You’d think I would be getting tired of these, but no. Another Webcor EC training ride. This one went pretty well- I did the first one in 1:02, the second from the North gate in 1:08 and the last South Gate in 1:06. The first is the fastest time I’ve done a single Diablo on one of these repeat days, and the last is the fastest I’ve done the last climb on one (but only by a minute). We finished the whole thing in 4:40 ride time, which is also the fastest I’ve done it in. I’m feeling good about my conditioning for EC.
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Yesterday some of the Webcor Everest Challenge team did Mt Diablo repeats. Kevin also invited some of his triathalete friends. Some of those guys are scary fast, at least for one or two Diablos. None were as fast as Michael though, he did his first south gate in 56 minutes! None of the triathletes made all three.
I did ok on the first (1:05) and second (1:07 from the north gate, which is 3600′ vs 3200′) but fell apart on the last south gate (1:14). Looking at my data I can see why- I’m tired. It’s time for a rest week anyhow. What’s interesting is that on my first climb I averaged 248 watts, which is very close to the 256 I averaged when I went out to break the hour. But my average HR was only 139, whereas for the faser ride it was 168. I know that HR is non-linear but that HR seems awfully low… I wonder if my large volume of SST and tempo level training somehow makes me more efficient at sub-threshold effort?
ericm Uncategorized
… and I have been riding it. It’s a lot like the R3 was except the rear end is a little softer over rough pavement. I think much of that is due to the smaller diameter seat post- 27.2mm vs a humongous 32.4mm. So there’s a little flex there. The smaller seat tube might have something to do with it as well. I like it but now the front feels stiff in comparison. Set up like this it weighs about 15.25 lbs. Not super light but I have heavy brakes and handlebars, and the cranks aren’t all that light either.
- Wheels- Reynolds DV46C carbon clinchers on White Industry H2 hubs
- Cranks- FSA Carbon Pro ISIS, SRAM Rival chainrings 50/34
- Cassette- DuraAce 7800 12-27
- BB- FSA Titanium ISIS
- Shifters- Shimano DuraAce 7800
- Derailleurs- DuraAce 7800 front, 7703 (triple) rear
- Brakes- DuraAce 7800 with Titanium bolts
- Bars- Easton EC70
- Stem- Ritchey WCS carbon wrapped
- Seatpost- KCNC SC Pro aluminum
- Cages- King Titanium
The 7703 derailleur is there so I can run crazy 12-30 gearing for Everest Challenge.
ericm Equipment
Yesterday was the Patterson Pass road race. I rode in the M35+ 4/5 race. They actually had three fields of M35+ 4/5s although they merged one into my race, making my field pretty large.
Patterson has a steep stair-step climb starting almost immediately from the start, then a descent, another shorter climb up Flynn road, a short descent, then 15 miles of rolling terrain back to the finish. We did two 23 mile laps.
I managed to stick on the front group (down to 20 or so from 60 or 70) on the main climb but I got popped off the back on Flynn.
I chased with a few other guys and we kept the pack in sight for most of the first lap. On the start of the second I was feeling like I was going to bonk, and I’d forgotten to bring food. But then I spotted a packet of gel that someone had dropped! I had to turn around to get it.
I waited until the climb leveled a bit out then ate it. I have a problem with many gel flavors- they are sickly sweet and disgusting, like Rum and Butterscotch, or Pina Colada. Knowing this, I was determined to get it down without tasting it. Which was good because I think it was Pina Colada. But it was calories!
Unfortunately something in it disagreed with me, so I had intermittent stomach cramps for the rest of the race. Even without that, I was feeling pretty bad. It was hot, and while I’d gotten a bottle from the neutral support, I didn’t have enough and had to ration it.
So I lost a few more places to a couple guys who went motoring by on the flat part. I just couldn’t get on the train.
It’s a good thing I didn’t have any expectations for this race.
ericm Uncategorized
One problem with the R3 frame design is that when you derail the chain off the chainrings it jams between the inner chainring and the frame. I got it pretty badly stuck a couple times on the old R3. Suprisingly the gouges on the frame were quite minor. But I don’t want any at all on the R3SL, never mind having to stop in a race to unjam the chain and put it back on. Normally you can put a chain catcher on the frame which will keep the chain from derailing, but the commercial ones that clamp around the seat tube won’t fit the R3’s large squarish tube. So as part of my build up I made one. It bolts to the front derailleur “braze-on” fitting.
As you can see from my dirty garage scale, it weighs all of 8 grams. It’s made from a section of aluminum angle about 10cm long with most of it trimmed away. I just cut off everything that didn’t look like a chain catcher, and this is what was left.
ericm Equipment
For the warranty replacement for my R3, Cervelo let me upgrade (for a fee) to the R3SL. I’ve been wanting one of these for a while but the economics of buying a new frame for retail and selling my old R3 as used just didn’t make sense. It turns out that upgrading under the warranty replacement doesn’t make sense either but it is a lot closer, and in any case the new R3 paint scheme is ugly.
The best thing besides being black is that its lighter than the old R3 was, by about 100 grams- it’s 845.
ericm Equipment