aero

Noah sent me this link, which is about a study comparing various combinations of road vs tt setups.  Since I just bought a tt bike, I find it exciting to see the power savings that they measured between the two!  I don't have an aero helmet, but comparing the drops on the road bike to areobars on the tt bike, I hope I can bike up the pace a little next season. ;-)

Key points, taken from the website:
Position: Going from drops to aerobars will save you ~30 watts at 40km/h
Bike: A time trial bike will save you ~20 watts over a road bike with clip-ons at 40km/h
Helmet: A time trial helmet will save you ~10 watts over a road helmet at 40km/h

a new bike

Frame: Javelin Lugano (Built in Italy, designed in USA)
Fork: True Temper Alpha Q Aero Carbon Fork
Campy Record 10 speed components; 11-23 cassette
FSA Neo Pro Crankset 175mm; 53-39
Profile Cobra Wing Base Bar
Profile T2+ Cobra Aerobars
Profile Hammer stem
Fizik Arione Tri2 saddle
Rolf Prima Vigor Clincher wheelset

Michael Lovato used this bike from July 2007 to April 2008.  I bought him from him in Boulder.

Kona failures

Yesterday, I watched NBC's coverage of the Ford Ironman World Championships in Kona.  I enjoyed it.  There were a couple personal stories that were covered, but much of the coverage followed the pro race and I learned a few things about how the race went.

Not that I'll ever race it, but one concern I would have going is of being one of the racers that fails... on national television!  It's very encouraging to watch the success stories, but some of the folks that don't make cut-off, crash, blow-up to the point of being physically sick, having to be carried off, finish with <1 minutes to spare, etc. also get some TV coverage... "and now we see Ehren van Melle being carried off by the medical staff as he is completely unable to even stagger under his own power!".  Yeah, great, how does the puke look all over the shirt?  Nice.  Hi Mom!  Aren't I great?!

I know it can even happens to the pros, but even they can't enjoy being filmed having an emotional break-down after having to drop-out.  At least folks that are somewhat familiar with pushing hard through endurance activities can understand the bonk/blow-up, but most people probably do not.

Good luck to those lottery winners who aren't quite prepared to complete the race - try to avoid the cameras. :-)

snow styles

After receiving our 2nd blanket of snow this past week, it reminded me of how the kids all responded differently to the 1rst snowfall on Thanksgiving weekend:

1. "love it" - Emily was quick to jump in and start making snow angels.  She wasn't worried about getting covered and the cold didn't concern her.
   
2. "eat it" - Jaelynn's primary focus was eating snow.  She took a break to help Emily & I with a bit of shoveling, but it was only a break away from eating.  The clean stuff isn't around for too long though...
   
3. "hate it" - Evan is not yet fond of the snow.  He really wants nothing to do with it and it's hard just to get him to hold some in his hand.  I'm sure he'll start to enjoy it soon enough.

We will have the girls out downhill skiing this winter - that should teach them what's snow is really for, eh?! ;-)  Actually, Emily already manages "green" runs just fine, but Jaelynn is in for some new experiences.