Hashers and Mashers - Open (Page 4)

Looks like you are in my neck of the woods. What part of Pearland are you in? There ought to be quite a few routes where you can avoid some of the crazy drivers. Along Magnolia is fairly decent. Straight shot and plenty of room for cars and bikes. There's some other routes as well. I know there is a cycle group that have some predefined routes they are doing in the area. I would imagine those routes avoid the heavy traffic areas as well. You can find their routes here:

http://www.pearlandcyclingclub.org/maps.html

Hope that helps.

I don't ride my bike once it gets dark due to safetey reasons, but I do run quite a bit in the dark, I'll just make sure I stay in well lit areas so I don't accidentally overlook a pothole or any other things someone might stumble over.

Glad your son is ok. Sick kids is really stressful.

@ransick - thanks for the get well greeting. I just can't focus to train knowing my son is sick.

@johnthecat - I live at shadow creek ,pearland.

I was Able to train when I got home. I know I won't be able to do my regular brick workout,its already late and ony have two hours of sunlight left . I figure ill try to bike as much as I can till sun down, then I have to run in the dark, a good thing in our subdivision we have miles of pavement run pathways that is free from traffic. I was able to finish my brick at 1/31/13 . It is not my best PR , but I just want to overcome the feeling of quitting when everything else around me tells me to give up.

Recovery from running , back to the indoor trainer later today and a 40 mi bike ride with friends on Sat.

Have a nice weekend guys and gals!!!!

My fellow Calorie killers.

Just a few quick questions:


1.) when do you start using an aero helmet?

2.) is it worth it?

3.) some one old me you ave to be at 20 mph to reap its benefits s it tre?

Let e know

Thanks


All the info I got from my previous inquiries are all helpful.

Grandpa Dave!! You made it!!! I'm kidding...of course, you're not a grandpa!! You're more like a creepy uncle!! I'm so glad you're back, I'll add you to the stats next week.

For those of you who don't know Dave, he was (is) my mentor from last year, and is a wealth of information...we are lucky to have him in our group!! And he's not like a creepy uncle...really!!

I haven't used one myself (don't really have the spare cash at this point, and what spare cash I have had has been better spent elsewhere), but I've seen a lot of conflicting opinions as far as exactly how much of a difference they make (and this will be different from helmet to helmet anyways).  But as far as I can see everyone agrees they make a difference.  I don't recall seeing anything about having to be going 20+ to see a difference, and that doesn't make sense to me.  If it's aero at 20 it's aero at 15.  I have seen suggestions that you lose the benefit of the aerodynamic position at 12.5mph and if you are not in the aero position the aero helmet isn't helping you, I would think.

The long of the short of it is if you are a person who can stay in the aero position for all or nearly all of the race, and keep looking forward, then an aero helmet will definitely benefit you.  Whether it is worth it is entirely dependent on how much spare change you have laying around, and how much the helmet you want costs.  You can get them as low as $100, but you can pay a lot more than that too.  From my motorcycle days I have a thing against buying used helmets personally.

Here is an article on this site with some more details: http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/cms/article-detail.asp?articleid=...

1) whenever you want
2) it depends on how competitive you are. If you ate looking to save a minute in an Oly, then yes.
3) the faster you go, the more aerodynamic efficiencies help. Wind resistance goes up with the cube of the speed. I don't think you have to wait until you are riding at 20 mph, but I personally would wait until I hit 18 or so.

Here is an article on it
http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/cms/article-detail.asp?articleid=...

I also read another article that clip on aero bars save even more time.

I have an aero helmet and I wore it once for a 70.3 in New Orleans. My second 70.3 I didn't wear it just because it was hot and aero helmets tend to have less air flow. If you are on the fence, wait until the end of year sales and pick one up relatively cheap.

Good advice from Joe and Mike.

I think the 20mph rule is more of an attitude thing. A lot of people say you should be able to maintain 20mph on the bike during an Oly before you use an aero helmet or you look studid. I think that in itself is stupid. I mean, we get all the gear to make our bikes faster, buy the best wheels if we can afford them to cut down our time, if an aero helmet will make you faster you should use it, even if you're averaging 15mph! Just my 2 cents!

#1 Always look at the bright side of life. Absolutely.

#2 Aero helmet is a nice "Bang for your buck". You will be faster with it. You will also look like an Alien. SO there's that. I think it looks silly on training rides. Also you do not hear as well while wearing one.

Last year We rode to and from the Chicago Tri course from Q's house. So I had all my gear in a over stuffed wetsuit bag. While riding back from the event in the rain. I was wearing my aero helmet. The point of the helmet (which faces rear BTW-Ya don't be THAT guy wearing it backwards) was of course facing rear. Anyhow we hit this major cross street and I start to look to my right and realize the point of the helmet is now lodged into the swim bag and effectively I could not move my head around to look for traffic lol Oh man the absurdness of this was much hilarity.

So like others have said. Get it when you feel like it. There will always be more gear to buy. Faster is faster. 20 MPH thing is silly. It's faster to wear one at any speed. IS there a speed in which drafting off of some one is negated? Don't think so. In this old guys opinion, the 20 MPH thing is not a factor.

This should be more the priority

#1 when do I want to look like an alien?

#2 How many bike helmets do I really want to have?

#3 do I have other items that will save speed that I need before shelling out big $$ to look like an alien. Such as aero bars, a tight jersey or a tri-suit. wearing loose fitting clothing can drag way more than the benefit of an aero helmet.

#4 I see many used aero helmets in the classified area of BT since essentially you will only use this on race day, best to buy one cheaply and lightly used.

#5 Buying stuff is fun. if you want it, just get it!!!!




Edited by oriolepwr 2013-05-24 10:55 AM

AERO Helmet question.

Friends its like this i read this article:

http://www.bicycling.com/bikes-gear/bikes-and-gear-features/revenge...

it tells me that a helmet carries more drag than the wheels, therefore an aero helmet is essential.

I know the light aero wheels plus a light Tri bike can be faster than a standard light road bike. In my experience
I am faster on my tri bike by atleast 1 mph faster compared to my roadbike. It is hard for me to conceive the idea
that an aero helmet will make a significant difference.

I read aero helmet is less ventilated than the conventional one If i am just going to shave off a few minutes I would rather go for comfort,
stick with my regular helmet. If it were'nt for state laws I would just wear a cap and sunglasses.


@Sarah,ransick, joe,oriolepwr thanks for the feedback very helpful.

Well one person's significant difference is another persons "not worth the money or lack of ventilation".  Completely personal decision.  Personally, if I had some money laying around to burn it would definitely be on my purchase list.

What kind of wheels are you using right now?  If you're just looking to burn $100 and gain some speed without sacrificing comfort you could get the wheelbuilder disc cover if you haven't already done so or are not already running with a disc.

@ Joe

Wheel covers im sure are great, but with my current carbon wheels are at 54 mm depth and I am already fighting some harsh crosswinds.
I am not yet ready for wheel covers. I might be blown off across the road. I will keep in mind what you mentioned in acquiring an aero helmet, but wont
be too soon, most likely on my Iron distance relay on Dec. were the tempt is colder. Man! running is far less complicated in equipment.

Thanks for everything Guys!!!!

Carl

I found an interesting article a while back about watt savings for different pieces of equipment. They also compare the cost per watt saved near the end of the article if money is an issue! Clip-on aero bars is the cheapest way to get faster, followed by an aero helmet, then using a tri bike, and finally aero wheels being the most expensive.

Here is the article:
http://www.bikeradar.com/road/gear/article/how-aero-is-aero-19273/

Yep I remember reading that article as well. It's good to know all the data. It may not result in as much time savings, and it aint cheap, but Aero wheels sure are sexy!

Yep, I read that article a while back too, and along with Dave's advice it convinced me to get some clip on aero bars. Best decision ever (thanks Dave). The bars are cheap speed and it's great to have a totally different position to ride in when on a long ride.

On the aero helmet discussion, I'd love one but cash is tight. I though I would look funny on aero bars and the same applies to the helmet, but I would definitely get one for races. I might not be racing at the front of the pack, but I figure if I'm going to invest this much time (and pain) in training I have earned the goodies...

Carl

I see you have the Hotter N Hell hundred on your event list! Awesome event!
I "raced" this back in 1991 see I am like OLD or something! That is a hell of a long time ago. ugh It was a RIOT!! but yes was Hotter n HELL! I had/have never seen more bikes in any one place before that day or since. I can still remember exactly the scene when that huge Texas sun came up at dawn, and all the silhouettes of the massive amount of cyclists against it. Good times, Good Times. SO many cyclists jammed every hotel/motel within a 50 mile radius! we had to stay in a Bates Motel in Lawton OK and drive to Wichita Falls in the AM AND again THAT was 23 years ago. Book a hotel NOW! if you have not already

Uncle Creepy out....

Edited by oriolepwr 2013-05-26 8:05 PM

Aww thanks for calling me "creepy" ;-) ha!

@Dave (oriolepwr)

thanks for the HH100 enouragement. My friends believe we will be better riders if we go through Hell and back,
we start at "Hotter then Hell then "Pineywoods Purgatory" we end it with the Great Plane Ride ( hilly feels like flying).
All three of them have their own difficulty.

keep ypu posted how it goes!!


Cheers!!!

Edited by strykergt 2013-05-27 8:34 PM

Hi all,

I went for my weekly long training run tonight, and I got some first hand experience of the value of a good taper. My last long run was 16km and I felt really strong. I came off a low training week (by accident in fact, not a planned taper) and I had a great session. Good pace and I could have kept running.

But tonight... well, I struggled hard for virtually the whole run. I completed my planned distance (18.6km) but by the end I was smashed...! I'd had a couple of days off after my weekend long ride but this was clearly not enough. When I stopped running, my legs felt like they were no longer attached to my body. They were basically numb.

I will put this one in the memory bank and remember just how important it is to taper properly (and not try to squeeze in a couple of last minute training sessions).




They say you learn something every day, and today was no different...

Update on events: I did a pool sprint tri this past Sunday. It was the same event that i did last year. Good news is i am getting stonger/faster. In the same event i went from 1hr 32 min to 1 hr 26 min. Improved by 30 sec in 300 meter pool swim. Lowered bike time be 4:30 min. Road bike over hybrid helped. And lowered 5k run by 2 min. Still need to work run speed. Just under 10 min mile avg. It is the event ruining overall place. Lost time in transition 1 due to cold weather gear. This was a good start to my season.

I would like to join if it is not too late and you will have me. I haven't used the training logs in the past but I will start.

NAME: Kent (Kent2233)


STORY:
I'm 25, used to run a fair bit in high school, I was slow but I enjoyed it. I also lifeguarded growing up, so never did competitive swimming but spent my teenage summers in pools (and regularly in the winter) in pools. I did the freshman 15, sophomore 15 and junior 10 and then slowly gained another 10 over a couple of years (thankfully not all of it was fat, but too much of it was). I had always had a fascination with Ironman and I decided to stop thinking about it and commit to doing one when I was young and didn't have kids and I wanted a goal to help me get back into shape because I had fallen off the bandwagon too many times. I've done two half marathons but no tri's yet. Lake Placid is scheduled to be my first.

FAMILY STATUS:
Live with girlfriend (will likely change this summer )

CURRENT TRAINING: Fink's Just Finish Plan from IronFit

2013 RACES:
Lake Placid, If I'm not dead after I hope to do some shorter races in the fall

WEIGHTLOSS:
Down 10 pounds since I started training, hopefully I will keep heading in the right direction.

GOALS:
Finish Lake Placid

Sounds like some good lessons learned so thats a positive. What did you do for nutrition and hydration on this run? I've now finished 3# 14Km runs and this week I have a 2hr run planned. I ran 14K last Friday and then yesterday I ran what I expected to be an easy 1hr by time run. I was surprised to feel a lot worse than Friday although once I got warmed up I was able to breath easier and my HR calmed down.

You're probably running faster than me though so maybe you're not out as long. I should also ask how hot it was too.

That's awesome improvement!  6 minutes is a ton of time, great job.  Road bike over hybrid does make a huge difference, I made that same jump this year.

Congratulations. Always great to knock some time off. Might you write a race report?

Lake Placid as in IMLP?  As in in just under two months?  Good for you man, that's a goal and a half.  What a beatiful race, if I ever do an IM I think that one would be at or near the top of the list.  How is your training going, are you on pace with the plan?