5k run at lunch
30 min on the tacx when i got home

hr 152 avg
watts 232avg 401max
speed 34.1avg 49.9max

sud

DG. I changed the batteries in the chest strap and the HR monitor worked. I benchmarked it with my Oregon scientific. My heart rate is pretty low. It rarely goes over 168 except on a steep grade. When I go running with my friends I am usually 10bpm lower than they are. On a long climb my legs give out first. I hope that the tacx will help me build/train the muscle mass i need to improve my power to weight ratio. I am not pushing to hard at the moment as i don't want to stress my back. Mostly I hope it will stop me from putting on any weight.

30 min on the tacx yesterday, I re-assembled it and it was a little stiff, +4. Today i re calibrated it to "0".

I rode for 55min of which:

10 min - warm up.
30 min - @ 219 watts
91 cad
32.5 kmh
139 av HR
max HR 158-60
max watts 379
15 min spinning

Followed by risotto ai frutti di mare w 2003 chablis

sud

I finally found a serial to usb connector for my Garmin 201, so now I don't have to use my son's laptop. I uploaded my data to google earth for some lovely satellite imagery of my rides.

Then I stumbled over to Motion Based and uploaded my data there too. Motion Based has just been purchased by Garmen. If you have ever used their logbook you will understand why this is a smart move. The map player is fun. You can see the switchbacks as the dot goes up. It looks like the signal from the 201 is pretty weak so I think I will soon be investing in a low cost booster for it. Motion based does the google maps3d thing for you too.

sud

Some men keep mistresses, the basement peloton keep their old bikes. Drove my wife to work and took advantage of the trip to take my old karbo zaccheria for a ride (my Kastle is attached to the tacx). Pumped the tires and poured some singer sewing machine oil over the chain and away

It felt pretty funny, it's a very difference bike from what I am riding now. The shifting is on the down the down tube. I bought the frame in the late 1990s but the components a mix of 1988 shimano 600 from a previous bike. The cranks are 180mm Dura Ace. It weighs around 9 kilos.

I figured I would do a flat warm up, but turning on to the main road was a cyclist going up, so I turned to follow him. A tractor over took me with a thick cloud of smoke. I sprinted past it, and then the cyclist. I raced the tractor to the next intersection, where I knew he would turn. It was there, two k into the hill before i noticed the cyclist was sitting on my wheel. I was riding 48x22 up the grade to alberobello. I haven't done that since I bought the compact. The long cranks promote mashing on the big gears. I mashed. I have seen the cyclist out riding on my way to work, so I know he trains. He was on a pretty hot bike and might have been amused by my shifting, the cobwebs and the mashing. Until I dropped him half way up that is.

The 180s cranks are cool. They are certainly too big for me, but really rock when you're out of the saddle in a big gear. Descending with a 53x12 was fun also, haven't done that it a while either.

I didn't have a computer or a HRM, but I did the 40k route in exactly 80 minutes (30kmh) with 450-500m vertical. Not too bad considering how little riding I have been doing.

sud

Here's day 2 of my new toy.

Ride Duration=30 min

Calibration= -13
I warmed up for 5 minutes and it calibrated -13. I have done this 5 times now and I always get -13 at 6 or 8 bar irrespectively. I got -10 yesterday once but i assume it was a fluke due to irregular peddling. I tried tightening underneath to get it to calibrate at 0 like the article says, but it's already as tight as it goes.

slope=0,
i worked up to a +9 hump in the middle.

Max speed 77kmh.
I hit this when I was playing around with the interval training function. I guess i set the watts too low and it removed the brake. The taxc made a very high pitched dont-go-there whining and I backed off.

av speed 34.9

max/av HR ???
The HR monitor stopped after 15 min. It might be because it's not polar compat. (Oregon scientific)

max watts 487
av watts 180
is a 180w consistent with a 34.9 av over almost entirely flat terrain? According to CGs chart i should have been around 32kmh

av cad 80
I was in 50x12 for most of the flat riding

max cad 154
This would confirm what the article says about the tax having some problems in high end cadence measuring. I doubt very much i went past 120.

sud

First Tacx blog!
Set up was a challenge with the help of my two children. After they went to bed I was finally able to get the bike on and test that everything is working order. You gotta love E-bay.

This morning it was 25° and sunny, a gorgeous day to be outside... so i stayed in the dark and took the tacx for a spin. At the factory settings (7 kilos lighter, no calibration) so I don't know if these numbers will mean anything. I managed to get 25 min before my daughter crashed into something and I had to stop.

slope=0
Max speed 42kmh
av speed 27.6
max HR 150
av HR 136
max Watts 294
av watts 178
av cad 93
max cad 150

It was a blast.
I didnt exactly knock myself out but I can see that it is going to be a challenging training tool. Observations: I sweated like a pig. It's about 22° in my studio, combined with the lack of moving air, it makes for a pretty warm ride. I will need a rubber matt and something to keep the sweat off the bike. It's pretty noisy if you are in the or directly below the studio, but I think the thick stone walls in my house should keep it contained.

Do the KMH have any basis in reality? The av speed seems pretty fair given the HR, but it seems too easy to peddle in top gear. My 50x12 compact might be a little to agile unless I crank up the slope.
I am very pleased with my purchase.
sud