Weekend of TT's

Did my final prep for the tt's this weekend with 3x3 minutes with the three minutes divided into tempo/steady state/time trial holding 280's, 320's and upper 350's. Feeling ready. Three events on Friday with the Southwest Ohio Senior Games (1 mile, 5k and 10k) and then the tt with the omnium hosted by QCW on Saturday morning. Then its back at Cleves for the 41st year of the Tuesday evening series running May through September and a week later the Dayton/Miami Valley Senior Games.

Congrats to University of Cincinnati Cycling Team!

Three members of the UC Cycling team are headed to the national championships next weekend. They're the first riders to ever qualify from UC for this event. They trained hard all winter and have been getting the results this spring. Awesome job Paul, Jake and Jamie!!!

Day 2 of 15x1's

Did the second day of 15x1's with the numbers being 449, 452, 481, 468, 465, 511, 515, 473, 469, 468, 455, 474, 446, 476, 486; avg 472 and normalized 336. A little tired after yesterdays 15x1's and last nights 55 minute circuit class but overall pleased with he numbers. Always good to get over 500 on a couple.

15 x 1 at Ault park

Went to Ault Park today to do a 15x1 minute efforts. I sued the crit course going in the opposite direction of the actual event and started each effort at the bottom of the course. One minute took me well behind the pavilion, actually about 2/3 of the way across that stretch of road and the time between worked out to about 55 seconds to get back to the bottom at an easy coast. Average for all was 472 watts with highs in the upper 480's, lows in the upper 440's.

30 second efforts

Headed to Ault Park to do some 30 second on/off efforts, 16 to be exact. Held 569, 631, 661, 671, 606, 598, 575, 638, 607, 613, 614, 596, 525, 550, 529, and 517. Sorta dying by the end but for the whole 45 minutes normalized power was 345. I actually like these short but intense efforts.

Indoor Intervals, again

WInter came back with some snow yesterday and highs in the 30's so it was another indoor session. Did five 2/2/1 efforts at tempo/steady state/tt pace. Held 280+, 330+ and 360+ on all. Had to replace he hub batteries on the Indoor 400. That wasn't as much an issue as having to pair and activate every sensor from the Power to RU to cadence etc. Also had to re-boot it several times. I hope these batteries last as long as the first pair.

Smoky Mountain Century

It was a great day to ride in the mountains with temps starting in the upper 40's and going to the low to mid 70's. I rode from our home in Gatlinburg (1400') to Newfound Gap (5000') and then down to Cherokee (1400') then back up to Newfound Gap and on to Clingmans Dome (6300', parking area), then back to Sugarlands and out to Elkmont before returning to the chalet with 100 miles and 10,000' of elevation gain. Hauled some of my camera gear in a seat post mounted cantilevered back which brought the bike weight to 32lbs. Made for an interesting day. I've done this ride about 4 or 5 times over the last few years and it is the hardest century I ride. While the downhills give some relief the long climbs are tough. the 27 miles from Cherokee to Clingmans, while initially pretty light on the grade, really ramps up for about an hour. While not as scenic as the side from Gatlinburg, and actually not as difficult a climb, when done after the climb from Gatlinburg to Newfound Gap, it is a killer.

Hill Accelerations

Headed to Tennessee on Thursday afternoon and was able to gets couple of hours in before the sunset. Did four 10 minute efforts with the first 8 minutes around steady state (330) and then two minutes all out. Held 404, 368, 365 and 370 on the two minute efforts. Have to say my legs weren't feeling super fresh given the tt effort 2 hours earlier but overall these numbers are pretty typical. Past efforts were more in the 6-8 minute range with 335-340 and mid 360's on the climb/acceleration portions respectively. Not sure where the 404 came from. Must have been inspired by the scenery and warm temps in the 70's.

Link to Results

http://www.speedy-feet.com/races/2014/0409/bs-ov.htm http://www.speedy-feet.com/races/2014/0409/bs-ag.htm

First Blue Streak Time Trial

A little too cool (upper 50's) and breezy from the wrong direction (south west) for great times but still rode a solid 22:07 or 27.13 mph on the course. Checked last years April event and I rode the exact same time. Used the Stages but for some reason couldn't get the power meter to pair and be found in the Joule, although it worked fine on Saturday. Will work on that this weekend. Overall it was less than a 100% effort given other distractions but happy to start off with a fast time and second overall.

Light Week

after some steady states in the middle of last week the rest of the week was just at endurance pace. The first outdoor time trial is Wednesday in Dayton. Looks like a cool evening with temps in the 50's. Took the tt bike out yesterday for a short ride just to make sure the position was ok and the Stages was working. All is good.

Stages and New Joule

Finally mounted the new Joule and paired it to the Stages crank arm. No problems there at all. Still not satisfied with the mounting of the joule. As shown between the bars its easy to see in the aero position but its not convenient to activate the buttons on the right side of the unit. Still, better than off the horns where it interferes with gripping them. Any ideas, let me know.