qcpmsame 

Interesting, that would be a very worthwhile side trip. Since reading his biography back in HS, he has intrigued me. A very unique individual, it saddened me when his son committed suicide, due to PTSD from wounds suffered in Vietnam, as a platoon 2nd LT, IIRC

She Who Must Be Obeyed, Must Be Obeyed. I am the captain of my own ship, my wife the admiral said so.....

Bill

canklecat

55 miles Sunday on the Ironman. Whew! My best ride with that group, and my longest ride since I was clobbered by a car in May last year. Tough route, too, by Texas standards. The usual roller coaster, plus a 7 mile long pretty consistent 2%-3% uphill grade that looks easy until you're a mile into it.

Anyway, considered taking the Trekenstein because... carbon fiber, weighs 5 or 6 lbs less. But I thought about that chipseal, and... naw, this is Ironman territory. Between that sweet fork and running Conti Ultra Sport II 700x25 at lower pressure (around 85 psi rear, 70 psi front -- I weigh 150), it was actually pretty darned comfy.

But I need to switch to thicker padded shorts for my next long ride. I usually wear AeroTech Pro shorts with minimal padding -- just a hunk of soft microfiber about as thick as a washcloth -- and those have been fine on the Ironman with moderately padded Selle Italia Q-Bik saddle... but those rides were all 20-30 miles. By mile 50 my biscuits were burning. The downside to losing 10-15 lbs since January 2018? I lost my natural sitbone padding! So now I need to compensate with a more comfy saddle or thicker shorts.

Anyway, I'm gonna try to fit in at least one 50+ mile ride a week for a month or so and shoot for a couplafew full century rides later this year.

seypat

Good job on the ride and weight loss. Here is a question you, Robbie, Tex and the others who have lost at least 10lbs can expand on. Did your bike fit specs change any? If so, how?

canklecat

In my case the weight loss didn't affect my bike fit. My optimal weight would be around 145 and I'm 150 now. At 5'11" I was a stringbean at my amateur boxing weight.

My sit-fit is usually the thing I tweak the most. Saddle height, angle, etc. I'm pretty satisfied with Selle Italia saddles so I look for shorts with padding to suit the saddles. Przewalski (on Amazon) have the best value in padded shorts and bibs, from $20-$30, and good quality too with the best pads I've ever worn.

I do prefer slightly less reach, but that's due to neck and shoulder injuries. Weight hasn't been a factor there.

I notice that at a lighter weight I get out of the saddle more often on climbs. I prefer to stand fairly upright so my full weight goes into pedaling. So I did tweak the Ironman stem a bit -- about 1/4" up -- and tilted the hoods slightly back toward me, to give me the more upright position. That's sort of indirectly related to the weight loss and bike fit.

My biggest weight gain was after 2001, the first time I was seriously injured by a car. I had limited mobility due to a broken back and neck. I ate way too much junk food and drank beer pretty much every day, although seldom more than two or three a day. But those beer calories at sticky. I got up to 205 and had no idea I was that heavy until a rare (for me) doctor visit.

By the time I resumed cycling in 2015 I'd gotten down to 175 just with minor diet changes. Bike riding from 2015-2017 brought me to 160-165 lbs. It fluctuated depending mostly on beer. A couple of friends own a microbrewery and tap room and that was my first introduction to really good craft beer. I enjoyed my share of it.

But last year I noticed my ability to metabolize alcohol was wonky. A single beer would cause allergic reactions -- swollen eyes and sinuses -- within an hour, and my joints would ache. I'd get hangover type symptoms just from a single beer. Turned out my thyroid gland had failed and I had surgery in late 2018 to remove cancer (it didn't metastasize, no chemo or radiation). So I had all kinds of wonky symptoms from Hashimoto's, an auto-immune disorder.

So I quit drinking beer for most of 2018 and early this year. That quickly pared off another 10 lbs. I also did the intermittent fast thing, routinely going 12 hours between meals unless I planned an unusually active day for bike rides or physical therapy sessions.

But after my endocrinologist adjusted my thyroid meds, I can actually tolerate one or two beers at a time. I only drink on social bicycling group meetings, which works out to a couple of times a month. But I can tell just from drinking a little beer again (and donuts too, to be honest) I'll be up to 155-160 if I'm not careful. I'll probably decide I don't care and enjoy those extra donuts.

seedsbelize 

I put a shorter stem on my IM this afternoon. I have high hopes.

texaspandj

Biked 40 today, out and back. I prefer Out and back as its more a true tell of my fitness. I used my Carbon Ironman with my '88 Ironman wheels. It's definitely lighter. And I can tell that when I pick it up, first take off from a stop, and when I accelerate standing. It's definitely racing bred.
The Dura Ace components are shiny and work/mesh well with the Carbon. I'm using 8 speed Gripshift and it has a very audible Snap as opposed to the click of the other 3 gripshifts I have. Since I set the fit on all my Ironman the same, the fit is as imagined, However the saddle seems a little more comfortable. I'm gonna put a level on it then match my other saddles to it.
The Carbon has 53,39 × 13-28! Initially like C-Cat I tend to stand more than sit when climbing steeper sections. But that could be due to my regular gearing 52,42 that forces me to stand. But today I sat almost the whole 3 steep sections. I'm not sure of the grade percentage but you I hit 40 mph on the back side.
Per Seypats question on weight loss in relation to bike fit, I haven't noticed any difference (I've lost 18 lbs so far). But for sure I feel better. I tend to always gain weight during the off season and lose it through training. But hopefully, hopefully, this year I'll keep it off during the off season.

texaspandj

One of two 40 mph 1/2 mile down hill section. The other 40 mph down hill is a 1/4 mile. That is Lake Waco on the bottom of the pic.

seedsbelize 

It seems to have done the trick. It now challenges the Trek 930 for comfort but not for speed. It will be interesting to see if that ever comes to pass. Thanks for the input @seypat.

Classtime 

If it is your size, this might be priced right.
https://losangeles.craigslist.org/sf...923931000.html

texaspandj

That is an '85 Ironman. It's in my size, 54cm. Also the condition I'm hoping for. Unfortunately, not my price....yet. However, it also fits RT now. With his negotiating abilities he stands a real shot @RobbieTunes.

Deal4Fuji

I really like that color IM, and the size from the photo looks like it could work for me but it'd be a bit of a drive. I sent an email. Thanks hazetguy

Deal4Fuji

In my excitement the Wendy's reference went right over my head - If I hear back from the seller it would be nice to have someone closer to Charlotte get it and hold it for me just to make sure the deal is done, at that price he's probably getting local interest.

seypat

Glad it helped.

seypat

I like the pic staging with the shoes. That color/paint really sparkles in the sun.

seypat

I believe the fake one that came through here a couple of years ago was also that color. It had eyelets. The seller was listing it as a Mike Scott, I think.

texaspandj

It was a "Jack Scott".
But this time this is a real Ironman....only the name has been changed to protect the innocent .

seypat

That's correct, it was Jack. I guess I didn't know Jack........

seypat

We had a swimmer go missing/die in a local tri this weekend. They identified the person yesterday. That tri is marketed as a good first starter tri. The good part is the swim is in the James river with the current. You can just float and it won't take you long to get to the exit point. The bad part is if the river is up, the current is strong and dangerous. When I did it a few years ago, the current was strong. On the Friday evening practice swim, we were supposed to swim upstream from the exit point to the starting and float back. I think it was 600 meters. The current was strong enough that only 3 or 4 swimmers made it. The rest didn't make it over a 100. After 30 minutes, the Race Director blew a horn and told everyone to float back. I had made it about 50 meters. It was like swimming in a swim spa. People, if you are thinking about doing a tri, make sure you have open water swimming experience. It's different than going to the lake and swimming between water skiing runs. It's different than swimming down at the old swimming hole. It's a lot different than doing laps in a lap pool.

https://www.nbc12.com/2019/06/30/pol...-chesterfield/

SpeedofLite 

Very true. In fact, it really can be a lot like this in some races, or at least it used to be.
An oldie and a goodie.

RobbieTunes

Definitely my size, definitely 1/2 to 1/3 too high in price. Problem is, it's nearly identical to my Comp TA....

Parts started coming off the Carbon-R and NotYourDaddy's Ironman yesterday.

RobbieTunes

Quite true.

First Pepsi Triathlon in Wilmington NC, we swam in the Cape Fear River, which is also a harbor. Drank some diesel on that one.

Same with the Coors Light Triathlon in Elizabeth City NC, stagnant water, ugh.

I did one in the ocean once, Emerald Isle, with wind and rain, and the swimmers were vomiting in the water. Being slow, I swam through some of that, ended up backstroking. Then we had to cycle over the high-rise bridge, which has a 2' curb/wall and that's it. Never again.

I marshalled one of the Lake Kristi triathlons (Kristi Overton, World Champion water skier). The swim was in one of the slalom lakes her family carved out for her to practice in. No waves, warm (tepid) water, ladders to get out onto a dock, but it sounds worse than it was, as it's a great venue. When there were 10 bikes in the rack, we counted 10 swim caps. When there were 5 bikes in the rack, we counted 4 caps, and sent the kayaks. Sure enough, a guy had a heart attack and sank. He did not drown. We saw him near the bottom. He died so quickly, he didn't even inhale any water, and did not fully sink. Imagine having your family there and not coming out of the water.

One of my ex's friends lost over 100 lbs with cycling and running and triathlons. He really turned his life around, until he came out of the water at a sprint tri and collapsed in the transition area. Dead as a doornail, but to me, years later than if he'd never gotten fit.

seypat

The main problem I have is the constrictive pulmonary issues. I can't get enough oxygen until the body adjusts. I ending up doing a breaststroke getting a breath each stroke during that tri. At the gym on Sunday I had to wait for a lane to open up in the lap pool. I sat in the hot tub next to the pool waiting. Big mistake. I jumped in to the lap pool and it felt like ice water. I had to plod along and stop at every turn to catch my breath for about 5 up and backs. Now before the jokes start, my swimming is just like my cycling. Slow and bringing up the rear.

seypat

I think I can key the Tough Dodger now.

texaspandj

Yep, I've posted this story before but...
After a few years of no triathlons I decided to get back to it. I had 3 races lined up. The first was in the spring around March or April. It was only 350 yards. With ZERO swim training and some bike and run training and after playing a gig on 6th street in Austin I was waiting my turn to swim. Now I've done a 2.4 mile swim in an Ironman distance Triathlon so 350 yards is nothing,...I thought. With no warm up and an individual seeded swim, you jumped or dove in from a dock. Immediately the COLD water took my breath away and I hyperventilated the whole swim. The only thing that kept me from drowning was thinking about the conversation my kids would have at my funeral, something like " Can you believe Dad drowned on a 350 yard swim?".
To me, a first-time triathlon should be in a lap pool. Generally those can be easily found in the spring...well at least in Texas.

seypat

Product color alert. Just arrived.

This is the Sterling Silver color. Shiny and sweet! Going on the Turbo.

Pro tip for those that use barcons. If you are going to run your cables under the tape, order a tandem shifter cable for the RD. Sometimes the standard length is not enough.