Gettin' in Shape

John - good weekend for a StG ride, we will be down there looking at condos.

Stay Kool, B of BS rools out

JOhn, how did the ride go at St.George, we were down there this last weekend, riders galore.

Stay Kool, B of BS Rools out

Brent, I was also suprized with all the riders. We saw 40 or so out on the course. Did you have any luck looking at condos?

For the ride we started in Washington, followed the course into St George, rode the loop, and finished at the intersection of Tabernacle and Main street where the bike to run transition will be located. It was nice weather and was good to get out on the road. We got a little cold after the Veyo hill with the sun lower in the sky and higher speeds of all the down hill coming into St George. My neck also got quite sore. I guess while on the trainer I'm not spending enough time holding my head up in the proper position.

We rode a total of 56 miles finishing with a 16.4 mph average. It felt like we we're a little slow through some sections. My brother still doesn't have a tri bike and I coasted down most of the hills and still matched his pace.

As for the three big hills, their rideable with a 39/53 crank and 11/28 cassette. On the first short steep one I was on the 39 and 28 rings and was out of the saddle the whole way up. For the second big hill I was on the same 39 and 28 rings and stayed down for the first half of the hill but then had to get out of the saddle for the last half of the hill. On the last hill (Veyo) I was on the 39 and 25 rings for the first third of the hill then the 39 and 28 rings for the rest of the hill and was down in the saddle the whole way up.

The first two hills really took it out of me and it took some time to recover after reaching the top. On the Veyo hill I felt good all the way up and my legs were in good shape and ready to go after reaching the top. I think the course is doable with this set up and for now I'm going to hold off on getting a compact crank. I did finally get the STG Ironman interactive course for my Computrainer and have riden the first 33 miles. I need to ride the first two big hills and see what wattage I'm pushing to get up them. Also, I need to ride two loops of the course and see how my legs feel the second time through the hills. After that I should know if the current set up will work.