So, i did the 22km loop, the usual one which i've been doing.
Felt pretty strong on the bike, the usualy route which i had to slog going up at 17km/h i did an impressive 21km/h (the climb pass Citibank Damansara Perdana).
I aerobar-ed about 50% of the way, which mean a good 11km in aero position.
Because i have 9 speed on the bike now, with the biggest difference being the smallest and largest sprockets, i potentially went faster on the flat and had to struggle a bit on the climb.
Lets go back to April when i wrote about the technical aspect of the gearing.
I started off with a 5 speed cassette, which has the combo of 14-17-19-21-24. This combo let me climb some hills with easier ease but because of the 14, i can't go as fast.
For the ease of understanding, a furhter distance covered per revolution denotes that it takes more torque to pedal and once in motion, you could maintain top speed on the flat or get faster on the downhill; and a shorter distance covered per revolution denotes that it's easier to climb, abeit slower.
So, potentially, with the 5 speed, i could only squeeze 7.8meter per revolution with the 52-14 combo and could climb at the rate of 3.7meter per revolution with the 42-24 combo.
The original 5 speed
Then, Azmar passed me a set of 7 speed wheels. Sweet. It has a 13-14-15-17-19-21-24 cassette, which mean i could squeeze 8.4 meter per revolution with the 52-13 combo! Getting faster definately! The climbing gear was the same at 3.7meter per revolution.
The 7 speed...
Then, thanks to Geoff's generosity, i'm bestowed with a 9 speed cassette with a 12-13-14-15-16-17-19-21-23 cassette. WOW!
The combi of 52-12 could very well give me a 9.1meter per revolution. That is a 0.7meter advantage over the 52-13 combo. Though it might not sound a lot, but imagine for every revolution, i'm pulling away by at least 2 feet...
The 9 speed...
On the downside, the lightest combo is now 42-23, which is slighty heavier than the 42-24. If i could ride this 42-23 gear like how i would on a 42-24, then all the better as i will be 4 inches away with every revolution.
OK, enough of these technicality, what all this says is that i'm not able to go faster. Previously the bike can't keep up with me spinning it on the largest combo (52-13/14) and i was bopping up and down with every pedal push i did. Now, it felt great, it is just nice for the time being, well, until i start to be bopping up and down on the now 52-12 combo, i would need a smaller combination like, say a 52-11 or even a 53-11(this allows me to go well over 10meters per revolution!)
So, what did the ride yesterday translate to?
1. My top speed of 61.5km/h on the 52-13 gearing was broken with the 52-12 gearing. I was tearing down the hill at 65.6km/h yesterday.
2. My average of 31.6km/h was broken with a new average of 32.9km/h. That's a good 1.3km/h improvement and i wasn't even aerobar-ring 70% of the way.
3. I shaved off a good 2 minutes from the last ride on the same route i took.
Here is some stats:
Distance: 22km
Time: 40:00minutes
Average: 32.9km/h
Max: 65.6km/h
I guess all the running helped a wee bit, plus a bit of weight loss, essentially, i'm cranking the pedals with slightly stronger pair of legs.
If that is the case, i can't afford to stop now and be complacent, i have to improve and improve, that is the only way to ensure that i will be able to finish IronMan 2008 in Langkawi!
Menu for Today: Get off work by 4.30pm, cycle 22km and run 7km. Failing which, i will run 10km to the gym passing through TTDI and KLGCC and towards Gym.
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