Cleaning the Masi

Monday was a rest day so I cleaned my bike. For 5 months it was sitting in the garage collecting dust and rusting away. I should have cleaned it before riding it but I was too eager to ride. I did noticed that the shifting was sticky while training so the bike not only needed a good wash but also some lubricant. I spent a good hour cleaning the bike with solvent and then wiping the grease off the chain and lubing all the key points on the bike. The effort was worth it as my bike looked brand new, except for the dirty, sweat-caked handle bars. I also set my bike computer so I should get accurate miles and mph readings. The first time I did it I screwed up the wheel size measurement so it doubled my speed which I found out about when I was out hill climbing. I know before the injury I could climb okay but never up 10th avenue at 14 mph. I am no Marco Pantani. So on the next hill climb session my speedometer will measure the more pedestrian but accurate 7-8 mph on the climbs. Bummer.













The bike on the trainer.












Dusty wheels

Hill climbing

Today I did the second hill climb session since my recovery. Started out climbing half the hill starting at Moraga, then moved down to Lawton, which is probably the second hardest part of the climb, and then to Kirkham. I timed my climb from Kirkham at 5:42 which isn't good. I think that is like an 8 mph average. I drank too much Gatorade before the climb and half way up I was regurgitating some of the Gatorade. Not too much but definitely enough for me to taste it. I think my second climb was my best. My last climb I was just trying to get up the hill. So I'll try to climb it in 5:00 or 5:15 the next time. It is a good target for 0.6 miles and 290 feet of climb. My weight in the evening was 136.5 lbs. I flucuate between 134 and 138 lbs during the day.

Riding in the big gear

Well, spent Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday riding in the big gears (52x15 and 52x13). Started out on Wednesday and Thursday just cranking pretty slowly in a 52x13 but on Friday I did some fast spinning and 10 second sprints in 52x13. Saturday spent an hour on the bike doing 3x10 minute intervals at 52x13. Kept a steady moderate pace with fast pedaling for 60, 90, 120 seconds. The big gear is a killer and it is much harder getting the legs to get used to spinning fast but it has only been 3 weeks since I started training. Next week will be a month and I will do a nice easy ride probably on Canada Road to test out the form. But today I have some hill reps to do.

ToC Part 4

Levi Leipheimer riding to victory

ToC Part 3

Paolo Bettini looking good in the Rainbow

ToC Part 2

Chris Horner coming back from a warm-up ride

Tour of California

Ivan Basso goes out for a warm up ride before the start of the Prologue

D'oh rode in the wrong gears

Spent 60 minutes tonight riding between a 52x17 and a 52x15 thinking I haven't done this combo before but the ride was too easy and I had a sinking feeling like I probably have been pedaling this combo since last week. Which after reading my blog was indeed the truth. I'll make it up tomorrow when I ride for 60 minutes in a 52x15 and 52x13 combo. Gotta get ready for Sunday's death climb.

120 minutes and 1st hill climb

I skipped my workout on Saturday so I made it all up on Sunday. After watching Levi Lepheimer win the Tour of California Prologue, I felt pretty motivated so I hopped on the bike for 120 minutes. I believe I rode in 52x17 and 52x15 for the entire time. Doing 4x15 minute intervals at 52x15 with increase cadence for the last 5 minutes of each interval.
On President's day, I decided to go on the open road and do 3 sets of hill climbs just to see where my fitness level was at. I decided to climb the 10th Avenue hill starting at Noriega up to Pacheco. The Noriega to Ortega section is mild and a gradual incline but the Ortega to Pacheco climb is a leg breaker. I always have trouble with this part of the climb. My first attempt started well as I powered up to Ortega but right when the incline increased I had to get out of the saddle and throw my bike around. Dropped into a 52x19 or 52x21 to get up to the top and at the top I was gassed. I did it two more times and it got worse each time...at least I know where I stand and it isn't too good. But climbing 118 feet in a quarter-mile at the rate I was going at isn't too bad especially having been off the bike for 5 months. This Sunday I am going to try and climb it from Kirkham to Pacheco at least one time. That will be an almost 300 foot climb packed into .6 miles of road. Wish me luck.

Friday night

I actually rode for 40 minutes Friday night and alternated between 52x17 and 52x15. It was ok.

90 minutes of fun

I got home last night and rode for 90 minutes staying mostly in the 52x17 and dropping into the 52x19 for 10 minute intervals of easy riding. My cadence isn't too high and, for the most part, I was riding conservatively. However, I did drop it into a 52x15 for the last 4 minutes and it burned.

I think today I'll ride for 30-40 minutes in a 52x17 with 2x 5 minute intervals at 52x15. Gotta go for some hard intervals to get the legs feeling good. The gimpy leg was a bit twitchy last night and my pedal stroke was awkward. After the ride a iced down for 2 hours which seemed to help.

Day 4 and beyond

Have to sum up training up to February 15th so bear with me. I finally broke through the 90 minute mark and it was rewarding. I actually felt really strong towards the end of the ride. I am now doing intervals 3x15 in the big gear. Currently my easy gear is 52x20-something and big gear is 52x18ish? I have to count the teeth. The tension on the flywheel isn't too insane and I don't plan on increasing the tension until I can ride for 90 minutes in the 52x12. That probably won't happen til mid-March. I am tempted to do some hill climbs this weekend but I don't think I am quite ready for that. My leg feels good so I have decided to ride the trainer 6 days a week. This is probably a dumb idea but I want to get back up to fitness as soon as possible. During the riding sessions, I noticed that their is rust in the screws on the stem, drats. I have to probably replace the screws.
Overall my Masi is in pretty bad condition- need to clean the chain, the frame, tires, basically, everything. I even need to get new water bottles since I left them filled with Gatorade for 5 months. Smelled like mold when I uncapped the bottles definitely not salvagable.

Day 3 Climbing time

So I stacked three books under my front tire to simulate a climb but when I started pedaling it didn't feel any different from having the tire flat on the ground. But I didn't stop pedaling thinking it will get harder but it didn't. Lesson I learned is that you just have to increase the tension on the rear wheel. D'oh.

Biking away

I decided to do a 30 minute riding session on Monday. Took it pretty easy except for a couple of sprints near the 20-25 minute mark. I was most surprised by the fact that my gimpy leg didn't flair up in pain. Good signs indeed. I hope to start open road riding in March and to get back up to my pre-injury riding form by April.

Back in the Saddle

I got back on my bike last Sunday after a 5 month lay-off due to injury. After 5 minutes I was gassing and after 45 minutes my legs were jelly. I am completely out of shape. Fortunately, my leg felt pretty good. It didn't feel strained so I think my recovery is pretty much complete. I just have to stretch after every ride.

The plan is to ride 4 days a week. Start off slow and let the legs get used to the pain again. I hope to be back at my pre-injury level by the end of February. And by March I'd like to get back on the roads.