Slornow and Wannabefaster's mentor group...Closed (Page 36)

Hey gang.  Sorry to be MIA over the last week.

First race of the season in the books yesterday. Chilly morning with temps in the mid 40s while waiting for the swim to start.  Warmed up quickly and made for a cool but tolerable bike and comfortable run.  I had a decent race winning grand masters (over 50). and finishing 16th overall.  Time was about 2 minutes slower than last year but consensus was that the swim was a little longer.  

My swim time reflected my lack  of interest in spending much time at the pool over the last couple of months.  Bike was about where I was last year and run was about a minute slower....still dealing with some issues that have kept me from running much over the last month.   I will put together a race report in the next few days.

One of my team mates had a new bike....a Ventum.  I am sure many of you have seen articles on the bike or discussions on ST.  He really likes  it.  We rode together again today and I got to look it over.  Very unique setup for sure but certainly not a light bike.  http://ventumracing.com/

Hope everyone has a good week.

Anyone else's Spring train't being short circuited by winter weather?  Spent the weekend indoors again, and am missing opportunities for the longer outdoor rides I need at this point.  Just needed a place whine...??

Indeed!  It was -5 Celsius for my outdoor 10 mile run yesterday and I was in full winter gear.  It then proceeded to snow last night.  This is not spring weather!

The forecast for next weekend is looking better and I may actually get the bike on the road for the first time in 2016.

Was this race in Alabama?  Or where did you find mid-40's in the south?  Jeez, Galveston 70.3 was yesterday and it was humid, windy, and warm (I did not race, but was out there cheering on friends....definitely needed sunscreen and hydration just to spectate!).

Congrats on a great race!

Thanks.  It was just north of Biloxi, MS.  We usually get Texas' weather a day or two later.  Likely won't see lows like that again until October or November. Temps are definitely on the rise here in Alabama.

The new cranks should arrive in the next few days.  I'm not that much of a wrench but am trying to learn and do more maintenance work on my own.  From what I've read it doesn't seem too complicated to remove and install a crankset. 

I have a torque wrench and all the torque specs, and so it appears to be as simple as removing the existing cranks, removing and swapping the PM and chainrings and then grease and install the new cranks.

Are there any mechanics in the group?  Is it as simple as that or are there some technical steps that are better left to my LBS?

Thanks Marc - my crank is a little different but I took the left crank arm off the other night and the drive side will slide right out of the BB.

I was mainly concerned that there is some critical step that is not obvious that could either damage the bike or cause a catastrophic failure during a ride/race (Symonds at Kona comes to mind).

I'm going to give it a go and can always take it to the LBS if there are any problems.

Yeah, a "retaining compound" is required for installation on Rotor 3D cranks but it looks to be specific to that crankset.  It doesn't appear to be required for FSA cranks but I'm waiting to hear back from Power2Max. 

Jason-good luck on Monday.  Have a good time.

Nothing too exciting planned here this weekend. 70 miles biking with group tomorrow and probably a med/long run Sunday.  I have another tri next Saturday...a super sprint which should be fun.

Really losing some of my enthusiasm for doing triathlons. Had a decent race last Saturday but really been having so much fun doing cycling events and group rides...also getting the itch for a mountain bike.  I will have 4 triathlons in by the early part of June and then will reevaluate.  Likely will do another team race or two toward the later part of the season in October.  Tough getting old but nice to have cycling as a relatively low impact option.

Hope everyone has a good weekend.

Marc-what issues have sent you to the pool for the dreaded aqua jog?

You sound just like me.  I'm buying a mountain bike second hand from a buddy, but probably won't get too involved in it till summer after my main road cycling races are done.  Plan is to ride that for a year or so just to make sure I'm into it before making an investment into a mountain bike I really want.

This is my third year of strictly road riding...and while I love it...it was wearing on me a little since I pretty much do it everyday.  But mountain biking seems to give me just enough variety, and separation from all the data (power) to keep me sane.  Also introduces a ton of new skills that I need to learn that also translates to the road.  Even with my very little experience with mountain biking, I've picked up the slightest skills in shifting weight through corners that has me a lot more confident descending  through switchbacks on the road.

Jason - best of luck tomorrow.  I have the race setup to record on the PVR, I always thought it would be boring to watch a marathon on TV till I caught it live one year and was hooked for pretty much the whole race.

Looks like he's done in 3:03:56 -- nice race!

I also forgot that it was today until I logged into BT and there were a few Boston threads in TT.  

Fantastic time!  Congratulations Jason! 

Jason-I checked in on you and a team mate throughout the morning.  Awesome result.   Looks like you ran a smart race.  Well done.....if you got some quality coaching I suspect sub 3 would be a breeze!