Week 3 is here!
I did manage to squeeze in some more rides. It does feel good to have the drive to train once again. I feel better not only physically, but mentally as well. My wife even commented that she has noticed a change in my attitude lately. Due to this, she is going to make me continue riding my bike. haha
I am down a couple of pounds. I last weighed in at 171/172. I just weighed myself this morning, 167.5! I still have a few months to hit the high 150’s. Honestly, I am not concerned about the number as much as how I feel overall.
I am also still sticking with the yoga routine. I slept funny not too long ago and my right shoulder has been annoying me since. Hopefully the yoga will slowly dial that out. My posture is gradually coming back to a better state. I could not be happier at this news. That is one thing I love about yoga, self awareness. You notice the tiny things easily. I used to ignore those small things (or just did not care). Now I find myself finding those tension spots so much earlier. I think about my breath constantly as well. Once my breath starts to get shallow, I find myself tensing up. It is almost like an alarm going off in my head, so I instantly start taking nice and long deep breaths.
I am looking forward to getting out on the bike this week, if the weather permits. I am still getting my hard tail mountain bike set up. I hope to start riding this one to train on. It is not as comfortable as my full suspension rig, but it is more comfortable than my roadie. The road bike is fast, no doubt, I just want an edge taken off that rough pavement. The mountain bike will help due to the front suspension, and the fact that it is running 700x42c tires instead of the narrow 700x23c’s on my roadie. Do not pay too much attention to the picture of it I posted. That picture was when I first purchased the bike. Some things have changed since. The larger road tires will give me extra float over those imperfections on the back country roads. It also should reduce the vibrations felt in my hands. Okay, okay, I will admit it, I am not totally sure which tire is on the Hardrock Sport. I think it is 42’s. It is either that or 37’s. I will double check on that this week.
A manual fork lockout is a wonderful thing to have. Once those hills hit, I can lock out the fork so more power goes to the pedals. I do not want my effort cushioned by the front fork, making me work harder. I will be honest though, this is a trial. I have taken the road bike every year I have made the MS 150 ride. I know I can make it with no problems on the roadie.
Now the mountain bike needs some fine tuning before the ride. I still have to dial in the saddle (verify proper angle, front/back positioning and maybe even put my spare road saddle on it…or my Brooks), possibly tweak the rotation on the bars, and set up my MTB shoe cleats to the clipless SPD pedals I am installing. I think my cleat is positioned too far back, causing my feet to go slightly numb. The ball of the foot should be over the axle of the pedal, and I do believe I am slightly in front of it. If I am in front of it, it would explain the numbness. That will put pressure on the soft tissue, thus causing discomfort and reduction of circulation. This is where a mirror comes in handy. I can put the bike on the trainer and use a mirror to see how my foot sits over the axle. If I am correct, I will need to move the cleat towards the toe of my shoes. No worries, one of many things to check out before the ride!
I did install some bar ends that I had sitting around (not the exact style in the picture, but it was the closest I could find at UniversalCycles). This should help me get extra torque down when I am grinding up the hills. It also helps in that it gives me some extra hand positions than a typical riser bar has. I do not like numb hands, so changing positions is great. Keeps the blood flowing! Once I get the bike setup, I will take pictures so you all can see what I have done to it.
I also got a nifty bottle cage for my full suspension bike. Due to the rear shock mounting location, I am limited in water bottle space. I found that a Bontrager Satellite Sideswipe cage is perfect for it. I can pull the bottle out of the side of the cage, instead of the top. Due to my ability to tilt and then pull the bottle out, I can run a larger bottle. I usually had issues and fought to get a small bottle out of the cage. NO MORE! Now on the Hardrock Sport, I can use a typical cage for the down tube. However, I think I will upgrade the seat tube to this Bontrager cage, so I do not hit the top tube when pulling out the bottle. They make a carbon version, which is very nice. However, I cannot justify spending an extra $50 to save a few grams, so I will stick with the cheap $10 aluminum model, which really is not heavy at all. I like it when things truly do make life more simplistic!
Anyway, I just wanted to give you all an update. Feel free to comment and recommend suggestions to remove the numbness out of my feet!
Ride on my friends.
Trekridermark 