Saturday, June 1, 2013

Trending in the Right Direction

Have been away from the blog for awhile, but fortunately not away from the bike. While the month of April was very inconsistent, May seems to have paid some dividends. I've been able to ramp up the mileage quite a bit. I've also started riding to a group ride I do every Thursday adding an extra 25 km round trip. All in all, things are 'trending in the right direction.'

I am still toying with my fit somewhat, but more so so I can learn each movement's effects as opposed to dialing in the bike. In mid-April I flipped my stem upside down (which was already pre-planned) so that it is parallel to the ground instead of angled up. I didn't expect that change to make such a significant difference in how I felt on the bike. I had planned to do it for aerodynamics, but the immediate change in comfort level was welcome. I also started using the Pearl Izumi 1:1 Fit Insoles to compensate for the cant of my feet and high arches. I also believe I have the approximate measurements that I need in terms of saddle height and it's fore/aft position. I continue to tinker around with different things, but so did Eddy Merckx. So in that sense, I'm in good company. I don't know that I will ever be able to leave it alone. I'm not really built like that. But as long as I am close and not set up in a way that I risk an overuse injury, then there's nothing to worry about.

The last few weeks have seen some drastic weather changes in the Midwest that have made the riding interesting. This past week in particular was warm but very windy. So the riding was hard and dehydration was coming into play. I suffered a few cramps this week but have mostly stayed on top of it and don't think I'll have any long term problems. The week before was pretty chilly by contrast, forcing me to pull out the warmers and gillet.

The riding itself has been enjoyable of late. I think it has to do with a combination of being able to get in good miles and being comfortable on the bike. I don't feel like I'm riding because I have to to train. In a related note, I've got a loop that I've been doing for awhile that I have discovered has about a dozen different spurs that I can add to it to never ride the same loop twice. This too has helped me feel good riding the bike quite a lot.

Hopefully it won't be so long before my next post. Until then, get out and enjoy the ride.