2017

So, the first week of the new year is done and dusted. It went by in a flash as time seems to these days. Funny how people tell you stuff about having kids before you have them, but you brush it off and don't think about it till it happens. Time flies by at an alarming rate after leaving school and starting work. Then that alarming rate spirals out of control after you have kids. The other one that makes me laugh is how many people warned me how seemingly all your conversations with your partner revolve around poo. I thought people were just joking, but no. For the first 6 months of a child's life, the parents most common topic of conversation is apparently, SHIT. Ha ha ha!! :-)

Anyway, a relatively quiet week in terms of training. A rest week with some testing thrown in was planned. The calm before the storm as training starts to ramp up as the race season draws ever closer.

Monday was an active recovery ride. I decided to ride around Lund on the MTB and play with the settings and lever positioning on the Di2. By the end of the ride I felt like I had it pretty dialled, and wasn't shifting in the wrong direction all the time as I did on the first couple of rides. Being a small bloke, I have pretty small hands. So it's been a bit tricky to find a comfortable position for the shifter that doesn't mean dislocating my thumb in order to carry out a shift. I now have the shifter as close as I can to the brake lever, rotated quite a long way under the bar, and both plastic blocks on the levers in their outermost positions. I've tried the blocks all the way in, in the middle, all the way out and a mixture of the two. I've also tried swapping the action of the levers for an up/down shift, and have now settled on the lowest lever being a downshift (to a larger sprocket on the cassette). This lever is the easiest to access for me, so I was also wondering if it's possible to add a LH shifter, and then run the set-up in a SRAM E-Tap style with a downshift on the left shifter and an upshift on the right shifter using the lower lever on both sides. This seems intuitive to me, and works like a racing car with shifter paddles behind the steering wheel. Anyone tried that set up on Di2?

Tuesday was a 1 hour base ride. Again I chose to ride from home and in Lund on the MTB. This time I rode some more off road, and even tested a new hill (well, old hill in the other direction) for potential interval sessions later in the season. Again, I wanted to ride the MTB to try to become more familiar with the Di2, so that come race season the shifting is second nature. The hill was pretty good, even with a couple of switchbacks thrown in for good measure. Nice to be able to practice them.

Thursday's ride was supposed to be a test devised by coach Rob. The weather had turned pretty cold now, but I wanted to still try to complete the test outdoors. So I got dressed in 'not too much, not too little' as I knew the effort would keep me warm. Then I headed out on the winter road bike, but I had misjudged how cold it would be in the blustery wind. The Garmin was showing temperatures of -10degC, and it felt even colder when the wind blew. My hands froze after about 10 minutes, closely followed by my face, closely followed by the brake cables! The last ride on the winter road bike was a wet one, and it would appear that there was some moisture left in the cable inners which quickly froze in the freezing temps. The brakes were not a huge problem, as I could pull them on, and then they were frozen in against the rim. Pulling the calipers out again solved the problem, so I decided to continue further and try to get warm. Another 10 minutes into the ride I had lost gear shifting also..... That would be more of a problem while trying to complete a TT. Now a bit peeved I decided to call it a day outdoors, and retreated home to a warm basement to complete the session indoors instead. Something I knew would be tough due to the lack of indoor training recently. I seem to have a mental block training indoors, either getting bored, or concentrating too much on silly things like cadence and power, and then suffering. Some things I never think about while riding outdoors!

Saturday's ride would be a little more of a motivation boost. MTB in Skrylle with good friend Jonas. We drove up in light snow, with the temperature hovering around -2degC. So the trails were in fantastic condition! A light dusting of snow on hard ground meant for pretty good grip levels, apart from the few ice patches and slippery roots we found. I had one unplanned meeting with the ground on a snow covered exposed root, but otherwise the ride was one of those that leaves you with a big big smile on your frozen face. I am pleased to say that I didn't really think too much about the gears, which I think is a good sign that I am getting used to the Di2. I can only remember one wrong shift, but in the less harmful direction where I shifted down instead of up on a downhill.

This was the first proper off road ride on the bike since Christian had carried out a service on the fork and rear shock too. Amazing how much difference some new seals and oil can make to the suspension performance! The bike felt smooth and plush again just like when it was new. Remember to take care of your suspension! A relatively inexpensive service on the fork and shock is still a lot cheaper than a new item, or spares for neglected parts. A good way to keep track of your parts in available in Strava in 'Bikes'. You can keep track of how long your bike has ridden, and therefore when it's time for a service. Check the manufacturer's recommendation for service intervals, and stick to it! They are there for a reason. Musette in Malmö or CykelCity in Lund can help out with the service.


Onto some tougher weeks now!