After yesterday's ride I installed my new 11-28 cogset, replacing the 12-25. This (the 28 cog) is the final improvement toward helping achieve success at Brasstown Bald. My Sunday 360 Loop ride is amazingly consistent: 2 hours 33 minutes on good days, 2:36 average days, 2:45 on bad days. In a previous post, I hypothesized that my downhill speed needed a boost. The 11 tooth cog should rectify that. Therefore, I modified the 100% cadence focus by planning to see what speed the 11 would give me going down, without regard to cadence.
The weather forecast indicated a slight wind (5-10mph) from the south, increasing to 10-15mph in the afternoon. Perhaps I should have paid more attention to the whole forecast. At 4:30am the temperature showed 83F. I expected 75F. While mentally noted, I gave it no more than a passing thought.
I left the house, in the dark, at 5:30, driving to the start place and putting wheels down at 6am. As the sky lightened, I could see there would be no sunrise to behold. Dampness enveloped me within 20 yards of starting. It wasn't foggy, but for the next 2:36 minutes I cycled in a cloud. I'm guessing the humidity hovered between 95-100%. I managed to put it in the 11 a couple of times, but with the heavy air and slight wind, never could to crank it up. Of course, I still worked on cadence (had to, actually). Try again next Sunday.
No comments:
Post a Comment