Road Crits, My First First

What a night, what a build up.....First at last!
I rode out to tonights critirium race and was feeling relatively good. You know those rides were you just comfortably sit in a nice rhythm! They alwayd feel good!
I arrived with 15minutes to race time, Icarbed up quickly and before I knew it,I was racing.

We paced around and I always felt comfortable, holding solid lines and keeping with the pack felt effortless. The wind was lowish but you still felt it when deviating from the bunch. I felt really good in sections so drove the bunch when I could then folding back into mid pack. This usually sorts out the less serious racers but you have to be careful to not overcook yourself as it does take more energy.

With a lap to go I was in mid pack but positioned myself really well to drive through the inside into the front line with 1/2 a lap to go. Knowing that I am not an all out sprinter I speed out of the saddle caterpulting myself into first place into the last tight corner, out of this I dug deep to push hard all the way to the line.

Its amazing how you can go from feeling crap days earlier to pulling out a personal best in a matter of days. Often heat, mind set and often over training( coming into a race spent) can hold you back.

Lets see if I can back it up.....

Crazy Dirt Crits

The start of daylight savings brings crazy mountain bikers from all over Canberra to race it out at the short track races brought to us by Onya Bike City and Belconnen.

Time Thursdays rego from 5.30pm for details check www.corc.asn.au

First up and a 10th position with a large field, located at Stromlo forrest.
No tricks here just flog yourself and work up some anerobic training!

AS always it was great to see the fast guys battle it out with Dylan Cooper 1st daylight secound James Downing and Brad Morton putting on a show for 2nd and third.
Thanks for the entertainment!

Road Crits (Vets)

I have had some intention for a while to try the road crits. Many people swear that its a great way to improve speed, so I mustered up some courage and entered on Tuesday night to race D grade.

I was informed to hang back for a few laps to see how it go's. The race started slowly and slowly ramped up during the next 8 minutes. I took the marshalls advice and was hanging back to see how things progress.

A quick jump in the pack had dropped some riders which caught me by surprise, I picked up the pace over the next 2 laps to catch back onto the peleton, passing the strugglers that had no chance.

Having arrived with the bunch I could now rest the legs for a lap before the sign showed 2 laps to go.

I pushed ahead holding the front curious as to how things would play out. Would the bunch sprint?, would I get caught out?

I let off some speed at the 3/4 lap to go to see what would happen a group of 4 jumped past and I ramped up to chase.

Of course I was too late and cross the line 6th only 5 metres behind. Things noted and much fun had I'll be joining the club and continue this leg shaved madness!

Scott 24hr 2011

A landed a free entry into the Scott 24hr thanks to Micko at Onya Bike Belconnen and City. Team of six very casual was the plan.
Having arrived half an hour prior to the event to discover only one other team mate was their was a bit of a dissapointment but a sign of the very casual plan.

I rushed into my kit and handed my bike to be picked up at the end of the run. Some confusion had me wandering was I doing the blue or red lap.....It didn't matter I collected my bike and started the congo line blue lap for an average lap time in much traffic.

Coming into transition with no one awaiting highlighted the casual team approach.
Later discovering we had indeed some no shows or I have to go home plans amongst others robbed the motivation!

At the end I did a total of 3 laps with a best of 43minutes on the red laps +-30 secs.

2011 AYUP Lights

AYUPs upgraded:I just got my 2007/2008 Ayup's upgraded and opted for
an optic swap out from Medium to Allrounder 200% increase(arguable increase although the old optic was inefficient)

Bar LightLED upgrade 200%, Power upgrade 40% increase.

This has produced a very noticeable increase in light output and beams pattern.

The old medium light was held back by the medium(2007 flood) lens, a honeycombed lens spread the light out inefficiently robbing precious lumes. The new allrounder (flood) spread the light without robbing lumen output. As stated above this alone upped efficiency by 200%. In comparison to my Cygolight gives far more light (25-30%). In short the beam throws longer and spreads wider.

General thoughtsI like riding with a flood on my bars.This satisfies my peripheral vision whilst looking 30m up the track. The Allrounder beam is EVEN and fades out evenly on the sides. The upgraded Narrow on my helmet takes care of obtacles up the trail. Whilst this sounds ideal it does have a shortfall. Whilst traversing tight trails, hairpins or techy and turny singletrack your bar light can become redundant as it isn't facing the trail your riding. Then if you look down your narrow helmet light becomes too tight effectively creating a 1m diameter hot spot on the ground in front of you. What needs to be remembered is this often happens for split secound only. Offsetting your beams one in front of the other will spread the beam out slightly more (and is my preference) as it helps in this scenario and gives a better foward spread when riding straighter trails.
I honestly think an Intermediate beam combined with the narrow (in the one unit would solve this) but may hinder foward light progression, which is currently awesome.

Headlight
I upgraded my Intermediete lens to a narrow beam. (More of a spot beam)
I had 2007/2008 Ayup's and opted for:LED upgrade 200% increase, Power upgrade 40%

This is a great spot beam, with a very long throw.It is narrow and IMHO will require a flood lens in the foreground. This is where 2 lights excel, thanks AYUP!

Comparison
Compare this to a Topeak HID (600 lumen claimed)where the Ayup throws longer and brighter around 50% brighter!. The HID although a noticeably less bright does give less of a spot and fades out gradually great for just one light and better as the light doesn't dapple as stated above, when riding tight twisty trails. Of course the major let downs are weight a hefty light that you feel on your helmet with an anchor as a battery. This thing is easily 6 times the weight of the complete AYUP kit.

Compared to a Magicshine P7 the Ayup equalls or just betters the light throw by about 15%. The P7 has more of a flood though which is great as your sole light source. These lights have their merits and are great if stack height on your helmet isn't an issue as the light does protrude, being 3 times the height of an AYUP. This of course shouldn't be an issue if you are under 6 foot tall.
The AYUP narrow is truelly narrow but offsetting the lights with the bar light gives great depth and works very well with the wide beam. "Hoarses for courses"

Benefits
The biggest AYUP benefits are low weight (less then a third of lights compared too), much smaller batteries, low stack height, off helmet. Easy helmet mounting (gecko mounts simply un attach from strong velcro feet) . Now with the benefit of very good optics and lumens! These benefits far out way the dappled light when riding twisty trails. Due to the benefits these lights would be a racers choice!

Did I mention a 2 day upgrade,turn around! Wow!
PS There is no way a Magicshine is 900 lumens as claimed, maybe closer to 500-600 lumens.Its hard to tell as the beam has slightly less throw then the narrow AYUP but spreads more.

Hope this helps others thinking of upgrading their optics.

Chain lube 'The One'

'The One' homebrew wax lube
This recipee is free for private use. All rights reserved. Copyright 16/4/2009.



Over the last 12 months I have had dozens of PM's about this recipe originally posted on the Rotorburn forum, so have decided to post an update and some explanations on mountain bike chain lubrication challenges, home made ingredients required and the reasons these ingredients are used.


I will endeavour to make some batches and sell them at a low cost from here to further market test and receive feedback.

Anticipated date: January 2012, anticipated cost: 75ml for $5 [Will update once available]
Please let me know how you go with the outcome of this lubricant, good or bad!

Skip to the end for the philosophy and recipe!
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Background: OK I've mucked around with different chain lubes, oil based, wax based synthetic, organic lubes etc I have always thought they just dont last in really dusty environments, become expensive over time (what you get per dollar) and as such have been experimenting with home made bike lubes.

Reasoning: There is no doubt that my MTB Chain lubricant 'The One' as I have named it, is far superior (based on cost, longevity, chain quietness and ingredient costs) to the other big brands.
All lubricants work on three principles lubrication being 1a and 1b
1a: (lubrication) protect against wear and
1b: (lubrication) keep moving parts apart and
2. adhesion ability (the lubricant must be designed with it's challenges in mind)

MTB Bike chain challenges:longevity, we all want a lube to last all week but that simply isn't going to happen. Put simply foreign materials namely, water, dirt, clay etc will either ash the chain lube away or contaminate it enough to stop working effectively.

Market trends / Smart business:
The bottom line is to find a lube created to minimise the onset of its challenges
Oil based lubes are naturally adhesive they stick to things with different degrees of effectiveness (oil viscosity), additives may be used to increase adhesion, teflon and chemicals (natural or synthetic) that cause molecular attraction, being most common. Pros: Naturally water resistant Cons: Break down quickly due to dirt.
Thats why most bike shops will say oil based lubes are best for wet weather riding. Unfortuantely wet weather in mountain biking means mud and it's the mud that will remove the oil lubricants very fast. Usually 5-15km's when riding mtb when it becomes noticeable.

Wax based lubes, repel water well and create a barrier against sand and mud. Wax requires a carrier usually a solvent that brings the wax to liquid form to apply, the solvent then evaporates. Parrofin wax itself has adhesive qualities but will break down under severe conditions commonly ongoing use, where it will dry break down. Pros:Naturally water resistant, with a solvent also cleans and lubricates Cons: breaks down when dry through normal use.
Beeswax is naturall very adhesive, bees glue their chambers with beeswax! and it can dry solid yet still be soft, combined it the correct ratio with parrafin wax it will create a best solution that will lubricate without caking up.

Wax vs Oils lubricants: Ultimately marketing, image, value and price will play the biggest part what lubricants are perceived as the best. However real world testing under the same conditions will eventually highlight standout lubricants. The current standout lubricants are based on longevity. With the increase of endurance events and the average rider participating in these more often shortfalls in lubricants will emerge.

PTFE / Teflon:Basically a lubricant unless it is bonded.Pros:Excellent chemical and heat resistance, Lowest co-efficient of friction Cons: Unbonded PTFE may possibly be carcinogenic, Very toxic, Very expensive.Debated effectiveness how much is required to be effective in liquid form Cons far out way Pro's. Small amounts may be added for marketing reasons only!

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My lubricant philosophy:
My take on lubes is that they should take up room between the chain and drive chain to keep the dirt out, be long lasting, not build up, be a quiet and protect the drivetrain.


Some lubes claim hundreds of k's between lubes, crazy stuff! If your sane you will relube your chain between epic rides, after all dirt is going to be there and dirt grinds down your chain and drivetrain faster than a clean drivetrain.



Recipe:
What you need: will make about 2 litres of lube

Wax and Grease remover 1litre
Paraffin wax 250gram
Bees Wax block 150 gram
Cheese Grater or similar
Old empty bottle of lube $free

For enduro rides I mix:
20% grated Paraffin wax
10% grated Bees wax
70% Wax and grease remover
(The wax will liquify over time). The trick is to add wax and grease remover so that the mixture is runny like a moisturiser. This will enable easy application and enable the solvent carriers to evaporate. You have to remember that not all wax and grease removers are the same and whilst they will be similar in chemical composition you may require more to create the correct consistency)
Shake it up it and apply after your last ride wipe excess off gently. For best results apply after your last ride this will enable the wax to dry ready for your next big ride!

I reckon this recipe will out perform any lube on the market, will cost you a fraction and most importantly will keep you sane on your next epic ride.

Enjoy!

ATM in lounge room competition NAB

A funny look into my world. Cycling is a big part of my life, I love it and the kids see the funny side of including my like of cycling into this video, together with my wifes like to apparently look pretty.
The NAB recently ran a competition to win an ATM in your loungeroom! How cool would that be! The attached video shows our video entry.

Cleat position

You know there is a lot of talk, scientific views, bio mechanical and general views on cleat positioning.
The general consensus is to mount the cleat above the ball of your foot. Sounds simple doesn't it?
But when you break it down and look at the range of motion of your foot and pedalling techniques it can get a little tricky.

Some people pedal on the downstroke with there foot level, others with their toes down and some with your heel down. Then there are people that mix up techniques depending on techy terrain, hill climbs, steady state or time trialling.

Steve Hogg has some unusual views on this with a different option of splitting the difference between all toe joints (balls of each toe) to spread the load. This in affect brings the cleat position forward on the shoe. Now when you think about this your really loading up the calf muscles (toe pedalling)

Without knowing it I believe i have been doing this for some time (years perhaps) and tonight moved my cleat way back.
(due to calf over soreness, tight spots and knotting)

I butted my feet up against a wall and placed a mark on the floor where my ball of my foot (centrally) then marked this corresponding to the bottom of my shoe. By resting it against the same wall and drawing a small mark on each shoe according to each mark.

I then moved the cleat (central position) back 12-15mmmm (it turns out this is as far back as goes)

I then did a 65min Carmichael video. What I noticed was power output (measured by gearing and cadence) not technical but effective went up massively.

I forgot to mention that the saddle height needed to be dropped and saddle forward to accommodate the new position.
This should in affect reduce the load on the calf by placing a higher percentage of load onto the quads.

It's raining today but hopefully I can follow up soon with some short term tests on the mountain bike and road bike.
If your trying this make sure your tyres don't rub your shoes when turning. (more of an issue on road bikes) due to the shorter geometry.

For more info refer to Winston Endall's Dialing in cleat Position for more power and less pain

(Sold) Giant Defy Alliance

(Sold) Photos don't do this bike justice. It really is that new. Taking photos at night shows up dust reflecting of the flash.

A great parts mix Raceface bar, stem and Shimano 105 running gear for ultra smooth and fast gear shifts.
Tyres are Continental Gator's for trouble free(puncture free) riding and are grippy to boot!

Carbon weave can be seen on all black parts of the bike so it looks better in real life!
Im selling to upgrade as the road riding/race bug has caught on and its way faster to commute on.

Current interest is high with 3 interested parties so first to hand over cash will walk away a happy camper!

Click on photos to zoom.

Cold feet

Yeah its Winter and damn this Winter has caused me some frozen toe grief.

Last winter I was layering 2 pairs of cotton socks and although layering works cotton gets wet and feels cold very quickly.
Bring on wool/merino socks, just like merino base layers this stuff may get wet but damn it never feels cold, or far less so.

Taped vent holes and shoe toe covers go a long way to block out cold wind but cant substitute for shoe covers, combine all of these measures and enjoy toasty feet.

At the recent Stromlo 7hr the start was a balmy -2degrees. A rushed morning meant I had put on cotton socks and no shoe covers. My freezing toes were aching and numb from the cold. This combined with my sore right knee was my archiles heel. 4 hours in and I had to pull out, things got that unbearable.

Knee pain

Looking back I have never had knee problems until of course I changed shoes, from my original Specialized shoes.
I believe shoes (In my case) have caused a few leg or foot related problems.

Specialized shoes = no problems. Due to the wide toe box and angled footbeds.
LG shoes = no problems Due to the wide toe box unfortunately I lost these shoes at the Highland Fling with some other gear.
Sidi = Numb toes, despite the claimed wide toe box I believe the narrow toe box cramps the toes leading to numbness.
Shimano shoes = No problems. A wide toe box.

So what happens when you get sore knees, you look back.....

Single speeding no doubt loads the knees up and considering the Mont was trained and raced on single speed and various other rides including the Stromlo 7hr. I cant negate this, maybe a combination without the Specialized angled footbed?

So I have found some Specialized inserts that I have shoved under Sidi ultra thin footbeds in Shimano shoes(Right foot only) tonights 1.40he ride to Scrivener was windy and I had to push through the wind and yep the knees didn't hurt as much.

I have been stretching the quads, hammies, ACL/Piriformas which are tight. It makes sense that this tightness can cause restricted motion of the knee causing pain.

Steve Hogg master bike fitter also believes lack of longitudinal arch support can also contribute combined with other factors such as saddle height. I have dropped the saddle by 1.5mm which on todays 72km ride seamed to make a difference combined with a new set of S Works shoes, sorted, I hope!

Scrivener Dam loop Random thoughts

Im feeling good. Outside temp is a balmy 8-10deg the sun is out and the wind is low. I can almost feel the end of winter....Well almost.

I have been hitting the weights in an attempt to raise leg strength. Mondays consist of a ride followed by a solid leg workout.
Tuesdays consist of an upper body workout. Wednesdays are rest (damn the legs feel heavy and DOMS is lingering about)

Thursdays are an odd day, the upper body is sore and DOMS in still present in the legs but they are very capable, strong in fact.

On todays Scrivener loop ride I recorded an average of 26.9kmh on the mtb bike with a total time of 134min flat

Could the weights workouts possibly be paying dividends? It makes sense. I know its hard to raise ones lactic threshold but you can raise power at lactic threshold....

Shower time!

2011 Equipment update

MTB Geared: Giant ANthem 29
180mm Xt cranks
Stans Crest rims on A/Classic hubs
Tubeless Shwalbe Rocket Rons front and rear

MTB SS: Avant Kiss 29
Suntour fork
190mm Prolink cranks
Stans Crest wheels on XT hubs
Tubeless Schwalbe rocket ron / Specialed Renegade

Road: Giant Defy Alliance

Training update 2011

Isaacs ridge.

Since the Mont 2011 on SInglespeed and coming in 1st mixed team 4.The training has continued.
Winter is always tough but has been made a little easier with indoor trainer sessions using Carmichaels trainsmart DVDs.

I have been feeling strong, sleeping well at last and work is rewarding in my new role back at McHouse.

I have started a weights program to compliment the cycling. Two weeks in and Im starting o feel the effects.
Mondays are a solid leg day that take the rest of the week to recover.
Recovery involves riding to Scrivener dam and back at a base or sub base pace depending on how stuffed the legs are.

What I noticed after the 1st weights session was that yes the legs are heavy and pushing hurts but when I get into my happy little place and dont worry about speed or times Im pacing solidly and effortlessly. Nice!

Progress markers for the rest of the year and or follow up.
Scrivener damn loop at race pace 1hr 38min
Scrivener dam loop at Base pace 1hr 44min with recovery at 1hr 46-48min

Isaacs ridge Hill climb
10min 40seconds. This was a solid effort though not race paced. Middle gear 1 up at the back.
Followed by a 2nd effort.

Race pace progress effort to follow. Thee times are line ball with last years.