Steels Creek TT

There were 7 hot air balloons up today...enjoying what must have been a really frigid, brass monkeyish but picturesque view of the Yarra Valley, with mist hanging in the valleys before the sun burnt it off . One of my fiftieth birthday presents was money for a bungee jump, a parachute jump or a balloon flight...coward that I am with a dislike of heights and speed together I chose the balloon flight. So I KNOW how cold it would have been up there...except for the top of your head of course whenever the pilot ignited the gas to gain height.

We lesser mortals on the ground were also VERY cold (4 degrees celsius/centigrade). I was lucky to be one of the last starters so that by the time I was on my way the temperature has risen a bit and I was able to take off the gloves and the gortex.

My brief was to aim for a higher cadence than was comfortable...well all I can say is that I tried. Cadence grid line is again set at 80rpm



So there it is... compare it with the one in yesterday's post. The course today was a bit longer and my time slower but unbelievably my avg speed was the same at 33.9kph. My avg cadence HAS improved...by 1rpm!!! and both times I was 4 mins slower than the winner (young, male). The HR is wrong, its not working properly..my polar HRM gave max of 158, which is closer to my normal racing HR. There was also a head wind on the way out although it wasn't really obvious until the turn around; I think I have a 2-3 mins negative split.

I've been very happy with my Fizik Chrono saddle until today. Since moving over to the Specialized Jett saddle on all my other bikes, I realise the Chrono just isn't as good. More $ bleed out.