I can ride my bike for hours, up hills, down hills, into headwinds, train for sprints, jumps, hill repeats, intervals, you name it. None of that ever makes my legs sore. Dog-tired; yes, sore; never. But a basic session on a fixed-gear racing bicycle at Hellyer Park Velodrome, riding in circles, makes my legs sore. That must mean something.
The session I rode in last Saturday just happened to be:
- My second track session ever.
- The first time I rode this particular bike; a fancy Cervélo track bike that Rob Jensen loaned me.
- The first time I ever rode a bike with aero bar extensions.
- The California State Track Championships.
OK, I guess I bit off a lot! Even so, I ended up having fun (always my first priority), getting a decent workout, not crashing and not finishing last! I was 9th of 16 in the 1K TT, and 15th of 16 in the 4K Pursuit (TT). Clearly I am more of a sprinter than a time-trialer!
The aero bars scared me. In my 1K I nearly crashed when the front wheel started wobbling. That would be embarrassing; crashing solo on a perfectly smooth track. But aero bars take some practice, and in a short 1K you're riding all-out. Oxygen deprivation and torque conspire to make it a surprisingly tricky business.
p.s. This is the first entry in my new blog! I'll use it for random stuff, cycling training ideas, etc. I post my race reports on my club's website: http://www.santacruzcycling.org/teamsc/2007/racereport/.
The session I rode in last Saturday just happened to be:
- My second track session ever.
- The first time I rode this particular bike; a fancy Cervélo track bike that Rob Jensen loaned me.
- The first time I ever rode a bike with aero bar extensions.
- The California State Track Championships.
OK, I guess I bit off a lot! Even so, I ended up having fun (always my first priority), getting a decent workout, not crashing and not finishing last! I was 9th of 16 in the 1K TT, and 15th of 16 in the 4K Pursuit (TT). Clearly I am more of a sprinter than a time-trialer!
The aero bars scared me. In my 1K I nearly crashed when the front wheel started wobbling. That would be embarrassing; crashing solo on a perfectly smooth track. But aero bars take some practice, and in a short 1K you're riding all-out. Oxygen deprivation and torque conspire to make it a surprisingly tricky business.
p.s. This is the first entry in my new blog! I'll use it for random stuff, cycling training ideas, etc. I post my race reports on my club's website: http://www.santacruzcycling.org/teamsc/2007/racereport/.
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