your daily bicycle log

fantastic ride home starting midnight last night from shepherds bush to homerton... 10 and a bit miles of deserted streets, freezing, still air and me and the bike FLYING... i'd forgotten how much fun that journey can be

gbx does your company not have insurance for this kind of thing???

If courier companies don't insure their riders my opinion of them is going even further down...

insurance, HA!!

90 mins on the fluid 2 trainer today, my first time using it--OUCH! they were serious when they said resistance.

How do you not go mad spending 90 minutes on that thing?

i watched curb your enthusiasm... then i watched the news

then i was my power animal

no, really, i don't have a power animal (yet)

it's called mental stamina! come on!

Why would courier companies INSURE anyone? Insurance is expensive, yo! As far as their employers are concerned, the people riding the bikes are prob only a step or two above the guys delivering Chinese food.

I'd love to do a ten-mile night ride that started at midnight. NYCers: any one ever been on one of the moonlight rides in either Central or Prospect Park?

Mark's assignment this week is to watch the entirety of Quicksilver from the comfort of his trainer.

gbx youre tops, i'm really sorry to hear that.

my sister stepped off a curb on Beacon St and got knocked into next week by a courier. the courier stopped, said "you alright?" she said "uhhhhh..." and he replied "lady, id stick around, but i dont' have insurance. i gotta go." and off he went. (she was alright)

last night i flatted my rear. fixing a tire on an internal with fenders kinda sucks, thank god it was like 50 degrees and pleasant. if the makers want internals to sell broadly, i think they're gonna need to solve the 'bolt-on' issue. no way a normal person wants to deal with that.

dont know if you remember steve larsen the mtb pro, but he did like 90% of his training one year on his trainer to save time-he said it doubled his efficiency. so count every minute on the trainer double and you can probly just ride 6 to 8 hrs on the trainer every week.

xpost that last bit to cutty obv.

Hahah all my wheels have bolted on, internal or no. Is it too much trouble to just snag out the part of the tube with the hole in it? Oh, I guess that only works when there's a nail or glass or something stuck in and you can see where it is. Still....

dont know if you remember steve larsen the mtb pro, but he did like 90% of his training one year on his trainer to save time-he said it doubled his efficiency. so count every minute on the trainer double and you can probly just ride 6 to 8 hrs on the trainer every week.

this might happen this winter depending on snowfall. cold won't stop me, but snow will.

Hunter that's very interesting - how is the trainer more efficient? fewer stops and starts, complete control over the speed/cadence/resistance etc?

Laurel I don't know what Quicksilver is. I feel like ILTRMB's Tuomas.

Well, my recollection is hazy as to the exact assertion, but larsens point was that he was his whole team and mgmt, and wearing that many hats meant he couldn't lollygag, even on the bike.

exacty mark. dont know if its really 2x as efficient, but if you look at power meter readings of a long ride, esp group ride, or one without very structured format, eg. intervals, hill repeats, a lot of time is spent coasting or soft pedalling. big group rides, if you dont hit the front, you can do like, nothing. (even this has big benefits over say, drinking the afternoon away of course)

depends on the group tho. ride the bus stop out of boulder in january when the national pros are home, and you might still get blown out just trying to sit on.

laurel i'll have to try that. but itd be hard to pull out just the cut bit as the bike is super unwieldy-tight bead, heavy, bell wouldn't allow bike to three point cleanly, and rack and fenders make access worse. i'll try though, yall are the bolt on experts. i have move that bell, but drops have so little space and i have two lamps in addition.

Only if by "expert" you mean the fact that I keep a cheap 6" adjustable wrench in my bike bag. Which isn't very experty or specific, really, but more a requirement of circumstances. Anyway, yeah, you pretty much HAVE to 3-point it, that bell is a problem. I admit I'm protective of my Brooks, so I keep some shop rags in the bag too, so I can put one under the saddle point and not scratch it. Haha.

One I go to QR hubs, I'll probably never go back, I know. But right now, bolt-ons don't seem like a big deal since it's all I've got.

complete control over the speed/cadence/resistance etc?

this is the key. no external factors influencing your targets and goals for the session.

NO FUN

I might do a quick train tonight before dinner, get the endorphins going.

xpost srsly my first "good" year was the result of having no fun on the bike from november to july other than the outcomes of particular races.

if/when you finally plateau it will probly not be worth it anymore. everyone gets about 4-5 years.

its key to persuade self that the misery is the fun

well it's not like i would ever choose the trainer over a REAL ride--it was raining this morning

plus it's going to rain tomorrow... and thursday... and friday

thank god friday is a rest day

What is it you're training for anyhow Cutty? Got any target races you're aiming for?

i'm training for the entire 2008 NYC amateur racing season. there is not one race in particular but i obviously i will choose 6-7 specific ones to focus on. there are plenty of races to choose from: prospect park, central park, floyd bennett memorial park, bear mountain...etc

When does that all kick off then?

2008 racing schedule not up yet. march.

Ah, you'll be flying by then. Like a mad monkey set free.

Sorry, actually that's not an entirely flattering comparison to make.

i will be in prime shape but then comes the real in-race learning--tactics, strategy, the paincave

It'll be awesome I'm sure. Feeling a wee pang of envy here I've gotta say. I was always shit at races and could never really get any consistent training together before I'd overdo it and wind up wrecking myself. That said, I'm getting a severe urge to put some big hours in and go and wreck myself all over again. Anyhow, stay sane man!

thanks! the training is so embedded in my life/daily routine at this point that i'm sure i can maintain everything and be at my peak performance come the summer. what i'm looking for now is a team to work with and learn from and i'll have more confidence come race day.

im glad and only a little envious that you have the enthusiasm and opportunity to do it.

im incredibly grateful that i no longer have the enthusiasm to do it as it had become a barrier to other things.

my lack of opportunity is an issue to resolve/accept for the next x years (hopefully /= until im dead).

lack of opportunity = job or wife?

u forgot kids (2). mrs hunter is a far better athlete than i. age grouper now, but international level. she'd support me wasting my time with bike racing, within reason.

being a local scrub when s/o is actually very very good = v. inspiring/ little depressing

i need me athlete wife

so the guy is jerking me around. i will not go into details on the internet, but basically his car (1994 $IMPORT) blue books at about 4x what he quoted me for the mirror (hey, give me a few more weeks guy and i'll just buy the whole thing!). which seems smelly.

also: insurance, LOL. as a private contractor, i'm on my own for everything: health, liability, etc. messengers are very low on the totem pole, and yeah, about one or two rungs above chinese food delivery guy. although, secretly, as an employee he'd at least get workman's comp.

fantastic weather today, good riding, slow-ish business. had two emergency calls that involved dead sprints from the far west of our coverage area to the far north. got lucky with the lights for the most part, so was able to keep moving most of the time. cuet receptionist asked if i had been getting enough exercise today.

Didja tell her you could get a little more?

Insist that $carguy send you an itemized quote from the repair shop. Then take it to another (reputable) repair shop and compare.

Jerk.

Didja tell her you could get a little more?

U SASSY!!!!

Not as sassy as YOU are, Mr Shirtless Sassy Winner. Step It Up.

Headband. Baselayer + fleece. Clif bar. A-OK.

Usual commute. Saw a dude snap the handlebars on his old roadster clean in two, fall off. He got back on and rode off, steering the bike with the half handlebar still attached to the headset and holding the other half completely free, using it to operate the brake like Wii controller. Total bro.

90 mins (outside!)--3x10 minute Z3 intervals

FOGGY!

Am debating whether to cycle to (or from) Chesham on Sunday. It's about 30 miles - for reference it is where the most outlying London underground station can be found. The only real issue I think is rain - 30 miles in wintry rain does not do it for me, I gotta say.

10 minute warmdown on the isometric basement bike 3x2 minutes all-out and 2x2 min slowtimes

Hi, Jergs!