It's been a while since I shared any current training updates. There is a reason for that. I have been very busy...bike shopping!
You know what really gets in the way of training? Bike shopping!
Each bike shop only sells a couple bike brands, and since each brand is different in terms of fit (much like running shoes...and we know how long that took me) I am forced to go all over the valley to try different bikes. Not only does that take tons of time and gas, but it makes it impossible to really compare many bikes side-by-side. After 12 bikes in 3 days you forget how one felt compared to another at another shop! Not to mention Craigslist, which opens a whole new can of worms.
But let's start with WHY I am suddenly in the market for a new bike. It's certainly not my style to upgrade. I think I have made it very clear that my style is to MAKE DO with the cheapest option available.
Last Friday I had an appointment for a bike fitting to get aero bars put on my bike and get fit to my bike with them on it, and to just make sure my bike was a good size for me and that the seat was in the best position. Well, it turns out I can't get aero bars put on my bike. The head tube and stem (what the handle bars are mounted on) on my bike are all one piece, whereas on newer bikes the head tube and stem are made of several pieces, so they are more adjustable.
It would technically be possible to put aero bars on my bike as is, but it would not only be pointless, it would probably be worse than riding it as is, because there would be no way to get in the optimal position. It would be possible to switch out some parts, but that would cost several hundred dollars, and still not be optimal, so it's really not worth it.
So that left me with the following options: 1. Ride my bike as is with no aero bars (an option I had not ruled out even before the fitting) or 2. Buy a new bike.
Thus I dove halfheartedly and noncommittally into the hunt for a new bike. It started with a few test rides at Landis Cyclery, where I had my fitting. I tried a Felt. Didn't love it. I tried a ladies' Trek. Meh. Then I tried a Trek Madone 2.3. This is an aluminum version of the bike that the lying cheater Lance Armstrong rode in the Tour de France. That bike felt great! But one can't stop there! One must try all the different types and brands to know what one watst. Thus began the process during which I learned way more than I ever wanted to know about bikes. Words like "gruppo," which is the set of moving parts like shifters, brakes, etc. Shimano. SRAM. Campagnolo. Tiagra. 105. Apex. These are the things one must consider when buying a new bike.
Also, there is geometry. Do you want speed or comfort? Yes, please. There is racing geometry and comfort geometry and every imaginable variation in between. There are all kinds of measurements and their relation to each other is different on every bike, so you can't just walk in and say, "I need a 54 cm." A well-fitting 54 in one bike could equal a 50 in another! Then all of a sudden you find yourself in the middle of a debate that, unbeknownst to you, has been raging in the cycling community: Is a high end aluminum bike better than an entry-level carbon bike? Then you start discovering terms like BB30 vs. BB86. This refers to "Bottom Bracket," something you have never in your entire life even considered as something that could possibly matter to you. And right about then your head explodes.
It started out very fun and exciting, then as the amount of $$$ and details involved increased, it rapidly became very stressful.
Sunday was the last day of a big sale at Performance Bike, so after hours of talking and test riding and browsing I got this:
Week 3 of training looked like this:
MON: 35 MIN. TRAINER RIDE
TUE: 45 MIN. SWIM
WED: 50 MI. RIDE
2 MI. RUN
THU: 3 MI EASY RUN (A.M.)
3 MI EASY RUN (P.M.)
FRI: NO WORKOUT (Bike fitting/shopping...and 7:45 pm bedtime!)
SAT: 9 MI. RUN
SUN: NO WORKOUT (Bike shopping)
I did no strength training, only one swim, and no effective trainer rides! But the worst part is, this week is not starting out much better! The problem, quite simply, is LIFE. It has no place in Ironman training. Dates with friends, birthday parties, bike shopping, dropping bikes off for a tune up and hanging out with a friend at the bike cafe, working extra shifts; there is no room for these things during training. Especially bike shopping! That took up most of my Friday, Sunday, Monday and Wednesday.
Because the bike I bought on Sunday was not the end of it. Turns out it felt way too big once I got it on the trainer and took it on an hour long ride on the canal path. So I took it back to the store, where there was a completely different staff that day, and we basically started from scratch.
And that's when I got this:
To be continued...
You know what really gets in the way of training? Bike shopping!
Each bike shop only sells a couple bike brands, and since each brand is different in terms of fit (much like running shoes...and we know how long that took me) I am forced to go all over the valley to try different bikes. Not only does that take tons of time and gas, but it makes it impossible to really compare many bikes side-by-side. After 12 bikes in 3 days you forget how one felt compared to another at another shop! Not to mention Craigslist, which opens a whole new can of worms.
But let's start with WHY I am suddenly in the market for a new bike. It's certainly not my style to upgrade. I think I have made it very clear that my style is to MAKE DO with the cheapest option available.
Last Friday I had an appointment for a bike fitting to get aero bars put on my bike and get fit to my bike with them on it, and to just make sure my bike was a good size for me and that the seat was in the best position. Well, it turns out I can't get aero bars put on my bike. The head tube and stem (what the handle bars are mounted on) on my bike are all one piece, whereas on newer bikes the head tube and stem are made of several pieces, so they are more adjustable.
 |
| See how the head tube (vertical) and stem (horizontal) parts are welded together? Whereas on the newer bikes (below) they are separate parts, which can be swapped out and adjusted for optimal fit. |
It would technically be possible to put aero bars on my bike as is, but it would not only be pointless, it would probably be worse than riding it as is, because there would be no way to get in the optimal position. It would be possible to switch out some parts, but that would cost several hundred dollars, and still not be optimal, so it's really not worth it.
 |
| This is how they attach to a road bike. |
 |
| These are aero bars. |
 |
| This is how you ride a road bike with aero bars. |
So that left me with the following options: 1. Ride my bike as is with no aero bars (an option I had not ruled out even before the fitting) or 2. Buy a new bike.
 |
| Felt |
 |
| Trek Madone |
 |
| Bike shopping makes me feel like the guy on the right. |
It started out very fun and exciting, then as the amount of $$$ and details involved increased, it rapidly became very stressful.
Sunday was the last day of a big sale at Performance Bike, so after hours of talking and test riding and browsing I got this:
 |
| Isn't it beautiful??? |
MON: 35 MIN. TRAINER RIDE
TUE: 45 MIN. SWIM
WED: 50 MI. RIDE
2 MI. RUN
THU: 3 MI EASY RUN (A.M.)
3 MI EASY RUN (P.M.)
FRI: NO WORKOUT (Bike fitting/shopping...and 7:45 pm bedtime!)
SAT: 9 MI. RUN
SUN: NO WORKOUT (Bike shopping)
I did no strength training, only one swim, and no effective trainer rides! But the worst part is, this week is not starting out much better! The problem, quite simply, is LIFE. It has no place in Ironman training. Dates with friends, birthday parties, bike shopping, dropping bikes off for a tune up and hanging out with a friend at the bike cafe, working extra shifts; there is no room for these things during training. Especially bike shopping! That took up most of my Friday, Sunday, Monday and Wednesday.
Because the bike I bought on Sunday was not the end of it. Turns out it felt way too big once I got it on the trainer and took it on an hour long ride on the canal path. So I took it back to the store, where there was a completely different staff that day, and we basically started from scratch.
And that's when I got this:
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