Radical changes to my Bacchetta Ti Aero

Over the past half year I've made a number of significant changes to my Bacchetta Ti Aero.

• Swapped out the `gooseneck' riser for a 10.75" straight pipe riser with a 130 mm road bike stem;
• Swapped out the stock tweener handlebars (18" wide) for a `extra parts' set of Musashi handlebars that have 2.5" longer reach on each side but are 1.5" wider;
• Drilled an extra hole in the CF hard shell seat and moved it up, closer to the riser, by 1";
• Reclined the CF hard shell seat as far back as it will go;
• Sawed off the front 2.25" of the CF hard shell seat;
• Sawing off the CF hard shell allowed me to further file and `shape' the end of the CF hard shell, making it narrower, more rounded. 

Why?

• The gooseneck riser was too tall to see past when in a reclined position. It was also too `spongey' when I pulled hard on it when accelerating;
• The goosneck riser was too close in when steeply reclined resulting in my knees hitting the handlebars. This reduced my power significantly;
• Adding the 130 mm road bike stem pushed the handlebars out enough so that my knees didn't hit it;
• When I pushed the handlebars out with that long road stem and reclined the seat as far back as wanted I couldn't reach the handlebars so I installed the longer Musashi handlebars; Pulling the CF hard shell seat further close to the riser allowed me to reduce the leg extension from the seat to the pedals and increase what, for me, is a major source of watt / power generation (I'm fortunate to have peasant farmer knees so I feel no pain or extra stress to the knees in a tightly bent position);
• The ADEM headrest perfectly suits the radically reclined CF seat, allowing my head to be almost a right angle to the plane of the ground;
• Sawing off the front of the CF hard shell seat reduced the unnecessary `upcurve' that made my butt feel like it was in a bucket;
• Narrowing and rounding the end of the CF hard shell seat allows my thighs to fit more comfotably on the seat.

1. I still have a problem with the riser interfering with my ability to see the road ahead of me.
2. I still have a problem with feeling like I'm going to crack off the riser when I pull on the handlebars for steep/fast hill climbing and sudden high watt accelerations.
3. I don't see an advantage to going from a riser to a tiller steering mechanism. Too much of a power / watt trade-off

These changes accomodate the changed goals for my riding from last year to this year. Last year I wanted to `endure, last and finish' long events (RAW, etc). This year the events I have lined up have power and speed, i.e., `racing,' as the goal.

The changed goals have meant that I have radically altered my indoor training program during the off season.

Garmin and Intensity

I'm using the Garmin 705 with all functions except time and HR turned off. These data below illustrate the Maximum Sustained Power efforts and the overall HR through the training session.

Like I said a while back I have a hard time restraining myself on the indoor training.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/63637127
 

Ammo

And then there was the time, as a teenager, I planned to ride my Schwinn Varsity 10 speed around both Lake Michigan and Lake Superior in 1964. I had never ridden the bike more than 40 miles.

I discovered that, outside of Chicago, there were farms. And on every farm there were dogs. And dogs love to chase guys on bikes. Never knew that.

After getting about 120 miles out of Chicago I found myself being chased, relay fashion, from one farm to the next farm by the family dogs.

So, in Whitewater, Wisconsin, I pulled up to a hardware store, leaned my bike against the window and went in. I asked the clerk if he had a gun. I needed protection "...for the road." He said `sure!' and I bought a 22 calibre nine-shot pistol. Just like that. As I'm walking out the door the clerk says to me ... "Hey. Want some ammo?" I turned to him: "What's `ammo?'"

And then I rode another 30 or 40 miles with a loaded pistol in my right hand. The palm of my hand was resting on the handlebar.

Occasionally I'd fire off a round at a road sign. Once I shot down a farm driveway when a dog came charging out. Dog turned around literally in mid-air when the rocks in front of it kicked up from the bullet.

Later, I decided to ride a highway that was ristricted to motor vehicles. A state cop pulled me over, pistol in my hand. He told me to get off the restricted hiway and go back to the farm roads. !! He completely ignored the pistol that was conspicuous as could be.

The picture tells the rest of the story. http://picasaweb.google.com/psychling/Ammo#

Adolescent ignorance knows no limits.

Happy trails.

Time to drop the weight ...

From September to last night I purposely ignored watching what I ate or drank. Fortunately, I'm not excessive by nature. But it was nice to `get off the treadmill' of that.

Today is January 1st and not a bad time to begin exercising some restraint and judgment.

• I'm going to miss my eggs and bacon.
• Goodbye to a nice shot of single malt every now and then.
• Two of things instead of just one of them.
• Getting up in the middle of the night and happily noshing while I check email.

Goodbye, old friends.

• A conscious mental calculation of caloric intake v outgo.
• Down one or two lbs per week ... MAX.
• More discipline across several domains in my life.

It will probably cause me to delude myself into thinking I'm pushing back the pale of morbidity and mortality.

I'll probably get hit by an 18 wheeler and decorate the front grill of a Mack truck. BUT ... the upside is that such a fate is better than a nursing home.

And I feel like I've contributed to one of my favorite interests: archaeology. I have two titanium teeth. I can't wait to be discovered a few millions years from now. But ... of course, I'll have to wait.

Down, now, to the `cellar to spank igor'.

Ninety minutes of fat burning aerobics.