Asphalt Junkies CLOSED AND GETTING OUR FIX (Page 103)

Jo63 - 2012-08-18 9:55 PM What does everyone do regarding bike saddles and comfort I had another bike fit and ended up getting a new saddle but it isn't working I am having a really hard time on long rides not sure if this can just be adjusted with another fit or different bike shorts , or do i i just have to put in more hours on the bike?

It may very well be some of the things Dina is suggesting but it may just be that you need to spend more time in the saddle as well.  I can just now get on my bike for long rides and feel comfortable for the whole ride after logging longer miles and longer rides this season.  Personally, for me, I think it is getting used to sitting in a similar position on a saddle for longer and longer as your mileage increases.  (You're still getting geared up for Ironman right?)  Try to reflect back to how far you could go a while ago and get uncomfortable compared to today.  Can you ride farther today without discomfort?  If so give it another little bit to determine whether it's the saddle or you simply needing more time to adjust.

Wow!  That sounds awesome.  I'll enjoy it as much as I enjoyed that section of Kewpee that did the same thing.  It's a good thing I'm not racing or I'd probably be mad. 

As far as my fatness smashing down the stones, I'll try to do my best.  I figure by the time you get out of the water Matt, I'll be on my second loop of the bike and that should help.

The run course sounds like it should be a pretty decent course.  The first time up the last hill probably won't be too bad but on the final trip it's probably not going to be quite so fun.

bswcpa - 2012-08-19 6:59 PM  Although I'm looking forward to taking the road trip with my two friends, I'll miss getting there on Friday so I already know I'll feel a bit more stressed. My hubby laughs, but I told him the thing I'm most worried about is getting to the campground and not being able to back up my camper into it's spot. Dirk, I have your cell number and if I get there and can't manuever then I'm calling you to help me out. I've been camping with it for a year now but I always arrive before the campground gets busy and can take all the time I want backing up. We'll be arriving about noon on Saturday and I expect the campground to be full at that point. What site are you guys at Dirk and Matt? I tracked Warren on his race today and saw he did awesome. I also tracked a couple friends doing Steelhead 70.3. It was fun to do and also got me excited about this coming Sunday. Have a great week everyone!

What 2 friends are you bringing with you to the race Brenda? 

I can certainly help you get your camper into your spot.  I have been backing trailers for years and I usually don't have any problems getting into a spot.  Lis and I will be in lot 74.  Look for my crew cab Dark Grey Dodge Dakota or text or call me, since you do have my number, and I'll come over and help you set up.

I'm hoping to get a short swim in the reservoir on Saturday, do you 2 want to join me?  I can wait until you get there Brenda.  The swim will be just to get rid of some nerves. 

Tony, you are a "stud' just for being out in those conditions!  Hope you are not to sore today!  Hope your bike is fine!

Jo, hope you get the seat thing worked out.  Out local bike shop will let us try various seats.  Good Luck on finding one  or getting accustomed to any of them...lol  ouchie!

OK, get the race reports posted!  Thanks Tony for postin yours.

Tony, you are a "stud' just for being out in those conditions!  Hope you are not to sore today!  Hope your bike is fine!

Jo, hope you get the seat thing worked out.  Out local bike shop will let us try various seats.  Good Luck on finding one  or getting accustomed to any of them...lol  ouchie!

OK, get the race reports posted!  Thanks Tony for postin yours.

bswcpa - 2012-08-19 8:07 PM Your Dirk comment made me laugh out loud, Matt. Thanks for the info on the run course. I so want to do run smart and start slow to get my legs under me but heading downhill will be tough to keep in check. Oh well, it is what it is. Lucky you with a pop up that you can push around. I know what you mean about being beyond excited for Sunday. I'll pray for your wife and kids to be patient with you as you're bouncing off the walls.

If the downhill isn't too steep you can simply relax.  Even if you are going 10 miles per hour, it will be easier than your average race pace on the flat...so you will be recovering while making great time.  The key is to relax and let the gravity move you.

then at mile 5 when you climb back up, slow down and only use the same EFFORT you were using on the flats.  At the end of that mile you are no more winded than when you arrived at the bottom.  If you do this, you will notice you will be picking people off for another quarter mile after that hill!

To all of you doing this race, that chipseal pavement can be a hassle.  They sometimes do that to roads around my area and we ride them all the time.  It's most definitely slow and a great example of how pavement introduces rolling resistance.  Even smooth roads do this to a much lesser extent and why there is an optimum tire pressure that's less than the theoretical best.

I have a suggestion for you riding this road.  Do your best to say in the tire track on the right.  This will be where the cars that drive the road generally put their right tires.  It will be the most clear of loose gravel.  Depending on how heavy the extra gravel is you may need to avoid coming out of that 'lane' to make passes.  I suggest you all get a look at it before the race even if you have to drive out and just look without riding it.

Good luck and have fun!  I am very envious.  I wish I could be part of the Junkie reunion race and campout!

Jo63 - 2012-08-18 8:55 PM What does everyone do regarding bike saddles and comfort I had another bike fit and ended up getting a new saddle but it isn't working I am having a really hard time on long rides not sure if this can just be adjusted with another fit or different bike shorts , or do i i just have to put in more hours on the bike?

Jo, help me out....are you referring to a road bike or a tri bike?

If you are on a road bike, the correct road bike position will be fairly easy to get comfortable with.  On a tri bike, depending on how you decided to 'fit' the bike, it can be very hard.  Answer this question first and I'll have more advice.

Tony, that looks brutal!

I'll catch up with everyone if this internet connection stays live this week, but I wanted to drop in and give my weekend race status.  The short version is that my relay team won!  Not bad for a 43 year old swimmer and two 50 year olds running and biking.  Go graybeards!

It was an absolutely incredible day.  Being with Make-A-Wish added so much to the experience.  We got VIP treatment from the private parking spots, to our own cheering section, to a personal email greeting and signed book from Chrissie - she's usually a Wish racer at this event, but is taking this year off - and more.

As for the race, due to the wave assignments and the fact that our swimmer passed most of the people in the wave before us, we were near the front of the race going into the bike (besides the pros who were long gone).  I passed the last age grouper at about mile 12, and from then on I was the very first age grouper, out of a field of 2200!  It was weird, and a little strange.  No one passed me the entire race.  Not sure if I could have pushed harder with someone ahead for me to chase, but I did push pretty hard other than a loss of focus around mile 35-40.

After the last real hill, I took a look back and even though I could see about 1/2 mile of road, I saw no one behind me.  At that point, with only 7 miles to go, I knew I could make it back before anyone.  As I approached the race site, I could hear the Ironman announcer exclaiming the first age grouper was about to enter transition, and announce my name and hometown!  And even though I was only a relayer, it was a thrill to get into transition with absolutely no bikes present other the pro rack.  And with 2200 entrants, that was a BIG transition area.  It was very cool.

Now I know how Jeff or Dirk might feel, but it was once in a lifetime for me.  I ended up with 2:36:58, for a 21.4 ave. Very happy with that one given the course.

You need to inform your wife that she caused your crash.  Just like in Theater, you say "break a leg" because wishing them well would jinx them, your wife should have said "throw caution to the wind and be a hero" and you wouldn't have crashed.

I normally do just what you are suggesting for my rides.  There are many roads around here that are surfaced with chip and seal that are used for nearly all of my routes.  As a matter ofact, last nights ride had some fresh chip and seal on about a mile stretch and I wondered why they did it.  It was much like the road Matt described, smooth before now riddled with small stones and more rough. 

I have also though about the rolling resistance on these roads and thought that if I were ever to run into a real, smooth road during a race I could actually kill the bike leg with little effort.

Come on up this weekend Jeff.  They are still taking registrations for the race and they have 3 distances to choose from: sprint, "mini" (almost an Oly but only a 1000M swim) and the HIM.  I already checked the distance from Columbia to Springfield, Oh. and it's 6 hours.  If you want to come up we will have plenty of room in our camper because our girls aren't going to be with us.

Heck!!  Lets make this a team event and everyone can come over!  But I don't have enough room for all of you in my camper.

Jeff while I totally agree with you I read this post to my wife and she started qouting exactly what the race director told us about being careful on the bike especially in the former Grumman facility where I wound up wiping out. No matter how I try to spin this with her I can't win.

I so love what you put Jeff.  Whenever we have been to Ohio to visit family and we're about to leave my mother always tells me to be "drive careful."  My response is ALWAYS; "Drive with reckless abandon and throw caution to the wind."  She used to roll her eyes at me and worry.  Now I think she wouldn't know what to do if I were not to say those words.  I almost think she wants to hear me say it.

And Tony, your wife will never agree with Jeff's sentiments although she probably sees the humor in it.  I love harassing Lis the same way.  She knows I enjoy the thrills of sport and the occasional adrenaline charge.

Of course you know you all killed the race.  All of you guys did that!  It had to have been a pretty huge experience to be on the same podium as the race champions and to be up front in front of the rest of the AG'ers.  The feeling is pretty cool but you had to have had a much larger rush knowing your ace was bigger and the charge you must have gotten over the race course seems like it would have helped push you.

Congrats!!!

Dirk, thanks for the offer.  That's too much for me to wrap myself around on this short notice but you know what?  How about next season?  Tri Indy sounds fun.  Also, I think there is an Xterra within driving distance of your home and perhaps I can turn that in to a visit?

And speaking of smooth roads...my next tri and last road tri this year is coming up in early Sept.  The thing I like most about this race is the bike course.  I always get my fastest average speed on this course.  It's nearly pancake flat.  There is something like 20 feet of elevation change on the main loop and that's a few miles in the making.  I can hold 23+mph on the UPHILL part of the course.

And the pavement is so smooth all you hear is a beautiful humm from your tires.

This year I'm hoping for a 27mph average.  So consider coming down for this one yourself in Sept. '13.