With the 120 mm stem, riding with forearms on the tops was pretty shaky. With the 140, it was stable as a table, but I can't crank very hard in that position anyway. With the 120, I felt a little cramped on the drops, and my biceps would get tired after only a few minutes. The 140 was definitely an improvement when on the drops, but maybe a little too much of a stretch with my hands forward by the brake levers. I'll give it another couple of weeks before trying a 130.
Position changes always feel like magic on the first ride, so I put it to the test at the Leroy TT.
A record group turned up for the ride--17 total, including special guest stars Gwenn and Chris who made the trip up from Stow.
I drew the 8th starting slot just ahead of some very fast people, including Brian B, who was starting 1 minute after me.
In spite of that, I resisted the temptation to go out too fast and followed my normal routine. The power numbers were good 350-400W, and I managed to accelerate all the way to the corner, so I swung through at 26 mph. I felt much better than last week.
Brian passed me about half way up the first leg of the hill and was moving fast. I lifted my pace a fraction, and had my typical power drop off on the false flat part of the climb. (Next week, I'll finally pop the 12-25 cassette on the rear wheel instead of the 27.) I did a pretty good sprint up the steep section of the hill, though, and kept the pedals turning to the turn around.
The return leg wasn't as much of a struggle as last week. When I hit the 2 miles to go mark, I started pushing hard. I am not getting as much power out as I did earlier in the season, but felt better than last week.
I was hoping to get a sub 20 minute time, and finished strong, but should have switched the afterburners on a little sooner. I ended up 20:12. I'm still hoping for a sub 19 minute time this season. I'm leaving plenty of seconds out there on the course.
No comments:
Post a Comment