Adjusting the Fit

I've owned my Serotta Road bike for over 10 years now. Its been a fabulous bike. In large part, its been a great bike because it fits me so well. I'm 6'4" tall with log arms and a long inseam. So I need a big bike. My Serotta is a 62 cm frame and has fit wonderfully over the years.

For the last 3 years, I have had a problem though. I have hot foot in my right foot. Everythng I have tried has not helped. Different shoes, different insoles, different cleat positions, still no fix. Sometimes its better, sometimes its worse. But its hard to ride hard when you are in pain.

Also, riding the CompuTrainer, I've felt like I needed to move my saddle forward a bit. Not much, maybe half a centimeter or so. But I've noticed that when I am in the most comfortable position to sit on the saddle, I feel like my back is stretched a little more than I would like it to be on the hoods. Part of this is that in the 10 years I have owned the bike, I've probably lost a little bit of flexibility. That's one of the things age does. Its probably also true that in I'm not as flexible in January as I am during te riding months of summer.

So in any case, I decided to toy with the fit tonight. Not big changes, just adjustments. One reason is that in the off-season, my body can adapt to these changes. Also, if the changes don't work out, I can go back with a minimal loss of training. In the spring and summer when I hope to be riding 200-250 miles a week, this isn't such a good possibility. And the last reason is that riding on the CompuTrainer, I have a static platform to evaluate changes on. I can ride for an our and not worry if the way I felt was because of the wind or that last hill or look out for that truck. I can make an adjustment and ride the CompuTrainer and just evaluate that adjustment. That is hard to do on the road.

So Randy at the Recyclist and I set about to make a few changes tonight. The first change was soem new insoles. I've had e-Soles insoles for the last 2 1/2 years, and they have been OK, but they have never fully fixed my hot foot problem and at this point, I think they are just plain worn out. So we put in some Specialized Body Geometry Insoles. Then we brought the seat forward, probably about 1 cm.

I rode on the CompuTrainer for an hour after that. My first thought is a lot of new. I've always rode sitting way back, so coming forward a bit is just very new. There will be an adjustment period. I did feel at times though that my pedaling was more free and relaxed, so that is a positive. Tonight though, my right knee is a little sore. It does do that sometimes, so I'm not sure that is related to the position change. It was easier to stay on the hoods rather than on top of my bars with less strain on my back, so that is good. I am going to stick with the new saddle position for a few more rides and continue the evaluation.

More disappointing was the insoles. I still had some numbness in my right foot and when I finished, a pins and needs sensation. We were using the +++ insole tonight, which has the highest arch support and the largest metatarsal bump. That is good for me since I overpronate badly and I need to spread my toes out. But speaking with Randy afterwords, we are wondering if maybe its too much for me. Maybe that high arch and large metatarsal bump is putting pressure on another part of my foot causing numbness there. So next time, we are going to try the ++ model and see if that works better for me.

I don't want this blog to become an advertisement for a company or shop, but I do have to say, its really great to have a bike shop work with me the way the guys at Recyclist is. I don't mind spending the money to get the right set of insoles, but I really don't want to buy several different varieties to find the right one (hey, there is a recession going on after all). Its a tremendous advantage to be able to take a product like an insole or saddle or make a change and jump on the CompuTrainer there in the shop and test it out and see if it works for you. First of all, you aren't dirtying the product in any way so that if after 30 minutes you say it doesn't work for you, they can't put it back in the box and onto the shelf. Second, if you make a change and after 30 minutes you cramp up or something, no biggy. You are in the store. Its not like you have to limp home or call someone to come get you. And finally, you can make a change, ride for 15 minutes, get off and make another change all right there. That isn't easy to do when you are on the road. And they have all the measuring instruments there so you can record your settings and see if you within accepted norms. But the part that really makes the difference is they have people wiling to work with you.

So, I'm still pondering what to do about my right foot, but I'm happy I have an avenue to try to fix it.

Cycling Goals for 2009 Season

So here are my goals for the 2009 calendar year as it relates to cycling

Complete the Ride Across Indiana (RAIN) 156 mile ride in 7 hours, 45 minutes of ride time or less.
When: July 18, 2009 (http://bloomingtonbicycleclub.org/tours/rain/rain.html)
Why: Three times I've completed Seattle to Portland in a day, though the last time was in 2005. This is just my kind of event. Long ride, relatively flat, get in your big chain ring and let it rip. Team tactics will be critical. Find a good group of riders that that will trade off at the front and keep the pace high. Plus, its riding all the way across a state in one day. How many people can say they have done that. And I've never done a ride in Indiana before, so this will be a first. This is the goal I am really looking forward to-- a long distance endurance event, just what I like.

Earn a 1000 km RUSA Distance Award
When: 2009 Calendar Year
Why: I earned a 1000 km distance award in 2006, my first year of doing brevets. The last couple of years, I've been too busy to focus on doing brevets. I'd like to change that in 2009. This goal is really about season long fitness. Unlike goal number 1 being a one day ride, doing 1000 kms of brevets will require rides and fitness from spring to fall.

Win the Recyclist Indoor Cycling Miles Competition
I've already put a lot of work into this one. I'm leading the CompuTrainer competition with 330 miles. My closest competitor has 197. So yes, a big lead already, but this goal is more about staying active through the winter. I want to continue what I have been doing, a ride a week of about an hour and a two hour ride on the weekend. I feel like riding the CompuTrainer has already improved me as a cyclist, and if I keep it up over the next two months, I should have a nice foundation to accomplish the above goals. And hey, nothing wrong with a new bike either.


What This is Going to Take

Prepare a Solid Foundation in the Winter
It is going to be pretty much impossible to ride outdoors until sometime in March. Snow and cold have a way of doing that to you. But I need to go into March with a solid foundation, so specifically for the next two months I need to

• Ride the CompuTrainer twice a week for a total of 3 hours of bike time
• Make my way to the pool and swim for an hour twice a week
• Work on my core strength. Maybe I should actually do that Power Yoga DVD I bought a few years ago. Or the core strength program Bicycling Magazine has

Learn some Discipline in the Diet

• I drink way too much soda. Always have. But that means a lot of calories. Time to discipline myself. I did this successfully a couple years back and it helped a lot
• Minimize the fatty food I eat. Chicken and Rice, Chicken and Rice, must remember chicken and rice. Minimize the beef, the brats, the mashed potatoes. I love them, but need to cut the fatty meals down to a couple times a week

Hit the Base Training Hard Come March and April

• As I look back to when I was doing STP a few years ago, I'd have weeks in April where I would put in 200 miles. That is a lot of volume, but it also provided a solid foundation. Those will be some hard weeks, but they will set the stage for the goals above

Fix My Hotfoot Problem

• I've been battling hotfoot (a burning, numbing sensation) in my right foot for 3 years. I need to get this figured out. Hard to go fast when you are in pain.

So there you have it. The 2009 goals. Goals are great, but now its up to execution. With that said, where is that Yoga DVD anyway?