With only a few days left till the Marmotte on Saturday, today was the last day I will do any proper form of exercise. At lunchtime I did yoga and it was nice to see that yet another one of my colleagues decided to take part. I think a lot of how hard you find the yoga is how far you are willing to push yourself. For example a lot of people tend to do the poses rather upright and seem to manage it easily. But I like to really get down low and make my legs work, and then they begin to shake. So today was a great workout as I was really willing to push myself. Yet the moves I was doing were exactly the same as others that only do yoga once a week and nothing else.
I am still experimenting with my Bont heat moldable shoes to change the shape slightly. So after work I went for a quick ride to see how they feel. The right shoe seems much better fitting now, after last nights work on it, but the left is still not quite a perfect fit. I have done some further work on it tonight and tomorrow I will go for a quick spin to try it out.
My bike is in for a quick service just to make sure it is in tip top condition for the weekend. I only had it serviced a few weeks ago but there are a couple of minor adjustments I want made, and also I think some water may have got into the moving parts from a ride I did a few weeks ago in heavy rain.
Once again I have gone another year using my Giant TCR 97 without trading it in for a newer model. Every year I consider changing it, but somehow I am attached to my first proper racing bike. It has got me from one end of the UK to the other, all over Switzerland, all over the Netherlands and various other countries too. It is really more than a bike - it is a trusted companion.
Tuesday, 28 June 2011
Monday, 27 June 2011
Not exactly a scientific survey but it seems I am not alone in thinking that choice of cycling shoes makes a big difference
Today at work I went round asking my cycling colleagues if they think that the choice of cycling shoes makes a really noticeable difference. The reason for my interest was that the other day when I tried out my Bont carbon fibre racing shoes for the first time, I felt a big difference compared to my old mountain bike shoes. I even put my record time round the Zürichsee down to the new shoes.
Each of my cycling colleagues answered that they really believed it made a big difference, especially when like me you make the switch from riding a road bike with mountain bike shoes to riding a road bike with road shoes.
Today after work I made my first attempt at moulding the shoes to the shape of my foot. If you recall, my new shoes are fully heat moldable, and by heating them up in the oven or with a hairdryer and then applying pressure with the blunt end of a screwdriver you can start to alter the shape. The shape they came in straight from the shop was not 100% ideal for my feet. The shoe feels a little tight width wise, but the owner of the bike shop reassured me that they can be widened when heated. He also said that I can try them out for a few weeks and if they still don't feel correct I can take them back, as not everyone gets used to them. He offered to help me mold them better to my feet if I was having trouble doing so.
I used the hairdryer to heat them up, as I was a little nervous about putting them in the oven. Before heating them up you first need to remove the insoles, as they are very thin and can melt easily. Once they were getting hot I started to push the blunt end of a screwdriver on the parts I wanted to widen. I also put my feet inside and heated the shoes up with my feet inside a few times to try and push with my toes on the points I wanted to widen.
I am not sure how successful I have been yet in changing the shape to the one I desire, but I will ride my bike to work tomorrow and try it out. My first feeling was that they were a little wider where I wanted them to be, but at the same time I was a little cautious when heating them up, and maybe I didn't heat them up as much as I should have. Let's see how it goes. One thing is for sure though - I really want to wear them in the Marmotte if possible as they are much lighter and stiffer than the old shoes. If they don't feel quite right though it will be a risk as I will have to ride in them for something close to 10 hours.
Each of my cycling colleagues answered that they really believed it made a big difference, especially when like me you make the switch from riding a road bike with mountain bike shoes to riding a road bike with road shoes.
Today after work I made my first attempt at moulding the shoes to the shape of my foot. If you recall, my new shoes are fully heat moldable, and by heating them up in the oven or with a hairdryer and then applying pressure with the blunt end of a screwdriver you can start to alter the shape. The shape they came in straight from the shop was not 100% ideal for my feet. The shoe feels a little tight width wise, but the owner of the bike shop reassured me that they can be widened when heated. He also said that I can try them out for a few weeks and if they still don't feel correct I can take them back, as not everyone gets used to them. He offered to help me mold them better to my feet if I was having trouble doing so.
I used the hairdryer to heat them up, as I was a little nervous about putting them in the oven. Before heating them up you first need to remove the insoles, as they are very thin and can melt easily. Once they were getting hot I started to push the blunt end of a screwdriver on the parts I wanted to widen. I also put my feet inside and heated the shoes up with my feet inside a few times to try and push with my toes on the points I wanted to widen.
I am not sure how successful I have been yet in changing the shape to the one I desire, but I will ride my bike to work tomorrow and try it out. My first feeling was that they were a little wider where I wanted them to be, but at the same time I was a little cautious when heating them up, and maybe I didn't heat them up as much as I should have. Let's see how it goes. One thing is for sure though - I really want to wear them in the Marmotte if possible as they are much lighter and stiffer than the old shoes. If they don't feel quite right though it will be a risk as I will have to ride in them for something close to 10 hours.
Sunday, 26 June 2011
Non training related subject - is anyone going to Lima, Peru? And if so are you looking for an apartment to hire?
Hi folks
I hope you are all enjoying your weekends. The sun is shining and when that happens everything feels just fine and dandy. The reason for my post today is not training related. It just so happens that Anny's family have decided to rent their apartment in the nicest district of Lima called Miraflores. The apartment is just 10 minutes from the beach and has 2 bedrooms. The building has 24 hour security and is very well maintained and situated.
I know that quite a lot of us Europeans go to Peru as it has lots of amazing sites to offer such as Machu Pichu, and people tend to fly into Lima and then travel onwards from there. So rather than just going straight from Lima to Cusco to see Machu Pichu and to do the Inca trail, maybe you want to take a few days repose in Lima itself and enjoy all the hustle bustle and Latino atmosphere that it has to offer.
If you are visiting Lima then drop me an email to paul_janes@hotmail.com and I can send you some pictures of the apartment and put you in contact with Anny's family who own the apartment. Then you can discuss prices e.t.c. As a rough guide the price would be 100USD per day for use of the 2 bedrooms, which is on par with other apartments in the same area, but at least here you know who you are dealing with if you know me, and you don't have to worry about getting scammed.
I myself will be staying in the apartment after my Vuelta Sudamerica bike tour from Buenos Aires to Cusco for a couple of weeks. By the way for those of you who have been following my blog regularly I thank you greatly and I can assure you that it will get much much more interesting once I depart for South America.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
I hope you are all enjoying your weekends. The sun is shining and when that happens everything feels just fine and dandy. The reason for my post today is not training related. It just so happens that Anny's family have decided to rent their apartment in the nicest district of Lima called Miraflores. The apartment is just 10 minutes from the beach and has 2 bedrooms. The building has 24 hour security and is very well maintained and situated.
I know that quite a lot of us Europeans go to Peru as it has lots of amazing sites to offer such as Machu Pichu, and people tend to fly into Lima and then travel onwards from there. So rather than just going straight from Lima to Cusco to see Machu Pichu and to do the Inca trail, maybe you want to take a few days repose in Lima itself and enjoy all the hustle bustle and Latino atmosphere that it has to offer.
If you are visiting Lima then drop me an email to paul_janes@hotmail.com and I can send you some pictures of the apartment and put you in contact with Anny's family who own the apartment. Then you can discuss prices e.t.c. As a rough guide the price would be 100USD per day for use of the 2 bedrooms, which is on par with other apartments in the same area, but at least here you know who you are dealing with if you know me, and you don't have to worry about getting scammed.
I myself will be staying in the apartment after my Vuelta Sudamerica bike tour from Buenos Aires to Cusco for a couple of weeks. By the way for those of you who have been following my blog regularly I thank you greatly and I can assure you that it will get much much more interesting once I depart for South America.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
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