Glutton for Punishment

Earlier this month I wrote about Julian joining me for some cadence intervals which got a lot of positive comments.  He looked like he was going to keel over at the end and the lingering question was if he'd ride the trainer with me again.  Well, here's the answer:

You can hear me indicate "5" as in 5sec left in the 30sec high-cadence interval,

 and "rest" for the beginning of the 1min recovery.  There's also a hyper cheering monkey on the couch.

This was late in the session and for whatever reason my legs were already cooked, but Julian was still going strong.  Unlike last time when he finished collapsed over the bars, this time he still looked like he'd live.  It was a MUCH better session for him.  For me, I felt like it was horrible with only the very first interval (out of 10) being any good.  That was not the truth however.  For those who like to go sans computer, here's an argument for ...... it was my best ever cadence interval session.  The 1st interval was awesome, the 2nd thru 5th were above my norm and 6 thru 10 were weaker but not by as much as it seemed.  In reviewing the data post-ride I went from feeling pathetic to feeling decent about the evening's workout.


I know there are several of you out there who are just getting started in the world of cycling and have only recently ventured into the world of clipless pedals.  This story is for you .........

On Fathers' Day, I received an awesome gift from my family - a new pair of cycling shoes!  The new Specialized Pro Carbon shoes are a nice upgrade over the plastic-soled Specialized shoes I was using.  On top of that, I had a new set of Look Keo2Max Carbon pedals to install as an upgrade from my standard Keo pedals.  I spent time getting the cleats adjusted correctly and loosened the pedals a bit as they were really tight.  I was barely able to unclip after my first test run on the trainer.  I didn't loosen them as much as my previous set as I had recently popped out of my pedals on the move --- not a good thing!   Do you see where this is going?

Well, out on my ride I came up to an intersection with cars behind me, and a perfect storm of conditions led to a quicker stop than planned.  It had been a couple years since the last occurrence but there I was slowly falling over still clipped into my bike.  Bang!  Pride injured and wrist a little sore but no big deal.  Apparently I had gotten used to those ultra-loose pedals before.  Still, I have no plans on adjusting the new ones.  I'd rather adapt.  Better to fall over at a stop than to unintentionally come unclipped during a sprint!  Anyway, I thought you newer riders might enjoy knowing that clipless falls can happen to anyone at any time. It just takes the right set of conditions.  Hang in there!