Asphalt Junkies CLOSED AND GETTING OUR FIX (Page 113)

For the tri bike junkies, I'm just learning to ride Tallulah, my tri bike. It is SO different than my road bike. 

1st question - are there any tips (to help the larning curve) for getting in and out of aero besides just riding more.  It is getting better but still not as comfortable as the roadie.

2nd question, when do you get out of aero to do hills?  I know tht is vague but is it when you have to stand up or what?

trigal38 - 2012-09-02 9:37 PM

Jo63 - 2012-09-02 7:46 PM Dina, any more thought on coming up to Madison this weekend? I had a really good bike and run today followed by another 2 hour nap

I want to so bad I can't stand it but I told my training friend I would volunteer at the local half marathon race she helps organize every year. I'll be following along on the computer. I have so many people to track for the IM I'm thinking of having a IM watching party at our house later in the day!

I'm so glad you had a good bike and run today! Can you believe it's almost time?

That would have been great for you 2 to be able to meet.  It is a huge motivator to be able to meet the people with in the group.  I am really hoping that we can set up a race where at least most of us can get together and race.  Jeff's suggestion of Tri-Indy next year would be a "fairly central" location for a lot of us. Bing maps puts these time for trips to the race site

• Effingham, Il. (Dina's area?) 2:15
• Warsaw, In.  (Brenda) 2:30
• Fort Wayne (ME and Allison) 2:00
• Sydney, Oh. (Matt) 2:05
• Ann Arbor Mi. (Samantha) 4:05
• Racine, Wi (Joanne) 4:10
• Kent, Oh (David) 4:40
• Columbia, Tn (Jeff) 5:00
• Frederick, Maryland (John) 8:00
  

• Massaqua, NY (Tony's area) 11:15
• Tallahassee , Fl (Kalr's area) 11:30
• Hampstead, NH (warren) 14:05
• Dover, NH (Jonathon) 14:30

And then there are the "westies."

• Lake Tahoe, Ca (Stan) 30:00
• Redding, Ca (Tracy and Vero) 32:00

WOW!  I had forgotten how big this group was at one time.  There are several people I didn't put on the above list because they bailed quite some time ago and I probably missed someone too.  What a diverse group of people we have here.  We have people from all over the US except for the southern states (excluding Tn. of course)

I also see that we could realistically get about 8 of us together with Jeff having the furthest to travel, at 5 hours.  If anyone is seriously interested in doing this we could begin to make some of the beginning scheduling plans now.

That was a seriously long time getting this info together.  I didn't plan on doing that when I read this post initially.

And finally!!!!

Dina, an IM watching party sounds like a hugely fun idea.  I know a few people that did IMLOU but I would never have thought of doing that.  That would be awesome!

Joanne, whats your bib number?  I want to follow you after my race next Sunday.

1st question - There really isn't anything else you can do besides ride more.  The only suggestion I have is to rotate between aero and the horns several times per ride.  I wouldn't practice trying to move between the 2 at a fast rate as this will only increase the risks of going down.  Over time you'll be able to move around more comfortably and quicker, but don't rush it.

2nd question - There was a question in the main forum about when there is a reduction in aerodynamic performance and speed.  The discussion, as I remember, seemed to center around the 15 MPH zone.  Anything slower than 15 has a reduced effect on aerodynamics and performance.  But, if you're comfortable in aero over the entire distance, feel free to stay in that position.

When to get out of aero when climbing hills?  That depends on the race distance and your ability.  For sprints, I'll get out of the saddle when I feel a need to keep my speed the close to the same on a short climb.  On a longer climb I would stay in my saddle longer but as I approached the top of the hill I wouldn't shift to a lower gear, instead I would stand up and mash the pedals to maintain a faster speed but likely a lower cadence.

For longer course riding/racing I think it's wise to spin more.  The more you stand in the pedals the harder you work your legs and burn them out.  This can be potentially damaging to your run or maybe even blow it up.  Last weekend there was a large hill (for my normal rides) that had me out of gears but right in the verge of needing to stand up.  I was able to stay in the saddle, but barely, and save my legs for the run.

For training, I would practice both.  If you can remember you can alternate with each ride (if you take similar or the same routes) and alternate sprinting up the hills and spinning up.  You can also try to get some solid efforts on the down hill side too.  Once at the top you can "sprint down the other side to maintain a higher HR, but I wouldn't suggest doing this in a race.  In a race I would be more even on the down side to save your legs.  This is only a training recommendation.

Karl I think Dirk's advice is really good. From my limited experience I'll say it just takes some time to get comfortable being aero. I eased into it during my rides until I felt comfortable and confident enough to ride that way the majority of the time. One thing that helped a lot was practicing on the trainer. It helped get me acclimated and comfortable to riding aero. Now I pretty much go aero as much as I can when riding. As far as the hills go I don't really ride many but I pretty much do it the way Dirk explained it. I think how you handle it is dependent on the situation you are in which Dirk explained very well.

DirkP - 2012-09-03 9:09 AM

trigal38 - 2012-09-02 9:37 PM

Jo63 - 2012-09-02 7:46 PM Dina, any more thought on coming up to Madison this weekend? I had a really good bike and run today followed by another 2 hour nap

I want to so bad I can't stand it but I told my training friend I would volunteer at the local half marathon race she helps organize every year. I'll be following along on the computer. I have so many people to track for the IM I'm thinking of having a IM watching party at our house later in the day!

I'm so glad you had a good bike and run today! Can you believe it's almost time?

That would have been great for you 2 to be able to meet.  It is a huge motivator to be able to meet the people with in the group.  I am really hoping that we can set up a race where at least most of us can get together and race.  Jeff's suggestion of Tri-Indy next year would be a "fairly central" location for a lot of us. Bing maps puts these time for trips to the race site

• Effingham, Il. (Dina's area?) 2:15
• Warsaw, In.  (Brenda) 2:30
• Fort Wayne (ME and Allison) 2:00
• Sydney, Oh. (Matt) 2:05
• Ann Arbor Mi. (Samantha) 4:05
• Racine, Wi (Joanne) 4:10
• Kent, Oh (David) 4:40
• Columbia, Tn (Jeff) 5:00
• Frederick, Maryland (John) 8:00
  

And for a few others a simple hop, skip and jump.

• Massaqua, NY (Tony's area) 11:15
• Tallahassee , Fl (Kalr's area) 11:30
• Hampstead, NH (warren) 14:05
• Dover, NH (Jonathon) 14:30

And then there are the "westies."

• Lake Tahoe, Ca (Stan) 30:00
• Redding, Ca (Tracy and Vero) 32:00

WOW!  I had forgotten how big this group was at one time.  There are several people I didn't put on the above list because they bailed quite some time ago and I probably missed someone too.  What a diverse group of people we have here.  We have people from all over the US except for the southern states (excluding Tn. of course)

I also see that we could realistically get about 8 of us together with Jeff having the furthest to travel, at 5 hours.  If anyone is seriously interested in doing this we could begin to make some of the beginning scheduling plans now.

That was a seriously long time getting this info together.  I didn't plan on doing that when I read this post initially.

And finally!!!!

Dina, an IM watching party sounds like a hugely fun idea.  I know a few people that did IMLOU but I would never have thought of doing that.  That would be awesome!

Joanne, whats your bib number?  I want to follow you after my race next Sunday.

Dirk I would seriously consider making the trip out to do Tri-Indy next year. I am actually in Mastic Beach so I just checked and it would be a trip no doubt at an estimated 13:34 but it really is a straight shot to Indy and it would be so worth it going out there and getting to meet and race with everyone. The only thing I would need to do is convince the boss (my wife) to let me do it. As of now the only thing I am committing to next year is IMWI assuming I can get in. If not I am going to find another IM to do. I was also thinking about doing one HIM as well. I am leaning towards Syracuse in June but I have to see about that again I need the boss approve that.

Dirk love the list you put together! The Junkies are everywhere and you were right on with me. We are just 10 min East of Effingham IL. Tri Indy would not be too far at all. I'm going to go check out the race website.

Karl - getting in and out of aero will come with more riding, one arm at a time . Listen to Dirk about the climbs.

I find I am good at long hills without a very steep grade. I can maintain aero and pass people on those but I am no good at mashing the gears. I pretty much never get off my seat to climb a hill but we don't have a lot of difficult hills to climb around here. I don't have a lot of power like I imagine our mentors have. When I get off my seat to climb I find the recovery takes me longer than if I would have just saved that bit of energy and stayed in a smaller gear. I think it would be good for me to practice getting out of my seat more but when I'm on the road my instinct is always the same!

Just to put it out there, I am considering the Chicago Triathlon for next year.  They have touted it as the world's largest triathlon (then again, I think I've heard the same for the London Triathlon... )  Sprint and Oly distances.  End of August.  It seems like they put on a well-organized event.  Plus, it's Chicago.

http://chicagotriathlon.com/

Looks like there will be tracking for Rev3 too.  3 splits on bike, 2 splits on run for the half.  

http://timing.rev3tri.com/2012

Do you guys doing Rev3 find out about your bib numbers in advance?  If so, please post

Who all is doing Rev3?  Dirk, Brenda, anyone else?

Yep.....way, way, over here in the west!  You guys are up and at 'em before I even think about getting out of bed!   Maybe I'll dip a toe in the Pacific Ocean for the Junkies!

Dirk, would love to get together and race with everyone.

One bad side to it. This week I was popping in to work for a few minutes. I locked up my bike. I came out and it was gone. Some time later a fellow employee saw it a few blocks away, but lost em.

I contacted the police. Here's the real problem, It happened in Nevada (Stateline), they say even though it was stolen there, it was seen in california. I called the Tahoe police also. They say since it happened in Nevada they can't do anything & that the highway patrol (Ca.) or state troopers (NV) should be called, because the address is a on a highway.

What a bunch of cr@p!!! Everyone is passing the buck. I do have 3/4 of the town looking for it, as it is the only bike of its kind here in Taho. I'm not holding my breath. I spent half of last summer putting overtime to afford the bike. Also, I had 2 more races I paid for.

Anyway, looks like I will spend the winter putting more overtime to get a new one. Just sucks! It's like losing a friend.

Stan that just plain sucks!!  You can try to check the craigslist listings over the coming weeks, both in the local area and the surrounding areas.  It seems there have been several people find their personal property in the same way.  You would need to contact police prior to meeting the person that stole the bike but it may be worth it to make sure the guy gets some jail time.

In the meantime you probably should start making plans to get another bike.  With all your cycling buddies out there I would check into seeing if one of them would allow you to use one of their bike to race.  I can't imagine with the time you have spent with them that one of them wouldn't let you use their bike.  I had one of the guys in my training group offer another the use of his race wheels for IMLOU a couple of weeks ago.  I think it's worth checking.

Ya been checking CL from Vegas to Reno to Sacramento to the Bay Area. Still nothing.

I know they would let me use one of their bikes, no problem. It's just the feel and fit you get use to riding. I may skip the race around the lake in 3 weeks and just do the charity ride down on the central coast in Oct. It's a century ride for MS. I already raised the money for charity $650.

Thanks guys. I do hope I find it, but I feel like I won't feel the same riding it after.

Also have you notified local bike shops?  Read a story once about a girl who had told a LBS (or maybe more!) about her stolen bike and later the guy who stole her bike went into the shop with the bike, and because the store knew, she got her bike back.

I just checked the race out.  The price tag is a little steep for my liking.  I just did last weekend's HIM for $100.  I know the race is a big race and all but by the time I would get a room and meals involved it would be close to $500 for the weekend.  I'd rather pay for an IM branded race and camp near the venue for the same money.

BTW, our team didn't fare to well last Saturday night!  What happened to the defense and why can't Hoke actually try to run Robinson?  I was frustrated the whole game!!!  However, as big a fan of U of M as I am I felt like it was going to be a rout.  Alabama is an extremely strong team year after year.

How's that Joanne?

I love the pic!

Now you have to post your comments because I am certainly not claiming that either of these hands are mine!! 

This looks more like something Jonathon would do.  I can say that because he is so far behind on reading and posting that he probably won't see this until Christmas. HAHA

I can't catch up right now but man you guys are busy!  I'll catch up later tonight and hopefully have some input.  I'm enjoying my post race season relaxation and extra ice cream, which for a junkie is really saying something.

If any of you watch extreme chef, Scott from Boston is my cousin and I'm about to watch week 3 with my boys.  They love cooking shows, so to see Scott on one is a real treat!

Awe man!!!!  Some people suck.  So sorry.  I wish the police would step up and help you.  Ridiculous.