The weather has really become nice here in Arizona, as well as my allergies have become really bothersome. Still getting my workouts and not letting them get in the way, for now. Sunday I took a great nearly 25 mile training ride late in the day. A perfect way to end the weekend. The feel on the road was nice. I am still really impressed on how using the rollers has improved my form.
Next weekends plans are to head out to some hills to work on some climbing.
So onto a quick tech tip,
The ProGold degreaser and bike wash works awesome. Spray a little on and let it do its magic. For those who dont have a set of cleaning brushes, here is a trick I have been using to clean hard to reach areas. Get a rope! Yes a rope. Slip the rope around the area you cant quite get a towel into and run it back and forth to loosen or wipe the dirt or heavy grime away. Works great around your rear gear cassette. A clean bike is a bike that is easier to maintain and your parts will last you longer.
So Saturday April 14, is my next race. The El Tour de Mesa has a few distances, in which I will be doing the farthest distance of 70 miles. My training is coming along both on the rollers indoors and out on the road.
I have really noticed a huge difference in when I wear a cotton t-shirt indoors on the rollers. The heat is really kept in. I am looking at placing a small fan out in front of the rollers to help cool me down a little. I've been getting some great workouts in with my Miowatch Quest, a GPS watch with heart rate monitor. I have the GPS turned off and just using the heart rate monitor function. My workouts have moved from three weeks ago in Zone 3 to now Zone 2, 45 minute workouts.
The El Tour de Mesa is a new race for me and I look to have some fun. Bib numbers have been issued online and I am #297, if your out there before the race or on the course say "hi".
If you reading this, drop me an e-mail (timhakr @gmail.com) as to why you are interested in footbeds and what brought you here to this page. Are you looking for comfort while running or cycling? Do you suffer from foot pain?
This blog post is from March 2012
SOLE footbeds are quick and easy to mold to your custom foot shape. They come with easy to follow instructions. SOLE footbeds are used to help with muscles on the bottom of your feet to avoid pain in the Plantar Fascia. SOLE also makes sandals and flip-flops that are custom fit to your foots bottom profile.
My walking shoe size and cycling shoe size are 13, while my running shoes I buy size larger 14, to avoid troubles with my toe nails. When preparing my footbeds, I used the insole inside my cycling shoe to match the SOLE footbed for size and cut them to fit. For my running shoes the SOLE footbeds came in my running shoe size. Also with the seven different types of footbeds, SOLE offers just what you are looking for.
Not know what SOLE footbed would be suit you? There is an easy questionnaire on their website www.yoursole.com , answer some questions about your arches in your feet what type of activity will you be wearing the footbeds for and the site lets you know what would work best for your situation.
New rubber on the ride. I slapped on a pair of Michelin XCR road tires on my mountain bike for my indoor training rides on my rollers. These tires are slick and are really nice. With the weather and more rides outside I will be switching these out for a pair of knobby Michelin tires soon. I also look forward to bringing these out on the road and testing them on the asphalt and how they feel cornering.
What does not kill you makes you stronger. This is very true. Over the past month and a half, I have been pretty much riding my rollers at home. Inside the house or outside in the driveway while I watch my kids play outside.
I went out on the road for a ride on Saturday afternoon, a quick out 7 miles and back 7 miles. I can definitely say that working out on the rollers has helped me in many ways.
The rollers, like a treadmill, might be boring, but with them I have been able to improve my strength on form on the bike.
I have the bike set up on the rollers with my Miowatch Quest, a GPS enabled heart rate monitor, which while riding I have placed on the handlebars. I have the alarm set on the watch to help tell me when I am in my training zone I need to be in.
I could feel my form on the bike was more efficient, even though it was only a short 14 mile ride.
The Lazer Tardiz is an impressive helmet all around. The aerodynamic helmet has some great features built into it. The fit is very nice and easy to slip on. With it's Rollsys a wheel on the top of the helmet can adjust the size easily and comfortably. Adjustments can be made while riding. The air channels at the front of the helmet allow for great airflow. Aerodynamic helmets can often be hot without proper air flow. To help with keeping cool, the Tardiz has an Aquavent at the top of the helmet too. This is a great feature, and one I have used a lot living in Arizona. The Aquavent work along with the Perfopad to help distribute the water all over the the top of the head and not in just one spot. The buckle is magnetic and goes together really easy. It takes a little getting used to when removing, but is a great feature of this helmet. The weight of the helmet is about 395g.
So hear it is, pun intended. Whether I am running, riding the rollers or swimming wearing my H2O Audio set up I will be listening to some great tunes. The playlist is almost 50 minutes long and consists of
Headlines Drake
Brighter Than the Sun Colbie Caillat
Ass Back Home Gym Class Heroes
Blackout Breathe Carolina
I Like It Like That Hot Chelle Rae
Ni**as in Paris Kanye West & JAY Z
Turn Me On David Guetta & Nicki Minaj
International Love Pitbull
Right Above It Lil Wayne & Drake
What's My Name? Rihanna & Drake
Not Afraid Eminem
Rhythm of Love Plain White T's
4 Minutes Madonna
Crushcrushcrush Paramore
With the shuffle option on the iPod the order will never get old.
I tried looking at old CD's, yes I said CD's I purchased over the past 15 or so years but nothing seemed to keep my interest or sound good.
