Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Really Tired
Work has really got me working hard. I've been burning the midnight oil several nights in a row and its taking its toll. I just want to sleep, but for some sick reason I keep thinking about work and all I need to get done.... So here I am at work putting in a few more hours.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Nice Ride
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Cold Ride
The morning commute was just a little cool this morning on the Bomber, -4F. I'm learning that bike components do funny things at low temperatures.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Best Intentions
I had the best intentions of getting out today to take part in a ~30 mile group gravel ride. The girls were sick, and my wife really needed my help looking after them. Ya, I was a little miffed about it, but there will be other rides. Besides the snow must have been deep. Six inches in DSM the day before.
Nice classy pic I saw come across the web today
Friday, January 9, 2009
I hate this stuff
I hate this stuff
WASHINGTON (AP) — A staggering 2.6 million jobs disappeared in 2008, the most since World War II, and the pain is only getting worse with 11 million Americans out of work and searching. Unemployment hit a 16-year high of 7.2 percent in December and could be headed for 10 percent or even higher by year's end.
....Lets try to keep it together people.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Same old stuff
I rode into work yesterday. Not much to add other than it was VERY cold. The girls gave me a full face mask for riding on cold days like this, and it really helped.
Today I received in the mail a handlebar mount for my GPS eTrex Legend. I put it on The Bomber and it is a perfect fit. It is really going to be cool to log my rides in this way.
Today I received in the mail a handlebar mount for my GPS eTrex Legend. I put it on The Bomber and it is a perfect fit. It is really going to be cool to log my rides in this way.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Bike Fit
On Christmas I received the gift of a bike fit from Rasmussen Bike Shop. I was very excited for this fit, as I have had chronic issues with my left leg IT band for about 3yrs. Sometimes I have rides with out issue and other times I have terrible and sometimes scary IT band pain after only 30 min of vigorous biking time. This has translated into limited radius rides, and low self confidence when trying to push my self to become the best rider I can be. The mind is there, but the body is showing some limitations.
So on Tuesday Dec 29th I scheduled a bike fit at Rasmussen Bike Shop. Adam did the fit. He used the Specialized BG Fit II System. I brought my Surly Crosscheck, 58 cm. He asked me a few questions about my biking, what issues I've been having and what type of cycling I do the most. He checked the curvature of my back, discrepancies in leg length, the flexibility in my legs and back. I told him about my issue with my IT band in my left leg. How 20 - 30 into a ride it really get aggravated causing me to bale on many a ride. Adam inspected the foot beds in my shoes. The foot beds were those which came with the shoes orginaly. These immediately were 'round' filed. He had be do some deep knee bends on one leg bare foot and watched my balance and movement. He then had me repeat it with a set of new Specialized foot beds with shims. There was a great increase in stability when the foot beds were added. Next, he looked closely at the way I stand. He had me sit on a high stool with my legs draped over the edge and my feet dangling. All of this helped him decide how to place the cleats on each shoes to accomidated for 1. my left leg being shorter 2. and a nature foot placement over the pedal to create comfortable leg movement. He placed the new foot beds and shims in my cycling shoes and I went to the bike while he got the computer and cameras ready.
He asked me to start warming up on my bike. He then adjusted by saddle height, moved the saddle forward slightly, and leveled it. My stem's angle and length were already perfect for my body dimensions so there was no need to mess with them. Specialized stem, 110mm, +12 degree rise, 2 cm riser. Adam then started to monitor my pedal stroke using the computer and two small video cameras. By recording my pedal stroke he was able to see how he needed to do more adjustments. With his program he was able to place virtual dots on the screen at the bottom, middle, and top of my pedal stroke for both knees. He looked for and found that my left leg was not traveling in a nice circle, rather in an oval with some left/right movement. He got rid of this with some cleat adjustments, and saddle adjustments, then asked me to get back on the bike. I rode for another 10 min in big front 5 in back, ~ 90/min cadence. I experienced no pain and the video looked really good. No, side to side knee movement. Just smooth linear up/down strokes for both knees. I then decided to kick up a notch. I thought 'as long as I'm here lets really see if my knee can go through some sustained pressure.' A bit of background, I hadn't gotten on my bike for ~ 2 weeks and it was during my last ride that I did have some knee pain. I wanted to make sure that the inflammation had gone down on my knee but the issue was still fresh enough that I could make the pain return if I so desired. I asked Adam if I could go a bit longer in some big gears. He agreed. "Lets put my knee to the test", I said. I asked him to crank up the resistance on the trainer and I put the bike into big front and 8/9 in the rear, and then I pounded away at 80 - 90/min cadence under high load. I never bike in this gearing, ever. If I did, I would surely cause knee pain in 5 min. I kept this up for about 10 min and was tired but not it pain, and this is exactly what I was looking for, all gain with no pain.
Adam was fully satisfied with the adjustments done and so was I. I brought in my mountain bike and he quickly adjusted the saddle height and position on it too. The pedal position will translate between bikes. I highly recommend a professional bike fitting to anyone experiencing pain or discomfort while riding. After all you want your rides to be enjoyable and not painful.
I borrowed a bicycle trainer from a good friend and I'm happy to report that after two 20 min sessions in the saddle I can report no knee aggravation.
So on Tuesday Dec 29th I scheduled a bike fit at Rasmussen Bike Shop. Adam did the fit. He used the Specialized BG Fit II System. I brought my Surly Crosscheck, 58 cm. He asked me a few questions about my biking, what issues I've been having and what type of cycling I do the most. He checked the curvature of my back, discrepancies in leg length, the flexibility in my legs and back. I told him about my issue with my IT band in my left leg. How 20 - 30 into a ride it really get aggravated causing me to bale on many a ride. Adam inspected the foot beds in my shoes. The foot beds were those which came with the shoes orginaly. These immediately were 'round' filed. He had be do some deep knee bends on one leg bare foot and watched my balance and movement. He then had me repeat it with a set of new Specialized foot beds with shims. There was a great increase in stability when the foot beds were added. Next, he looked closely at the way I stand. He had me sit on a high stool with my legs draped over the edge and my feet dangling. All of this helped him decide how to place the cleats on each shoes to accomidated for 1. my left leg being shorter 2. and a nature foot placement over the pedal to create comfortable leg movement. He placed the new foot beds and shims in my cycling shoes and I went to the bike while he got the computer and cameras ready.
He asked me to start warming up on my bike. He then adjusted by saddle height, moved the saddle forward slightly, and leveled it. My stem's angle and length were already perfect for my body dimensions so there was no need to mess with them. Specialized stem, 110mm, +12 degree rise, 2 cm riser. Adam then started to monitor my pedal stroke using the computer and two small video cameras. By recording my pedal stroke he was able to see how he needed to do more adjustments. With his program he was able to place virtual dots on the screen at the bottom, middle, and top of my pedal stroke for both knees. He looked for and found that my left leg was not traveling in a nice circle, rather in an oval with some left/right movement. He got rid of this with some cleat adjustments, and saddle adjustments, then asked me to get back on the bike. I rode for another 10 min in big front 5 in back, ~ 90/min cadence. I experienced no pain and the video looked really good. No, side to side knee movement. Just smooth linear up/down strokes for both knees. I then decided to kick up a notch. I thought 'as long as I'm here lets really see if my knee can go through some sustained pressure.' A bit of background, I hadn't gotten on my bike for ~ 2 weeks and it was during my last ride that I did have some knee pain. I wanted to make sure that the inflammation had gone down on my knee but the issue was still fresh enough that I could make the pain return if I so desired. I asked Adam if I could go a bit longer in some big gears. He agreed. "Lets put my knee to the test", I said. I asked him to crank up the resistance on the trainer and I put the bike into big front and 8/9 in the rear, and then I pounded away at 80 - 90/min cadence under high load. I never bike in this gearing, ever. If I did, I would surely cause knee pain in 5 min. I kept this up for about 10 min and was tired but not it pain, and this is exactly what I was looking for, all gain with no pain.
Adam was fully satisfied with the adjustments done and so was I. I brought in my mountain bike and he quickly adjusted the saddle height and position on it too. The pedal position will translate between bikes. I highly recommend a professional bike fitting to anyone experiencing pain or discomfort while riding. After all you want your rides to be enjoyable and not painful.
I borrowed a bicycle trainer from a good friend and I'm happy to report that after two 20 min sessions in the saddle I can report no knee aggravation.
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