Nothing succeeds like Sussex#

Mon, 22 Oct 2007 16:50:22 +0000

Mid-Sussex Hilly 100km was cool. Literally so at first - on the way from the station to the start I had to slow down on the descents as I was at risk of losing feeling in my fingers - but once the sun had been up long enough for the air to warm a little, it was just a lovely autumn day. Started 8:45am (15m late, train companies playing silly buggers, then some backtracking looking for the start point), finished 2:15pm, which makes the average speed around 20k including stops.

Lessons learned for next time

• Fix the route sheet to the handlebars, somehow
• Find the manual for my computer so I can reset the trip time at the start and follow directions on said route sheet
• 100km is too far to ride with untaped bars, even using cycling mitts

("Next time" may be the 3rd Nov 200k that starts somewhere near Reading, but - 7:30am start, ew)

In theory it makes a nice change to have a day's exercise that doesn't involve toasting my lower back, but in practice it's a straight tradeoff with my sit bones: I'll be giving it a couple of days before I sit on a narrow saddle again. Also my right kneecap - front of knee - was twinging a bit (saddle too low, perhaps?) and my neck is sore, I think because I spent the whole ride on the drops as the bar tops lead to an uncomfortably upright position.

So last night I raised the saddle height about 10mm, and rotated the handlebar angle so the tops are level instead of slanting downwards. Should mean that I have a reasonably comfortable second position on the hoods, but we'll find out.

New bike progress: none to speak of. Frame+forks arrived, but still without BB and still haven't bought bars, stem, or pedals.