Brewery - 88 Miles and Suffering

Garmin Connect Map & Data
Ride with GPS Map & Data
Ride Summary
Moving Time: 5:18:14 (5:48:02 total)
Distance: 88 miles
Avg Moving Speed 16.6 mph
Elev. Gain: 2,398 ft

Solo
Goal: Training Endurance, trying out the Felt B10 on a longer distance

The Ride: When I woke up at 4 a.m. to do a bible study and prayer time, eat a bowl of oatmeal and prepare the bottles I knew this might be a rough day, but went forward because that's what we do. It was getting out of bed and feeling an upset stomach, lower back and hip pain that gave me this initial feeling of a potential rough day.

It was great to see Edgar and Jack preparing to roll out for the marked 48 while I was meeting Craig at the brewery for a 7:30 a.m. start on the out and back route. I wasn't sure how many miles, but I wanted to try for 80 miles using the Felt. We made it a 1/2 mile when my front tire blew. I  had trouble the night before trying to mount a new Michelin Pro 4 front tire. The tire bead kept popping out of the rim, which in turn would blow the tube. Craig and I talked and thought it was best for him to go ahead. I fixed the flat and went back to my truck to exchange for a backup front wheel.

The ride going out went really smooth. The temperature was still cool, but I knew with the tire issue it was going to push me into the hotter temperatures later and it did. Still working on building up my fitness that I lost from vacation a couple weeks ago I did not push higher intensities and just used the time to gain more experience riding down in the aero position. It worked as I started feeling more comfortable pushing up the speed more. I kept thinking that if Craig was on this same route I would just turn at the point of meeting up with him, but once I was on Cagle Road I started thinking he either went really long miles or did a different route. So I thought it best that I turn due to the coming heat.

For most of the ride back I felt pretty good, but at mile 70 I started feeling the effects of heat and from that point the ride became a struggle. Plus the upset stomach that I mentioned earlier that I had before leaving the house this morning - yeah it was getting worse as well. The last 18 miles were tough the manage between the heat and fluid intake with a sour belly. No need to whimper about the discomfort. The way to get out of the heat was keep pushing forward until I hit paradise - Sosbee Bike Park. There I was able to sit on a bench in the shade for a moment and run some cold water over my head and neck. Wow! that really helped and the last few miles were all that were remaining. Back at the truck I was feeling exhausted and sick. On the drive home it was all that I could do to stay awake and upon arriving at home, dumping my equipment as quickly as possible and fall into to bed. Instantly I fell asleep for a short period. I don't think I felt like that in a long time. Between the heat, upset stomach and losing fitness recently this was a tough day, but the only way back is to push forward with determination and desire to improve.

Now that I am rested a little I am looking forward to the next training event tomorrow and/or Monday.

Thanks so much for the folks that put in Sosbee Bike Park. I will continue to donate to keep it going.

Nutrition Intake During and after the Course:
24 oz from Bottle #1 of water with maltodextrin, egg protein, BCAA's, Gluatamine
24 oz from Bottle #2  water, BCAA's, Glutamine
24 oz from Bottle #3  water, BCAA's, Glutamine
Mile 30| Hammer Gel
Mile 40| 1 Cliff Bar
Mile 70| Hammer Gel
Finish | 40 gram whey protein drink
Home | Chicken salad and skim milk (because of the nap I did not eat until 2 hours post ride - not good)

The Weather: Sunny skies at the start @ 66 degrees, on the return @ 90 degrees, breeze from the west.

Bike: Felt B10, Garmin 800, Powertap SL+

Overall Powertap Data:
Entire workout (112 watts):
    Duration:      5:23:25 (5:52:21)
    Work:          2169 kJ
    TSS:           241.8 (intensity factor 0.671)
    Norm Power:    141
    VI:            1.26
    Distance:      87.673 mi
        Min    Max    Avg
    Power:           0    530    112     watts
    Cadence:         8    225    75     rpm
    Speed:           0    33.5    16.3     mph
    Pace             1:47    0:00    3:41     min/mi
    Crank Torque:    0    1510    132     lb-in

Extras
Still working out how I would like this bike to be setup. Since I do not race I don't need to be super touchy about fine tuning every little detail for wind resistance. Typically the torpedo bottle mounts are above the bar, but for me and how I want to use this bike for training using power output the location of the computer is important so that I can see the display while down on the pad. So I am experimenting with this bottle location and during today's ride I really like the location. It was out of the way and yet very easy to pull the bottle out while being down on the pads. So maybe there is a little more drag with it hanging below, but it is much easier to access than the seat tube mount. Plus having the Xlab Superwing rear mounted system gave me a total of 3 bottles for today's ride. I refilled one of the bottles again just to make sure I had enough on this very hot day. I modified a Pro Vibe bottle cage and used zip ties to connect to the bar extensions.

The computer mount is a simple piece of PVC cut to size and painted white. See my post on DIY aerobar mounts for a very inexpensive method. However, I do plan to move the Garmin 800 down to a level area on the back of the bottle cage so it will not be angled up like in the pictures below.

My Version of a Torpedo Mount Below the Bars

 

Felt B10 - Test Ride

Ready for the first trial run

Garmin Connect Map & Data
Summary
Moving Time: 2:15:47 (2:15:47 total)
Distance: 40 miles
Avg Moving Speed 17.7 mph
Total TSS: 130
 Total IF: 0.75

Solo 

Goal: Fit test ride for the Felt B10

Test Ride:
I want to be clear that this is not an official review of the Felt B10. I have never raced in a time trial or triathlon. This is my first ever ride on a dedicated time trial bike. What I want to do is record my first experience based on perception of fit and performance. I do have plenty of ride metrics collected from the power meter and Garmin 800 gps unit as shown, but without having extensive experience with time trial bikes the data may not prove useful. Plus this test ride was performed at the Silver Comet and was too congested to perform any full out performance tests. What this ride was to me was really two things. Make sure the Fit was good and to start getting used to being down in the aero position. My confidence in handling skills was very low on this first ride. I often sat up with hands near the brakes as I approached families and kids. Otherwise my average speed for this ride may have been higher. If I were to take this bike to a sub maximal or L4 effort the speed would have been far too dangerous for this multi use path. This bike can really take off quickly with a little torque applied.

Saddle: Cobb Cycling V-flow Plus
I have used Fizik Arione saddles on all my road bikes and have been very happy, but I knew that my position on this bike would be totally different. As I studied different aspects of time trial and triathlete setups it seemed there were a lot of good comments regarding Cobb Cycling's saddles and Curtis had those in his shop at Cannon Cyclery. The roll of the dice turned out good for this first forty mile test. It felt good to me from the first mile to the finish. On the web you would see comments that it took a small tweak or two to get it dialed in. I think mine is dialed in now, but I need to test it on a 100 mile route just to be sure. For now add me as another happy Cobb Cycling saddle owner. Fit wise, I believe Curtis got the position and height right for me.

Drive Train: SRAM Red and Force
I have been very pleased with SRAM Red on my LOOK 585 so I asked Curtis to build this bike up using a blend SRAM. We used the higher end Red components where it was important and used Force on less important components to save on the budget. It certainly turned out nice. Curtis certainly has the shifting tuned to a buttery smooth and precise shift. The TT500 shifters are a little stiff, but I expected this based on reviews. I did not have any trouble shifting as my riding experience progressed just during this 2 hour test ride. There was a little noise coming from somewhere. It sounded like it was from the crankset, but I think it may be my front hub. Other than that the drive train seemed really nice.

Aero Bars: Felt
The bars came with the frame purchase, but what is important about this review is the fit. This was the area that Curtis spent the most time changing the pad height and changed several stems. He was concerned about my wrists on the S-Bend extension bars, but I think they will be okay. Perhaps maybe not as comfy as a Ski Bend extension bars, but my wrists were more inline or not as bent during the test ride as they seemed to be during the fit session. My position with my elbows down on the pads was setup to be a little more toward the comfortable side than be in a deep aero position. Based on this first test I think with my neck flexibility, or lack thereof, that is as low as I can get and be able to see safely in front of me. If anything I may need to come up just a touch more, but I think instead I am going to do some more work on my neck and my chiropractor showed me how to do this therapy.

Performance:
As stated before I could not really do a full out test today being on a multi use path, but it wasn't just that. I need a lot more hours of getting comfortable riding in this position. I simply did not have the confidence in my handling skills to really punch it. However, I could still tell the difference of this bike compared to my road bikes. The Felt B10 is no doubt heavier than my LOOK 585 (15 pound bike), but I experience the aero effects of the time trial bike for the first time and have read so many articles stating that the aero effects out weigh the weight issue. I believe it does for sure. This bike seemed to just cut through the air as if the only wind resistance was me. I opted to go with the Xlab rear mounted hydration system. There were a few stretches of open pathway that I felt confident to open up the engine a little. The bike just seemed to go and it wanted to go even more. I was the one holding it back with my lack of confidence. I certainly need a lot more work and hours of training to keep it in a straight line and will only use this bike when I am training solo. The only time I was near someone was a brief time when another cyclist (Stephen) came around me and we stayed at the same pace for a while, but I can see why these types of bikes are not good in a group setting or the person should not be down in the aero position is that you cannot see good enough to make a fast avoidance.

Summary:
This test ride served me in a sense that I believe Curtis (Cannon Cyclery) did a fine job fitting me to the bike, the bike performed well with shifting and I felt pretty good about my future potential on this bike to perform well and yet be comfortable enough to use it for consistent training. I was also a little concerned about going with a 53/39 chain rings since I have been using compact 50/34 for most of my brief cycling years and yet on this first ride it went well. It will be a bigger challenge once I get out to the rolling hills.

The bike is good enough for this recreational cyclist. It is just a matter of me stepping up to the level of the bike and pushing it a little harder.

Nutrition Intake During and after the Course: ~45 oz. of water with BCAA's and Gluatamine (1) Honey Stinger Waffle (1) Post ride 30 gram whey protein drink (1) chicken salad sandwich at home 60 minutes following ride

The Weather: Sunny skies, slight breeze & headwind going out, 81 degrees


Power Output

 Lap 1:
    Duration:      1:09:20 (1:09:57)
    Work:          615 kJ
    TSS:           70.7 (intensity factor 0.785)
    Norm Power:    165
    VI:            1.11
    Distance:      20.006 mi
    Grade:         0.1 %  (125 ft)
        Min    Max    Avg
    Power:           0    482    148     watts
    Cadence:         7    246    75     rpm
    Speed:           0    25.5    17.3     mph
    Pace             2:21    0:00    3:28     min/mi
    Crank Torque:    0    1745    176     lb-in


Lap 2:
    Duration:      1:06:15
    Work:          541 kJ
    TSS:           57.3 (intensity factor 0.72)
    Norm Power:    151
    VI:            1.11
    Distance:      19.999 mi
    Grade:         -0.0 %  (-51 ft)
        Min    Max    Avg
    Power:           0    608    136     watts
    Cadence:         7    246    73     rpm
    Speed:           0    26.4    18.1     mph
    Pace             2:16    0:00    3:19     min/mi
    Crank Torque:    0    1647    167     lb-in


Entire workout (141 watts):
    Duration:      2:16:47 (2:21:30)
    Work:          1157 kJ
    TSS:           129.3 (intensity factor 0.754)
    Norm Power:    158
    VI:            1.12
    Distance:      40.095 mi
    Grade:         0.0 %  (70 ft)
        Min    Max    Avg
    Power:           0    608    141     watts
    Cadence:         7    246    74     rpm
    Speed:           0    26.4    17.6     mph
    Pace             2:16    0:00    3:25     min/mi
    Crank Torque:    0    1745    170     lb-in