Finally logging data...... now what?

[Bluman]

Even though I never had any telemetry on my auto-x cars or my karts, years of computer racing simulators have made me somewhat obsessive about logging and analyzing telemetry. The problem is that I'm so new to cycling that I don't really know what to do with it... are there any good online sources to get me to a basic understanding of what I'm looking at?

So what I have is a Garmin Edge 510 with HR monitor and speed/cadence sensor. Once I manage to sell some of my presently unused camera gear, I'll be getting a power meter... probably a PowerTap so I can move it from bike to bike. But all I have right now in terms of analysis tools is Garmin Connect... for example, this is this morning's ride: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/511655996
The best use I've found with the HR monitor is not so much looking at data afterwards but rather having the computer alert me every time I cross a certain threshold. Today I had it set to alert me whenever I got above 167bpm... and so it was beeping almost the entire ride. But I figure I can fine tune it to yell at me every time I start to push too hard and hopefully then I can back off in time to prevent that massive hit to pace that always seems to follow a big effort.

I suppose what I really need is a better set of tools. It would be nice to be able to create new splits, trim off warmups and cooldowns, overlay one attempt at a split on another, see grade % instead of elevation... etc...

 

[Felt_Rider]

I used to use a HRM in the same way, but fortunately back when I wanted to improve my cycling performance there were more high level coaches on this forum and the first days of the "it's killing me" thread had some good discussions on training where power was the guide. In that day there were more of those higher level coaches and athletes stating that once one invests into a decent power meter than HR is not near as important and they gave solid reasons why. Mainly because HR can fluctuate day to day based on a number of factors, but power output will be consistent each time one trains.

I also used to use my HRM as a limiter as well where it would beep at the upper limit. I eventually just stopped wearing it once I found out when it beeped and it did not match up with the output of the PM that I was undertraining for the most part. So I realized that for me I was allowing the HRM to limit my training.

There is just so much to this that my suggestion is just start reading as much as you can on training with power. In the meantime if you want to improve you can't go wrong with trying to get into a near daily habit of riding/training. "Ride lots" as some would say.

 

[Bluman]

So in short: hurry up and get that PM. I suppose I'll check out some of the books mentioned in the "it's killing me" thread. I was mostly hoping for a quick and dirty "understanding bicycle telemetry" type of guide... but I will figure it out as I get more data and better tools.

So maybe I should just use the HRM as a general guide and for the computer to yell at me when I'm pinging off my max HR.... you know.... so I don't get carried away and die while trying to conquer some hill that's way too steep for my present abilities.

As for "ride lots", I've set my goal to run the route in the OP once a day and then do my long rides over the weekends. (Still not quite to running centuries even on the trail...)

 

[RapDaddyo]

There are bona fide uses for a HRM, but you are attempting to use it as a proxy for intensity of effort. There are lots of reasons why your HR is not a reliable, consistent measure of your intensity of effort, but instead of going into all the reasons I'll just say that it is not. I actually still wear my HRM strap, but I never use HR as a measure of intensity of effort. Rather, I look at how quickly my HR drops after a long, hard effort as a measure of my fitness. I think your best option before you get your PM is to use RPE (rate of perceived exertion). As you increase intensity, your body will begin to give you lots of feedback (e.g., your breathing and your leg muscles). You're better off using this feedback instead of HR. Also, if you have a long climb available, you can use speed as a proxy for intensity of effort. I have a friend who went from 200W to 300W without a PM with a simple daily ride that I recommended to him. He rode over to a hill (3.5 miles, 6% grade), rode the hill twice and returned home (total ride time about 1.5 hours). He rode over to the hill and back at what felt to him like an "all day" pace, and did the hill repeats based on speed. Whenever it began to feel "easy" he increased speed by 1/2 mph. He started off at about 10mph and ended up at about 15mph.

 

[Bluman]

RapDaddyo, it doesn't take my body long at all to tell me when my RPE is high....... 10 seconds into any grade higher than 4% and my legs are screaming at me and then a few seconds later my lungs are telling me that there's not enough air in the world to get me to the top of this hill. I found a hill just the other day that's ~2 miles of 4-6% grade so maybe I should hit that every morning. I really need to learn to attack hills so that I can 1) make it up the local ~1 mile 10-12% grade incline w/o having to get off my bike and 2) be fit enough to commute by bicycle in the mountains of Japan when I move there in two months.

Question though: I've been trying to keep my cadence in the 90-110 range and for the first two hours it feels like I can do that all day... I'm slightly winded but otherwise it feels like a minor effort to maintain... but after two hours it's like I hit a wall: I can pedal in that range for only 2-3 minutes at a time and then I have to drop to about 70 rpm to recover. Basically what happens is my legs will suddenly scream, "no more!" and then more or less quit. So I do 70 rpm to let them recover and when they feel ready to go again, they only last those couple minutes. Is there a way to push this wall? Do I have to just keep at it and that wall will move on its own or is there a better training to build the right muscle? As it is, 2 hours on the trails is a cakewalk but 2.5 hours on the same trails is killer.

 

[An old Guy]

Originally Posted by Bluman
I suppose what I really need is a better set of tools. It would be nice to be able to create new splits, trim off warmups and cooldowns, overlay one attempt at a split on another, see grade % instead of elevation... etc...

Some coaches recommend getting used to riding before training with power or heart rate. 2-3 hours a day every day should feel comfortable.

There is a lot of misinformation available. Yes, heart rate does vary day to day. But so does power.

Go out and ride. If you need motivation from a tool, keep your heart rate up for as long as you can.

 

[RapDaddyo]

Originally Posted by Bluman
RapDaddyo, it doesn't take my body long at all to tell me when my RPE is high....... 10 seconds into any grade higher than 4% and my legs are screaming at me and then a few seconds later my lungs are telling me that there's not enough air in the world to get me to the top of this hill. I found a hill just the other day that's ~2 miles of 4-6% grade so maybe I should hit that every morning. I really need to learn to attack hills so that I can 1) make it up the local ~1 mile 10-12% grade incline w/o having to get off my bike and 2) be fit enough to commute by bicycle in the mountains of Japan when I move there in two months.

Question though: I've been trying to keep my cadence in the 90-110 range and for the first two hours it feels like I can do that all day... I'm slightly winded but otherwise it feels like a minor effort to maintain... but after two hours it's like I hit a wall: I can pedal in that range for only 2-3 minutes at a time and then I have to drop to about 70 rpm to recover. Basically what happens is my legs will suddenly scream, "no more!" and then more or less quit. So I do 70 rpm to let them recover and when they feel ready to go again, they only last those couple minutes. Is there a way to push this wall? Do I have to just keep at it and that wall will move on its own or is there a better training to build the right muscle? As it is, 2 hours on the trails is a cakewalk but 2.5 hours on the same trails is killer.

Hills are great for training, especially if you don't have a power meter. If the grade is greater than ~4%, most of the resistance is gravity and your speed is less affected by wind and position on the bike. So, speed can serve as a pretty good proxy for intensity of effort unless the wind is pretty strong.

As to maintaining your cadence > 2hrs, it sounds as though it is simply fatigue. If you had a power meter, you would also probably see a significant drop-off in power. The only thing I can think of is to keep pushing out your ride durations until you get comfortable maintaining your power in the latter parts of the longer durations. FWIW, building my 120min power to a high percentage of my 60min power is one of my primary training objectives and I work on it year-round. In fact, I use 120MP as my primary fitness metric because my target events are typically about 2 hrs. My goal is 95%FTP. If I don't work on it, I would be happy with 90%FTP.

 

[Bluman]

Originally Posted by An old Guy ... If you need motivation from a tool, keep your heart rate up for as long as you can.

It's not so much that I need motivation from a tool... but rather it would be nice to have a tool remind me to back off from time to time. Strava tells me that I spent 50% of my 2 hour 20 minute ride today in heart rate zone 4 and gave me a suffer score of 164...... not that I know what any of that means. I have this bad habit of teetering on blacking out after most of my rides or at least being hardly able to stand once I get off the bike. Yesterday, my first day on my new "hilly" route (link in first post), I biked the 2-3 miles home from the bike shop at an embarrassingly slow pace to cool down but once I got home, about 30 seconds after I got off the bike, I quite nearly dropped to the ground... instead I stumbled against a wall and just felt sick the rest of the day.

I have this bad habit of diving head first into every new hobby and even though I have a fair idea of my limits, I tend to simply ignore them. That said, I only have ~550 miles on my bike after 2.5 months but it's been rather wet and I've been nursing a sprained wrist for the last 4 weeks. My goal for June is 600 miles. (I'd do more but I'm trying to finish my master's degree... stupid school getting in the way of cycling.) Then I want 1000 miles in July... but we'll see.

RapDaddyo, thanks... I will spend more time in the hilly parts of town and just put down the miles. First I'll focus on pace and then I'll start adding laps to work on longer rides. (Though I've got an 86 mile route for the weekends to work on endurance.)

I was looking at power meters and maybe I'll go cheap & have my LBS build a PowerTap into my current wheel... dang wheels cost more than the bike. :-/

 

[Bluman]

Well, I'm still a wuss on the bike but I did manage 71 miles in 5 hours though I hit my wall about 40 miles into my ride. It was rather weird how I felt once I hit that wall too..... it was over a period of 20 minutes where my wrists started to hurt, my shoulders hurt, my back hurt, my ankles hurt, my soles hurt, and my toes hurt... and on top of that my lungs were tired. The funny thing was: my thighs didn't hurt... rather it seemed that the fatigue all over the rest of my body is what was causing me to slow down. When I stayed focused on holding cadence & breathing, I could still hold a decent 17-18mph pace for upwards of 20 minutes but as soon as I let the whole body fatigue come to mind again I was soon down to a 12-14mph pace.
Here's my ride on Garmin Connect: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/515880889
If you look at cadence, you can tell where I started to fatigue... just look for all the 0s that don't match up with stopping for stop signs or coasting downhill.

The good news is that I ordered a set of HED Belgium wheels w/ a PowerTap hub... so I'll be tracking my power output soon. If they're light & tough like I've read, then I should see a bit of a performance boost.

Also, I have no idea how much to eat while cycling.... the Garmin computer tells me that I burned 3100+ Calories on my last ride and I only consumed ~700 Calories with drinks and granola. Am I running out of energy because I'm not eating enough or even eating right?

 

[steve]

Originally Posted by Bluman
Am I running out of energy because I'm not eating enough or even eating right?

It's a pretty common mistake new and experienced riders make, so it's quite likely. You don't need to eat a huge amount on a ride like that, well that's assuming you generally eat well at other times. Think of what you eat the day before as banking energy for tomorrows big ride. When you get fitter, 100km rides will be nothing out of the ordinary.

 

[Felt_Rider]

What I see from your recent post:

Discomfort on the bike (if you have been professionally fitted) a lot of us experience at some point but it may take us a lot more miles. I have been fitted and in general my bikes are comfortable for aggressive performance type bikes, but at some point my neck will get stiff, sometimes my hands a little sore, etc., but the more years I ride it just takes a bit longer (miles and time) before those discomforts come into to play. If you have not been fitted it may be worth the dollars to have it done.

I have HED Belgium / PowerTap G3 wheels for training and though they are solid they do not boost performance as much as developing the engine. The more time you invest into riding you will begin to appreciate that you can just about make any bike with about any wheel set perform well. But you will appreciate having a good set of wheels and especially the power meter to use as you develop that engine. What I like about my HED Belgium wheels is that I feel a bit more confident on fast technical descents with the wider rim width. It may be just mental, but it does seem to track better than the previous wheels I was using.

I would not give much consideration to the estimated calories burned in Garmin Connect. When you start using the power meter it will give you a more accurate output for kj's and from that you can look at calories burned. For calories on the bike and fueling the ride or training on a long ride I try to eat at regimented times. I have spent a lot time of experimenting on timing and type of taking in calories. Each of us are so different that this is something we each just need to figure out. I have one friend that will ride with 1 bottle on a routes 80+ miles and barely consume any calories and he is one of the best in our group. While on the same route I will often go through 2 bottles that contain maltodextrin and electrolytes, 1 gel and 1 Cliff bar. Not to mention carbing up the day before and eating a large bowl of oatmeal a couple of hours before I start an 80+ mile ride. I will often break my rides into 20 mile segments and make sure I take in something at each of those mile marks whether I feel the urge or not, but with the bottles I am constantly sipping until the end. One thing that was pressed on me early on is that if you start feeling rough and begin to fade then you are already too late at that point by trying to quickly fuel up. It may help, but it seems to work better for me to keep something coming in early in the ride.

Biggest thing is that you are riding and putting on some miles. From this point you will progress mostly from evolving with experience. One you start training with a power meter that will also give you some insight to refining your training.

 

[Bluman]

steve & Felt, I suppose eating comes down to conditioning and body type........ and self-control. If I bike hard for more than 90 minutes, I will be starving. Until I upped the size of my breakfast hunger pangs were actually more of an issue than running out of energy. I've been trying to remember to eat a little granola once an hour but in practice I only remember to eat about every other hour. I suppose I'll try to find a schedule that keeps the energy up the longest for me. Felt, I might also try your 20 mile segment method. It seems a little easier to keep track of miles than time. Though hopefully as I gain conditioning I'll be able to go farther and harder more efficiently. Oh, and this talk of food reminds me... I did the dumbest thing on my last ride... I wasn't thinking and shoved some granola in my mouth just as I started a 1.5 mile climb. It was so miserable trying to eat and breathe while climbing, but thankfully I managed to finish off the granola before the grade transitioned from just 6% to over 10%.

Felt, with the new wheels, I was thinking performance in terms of lugging weight up hills. I'm a 187lb guy lugging a ~23lb bike up hills so until I build the muscle and endurance to get up these 6-12% grade hills w/o feeling like I'm going to die.... every pound I can shed off of myself or the bike is another pound I don't have to drag up a hill. I realize that trying to make things easier on myself isn't ideal in training but..... when I have to resort to 34/30 gearing and still barely make it up a 2 mile 6% slope and there is no easier slope to take to get home from the trail... yeah, I won't complain about making things easier on myself. I only started biking just under 3 months ago and I lost nearly a month to a sprained wrist in the middle. So I've only got ~680 miles under my belt so far. The reason I'm pushing myself so hard is that I intend to commute by bike when I move to Japan in August... and there they have mountains. :-/

I suppose that it is time to get a proper fitting for the Defy. I was holding off because I was planning on buying another bike (settled on a SuperSix) and getting fitted to that. Once I realized how much of a pain it would be to ship a bike to Japan, I decided to wait & just buy the full carbon bike when I get there. So now that the Defy will continue to be my everything bike, I suppose I'll get a fitting scheduled this week.

Oh and about Garmin's Calorie estimates... I usually refer to them as "alleged Calories".... though Garmin's large numbers do make for some good bragging.

 

[Felt_Rider]

All I can say is, "been there done that" when it comes to starting off with a heavier build and a heavier bike and conditioning that had me gasping when the road tilts upward. It just takes time and while you put in more hours out on the road you are building practical experience (with experimenting) on how to fuel your training or rides. Unless of course you get a good coach that knows how to coach using a power meter. A coach would help you get there faster without as much trial and error.

Might I say that for only having ~680 miles on your legs you are taking some bold steps by going for a 70 mile ride. Be encouraged by that at least. There are plenty of recreational level cyclist with many more miles and hours trained that struggle on a 5 hour ride.

I come from a different sports background, but the one thing I learned with many years of competition and coaching others is consistency is king. Once you begin to figure out how to train on a regular basis with enough progressive training to improve, but not so much that you burn out mentally or overreach physically you will likely end up on the better path. That is the beauty of using a power meter to help you dial in on that fine line between the two. For each of us the adaptations come at a various pace based on refined training, lifestyle and the ever so important genetics. For me my genetics lean heavily to fast improvement in fast twitch and for endurance not very good for slow twitch. Cycling in my world is a really slow process, but I am happy to keep plugging along.

But then there are those like one member here that went from Cat 4 to Cat 2 in less than a couple of years while on this board. So keep in mind that you cannot rush adaptation as it will come at its own pace and maybe you will be one of the blessed that it may come quickly. Keep training consistently and those hills will get easier in time despite the bike. Oh and another biggie is watts/kg, which is to trim down. When I started cycling I was near 190 lbs (I was trying to get up over 220 lbs in order to compete at the national level in bodybuilding, but I just about literally killed myself trying to get there) and I am now down to 160 lbs. So losing 30 lbs from this light 5'6" frame has been far more beneficial than what I can achieve with bike weight.

However, I get what you are saying and I did the same thing since I consider my LOOK 585 at just a touch over 15 lbs to be my baby on all terrain. Now that my fitness is improving I can easily power up a hill on my 18+ lb C-dale Six13, but I do like the snappiness of the LOOK. That Supersix with the HED wheels will be a super sweet combination. My TT bike fully loaded for a self sustained long solo distance course weighs well over 20 lbs with all the necessary things and 3 bottles of fluid. I can now power over short steep climbs on that beast, but that only happened from training in a certain structure over the past few years.

Keep at it
Who knows you might progress quickly once you get your training structure settled and nutrition tweaked.

 

[kopride]

Felt is giving Uluru great tips that many of us learned over years. First, a good professional fitting is probably dollar for dollar the best investment you can make in riding more efficiently and comfortably. Second, eat well before you ride.. For rides less than 2.5hours, you shouldn't need much on bike fuel if you've eaten properly beforehand. I like a massive bowl of old fashioned oatmeal with some berries and a few raisins. Drink well beforehand as well. The easiest weight to cut on a bike is the need for lots of water and food. For rides up to 2 hours in 75 degree weather or less, I carry about a liter of water and I rarely drain my bottle. As for diet generally, don't drink calories at all, just water, iced tea (no sugar) and black coffee. And practice scrupulous portion control. A full meal should not be larger in mass than your two fists, basically, one 8inch plate. This is true even after a long ride. Don't pig out because you are under the delusion that you've worked it all off. It's much easier to consume calories by overeating, then it is to expend them through exercise. So no, 3 hours of moderate riding doesn't mean you can eat two banannas, a power bar, and a bottle of Gatorade and there is no calorie surplus. I always laugh at the amount of food consumed by casual riders on charity rides. Dieting is different than starting a long term program to watch how you eat. Food consumed at a party, special occasion, a splurge, still counts. In order to control weight long term, you have to break the connection between overeating and recreation. It is hard wired conditioned behavior for most Americans at least. Fun means eating too much, and usually drinking too much. I don't expect a host to make special food or adapt to my diet. I'll eat the guacamole, but if you are eating more than a tablespoon and a few chips, you've already eaten everything you need to eat at a meal. Sorry if this sounds preachy, but I have been attending lots of graduation parties lately where folks start talking about their diet while they drink 4 beers and eat a cup of guacamole and a half pound of chips. "So, OK, having eaten nearly 1000 calories as a snack, tell me about your great diet. " if you watch people who just have a healthy lifestyle, they are not obsessive or always on a diet, they simply don't overeat and stay active. As Felt intimated, the power meter is the game changer. There is no fooling watts. Stuff like hill grades, wind, or grades become much less relevant when you start to view the ride as simply watts you have to generate. 200 Watts up a 6% grade is still 200 Watts. When you start to focus your training on increasing your aFTP, then the rest starts to follow. Before power meters, folks used perceived exertion, and staying right on the edge of oxygen debt is a feeling you can develop even without a PM. If you go too deep into the well too long, your ride will be a miserable experience and no amount of light bike, eating, or drinking will change the equation. If you stay right below, then you can cruise a remarkably long time comfortably. If the group you are with is too fast or too slow, then find a group that you can hang with by staying below the edge.

 

[Bluman]

Originally Posted by Felt_Rider
Might I say that for only having ~680 miles on your legs you are taking some bold steps by going for a 70 mile ride. Be encouraged by that at least. There are plenty of recreational level cyclist with many more miles and hours trained that struggle on a 5 hour ride.

I suppose I'm expecting too much progress too fast. 680 miles on a bicycle still sounds like a massive number to me... and I'm pushing myself for that first century already.

If I weren't moving to Japan so soon, I'd be looking for a coach. Even though I'm only interested in competing recreationally, my insanely over-competitive side wants me to be faster than everyone else right now. Even though that simply won't happen... I suppose it's time to start a regimented training schedule instead of just going out and riding every day. Then, when the power meter arrives, I can shift to power goals instead of times on Strava segments. Maybe after a couple more weeks of training and getting a pro-fit on the Defy, I'll finally complete the century. (I've made three attempts and only made it 50, 30, and now 70 miles on each attempt... if I don't make it this weekend, I'll push extra hard for it next weekend.

Originally Posted by kopride

As for diet generally, don't drink calories at all, just water, iced tea (no sugar) and black coffee. And practice scrupulous portion control. A full meal should not be larger in mass than your two fists, basically, one 8inch plate. This is true even after a long ride. Don't pig out because you are under the delusion that you've worked it all off. It's much easier to consume calories by overeating, then it is to expend them through exercise. So no, 3 hours of moderate riding doesn't mean you can eat two banannas, a power bar, and a bottle of Gatorade and there is no calorie surplus. I always laugh at the amount of food consumed by casual riders on charity rides. Dieting is different than starting a long term program to watch how you eat. Food consumed at a party, special occasion, a splurge, still counts. In order to control weight long term, you have to break the connection between overeating and recreation. It is hard wired conditioned behavior for most Americans at least. Fun means eating too much, and usually drinking too much. I don't expect a host to make special food or adapt to my diet. I'll eat the guacamole, but if you are eating more than a tablespoon and a few chips, you've already eaten everything you need to eat at a meal. Sorry if this sounds preachy, but I have been attending lots of graduation parties lately where folks start talking about their diet while they drink 4 beers and eat a cup of guacamole and a half pound of chips. "So, OK, having eaten nearly 1000 calories as a snack, tell me about your great diet. " if you watch people who just have a healthy lifestyle, they are not obsessive or always on a diet, they simply don't overeat and stay active.

Haha... I know what you mean about 'dieting'. I've not gone so far as calorie counting for everything I eat... just the evening before and day of a long ride. At this point I'm just trying to get into the habit of eating the 'right' foods and portion control will come after I've gotten over the loss of 300 Calorie soft drinks and heavily processed foods. Until I get a feel for how eating affects my energy levels, the main reason I'm eating while riding is to prevent binge eating when I get home. I suppose I just have to experiment with how much to eat on long rides....

Thanks for the advice guys! I'll keep riding every day and experimenting with food & training schedules and see where I am in a month... also I'll be sure to shamelessly brag when I finally manage my first century.

 

[Bluman]

Before I get into how much fun I'm having with the power meter, let me say how much I love these wheels and tires! I was expecting the advertised ~2 week building time and was surprised when the bike shop called me just 4 days after ordering. The HED Belgiums with Conti GP4000S's are sooooooo quiet. I don't hear any road noise unless there's sticks or gravel which is a funny contrast to the incredibly loud PowerTap hub when I'm coasting. It sounds like a fishing reel! I get paranoid on the trails that people can't hear me coming or don't hear me call my pass..... well now all I have to do is stop pedaling and it's better than having a bell.

I've been playing around with the power data and I think I'll have to do my FTP test at the gym or on my trainer. There is no way I can even do the 20 minute test on any of the roads or trails around here. Either there's stop signs and traffic lights or dog walkers taking the full width of the trail. I'll post my observations and some data after my next century attempt tomorrow morning.

 

[Bluman]

I may have over done it but I managed my century: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/521703052
Don't pay any mind to the 97.3 miles.... I did 4.7 miles of warmup and riding to my start point.

I did realized something though... once I get my fitting done and I hopefully reduce/eliminate the wrist and shoulder pain and get some new shoes or at least inserts to fix the foot pain... I should be able to push much harder and cut huge chunks off my 7.5 hour century time. I realized this when I started to use my aero bars which I'd been avoiding because the bike feels so twitchy until I mange to find a good rhythm. When the upper body fatigue had me coasting or cruising at < 120w and I switched to the aero bars, I suddenly felt like I could put down ~200w for the next 40 minutes or so... or if I behaved myself... doing 160-180w for upwards of 2 more hours. The problem is that I'm so uncomfortable riding in the aero bars (from a safety standpoint) that any time I saw another rider, any kind of traffic, or the trail got rough I'd have to get out of them asap. I suppose I just have to get used to them and maybe the fitting will help me feel more comfortable in them. I also learned that I could put down the same kind of effort when I sat up straight and put my palms down on the aero bars' forearm rests. Though in such a relaxed position, I more felt like I could sit there and do ~160w forever.

Looking at my heart rate data it seems I made it to about the 2 hour 30 minute mark before it started on a fairly steady downturn... and thinking back on it, this is where I suppose I started to fatigue. After that point I had to make a few stops to kick my shoes & gloves off and really stretch out. (Actually, according to Garmin, if I had paused for all of my breaks, it would have been closer to a 6.5 hour century... which would have made me very happy.)

I suppose I'll get some rest and then look over all this data while reading how to make the most of my power meter... atm the thing I'm loving it for is the alarm I set for 180w and then 150w to remind me to keep the effort down because a 100 miles is still a very long way for me.

 

[Bluman]

I suppose I'll just blog "progress" here... but I'm going to take it much easier on the cycling until I get a proper fit. First bike shop (the one everybody recommends for fitting) took my name and number... and then I never heard anything. I went back and their guy was on vacation and he'll contact me "soon". I've hardly got more than 5 weeks before I leave for Japan for 1-5 years. So I went to a second shop to get an appointment with their guy. They took my info and I've not heard from them either........ just my luck. So in the mean time I've continued with making small adjustments before each ride but at this point everything I try makes the wrist pain worse on longer rides. So I assume I'm at the best fit I can get without changing out hardware. Now, for fear of doing permanent nerve damage, I'm cutting back to just 30 minute rides each morning until the wrist pain is solved.

And to make things worse, today I had heart palpitations while on the bike. I've had issues with irregular heartbeat while at rest but until today never a hiccup while my heart rate was elevated. It first hit me early in my ride and my heart rate was normal for me attacking a hill (185-190 bpm) and feeling my heart skip beats at the top of a 40 mph downhill (and halfway down it) was not the kind of fun I look for on descents. I should have stopped when the next climb took a lot more out of me than normal... instead I took the next 4 miles at under 100 watts and continued until about mile 35 when the palpitations started up again. Since my normal route home has a 2.5 mile 6-7% incline followed by a 1/4 mile 9-11% incline and then another 1/4 10% incline, and each of these hills tends to max out my heart rate even in granny gear... I just rolled into the next town and called for a ride home. Even though I stopped on mile 38 I felt as fatigued as I did when I rode my first century...... so I suppose it's time to call the Dr. again, have him run all kinds of tests again, and listen politely as he tells me (yet again) that everything's normal except for an occasional irregularity at rest. On the bright side, my current insurance makes all this nonsense free. :-/

 

[Bluman]

Well... I haven't updated here in a little while but I'm back on longer rides now and am I'm in the planning stages for a 250 mile bike ride but spread over two days.

So long story short, I have only 3 weeks left before I go over seas for a new job and my cycling goal for the summer was to bike from Cincinnati, OH to Columbus, OH and back. (Going from Fountain Square to the State House.)

The original plan was to attempt the 250 miles in one 15-16 hour day but I haven't gotten anywhere near the number of miles in that I'd wanted between starting cycling back in March and now... thanks to school work getting in the way, I've only managed shy of 1k miles in 3.5 months and nearly half of those were from the first half of June. So instead of a single day I'm going to try it in two days, spending a night at a friend's house.

I managed my first century 3 or 4 weeks ago now and thanks to having a power meter to manage my pace, my legs were surprisingly fresh at the end. Rather, the majority of my fatigue seems to have been from a poor bike fit which (thanks to local pro-fitters failing to return my calls... guess they don't want my money) I managed to gradually fix by myself. Also, as I've gotten more comfortable on the bike, I've learned to stretch without having to get off or stop.