts I want to replace before I ride it, like the cables, brake pads, and a stronger BB for example. I can't imagine this will be free, or even cheap, but knowing that these things happen out of the box I can see the advantage of fixing these problems before they even happen. Something about prevention and cure?

But for now, it's time to part with my money. I could do this myself. I know I could do it myself, but the idea of dropping the bike off in the morning and getting an overhauled machine back at the end of the day tickles my fancy.

Plus, I'm shit at wrapping bar tape.

Epilogue:

The results are in and they are pretty awesome - the new tape looks mint and matches the colour that I have in my head when I think about the colour of my bike.
The brakes are smooth and responsive - just how I remember them from the first time we rode (awww...)
When I first picked up the bike I noticed that the chain didn't mesh quite right with the rear cassette - the occasional 'click'. Apparently this is because the chain needs time to wear in to the cassette (unless I want to replace the cassette as well) and it should wear in within a few hundred kms - so by mid-next week basically!

Shifting on the way home, however, was another thing altogether. Silky smooth, highly responsive - she shifts so quickly, and next-to-no chain noise whatsoever.

I could get used to this. What a way to start the weekend!

21 Mar 2016 No comments

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