Sunday Solo Cruise

Route and Ride Data Links:

Strava - Today's Route

Ride Metrics:

Distance (mile): 40.4
Speed Avg (mph): 19
Cadence (rpm): 70
Time Moving: 2:07:04
Time Total: 2:08:36
Work (kj): 1,070
Normal Power: 152
Average Power: 139
Max Power: 520
VI: 1.10
TSS: 147
IF: 0.83

Goal:

Build Endurance and enjoy the weather while cycling

Ride Description:

The first five miles from the zero mile marker were heavy with multitudes finally enjoying warmer weather and no rain. Once I was a bit beyond the pace picked up and from there it was a nice cruise out to the twenty mile marker. A guy jumped on my wheel about mile 16 and gave me a nod of the head and thumbs up for the brisk pull. 

On the way back a couple of random guys tried to jump on my wheel, but I guess could not hold on. Back at the 4 mile marker it was getting heavy again so I had to slow at times for safety. It was kind of sad to end the day with just 40 miles since it was so nice out and because I missed yesterday due to travel.

Weather:

Temperature Start (F): 70
Temperature Finish (F): 78
Wind: Breezy
Sky: Sunny

Nutrition Intake During and Immediately After:

Bottle #1 24oz. Water, Aminos, Maltodextrin
GU gel at mile 20
Post Ride: 30 gram protein drink

Gear:

 Felt  IA16 

Brewery Solo 80

Route and Ride Data Links:

Strava - Today's Route

Ride Metrics:

Distance (mile): 80
Speed (mph): 17
Cadence (rpm): 70
Time Moving: 4:43:26
Time Total: 4:47:11
Work (kj): 2,178
Normal Power: 150
Average Power: 127
Max Power: 417
VI: 1.18
TSS: 321
IF: 0.81

Goal:

Build Endurance

Ride Description:

Desperately seeking endurance. 
That was a cold start. I was thinking about rolling out with just a summer kit and even with leg warmers and a long sleeve base layer the cold seemed to cut right through. The start temperature felt much colder in those first 10 miles than it actually was. As the sun rose it all started to feel a bit better and my attention to the cold started shifting to holding the pace. 

On the way back the Garmin 820 battery went into a battery reservation sleep mode so it was a nice non-tech ride on the way back. Nice to see a number of folk out participating in a charity ride. Also a nice headwind pushing against me on the forty mile return made it a bit more challenging. 

Weather:

Temperature Start (F): 38 (felt like 30)
Temperature Finish (F): 70
Wind: 10mph SSE
Sky: Partly cloudy

Nutrition Intake During and Immediately After:

Bottle #1 24oz. Water, Amino, Maltodextrin, Trace Mineral Drops
Bottle #2 12oz. Water, Amino, Maltodextrin, Trace Mineral Drops
GU gel at mile 24
Clif Bar at mile 35
Post Ride: 30 gram protein drink

Gear:

 Felt  IA10 

Rainy Day Updates

Yesterday's Keo cleat failure combined with another rainy Sunday prompted me to to a few things that I have been putting off. I ended up missing out on an indoor training session, but at least the Felt IA16 has some updates.

1. Replace Keo cleats.
2. Remove Felt arm pads and replace with Cee Gee Cushys
3. Replace chain with Premier Bike waxed chain
4. Replace Shimano pulley wheels with Hawk Racing pulley wheels.
5. Clean cassette in ultrasonic tub.
6. Reset Z4 Speedfil BTA mount.
7. Replaced batteries in the Felt IA16 Quarq and Bontrager speed sensor.

Tip of cleat broke off about 15 miles out. I had to turn back.

One set for the Felt IA16 and one set for the LOOK 585

The mount is actually centered. The picture angle is bad.

Sunday Solo Cruise

Route and Ride Data Links:

Strava - Today's Route

Ride Metrics:

Distance (mile): 40
Speed (mph): 18
Cadence (rpm): 70
Time Moving: 2:14:30
Time Total: 2:15:26
Work (kj): 1,048
Normal Power: 140
Average Power: 129
Max Power: 449
VI: 1.09
TSS: 132
IF: 0.76

Goal:

Build Endurance

Ride Description:

Out and Back Solo Spin.

Weather:

Temperature Start (F): 45
Temperature Finish (F): 54
Wind: Calm
Sky: Partly cloudy

Nutrition Intake During and Immediately After:

Bottle #1 24oz. Water, Amino / BCAA, Maltodextrin
GU gel at mile 20
Post Ride: 30 gram protein drink

Gear:

 Felt  IA16 

Wet Cruise

Route and Ride Data Links:

Strava - Today's Route

Ride Metrics:

Distance (mile): 40.8
Speed (mph): 18.5
Cadence Avg (rpm): 71
Time Moving: 2:11:35
Time Total: 2:12:42
Work (kj): 1,083
Normal Power: 148
Average Power: 136
Max Power: 372
VI: 1.09
TSS: 144
IF: 0.8

Goal:

Build Endurance

Ride Description:

Out and Back Spin just after the rain passed through the Atlanta area. I decided to give the Comet a try and sure enough there were just a few walking and running. From zero to the end it was fairly open to cruise at the speed I wanted for the day. The bike and I were messy after the ride, but it sure beat another day on the trainer.

Weather:

Temperature Start (F): 55
Temperature Finish (F): 56
Wind: Calm
Sky: Heavy clouds

Nutrition Intake During and Immediately After:

Bottle #1 24oz. Water, Amino and BCAA, Maltodextrin
GU gel at mile 20
Post Ride: 30 gram protein drink

Gear:

 Felt  IA16 

Garmin 820 Woes and Combining Ride Files

Garmin 820 Woes:

I almost want to go on a full rant about the Garmin Edge 820. I sometimes wonder if any of the developers at Garmin actually do cycling and if they use the 820. I also wonder if they have experienced any of the issues that some of us have with the screen sensitivity? Do they know the sensitivity and the potentially fragile state when combined with the Save and Discard ride options if one stops the timer on the 820 during the ride?

I do not use auto pause because it fouls up the power meter data stopping at intersections, but I will stop the timer briefly for a quick roadside stop. Maybe I shouldn't do that, but that's what I will do at times. I have also accidentally had a ride discarded twice in the past. Recently the Garmin has at least saved itself mid-ride and left me with no option except to start a new ride to finish out.

I never had those issues with previous versions of Edge computers. In fact hitting the lap button ensured there would be at least some fraction of the ride saved even if the battery died during the ride. I have seen some others post these same issues so I know I am not the only one. I posted here (http://thecyclingaddiction.blogspot.com/2016/07/garmin-edge-820.html) about the screen sensitivity and a firmware update helped a little, but it is still ultra sensitive at times. Yesterday I hit the timer to stop and stepped away from the bike for a few seconds. When I returned the ride had saved. Did a fly land on the Save icon? Maybe a leaf fell on it? What the heck happened? At least it was saved and not discarded like has happened before. 

I still have the trusty Garmin Edge 800 and 500 that I am considering go back to using although there are several features on the 820 that I prefer. Garmin developers need to put a bit more thought into how to ensure ride data is handled carefully. It can be frustrating to lose training data, but imagine someone losing race data or from an epic ride adventure.

Combining Ride Files:

Since I ended up with two ride files loaded to Strava I looked for a tool to combine files and found the following and it seemed to work well. It also uploaded the ride to Strava once I gave it permission and the combined data looked good. 

http://gotoes.org/strava/Combine_GPX_TCX_FIT_Files.php