Cold, no coffee shops and riding

Did another ride yesterday and will head out on another ride shortly. Tomorrow forecast is for high winds.

This 22.6 miles without stopping is rather tiring but it also is improving my Di2 shifting. I now know that the levers have a sweet spot to be used. Trying them in other spots is likely to get no shift or a double shift.

On Wednesday, April 8, 2020 at 11:07:13 AM UTC-7, Tom Kunich wrote:
Did another ride yesterday and will head out on another ride shortly. Tomorrow forecast is for high winds.

This 22.6 miles without stopping is rather tiring but it also is improving my Di2 shifting. I now know that the levers have a sweet spot to be used. Trying them in other spots is likely to get no shift or a double shift.

I have tried to use several of the apps for monitoring distance and average speed. Since this is almost a perfectly flat course it should be the perfect course upon which to test these apps.

Also since I have measured the distance on this course many, many times with actual odometers that have used actual measured tire rollout I know what the distance is down to a couple hundredths of a mile which can be explained by the previse course around turns etc.

Strava burns up a lot of battery power. Why it would do this is somewhat unknown since it is only receiving a GPS transmission and going to a black screen in the normal manner when not being directly poked to keep a display. Aside from this at my latitude it has a repeatable 6% error. It would require a lot of work to find the latitude of the GPS satellites and work it out but I would assume that this is because Strava doesn't correct for latitude.

MapMyRide makes Strava look like the worlds best app. For the 22.6 mile ride it has shown 11.3 miles on one occasion and 5.6 miles on another. Both of these apps were uninstalled with this knowledge.

I will try Garmin Edge devices and on my Emonda it has a direct speed readout for the rear tire. This along with Garmin's 100% accurate clock gives actual distance after proper pairing. I assume this is likely to be better than a front wheel speedo since it doesn't turn across the direction of travel.

The only problem I am leery of is that my brother had two Garmin's and they both ceased working for no reasons. But since I'm buying them new but pre-owned and at half new prices if the don't last long no big deal.

On 4/9/2020 3:59 PM, Tom Kunich wrote:
On Wednesday, April 8, 2020 at 11:07:13 AM UTC-7, Tom Kunich wrote:
Did another ride yesterday and will head out on another ride shortly. Tomorrow forecast is for high winds.

This 22.6 miles without stopping is rather tiring but it also is improving my Di2 shifting. I now know that the levers have a sweet spot to be used. Trying them in other spots is likely to get no shift or a double shift.

I have tried to use several of the apps for monitoring distance and average speed. Since this is almost a perfectly flat course it should be the perfect course upon which to test these apps.

Also since I have measured the distance on this course many, many times with actual odometers that have used actual measured tire rollout I know what the distance is down to a couple hundredths of a mile which can be explained by the previse course around turns etc.

Strava burns up a lot of battery power. Why it would do this is somewhat unknown since it is only receiving a GPS transmission and going to a black screen in the normal manner when not being directly poked to keep a display. Aside from this at my latitude it has a repeatable 6% error. It would require a lot of work to find the latitude of the GPS satellites and work it out but I would assume that this is because Strava doesn't correct for latitude.

MapMyRide makes Strava look like the worlds best app. For the 22.6 mile ride it has shown 11.3 miles on one occasion and 5.6 miles on another. Both of these apps were uninstalled with this knowledge.

I will try Garmin Edge devices and on my Emonda it has a direct speed readout for the rear tire. This along with Garmin's 100% accurate clock gives actual distance after proper pairing. I assume this is likely to be better than a front wheel speedo since it doesn't turn across the direction of travel.

The only problem I am leery of is that my brother had two Garmin's and they both ceased working for no reasons. But since I'm buying them new but pre-owned and at half new prices if the don't last long no big deal.


Serious question: I'm curious what people do with all that precise (or
maybe imprecise?) data. I'm not saying you shouldn't do it - but what's
it for?

--
- Frank Krygowski

On 9/4/20 4:07 am, Tom Kunich wrote:
Did another ride yesterday and will head out on another ride shortly.
Tomorrow forecast is for high winds.

This 22.6 miles without stopping is rather tiring but it also is
improving my Di2 shifting. I now know that the levers have a sweet
spot to be used. Trying them in other spots is likely to get no shift
or a double shift.


Two 90 km rides this week so far. Both were cracking good rides and
included a stop for coffee mid way. The weather was fine and although I
had a slight head wind during the first half, there was a tail wind to
blow me home.

My Campagnolo 10 speed Ergo levers working fine as usual.

--
JS

On 10/4/20 7:35 am, Frank Krygowski wrote:


Serious question: I'm curious what people do with all that precise (or
maybe imprecise?) data. I'm not saying you shouldn't do it - but what's
it for?


I try to maintain or improve on past performances. At the moment I'm
maintaining - just. Maybe lacking motivation to really push myself. I
haven't raced for over 5 years, and racing tends to drag my performance
and fitness up.

--
JS

On Thursday, April 9, 2020 at 3:18:15 PM UTC-7, James wrote:
On 9/4/20 4:07 am, Tom Kunich wrote:
Did another ride yesterday and will head out on another ride shortly.
Tomorrow forecast is for high winds.

This 22.6 miles without stopping is rather tiring but it also is
improving my Di2 shifting. I now know that the levers have a sweet
spot to be used. Trying them in other spots is likely to get no shift
or a double shift.


Two 90 km rides this week so far. Both were cracking good rides and
included a stop for coffee mid way. The weather was fine and although I
had a slight head wind during the first half, there was a tail wind to
blow me home.

My Campagnolo 10 speed Ergo levers working fine as usual.

--
JS

If I kept adjusting the shifting every second or third week my 10 speed Campy would shift fine. But I couldn't ignore that adjusting. And that included with 100% new levers.

So it isn't my imagination and it isn't as if these things do not wear. The rear derailleurs didn't change but the chain wear, the cable stretch and the lever ratchet wear on the right lever simply can't be overcome.

On Thursday, April 9, 2020 at 3:22:19 PM UTC-7, James wrote:
On 10/4/20 7:35 am, Frank Krygowski wrote:


Serious question: I'm curious what people do with all that precise (or
maybe imprecise?) data. I'm not saying you shouldn't do it - but what's
it for?


I try to maintain or improve on past performances. At the moment I'm
maintaining - just. Maybe lacking motivation to really push myself. I
haven't raced for over 5 years, and racing tends to drag my performance
and fitness up.

I can judge my general health on the times, the mileages or how I feel after repeat rides on a known course. When training for a metric I would ride around the south bay and when I got on BART in San Francisco the first time of that ride I would be almost collapsing with fatigue. By the third I would be barely tired and would be doing 20 mph on the mile and a half from the BART station back home.

On the Moraga Ride there are some long climbs that are mostly blind and I would go from making a 5 mph ride unable to lift my head to 7 mph and impatient to hit the top and do the next descent. One of the sections is 12% and I would go from barely making it painfully in low gear to not being able to remember the steepest section is because I can't feel it in my legs.

On another ride it was all uphill at the start of the season and by the end there would be two steep sections near the bottom, a long almost flat and a climb you could feel that isn't that bad 100 meters from the top.

So I can judge my fitness by my mileage and average speed over known sections. Right not my flat ride is 13 mph for the on again off again training through the cold and rain but the highest average speed is 15.6 mph and THAT is into a 20 mph headwind to the top end of the course.

At the final Metric at the end of last year I felt slow and there were 2,200 riders there and I finished 182nd. I was not fast but I was consistent and I wasn't waiting for an hour in the three rest stops. Since my metric training rides rarely have more than one stop I was impatient to get going again. Just a quick snack or not even that if it was too crowded around the tables. I didn't even drink a single water bottle on that Metric.

On 4/9/2020 5:18 PM, James wrote:
On 9/4/20 4:07 am, Tom Kunich wrote:
Did another ride yesterday and will head out on another
ride shortly.
Tomorrow forecast is for high winds.

This 22.6 miles without stopping is rather tiring but it
also is
improving my Di2 shifting. I now know that the levers have
a sweet
spot to be used. Trying them in other spots is likely to
get no shift
or a double shift.


Two 90 km rides this week so far. Both were cracking good
rides and included a stop for coffee mid way. The weather
was fine and although I had a slight head wind during the
first half, there was a tail wind to blow me home.

My Campagnolo 10 speed Ergo levers working fine as usual.


You lucky man!
Oh, how I miss coffee shops. The Powers That Be here have
denied me my small pleasure.

Today our idiot governor closed all the state bike paths. I
don't ride them but people who do will miss those as well.

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org/
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

On 4/9/2020 5:31 PM, Tom Kunich wrote:
On Thursday, April 9, 2020 at 3:18:15 PM UTC-7, James wrote:
On 9/4/20 4:07 am, Tom Kunich wrote:
Did another ride yesterday and will head out on another ride shortly.
Tomorrow forecast is for high winds.

This 22.6 miles without stopping is rather tiring but it also is
improving my Di2 shifting. I now know that the levers have a sweet
spot to be used. Trying them in other spots is likely to get no shift
or a double shift.


Two 90 km rides this week so far. Both were cracking good rides and
included a stop for coffee mid way. The weather was fine and although I
had a slight head wind during the first half, there was a tail wind to
blow me home.

My Campagnolo 10 speed Ergo levers working fine as usual.

--
JS

If I kept adjusting the shifting every second or third week my 10 speed Campy would shift fine. But I couldn't ignore that adjusting. And that included with 100% new levers.

So it isn't my imagination and it isn't as if these things do not wear. The rear derailleurs didn't change but the chain wear, the cable stretch and the lever ratchet wear on the right lever simply can't be overcome.


I just did some post-crash front wheel work on this bike:
http://www.yellowjersey.org/photosfr...t/GUNCRSPS.JPG

Shifting was great, rider reports extremely reliable and
durable. One Ergo rebuild since 2012, regular chain
replacement and roughly 3 chains per cassette.

YMMV and likely will.


--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org/
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

On 4/9/2020 6:44 PM, Tom Kunich wrote:
On Thursday, April 9, 2020 at 3:22:19 PM UTC-7, James wrote:
On 10/4/20 7:35 am, Frank Krygowski wrote:


Serious question: I'm curious what people do with all that precise (or
maybe imprecise?) data. I'm not saying you shouldn't do it - but what's
it for?


I try to maintain or improve on past performances. At the moment I'm
maintaining - just. Maybe lacking motivation to really push myself. I
haven't raced for over 5 years, and racing tends to drag my performance
and fitness up.

I can judge my general health on the times, the mileages or how I feel after repeat rides on a known course.

Perhaps I'm being inconsistent, but I keep diligent gas mileage data on
my car for that reason. For example, on two different cars, small but
consistent drops in gas mileage told me I really did have a problem with
brake calipers not properly releasing. And in the old, old days, they
sometimes told me it was time to gap the points again.

The only time I've done that with bikes was back in my commuting days.
If I caught the first few traffic lights green, I'd try to see how fast
I could ride home. A five minute slow down (out of about half an hour)
did once send me on a very well justified doctor's visit.

But normally I just ride. I have sometimes written down mileages for
various routes, just so I can say to my wife "Do you want to do 20
miles, 30 miles, 40 miles or what?"


--
- Frank Krygowski