Got Your Mojo WORKIN'! group - CLOSED (Page 54)

STEVE-

Seems like a good idea to only focus on one thing at a time in the pool.  I've heard it before, but have to admit I've been guilty of trying to fix everything all at once.  When I was in the pool the other day, I quite enjoyed my warm-up because I was solely focused on a slow cadence... felt really nice.  Once I started working on entry point, head position, cadence, kick and breathing, it became less fun.  I'll definitely keep that in mind next time I swim!

DUNCAN -

Cool beans! You have every reason to be excited!

Give me a bit of time and I'll get back to you about that stuff. Right now it's off to a cup of tea and a slice (or two?) of strawberry-blueberry crisp pie from Life of Pie, an Ottawa bakery of high repute!

Yummilicious!

DUNCAN again -

First, I was unable to get to the Giant site to check on that model. I will try later, and hopefully by then either their webiste or my pokey computer will be able to accommodate this!

Second, if you are content for now to keep it a pure raod bike, then the list you have is complete. The only suggestion I would make is to look into getting a double bottle cage that sits nicely behind your saddle. The only drawback to this is if you think your will be nervous in contorting one arm to rseach behind you. If not, then go for the 2-for-1 possibility.

Okay, I have another suggestion. Get the double one behind the seat and single bottle cage to be mounted on your seat tube or down tube. There may already be bosses built into the bike to accommodate a cage, so in that case it's an easy installation. If you go with one up front and two behind the seat, then you could doi what I do --- forego the gear bag under the seat and instead put all your tools and stuff into a water bottle that can be carried in one of the front cages. It took me years to come up with this sloution, and the final straw was when I got a flat in a race and had a real hard time getting my stuff out of the bag, crammed as it was under the seat and in front of my double cages. (Of course, without cages behind the seat, that problem is eliminated. Brilliant!)

I love having my stuff in a water bottle, as it can handle so much stuff -- my CO2 cartridges and pump, a few tubes, a couple of Allen wrenches (not that i know what to do with them.... ), a $5 bill, a small rag, my tire-pryers, and some other random things). It is all so easy to get out by just undoing the top and rooting around.

Do youn think you might want to retro-fit the bike to be more triathlony? If so, let me know and I will add some more toys to your list!

Giant makes good bikes, and it counts for a lot that just about any mechanic can work on them easily. Yours sound very nice and to get a csrbon bike at thta price is almost a steal, I think. Do you know how many teeth are in the two rings up front, and what the range of the cogset is? You might have a 53/39 in front, buyut what is on the back can vary a lot. Ask about this! If your biggest cog has 27 teeth, that won't be really useful to you unless you are doing a lot of serious climbing. The next common biggest cog is a 25, which is good for hills that are terribly steep. The most common biggest cog is a 23, which is fine for just general riding that doesn't involve a lot of hills. At the small end, you will either have a 12 or an 11. The 11 will likely be there if the big cog is a 23 or 25; it will almost certainly be a 12 if the big cog is a 27. Let me know what you find out about this, okay?

Shimano 105 is fine, the third from the top in the Shimano universe. (Dura-Ace is at the top, Ultegra is next.) Many people get very fussy about this, buit then again many people couldn't tell the difference in a "blind" test. So you have a system that is very solid on a bike that should be nice and stiff and light, and all for under $1500USD......and with 12 months to pay for it. Wowzers!

Ask about the gearing specifics!

Keep us posted!

And I'll ask LORI to tell you how to post a photo. Or JOHANNE or JOHN, both of whom recently posted photos.

-------------------JOHANNE!---------------JOHN!--------------------LORI!----------------------Somebody! Anybody!--------------



Please tell Duncan how to post a photo of his new bike here!

(Pretty please?)



Thank you!

STEVE

Thank you for the snappy response Steve.  I hope the pie was good!

The two bottle cages on back sounds interesting, along with the 'stuff' in a water bottle up front... I've added it to my list to ask about today.  I will definitely ask about the gearing today when I go, and post an update here.  I think I need a decent 'spinning' gear as there are some BIG hills around here.

I will probably look into retrofitting it for triathlon in a year or so.  First I just wanna get used to riding a road bike.  With the rare exception of taking my Dad's old one around the block, I've never ridden one!

Eagerly awaiting noon (2 hours to go!) when my New Years Vacation starts.... off until 2/8.   If I have a new bike to ride, it will be that much more fun!

Edited by DuncanQH 2011-01-27 8:15 PM

Duncan, reply as usual and then check "Attach a file after posting"  then you can upload your picture.
Good job with all the swimming, I just can't get myself back to the pool yet, soon though!
Melinda 

Duncan-do you have bike/tri shorts, jersey, arm warmers, inflator valve, co2, tire irons, multi tool, socks, chamois butter, bottles,lots of things you could ask for if they are "giving" you so much credit, not so much necessities but good to have.

Thanks Melinda... added a couple things to my list to ask about.

This is at least the right color scheme for the bike I'm getting... I'll try to snap a photo today when I go look and post it later.





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MELINDA -

Thank you for stepping up and helping Duncan!

DUNCAN -

Oo-la-la! Ain't she purty!

What goes up must come down, so if you can get an 11 hat will help you not "run out of gears" as you descend. It is generally hard to get an 11-27, so your choice for the big hills might come don to 11-25 vs. 12-27. If the hills are REALLY formidable, and if you are fine with running out of gears and be stuck "coasting" for a while, then go with the 12-27.

It is surprising to me that cassettes are relatively inexpensive; I think less than $100. So, if a 12-27 doesn't work for you, you can always just get* a replacement 11-25. Or vice-versa.

And do you know what I mean by "running out of gears"?

Finally, that's great timing -- getting a bike on the cusp of your break. Clever boy, Duncan, clever boy!



* Note how facile I am at spending other people's money!

I'm still here.  I had to travel this week and haven't had much time to log on or workout.  Home now.  It was good rest week.  I will put it that way.  Had some great Cajun food all week though.  Trying to check up on all the post. 

Steve and Duncan,

You guys must have read my mind.  Over the last few days I have been thinking about getting a new cassette because I run out of gears when I am on hills.  I am training for Louisville this year and I was going to ask what I could do about this.  Do you recommend any brands? 

Swimming stroke count. 

I have to admit that I have so many things going through my head when I'm swimming, its hard to count my strokes.  Rotate, breath, relax, stretch, pull all the way through.  Steve, you are right, its way more easier to concentrate on one thing but I have a hard time counting strokes every time.  

An alternative to counting strokes:
I know that at the end of 25 yards, I breath and my left hand then hits the wall.   I am a bilateral breather so if my right hand hits the wall after a breath on my left side, I know I took 20 stokes.  If my right hand hits the wall before my breath, it was only 18.  Currently 19 strokes is optimal for me but I would really like to reduce that number.   If I get 20 strokes in, it's time to start concentratring on stretching my stroke or I take a short rest.  

I also like to use a pull bouy.  This way I don't have to worry about kicking and I usually am doing drills with my upper body.  The pull bouy reduces one thing I have to think about.  This cheap piece of equipment is probably the best swimming hardware I have purchased and has really helped my form. 

Nice ride Duncan.  Don't do what I did when I first got my bike.  One week after purchasing my first Tri-bike, I went over the handle bars and bent the frame. 

quick question for the group...

Does anyone use a snorkel in the pool?   I am wondering if there are benefits from using it when trying to extend the distance you can swim.  I am still pretty much stuck at 100 yds for a consecutive swimming and I am not sure if it is a lack of endurance in the water or that I just can't get my breathing rhythm down.  I am thinking it is a combination of both but was wondering if using a snorkel to help with the endurance would be beneficial on some swim days and then others focus more on the breathing rhythm...

Thanks,
Alex 

JOHN -

Welcome back! I was beginning to get worried about you! But if you were just down in Louisaina eating Cajun food.....sounds like you were doing well for yourself!

I just read about Gil Meche walking away from his contract with the Roylas, figuring that he shouldn't get paid any longer for doing nothing. That's an impressive in this day and age of uber-greedy pro athletes. Oh. The connection here is just that he is from Lafayette, LA, the Cajun epicenter.

ANYHOW......

I'm pretty sure I have Shimano Ultegra for my cassettes. My bike shop was adamant that needn't get Dura-Ace components when I bought the bike, simply because they weren't worth the extra $500. So Ultegra should work fine.

I too am a pull buoy user, for the reasons I have said before several times -- not a great kick, I wear a wetsuit in all my races, I save my legs for the bike. A drawback for me doing Louisville would be ---- 2.4 miles and no wetsuit. I could certainly do the distance, but it would involve using my legs throughout, which would mean that many/most of my pre-LOO swims would be without either the pull buoy or the wetsuit. At what stage of your training or are you going to scrap the p.b.? I'm not sure what the answer would be for me!

ALEX -

Snorkel? Yes and no. I have one (won at the post-race raffle at MightyMan Montauk half-iron in '09!), but haven't used it much. I absolutely need to use a nose clip when I use the snorkel, and I don't much like that. Plus, even then it's not 100% water-proof for me. Glub, glub!

Many people get past that, though, and really benefit from the snorkel. There are two big benefits to it:
(1) It helps people relax while they swim as they don't have to worry about the breathing. So, in this respect it will help with endurance ibn that it will allow you to swim further/longer.
(2) By not needing to roatate and breathe, you can keep your eyes forward and watch your mechanics underwater -- where your hands are enetering, how you are starting your catch, waht your hands are dcoing as they begin the pull. This is what I use it for, and it really helps a lot.

The best swim snorkel is made by Finis, who also produce the wonderful Tempo Trainer. They have recently changed their web address, but you can find it by googling Finis swim.

Your final sentence is the clincher, that you don't want to become dependent upon the snorkel. So using it for part of every third session might be a good starting approach, although if it seems to be helping a lot, part of every other session would be fine, too.

Glub!

ALEX again -

It's www.finisinc.com!

I live where it's hilly and have an 11-28 cassette, I love it!

We have been having the same discussion about schools!!
They don't really realize what they have accomplished it's all about having fun for them!!!

MELINDA -

11-28 is a rare beast! Do you ever find yourself missing some of the options in the middle, or are you just happy to have that wide range?

Gil is a big story to me.  I agree, there aren't many athletes these days that hold themselves accountable.  They think its a right to get paid if they aren't doing their job.  Gil is a class guy for retiring from K.C.  I hope that he can get some endorsements or become a TV commentator for baseball. 

By the way, I went from Lafayette, Indiana (my hometown) to Lafayette Louisiana.  I am ready to be a ragin' cajun. 

I am using the PB strictly for drills and strengthen my upper body. 

Duncan,

Congratulations on the new bike. It looks sharp! Last year when I got my new bike it took a little bit to get used to how it handled, it felt REALLY quick/responsive. Have fun riding.