I’ve ordered a Fuji SL-1 Carbon Fiber frameset. The idea is to solve two problems.
First, the standover height of my existing bike isn’t low enough and when I mount or dismount the saddle, it can be painful. I had a semi-accident this past weekend when I was riding and needed to stop quickly. My foot came off of one of the pedals and I landed on the top tube. That was not very comfortable at all.
The second problem is that the Lemond frame is starting to have some issues that I think are being caused by internal rust. The frame hasn’t rusted through, but I can feel a strange sensation from the bottom bracket when I’m pedalling out of the saddle; and when I thump the down tube near the bottom bracket, there is a place that sounds different from the rest of the tube.
I took went looking for other people who are riding Fuji SL-1 frames and found a few on RoadBikeReview.com
The 44cm bike looks pretty good and most of the owners seem to like their bikes; so I’m excited about the upgrade.
We’ll see how I like the new frame when it gets in.
-TM-
I’m now up to riding 7-9 miles at a time and riding at 10 miles per hour average. That’s an hour of riding. I’m working on getting both the distance and speed up, as well as spending more time riding each day.
I’d like to get up to 12 miles per hour average and 20 miles per day by 8/30/2010.
I’m also looking into upgrading my frame. My Zurich is a good bike, but it doesn’t fit well. My standover clearance is nothing on the 48cm frame, which leads to being tentative when starting and stopping.
I’m looking at a 2009 44cm Fuji SL1 frame and swapping my parts over to the new frame.
-TM-
This Saturday, I will be going on the Scott Kelby Photowalk for the second year in Franklin, Tennessee. Downtown Franklin is a beautiful place, with beautiful old buildings, parks, green space and walkways. The Franklin photowalk will begin at Puckett’s again this year and the photographers will be enjoying the morning.
This year, the weather may be overcast or even raining; and there is a fiddle competition there as well. If the light and fiddlers agree, I’ve got a couple of ideas that could be pretty good pictures.
This year, I’m only going to take my iPhone. I realize that that’s a limitation, but it will be interesting to compare my results to the pictures that the other photographers bring home.
I’ll post some of my pictures here Sunday to see what I come up with.
-TM-
Robert Burns knew what he was talking about when he wrote that line.
I planned to visit my Dad, Mom and sister this weekend. I didn’t plan to spend basically everything I had on fixing my car, but as they say, plans change.
On the positive side, I did get a 3 mile ride in on Sunday morning. The heat and humidity here in Middle Tennessee make doing anything later than 11 a.m. or before 7 p.m. miserable, and I can’t get all my training for my planned bike rides this summer on stationary trainers at the gym; so I enjoyed getting out and riding a bit.
I do like my Garmin bike computer. It’s giving me information during the ride that’s useful, and it’s giving me lots of data. You wouldn’t think that a few rides, none longer than 3 miles would improve your fitness, but my heart rate on the 3 mile ride was lower than it was a week earlier on a 1.5 mile ride.
I have decided that my frame is decidedly too tall for me. I can deal with the cockpit length issues, I think,but the height of the top tube is definitely reducing my confidence on the bike.
-TM-
Yesterday was car repair day. I chased down parts and had someone replace the spark plugs and wires and change the valve cover gasket on the front valve cover on my car. I’m still getting a miss on one cylinder, so a coil pack is next up on the list.
-TM-
My dad came home from the hospital today he’s doing well. I’m going to get out this weekend and ride a little.
I’m going to reset my training plan and work on getting into shape again. I’m using the zero to 25 mile beginner plan from Training Plans for Cyclists
by Gayle Bernhardt as the basis for my plan.
I picked up a Edge 500 GPS Team Garmin Bundle
from Amazon today to help with keeping track of my training and heart rate.
The best way to know when you need a rest day is to watch your heart rate. When it’s higher than normal for your level of perceived exertion, then you need to rest.
My dad had open heart surgery on Thursday and he’s doing very well so far. I hope I’m half as healthy as he is when I’m 79.
I appreciate all the prayers that everyone has lifted for him and all of our family. It’s been difficult, but we’ve managed to get through it so far.
It’s not going to be easy, but I believe the hardest part is past.
-TM-
I’m going to be taking a few days off the bike. I’m having a mild gout attack and my right great toe hurts.
My dad took a trip to the ER today with chest pain, and they’re keeping him overnight for observation. I’m doing a lot of praying right now. If you’re reading this and pray, I’d appreciate your adding him to your prayers.
-TM-
The shop didn’t have a 110mm stem in the take-off box, so we’re trying a 90mm stem instead. After riding for two days, it feels close, but still a little short. I’ll ride for another week, then I’ll probably order a 100mm stem if it still feels short.
Otherwise, the bike feels pretty good. I admit I don’t know what a road bike should feel like, but nothing is hurting and I’m hoping that most of the other issues will work themselves out as I get into better shape.
-TM-
I’ve been riding my bike now for about a week and I’m starting to sort out my body’s complaints into two groups.
The first group relates to having been off the bike for so long. Those will pass with time.
The other group has to do with fitting issues, and those need to be addressed by changing the bike. I’ve adjusted the seat height and position, and they will probably need some additional fine tuning as I get better feedback from my body. The stem is about two inches too short. The current stem is a 60mm stem. I’m going to go to a 110mm stem. I’m going in to the bike shop tomorrow to have the stem swapped out so I can ride a bit more and see if that’s got me in the happy zone.
-TM-
