Dura Ace 7900 Shifters and Brakes arrive, and Dan fits a Tri-Bike..

From 7900 Shifters and Brakes Arrive for R3

Today the final pieces to the R3 puzzle arrived on my doorstep, so I rushed over after work to try to fit them on the R3 frame, to no avail.  Since Sondre was not at Cycling Concepts to explain how the shifter and brakes should be installed correctly, Dave and I decided not to tempt fate.  The 7900 shifters have all internal routing, that makes installation of the levers more intricate than I can handle myself.  There was also a question on the front brake installation that I was unsure of, so discretion is the better part of valour. 
In the middle of it all, there was a great orange hue from the sun setting over the bike shop, so save and I decided to go outside for a look, and found a new moon staring at us.  A beautiful sight for sure.  Upon returning, I found Dan in the middle of a Tri-Bike Fit for a Trinity College student.

From Tri Bike Fitting at Cycling Concepts by Dan

Dan checks the spin and hip angles, after setting the saddle height and fore and aft position.  Once the bike is fitted properly according to the riders specific body type, then the Stack and Reach can help to determine the correct frame geometry needed to accomodate the rider.  All TT and Tri-Bikes should be fitted properly before determining the correct bike frame, not the other way around according to Dan.  That make today sense to me, and can be the difference between successful riding position for mile to come.  This rider fit the P2 Cervelo over the Cannondale or the P3 or P4.  The P2 being the less expensive, and less aggressive version in the Cervelo line.  As Dr. Olcott used to say, "Proper planning prevert poor performance."  This seems to be an appropriate addage for the TT or Tri-Bike rider.
So, Friday will be, hopefully, the completion of the Cervelo R3 build up, with all Dura Ace Components throughout!  It will make me at least LOOK FAST!

Dog gone, ride to RI tomorrow!

Today I took the dog back to Lisa's where she belongs, and should have done it a long time ago.  Tomorrow Nick and I are riding to RI from Marlborough for the first time - 62 miles or 100k.  The weather is suppose to be nice, cool and dry, which should make the ride enjoyable.  The trip is downhill to the shore, so it won't be too tough a ride.  Taking a foldable wheel with us just in case, as both Nick and my tires are shedding near the bead a bit.  Not sure why that is happening.  A new tire is in order though in the near future.  Right now I am riding on Gator Skins and have Open Corsa's in the wings. 

Bike fitting in about an hour or so, therefore I need to start to get ready, and do some yoga in preparation.  My legs feel good and not too tight, but I need to stretch them out a bit before I get measured. 
Going to have some Chinese for dinner: Chicken in Garlic Sause over white rice...how nice!

CC Group Ride and Bike Fitting...

Today is a recovery day after last night's group ride out the Lymann Orchards.  I got dropped in middletown on the long hill between middletown and middlefield.  I then took a wrong turn leaving me out in the cold.  Keith, the shop owner was nice enough to ride back to me, as he and I road "smoothly" through middlefield.  Even though I got dropped, it was a great ride, and feel great today.  The ride was only about 25 miles, and that would be less than my normal ride anyway. 
Nick, Scott Sieka, and I went to Eli's afterward for beers and a chicken philly.  We literally waited 2 hours for dinner, and 45 minutes just to sit and get our first beer.  Paul Budney was suppose to meet us at Eli's but I did not see him, although the place was packed.  I was looking forward to see him and catching up on things.  On my was to eli's Boston's Don't Look Back was on the radio, Alice Cooper DJing.  I thought to myself, how ironic, but I couldn't help looking back as I listened to a song that was the staple of many a road trip...Riff. 
Today, I am getting re-fitted to my bike to fix an issue with the seat being too far back, and once again find my 'sweet' spot.  When I put the new seat post in, the rails clamps came loose and the seat shifted all the way back.  This caused me to push outward on the peddles, so I feel it in my hips and ass too much.  I need to be more on top of the peddles, which will give me more leverage, and better climbing.
Going out to Reggio to turn in some paperwork today.  I am going to try to go out on the bike route, and back to find a commuter lot to leave my truck in for my daily commute on bike.  No shower at work, but HealthTrax in Avon is across the street...NICE!

Spinerval: "Lean and Mean"

Well tonight was another indoor training session at Newington Cycle where we did Spinervals: Lean and Mean (60 minutes at near anaerobic threshold). This session was a Leg buster with shorter highly intense intervals followed by a main set of Progressive->Regressive sets.

This was the first session on my re-fitted Tommaso, after Scott from Berlin Cycle reworked my bike this weekend. Very comfortable tonight that translated into greater power in the saddle with much less shoulder and hand fatigue. Really felt like I could have road much longer when we finished, which was a nice feeling. Only thing, which Scott had warned me about, was that the new cable stretched and I need to get the rear Derailleur adjusted. I will bring it to Berlin tomorrow before my ride at Cycle Concept for the adjustments. Love the new Short Reach handlebars, and I can now ride in the drops much easier and comfortably.

I of course went to HealthTrax afterward for my HOT TUB STRETCHING ROUTINE, which I sincerely believe is the most beneficial part of my workout. It really helps me recover, and has helped me increase my flexibility 10 fold, (although it is still suspect). The whole routine takes about 1/2 hour, and feels great! One day I will have to document my routine for posterity.

Once home, I made a Spinach and greens salad with fresh Jalapeno peppers. The peppers were so hot my lips are still burning an hour later.

Tonight was my first night working out in XL Bike Choths! NICE! They even fit! LG Bibs with a Nike Base Layer, and base 8 shirt. Really Confy and tight enough to feel the conpression in the legs. My XXL shorts had lost that feeling. Still have a bit of a belly, but that will come,....HOPEFULLY....

A bit of a reflection here: Having been Obese with many health conditions that Doctors would have perscribed many drugs for to now where I have little or no symptoms is a great feeling. I believe tonight I was working harder than any other rider at the shop. Looking around I saw no one maxing out on sets, and suffering through them... I just got stronger as the workout progressed. NICE!

Just keepin' on!

Spin, Basketball and Bike Fitting

OK today was an intense day. I started the day with a 65 minute spin class, then did a quick ab workout, and one circuit of upper body with heavier weights, followed by a short but intense game of 1/2 court 3 on 3 basketball game. We played it to 15, but seemed like 100. Had to play against Nate, who is about 6'1" and a beast on the boards. The one great thing is he doesn't move much, and gave me the chance to run him off picks and enabled me to get my shot off easily. The only drawback was that the toll it took to block him off the boards, and his elbows when he tried to post me up. We did win the game though, and I make the final shot....NICE!

Afterward I went to Berlin Cycle for a fitting prior to the outdoor season beginning. They just built a new fitting studio, and Scott did a great job. He measure my flexibility angles, my inseam length, kneeling inseam length, and the length of my foot. I then got on the bike: First moving the seat down to 46mm and we leveled the seat: Then we measure the knee to pedal angle, which showed I needed to move my seat back a bit. I then needed a new stem and handlebars to move me up and out. Scott put on a 16 degree specialized aluminum stem and specialize short reach bars. This put me in a very comfortable position, and I hope leads to longer stronger rides.

I also bought new shoes, Shimano 131 because my Vittoria's are too big, a pair of specialized bib shorts, and Scott is going to put new handlebar tape and new cables on the bike. I had him put new cables on the bike so he would have to adjust the bike for the season start. I still have to buy new tires, Gatorskins, but won't put them on the bike until its road time. The only drawback is the loss of my WCS Carbon Stem, which gave the bike a soft ride at the bars, but with a carbon fork, that should be OK. If not, will be replacing the Specialized with a Carbon Stem for sure. I will be looking for one anyway....Like the look!

Tomorrow is another ride day, Spin, because Healthtrax is having a fund raiser, and offering a spin class on Sunday...NICE!