Beer Drinker Appreciation Society - Open For Business (Page 87)

Truth.  And the gauges suck even when they do work.  Though gauge calibration is always going to be an issue (even on pro teams).

I bought a Blackburn Air Tower HP (MSRP: $80) on clearance for $50, and that thing is easily worth the money either way, if you can stomach the price.  It takes one or two pumps to top off tires, inflates an empty tube to full in ten pumps, and grabs and holds on to stems easily.  I was testing a suspect tire, so I took it all the way to the max pressure (160psi, yikes) in probably 20 pumps.  

Also, once a season, take a pump apart and lube it.  I just use some spray silicone (the same stuff you use for car door jambs during winter) to keep the seals lubricated.

Originally posted by Qua17 Hi BDAS - it's been a while. Thanks to everyone for the kind words about my job. I don't want to dwell on it - but my lack of MOJO this year has had a lot to do with a really tough job. I'm a little worried to not have anything lined up - but finding a new gig where I can enjoy going to work is going to leave me better off. So if you are the praying kind - please pray that I find a gig where I actually want to go to work in the morning. I'm going to take today as an omen! It was 70 degrees and sunny - the perfect day for a bike ride, so I rode 20 miles. It was a beautiful ride. The roads were terrible - with potholes and sand everywhere - but it was so nice to be out on a bike without being weighed down by 4 layers of cold weather gear. I rode out at a pretty conservative pace but really pushed it on the way back (I was still 5 miles an hour slower than Alex). It felt good to be back on the bike and outside doing the deal. I came home to a two hearted ale and was enjoying that until I decided to step on the scale. I'm up 4 pounds from last week and only one pair of my shorts fit. Time to get to work. Do we have a challenge for the week? I'm gonna challenge myself to log each morsel of food/drink that I eat. I have to start somewhere and I figure that's the place. I'm also going to post my goals for the week of anyone wants to join me. If I fall short, I drink lite beer at the Twins game I''m going to next Saturday. Goals: 1) Log Food Everyday 2) Do 10 minutes of PT exercises 3) Workout everyday Monday-Friday 4) Post to BDAS everyday.

I'm right there with you my friend.  This week will hopefully see some resolution to my own personal job situation (one way or the other), but I'm struggling so much and it's just reaching its peak.  This weekend was a complete mess; went to a wedding this weekend and everyone else seems to be doing so damn well, with babies and dogs and good jobs, and all I feel is anger at life right now.

I'm venting, but it's just so damn rough right now.  

On a lighter, floral note:  anyone wants some hops rhizomes?  I have five Cascade Hops plants, going into their third year, and last year they went a bit crazy on rhizomes.  I probably have five or eight I can mail out.

Making beer with your own hops is a fair amount of work, but it can be done.  More than anything, they are pretty and smell nice - kinda like, well, hops . . . They are a hardy, relatively aggressive climbing vine and take a lot of water.  The vines die off every year, but they grow back from the same stem.  The don't seed either, so you don't have to worry about them showing up in random flower beds.  Also, hardy to zone 4, so even the Canadians shouldn't have problems.

You can put them in planters, but they need to be big planters (probably a half barrel size) and only one per pot.  Straight line vertical growth is probably up to 20', but you could probably get away with 8' or 10' (3m) if you allowed for horizontal expansion as well.

The rhizomes are spourting now, so I need to either cull them this week or ship them out.  I read The Lorax too many times as a kid, so I hate killing plants, so I'd prefer to give them new homes.  If you wants some, and chose to paypal a couple of bucks to cover shipping, that would be great too

Hell yes, it's worth it! An aero helmet on the aerobars is the best cost/benefit in terms of drag reduction. Next to position and wheels helmet is the next biggest factor is getting more aero. I wouldn't use it all the time, but during races and when training on the aerobars, definitely. 

There is a noticeable difference in speed/power when you have an aero helmet. I notice it almost as much as the difference from riding upright to going down on the aerobars. 

Today was testing day and once again I demolished my power outputs from the last test (4 weeks ago).

Critical power at all durations are now thus:

5 second: 1365w (up from 1295w)

30 second: 897w (up from 849w)

1min: 591w (up from 574w)

5min: 357w (up from 351w)

10min: 319w (up from 302w)

20min: 312w (up from 298w)

FTP: 296w (up from 283w)

I'm really hoping to hit 310watt FTP for the Amateur World Championship Qualifier at the end of May. If come in the top %25 I'll be off to Denmark in September. 

Alan is definitely right on it being best return on your money but a better question would be is it worth it to you? For me, I am  MOP racing sprints and Olys, so at the end of the day I am still MOP. If you are closing in on the elusive podium than by all means go for it! Of course if you have the money burnin' a hole in your pocket than I say go for it!

You can still set PBs in the middle of the pack though....