On Bicycles, and.... what else is there?

Fulfilling a long-term promise, the Garmin Vector now does pedalstroke analysis! See DC Rainmaker's excellent blog post on the latest firmware update. The new metrics include: pedal force offset: this measures how far outboard or inboard the average force is applied. pedal power stroke: this measures over which angles peak propulsive force is applied seated versus standing time: if you're standing, the pedals support full body weight (non-propulsive), so the Vector can determine how much time you're standing versus sitting (and record whether you're standing or sitting). Various applications for these metrics would be bike fit, technique analysis, and interpretation of performance. For the pedal force offset, that obviously suggests a bike fit application. "Power stroke" suggests both fit and technique. Standing versus seating suggests performance analysis: am I faster seated or standing on short steep climbs? What about long sustained climbs? More d...

Caley Fretz is one of my favorite cycling reviewers. He now works for VeloNews, where he wrote this review on the new Enve SES bar : The shape of the SES is a reflection of the way that positioning has changed in recent years — as bars have dropped relative to the saddle, and our understanding of aerodynamics has improved, it has become clear that the lowest drag is often found with hands on the hoods, elbows bent at 90 degrees, chin to the stem. The SES design allows for a narrow, aerodynamic hood position — 37cm on my test bar — while retaining a wider drop area, 42cm. Narrow when you want it, wide when you need it. Here's the Enve: I love new ideas! In completely separate news, VeloPress has recently published Goggles and Dust , a book based on the remarkable photos which are part of the Horton Collection:

Back in the day, back in the early days of recorded time (i.e. since I got a Garmin 500 and signed up for Strava), we used to ride an SF2G Skyline route which didn't descend Crystal Springs to Polhemus bus instead remained on Skyline Boulevard, crossed a bridge at the dam under the 280 Flyover, and then climbed back to Highway 92.   The memories of that nearly forgotten time must be reconstructed from the yellowing pages of the Strava archives lest they be forgotten forever. Note the rather direct route near Crystal Springs. Now compare and contrast: You can see the difference near the "Belmont" label: a left, right, right, left while the earlier route takes a relatively straight line. The alternate route involves a descent of Crystal Springs Road, a right turn onto Polhemus, a long climb there to where it turns into Ralston past the Highway 92 interchange, then passing through a parking lot to descend back to Cañada Road via a twisting bike-pedestrian path whic...

Thanksgiving marked the ninth and final climb in the 2014 Low-Key Hillclimbs. And as it has been every year we've done the series, Thanksgiving marked the longest "single" climb we do, Mount Hamilton Road. Single climb is in quotes because John Summerson has asserted that Hamilton isn't a single climb, but rather three. And indeed the descents are considerable. But with a net elevation difference of 1161 meters and total climbing of 1340 meters, that's an "altitude efficiency" of 86.6%, so it is considerably more up than down. A series of three equal climbs separated by two descents to the original elevation would be an efficiency of only 33.3%. I began my day in San Jose, having stayed with a friend, and a weather check showed the temperature in the city was 44F but at the summit, at 7 am or so, it was already 62F. So it was unusually warm, a common trend this year. Despite this I wore a wool baselayer in addition to knee warmers, shorts, and a s...

This blog has been neglected due to other activities, in particular the final weeks of the 2014 Low-Key Hillclimbs, but additionally due to a transition in my work life. I've been at my present job starting October 2010 through today, but that will be changing the beginning of 2015. This period roughly coincides with my time on Strave. For aggregated those data, VeloViewer is a great tool. They just implemented an annual ￡10 fee to access full data, and it's paid off in this one plot. 2014 started off very mediocrely. I focused on trail running until April, and that hurt my total mileage, but it ended with a very successful debut at the 50 km distance, the Woodside Ramble. Then there was a downtime associated with preparing for and actually moving to a new place in San Francisco. Starting in September, however, I recovered, with 4 very solid weeks end-of-September-to-start-of-October in Switzerland. After that I did fairly well, participating in Low-Key Hillclimbs, an...