7th February 2016 Out of training?

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Sunday 7th 41-46F, 5-8C, windy with a gaudy pink sky to the east. Promise of a potentially bright start but rain and 30mph windy later.  

During yesterday's short but hilly ride my chest felt really bunged up and I was much slower on the hills. During the evening I was getting a throbbing pain in my quadriceps. I am certainly carrying far more weight than two months ago. The repeated rest days from back pain and bad weather have obviously taken their toll.

 I am back to feeling too full most of the time. Probably because I am not burning up the quantities of food which sustained my former daily rides. Foolishly I did not reduce my intake to match my reduced exercise level. I was even breathless on the climbs through the woods on my morning walks. I am now 12.5 stones in old money and it will not do! Every step and every turn of the pedals is now carrying a rucksack full of damp house bricks. I tried touching my toes and my fingertips can only just reach the bottom of my kneecaps. So my back is in poor shape too.

Glancing in the bathroom mirror suggests my waist is now parallel with my hips and chest. I have a ring of fat all around my hips you could use as an MTB commuting slick. I have become a neo-blobby in no time flat! I had better get some miles in before I end up like another Purves. Reduced [?] to berating those fit and slim enough to actually get a leg over a cycle and ride it like it was meant to be. Quick and lithe and nimble and determined on every ride. Fighting every gain in altitude as if it presented a personal challenge to one's ego and stamina. Or words to that effect. Words are cheap. Ask the professional politicooze. Actions are what really matter and they start today!

I set off determined to remain slightly breathless on my usual walk. This was easy at first but became progressively more difficult even on the climb up through the beeches.  Once I had my wind I would have had to literally trot back along the road to remain breathless as I finished in under a hour. Normally it takes me an hour and half or even longer. I saw and heard my first Skylark of the year on the descent beside the undulating prairie. Today I was seriously overdressed and without enough ventilation in my rain jacket. So I walked back with my jacket over my shoulder and a cold tail wind chilling the sweat.

I was more sensible in my choice of cycle wear and lucky in missing the rain. The brightness quickly gave way to overcast and windy. Plenty of cyclists out training and a few joggers and dog walkers in the lanes. 20 miles at an hour and  half and then I turned straight into the roaring wind.  Only one short stint in bottom gear as I crested a steep hill straight into a gale. I have never seen so much winter flooding in the fields. The river was swollen to an entire field's width at the valley bottom meander. There was only one hardy, lady birdwatcher in a full length down coat using a telescope in the car park. I wasn't so short of breath today and saw 20mph quite regularly. Still only 29 miles total in two and half hours exactly and I can really feel it in my thighs now. The slightly longer stem doesn't seem to be a problem though the "big hands" Campag lever extensions were hardly noticeable. I took bites out of a Corny, dark chocolate, muesli Big Bar over half an hour on the last leg. With no shopping to do the Junior was adequate for what I needed to carry with me. It's odd how tipped up the Brooks looks despite being close to level.

Click on any image for an enlargement.

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6th February 2016 It's [all] a drag!

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Saturday 6th 44F, 7C, windy, heavy overcast. Expected to rain all morning. I feel guilty at my poor mileage so far this year. The combination of an injured back and bad weather still seem like weak excuses to a cycling OCD. As I glance over my monitor at the trees rocking outside the dormer window I can easily imagine the resistance as my speed plummets below 10mph out on the road.

I have removed the clip-on tri-bars but now wonder whether that was wise. When I first fitted them the 'free' 2-3mph increase in speed was rather intoxicating. Then, gradually, I started using them much less. My aging back usually resented being bent over so far. While increased breathlessness suggested inefficiency somewhere. It sometimes felt as if my chest was more congested and I was drowning in my own mucous. I would have to sit up and clear my throat.  Or, perhaps I was simply trying much harder when down on the elbow pads and making myself more breathless. 

So it became a habit to use the extensions only on descents. Where the higher speeds made the most of my reduced drag. I would see 31mph on familiar hills instead of my more usual 27-28. Though still the chains of cars would overtake me. The tri-bars did help in fierce headwinds but I quickly resented the discomfort.

Then I would endlessly ponder the voluminous, sports bag constantly hanging off the saddle pin. Usually it was resting on an equally large, Camper saddlebag. Which itself was exposed to the headwind being accelerated between my flailing legs.  Does the rapid leg movement disturb the air and does it make a bag's drag worse or better? Not the sort of thing reported in the technical press when dealing with wind tunnel results.

There I was, sporting tri-bars as if speed was my most serious intention. While simultaneously dangling a faux, braking parachute out at the back. Soon it seemed the tri-bars were only there to have somewhere to hang my computer. I did think at one point that the tri-bars helped to make my back more flexible. The increase in the trike's weight over bare handlebars was hardly significant. Particularly in comparison with carrying a massive Abus U-lock. Nor did the tri-bars noticeably affect the steering. I had just noticed that I wasn't using the tri-bars any more. They had become more of an affectation than a useful advantage. 

If greater speed, or less effort for the same speed was my aim, then I ought to seriously consider reducing drag elsewhere. Not by letting my nose drip onto the A-head stem bolt, but by rotating the large rear bags by 90 degrees to reduce their [and my]  cross sectional area. It would need a longer rack rather than a wide one. Or some kind of cantilevered extension rail to support the overhanging tail of the bag. Lose the saddle bag and have just the sports bag aligned with the head wind from my forward motion. Something more like a pannier bike rack than a trike rack. Though not with panniers which probably double the drag compared with a simple saddlebag. But then, the sports bag is almost an extension of my bum rather than fully exposed to the wind. Side pockets may be handy on a saddlebag but they must be costing a fair few watts! They also get uncomfortably close to the muddy trike tires when trying to undo the buckles.

On another note: Pushing the B17 saddle as far back as possible seemed to help. Going against my always fuzzy logic, it immediately reduced the weight on my hands. I do have to remember to push myself back but it is not a serious problem. While I was on my ride into the wind a couple of days ago I was stretched right out with my palms flat on the Ergo 'humps.' Which, I should add, are uncomfortably sharp even when wearing winter gloves. I kept that position up for several miles without too much [back] discomfort. It even occurred to me at the time that I could fit a slightly longer stem so my hands could rest on the hoods. The Ergo hoods are also beginning to feel much too short for my gloved hands.

Perhaps I really ought to have another look at the plastic, "big hands" extensions supplied with the new Ergo levers? I have always dismissed them before but do actually have the very large hands they are aimed at. More on this later. There's bound to be a YT video on fitting these hood extensions. [Nope.] Longer hoods would be the equivalent of a slightly longer stem... More forward lean reduces drag. Everyone's a winner! Or not. "Ow me back!"

I soon dispatched myself to the trike shed despite the inclement weather. Where I started by swapping the A-head extension from 65mm to 85mm. This gave me room to fit the computer on the stem as the 65mm was much too short. The computer looked daft sitting on the top tube! I could not even read it unless it was pushed back to clear the extension. Which made it even more obvious and a greater potential target for theft. I kept catching my knees on it too when cornering hard.  I'll see how I get on with this extension length before deciding how best to proceed. The stem can easily be raised, lowered, or I could return to the 65mm. I don't have any other "oversize to oversize" extensions to try.

Slackening off the Campag lever clamping screws allowed me to fit the "big hands" extensions. Though they do not have a dramatic effect. They tip the levers up very slightly allowing them to be lowered on the handlebars. Which gives more room for the fingers to wrap themselves under the lever hoods. My black, compact, dropped handlebars are looking the worse for wear after the damage done by the tri-bar extension clamps. I'll probably wrap the center tops in black electrical tape to hide the damage and to save replacing them. I'm not sure whether silver finished bars would go with all the naked stainless steel of the Trykit. The Higgins has identically shaped, silver bars but they look well with the faded mauve paint, dirt and rust.

The A-head handlebar system makes life very easy swapping handlebars and stems. However, removing and replacing handlebar tape is a real chore for  a lazy old git like myself! I use athletes fine, cloth, binding tape instead of foolishly expensive bar tape with bells on. I've tried the commercial tape but it doesn't last long [cosmetically] with regular use. Nor does it ideally suit gel padding strips. I much prefer traditional cloth tape to plastic or cork granules. Probably the result of trying to fall off the bike when I fitted slippery and shiny, plastic tape in my  youth. Cloth was considered track tape back then but gave excellent grip even in the wet.

Talking of grip: I ordered a pair of replacement Campag Ergo rubber hoods before having to order a new pair of levers. The spare hoods eye-wateringly stink like those horrid rubber clogs/sandals they sell in the discount supermarkets! The hoods absolutely reek but the new levers do not. Coincidence? Or is Campagnolo now farming out work to the slave wage, vicious dictatorship of China? 

It was drizzling steadily all morning so I had to work just inside the shed door. I much prefer daylight when working on mechanical detail because it aids my aging eyes' poor close focus. It is called "lack of accommodation" due to natural stiffening of the eye lens. I have three different strengths of £5 "reading glasses" depending on how close I need to see. Conversely, by sheer coincidence my eyes are now perfectly adapted for distance, without my needing my lifelong distance reading glasses. Six years ago I needed glasses just to read an office wall clock. I put the beneficial improvement down to natural adaptation to my regular cycling. Or sheer luck!

Post lunch and the rain has finally petered out for the moment. Off we, jolly well, go. Just a hilly 10 miles sweating profusely in my supermarket rain jacket. It didn't rain except inside the jacket.

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5th February 2016 Moving the cassette over.

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Friday 5th 36F, 2C, heavy overcast, light breeze. Rain forecast with possible sleet or snow this morning. The 36tooth sprocket is causing the chain to rub against the top reinforcing loop. This only occurs during actual gear changes on the bottom gear sprocket. The chain rides up before settling into the sprocket teeth. The clearance is so close that the side plates are cutting a tiny slot in the underside of the axle loop.

It has been suggested that I remove the 11tooth top gear and this will move the cassette to the right. Giving me more chain clearance during bottom gear changes. A similar situation exists on the rear facing axle loop. The frame builder can hardly be blamed for the new trend towards huge rear sprockets. It is only my insistence on using a double chainset, rather than a triple, with a 36t sprocket which has caused this problem.

Naturally I don't want to risk the structural integrity of my beautiful trike. So something must be done before more damage is caused. Unfortunately there is no 11 speed option with a 34 or 35 tooth sprocket. These are only available in ten speed which would have the wrong sprocket pitch.[Lateral spacing.] Removing the smallest sprocket should move the whole cassette further away from the trike's framework. I still retain the 11 speed sprocket spacing but lose a gear I rarely need. Except on steep descents with a following gale.

I started the day with my usual walk. I never tire of the the approach to the woods with its undulating rise from the amphitheater floor. There was a thin skin of ice on the puddles and ponds. The ground in the woods was still lightly frozen too. Allowing better progress than on previous occasions. I saw several birds of prey and a woodpecker. The grey sky started spitting as I exited the woods and gently increased as I walked home along the road.

It didn't take long to remove the rear wheels, withdraw the axles and drop the cassette on the Trykit 2WD freehub. Then all I had to do was remove the 11t top gear sprocket and refit the locking ring.  The BB lock ring was screwed the 1/4" along the freehub to tighten the cassette firmly in place. Finally I used the chain wrench/whip and the toothed cassette fastening tool again to re-tighten the lock ring.

The image shows how far the cassette moved along to the right. Leaving plenty of chain clearance. Naturally I shall keep an eye on the spot to ensure the chain isn't still cutting into the frame loop during gear changes. There was, and still is, no problem at all once the chain has settled onto the 36t bottom gear sprocket. It is only during the chain's ride-up onto the sprocket phase of the gear change that the chain needs much more room. This problem is only ever likely to occur on a trike with its complex, axle supporting loops.

I'm still hoping the weather will clear up later, as promised, so I can get a ride in today. It never did clear up and remained wet, dark, windy and miserable.

Click on any image for an enlargement.

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