SBR Utopia - OPEN (Page 152)

That is pure awesome!

I guess I have found my Zen already Fred. No metrics, just riding these days. I wear the cheap Garmin 10 watch so I can upload to Strava at home but it doesn't show mph or anything out on the road. I did invest in a bike computer which I turn on in the group so I maintain pace when I am pulling. Other than that, each ride is completely unique. It depends on the weather, who shows up to ride and like Jason said, the teams strategies and tactics vary on any given day. Even when I ride solo, I mix it up by doing hills, some sprints etc but nothing that is written down and must be followed.

I want to make a bet that the riding you are doing will make you a stronger cyclist and a happier one! I hope you find your Zen

Awesome, I love TrainerRoad as well!  Do you have any favorite workouts yet?  If you have the Sufferfest videos, they pair with TR quite nicely.

Chris - question on your bottle position between the bars.  From this angle it looks like yours is set quite a bit back.  Do you have any issues pulling/replacing the bottle when in aero with that setup?

I ask, because mine is set a lot further forward but I want to move it back so I can figure out a mount to put my garmin up near my hands.  (It's on my stem at the moment).

I rigged a home made mount that puts my Garmin between my aerobars up where they start to bend up.  It sits just below the plane of the bottle so when I take it out the bottle comes out above the computer and I can see and access the computer easily with my hands in aero.  My bottle sits farther forward than what it appears as Chris's does.  Basically the back of the bottle is right around where my elbows are.

Edit for pics:

http://i652.photobucket.com/albums/uu243/Zenmaster28/garmin-mount.jpg

http://i652.photobucket.com/albums/uu243/Zenmaster28/side-view.jpg

Oh boy! The challenges of rural living! There's no way I'd go back out!

What's interesting is that there is debate on the merits of a power meter to quantify effort yet there isn't a swim coach in the world that would question the value of a pace clock for training. Aren't they the same thing ?

I can tell you, the pace clock at the pool takes away from my swim enjoyment :-)

Pro cyclists do use HR and power a lot.  For training, it's likely prescribed directly by their coaches.  But while racing...I highly doubt that pro cyclists are racing while using HR and power as a strategy unless they are using the race as a tune up (like training).  My guess is that the coaches still want them to wear HR straps and use power meters to monitor their training stress though.  After a week long stage race, or 3 week long grand tour, that info can become extremely useful to a coach on how to help them recover...or who on the team might be best suited for the upcoming race, and who needs to sit out.

With the caveat that my setup is purely logistical and not based on the optimum aero setup....   I tried mounting the bottle on the bars, but didn't like it for several reasons.  Because of the ski bends and stem setup, I could not fit a cage in between them unless it was facing backwards, meaning the flat bottle bottom is in the wind.  Even the A2 setup didn't work.  Plus I didn't like the extra eight on the bars. 

So now it is mounted on a stem mount.  It is a little far back, and I sometimes rub it with my knee as it comes forward, but when I am in aero the bottle is nestled right between my arms, and when I use the A2 the straw is just below my mouth, maybe a little behind so it could stand to come forward a couple inches.

I am trying to figure out how to switch to a different cockpit, i.e., how do you test out what is comfortable without a full install?  That will change things up a bit.

I wonder how much the race director in his car is looking at power of one of his guys who is in a break out to gauge if he should get his team in the peloton working. I wonder if they do it by speed/gap or by power/hr.

I wonder how much having a guy in the break out pack is useful for gauging the effort they are putting and if they will blow up or not.

I could see loads of situations like this where power would be useful, but at the same time it could also simply overwhelm a rider out on the course. Fred mentioned Blink before, I have read it and also think it would be very applicable here. With the pro teams, I would be surprised if they were not doing analysis such as these example from the cars. Their incentive to learn how would be quite high.

I've found a lot of utility in my power meter for *training*, not so much for racing.  It's easy to get caught up in sticking to your numbers when your brain is telling you that something's not quite right with how you feel.  And then suddenly you're toast even though you supposedly stuck to the plan.

As a training tool, though it has been very helpful.  After my PE I was pretty depressed and felt like I'd never get back to "par" with my biking ability.  I was mostly stuck with indoor trainer work for the past 6 months.  The power meter has been a great way to track my progress and helped motivate me to stick with it.  And it has helped target my workouts so I didn't overextend myself early on.

I agree a PM expense is not for everyone, but it has worked well for me.

Oh, side note: I am fortunate to live about 1 mile from a velodrome, so I've used the PM to help fine-tune my position on the bike, also.

When I rode IM Canada last year, I didn't mention this in my race report but I averaged only 143 watts for the course, and came in under 6 hours.  Aero matters

Greetings all! I am hoping that it is not too late to join in. Here is my info:

NAME: Andy Kalish

STORY:  I have never done a tri but am signing up for a local sprint in August 2013. I am 51 years old and have been doing half (2) and full (4) marathons for the past 3 years. Not very well, mind you, just doing them. And loving it. Would like to progress up to longer distance tri's as time goes on. I guess you could say I am in it for the long haul. Over the last few months I have been using TI's drill progression to learn to swim better, complementing TI with info and tips from Taormina's SSS. Lot of work to do here. I got a reasonable road bike and have been getting it on an indoor trainer for a little over a month. All great fun!

FAMILY STATUS: I ive in upstate NY. I am 51 years old and single so I do have the time to train! I have two step-daughters and a daughter, all very wonderful.

CURRENT TRAINING: After (hopefully) getting better at swimming and some good SBR base training down, I will be preparing for my first sprint tri later this year. In parallel I will be getting ready for the Berlin Marathon with my older step-daughter. I am usually a 6-7x per week runner but this year will modify that to weekly 5x run, 3x bike, 3-4x swim.

2012 RACES: Bataan Death March Memorial Marathon, Flower City Half Marathon, Rochester Half Marathon, Chicago Marathon.

2013 RACES:  Rochester Sprint Triathlon, Berlin Marathon.

WHAT WOULD MAKE ME A GOOD MEMBER OF THIS GROUP:  As a newbie I currently visit the BT forum daily to learn as much as I can. I have a little bit of running experience to share but can't contribute much in the swimming and biking categories. However, as a mentee I think I can provide a service to the more experienced mentors in the group: if you can explain it to me you can explain it to anyone!

I agree there is a huge cost difference.

But when people start talking about power numbers taking the enjoyment out of training, data analysis/paralysis, being held back by the power meter...I don't think they are talking about the price.

Measurement of performance and load is key to improving fitness and a power meter is, in my opinion, the best tool out there (on the bike). Just like a pace clock is in the pool

Now, if it gets in the way of enjoyment then the cons outweigh the pros. Just like the cost (con) can easily outweigh the pros for some people. So I am unplugging the pace clock.

Two weeks will be the first time I am racing with power, and it is on a tough hilly course (Wildflower Oly).  Last time I raced the WF long course, my coach at the time basically told me to leave the HR monitor at home, because it would just be too frustrating trying to stick to zones on such a difficult course.  We'll see what happens in two weeks, I guess.

The CT is incredible for training, as I am sure a PM on a trainer would be.  I can't imagine going back and training on a trainer with just HR.

Well, in addition to what Fred said, they're not quite the same thing even though they both measure an output. Power measures a work rate whereas the pace clock is how long to get from one point to another. They're both tools to help achieve the same thing (performance gains) but not quite the same as one another.

ETA: I don't always like what the pace clock is telling me either, but have enjoyed the performance gains more than enough to compensate.