ENTERING A NEW ERA

     The title is not a global statement like The Computer Age, or Social Media Phenomenon.  Nope, just my little world.  From the time of my first posts I've been proclaiming that I only do racing as a sideline cycling activity to supplement biking vacations, and that while I enjoy it, where I place in the race is immaterial, as long as it is competitive.  I must admit I don't know what has gotten in to me, but I want to be better.  This has been brewing in the back of my head for a long time, but ignored because... well just because.  I think being left unceremoniously in the dust on my last two 40k road races may have been the precipitating action.
   So, I looked around for a coach.  I think I can improve 10% but what I was doing wasn't getting me any better.  A knowledgeable coach should be able to get me on the right track.  I had one guy in mind, in that he regularly wins overall at the Tour de Gruene.  But in asking my Bicycle Sport Shop Road Club captains who they would recommend, their first choice was David.  We got together and I have started training.  Of course, it is more involved than that, but we will skip the intricacies for the time being.  The new era I'm actually referring to is the entrance of a power meter into my cycling world.
   

Stages Power Meter

 I've known for years that the best tool to monitor improvement is a power meter.  For years I've refused to purchase one.  Mainly it was the monetary output, but it would also mean new wheels, and, until I bought my Garmin 500, a new computer.  I'm quite attached to my Rolf Vector Pro wheels which came with my Roark in 2001, roll well, and have never needed truing,  despite hitting some humongous potholes.   My TT bike has a Zipp 808 and I don't want to mess with it.  My coach insists on a power meter.
     Fortunately, there is now on the market a relatively inexpensive (operative word: relatively) and reliable power meter that works off the left crank arm.  Thus, it is interchangeable between my bikes. It has just been delivered, and I'll at least get a baseline reading down before racing in two weeks.   In my cycling world, focus shifts from HR to watts.