Rode a metric century
- Thread starter ak-tux
- Start date
jimbo3b
Member
OK, I'm officially jealous of this ride!
Right to the base of Kilimanjaro, with an end point about 750 meters higher than mid-ride!
Don't feel bad about being left in the dust--lower weight will trump aerodynamics on a climb like that. Turn the ride around and they couldn't catch you until 50 km into the ride, I would guess.
How do you feel now, a couple days later? I'm guessing no soreness in the neck and shoulders, your back and seat are OK, and your legs are recovering nicely? Make sure you comment to your fellow riders how much you enjoyed seeing the countryside with your heads-up riding posture and relaxed wrists and arms.
Thanks for sharing the route.
Right to the base of Kilimanjaro, with an end point about 750 meters higher than mid-ride!
Don't feel bad about being left in the dust--lower weight will trump aerodynamics on a climb like that. Turn the ride around and they couldn't catch you until 50 km into the ride, I would guess.
How do you feel now, a couple days later? I'm guessing no soreness in the neck and shoulders, your back and seat are OK, and your legs are recovering nicely? Make sure you comment to your fellow riders how much you enjoyed seeing the countryside with your heads-up riding posture and relaxed wrists and arms.
Thanks for sharing the route.
Eric Winn
Zen MBB Master
Looks like you were smoking
Looks like you were smoking along up to around mile 50 give or take and then having to earn your sweat up that slope the last 10 to 12 miles. Very cool. I like your photos too. You and the bike look really good and seemed to be drawing some attention. What did people think of the bike?
Were you happy with your gearing on the ascent?
-Eric
Looks like you were smoking along up to around mile 50 give or take and then having to earn your sweat up that slope the last 10 to 12 miles. Very cool. I like your photos too. You and the bike look really good and seemed to be drawing some attention. What did people think of the bike?
Were you happy with your gearing on the ascent?
-Eric
ak-tux
Zen MBB Master
@Jim, thanks. There was no
@Jim, thanks. There was no soreness on my neck or back. However, my knees were O.K until I started climbing the most difficult section. It was a long and sustained 20 Km section averaging 3% and peaking at 7%. They were burning! My biceps and the inner thigh muscles were also in pain. I believe it's because of the Q-factor of my bottom bracket. I will need to replace it with something narrower so that my knees track straight and closer to the center of the bottom bracket.
At some point, I did appreciate a nice view of Mt Kilimanjaro, but once the pain set in, it was difficult to enjoy the scenery anymore
I recovered well after 24 hrs. However my inner thigh/tendon still hurt for another day. I don't feel the pain on my DF road bike that I use for commuting. Hence my conclusion that the Q-factor on my recumbent is a little too wide.
@Eric, the gears were 48x38x28 with a 12-25 8-speed cassette using 700-25c tires.
My bike is heavy, more than 19.5 Kg not counting the water bottle and toolkit! I weigh 69Kg.
They were sufficient on the low end because when I was on my 28/25 I was moving at about 10 Km/h. I did not do sufficient hill training for long sustained grades. It was not steep, just very long. At some point I was so exhausted that I was moving at 6Km/h ( approximately 3.72 miles/h ). Any lower and I would have lost balance!
On the top end however, I did spin out on the brief downhill section I encountered. I wish I had an 11 cog.
The bike does draw some attention. In fact, too much attention, if I might add. Sometimes it made me feel like a clown compared to the guys with all the the sleek road bikes on display! Before the start of the race some of the roadies were even laughing and making jokes about my mirror. I wish I had a less conspicuous one like the Zefal spy mirror. Some asked me the most common question I get: " can it climb? " and " Is it comfortable? " or " Why this design? " e.t.c . In fact, most had never seen a recumbent before. I think it's only human to be skeptical about something that is out of the norm.
At the end of the race however, so many wanted to give it a try.
@Jim, thanks. There was no soreness on my neck or back. However, my knees were O.K until I started climbing the most difficult section. It was a long and sustained 20 Km section averaging 3% and peaking at 7%. They were burning! My biceps and the inner thigh muscles were also in pain. I believe it's because of the Q-factor of my bottom bracket. I will need to replace it with something narrower so that my knees track straight and closer to the center of the bottom bracket.
At some point, I did appreciate a nice view of Mt Kilimanjaro, but once the pain set in, it was difficult to enjoy the scenery anymore
I recovered well after 24 hrs. However my inner thigh/tendon still hurt for another day. I don't feel the pain on my DF road bike that I use for commuting. Hence my conclusion that the Q-factor on my recumbent is a little too wide.
@Eric, the gears were 48x38x28 with a 12-25 8-speed cassette using 700-25c tires.
My bike is heavy, more than 19.5 Kg not counting the water bottle and toolkit! I weigh 69Kg.
They were sufficient on the low end because when I was on my 28/25 I was moving at about 10 Km/h. I did not do sufficient hill training for long sustained grades. It was not steep, just very long. At some point I was so exhausted that I was moving at 6Km/h ( approximately 3.72 miles/h ). Any lower and I would have lost balance!
On the top end however, I did spin out on the brief downhill section I encountered. I wish I had an 11 cog.
The bike does draw some attention. In fact, too much attention, if I might add. Sometimes it made me feel like a clown
compared to the guys with all the the sleek road bikes on display! Before the start of the race some of the roadies were even laughing and making jokes about my mirror. I wish I had a less conspicuous one like the Zefal spy mirror. Some asked me the most common question I get: " can it climb? " and " Is it comfortable? " or " Why this design? " e.t.c . In fact, most had never seen a recumbent before. I think it's only human to be skeptical about something that is out of the norm. At the end of the race however, so many wanted to give it a try.
ak-tux
Zen MBB Master
Karibu Kenya Ivan!
Karibu Kenya Ivan! (Swahili for Welcome to Kenya). I guess you will not be bringing your beautiful Silvio-2.0 along? However, if you do, I sure hope I can get a close look at it!
Our roads are not (yet) as good as in Singapore but we have plenty of warm sunshine to compensate for it! lol!
Karibu Kenya Ivan! (Swahili for Welcome to Kenya). I guess you will not be bringing your beautiful Silvio-2.0 along? However, if you do, I sure hope I can get a close look at it!
Our roads are not (yet) as good as in Singapore but we have plenty of warm sunshine to compensate for it! lol!
