PedalTheOcean.com

I successfully finished a full 10 hours on the Lake in WiTHiN yesterday. Whew! That was one LOOOONG day. Local kayaker Chris Comfort joined me for the last couple of hours which made the time pass by - thanks Chris!


The day had some slight windy moments and 1 to 2 foot waves kicked up. At the right angle to the waves, some were splashing over the perimeter deck and soaking me. I guess I should probably install some sort of splash lip on the cockpit edge in case it gets windy during the 24... I wonder if there was something temporary and removable that I could make just in case? Any ideas?

During parts of the day it was also dead calm, sunny and HOT. It reached a high of 29.5 degrees and the water was like a mirror.


My speed while I was peddling averaged around 9 kph. Including some lengthy stops to adjust my seat, etc, etc, my average was still hovering about 7 kph. If I could end up with a 7 average after the 24 hour attempt, that would convert to 168 km which is at the current record. During the record attempt, I am not planning on any stops at all if I can help it, so I really hope that I can maintain a least a 7 kph average by the end of the day. My goal is to end with a 8 kph average which would be 192 km. My 100 watt speed is about 8.3 kph, so an ending wattage average of 100 is realistic, as I have done it before.

My KNEES are becoming a problem now!! What a pain (literally). My numb feet weren't a problem since I have lowered my seat back and replaced my small Speedplay pedals with larger Time pedals. The reclining of the seat back puts less pressure on my butt and lower back, so I think that it encourages better blood flow down to my feet - don't know for sure. However, since the new open hip angle, my knees have started to ache. I think this has to do with one or a combination of these factors:

1. My lower cadence of 70 rpm for 150 watts
2. The knee position is ABOVE the pedal position at the maximum torque position of the crank.
3. Possibly a wider foot stance (Q factor) due to the position of the cleats for the new TIME pedals.
4. Possibly a closer than normal seat position (I've been playing around with various seat positions, shoes and cleats in order to resolve the numb issue, so that could have resulted in a closer than normal seat position)

I was out on the M5 for 2.5 hours on Tuesday and hammered for most of the ride at 250+ watts. I was using the new TIME pedals and I had NO indication of any pain whatsoever. The seat position is slightly different though - the distance from the seat bottom to the cranks is the same, but the seat back angle is higher. I can't lower it any further on the M5 due to the addition of a mid drive last year.

Labels: training