After today’s performance how can we not post a video about Ryder. What an amazing Giro it’s been!
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I recently took delivery of a 2012 Blue Triad SP. I’ve been doing the
Karen Hornbostel Memorial Time Trial Series and will be doing some
Duathlons and the Boulder Triathlon Series this year. I was looking
for a bike I could ride in both. I was looking for a quality,
affordable carbon bike that I could use for TT/DUs and Tris.
Looking at the Blue site I loved the look of the Triad SL, especially
the SL LE with its matte black – sick! Unfortunately my budget
couldn’t accomodate the SL and I don’t like the look of the EX so I
settled on the SP. The SP has the same geometry as the 2012 EX, which
is also the same as the 2011 SL. The only difference is the lower
grade (heavier) carbon. The bike is plenty stiff for me and the ride
quality is good, even on the horrible roads down at the Cherry Creek
Reservoir. I’m pleased to report that the black and white color
scheme of the SP looks even better in person than I expected. I’m
really happy.
If you read the triathlon reviews of the Triad’s the most common
complaint you’ll see is that the bike isn’t super low and long. I’m
still tweaking my position but will be able to get a good position on
the bike. The relatively short/high geometry works for me. The seat
post offers two positions for different seat tube angles — 76 or 80
degrees. I’ve the bike to be stable and easily controlled from the
first moment I got on it. Apparently the triathletes you see riding
out zig-zagging the road either just aren’t good riders or their bike
isn’t as stable as the Triad.
The spec on the Blue website shows SRAM Apex crank and front
derailleur. My bike came with an FSA Gossamer BB30 crank and an FSA
F.D. Both work fine. First off I swapped out the American Classic
wheels for some deep dish carbon wheels I bought for this bike, 58mm
in front, 85mm in back. The second change was from the stock 90mm
stem to a 110mm. I’ll have JD or Dana cut off an extra 2″ of steerer
tube once I’m done fiddling with my position. One change to the stock
components I’d recommend is the inclusion of a 53/39 crank. I’ve spun
out the 50/11 high gear and won’t need a 34/26 for the terrain I’ll be
riding on this bike. The hardest climb I’ll do on this bike is Olde
Stage Road and even with my patent pending sloth climbing style I can
get over that with a 39/26. The shifting of the Apex rear derailleur
is surprisingly good with the indexed bar-end shifters. I’d prefer
the return to center shifters but those aren’t cheap.
I don’t have experience on another TT bike to compare against, but I
have noticed a significant difference between this bike and my road
bike with clip-ons. The effect is particularly evident at speed, once
you hit 25 mph you can stay there much longer and with less effort. I
rode the bike for the first time week 6 of KHMTT. I was 64 seconds
faster, or an average of 0.9 mph faster than the week before with the
same wheels and helmet with similar conditions. I’m in the bottom half
of my category still at KHMTT, but I can’t blame the bike anymore, now
its all about fitness.
All in all I’m a happy camper with the bike!
We are a very fortunate group of people to have found cycling. It is one of those activities that almost force us to rearrange our whole existence in pursuit of better performance and a healthier life. Many people, including myself, have cycling to thank for making them health conscious and for shedding away the pounds. Before wanting to improve my own performance, I knew next to nothing about nutrition.
An excellent book on optimizing nutrition is Racing Weight by Matt Fitzgerald.
HBO is airing a special tonight and tomorrow called The Weight of the Nation about the obesity epidemic in America. It can also be viewed online without a subscription. Check it out. And be grateful that you have found a sport that helps keep you in check.
A little chat between fan favorites Chris Horner and Jens Voigt who will be racing in the Tour of California starting tomorrow.
You can read more about Jens and Chris at:
The rain has got me thinking about how I’ll like be training indoors tomorrow. That will make 8 straight months of having trained indoors this year. There are two things that made this possible. One being the Kreitler rollers with the headwind unit and the other being “The Sufferfest“
The Sufferfest produce a number of different training videos that are meant to target different training zones. My personal favorites include:
Hell Hath No Fury
This is your standard 2×20 Threshold workout with a short 3:30 time trial to finish things off. This video got me to realize how cool women’s cycling is and what a shame it is that we don’t get to see more women’s race coverage.
The Hunted
I think this one is probably my favorite. The variety of this workout is what makes it so great. You start with a good 5 minute tempo warmup, then a 20 minute threshold workout. Finally ending things with a brutal set of inverse intervals. When you get done with this workout, you feel like you just got stronger.
Fight Club
I like to do this workout as I start to introduce threshold intervals in the early. This video is pretty much inline with what Friel calls “cruise intervals”.
Music
I can’t really speak to the music on these videos. I typically do them with the volume turned off on the TV while I listen to my ipod (everyone else is usually sleeping while I’m doing these). But we’ll be posting our own Foxtrot playlist in the near future.
One thing I will mention about doing these videos while listening to an ipod is that a 4 year old coming down into the basement to startle you by yelling “Good Morning” is pretty much guaranteed to send you careening off the rollers. So make sure you have a little extra room.
Here’s the trailer for The Hunted. Definitely check these out. Happy training this weekend and looking forward to seeing you out on the roads once the sun comes back!
