Return to the North

I've been back in Canada for almost two weeks now and haven't been able to make a single ride outside. We were teased for a couple of days with spring like temperatures but we had to quickly batten down the hatches in preparation for another winter wallop.

Traveling during the winter can really be a double edged sword - on the one hand you get to go riding in warm weather and break up that indoor training lull. On the other hand you have to go back to it. Which is more difficult I'm not entirely sure, the first time in Tucson when I was able to step outside without a jacket is so liberating. Going back to indoor cycling only is like being in prison for several months, having a week of freedom, and then choosing to lock yourself back up. The situation wasn't improved by my broken bike, not having it meant I had to find an alternate steed for the rollers - only as a last resort will I go back on that damn trainer..

Before I move on, here is a comparison for comparisons sake...

Here is what the driveway looked like in Tucson. 25 degrees and not a cloud in the sky

 

And here is what my driveway back home looks like. -15 degrees and a dumping of 15cm of snow throughout the day

If I sound like I'm complaining, I apologise, it is not my intent. I enjoy snowy weather very much (especially when I have my WRX but right now it's in the shop) but rather to show the disparity of riding in warm weather versus an winter weather... (the latter being you CAN"T(and don't give me that Fat Bike shit))

It is also difficult to ride when your bike is un-ridable. You might recall that the frame of my Specialized Venge cracked while riding up Mt Lemmon. When I had a chance, I took it back to Skiis and Biikes to see what we could do. After our rep had contacted Specialized, I was told that they wanted my frame and fork back. Before shipping it though, it obviously needs to be stripped down to just the parts they want. Well, it's my bike and as a former mechanic everyone says you do it. So to the shop I go!

Stripping the frame down takes no time at all, most of my time is spent catching up with the boys. For a frame as light as this it's kind of unbelievable to hold it in your hand and believe that it could ever support your weight. It feels so incredibly fragile without all the other components attached to it and it's only once the bike is completely built up that you believe it could support your weight. We weighed the frame + fork + headset and it was 3 pounds, 3 ounces all together. Freaking light as hell and it's not even the lightest out there. Here's a quick pic

So what am I to do without my road bike for training? The best practice is to use the same equipment in training as you would during a race. My Devinci Wooky is my only other mountain bike, but how are you going to get it on rollers with off road mountain bike tires?

The answer is don't use MTB tires as in addition to a rough ride, you'll strip all the knobs off and leave your grippy tire ruined. For those of you who don't know, 29" wheels and 700 wheels are the same size, their widths vary greatly but it is possible to get road tires onto a 29er rim (I don't know about putting 29er tires on a 700 rim though, I've never tried...) So I found some old 700x23C road tires and went to work. The end result looks horrifying

But functional! Seriously though look at that wheel gap! The tire is the exact width of the rim so sometimes you can't even tell there's a tire installed and it all blends together. But like I said the whole getup is functional so I have my ride for rollers. I had to change the wheelbase on the rollers as well. My Venge actually calls for the lowest setting on them because it has such a short wheelbase. The Wooky maxes out the length of the rollers and then exceeds it by like a milimetre or something

Training right now is the first week of a 3 week block. The usual kind of stuff for building for a season. After the 3 week block I'm away on business and will have to resort to hotel gyms. Hopefully I'll have my new road frame by then and all built up


All for now, I hope you've enjoyed this horribly written post that I did very quickly because my woman is bored at work.