Looking back at the last 7 months which involved an obscene amount of riding for a “working”, “family man”, some key things that stand out:
When I got home with the new bike late on a Friday night, Sahina had 2 questions:
I also did an epic 185 km solo ride on Good Friday.
The first day with the new footwear, the cleats came loose and I shortened my ride. The second day, while trying to stop, I unclipped, and then accidentally clipped back in! Which resulted in me falling off rather spectacularly while standing still in traffic! Fortunately, I hurt my ego more than anything else and thankfully Sahina didn't say "told you so!" when I got home :-)
The new footwear really helps with the street cred, apart from helping improve power transfer and increasing cadence (by about 5%). Of course walking with the SPD SL cleats under your shoes are a pain, but then i bought them to ride, not to walk! (The decision again influenced to a large extent by NJ!)
When Vishnu (my riding buddy) told me about the ITT, I was in 2 minds! I wasn't sure if I wanted my speed and time to be posted in the public domain and risk embarrassment! Sahina again had 2 questions:
At the ITT, my target was to do 30 kmph over the 45.6 km distance. I was familiar with part of the route. Tail winds on the way out and mega head winds on the way back. So you have to conserve energy for the way back. I did some basic math on how to average 30 and I averaged 30.1 as per my bike computer, but I had forgotten to take into account that my bike computer is off by 1% :-( as per the official timesheet I averaged 29.7.
At the end of the day, all of that is fairly immaterial. What the Time Trial helped do is remove a mind block. For the time trial, it was 90 minutes of hard effort. You ride through discomfort and pain.
The top response: “You take them along with you!”
Of course!!! :-) :-) :-)
Got my new bike
After spending over 4 months researching on carbon frame vs aluminium, endurance geometry vs race, Btwin vs Fuji Vs Trek Vs Scott Vs Bianchi Vs Specialized, 105 groupset vs Tiagra vs Sora and what not, in early March, I went out and picked up a 2014 Specialized Roubaix Sora (Carbon frame, endurance geometry) from Bums on the Saddle after being inspired in large doses by NJ@BOTS.
- Are you happy with your purchase? If yes, please get on with life! I'm tired of you researching!!!
- Who is sleeping with you tonight? Me or the bike?
Did my first brevet
A week after I got my new bike, in early March, I did my first 200 km brevet on my old bike and became Randy Rahul.I also did an epic 185 km solo ride on Good Friday.
Got new footwear
In June I got a pair of Shimano SPD SL 540 pedals and Shimano road shoes with the SPD SL cleats. The first thing Sahina asked seeing those shoes "With your feet clipped in like that, wont you fall off the bike while trying to get off?"The first day with the new footwear, the cleats came loose and I shortened my ride. The second day, while trying to stop, I unclipped, and then accidentally clipped back in! Which resulted in me falling off rather spectacularly while standing still in traffic! Fortunately, I hurt my ego more than anything else and thankfully Sahina didn't say "told you so!" when I got home :-)
The new footwear really helps with the street cred, apart from helping improve power transfer and increasing cadence (by about 5%). Of course walking with the SPD SL cleats under your shoes are a pain, but then i bought them to ride, not to walk! (The decision again influenced to a large extent by NJ!)
The Time Trial
The the last thing that happened: The Bangalore Amateur Racing Individual Time Trial (BAR ITT) in late Sept.When Vishnu (my riding buddy) told me about the ITT, I was in 2 minds! I wasn't sure if I wanted my speed and time to be posted in the public domain and risk embarrassment! Sahina again had 2 questions:
- Will you win it? Of course not I replied
- Will you be the last? Probably not, I replied
At the ITT, my target was to do 30 kmph over the 45.6 km distance. I was familiar with part of the route. Tail winds on the way out and mega head winds on the way back. So you have to conserve energy for the way back. I did some basic math on how to average 30 and I averaged 30.1 as per my bike computer, but I had forgotten to take into account that my bike computer is off by 1% :-( as per the official timesheet I averaged 29.7.
At the end of the day, all of that is fairly immaterial. What the Time Trial helped do is remove a mind block. For the time trial, it was 90 minutes of hard effort. You ride through discomfort and pain.
- Your position on the saddle is off? Too bad, you just push on and adjust your b**ls when it wont affect your progress!
- Sweat is burning your eye? Too bad, just get on with it!
- Your mouth is dry and all you taste is salt in your mouth? Too bad, just hang in there and take a sip when it wont affect your progress.
How I have evolved
Looking at how my riding has evolved over the last 7 months:- On the new bike my speed improved by about 15% over my old bike; average went from 21-22 kmph to about 24-25 kmph and my cadence went from an average of 77-80 to about 94-95! The cadence going up is something that just does not make sense in isolation! It must be the frame geometry, the position, mindset, etc.
- When I got the new footwear the speeds were still averaging at 24-25 kmph, but my average cadence went up to about 100! The fact that the feet are clipped in I guess helps you pedal faster without worrying about your feet flying off
- I started riding with Vishnu on weekends and my average went to 25-26!
- After the ITT my daily average went up to 28-29 kmph!
On a parting note…
I have spent a lot of time reading up on how to improve my performance on the bike. One of the funniest things I read was this question on Quora “What do you do with your testicles when you ride?”The top response: “You take them along with you!”
Of course!!! :-) :-) :-)
