SBR Utopia Season II - OPEN (Page 97)

The bike alone was interesting there. Not so much media on there due to the roads, but seeing all of them coming back. And just how much ground they put on the rest of us. From the looks of footage afterward, Kienle may have just made his break from the pack then (2012) as he was leading, but not by much. Would have been more awesome had I known who he was at the time.

I did an open water swim race yesterday....RR here: http://beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=502604&posts=1#M4872369

It was actually a lot of fun, but the course was ridiculously short.  It was supposed to be 2.5k for one loop (which is what I was doing), but I came out and it was more like 1.7k.  Not a huge deal for me, but some people were doing the 5k race (and are training for a 10k race in about a month), so they only ended up with 3.4k -- a full mile short of what they expected.  Kind of a bummer, but still a fun race.

And a friend of mine asked me if I'd be interested in being part of a 10k OWS relay next month, so hopefully we can get at least one other person and a kayaker together for the race....would be fun!

That's annoying, there is really no reason to be that far off in the distance.

Congrats on the placing!  

I have been researching power meters for the last week or so and specifically budget friendly options.  Basically been reading DC Rainmakers reviews.  The Stages looks to have resolved some of its big issues with its latest firmware update and is the cheapest.  I am going to have an issue with it coming into contact on the rear brake of my Felt and not something I want to fuss with (i.e. get a new break and mess around with it as I am no mechanic).

The Power2max just came down in price a bunch and can get a FSA Gossamer crank for $899.   This has lots of good reviews and good customer service.

The last is Powertap and can get a PT with DT Swiss from Wheelbuilder for under $1000. 

I am primarily looking at the last 2 options although currently leaning towards the Power2max.

FWIW, I went with the WB DT Swiss option, and cover it for races.  It's I think a fantastic all around solution, and makes life very easy.

yeee doggies!

Curious as to what actually makes a wheel better than another.  I assume weight is one of the criteria.  What else?

I actually looked at weight when buying the DT Swiss, and found it was equal to or less that of some high end wheels (accdg to WB site)   DT Swiss 465 is listed at 465 g, Zipp firecrest 404 at 525, with the PT pro and same spokes the relative gram weights are 1065 and 1093.  (PT weighs almost as much as the rims).   

Since aero beats weight, can a covered DT swiss be a "better" wheel than a covered 404?  I am sure there are variables I am not aware of making the 404 better... I mean other than the ZIPP decals 

Also ETA glad I went this route after buying the TM02, as the rear brake setup would make it very difficult to switch between rims that are not similarly sized for racing and training.... 

Hoping to swim a relaxed 1:20, 8ish minute T1 (full change and sort of take my time), somewhere under 6 on the bike, 6ish minute T2 (another full change), then hopefully run around 4:30.  That should put me somewhere around 12 hours.  I think they're pretty conservative estimates, so I may shave off a few minutes here or there.  I'm pretty sure I could bike 5:40 if I tried...but I too scared of paying for it with an extra hour on the run.

Conservative is smart.

1:20 + 8 + 6:00 + 6 = you running out of T2 at 7:34 + 30 head start for the pros so 8:04 pro race time.  If the winning time is 8:10ish you are right there on Kuakini / Hualali with them.  

I had not realized that Powertap is now completely separated from Cycleops - not even listed on their website anymore.

I didn't see that but did see on FB that it is the GoPro Kona Ironman

Looking for about 300-350 calories per hour on the bike.  Bonk breakers and sushi rice (with some Spam in it...YUM) will be around half of the calories and supplemented with some gels and sport drink.  Bananas from aid stations are a possibility.  I want to get as much calories from real food as possible on the bike.  Going with one bottle of water and sport drink on board at all times and will swap them out at aid stations.  I have an alarm set for every 9 minutes to help make sure I'm taking a slow and steady stream of calories in.  Bonk breakers will be cut into 1/6ths so about 40-50 calories each pop to make it a little more manageable.  Not that I will try to take in 50 calories every 9 minutes, but just as a general ball park.  I might take 100 calories at once, then not eat again till 18 minutes later.

Salt sticks will only be used if for some reason sport drink or gels are not working.  I never used them in training but always had them with me.  I'm going to do a full stop at SN to replace my flask, get more bonk breakers and sushi rice, and also get a bike bottle of flat coke.  I may be stopped for 1-2 minutes as I eat some of this stuff because you can't really take your hands off the bars on the descent from Hawi.  Usually you get a few opportunities on some of the uphill rollers to take a quick drink, but you definitely don't want to be fumbling in your bento box or reaching in your back pocket for too long until you get back to Kawaihae...which could be almost 30 minutes.

For the run, I'm hoping to move more towards simple sugars.  Perform, gels, coke.  Looking for about 100-150 per hour, but I'm guessing this is going to be highly variable based on how I feel.

I really don't know what to expect, but I think I've built in a lot of flexibility in my plan.  I'm not relying on anything in particular and my stomach has never rejected anything as of yet.  So we'll see.

So, anyone gonna go see this?   Have to say I'm over it

http://www.bikeradar.com/us/road/news/article/the-armstrong-lie-official-movie-trailer-38619/

I knew that was coming out - I'm certainly not over it, and am actually quite interested if and when the day comes that LA reveals a lot of the details.  I was a big fan during his hey day, and still feel that most of those tours were some of the most exciting ones to watch if you were rooting for LA.  My interest now is less with him, and more with the overall story and culture of doping in the pro ranks, and the lengths people will go to to succeed.

Any cons to the PT?

I have a dedicated trainer wheel as well and just my stock Felt TTR2 wheelset for outdoor use.  I have a rear wheelcover for the Felt rear and I am planning on buying a cheap front race wheel this winter.  I alternate outdoor/indoor riding through the summer as well so that is a factor. 

I know there are going to be some additional costs with each so I am weighing those as well.  I am a bargain hunter but do not want to overly sacrifice quality to save a few nickles.