9 Jun, 2024
It's been a month since I started training for gravel ultramarathon with a professional and there's a progress. My cadence has gotten way better and I even improved my heart rate. Cadence is my main problem - it's just too low, but according to my trainer I quickly achieved better one.
I can't be outside 5 days per week, but I manage to get into the saddle three times - outdoor and indoor. There are times when I have to train more indoor, because life and that's fine. I know I can't have it all.
I also try my best to do bike basic stuff by myself, but my tires want to kill me.
I got punctured tubes three times in two weeks. It wouldn't be problem if my tires weren't so painful to change them. It's stupid hard to get them on the rim and then set them correctly. I tried soap, I tried soap with water, I tried to ride with very low pressure in them and overpressurize them. Yes, I changed worn out rim tape.
Three times out of three I had to ask a professional to do it for me. You probably know how I feel right now.
I hope going tubeless will make things easier. Otherwise I have no idea what I'm going to do.
At least I know now how to improve my situation which is not true for my cleats.
So I have Look X-Track pedals and one of the screws used for regulation has its head so worn I cannot move it. I haven't seen anywhere a replacement part. A distributor in my country hasn't answered my query about that. It seems I either should find same pedal somewhere and get the screw from or buy new ones and I don't want to do this.
I hope the second pedal hasn't any problem like that. It has started acting up.
There are probably other problems as well with my bike, but I cannot identify then or rather debug them. I try really hard and I know that every bike has to visit bike shop at least once a year, because I'm not going to replace mineral oil by myself, but it would be nice to fix small problems. Unfortunately, I don't even know how to start looking for solutions. Usually I end up with incorrect ones, because problem lies elsewhere (where? I don't know!)
Is there any guide for clueless people like me?
Anyway.
I signed up for my first race in the end of July. 100km, but it's a start.