Well I have been putting in the miles on my bike, but at a cost. I am riding a Motiv hard tail, Ground Pounder MTB. I firsts used locking pedal and walkable bike shoes, but after the first ride the inner right knee was aching and it took few days of I.C.E. to get it better. So I switched those with Look pedals and shoes. The ability to rotate the foot helped a great deal. There was a bit too much movement; I kept hitting heed of the right foot on the chain stay. Also the sun would heat up the water in my drinking tube of Camelbak. I found some neoprene and made insulated sleeved for the tube with micro zip-ties and dust tape. I also frozen a one gallon freezer bag, folded in half, with water. The bag fitted inside Camelbak reservoir.
The problem with biking is you need at least two hours to get a good workout. So the only time I can ride is on my days off. Saturday was good work out, but my hands still keep getting numb. I was nice to have fellow cyclist wave at you. Felt like you were in a team.
Not wanting to miss out other opportunity to ride, I made some adjustment, lowered my seat and went out again on Sunday, but much early in the morning. There was a slight breeze when I left with it on my back and the ride most started down hill. As I got closer to turn around point, the wind was very strong. I stopped immediately and turned again, but it was too late. I was riding against 8 mph winds with gust up to 15 mph. I struggled against the wind, to stay up right, and keep hydrated. I would stop on downhill segments to rest and drink. I couldn’t advantage of the down hill portions because the wind would not let me coast, instead I nearly stalled. I almost ran out of water till I open the zip lock bag in the reservoir.
With five more hills to climb, I called, my soon to be ex-wife, for a ride, but her phone was turned off and only got the message hour later. I could feel I was using many muscles and would develop a real tightness on my thighs, but periodically resting I was able to finish the ride. Now I am treating a very sore right knee. Hopefully I will be able to work tomorrow. As for riding I will have to be aware of windy condition, because I live in very windy area.
I stopped at Trek bike store to check out road bikes. I was impressed by the quality of bike you can buy for your dollar. Even carbon frame seemed reasonable priced. I found the Madone 4 ($1,999.99) to my liking. I was also please with standard components of the model, such as Bontrager R1, 700x23c and Tektro R540 brakes w/Shimano 105 STI levers. What was interested was how the sale person approached you. Much like a car sale men style. Trek has realized the contact with customer does not end in the sale, they offer Trek Red Shield extended warranty that includes maintenance service for 3-5 years and trade-ins.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Old is New
Hi fellow triathletes! Let me introduce myself. I am 50 years old and beginning to prepare for triathlon. I was thinking of an Olympic distance. I have completed in triathlons before, but it has been many, many...many years ago. In 1989, finished the Bonita Park and the Big Bear in CA. Since then I never raced again.
So I am been search and pulling out my vintage training equipment, bikes, and resources. The only material available in the late 80's was books and magazines. Now with the Internet, there is overwhelming amount of information. You can find web sites for beginnings, older triathletes, and women.
I found a great YouTube site for stretching exercise for running, Stretching Institute and other YouTube one for cycling called Stretching. Which I will use when I run and bike. Plus now there is exercise ball, which I am sitting on now. I can't help bouncing or roll on the ball as I type. It is great to help develop your core. Which didn’t exist in the 80’s, unless you were in Pilate's then?
So far I replace my bike helmet and brought a Speedo swimming suit and heart rate monitor watch. I visited Consumer Reports to see which helmets they recommended. I planned to buy a Bell Slade, but instead choose Axis. It had more ventilation channels and a small flashing LED light on the back. I don't plan to do any night riding, but I didn't think the extra visibility could not hurt. I also liked the dial fitting system that is incorporated in the helmets. I was also surprise how cheap helmet are now.
As for the Speedo, I was swimming in my trucks, but found it to restricted as I grew stronger, plus all of the other swimmer were wearing small swimming wear. I feel out of place. So I found a sale at Big 5. It seems their prices have gone up. For the money, I hope they will last longer then my old Speedos. I also needed a kick board, but I didn’t want to pay $8.00, so I found some at the .99 cent store for….99ct. They were too small for me, but I am trying to glue two together with Gorilla Glue. Man that is nasty stuff when you get it on your hands. I tried acetone, soap and water and mineral oil, but the stuff would not come off. What’s worst, ever time the glue came into contact with water it got really sticky again. I found on the web that an exfoliate would remove the glue. Looking in the shower I found, my legal separated wife’s, Body & Earth Spa Peppermint Foot Scrub with aloe vera and vitamins A & E, which did the treat. I think my hands are even softer.
The watch I just happen to find at Costco. I was originally looking to replace my broken watch and found this great timepiece. The Mio Stride has build in heart monitor and pedometer with calories counter. You input your stat; height, weight, strides length, age, and resting heart rate. The watch provide you the percent of your heart rate to maximum heart rate. It is neat piece of equipment.
But I think the most important pieces of equipment I bought is emergency identity bracelet. I been watching the Tour of France and kept seeing this commercial for Road ID. I check their website and was very impress with their product. Instead of carrying a small card or ID brackets, Road Id took the idea further and developed a user friendly information database service which allows you to store and update pertinent contact and medical information. You can easily update information when you are on vacation or at a race you can also store insurance carriers, physician’s information, allergies and other vital information.
The web site also has compelling testimonial for their customers. I just order mines this week and should have early next week. I plan to wear it when I am on bike riding, running, out of town, and during work when I get call out at night. If anyone is interested, I have $1.00 off coupon code.
Hope you come back and follow my progress.
So I am been search and pulling out my vintage training equipment, bikes, and resources. The only material available in the late 80's was books and magazines. Now with the Internet, there is overwhelming amount of information. You can find web sites for beginnings, older triathletes, and women.
I found a great YouTube site for stretching exercise for running, Stretching Institute and other YouTube one for cycling called Stretching. Which I will use when I run and bike. Plus now there is exercise ball, which I am sitting on now. I can't help bouncing or roll on the ball as I type. It is great to help develop your core. Which didn’t exist in the 80’s, unless you were in Pilate's then?
So far I replace my bike helmet and brought a Speedo swimming suit and heart rate monitor watch. I visited Consumer Reports to see which helmets they recommended. I planned to buy a Bell Slade, but instead choose Axis. It had more ventilation channels and a small flashing LED light on the back. I don't plan to do any night riding, but I didn't think the extra visibility could not hurt. I also liked the dial fitting system that is incorporated in the helmets. I was also surprise how cheap helmet are now.
As for the Speedo, I was swimming in my trucks, but found it to restricted as I grew stronger, plus all of the other swimmer were wearing small swimming wear. I feel out of place. So I found a sale at Big 5. It seems their prices have gone up. For the money, I hope they will last longer then my old Speedos. I also needed a kick board, but I didn’t want to pay $8.00, so I found some at the .99 cent store for….99ct. They were too small for me, but I am trying to glue two together with Gorilla Glue. Man that is nasty stuff when you get it on your hands. I tried acetone, soap and water and mineral oil, but the stuff would not come off. What’s worst, ever time the glue came into contact with water it got really sticky again. I found on the web that an exfoliate would remove the glue. Looking in the shower I found, my legal separated wife’s, Body & Earth Spa Peppermint Foot Scrub with aloe vera and vitamins A & E, which did the treat. I think my hands are even softer.
The watch I just happen to find at Costco. I was originally looking to replace my broken watch and found this great timepiece. The Mio Stride has build in heart monitor and pedometer with calories counter. You input your stat; height, weight, strides length, age, and resting heart rate. The watch provide you the percent of your heart rate to maximum heart rate. It is neat piece of equipment.
But I think the most important pieces of equipment I bought is emergency identity bracelet. I been watching the Tour of France and kept seeing this commercial for Road ID. I check their website and was very impress with their product. Instead of carrying a small card or ID brackets, Road Id took the idea further and developed a user friendly information database service which allows you to store and update pertinent contact and medical information. You can easily update information when you are on vacation or at a race you can also store insurance carriers, physician’s information, allergies and other vital information.
The web site also has compelling testimonial for their customers. I just order mines this week and should have early next week. I plan to wear it when I am on bike riding, running, out of town, and during work when I get call out at night. If anyone is interested, I have $1.00 off coupon code.
Hope you come back and follow my progress.
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