Misc

Something’s gone wrong lately … one by one, my cycling gear is failing or not holding up to the load. Last week’s parade of failures: started with the broken derailleur jockey wheel on my winter/wet weather bike quickly followed by a cracked rear wheel rim on the same bike the velcro on my right cycling shoe is also done — I need new shoes and then today, this A clean break of the right extension — great!!! And on top of that, in a spot I never would have expected … Fortunately you’re well-equipped for these situations, or at least have something with you so you can at least make it home. ...

I only wanted to change the derailleur jockey wheels on my winter/wet weather bike …. I’d successfully destroyed one of them on my last ride. That’s when I noticed this: Congratulations on joining the exclusive club of those who’ve ridden a wheel rim to death! I have no idea how long that thing had been cracked. Fortunately it didn’t break completely and I noticed it early enough. On the other hand, you have to give the rim some credit — after 6 years and thousands of kilometers in terrible conditions (winter, rain, snow, dirt, etc.), it’s allowed to call it a day. ...

A few days ago I went to Cyclefit in Bensheim to get a saddle position analysis done and to sort out my discomfort on the bike. Let me say upfront: it was worth it in almost every respect. There were two main issues to fix: the saddle discomfort that had been getting more and more frequent (including numbness in my legs), and a compensatory movement in my left leg during the final phase of the pedal stroke. ...

Planning for the new season is mostly done — here are the races I’ll be entering: Jan 6, 2012 – Three Kings Run Dielheim (10km) May 20, 2012 – Heidesee Triathlon Forst (1km – 32km – 7.5km) Jun 10, 2012 – Challenge Kraichgau (1.9km – 90km – 21.1km) Jun 24, 2012 – City Triathlon Heilbronn (2km – 70km – 15km) Jul 8, 2012 – Ironman Germany (3.8km – 180km – 42.2km) A half marathon or a 10K might get added here and there, but the race dates haven’t been confirmed yet. ...

There was a change to my bike position yesterday, and the next one will probably be due in two weeks. 1. New extensions The old S-bend extensions were swapped out yesterday for straight ones. The S-bends had too much rise, meaning my actual grip position was about 1.5 cm lower when I was riding relaxed in aero position. 2. New saddle position At the end of November, a saddle position analysis is planned — something isn’t quite right with my position on the bike. It mostly shows up as saddle discomfort; unfortunately the saddle just doesn’t fit my backside anymore.

After exactly 8 days and 74 minutes I couldn’t take it anymore without sports and relapsed. It was my longest sports-free stretch in over 5 years — a weirdly peculiar time. Unfortunately my appetite didn’t adjust accordingly, with the result being almost 2kg extra on the scale. Tuesday and Wednesday I had two very easy bike rides on the schedule, just under 2 hours each. Absolutely amazing, and somehow incomprehensible that you can miss it so much… it was only 8 days off ;) ...

A look at my stats has revealed something surprising: as of today I’m only 1,011km short of hitting the 10,000km mark on the bike this year. I should take advantage of this — who knows when I’ll pull that off again. I think I’ll start back up tomorrow ;)

… or what do you do with too much free time?? I was genuinely looking forward to this period even before Wales, but somehow I’m already not enjoying it. After 6 days completely without sport I’m seriously considering getting back to it again. I feel like an addict being forced into cold turkey withdrawal… luckily the weather isn’t great today and I don’t want to get wet — I can get through today, but tomorrow I might just… ...

So, tomorrow is the big day — the tension is slowly building. The last training session was swept away by the wind, garnished with rain showers and lots of wet, dirty roads. Right afterward it was time to clean the bike. In the afternoon it was time for bike check-in, which is right on the coast at a pretty high and completely exposed location. I briefly held my bike up with one hand in the transition zone and couldn’t put it back down — it basically hovered horizontally in the wind… that’s a first for me. ...

Yesterday was part 2 of the journey — from Reading it was the last 350km by car down to Tenby in Wales. Thanks to Jan’s driving we made good progress — I did occasionally have to retrieve my luggage from wherever it had migrated to and put it back where it belonged, but otherwise everything was fine… In Tenby we navigated the genuinely very narrow streets in search of parking, then off to registration and the race briefing. ...