Tempus Fugit

Latin (tem-pu̇s-ˈfü-git): Time Flies

Category: Activities

  • 8 Days in California

    Nope, not a road trip, didn’t leave home, in fact I stayed in the basement for most of this. Trainerroad has an 8 day training challenge that coincides with the Tour of California. 8 stages in 8 days. I did the Tour of Sufferlandria back in February, so this time I knew how hard it is to do training sessions back to back with no “rest days”.

    images

    Well, this was no different. By Stage 3 I had to lower my FTP to survive and take a few unscheduled stops to boot! Things really started to fall apart on Stage 6. It’s Friday of the May long weekend and we’re going to the lake. My plan is to do Stage 6 and then pack up and drive to the lake for a relaxing evening. Well, by mistake, I do the 2013 Stage 6! Now it’s pack up, including the trainer, bike & gear (which was coming anyway because Stage 7 & 8 are on Saturday & Sunday) but instead of a relaxing evening, after unloading the car which was packed to the hilt, it’s hit the trainer again for the real 2014 Stage 6. Total crash and burn on that one as I just limp through the 1 hr 28 minute stage.

    By Stage 6 I’ve had to switch the Wahoo Kickr from ERG mode, which forces you to follow the power curve, to Standard mode, where I can slack off a bit during the tough sprints and climbs. Not pretty, but I got ‘er  done.

    After a full day on Saturday of getting the water on at the cottage, going up and down to the dock countless times, I didn’t have a brilliant Stage 7 either. Last stage this afternoon is looking to be tough as well. Tired from the previous 7 stages, plus the all day efforts of opening the cottage. Must be fun though or I wouldn’t be torturing myself like this.

  • Tour Recap

    This year I rode the Tour of Sufferlandria, and indoor training event featuring 9 days of riding between 1 and 2 hours each day. It didn’t sound too bad but man it was hard!

    ToS-2014-FB-Banner

    Last year was the 1st ever Tour, and we were in Maui so I didn’t participate. Touring Maui was way easier and way more enjoyable. Going into the Tour may FTP was 288. The 1st ride, Rubber Glove, is and FTP test and the results came in at 311. I was pretty excited about the improvement and cranked up Trainerroad to 311 for the next ride. That turned out to be quite a mistake. The next few rides were humbling as keeping the power on the ride proved to be impossible and I was forced to dial it down in order to complete the daily rides.

    I was surprised at the difficulty of the cumulative stress of riding day after day. I’d never done so many back to back sessions. After Stage 5 I was really starting to wonder what I’d got myself into, and if I could finish. By Stage 7, I just wanted it to be over and was not looking forward to coming home after work because that meant another ride. Not only that but I’d mentally told myself that Stage 7 was just 1 hour, but in fact it was two videos for two hours, followed by Stage 8 for 1:44! While Stage 9 consisted of 64 sprints, which I thought would be incredibly difficult, it was a great way to finish the Tour and not as hard as I had anticipated. An overview of my Tour is on the Trainerroad site and a full description of the Tour is on The Sufferfest site. Did I mention the prizes? There are lots, and with only about 1,500 riders completing all nine rides, there is a possibility.

  • The Tour begins…

    The Tour of Sufferlandria has begun and I’ve just completed Stage 1, Rubber Glove. This 1hr Sufferfest video incorporates a 20 minute FTP test. I first did this video/test back in November 23, 2013 and was a little disappointed that my FTP remained the same as it had been for all of 2013 at 288. I really struggled in the last 10 minutes and couldn’t hold the power output and had to slow down a fair bit just to finish. Yesterday was a different story. The test was still very hard, but at 10 minutes in I knew it was going better and I knew I’d make it all the way at or above the required power. I even managed a 1 minute sprint right at the end. The reward for training? An 8% FTP increase from 288 to 311!

    New FTP
    New FTP

    The down side of this is that Trainerroad scales all the workouts against your current FTP, so the next 8 stages of the Tour are going to be even harder. Big stage today, 2 hours of “fun” with It Seemed Like a Good Idea At the Time.

  • Upgraded Trainer

    Kickr on the Karma
    Kickr on the Karma

    I’ve been looking at the Wahoo Kickr since it was first announces, and finally pulled the trigger and replaced original mag trainer we purchased back in 2000 over the Christmas holidays. It’s been a lot of fun so far, and I’m using it primarily in conjunction with Trainerroad. Trainerroad workouts set the resistance on the Kickr via Bluetooth/ANT+  so that as you move into different power intervals, no mater what cadence you are pedaling, it forces you to produce the prescribed power output. This works great for longer intervals as it sets the Kickr in ERG mode to accomplish this. Not so good for quick short sprint intervals and so for this workouts I switch it to “Standard” mode and it behave like a fluid trainer with variable resistance settings and non-linear, exponential power curves, the faster you pedal, the more resistance is applied.

     

    I’ve tried the Wahoo Segments app on the iPad which allows you to ride Strava segments on the trainer and compete against anyone on the leaderboard. The surprising thing is how quickly the app changes the Kickr resistance to correspond to the Strava data. The app displays the elevation profile, but this is no replacement for visually seeing where you’re riding. I found my self shifting like a mad man to manage the power demands on my 1st attempt. Turned out to be a very draining 25 minute workout, actually more like a race that a workout.

  • What the acquisition of MapMyFitness by Under Armour really means for the industry | DC Rainmaker

    What the acquisition of MapMyFitness by Under Armour really means for the industry | DC Rainmaker.

  • Winter cycle commuting update

    Well, we’ve hit our first cold snap of the winter with windchill in the -30°C range.  Of course prior to that, a dump of snow that has made cycling such fun! I’ve switched out the clip less pedals for some platforms, and put on the winter boots to keep the feet warm. Now that the streets and paths are either plower or packed, the riding is pretty good again.

    On one ride home I actually had a lady slow down as we passed each other and roll down her window to thank me for wearing such a bright jacket and being easy to see on the road. Nicer that the other guy on the sidewalk who asked me if I had a death wish!

  • Late Season FOG ride

    There are not likely to be too many more FOG rides this year as snow is likely just around the corner but this morning the weather was cooperative and 5 of us did the full standard FOG route. We started with 6 but someone bailed early, some thing about a ‘cross race tomorrow.
    I was up in plenty of time to get organized and ride over to the Legion for the 9am start but as I leave the driveway I hear “squeak, squeak, squeak”, it’s the new booties rubbing the crank arm. Do I want to listen to that for the next 4+ hrs? Nope, back to the garage to adjust my cleats. Good thing I went back because I’d left the water bottles on the counter. All this extra messing around and now it’s not a leisurely ride to the Legion, but more of the time trial pace to make sure I’m there at 9.

    Anyway a good ride as always, a little cool but the intermittent sunshine made you think it was a bit warmer that it actually was.

    Hope the Strava guys have fixed their stuff and the route picture shows up now.

  • Glad I was wearing a helmet

    I’ve been cycle commuting for quite a few years now including last year’s first ime ever all through the winter and never had a crash, until yesterday.

    Oh, I’ve crashed off the mountain bike many times on trails, most notably one causing a shoulder separation on the Maah Daah Hey trail in 2005, even a couple of crashes on the road bike, but never while commuting to and from work until now, well except for this, but that really doesn’t count.. It was a cool -3°C and the roads were dry and clear, there was some frost on the car windshields on our street but the riding seemed fine. I’ve just crossed the Norwood bridge and I’m making the turn into The Forks to go under the bridge and ride up the river walk to work. Normally, I go down the road a bit into The Forks and then hop the curb to get onto the path down to the river. On this occasion I made a bit of a last minute decision to turn up onto the sidewalk where there was a nice ramp (no curb hopping required).

    This last minute decision necessitated a sharper and quicker that norman turn and that’s when it happened. In a blink I’m down on the ground, I hear the “clunk” sound as my helmet bounces off the concrete. One second I’m upright and the next I’m down. Zero time to react. It seems that the frost on the road has formed an invisible scating rink! Even after the fall I really can’t see anything on the road but it’s pure ice. The right hip takes the biggest hit and later as I’m changing at work I note the road rash on the hip, elbow, shoulder and lower leg, a full right side impact. Thankfully, no damage to the bike or the nice new jacket.

    Things stiffened up over the course of the day while sitting at the desk, and the ride home was a little tentative, no crazy risk taking manoeuvres for sure. It will likely take a few more days for everything to return to normal but I’m very glad I had the helmet, without it I’m sure it would have been much worse.

  • A breezy fall day

    I’m up early and getting ready for the FOG ride. It’s cloudy and the streets are a bit wet from some overnight rain. The forecast is not promising, with 12° and a 70% change of rain. As I’m finishing up my bacon and egg breakfast and downing a cup of coffee I decide to check the FOG blog to see if there is a ride update. The ride has been canceled and I’m a bit disappointed. I have not been out with the guys for a number of weeks now and I was really looking forward to the ride. What to do? All dressed up and nowhere to go!

    As the day progresses there is no rain just a lot of cloud and wind, a lot of wind! Feeling the need for some physical activity I decide to get the gear together ad tae the cross bike out for a spin.

    The weather reporting says that the gusts are to 33km/h, but it sure feels stronger. I get pushed around quite a bit by some stiff cross winds and when it’s head on I’m working hard to keep a 23 km/hr speed. Somewhere along the ride i start to think about wind chip, my hands are getting cold.

    There is one Strava segment that I take a shot at and even with the wind at my back I only move up to 5th. I really thought I could get that one, maybe another day with the road bike.

    On the way back along Bishop Grandin I meet up with a couple of riders, one of them looks to be on the Provincial team, a young guy with a nice bike. I pace with them for a few Km before parting ways as I turn into Southdale and head for home. After a nice warm shower I’m watching the UCI Men’s World Championship and they are racing all day, 272k m in a heavy rain. I don’t feel so bad now

  • Sidewalk Evangelism

    On my daily cycle commute I travel along a paved path that runs along side Niakwa Park, I nice little area in Winnipeg where I grew up. One day last week I noticed somebody had written something on the asphalt in coloured chalk. Nicely written with good handwritting and there were two sections separated by about 50′. The sections were organized to that you could read one or the other easily depending on which direction you were traveling.

    The writing was organized in short phrases a few feet apart, so that you could read a phrase and think about it briefly before reading the next phrase, sort of like the Burma-Shave roadside sign advertising campaign.

    Don’t take

     a curve  

    at 60 per.

    We hate to lose

    a customer

    Burma-Shave

    And indeed the chalk writer was “advertising” something.

    The first day I flew by the chalk writing and really couldn’t make out what was going on. On day two, my curiosity took over and I looped back for a read of the message. I was intrigued, and impressed by the ingenuity and the message at least until I got to the punch line which totally dampened my enthusiasm.

    A few days later I noticed the chalk messages had been enhanced by another writer, somebody with a different colour of chalk, and a better punch line.

    Chalk-0

     

     

     

    Chalk-1

     

     

     

    Chalk-2

     

     

     

    Chalk-3

     

     
    Chalk-4

     

     

     

    Chalk-5

     

     

     

    Chalk - last