Bike Fit Calculator

If you're looking to get a bike you need to start with the type and size. The type is easy, road, mountain, etc. The difficult part is figuring out what size to purchase, order, borrow, steal...

Help is out there and it can be done in the comfort of your own home with the help of a close friend.

This online fit calculator seems to to be the best out there and has helped many a friend; including myself get a perfect sized bike.

Last note, when you get that ideal bike you want to nail all the measurements, not just frame size but also, crank arm length, handle bar width and stem length. The more you can match the less you'll after to upgrade when you find your bike is uncomfortable.

http://www.competitivecyclist.com/za/CCY?PAGE=FIT_CALCULATOR_INTRO

My First Time Trial – Road Bike

Serious butterflies.

Ever year around this time it's the same thing. My training is at it's peak, the heat fuels my every workout and I want to compete, or just apply the work I've been doing, OK compete. This usually entails hours upon hours of looking over the races in the area, and I'm picky, too picky. This race seemed to be perfect. Every time i thought about it, butterflies in the stomach. It was a low overhead event, go there pay and race kind of thing. It was a 11.3 time trial put on by a local cycling club and seemed very informal which is exactly what I needed to cut my teeth on.

I've known about this TT for years now, however it always conflicted with the Wednesday group ride i do in Newburyport. Since I've been doing so may of those i figured one night off wouldn't hurt.

I was on the fence until the last minute. The day before the race, to help along the decision, I want out for a quick ride and wanted to see what my times would be so i could compare them to the results of the last TT race. The ride went well, putting me somewhere in the middle for my age group. However we all know that you can never reproduce the conditions of actually doing the race so a loose measure. So there is only one way to know.

Yancy Lent Self test: Mile 7 pace, 22.9, Mile 11 pace 22.0, Mile 16.7 pace 21.8. I was considering doing my first race tomorrow (time trial) but this got that out of my system; for now. Tuesday at 9:27pm

Even on the drive there i was hesitant, thunderstorms, raining, wondering if i exhausted all my energy the night before, did i get enough sleep, was I wasting money, blah, blah, blah. Or maybe i could do a drive by, wimp. I pulled in the parking lot and it looked like it was on. A long line of cars, at one point 3 people within 7 cars putting air in their high end time trial rigs. I was home.

I've recently learned something deep with regards to hobbies. No matter what hobby you are into, look at those you consider the most extreme in that hobby and if you aspire to emulate them, your home.

So slightly overwhelmed with the body types, rigs, teardrop helmets, it actually had a calming effect. I was able to relax and just do my race, i wasn't here to compete with them, just do the best i could and make sure i wasn't last.

I went to the reg table, all 210 pounds of me; down from 220 in winter, and told them "im totally new". They asked if going in the beginning was OK, sure, get it over with early, they put me in position 8. I asked two questions, when would i start and what do the markers on the road look like? It was 5:38, my start time was 6:04. Given my single greatest fear was taking a wrong turn I studied the map and even road for a couple miles to see the first turn... no marker. Either way I'd manage.

It was good to get out for a little bit to turn over the legs and get some fluids in. This may have been my first _road_ bike race but I've done, but I have done tons of road races, they're all basically the same, you stress then everything just pans out. This would be no different. When i got back to the starting line, i was ready.

We lined up by number and went every :30 seconds. Two concerns, start my bike computer as close as possible and clip in fast, to the correct gear. I did notice my wife's friend and riding partner starting 2 or 3 places in font of me. All my other goals went away, I had someone to pass.

I got to the starting line and waited for a very fast 30 seconds and was off. I tried my best to just relax and keep a steady 26 mph. It was all about the breathing, I knew i would go anaerobic it's just a matter of when so pushing that out was key. There were some small rolling hills. I only got off my seat twice in order to not push it. The roads were perfect and at about mile 5 I passed the guy in front of me. Then another mile or so later, Johanna's friend; couldn't for the life of me remember her name, i blame nerves. At about this point another person was in view, the roads were long. I tried to catch her but never did and in the process got passed by the guy behind me. If you saw the two of us together you never guess that, even though he finished a little bit on front of my, i ended up beating him. He was tricked out, tri bike, full body suite, tear drop helmet and the body of a tour rider, it feed my deflated ego. The three of us finished with about a football field of each other with those two together and me behind.

I was happy with my pace of 23.4 but never thought to look at my time, for me 23.4 is way more telling of the effort then the number of minutes it took to do 11.3 miles. So that's what i looked at. When i got back to the results table, I was told my time was just under 29 minutes which is exactly where i wanted to be because that is roughly the middle of the age group pack on the last race. However i was pleasantly surprised when the official results were posted on line. 29:09 and 15th out of 18! 35 out of 50, wow, humbling. This lead to some confusion because my pace on the road and the time i was given didn't sync with the final results and it looked like the guy in 14th had what my time should have been.... and then you find yourself reading into 14th place instead of 15th place out of 18th.... talk about desperation.

After the race I had a great talk with Kelli, after asking her name. She is in a very structured tri program and was headed out for a 1 mile run. She is doing 6 tri's this summer and i wish her all the luck in the world.

Only the future will tell if i do it again. I'm guessing after a few rides in the future I'll convince myself i can do better and end up there bike in tow. Over all a great experience and looking to the future seemed like a bunch of people i could see myself hanging out with.

Yancy Lent First bike race ever tonight. A time trial put on by a local club. Not sure of my place yet but if I use the last race as a guide 7th out of 10 in 35 to 45 age group. 11.3 miles, pace 23.4 mph. Wednesday at 9:28pm via Facebook for iPhone

Things I would do different for next time:

• Clean and oil my chain the day before.
• Drink more water during the day
• Eat a power bar or two an hour before the start.
• Get a longer ride in before hand, i think i only did 3 or 4 miles
• Bring a pump
• Spend more time fixing my number to my side.
• Not go all out the night before
• Go to bed early the night before
• Don't eat a burrito for lunch
• Practice the start

Things that worked:

• Borrowing a pump and making sure my tires were good
• Having the correct amount of fluids (one water bottle)
• Got there a little early
• Not starting on fresh legs
• Tightened my shoes a little more then usual.
• Multi Vitamin at 2pm (who really knows)

Wednesday Night Group Rides: 2010

I'm a group ride junkie. For the past couple of years the fix has happened in Newburyport with a  local bike shop. Their Wed night ride is absolutely exhilarating.

It's the one time a week where you see if you have the legs to keep up with the big dogs. It's no a race, but only the fastest see it that way, everyone else, that doesn't race, goes all out.

Route Map: https://runkeeper.com/user/yancylent/activity/12470028

May 26: First group ride of the year, pure awesome. Stayed with a group of 6 evenly matched but all over the place riders; including me. 36 miles at 20.1 mph avg. Learned about http://www.steephill.tv/  after the ride, apparently they have tons of race videos.

June 2: Group ride #2. 48 hours of recovery from Monday's 112 mile ride wasn't enough, regardless finished up there with the group i was aiming to finish with so i can't complain. 36 miles at 21.2 mph avg.

June 9: Group Ride #3. Wind, the other hill work out. 36 miles at 20 mi/h; rounding, we were at a social pace strolling in at the end. Nightmares tonight for sure, about that fire truck that almost took out the 8 guys in front of me, came around a dangerous corner; we were at fault. Small group, potential rain, and wind scared... a lot of people off, nothing but fast guys, i got dropped half way through; next week.

June 16: Rained out.

June 23: Group Ride #4? Last weeks was canceled; rain. Tonight 37.6 miles at 20.8. Confirmed, well maybe i suspected, the fast guys im always trying to keep up with (along with everyone else) are CAT 2 and CAT 3 (they race). They were all somewhere else tonight so all those that usually finish together road together, however the...re was only a pack of 4 that finished first About 14 started.

June 30: This was one of the best simply because who wasn't there, the elite group. IT was a group of 10 like talent riders that pealed off to 4, the fastest of the group 2 riders. Also great because someone I've befriended (Mark) gave me a few pointers which I always appreciate, and gave me the compliment that i should do time trials because of my steady speed... which i can't wait to do.

July 7: Wed Group Ride: Chose the fast group
and was able to hang until mile 16 where they slowly slipped away.
Then no man's land. Tried like mad to catch them for 21+ miles while
simultaneous staying ahead of the second group. When I arrived in the
parking lot, dripping with sweat and out of breath one of the fast guy's asked
...“did you do the whole route?” I'll take it as a compliment. (I did). 37.6mi@20.0mph (hot night).

Commute Transformation

It started two years ago. I noticed a guy riding his bike east on 133 in Rowley, MA. Given we both travel opposite ways, at about the same time, over a 6 mile stretch, I'm bound to see him a lot. Given cycling is a hobby of mine naturaly I started paying attention.

What i noticed early on was how out of his element he seemed. His atire, bike and handling were all in a constant state of struggle and it reaked of a chore to move forward. I would wonder why he was communing (the bags were a give away) on a bike. The thinking got deeper when i saw him in inclement weather, was it a goal, a dare, a bet, or maybe loss of license or change income? The only thing I did know was his dedication.

Over the months the kinks worked their way out, his outfit became more condusive to the ride. His fit, gate or handeling of the bike went from awkard to pushing the limites of the bike, and then one day he was on an actual road bike. His clothing was better but you could tell his body had changed and he was putting a lot of power into his effort.

Checking out his progress has be come part of my subconscious daily check list, what would be different today?

Well today, the butterfly spread it's wings. This morning he had a full on matching kit (bike shorts, shirt, etc) and he was hammering the peddles. It was a pretty cool site. Now it's just a matter of time before he gets a bike upgrade.

Kangamangus Highway 2010

It's a shame i didn't capture this event in a blog sooner to it actually happening. It's now a month later i'll try my best to recap. Below are the notes from my 2nd trip on this road.

It all started with serious uncertainty between Graham, myself and Mark. We wanted to do the Kank but the ran looked really bad and we had only Saturday to make it happen. We monitored the weather maps for hours and had plans. They were in order, do that Kank no matter what, me drive down alone to Graham's to do a ride around his place, featuring a trip into NYC, or a trip around Mt. Wachusett. NYC was out, and last minute we decided we'd get wet regardless so the Kank, ran or shine it was.

7am at my place. We loaded up the very cool FJ Cruiser with my rack and headed North, but only after breaking my favorite coffee cup. In hindsight i could have taken this as a sign but didn't. We got a little rain on the way but but nothing to right home about.

We arrived at the perfect parking spot in Lincoln, NH and got ready and before we knew it we were on the bikes headed east at a blistering pace, Graham was flying, well for mile 1-4 he was. It went on to rain for the first 2 hours. We were soaked but not complaining, funny how that works. We stopped at the top for some adjustments and headed down, this was slightly scary since it was full on raining and it was a road, with 2 ton cars on it.

After miles of coasting we started the trip North up Bear Notch Road. In the two times i've done this road it's never seemed like a big challenge in comparison to the other climbs of the day, however staying on my bike was another story. We stopped for a bio brake and the sand on the side of the road was pretty deep, instead of correcting my front wheel at the expense of breaking something i chose to fall over, with Graham watching causing both of us to laugh. Nothing more then a sand wound that the rain eventually fixed.

The trip down Bear Notch was awesome and the trip east on 302 was fast. We were going to hit the store on our map for drinks but we were good. Going from me doing it solo to having three us made for very fast times.

We went around the bend to 16 South and stopped at Flat Bread Pizza and each had one, then stocked up on coffee and drink. From there we tried to get to a back road but after one failed attempt, im not pointing fingers Graham, we decided to take it all the way down to 112. I was pretty happy we made this choice. This gave us a measurable target, the top was about 22 miles away so we could monitor the effort. The trip west up the Kank is so much harder in my opinion, and not just because it starts at mile 70 of our effort. It's relentless.

Last year, this part was a near religions experience, one day I'll brush off the draft i wrote and publish to this site, this year things were better, it was cooler, no sun and plenty of water on hand. I accomplished my goal, once again, of not putting my foot down until reaching the sign at the top. Once again the accomplishment was very special, some things don't loose their luster. We all grouped at the look out. Graham was always ahead of my and I tired like mad to catch him but he had the better legs and went out of sigh maybe 6ish miles from the top. He was up first, then me and then we both cheered on Mark who opted not go to the sign but instead pull into the look out area. When telling him to go for the sign there were some choice words expressed in jest so we just left it at that, i didn't pry.

We spent a little longer at the top, taking pictures having others take our pictures, it was fun, but not as much fun as the show we missed but Graham was privy to, a handful of Harley guys downing a 100 proof bottle of So Co; all driving and well lubricated, unreal.

On the way down we pushed the speed a little. As it started to flatten out a little I hit "E", it was something I hadn't felt in some time. I went up this little hill and it felt like people were pulling me backwards. Mark and Graham put it into high gear and finished about a half mile in front of me.

It all went by so fast. In the parking lot i tried out Graham's 56cm PedalForce. It was strange to say the least, he has a very aggressive setup, handle bars down, seat jacked up... and it almost fit me but it did feel strange, too compact. and the cockpit was almost non existent on the count of the smaller size. I didn't feel i had full range of leg motion, all what you'd expect when dropping down a size. Other then that it weighted in the 15's, who wants a bike that light .

This brings us to dinner, once again, time flies by, it was already dinner time. There we are leaving after breakfast to go out for a ride and now that we're finished we're having dinner... and beers. That's always the best part. The burger joint we stopped at was amazing. Forget the name but if in ever in the area again, that good. We got home late, forget the exact time, maybe 10?

What next? Next time I might be traveling to Graham's neck of the weeds to do some Upstate NY riding. The sooner the better.

Roller Racing

roller racing

Every once and a while a video smacks you in the face. A friend of mine is putting on a charity event, the focus, Roller Racing at a local bar. It was nice that he included in the invite... "google it", so I did. This was the first video I watched and goosebumps were a fly'n. This video rocks, the music and the intense counter culture that I remember vividly from my OR visit a couple years ago. I truly would like to make the event this Sunday. If you live in the Boston area and want to show off your spinning skills visit Bike Dirty.

When does Cycling season officially start?

Ever sport I've ever followed has had an opening day. Cycling is no different. It starts with the Spring Classics (one to a few days in length) and then leads up to the grand tours, Italy, France and Spain (there are only 3) with other major races sprinkled in between.

The part I struggle with is, not only is cycling my favorite sport to watch but its also my favorite sport to take part in. I don't race per say but i do ride a lot either alone, with clubs or in triathlons. So the opening day is two part, my version and the established sports version.

So the question is what is my opening day. I've heard Paris-Nice is the opening race of the season as the history of the sport goes; the almost brand new Tour of California has already passed. But when does it start for me.

It seems to happen in stages, all leading up to late Spring where I am slightly/completely (depending who you ask) obsessed with it all. The first spark this year was watching the Tour of California on my treadmill. I was running for the first time not as prep for road races but to prep for the cycling season. Don't get me wrong i still love running; its just this Summer I'm focusing on the bike.

The next spark was Bicycling Magazine's Annual Buyers Guide that arrived a couple weeks ago. Now this year i didn't walk around the house with it in my hands all weekend like last year when I was in the market for a new bike, maybe just a few hours. I actually have to stop myself from spending too much time memorizing all the new details on all the new bikes and components. It's just like any other hobby.

The next trigger, tonight's event on Versus which starts a string of other races on Sunday nights that are all already in my Blackberry; with reminders set.

There are two other steps to follow. Getting out there for the first road ride and going for the first group ride of the season.

The more it snows the longer it stays cold the longer I find myself starring at my bike as I walk past.

I can't wait for the nice weather!