May Summary

May, oh boy what a month. Work was cray cray crazy! A project I am on took over nights, days and the time in between. I knew it was coming and I did my best to prepare and brace for it but there were a few days when I was up 24 hours or more straight. I had to be realistic and put the bike aside as required. That essentially carved out 8 days over two weeks when I was off the bike. Not ideal, but I needed to be switched on for work and that’s what pays the bills. At the end of the two weeks I picked up my mountain bike and went and had some fun just to get my mind back in the game. This was followed up with the TrainerRoad 8DC ride, they didn’t do this challenge themselves but I found last years and rode the first 7 days piling on over 190 miles in the week. Here is how the month shook out in the end.

Tarveling to Kansas on Thursday…Dirty Kanza here we come!

Dirty Kanza 200; Race Rig Test

Dirty Kanza is coming and I just got my bike back from having a pretty serious rebuild. Based on my experience from the Rock Cobbler and the gentle crash at Strada Rosso I made some serious changes to the overall set up.

First up was stripping all the SRAM off of it except the cassette which is a 12-32. Shimano doesn’t make one that big in 10 speed. I repurposed the Shimano Ultegra Shifters from my road bike rebuild. I added a CX-50 (46/36) crankset. The front derailleur was also replaced with a CX50 version. This follows the narrower circumference of the chain-rings and should make for easier shifting vs. using an Ultegra derailleur. An Ultegra Long Cage rear derailleur was fitted at the rear

The drivetrain was connected with a KMC Chain which has link cut-outs, this should drop any mud I pick up and save a bit of weight.

The brakes I left alone and were the TRP Spyre mechanical disc brakes.

I have finally decided on tires. I will run Clement MSO Xplor 40mm front and 32mm rear, I am a bit worried about mud clearance and while the 40s do fit in the back it’s tight!

I took the bike out for a test ride over some of the gnarliest terrain I could find and it held up perfectly. I was able to ride up slopes that were around 20% and some MTBers were walking up and down slopes and single track that would make be baulk on my dualy!

So with all that said, bike is ready! Ten days to go!

Dirty Kanza 200; Weeks 3 & 4

This week and the next was always going to be tough. A crazy project work schedule had me working through the night and on weekends. Rather than freaking out about it I just decided to think of it as enforced rest over the 14 days I was able to ride my bike 6 times so I’ll combine them into one post.

Monday Trails and Recovery. Always nice to spin my legs in the dust. Also a good oppotunity to spin up the new gearing. Found a new trail. The view was terrible!

Tuesday Sufferfest The Wretched Finally able to ride as strong as I should be able to. Listening to my body and not over-cooking things on Sunday and having a bit of fun paying off! Less than 4 weeks to DK200.15 min warm up and the The Wretched;7:00 warm-up. 35:00 featuring flats, three major climbs, three very short descents, a valley and a rolling run in to the finish. 4:00 Cool down.

Wednesday Sufferfest The Long Scream. 5 mins warm up and then 30 mins on increasing effort just under and the just over FTP. Equaled best 30 min effort of 241. Hard work but I am not feeling crushed by it!

Thursday and Friday was all about work. This was my sleep schedule from my Garmin Fenix3

Saturday FTP Test. The work schedule has me working in the middle of the night several days this week including being up for 30 hours straight. So I ended up being off the bike for two days straight. My legs were well rested and it seemed like a good time to do a test. Added an extra warm up to verify legs felt good. Rode 4x5 minutes strong, rest, build, all out. Very happy my FTP went up from 243 to 249.

Sunday thru Friday was off and at work

Saturday Recovery. Mental Release, crazy 10 days of work including nights and weekends. First ride of the week!

Sunday …took the Lynskey out for a test ride on the upgraded gears! You can read about that here!

Ok so no totals, I got done what I could get done. Time to move on!

Bye Bye 3x! Hello Two-by!

It’s inherent as a bike owner that you want to change things…or maybe that’s me!?! I have had my Orbea Occam 29er for a couple of years now and having put some miles on it while waiting for parts etc I decided to pull the trigger and go from a Triple to a 2X. Less shifting, less weight, less complex! I am never in the big ring, it’s completly redundant!

I hunted around and found a drivetrain (cranks fornt and rear deraillieur) that was used with low mileage, picked up a new chain and cassette and I was good to go. Having ridden it for a couple of months now it’s defiantly an improvement, the only thing I am missing is that super climbing ability that I had before.

Maybe I will put on bigger cassette down the line but until then I will just pedal harder or faster!

Dirty Kanza 200; Week 2

Just stacking the hay in the barn now!

Monday; TrainerRoad Recovery Petit-1. Probably a bit too ambitious to throw the weighted flywheel on the trainer so I took it off after 40 mins as my legs were not happy and scoffed a gel too.

Tuesday Sufferfest Angels. Quick warm up including 10 mins of over/unders at threshold, followed by 3 x 8 minute climbs with surges and attacks, 4 min rest intervals cool down. Still struggling with anything above FTP and even getting to that is a challenge, that said 20 miles in the hour and I am happy!

Wednesday Sufferfest The Hunted. 15 min warm up then the main workout, which has an extended warm up and then 20 minutes of climbing, 4 mins rest and then a 5 min fast run in followed by by on offs 10/50 down to 5/10. Felt that I was working harder than last week but had a marginal lower NP for the ride

Thursday TrainerRoad Collins Steady hour mostly at high Z2 or Z3

Friday Sufferfest The Extra Shot 15 min warm up 20 min main set at racing sim, 10 min cool down, fell off the pack after 15 mins into race tried to bridge but came in with the grupetto

Saturday Sufferfest ISLAGIATT Lots of hard work, speed is but but overall effort is down. Still struggling to hit the highs. Hopeful to ride myself back up to my FTP in the next month

Sunday #HT&E(Here there and everywhere) Plan said 2.5 hours Z2, super windy so stuck local and threw in some climbs. Legs are tired from a big week of intensity vs mileage

Just under 10 hours and just over 171 miles. Second good build week in a row! Work is going to blow up soon so that will make a dent!

Dirty Kanza 200; Week 1

With only 5 weeks until DK200 it’s time to double down on the that training block.

Monday off

Tuesday; Sufferfest HHNF solid warm up followed by the usual ass kicking!

Wednesday; TrainerRoad Beech; Following The Sufferfest 3 Week climbing plan. Today was 75 mins with 15 mins w/u/c/d w/45 mins at Z3. Used TR Beech. Nice solid set. oops forgot HR Strap

Thursday; off

Friday; TrainerRoad The Hunted. Two mile warm up and then into the main set. Still 10-12% below the target but pleased with the pace

Saturday; Sufferfest The Rookie but on the road. Had to pick up car and ride The Rookie so combined both. First 10 miles had a couple of climbs and then I rode the 3x10 min sets around the lake then a cool down to the garage. Got a call from work at the end so I was stuck on the side of the road for 10 mins.

Rule #25 by a factor of 7! Well maybe 6 after new engine mounts and a valve cover gasket change! Car is on 203,000 miles and counting!

Sunday; local Conejo/Ojai Loop. Started on the Cruising Conejo loop and then headed for the Ojai ride but realized it was too much of a stretch for today. Rode back via Grimes.

Grimes Canyon…it really is a hairpin!

Pretty solid week with just over 10 hours and 177 miles.

Review; Zinn & The Art of Road Bike Maintenance

So the good folks at VeloPress sent me the newest edition of Zinn and Art of Road Bike Maintenance. I am fortunate (or not?) to have simple road bikes. They are manual, not electronic shifting with mostly external cabling. My ability to maintain my own bikes have progressed from changing a tire to being able to set up my gearing. I have changed stems, bars and posts without issues. I haven’t quite gotten to a crankset change but I am sure my time will come! The only way to really learn these things is to dig in, some lessons that I have learned;

• Be prepared for things to take 50% longer than you need
• Make sure you have the right tools for the job in hand
• Be patient
• Saturday night may not be the best time to try something new or complex if your LBS is shut on Sunday!

So with that said on with the review, from the publishers;

Lennard Zinn, the world's leading expert on bicycle maintenance and repair, has released the new fifth edition of his best-selling guide Zinn & the Art of Road Bike Maintenance. Offering simple step-by-step instructions to vintage components as well as the newest shifting, braking, cyclocross, forks, and bottom bracket systems, Zinn's fifth edition is the most complete resource for DIY bike service. Zinn & the Art of Road Bike Maintenance is the world's best-selling guide to bicycle repair and maintenance. From basic repairs like how to fix a flat tire to advanced overhauls of drivetrains and brakes, Lennard Zinn's clearly illustrated guide makes every bicycle repair and maintenance job easy for everyone.

Zinn's friendly step-by-step guide explains the tools you'll need and how to know you've done the job right. The book's two-color interior is easy to read-even in a dimly-lit garage or workshop. Hundreds of hand-drawn illustrations and exploded parts diagrams show just the right level of detail to lead you through every bicycle repair task. What's New in Zinn & the Art of Road Bike Maintenance, 5th Ed.:

• New tech covered in depth: through-axle forks,  SRAM eTap wireless shifting, second generation Shimano and Campagnolo electronic shifting, direct-mount sidepull brakes, SRAM X-Sync 1x11 cyclocross systems, tubular tire gluing tapes.
• New chapter on electronic shifting covers maintenance, service, repair, and troubleshooting of all Shimano, SRAM, and
  Campagnolo electronic shifting groups.
• New chapter on disc brakes covers maintenance, service, and repair of all hydraulic and mechanical systems.
• New troubleshooting charts
• New master guide to press-fit bottom brackets

Also covered in the 5th edition: All derailleur shifting systems (5-speed through 11-speed); all bottom bracket systems (cone-and-cup through press-fit); all brake systems (including caliper, V-brake, cantilever, and disc); all headset, stem, handlebar and fork systems; wheelbuilding for all bikes including cyclocross and disc-brake wheels; special sections on cyclocross throughout including troubleshooting, maintenance, service, repair, and equipment selection; updated and expanded torque tables; complete illustration index and complete subject index.

Lennard Zinn is the world's leading expert on bike maintenance and repair. He is a world-renowned bicycle technician, frame builder, and tech writer for VELO magazine and VeloNews.com. Zinn was a member of the U.S. national racing team and has been riding and fixing bikes for nearly 50 years. A professional frame builder for his business Zinn Cycles, Lennard hosts the popular bike tech Q&A column on VeloNews.com.

As with anything the proof is in the pudding. My recent crash at Strada Rosso prompted me to sit down and actually figure out how to dial in my SRAM chainset. SRAM was new to me as all my bikes have Shimano but while the pieces are in different places the principles were the same. I pulled the book off the shelf sat down and read it. Then with the book in hand I approached the bike. 20 minutes I was set, Rear Derailleur mastered. My only reference point was the book! Mission accomplished!

The book is broken down into 17 key areas these range from emergency Repairs to specific areas of the bike i.e. Forks or Pedals. Within each section there are sub sections which relate to the specific items in hand, in my case above I started with Section 5 cable actuated Shifting Systems then 5.3 Adjustment of Rear Derailleur and Right Hand Shifting…slow down and read the manual! Seriously easy! Each Chapter lists the tools I need and each major task has a Complexity level. This way you won’t find yourself in the deep end with no tools and an anvil tied around your ankle! There are plenty of hand drawn illustrations and a picture is always worth a 1000 words, many of which have exploded views. Personally I find these easy to understand than photographs which can be confusing.

Available everywhere, the MSRP is $26.95 I am sure this will drop in a few months.

This is definitely a book you need to have on your bookshelf and for the price of a couple of inner-tubes you can!

This Product was provided by VeloPress. See previous gear reviews in the Reviews tab above. If you have a product you’d like reviewed, contact me at quadrathon@gmail.com