Road cycle (Basso) 51:02 25.03 km (2:02 / km) +7m2:02 / km ahr:159 max:176 shoes: D2 2D action blue road
TT power/heart test in strong wind.
It looks like next week is going to be much windier than I’ve been doing my TT in. With a 15-20km/hr outbound headwind today, I thought it was a good chance to test how to manage my effort. I also tried out a new place to park, since the school I’ve been using will be off limits starting next week.
First interval was most directly into the wind, but since I was fresh, I tried to maintain my previous pace. 2nd interval had a couple of breaks from the wind, but since my heart rate was already up, it stayed up. Close to the same power as the first, but the 171 bpm average isn’t likely sustainable. I was a bit surprised I could hold it to the turn around.
The tailwind was a good break on half of the return, but the strong cross wind on the other half meant I had to stay attentive. I thought I might as well see if I could maintain the 160s heart rate for the full 39 minutes and was pleased to find I could quite handily. About 165 average for the TT, with a modified last kilometre for the parked truck. I will do the full course for official runs.
I did follow the Calgary crew’s advice and eat before going out. I believe that supported the higher heart rate. I’ll also conform to their rest protocol before official TT runs for the last 3 weeks, subject to weather forecast changes.
If the projected similar wind holds for next Tuesday, I can make another personal best. Lighter winds will make it easier.
Road cycle (Basso) 32:07 13.9 km (2:19 / km) +87m2:14 / km ahr:140 max:162 shoes: D2 2D action blue road
My mission was to micro adjust the cassette for wireless shifting. It was quiet at the extremes, but a few middle cogs had a bit of noise some of the time.
The plan was to ride under power through the cassette and stop to adjust when I got to some noise. Adjustments are 1/4 mm. It seemed odd, because the cassette should be pretty tight tolerance. It turns out that your micro adjustment is across the whole cassette, the fact that it shows you the current gear is misdirection. I moved it one step out and the 5 little cogs are silent, so I’ll leave it there through the TT. I might bias it differently doing big climbs.
Once I figured that out, I just did some power tests. I just pushed as hard as I could up the little grade in whatever gear I was in. I was a bit surprised that 500 watts came pretty easily in most gears. Peak was 640.
Road cycle (Basso) 49:45 23.49 km (2:07 / km) +12m2:07 / km ahr:150 max:170 shoes: D2 2D action blue road
Cruzbike TT Challenge week 18
I gambled on the wind today because it looked more unpleasant for most of the week. Forecast was light headwind starting out, then shifting to a stronger headwind for the return.
I had moved the power pedals onto the Basso, so tried to manage the early power to low 160s to keep some reserves for the headwind finish. I did have to fit in a couple of tractor passes, but still managed to build a modest gain over last week.
I had a couple of slow corners at the turn and had to push to get my pace back. The low sun made it near impossible to see my Garmin so my pace/power management in the 3rd interval suffered a bit. Half of the 4th interval was north, so I could see my computer and got back into the groove of a consistent pace and power - no headwind also contributed.
I had a brain fart finishing and eased off when I ticked over 20km, forgetting my course is slightly longer, and sacrificed a few seconds. Or saved them for next week, depending on your perspective.
The Canadian track champions in the west are recommending some behaviour modifications leading up to the finale, so we’ll see how that goes.
39:05 Past times 39:20 40:05 below on Giro 41:46 42:02 42:32 43:04 43:30 43:43 44:01 44:20 44:40 45:00 45:20 45:50 46:50 47:55 48:16 (middle chainring)