Do It Yourself - Aerodynamics

Great article on a few simple steps you can take to make your ride more aero - it's by Bicycling Magazine's Joe Lindsey. I was going to just post the link, but web-articles have a habit of disappearing on me and I'd really like to be able to read this one again, so I'll post it here in it's entirety. Enjoy!

D.I.Y. Aero - by Joe Lindsey

On a flat road, as much as 95 percent of a rider's energy is used to overcome wind resistance, says Todd Carver, who runs Retul, a bike-fitting company in Boulder, Colorado. Just 20 percent of that drag comes from the bike - 80 percent of it is from you. At the same time, Scott Holz, an instructor for Specialized's BG Fit program, says that he sees more mis-fit triathletes than any other group of cyclists. Here's how to tweak your road bike for fit and efficiency.

1. Attach clip-on aerobars. Don't worry about the position at this point, you'll tweak it later.
2. Move the saddle forward and/or swap your seatpost. One of the most common conversion fit mistakes: slapping on aerobars but leaving the saddle where it is. If you're effectively moving the handlebar forward, you need to move your body too. Think of it as rotating yourself forward around the bottom bracket, like hands on a clock. Your elbows should be 2 to 3cm behind the rear edge of the aero-bar pads, with a roughly 110-degree angle at the elbow. For road bike fit, a plumb line dropped from the rider's forward knee (with crankarms level) should pass just in front of the pedal spindle. For ideal tri fit, you want your knee farther forward, 1 additional centimeter in front of the pedal spindle for every centimeter of height difference between the saddle and the aero pads. You may need a two-position post, depending on how much adjustment your seat rails offer.
3. Correct saddle height and angle. Moving a seat forward also effectively lowers it. You want about a 30-degree bend in your knee when the crankarms are perpendicular to the ground. (Note: This is a different measure than the one used for road bike fit.) A normal road position has a level seat, but for a multisport fit, you should rotate the saddle downward one degree for every centimeter of drop between the seat and the aero-bar pads, up to eight degrees. This will allow you to roll your hips forward and open up your hip angle for a more natural pedaling style.
4. Dial in your back angle. If the aero extensions are too high, move a steerer-tube spacer or two above the stem, or flip a positive-angle stem upside down, or both. Ideally, your back will be flat like Dave Zabriskie's, but spinal flexibility may limit you. If the bars are too low, consider a higher-rise stem.
5. Tweak your bars. The key here is to decrease frontal area as much as comfortably possible. Align the elbow pads so your elbows sit directly in line with your hands. It's fine to create a wider "stance" on the bar by increasing the distance between the extensions; just keep your forearms pointing straight, not angled inward, which increases drag.

If, after some break-in time, you can't stay in your tuck over the distance of your goal race (cornering, climbing and tricky descents excluded,) then your position is too aggressive, says Specialized's Holz. For sprint tris or time trials that last less than an hour, your position should be as aggressive as you can tolerate. For Olympic-distance events or a 40-kilometer time trial, increase your torso angle five degrees. For a half-Ironman, add five to 10 degrees, and for a full Ironman, 10 or more degrees.

When in doubt, choose comfort over aerodynamics. You'll go faster in a less aerodynamic position if you can reliably produce lots of power over a longer period of time. That said, with any aero position you will probably give up some amount of power compared with your road position, but that's okay. "Cyclists are macho and like to focus on power," says University of Utah researcher Jim Martin, who consults on aerodynamic efficiency with the Australian Institute of Sport. "If you give up a few percentage points in power output, but gain that same amount in aerodynamic efficiency, you'll still go faster."

This article can be found in its original location at http://www.bicycling.com/article/0,6610,s1-1-4-17600-1,00.html

Awesome cycling quote I found on the web...

"To be a cyclist is to be a student of pain. At cycling's core lies pain, hard and bitter as the pit inside a juicy peach. It doesn't matter if you're sprinting for an Olympic medal, a town sign, a trailhead, or the rest stop with the homemade brownies. If you've never confronted pain, you're missing the essence of the sport. Without pain, there's no adversity. Without adversity, no challenge. Without challenge, no improvement. No improvement, no sense of accomplishment and no deep-down joy. Might as well be playing Tiddly-Winks." - Scott Martin

A Dirty Chain Comes Clean

Bike chains get filthy - there's no way around it. Mine, however, has gone way beyond filthy into something I can't describe. So, with a little more of that tax refund money, I decided a chain bath would be a sound investment and, man, I couldn't have been more right. I picked up a Park Tool "Chain Gang" cleaning system this afternoon, and went to work on my chain sometime later. Again, lacking a maintenance stand (why haven't I bought one of those yet?) this job was kind of a pain. Trying to keep the bike from falling over, turning the cranks, and holding the chain bath in place all at once requires more hands than I have, but I got it done... eventually. The Park Tool Chain Gang did a heck of a job - that citrus cleaner isn't playing around - it made my chain sparkly clean. It also made a huge mess of everything other than my chain. Seriously - if you use one of these, follow the directions and lay down some newspaper or cardboard, because it's going to get ugly. The derailleurs, cranks, chain-rings, frame and (worst of all) my hands, were an absolute mess - but it got the job done. One filthy rag and ten minutes later, the bike was clean again. Anyway, long story short, the Chain Gang is a small investment that I think will pay dividends later in terms of lengthened component life. And in case you're wondering, no - I didn't get it on sale, and yes, that is a hard pill to swallow. I'll post some before and after photos below - hopefully they'll be large enough for you to see the significant difference between a dirty chain and a clean chain.

Dirty

and Clean

Aerobars

Well, "wanting" those aerobars didn't last too long (I love tax refunds.) On Saturday, Amber and I went down to All 3 Sports - a local triathlon shop to pick up my aerobars. Needless to say, I had done my research (probably more than was neccessary, but hey, that's just me.) I'd decided to go with the Profile Design T1+Viper Carbon Fiber aerobars and, true to form, I got them on sale. After a few more shopping stops along our way, Amber and I set to installing the new bars at home. Thanks to her incredible help, the process was actually pretty smooth - I only almost blew my top once or twice... maybe three times. Had she not been there, however, I would have been a little screwed without a maintenance stand - I'm really beginning to appreciate how valuable one of those would be. Anyway, here's a picture of the handlebars pre and post installation. And after...

Thus, with the bars installed and adjusted to fit me, it was time for a quick spin before we headed out to dinner. I haven't done any serious mileage with the aerobars yet, but I'm sure they'll more than pay for themselves - both in comfort added, and wind resistance reduced. I taped up the ends of the bars using some Profile Design camo(ish) tape, which I think looks pretty cool. Here's my girl Dixie with the finished product - enjoy!

2007 Trek 1000

I got my first "real" road bike in the Spring of '08 - it's a 2007 Trek 1000 SL. Here's me with the bike the day I brought it home from the Bike Shop.

Man, I was so excited - I felt like a kid with a new, well, bike! I couldn't stop thinking about how happy I was with the way the bike was set-up, and how much fun it was to ride. True to the norm, however, it only took about a week for the "tinkering" urge to kick in, and I realized I wanted to make some changes. First, the reflectors had to go. I only ride during daylight, so I felt they were unneccessary. And they do two things I don't like - add weight, and make me look like a dork! Next, I wanted to get some clipless pedals, so I picked up some Shimano 105s on sale from a local store. More recently, I've flipped the stem for a more aerodynamic position on the bike, and installed a new saddle - a Bontrager Inform R. Here's a recent picture of my buddy Riley with the bike - needless to say, it's changed a bit.

Next, I'd really like to add some clip-on aerobars and, eventually, get some new wheels. But for now, my Trek 1000 rides great, and I've really enjoyed the heck out of owning it. Hopefully there will be more to talk about soon - I'm really jonesing for those aerobars!!

Las Vegas Trip

So I went to Las Vegas with my grandfather in February for furniture market. I kept a brief journal while I was out there and figured I'd post it here now. Here goes -

Saturday, 7 Feb - Flew from Atlanta-Hartsfield to Las Vegas. Saw meteor crater. Staying at the Flamingo. In hotel room at about 11:40am Las Vegas time. Never seen so many taxi cabs. 1:42pm - They want $10 a day to let you train in the fitness center - forget it. Once it stops raining I can do it outside for free and get in some sight seeing at the same time. Hopefully the sun will be out tomorrow. Today is overcast and rainy. 4:41pm - Just got back from Margaritaville. Chicken sandwich wasn't very good. Had 2 margaritas and took a few pictures of Caesar's Palace across the street. 5:45pm - Bill and I wandered around the casino and saw the wildlife display. In for the night by 6pm. I think I'm too well behaved sometimes.

Sunday, 8 Feb - 8:42am - Back from breakfast. Had nice conversation with nurse from Minnesota named Barbara. She's visiting Las Vegas alone and went to see the Grand Canyon. Breakfast itself was average. 11:30am - Went to Caesar's Palace and The Forum Shops. Saw one of two fountain/moving statue shows - very good. Purchased two more Mini-DV tapes for video camera. Going downstairs for lunch now. 2:00pm - Back from the strip. Line at lunch was long so I went out without eating. Went to Paris and toured the Casino and restaurant inside the tower. Then I went to MGM Grand and had a look around. Paris was great. MGM Grand - not as much to see. Had quick lunch at McDonalds - $3.00 for double burger and bottled water. Went down strip and took pictures of New York but didn't go inside yet. Had many good conversations and have met many nice people so far. 7:00pm - Walked to Treasure Island but missed show.

Monday, 9 Feb - Was not so well behaved last night. Went to Margaritaville and met a guy named Mark from Texas. He's alone so we spent the night at the bar telling stories and drinking. I came home and entertained Bill with my drunkenness. Spent Monday recovering and hardly left the hotel.

Tuesday, 10 Feb - Went to furniture market with Bill in the AM. In the afternoon we went to the Atomic Testing Museum which was very good. I had a great talk with a gentleman who worked as an engineer on the atomic testing projects at the Las Vegas Test Site and now works at the museum. He was very knowledgeable and informative and I enjoyed our long talk. He was even in some of the videos shown at the museum. We had the buffet at the hotel for dinner. It was great. For $25 I had a ton of crab legs, shrimp, Chilean sea bass, rice, BBQ ribs, dried papaya, and then on to dessert - cheesecake, chocolate cake, cinnamon cake, and ice cream. The food was excellent. I may have eaten nearly my weight in crab legs.

Wednesday, 11 Feb - Departure flight from Las Vegas to Atlanta at 9:48am, Vegas time. Arrived home, showered, readjusting to the eastern time zone. Overall, it was a good trip - I really enjoyed it. I didn't do everything on my list; saved some for next time I guess. Enjoyed Bill's company. Glad I went.