It’s been about 12 months since my last update and I thought it was time I wrote on here!
Since then I have passed my Inspector’s exams, got a new job at Manchester Airport, got two new bikes, have raced and have an even bigger penchant for cycling.
I recently had a bike fit from a guy called Adrian Timmis at Cadence Sport.
Adrian is was a pro cyclist at the highest level and he exudes experience and enthusiasm.
The tweaks on the bike were fairly small but the revelation was the introduction of moulded foot beds and cleat shims. The foot beds are moulded and produced there and then, plonk them in your shoes and prepare to be shocked. A comparison with the shoes without footbeds was a real eye opener. My feet rolled around in my shoes without the beds in and this was causing discomfort and eventually pain over longer rides, as well as causing power loss. Adrian also found that I had one leg longer than the other. This was corrected through the use of cleat shims which also had the benefit of correcting the poor tracking my leg went through. The result was instantly a smoother, more efficient pedalling action, and a big smile on my face!
The club TT season is very fast approaching and I recently tried a ride on my TT bike to try and get some miles in on it. I felt so uncomfortable on there and I couldn’t get any power down at all! So…
I went back yesterday for a TT bike fitting. The result was the same as the previous fit I had, magic! Rather than having to sit up every two minutes I was able to stay in the aero position for a full hour of intervals, unheard of previously!
The biggest change for me though is during this fit, I also had my initial consultation for coaching.
I had been umming and ahhing over coaching for a while, I thought it seemed expensive but when you put it in to the context of all the cycling bling it seems very good value. The clincher was when I raced, I realised I was a million miles from where I want to be and I was obviously not training effectively.
I will be documenting my experiences on here so people can see what, if any, benefit it brings me and may help people decide whether it’s for them.
One of the big things that Adrian has impressed on me was the importance of nutrition. I will be seeing a nutritionist he recommends in due course.
So, current stats as of 30/03/10 –
Weight 90.5kg, quite high body fat %
Functional Threshold Power (FTP) – 280 (3.09watts per kilogram)
Peak 5 min power – 363
Peak 1 min power – 516
Max (Quad) power – 1109 this season. (Before I broke my leg it was approx 1200)
Races – 3, did crap in them all!
Club 10 mile TT best – 26.14
Alex Taylor - Project: Donkey 