Columbia Team Thread (Page 4)

Rob what power meter do you use?  I have a power tap and while my ride averages are around 200 my intervals can be a lot higher. I have had it for a little over a month though and love it although it also messes with my head when I ride and if I ignore it I tend to be able sustain higher watts for longer.  I've also noticed that I get about 10-20 more watts out of my TT bike for the same effort as my road bike... now that is cool!

Pat- I have noticed the few times I have been  on a computrainer that my watts are  A LOT lower than what I have on my powertap.  I don't know why.  

So I rode Stage 3 (of 10) of my TdF Challenge, and was watching the TdF that I taped at the same time.  Inspired by what I saw, I stood up and sprinted for 30sec a couple of times, and managed to hit 266W, which is more than double what I usually ride at!  Yeah, Jeni, I heard that power on CT is low.  Also, it's power to weight ratio that matters. So at 115lb, I try not to compare to people that weigh more, I just concentrate on improving my own #'s.

Jul 9 - Stage 5 - Team Columbia’s Mark Cavendish blasted to a first stage win in the Tour de France on Wednesday’s stage from Cholet to Chateauroux. The 23-year-old Briton finished over a bike length ahead of three-times World Champion Oscar Freire of Spain, with German Erik Zabel in third.

Haven't tried but there's a link to live SRM data (HR, power, cadence, speed) for 2 Team Columbia riders here -

Adam Hansen - http://www.srmlive.de/data/srm/a_hansen_1.html

Marcus Burghardt - http://www.srmlive.de/data/srm/m_burghardt_1.html

http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=r3S0wu4Zbfk

x2.  I hope they're not peaking too soon.

I'm with Patricia and have a ton of hours of coverage recorded that I have to catch up on. I am still back watching stage 3!

Got the 4th stage out of 10 done this morning, and my times seem to be getting quicker......I suppose that just means I need to go further......eh?......maybe this training stuff really works!

Glad to see the fellow Brit, Mark Cavendish, take a stage win. Man can that guy can sprint.

I got a bit of inspiration from that on the ride home last night and saw the green traffic light in the distance and with an open road ahead and behind me I got out my saddle and sprinted like heck to make it before the change........I did make it.........but it took me about another half mile or so to recover....LOL!

Team Columbia’s Kim Kirchen finished just behind to take the yellow jersey, as race leader Stefan Schumacher (Gerolsteiner) crashed within the final kilometer and lost 30 seconds. Team Columbia has the yellow, green and white jerseys after Stage 6.

The pack speeds down Croix-Morand pass.

Go Team Columbia!

Yes, both TdF and BT Team Columbia are doing well.   How much riding is everyone planning for the weekend?  A couple of my BT buddies are racing in Gavenhurst, so I'm planning to do that course (40K) on my Computrainer this weekend.

Go Jeni and Roni, hope you get to catch up on your rides.

I have a sprint DU on Saturday so I will get about an 1 hour in on the bike and hopefully get a nice spin on Sunday.  No major time rides for me this weekend.

I'll probably just get my 20 mile round trip to work done this weekend cos my wife is off to Chicago for 4 days and I will be home with the kiddos.

Maybe I will get the ol' trailer hooked up to my mountain bike and get a few miles in. Now that is like doing a constant hill climb!

I'll probably just get my 20 mile round trip to work done this weekend cos my wife is off to Chicago for 4 days and I will be home with the kiddos.

Maybe I will get the ol' trailer hooked up to my mountain bike and get a few miles in. Now that is like doing a constant hill climb!

Good luck, Scott.  Have a great race.

Now that's what I call a real mountain stage.

OK! finally got my first stage in.  A medium mountain stage as I am hoping that I am not getting sick although I think has more to do with the total crap I ate for the last 4 days.  I feel better than yesterday but didn't want to push it heading up the Cat1 mountain.  Despite feeling tired and it overall not being one of my better rides.  It had its moments.

Racing Cars, Racing guys on Fixies, and racing a guy up a the Cat 4 climb.  I attacked it and he hung on to my wheel for dear life   I almost reached the puke zone trying to drop him but he held on... but he couldn't pass me

The highlight of the ride is this however:

I was stuck in traffic. When on my bike I am pretty passive and don't really like weaving through cars so I just stop by the curb. A guy pulls up next to me and rolls down the window and yells "WOW! YOU LOOK BUFF!! I might have to take up biking." I laugh and he asks me how long it takes to get your cardio up to par and tells me he's currently a couch potato. I laugh and tell him its easier than running and as the light changes I am able to duck into traffic and sprint off on him. He floors it to pass me and regain his manlyhood. Good times!

That's officially the best compliment I have ever received on a bike.  Especially after I feel crappy from all the fried, greasy, and sugary food I ate for the last 4 days.

That makes me curious:

What's the best compliment you've received while training?

And keep up the riding.  With Columbia doing so well we have a reputation to live up to! 

I'll get an easy stage 2 in tonight, but won't be riding over the rest of the weekend. I have a half mary on Sunday so I'm taking it kind of easy until then. 

Good luck on your du this weekend, Scott!

Congrats on the great compliment Krazylegs! I think the nicest compliment I had was when I visited an out of town gym a few months after losing 50lbs and starting tri training, the guy at the front desk asked me if I was a personal trainer