Beer Drinker Appreciation Society - Open For Business (Page 123)

The end of the day, most of us are buying the wheelset for looks. Unless you are edging towards consistently podium finishes, I would get something similar to what comes on an average bike. It is not worth it to me to finish in 38th place as opposed to 44th...just my 2 cents.

As far as sweating. I start sweating just getting out bed...

That is just sick...go to your room!

Cadence is personal...paying attention to it with lots of ride and you will find your sweet spot! More about self awareness when cycling.

The biggest thing about cadence is a lot of people burn too much with lower cadences mashing the pedals.

I know you are on a tight budget but you can get a wired cadence at a pretty reasonable price...

$50 and I am sure you could probably find a wee bit cheaper.

http://www.rei.com/product/751831/cateye-strada-cadence-bike-computer#tab-specs

Nice job on the PR/ride-that is worth a couple of beers!

I want to make a comment on the your riding route but I think I would end up sounding like a dirty old man.

Jenn, I can't wait to hear about your ride with the iron cowboy!

Have a great time!!

The best way to develop a smooth pedal stroke is to get a set of rollers. You will discover where your dead spots are. If you don't have rollers. Single leg drills will also work. Unclip one foot and try to pedal as smoothly as you can with the other. You can do it on the road if you're confident in your ability to handle the bike with one leg. Otherwise put it on a trainer. Put a short step stool next to your bike (to rest the unclipped foot on) and do the leg drills like that. 1 minute for each leg and then 1-2 minutes of recovery. 

The only way to really equalize your power is to train the stronger leg to only work at the same rate of the weaker leg and/or develop strength in the weaker leg. Try doing some squats with an unweighted bar centred on your shoulders. The bar will keep you balanced so you're putting out equal power to both legs. It won't help you necessarily improve your pedalling power (only sport specific training can really do that, i.e. riding the bike) but it might help equalize muscle strength. 

I'm no expert in these things though. It might be beneficial to talk to a PT who has experience with cyclists. 

If there is that much time between waves, I would put myself at the back of the first wave. No one in the second will have time to catch you and you can draft faster swimmers. If you go out in any other waves, stay at the front. 

I still recommend Flos. You can get a set of the Flo 30s for around $500. They're more aero than most other 30mm rims but they're also aluminum and very durable. You won't find a better or equivalent set at that price. You can get a set of Shimano A500s for $250 (cad) and they're a solid wheel. A little heavier than what you are currently running but they're durable. That's what I use for training (and weekly races). I've put over 10,000km on them and only needed truing once so far. Other than Flo, you won't get a useful aerodynamic wheel in the price range you're looking. There are certainly 'aero' wheels out there for under $1000 but they'll only look aero, they won't perform aero. 

I'm going to rant here for a minute. Weight has almost no effect on acceleration compared to aerodynamics. Weight requires a linear increase in power to overcome. i.e. accelerating from 10 to 20kph requires 50 more watts, accelerating from 20 to 30kph requires another 50 watts, 30 to 40kph, another 50 watts etc. (I'm making these numbers up for the sake of the example) Aerodynamic forces require an exponential increase in power. Accelerating from 10 to 20kph requires 50 more watts, accelerating from 20 to 30kph requires 80 more watts, accelerating from 30 to 40kph requires 100 more watts etc. So an aero wheel set, even if heavier, will accelerate better than light weight wheels. The only time a heavier wheel set will 'feel like sludge' is if the wheel is heavier but not more aerodynamic.

Here's a thing I wrote about aerodynamics and weight: https://raceontario.wordpress.com/2015/04/30/aerodynamics-debunking-the-myths/
Here's another thing I wrote about buying wheels: https://raceontario.wordpress.com/2015/07/09/buyers-guide-wheels/

This is one of the first times I've ever heard a spin class instructor do something that would actually be beneficial for outdoor cycling. Most of the time spin classes are nothing more than bad habit formers for roadies. Is this class targeted to road cyclists? 

The only thing I would correct is that on a climb you want to maintain your cadence as best as you can. It shouldn't drop too much. If it does, it's time to rethink your gearing choices. When I go up hill I tend to increase my cadence. And I would never recommend going lower than 60rpm. If you ride at 90rpm, try to stay above 75 uphill and ideally stay in the 85-90 range if you have the gears for it. 

Only because I enter the vertigo impaired, drunken,  one legged, one arm,  flat tire, over weight category.(I apologize if I have offended any blind, one.....overweight people...)

Here you go:

http://www.rei.com/product/867784/mavic-aksium-s-wheel-front

or

http://www.nashbar.com/bikes/Product_10053_10052_572364_-1___[Ljava.lang.String;@53875387

Most spin classes are designed to be 'full body' workouts so they have you do silly drills where you lean forward over the handlebars or lean way back, or pedal absurdly slow with a lot of resistance or other such nonsense. These things might help work the core and shoulders and what not but they're terrible for learning how to properly ride a road bike. Spin classes put you in positions that are intentionally inefficient in order to increase the workout (at least that's the logic) so you develop bad riding position. A pretty good indicator of a bad spin instructor is if they get you to pedal backwards.... never do it. 

There are spin classes that are designed specifically for roadies who want to do a trainer ride with other people. Those would be beneficial. Most spin classes are designed for the average fitness buff and pay no heed to what is beneficial or useful for cyclists. 

Sighting is my issue too. When I did IMMT I ended up swimming almost a km more than I needed to because I swam in a zigzag pattern. 

The key to a good spin class is to marry the instructor....my wife teaches spin classes.

That being said, at the end of the day I just do what works for me and ignore instructor(that is not my wife....). I do not hop around or any of the other rigmarole.

Of course if the class is not part of your tri training, feel free to do what makes you happy.

Off topic but a class that has been pretty popular with the female members and good for your leg strength is Barre. Good for guys too but there may be some awkward exercises...

On tap for this weekend so far from Arrowhead, a local brewery in Invermere, BC:

1)I've Been Thinking About Getting the Band Back Together(longest beer name ever)

India Session Ale, 5.5%, IBU 45

This beer is perfect for those that love IPAs, but want to drink more than one in a sitting. It's got a good hop flavour, but it's much more subtle at an IBU of 40. The low ABV makes this beer perfectly sessionable. 

2)I'm so Freaking Hoppy

Imperial IPA, 7.3%, IBU 75

This IPA has a perfect balance for a beer of this strength and complexity. It’s perfectly carbonated, golden-orange in colour with a thick, ivory head. The hops explode with flavour followed by notes of grapefruit and orange.

3)Loud Mouth Soup-not sure about this one. It might be a sampler then decide.

Double IPA, 9%, IBU 93

Our double IPA has a big, explosive hop flavour. It's brewed with a sh&t ton of hops and a sh&t ton of malt. Miraculously enough, this beer came out hoppy and flavourful, without being super sweet. 

It can happen! Usually my first mile is "Why am I doing this??". Halfway through mile 2 the early thoughts are gone then somewhere in mile 3+ I realize I'm just breezing along and enjoying the run. 

Got (mostly) caught up with the threads, I'm still amazed at how active, supportive, and helpful this group is. Keep it up!

Updates from me: Mostly running and swimming with some bike commuting mixed in. On the 4th of July I helped my open water swimming group as they did a 1.75 mile "3 pier" swim . I was the lead paddler on my SUP and the conditions were excellent, overcast with the bare hint of a breeze. Once we made it to the 3rd pier I turned around and paddled back to the first pier (where my car was parked) for a round trip of about 3 miles. Wildlife encounters include a humpback whale, dive bombing pelicans (while we cut through a bait-ball), and a surly look from an otter as I went through a kelp bed.