Velosophy - June 2018.

21 June 2018.
Since last July, my knees fully recovered after a double knee replacement in
Feb 2017.
From about September to December 2017 I re-joined the Peal Power Sunday
Wanderers 23. I found I was quicker than most of them.
But by December the heat affected me and the high saddle also did things to
my cervical spine so lowered it 20mm but left the handle bars raised and my
body is tolerating this fairly well.
At nearly 71, I had to expect that my skeleton would rebel against the lean
forward ride position.
I lost interest in the group rides after December and am happy riding about
200km a week average, although I did a few weeks over 300km.

But as part of the treatment for Pca, from early August 2017 I began taking
1,000mg abiraterone plus 2 x 5mg prednisolone daily. The abi shuts down the
adrenal gland to prevent it making small amounts of testosterone. I have
continued with monthly injections of Lucrin, which is ADT.
The side effects of abi and pred were negligible for 4 months but it seemed the
abi upset my heart rate and made me overly sensitive to heat on summer days.

But I proved to everyone that being castrated chemically for 8 years did not slow
me down much.

The abi stopped working last May and I have my last pills this month and docs
want me to start on chemo therapy with docetaxel, because I have countless
metastases in my bones. But not much Pca elsewhere.

Psa is about 7 now, and there is other treatments that are planned, and
throughout all this shite I will try to keep cycling.

I changed from Shimano 10 speed to Sram 10 speed, which I have come to find
works well without the constant chain fall offs and chattering gears that adjustments
just can't fix.

22 July 2017.
Over last 11 weeks I spent 5 weeks on a bike with one 66" gear and freewheel cog.
I worked up to 100km+ a week.
I then moved to bike with old 3 speed Shimano 3S hub gear, similar to Sturmey Archer.
Bike has 32 teeth chainring for 67" top gear, so the two lower gears allowed me to ride
further with steeper hills.
Then moved back onto Cannondale and have done 200km a week and at average
speed over 22kph, not too bad since having both knee joints replaced exactly 5 months ago.
One ride last Tuesday was 66km.
So my knees are going well, but many areas where surgery was performed become slightly
painful at end of 66km ride.
My knees can only get better. I did find that I had to raise the saddle on Cannondale up
40mm. So it must have been too low for years. I am used to the higher position and have
lifted handlebars about +30mm, and by back is fine with race position. Better knees has
meant better spine health.

I am 70yo now, and I don't know how many kilometres I have left to cycle.
Other health matters threaten to to prevent me cycling too much further, but I have already
cycled about 225,000km between 1986 and now in 2017. I did not cycle between
1993 and 2006.

24 April 2017.
Since November 2016, my health improved and I was able to keep cycling up to 6
February 2017.
On 13 February, I had both knee joints replaced at Calvary Hospital in Canberra.

Here are some tips on how to get back onto a bike after double TKR at age 70.

I was able to get away from using crutches at about 2 months after the op.
I overhauled a Spokesman Cycles bicycle with 6 x 2 gearing bought that in 1982 with
plain chrome-moly frame. In 1988 I removed all gearing, shortened its wheelbase
and fitted single speed freewheel with 72inch gear.
I could ride that all around Sydney and ACT because I could push hard instead of
relying on gears.
But in 2007, after my 13 year rest from cycling, 72 inch gear was too high and I reduced
it to 65 inch. I also replaced 27 inch rims to narrow 700c.

The recent re-build meant new freewheel and bottom bracket bearing to stop noise
and allow chain to stay the same tension for each pedal rotation. The transmission
is now smooth as silk.

At age 70, and with weak knees after the operation, I have found the 65" gear just
right for flat roads around my suburb with hills < 2% gradient.

I also removed the original Sugino 170mm cranks and replaced them with 160mm cranks.
This reduced the knee bend needed.

I raised the seat and fitted cow-horn style handlebars. 

After the double TKR, the L knee had about 105 degrees bend range and R knee
only 88 degrees.

To ride the bike with shorter cranks I needed angle between femur and tibia of about
85 degrees.
At 9 weeks after the op, I was able to go for a nervous, careful slow ride from my
house in Watson to the Hackett shopping center, 2.5km each way. I rode this simple
bike for about 6 more weeks and gradually increased distance. pedalling became easier
but getting right knee to bend more seemed impossible.

I re-built a second bicycle with a Ken Evans 531 hand made frame which I had won
in a race in 1988. It has become my Hot City Bicycle, bright red frame, with 700c rims
and 36 old fashioned stainless steel spokes. The rear wheel has old Shimano 3S
hub with 3 speed gears and 18t cog, and is similar to 3 speed Sturmey Archer gearing
which I first used back in 1963 on the first bike I ever made.
The HCB has 170mm cranks and 34t chain-ring which gives 68" top gear, about 50.5"
middle gear, and a low gear of about 36", so I could extend range to most of suburban
Canberra. There was no need for a high 100" for high speed down hills.

In felt the transition from 160mm to 170mm cranks - more knee bend was needed,
but I adjusted OK after a week. I have standard race handlebars, and began to enjoy
the lean-forward riding position. It is better to spin up to speed on 68" and then sit back
to and enjoy the breeze down hills.
I extended my range on the Hot CB, and was able to ride 60km. But then I felt the desire
for more gears.

Things that did not work to help me get back on bike included :-
Swimming did absolutely zero to make knees bend, and I felt awkward and clumsy
in the water.
I'm not a good swimmer, but I still usually swim 5km a week in in summer a 9M home pool.
So I didn't swim much after the knee op.

Stretches were strongly recommended by all physiotherapists but I could not measure
any wanted lengthening of quad muscle and tendon to knee caps after doing stretches.
Physios then lambaste you for not stretching, but I know they don't work. The surgeon
should have achieved more right knee bend during the operation, and because he didn't,
it will be a long hard road to stretch the muscle and tendon to allow the 135degrees
I had before the op. The stretch I get on every pedal rotation is much more than I could
ever do during a static stretch at home. Over a 2.7 hour 60km ride, and with cadence
of 75rpm, there are 12,150 knee bends on each knee. If each pedal rotation = 0.8Sec,
and the stretch with sharp knee bend lasts 0.08Sec, then its equal to a static stretch
of 2.7 hours x 0.08 / 0.8 = 0.27 hours = 16 minutes. Properly done static stretches involve
holding a stretch position for 5Sec, relaxing for 30Sec, so you would need to do 192
stretches x 5seconds each plus 25sec between each = 192 x 30Sec = 96minutes = 1.6 hours.
Has anyone got nearly 2 hours a day to stretch? It is completely boring.
During my time doing physio therapy, the vast majority of other ppl in the sessions
I attended had NEVER exercised properly for the previous 45 years, or since they
left school. Not one rode a bicycle, or had a history of walking a lot, or working in
building trades.

At 19 weeks after the op, at beginning of July, I got back onto the Cannondale with
carbon frame and 20 gears. The cranks are 175mm. This step up went OK, and I needed
to raise saddle +40mm, and handle bars up 30mm. I concluded I must have been riding for
3 years with saddle a bit low, but then I had good knee bend range exceeding 135 degrees.
The increase of knee bend with 175mm cranks has been minimal, if any. So I have to get
used to first km. But after that the pedalling is so stiff and awkward that it ruins the ride
pleasure. After 3 weeks on Cannondale, 22 July 2017, I am back to being able to ride up
to 240km a week including 2 x 60km from Watson to Tuggeranong, and other short rides.
Average speed is above 22kph, which may sound tame to keener cyclists.

Why is it that I never ever see anyone else on their bikes at 70yo? Many ppl develop
the ability to create mental reasons for not exercising once they turn 20, and they fine
tune the avoidance for next 40 years during which time they eat way too much,
consume too much, and expect doctors to fix all their short comings. I sympathize with
those who have a genuine reason for living without any daily exertion, but they are so
few, and the rest are all just BONE LAZY, so when they turn 60, they have one foot in
the grave.
I met many who had one foot in grave at 40.
I myself do not know how much longer I can ride, but if I feel good on a ride today,
I will ride tomorrow. If I ride far enough on one day,
I can have a day off, and it aids recovery.

Since July 2016, I had additional radiation for prostate cancer, then 2 months of
radiation colitis. I recovered from all that by October 2016, and then I had both knees
replaced in Feb 2017. I have recovered from that. So I guess I lost about 5 months
out of 12 months on the bicycle. I now face much more treatment for Pca, and I have
no idea when I may be forced to stop cycling again.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Before 28 November 2016, I said........
Since 17 October, I've managed over 100km a week on bike but not very fast.
Better than nothing. I have had lawns to mow and hedges to clip, and these things make
knees ache. Psa has gone down to 0.39 so it looks like it may keep falling, at least for
a few more months, and this gives me the window of opportunity to have bilateral knee
replacement. The oncologist is happy to allow me to proceed with getting the new knees,
so he does not think I am terminal.

Calvary Hospital have agreed to proceed and I have a pre-admission clinic on 13 Dec,
with an education session on day before. Doctors take long holidays from Xmas onwards,
so I might get the op sometime in early February 2017.
If the op is early March, I could be back on a bike by April, although I may need to spend
time on a stationery exercise bike and do lots of swimming and some walking to get back
into living. Next year could be a kind of comeback year, but the cancer lurks, and there
is no likelihood it will just go away and stay gone away. I will only ever believe its gone
when I don't need to take any drugs and Psa remains steady below 0.5.

The horrible radiation colitis I have had continues to lessen as my body slowly recovers
from attack By Unkel X-Ray, an ugly terrorist who lives and works in a room at Epworth
Hospital. They keep him well chained to the floor. His keepers let him shine his rays at
Puff the Magic Prostate Grenade, that other terrorist who lives inside me. Terrorism is
only defeated by getting one terrorist to fight another, and of course this carefully arranged
battle has unpredictable outcomes, because one's dick is ruined, and arse outcomes
are pooey and pharty dreadful for quite a while after the battle.

Things could be worse. I could have died. There was a coroner's report recently on the
death of cyclist in ACT about 18 mths ago. He was a real nice guy, 40, just been riding
along on a Trek with 2 friends in Deakin. Suddenly his front forks broke off and down he
went head first to tarmac. He died at the scene. That's made everyone nervous about
cycling. And they are doubly worried if they ride a bike with an aluminium frame like this
guy's Trek. People wrote to Canberra times to say he should have been on a steel frame,
one said he should have been on a recumbent. Piles of BS comments.

But of course bicycles have a nasty habit of connection a person to dreadful trauma,
sometime fatal, and it doesn't much matter what the frame is made out of.
Steel fork parts are prone to breakage due to metal fatigue. In 2007, I broke the inner
steel tube fork stem between top of fork legs and handlebars. I had a Cinnelli handlebar
headstock with an expanding bolt to hold it firm inside the fork stem. But the expanding
part gave a ring of high force on steel tube; this was before most makers changed to
a sloped expanding bolt which delivered force to a longer section of tube.
I was in heavy traffic when the break occurred, and suddenly I had no steering, and
down I went like bag of potatoes to the road. Forks came away from frame, bits went
missing, and luckily I'd only set off from lights and was doing only 10kph. I wasn't hurt,
and I fell onto kerbside of the bike lane; a bus in next lane passed, luckily I hadn't poked
my head under its back wheels when I fell.

During weeks before, I'd ridden up hills and then down them at up to 55kph, and had I lost
the steering during the descents, I would not be here to warn you that SHIT DOES HAPPEN.

The forks on old steel bikes usually last far longer than on any aluminium bike.
To ensure there fork tube is least likely to fail, use a handlebar headstock with an extra
long reach which grips the steel fork stem tube close its bottom. This minimizes the fatigue
forces trying to bend the tube.

I have a Cannondale bike. They were once known as Canon Fail, because of breaking
frame parts. But that was a long time ago before frame makers really knew how and where
to lay up the fibers to resist the fatigue effects. I am not sure how my front forks are made,
or if there is any internal metal part added to keep forks working even if carbon fibers break.

The chance of death due to fork failure is like numerous risks one takes while alive.
Its not likely to happen, and if it does, not likely to kill. I once met a guy of 40 in a wheelchair
for the rest of his life because his foot broke free from a pedal. Long ago, a friend riding
behind me suffered a breaking crank - aluminium - and he disappeared. I heard and
"aaaahhhhh" behind me, and I stopped, we had just begun a little steep hill, but he was
nowhere to be seen. Aliens? nup. I heard a cry from side of road alongside a steep
embankment covered by tree branches. I parted the branches, and there he was, some
8 meters down the slope, entangled with bike and thick grass. He was OK, and I helped
him back up to the road. He'd got out of saddle, and when crank broke his foot went to
road and sprung him off sideways, straight into bushes for a padded tumble down the
grassy slope. Bluddy amazing. He caught a cab home with his bike, grumbling about
what the fare would be from Palm Beach to Hornsby, about 40km in heavy traffic.
That didn't stop him riding.

I was once in a bunch sprint for the finish line in a criterium race in 1988 when a clumsy
young stupid galloot besotted with winning crashed into me alongside. I went off the
road and onto the only sandy patch of ground along the course. Arse over head I went,
feet came free from straps and pedals, and I finished in a running position. I didn't win.
I had words to say to the fellow about it, but I was fine, and so was my bike. It was a
far cry from what so often happens in Tour De France in bunch sprints.

17 October 2016.
The weather has finally decided to warm up a slight amount to become spring.
Since April, I slowly increased my rides up to get a total of 100km a week and my
knees tolerated that.I continued up to June 25, and then prepared for a trip by plane to
Melbourne to get radiation at Epworth Hospital, all based in Mpsa scans I had done
on May 1.

The treatment prevented any cycling during the 5 weeks in Melbourne, but when
I returned home I tried to returns to some level of health and fitness, and I even went
on a 50km Pedal Power bunch ride and I was not the slowest amoung 20 riders, but
may have been the oldest. It seemed I could get myself back to June fitness levels,
but from early September I began suffering acute radiation colitis and I had to reduce
the cycling back down. This side effect was unexpected because no doctor at Epworth
said it would happen. The condition iseems to be very slowly easing, and not many
SIPE going on now. ( SIPE - Shit In Pants Event ) Ah yes :-0 its the fecal incontinence
syndrome caused by radiation where your bowel and rectum cease functioning regularly,
or predictably. I only had about 3 SIPE, and I had to be quick to get to a toilet when an
urge came. I bought 8 extra pairs of undies, and I have a bidet so keeping scrupulously
CLEAN is now easy. But I have no trouble with pissing, and I am still able
to mow lawns, clip hedges, and am riding up to 90km week.

The Calvary Hospital phoned me in late August to ask me in for a pre-admission for two
replacement knee joints. I went on their waiting list last February, thinking I'd have to wait
12 months or more. But I told them I did not know yet know if my prostate cancer status
was going to improve enough to avoid chemo therapy. I cannot know until I have Psa
tests in November at earliest. I suspect the Cosudex I am now taking in addition to Lucrin
injections is keeping Pca suppressed, and I think the additional radiation has done SFA,
unless proven otherwise. Psa has trended down since early August, but there is no certainty
it will keep falling, because having a Psa decline after some additional treatment and then
a rise is typical for many men in my situation. It is entirely stupid for me to believe anyone
who says "think positively" - that's all wishful thinking that good luck is on the way.
No it fukken ain't, OK, until proven otherwise.
I am allowed delay getting knees by 3 months, and then move back to a longer wait time.
And getting new knees has to be authorized by my oncologist, and If I move to chemo therapy,
I will be considered terminal, and I get to hobble along towards my death, and maybe I get
a mobility scooter or wheelchair, not knee joints. Meanwhile, between now and whatever
happens with so much uncertainty, I'll tough it out and man up like I have for the last 69 years,
with no assistance or support or comforts, with just a bicycle for my wheel chair.

So, all things considered, I am getting along OK, and completely non involved with anyone
 who might be peeved with their own problems being in the presence of a temporary poxed
up bloke. Don't worry, many ppl are peeved, and don't have any contact. It makes them feel
uneasy, all so YUK, uncool. One friend is my radio, and ABC Classic FM where the music is
mostly over 200 years old, and there is no irritating aura of modern crapalogical emotional
way of being for me to deal with.

It would be nice to ride sometimes with others, but one to one has rarely ever happened -
the groups are almost completely impersonal, and ppl avoid any real communication.

I'll try to keep going, until I cannot, and I don't much give a fuck about anything or anyone.

10 April 2015.
Since last August I when I had knee pain troubles over winter, I gradually got a bit better.
I did try a couple of 80km rides with a group I rode with this time last year. My average speed
reduced less than 1/2 km/hr below last year's speed and I enjoyed the ride. But during two
weeks after those rides knee pain increased so I have given up riding in any bunch at all.
For the last 6 months I have ridden an average just over 200km per week. The route is to
27km across town to a cafe in Tuggeranong, then back home on a slightly different route.
The distance and speed is enough to maintain cardio-vascular fitness. BMI is just under 25,
and weight is steady at 83kG, resting heart rate < 50, with not too many double beats or
missed beats.

I'm using a 12-30 cassette, 50-34 chain-ring. I have a medium drop dérailleur and have it
adjust just right. For awhile I had many times of chain skipping over too far between cassette
and rear wheel spokes, or between frame and 34 chain-ring,
and also going outside the 50 chain-ring. Eventually the penny dropped with fine adjustments.
And I concluded the rear dérailleur cable needed to always be in good condition. I found such
cables break strands over a 2 month time, and they become increasingly "springy" and when
only 1 or two wire strands are left the motion of cable stop in gear change is not fully
transmitted to the rear cassette, so you miss gear changes. Cable pull and friction prevent
the dérailleur moving fully with spring return. If you try to adjust the cable stops and dérailleur
screw stops, full wanted motion occurs, but the cable springiness tends bounce the chain
too far, and you must stop to put it back on, sometimes falling off when you are at 4kph on
a steel little hill around a corner and you want some drive force but there's none to be had.

For awhile I thought teflon coated gear cables moved easier than plain cables. Teflon makes
some difference, but maximum life I could get from new to break was 6 months with maybe
2 months of vague gear shifts. I presently I am using plain cables, but with better initial
adjustment of everything. The chain offs to outside of 50 chain-ring were due to the chain
guide becoming bowed outwards a little, so if the chain went off, it would not return
immediately, guided by low end of guide.

Right now, the Cannondale and myself are getting on just fine. But this CF bike from
2010 is definitely not as stable to ride, so there is some geometry difference. I do hope the
CF frame lasts. About 2 months ago, a 50yo fellow out on a slowish suburban ride with 3
friends died from injuries sustained during a "mechanical failure". It was alleged that his front
forks broke off on a Trek, and he reached the ground faster than his reflexes understood.
This is the break that nobody wants to have, ever. It sort of happened to me about 7 years
ago on a steel frame bike and the fork stem cracked in a circle where Cinelli stem force has
fatigued the stem. I was in traffic when I hit the pavement at the same time I realized why
the handlebars pointed off to the left 30 degrees. Bits of bike and bearings scattered,
but no broken bones, because I had just come from a stop at lights and was doing maybe
5kph. But earlier that week I'd been down steep descents at 60kph and a loss of steering
could very easily have killed me.

I will ride until the pain increases and begins to ruin life quality. Walking and standing
become painful after 10 minutes. But yesterday I did the Tug-her-along ride ( to Tuggeranong ),
 and I felt good.  An orthopaedic surgeon specializing in knee replacements said I would be
begging for new knees soon. People find the bone pain at night is what gets them begging.
They can become addicted to opiate pain killers after bad pain begins and getting an operation,
which could be a year. The worst affected ppl are overweight, eat and drink all wrong.
As we age, we must give up youthful pursuits, and we can end up needing wheels each
side of us instead of one behind the other under us.

I an not begging anything from anyone, and I am trying to be content with what I have, not
perpetually discontent because I don't have what can be imagined. The latter condition is
all too common for "healthy ppl" but they don't realize their insanity of wanting too much.

15 August 2014.
Distance cycled last month was 1/2 what I did in May-August. I'd say we had an exceptionally
cold July with many mornings with -5C at 8am. The Shimano 6770 Ultegra 12-30 10 speed
cassette works perfectly with a SORA 10 speed dérailleur which is a "medium" drop with
72mm between jockey wheels. This would allow a 12-32 cassette to be used, as I have on
my old steel frame bike.

22 July 2014.
Since last May I bought a couple of 12-30 10 speed cassettes for use with 50-34 compact
chain rings on a 2010 Cannondale Synapse which I purchased last April. These were
supposed to work with series 6700 Ultegra dérailleur and so I had one 12-30 installed
on rear wheel. But then I found the existing dérailleur is a standard road Ultegra 6600 series,
which has only 50mm between chain pulley wheels so getting the chain length right and
being able to get all gears possible, even 50 - 30 became slightly too critical.

The chain was definitely too tight for 50-30, and threatened to jam up and pull the whole
derailleur up and over the top of the cassette, maybe shredding the carbon frame.
So I've ordered a Sora derailleur with 72mm between pulley wheels, a "medium drop"
derailleur, and this should work as well as the same type does on my older steel bike
with compact 50-34 plus a mountain bike 12-32 cassette. Its taken 2 weeks waiting so
far to get the derailleur from Shimano.

Meanwhile, I have been riding the old steel bike.
I have put on Vittoria Zafiro Pro 700C 23mm fold up tyres.
I was using Zafiro wire beads tyres. The new tyres are 135grams lighter, so 270grams
weight saving, but its rotating weight, so the benefit is more like about 540 grams of
static weight, and any difference in average speed between carbon frame Cannondale
 and 1988 753r steel framed bike has become tiny. Last time I rode with my group,
I was still the quickest up hills. But last two Sundays it was -3C and I didn't ride with
group because it was too cold.

But but other things have happened since May 2014.

My knees have developed the same symptoms of pain which I endured for 3 years before 2005.
Then, docs wanted to give me two titanium knee joints.
But in 2005, they did an arthroscopy to clean up the debris and wear and tear and this was very
successful and allowed me to cycle about 88,000 km. I still could not walk huge distances or stand
for longer than 30 minutes, but now I don't like standing for 5 minutes, or walking more than 100M
very slowly. And I am getting some pain while I ride, and after I ride, so today, 22 July 2014,
I had MRI knee scans and X-rays.
I have not got the report on what the docs have found, but the knee X-ray of knees while standing
show gap between bones is between maybe 10mm and down to 2mm, but I am only slightly
bow legged. So I await an orthopedic response to the in-comprehensibe medical spiel on
the reports attached to MRI and X-rays. Its maybe no wonder my knees can't work properly while
walking or standing, but cycling has been OK, because different parts of joints come together
with knees bent during cycling.  Knees cannot be all that much worse than in 2005 because between
June 2006 and June 2014 I cycled 90,000 km.

Maybe I will be given another knee arthroscopy, and gain a couple more years of pain free basic mobility.
But docs might decide that's not possible and replacement knee joints are a must.

BUT, I have prostate cancer which at present is suppressed by hormone therapy.
When the HT begins to fail to stop the cancer growing, cancer will spread, maybe to bones,
and maybe to knees when they replace the joints.
Plus, I have had a yearly dose of Aclasta ( zoledronic acid ) which stops bone thinning as a result of HT,
so this drug
may affect how well I recover after new knee joints. Meanwhile my weight has increased 1.5kG to 86.5Kg
since last May when I was doing up to 300km a week on bike
with virtually no pain.

Severe hunger is a problem with reduced calories to stop weight gain after reducing
cycling km to 100km a week.

Update May 25, 2014........
Last April I bought a 2010 Cannondale Synapse.
Over 6 weeks I did about 1,700km in that time and can report back to everyone to give a meaningful
opinion.

During the first few days of use, I made a number of adjustments of seat height and back-forward
position, handlebar height and position, and handlebar taping, and replacement
of cranks to 175mm. The position I had on my old Steely ( 1988 bike with 753r frame )
was established as closely as possible on the Cannondale. Once that was sorted, no
further adjustments have been needed for 5 weeks.
The original Specialized plastic saddle which came with Cannondale was totally horrid like all
plastic saddles. I found I had a Brooks B17 Pro Narrow saddle I had not used for last 5 years and
after I fitted that I spent a week trying to break it in, about 300km. But it remained uncomfortable
compared to standard width B17, about 20mm wider at rear, and which I'd used on Steely.
So I bought a new standard wide B17, and once that broke in after 200km, I began to forget I
had a bum after a 100km ride.

I took me about 3 weeks to get used to the Cannondale's more twitchy steering. This implies something
negative about Cannodale, but maybe not, its just me who twitches while trying to adjust mentally to
very slightly different bikes. The older steel frame probably has very slightly different geometry, but it
does seem more stable. The brain becomes very used to the geometry of whatever bike you ride,
and a change to bike can confuse the brain for awhile.

I've never been a rider happy to ride "no-hands" and have been always amazed me to see riders in
large bunches like Giro or TDF putting in on a waterproof jersey while pedaling and riding no-hands.
I could probably teach myself better bike handling skills, but not right now, and I'd rather hold the bars
all the time. But I do notice the difference between the Steely and new carbon frame, despite
measurements and angles being so similar and both favourable to randonneur style cycling.

The Cannondale stability at higher speeds on the flat and down hill is at least as good as the Steely.
I now can ride the Cannondale without weaving and twitching which gives others riding with me more
confidence that I"ll never cause a crash.

To understand Pedal Power Wanderers for Sunday rides, see
http://pedalpower.org.au/?s=sunday+wanderers

The handlebars for Steely are Cinnelli "criterium bars" which are still able to be purchased. I found
them excellent for my three steel frame bikes because they have a long "reach forward" from stem to brake
hoods which allows me to reach out with elbows slightly bent, and get low enough to be fairly aerodynamic
without using the drops. The drops feel awkward, and I never use them.

The stretched position is much more natural. The Cannodale bars have about 50mm less reach forward
than criterium bars so I had to use the longest available stem of 130mm to get the bars forward enough,
so my knees would never hit the bars when out of saddle. But the final result is satisfactory with only 15mm
less reach than on Steely.
The Cannondale handlebars are like most generic race bars with tighter curves bending forward to brake
hoods. At first this felt harsh and "knobby" but I increased the thickness of handle bar tape from behind the
brake hoods to the bend, and to increase dia to about 40mm max. I've become quite used to this and it is
satisfactory. The bar tape is 3mm thick plain foam type rolled on carefully with some Selleys 401 silicone
used to glue the tape to prevent it moving and sliding over time, especially in hot weather.

The most remarkable and unpredicted difference to riding comfort occurred over the last month. Not once did
I get tingling arms or numb hands from Carpel Tunnel syndrome which had affected me since about 3 years ago
when it got very bad especially in cold weather. That required I increased handlebar dia to 45mm with 2-3 layers
of tape to put less pressure on nerves. But the problem never went right away, but the change of bike seems to
have done a very nice trick, and I have no idea why, but it could be due to a change of the vibrations reaching my
hands with carbon being better than the steel. I cannot tell which bike gives the least vibrations.

I do have a problem with left side gear change when changing from small chain ring to large chain ring.
The brake lever has to be swung inwards to make the change up from 34t to 50t. Behind the brake lever there
is a smaller lever which swings inwards to change down from 50t to 34t. This lever is very sensitive to touch
and it you swing the brake lever in to change up, and move the smaller lever in a little bit, the gear change
is muddled, and the chain won't get onto 50t fully, so it clatters around between 34t and 50t.
With winter gloves its even worse. I use rock climbers' "liners" which are very long lasting thin material gloves
which I put on under my normal Specialized hand gloves with short fingers.

So, I guess the cure is to grind some of the outer side of smaller lever off, or carve a piece of wood to
increase the outside width of brake lever so when swinging it inwards for a change up of gear, it does not
interfere with the change down gear lever. Before I do anything, I'll speak to the wonderful staff at my local
bike repair place, http://monkeywrenchcycles.com.au/

The Steely has 9 speed Sora which uses left brake lever swung inwards to change up 34t to 50t,
and has thumb button on inside of brake lever assembly for down from 50t to 34t.
Similarly, the right side has brake lever for going down gears and inner thumb button for going up gears.
I found that to be very satisfactory. The new Ultegra lever system took some time to get used to. 
I doubt I shall ever go to electric gear changing.

Does the Cannondale give me and extra 0.5kph over Steely? Well, maybe, but its not obvious.
And now the cooler weather has begun so I wear more, it gives more drag, and weight of moisture in
extra clothing lingers. Plus I have an increased amount of medications for prostate cancer, so I can only
assume that there must be some speed benefit due to about 1.8Kg less static weight, and less rotating
weight in wheels.

The Cannondale came with 50-34 chain rings plus 12-27 rear cassette, and I quickly found I need one
lower gear, at least 30 on cassette. With compact chain rings 50-34, I'd get lowest gear 34-30,
for some very steep hills to avoid struggling and straining my old knees.
I'm ordering a couple of Ultegra 12-30 cassettes, which should fix the low gear
needs. The Cannondale is 1.8Kg lighter and stiffer than Steely, maybe that's worth 2 teeth of a
rear cog of 32t that I have on Steely, also with compact chainrings 50-34.
The wider spread of gears for 12-30 cassette will be welcome.
 
Most of the Pedal Power Wanderer "slow" group I cycle with on Sundays are all a bit slower than me
and eventually I shall slow to their speed, but I won't mind. I can't escape aging. The best part about
cycling with my group is the informality, and the stops at cafes where anything and everything can be
discussed, and speed and technical issues don't dominate as a result of obsessional thinking. 

Overall, I am happy to have another bike in my stable.

Updated April 2014.........

Some background info....
I'm keen on cycling because it is very enjoyable and it keeps me very fit. I enjoy Canberra's splendid
climate and clean fresh air and splendid road and bicycle path systems.

I took up cycling seriously in 1986, and raced as a veteran at 37 to 43 with Canberra Cycling Club until 1993.
I then gave it up for a variety of reasons until June 2006, at age 59. I put on 20Kg. I got back onto the bike
and did regular rides and by 2007 my weight returned to 84Kg, just over my racing weight at 40.
For the last 8 years I have cycled about 11,000km per year, or 88,000 km.
Between Dec 2013 and April 2014, I have averaged 270km per week.

In late 2009, I was diagnosed with prostate cancer and a kidney problem. During the following 14 months
docs attempted surgery, but could not proceed because cancer was so bad. Then I had Radio Therapy, EBRT,
and hormone therapy which lowers testosterone to extremely low levels, ie, chemical castration.
This all sounds horrible, but I feel very well !!!

The side effects of the cancer treatments were occasional hot flushes and a loss of strength and bike speed.
Bone density began to go lower that doctors liked to see - osteoporosis. This is the result of having no testosterone.
But my mind is active as ever and keen on staying fit by cycling. 

3 weeks ago I had an infusion of zelodronic acid to halt my increasing osteoporosis. This chemical's side
effects are supposed to make me lethargic, gain weight, etc, but after only 3 days of mild effects I now
feel just fine.

My first course of HT lasted from April 2010 to September 2012. Then my testosterone levels went back to normal
and some bike speed returned to pre-treatment levels. But by April 2013, my Psa went back to 8.0 and the cancer
treatment so far was assessed as a failure. My weight went up to 88Kg.
So, in May 2013, I went back to HT and Psa went down quickly to 0.26, and has remained low ever since.

The effect of the treatment failure on my mind was troubling, so I thought I better get used to dying from cancer.
But while getting used to this idea easily, I went onto a vegetarian diet, and kept on cycling.

In February 2014, after 8 months of vegetarian diet I got my weight down to about 84.5kg, and with that came
some loss of stamina at the end of 85km rides on hot days. I wasn't a vegans, and allowed dairy - low fat yogurt,
and fat free milk, and some eggs. I figured I was losing muscle condition so I returned to eating meat and my
cycling speed went up a little, and no more problems with stamina.

But my meat intake is 1/3 of Australia's average meat consumption.
Although nobody really needs to eat meat at all, if you don't eat it, you need to be very inventive with
replacements and I am not so good being inventive with food, and few shops have all the necessary
items, and then my bowels have been affected by the RT so digestion isn't quite what it used to be.

I cannot see why not eating meat is going to be good therapy for cancer. Maybe it helps, but to be consistent
one would have to give up all dairy and be vegans. Does being pure and consistent cure cancer?
Of course not. I'm not that lucky. 
Weight has oscillated around 84.7Kg, and over last 4 months I've noticed fat loss and muscle gains.

No matter what I ever did with diet and exercise, my genes have never let me become as slender and
lean as many other good cyclists I know. Some look anorexic, like broom-handles with leg muscles,
and they ride up hills much better than me. But slender fellows my age who climb faster struggle
along flat roads and with headwinds, and over a long distance I'll get home first.
At end of 2012, I re-joined Canberra Pedal Power Sunday Wanderers.
I spent some time with the Intermediate group whose average age is about 50, where about
10 out of 40 of them were faster. In May 2013 I joined the Slow group, about 20, where I
have remained the fastest most days. Their average age is about 58, and socially they are closer
to "my way of being social". This bunch includes some on touring bikes with panniers weighing 15Kg,
but they make the distance of about 80km each Sunday. I am addicted to riding as quick as possible,
and most Sundays there are 2 or 3 riders who are faster on hills than myself, and with whom I share
an overall similar speed. Two are in late 50s, so they ought to be able to keep up with a 67yo with
cancer. Our average speed on most rides is 25kph.

2 weeks ago my Psa went down a bit to 0.2ug/L. I suspect my way of life as an athlete and health nutter
can only be doing good, so I must continue. 1 year ago it seemed like the combined RT and HT
didn't seem to be effective. But the fact remains that the cancer was radiated, and over time the
treatment I received may actually work to alter cancer cell DNA, prevent cancer spread, and cause cancer
cell death - well before I die of other causes. Maybe the treatment is just taking a lot longer than
doctors expected. I could be wrong of course, but hey, when you are 67, you must do what you can
until you cannot, hope for best, prepare for worst, and ignore the mountain of ineffective bullshit ideas
that exist about life, health, and happiness.

Last week, I purchased a very little used 2009 Cannondale Synapse bicycle with a full carbon fibre frame
and expensive lightweight wheels. It seems that for the same effort, my average speed is 0.5kph faster.
Fig 1.

Fig 1 shows the new machine and if you look closely you'll see the aluminium plates and bracket
under frame top tube for the 1980s Zefal pump I forgot to include in the picture.

Fig 2.

Fig 2 shows the old 1988 Carl Wilson framed bike with compact 34t+50t chain rings, Sora cranks
and Sora MTB 11-32 cassette etc. There's a piece of tape on crank to allow accurate measurement of
center bracket bearing to floor level.

The difference in bike geometries are only partially obvious between Fig1 and Fig 2 in which the camera position
was the same. The handlebars on steel frame appear to have brake hoods further forward with respect to
front wheel axel, ie, there's more reach forward. But Cannondale has a 15mm longer wheelbase.
Toes of my shoes will touch the front wheel on Steely if I turn wheel enough, but not on Cannondale.
The Cannondale bars have less reach forward like so many recently made handlebars and
the bar stem is longer. I have set the bar height slightly lower. So my arms have slightly less elbow bend.
In fact, the brake hoods on Steely are only 20mm further forward from saddle than on Cannondale,
So for much more of the time I have hands on brake hoods and better direct control of brakes and gear
changes. On the Steely I would never use the drops, too uncomfortable, and for awhile I considered
sawing them off to give less wind resistance. 
Whether I like the Cannondale set up over a long term remains to be seen.
The dimensional relationships between seat height, center bracket height, saddle for-aft position and height
are the same for both bikes so my pedaling action is identical for both and I cannot notice any difference.
Seat height with a Brooks saddle can vary a bit if the saddle sags because of leather stretch over time
or a failing nose bracket. If the saddle sags by 20mm the leather underside will shows marks of having
bounced on the seat post. Such a drop of saddle height can alter pedaling style and stop you extending
your foot with slight ankle bend during each stroke. I've had this happen, after a saddle nose broke and bent.
For best pedaling efficiency, and best ergonomic action, saddle height is very important.

The old steel frame bike I have ridden since 1988 is still very good to ride, but its wheels are nearly worn
out. Its frame could be subject to metal fatigue in the near future - this kills most old steel framed bikes, along with
bending of frame joints after riding over something on a road like a stray piece of 4x2 timber, or from rust
inside the frame tubes.

There are more bike pictures further down page.

The Cannondale needed changes to ensure it suits my 184 cm height, and so it is comfortable, and
ergonomically efficient...........
A. Remove stupid horrible arse busting lightweight saddle that pretends to be a saddle.
I fitted a Brooks B17 narrow black leather saddle which includes my modification using 10mm dia nose bolt
instead of fragile and very breakable 8mm bolt made with garbage quality steel. The Brooks weighs maybe
300grams more than the plastic crap it replaced, but weight isn't everything.
Brooks are for comfort and no other saddle offers the same ride. However, its love-hate with Brooks because
fail in a variety of ways. I have owned and worn out about 5 after riding about 180,000 km.
They DON'T last forever, and nose bolt is first to break, but easy to replace with a 10mm bolt.
Then leather can sag more on one side of saddle than the other, so you have to remove rear rivets on one side
wrench the leather tighter with vice grips, drill new hols for rivets, but use M6 countersunk screws and nuts to hold
adjusted leather. This may or may not make the leather last a bit longer. Rivets end up tearing holes in leather.
Leather ages and cracks despite application of Brooks leather product. Steel spring rails fatigue and break. I
have busted one. Leather sags anyway, especially after getting wet from 40km in the rain. Seat height sags, until
seat pillar begins to poke up from under. Then you have to guess how much tension to put on nose bolt.
Leather continues to stretch until bolt reaches end of travel, and you have a worn out saddle, and afaik,
you can't just buy a new leather. The nose of saddle has formed sheet steel bracket with 3 rivets. It is sort
of L shaped, and subject to changing dynamic forces forces of nose bolt. This bracket cannot easily be repaired,
and I have broken 2 after fatigue in metal occurs. There is a 5mm steel plate clip which holds the nose bolt
so it works to force the nose forward. You think nothing would break the clip, but I have seen one become fatigued
and just break like chocolate.
The saddle rivets are either hammered copper or pressed in steel types. Both can become sharp edged and rip
your lycra shorts, so you must re-hammer copper a bit to dress down the sharp edges. Steel rivets are
used in many Brooks, and are best all removed and replaced with M4 c/s screws and nuts.
Nuts should be smeared with 5minute Araldite before tightening.
Don't tighten too much, just enough. After time, such replacement screwed "rivets" will loosen, but a phillips
screw driver and pliers can force nuts to come loose and be further tightened, with fresh glue on threads
to make sure they never come really loose.
Some saddle holding brackets at top of seat stems are better than others, the old heavy Laprade has ONE
8mm Allen bolt. I've had to remake the nut to be wider - longer with more thread to allow more bolt torque.
No more loose seats. The New Cannondale has a carbon seat stem and two 6mm Allen bolts.
Time will tell if that lasts as well as the Laprade system, but the bolts must always be tightened using a tension
to prevent excessive tightening, which will cause the carbon to crack and yield under pressure.
Carbon fibre is mostly very good to give frame stiffness and a good ride, but in some ways it is just crap
and one must be very careful when tightening bolts.

I did consider a Brooks with titanium metal. The metalworking looks exactly the same as the standard steel,
but weight is reduced by only 100 grams and yet price leaps from $138 for a B17 to over $330 for Titanium.
I don't think the titanium is worth the expense.
Brooks make a model called the Swallow. Its a narrower looking saddle, but then I realized its the same
metalwork with less leather with each drop side cut so it is folded under the top and riveted to a small flat
floating plate . So, that would add 20 minutes of labour time while getting Joe Cyclist to swallow double the
price. It seems to me one could make a Swallow out of a B17 very easily.

B17 saddles need to be "broken in" which means the leather needs to become pliable before it can
become comfortable. So you need to smear the underside with Brooks Profide which is like an organic
grease, and then do a few hundred km. 5mm holes can be drilled in the bottom of of side flaps and cable
ties used to pull the flaps in under saddle rails. This is done after initial leather softening.
This tends to stop chaffing. The leather is initially between 5 and 6mm thick, and its remarkable how supple
it becomes when given Profide and enough use.
The Brooks saddles act as a kind of hammock which is stretched tight between nose and rear rails thus
providing a sling under sit bones.
The shape of the leather changes and flexes while providing a firm enough platform for the arse to get
pedaling efficiency. No other saddle does the same thing as a bit of stretched leather can do.

If Brooks were not comfortable, nobody would ever buy one - but they have refused to ever improve
the method of construction or the metal quality. Someone at Brooks is too much in love with the past
to be able to explore and test new samples with improvements.

B. I have changed Ultegra 172.5mm crank set with what I happened to have - a pair of new Sora 175mm cranks,
same as on other old bike.
The 9 speed cranks have 0.5mm extra spacing between the two chain rings which allows the 10 speed
Shimano chain to sometimes run around between chain rings without settling on teeth of small chain ring.
Oh how 0.5mm has an effect I didn't want! I fitted 5 shims using 0.6mm steel sheet
cut to special shape and clipped and siliconed onto inside of large chain ring, and the problem disappeared
and gear change is now perfect. The large chain ring will take years to wear out.
The shims were an alternative to filing 0.5mm off the outer side of the 5 tangs on crank which hold chain
rings and their special bolts.

C. I fitted my long Zefal HPX pump ( now 26yo ) under frame top tube. It was found to fit within the
shorter distance available with carbon frame. I made carefully shaped 2mm thick plates and bracket to
prevent pressure points of pump pressing on frame from causing damage to carbon fibers. Al brackets were
siliconed to frame with Selleys 401 silicone. The pump now sits where it should, and it was found to weigh
only 70grams more than the new but shorter "toy pump" which came with the bike, but held on by velcro,
and awkwardly placed.

D. Replace 110mm head stem with longest available at 130mm. Now my knees stay clear of handlebars
near stem when out of the saddle on a hill, and it doesn't seem possible my knees can ever hit the ends of the
bar drops. Handlebars supplied by Cannondale have less forward distance compared
to old Cinelli bars which allowed me to stretch out nicely, and with more forward drops. I rarely ever use
the drops because there is enough reach to hoods and with bent elbows I'm as flat backed as my old skeleton
allows, which is mostly flatter than most other cycling companions. But nevertheless, I was able to set new
bars up with slightly altered brake lever positions and get just enough reach out, and with bar-tops behind brake
hoods sloping downwards towards the rear so that hands don't keep sliding forward. Body weight distribution
is about just right, and when out of saddle and clutching brake hoods on ascents or sprints there is little feeling
that the front wheel feels like its way "out there" and being waved around, and sucking extra forces from torso to
control direction. The relationship of longitudinal and height distances between saddle and center bracket and
handle bars is now very close to the optimum I reached on the old bike on which I felt very comfortable.
The Cannondale frame size is 590, and about the same as the steel frame.

E. I removed the useless 25mm dia bell from handlebars. Older people and those using portable sound
gear with ear plugs just don't hear the tiny bell high frequencies at low volume. I do a lot of cycling on shared paths,
aka "cycle paths" and getting ppl to move to the left as I approach and pass is a necessity. They don't mind being belled.
I bought a Japanese made brass bell with spring striker almost the same as on a bell I bought in 1982 which
has a 55mm dia aluminium bell dome. The slightly smaller dia brass bell goes much louder and ring lasts a
lot longer and frequency is lower, so its a fabulous bell. But I had to modify the holding bracket which suits
only old bikes with 22mm dia handlebars, not 32 mm bars. I cut up an old 2mm dia stainless steel spoke to
make a link in the re-shaped steel bell bracket, and now that should last me until I cycle off the Planet.
 
F. I am ordering a Shimano Ultegra CS-6700 series 10 speed road cassette with 12t to 30t. The bike had 12t to 27t
as standard. I really miss the presence of a 30t rear cog.
The old bike has a 9 speed Sora mountain bike cassette 11t-32t, and a long drop Sora derailleur.
The new lighter bike allows the use of very slightly higher bottom gear, without feeling much difference on the
steepest climbs which average 10%, and may have sections of 12%.
Both new and old bike have compact chain ring set of 34t + 50t.
The existing 2-27 has cogs = 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 21, 24, 27.
The proposed CS-6700 12-30 has cogs = 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 19, 21, 24, 27, 30.
The existing rear derailleur can be kept without resort to a long drop type I have on my older bike.
The Sora 9 speed mountain bike cassette has always given me enough gears to select, with meaningful differences.
With the 12-27 10 speed there's almost too many gears.
(((( At age 40, I used chain rings of 42t + 53t, and 7 speed clusters had 13 to 23, maybe 24 sometimes.
Across town there's Fitz's Hill, 3km long and 10% all the way. At 40 I used to get up that with 42 x 23.
Younger men would get up with 42 x 21, and pedal much faster than I ever did.
But last time I did Fitz's was at 65, and I preferred 34t x 32t, but on this new bike I'd manage with 34t x 30t.
But I'd rather avoid this hill - been there done that, and I'd rather cycle on less hilly terrain which at present
yields all the health benefits anyone could wish for without stressing knee joints which are my weak link :-))))

G. I have re-applied handlebar tape so that around bar curves behind brake hoods the dia with tape = 40mm.
The extra layers of tape have silicone sealant applied to help prevent slide and movement of tape from hand pressure.
The greater bar dia with much tape helps to minimize carpal tunnel nerve damage, ie, numbness than tingles in hands
and arms especially on cold mornings, even with glove liners under the cut off gloves.
 
H. Weight of the new bike with the changes I have made give me 1.9Kg less static weight.
To weigh the new and old bikes I lifted them while on electronic scales, and with each I had removed water bottle,
but included the pump, and the same Brooks saddles. Weight of Cannondale = 9.1Kg, Old Steel frame bike = 11Kg.
Most bikes are weighed without pedals, pump, or water bottles, and usually a small frame size, so hence weights are
often 8Kgs, and with somewhat fragile light wheels, all OK for someone 65Kg, but I'm 85Kg, and same height as
Miguel Indurain, and the extra weight gives me more ruggedness. My 590 frame size means weight will always be
than for a man of 160cm, but in fact the ratio of bike weight to man weight favours the heavier man.

I. The new bike has 22 spoke Mavic clincher rims, a bit lighter than on old bike with 32 spoke Mavic CX33 Al rims.
But a spare pair of even lighter Shimano WH-RS80 carbon+alloy wheels came with bike, 16 spokes on front,
20 spokes on rear.
Weight wheels compared :-
New bike with WH-RS80 with Continental 4000 tyres, Front = 1.0Kg, Rear = 1.6Kg, total wheel weight = 2.6Kg.
Wheel weight less tyres and tubes, but with 12-27 cassette = 2.0Kg.

Old bike, CX33 Mavic rims with 32double butted stainless spokes, Vitoria Zafiro wire bead tyres,
Front = 1.4Kgs, Rear = 1.95Kgs, Total wheel weight = 3.35Kgs.
Wheel weight less tyres and tubes, but with 11-32 cassette, = 2.5Kg.

The tyre weight difference = ( 2 x 340 grams ) - ( 2 x 205 grams ) = 270 grams = 0.27Kg.
Tubes used are approximately same weight for both sets of wheels at 180grams.
Cassette weight is about 100 grams more for old wheels. 

Therefore the difference between rims + spokes + hubs is only about 0.5Kg, about 1pound.
Was that worth the $1,200 price difference between my old wheels and these WH-RH80 wheels?
Hard to say.

Let us consider rotating weight and its effects on speed and power.

Consider riding up a steep hill at say 12kph. The major struggle is with gravity, and each pedal down
stroke causes wheels plus all weight of bike and ride to accelerate slightly until the bottom of power
stroke when decelleration begins until the next pedal stroke. The action is like climbing a stair case,
and the rider produces power by converting his weight elevations to forward speed up a slope and this
can be calculated as Weight x Distance / Time. Each pedal stroke is like one step upwards, and the
leg puts in energy to the total mass which gives it momentum which carries it forward during pedal
strokes. Gravity constantly is pulling the rider backwards, and if the slope is say 8%, and if
rider and bike = 100Kg, then force to be overcome = 8Kg.

So your speed is averaging 12kph. But in fact is changing between say 11.9kph and 12.1kph.
I'm not a good enough mathematician to work out exactly what the range of maximum and minimum speeds
are. The point is, speed is not constant. If wheels are made lighter, there is less wasted energy
in changing wheel speed, and more available energy to propel the total weight forwards. In a race car,
every effort is made to lighten the crankshaft, pistons, conrods and wheels. Speeds and energy involved
are much higher in a car but the same laws of physics apply.
The mass of rim and tyre has far greater effect than the mass of the hub, or the cluster, turning at close
to the axle. So what significance is there of actual difference in wasted power between two pairs of wheels
with 500grams difference? Kinetic energy varies according to Mass x Velocity squared, so for hills where
speeds are low the lighter wheels don't give you much advantage. The difference of kinetic energy is TINY,
and difficult to quantify, and very low compared to the total power needed to get rider plus bike up
the hill.

What about when riding downhill or on flat when speed is say 40kph?

The major struggle is with air resistance. Its resistance increases as does the velocity squared, so 80kph
requires 4 times the power to 40kph.
But while trying to maintain 40kph, the rider speed varies between pedal strokes, and wheel rotation speeds
also are high so wheel rotation speed changes and the higher the speed, the higher the lost energy
in change of wheel speed. Wheel speed change is a bit like leg speed change. Energy has to be wasted
on waving legs up and down on pedals. There is a balance between wasted power on moving legs and
getting power to pedals, and hence the need to consider cadence carefully, and ride with optimum cadence.
So, the lighter wheels will save a rider more power at 40kph than when chugging up hill at 12kph, even though
the total power for the two situations is the same, ie, same fuel input and same heart rate.

The rotating weight of rims, spokes, tyres and tubes is said by others who have thought about this longer
than I have to be equal to say 4 times an equivalent static weight.
If the weight difference between 2 pairs of wheels is 0.5Kg, then equivalent static weight difference is 2.0Kg,
well worth having. If the bike wheels weighed the same as your car wheels, you'd be riding a lot slower.
The weight difference of other bike parts with negligible rotation effects might be 1.9Kg - 0.5Kg = 1.4Kg so
Total equivalent static weight difference = 1.4Kg + 2.0Kg = 3.4Kg, and this may be 3.4% difference if rider
and bike = 100Kg, and power is the same, one might expect +3.4% more speed which is 0.85kph over 25kph
average.
If only it was that simple, and it isn't, because power wastage or efficiency changes with different ride situations.

So, I can say I go faster on the Cannondale than on Steely but its not a huge difference, 0.5kph, maybe.

The Cannondale sure feels faster when getting the speed up along the flat or down hill, but up-hill I notice
little difference. I won't be using the fancy WH-RS80 clincher wheels to just ride around town on my own because
its wasteful to wear out such expensive wheels so quickly, So I will use the 22 spoke Mavic wheels mostly.

Now the Steely has wheels with Mavic CX33 rims, 32 double butted spokes, Tiagra hubs.
The Cannondale's standard wheels have clincher Mavic Axium Race rims and hubs and 22 straight pull flat bladed
spokes. When I carefully weighed each front wheel, both without tyres, weight was equal.
Perhaps the Shimano WH-RS80 wheels are lighter, but probably only 50grams to 100 grams, and methinks
not worth paying huge $$ for, unless you are a very light and strong rider in TDF.
However, for years I have used Vittoria Zafiro tyres with wire beads, weighing 340 grams. The change to
say Zafiro foldables means tyre weight is 230grams, and when you buy online, the cost is less than wire
beads from local shops, so I am getting a number of foldable Zafiros.

Foldable tyres are much easier to handle after a puncture and when replacing a tube on the roadside.
Pushing the tyre bead over rim edge before pumping up the tyre becomes easy, even for female riders.

I do want to occasionally use Steely, and would like to replace the CX33 wheels which must be near their
use by date. Typical rim death is indicated by crinkle noises from wheels, because small cracks appear
each side of spokes at the rim, and the metal is actually telling you, "I'm Stuffed". I think I wore out the first
CX33 rear rim after about 30,000km. Same spokes and hub remain, and hubs fatigue at spoke and will
soon pull away, and spokes will fail more often. Bearings are all noisy, feel gritty when turned by hand.
So I will look for some cheaper straight pull spoke wheels. Probably they don't break spokes as often as
hooked spokes. But the straight pull spokes can be replaced on the road without removal of cassette.
So I need some spares taped to frame tubes and a spoke key always carried, because if one spoke in
say 22 breaks, the wheel deforms more than if you break one spoke of 32.

Do I think Continental 4000 are more puncture proof than Vitoria Zafiro ?
No, I got TWO rear tyre punctures on the brand new 4000 after only 150km, a shard of glass straight through,
then a bit of glass.
The softer tyre rubber of 4000 tends to pick up glass and rock fragments which embed themselves and are
gradually hammered into tyres like arrow heads. Not as badly as other brands I've tried. I put on two pairs
of reading glasses and in good light I use an awl to keep pricking out the bits of glass every few days.
The Zafiro don't collect so many bits of glass or rocks.

But my aging means I cannot convert food into motion like I used to, and that I happily survive on a diet
with far fewer calories than a young cyclist. In fact, I MUST NOT ever eat like a young man, because
young men often eat so much rubbish, yet their body stays slim, unless they give up cycling, and so many do,
and then they gaze at screens in chairs all day in offices, and real energy expenditure is reduced hugely,
so hence the obesity epidemic. My body does not seem to burn excess calories much at all, but instead
stacks on excess food as fat, so the older you get, the more disciplined you must become to maintain
correct weight. In my case, having no testosterone as part of medical treatment makes this all the more difficult.

What surprises me is that I eat so many fewer calories than anyone I see at the cafes where I stop.
Ppl sit down to enormous plate fulls of fatty foods, complete with a side serve of chips, and they have not
done any exercize all week, or even all year.
This is why 1/2 the population is so overweight, bad looking, and sick, and confused.

Fig 3. Close up of Cannondale handlebars.

Notice the brass bell. Its 20 times louder than the crappy little 25mm dia steel bells fitted to
so many bikes which ring at maybe 2kHz, and which many ppl don't hear. The brass bell
rings at less than 700Hz and LOUD, and for a time longer than it takes ride past someone
walking with their dog, or someone pushing the pram or running, whatever, on our cycle
0paths here in Canberra.
The bell cost me about $29 at http://thecyclery.net.au/post-shop/lonsdale-st-braddon

Fig 4. Carl Wilson frame, 1988, close up of handlebars.

Notice the pink anodized aluminium bell I have had since 1982.
Its good, but nowhere near as good as the brass bell seen in Fig 4.

Notice the handlebar stem which is adjustable for height while keeping the stem penetration
into fork tube quite deep. I once had an inner fork tube break from metal fatigue when I had a
Cinnelli stem too high, and Cinnelli stems have lousy expanding bolt detail that stresses a
circle of tube rather than have a sliding expander which is better. That fork failure had me fall
off the bike in traffic, and lucky I was in a bike lane, and lucky I was not going down a hill
at 60kph.

Also Notice the very thick handlebar tape layers to try to ease hand pain I suffered.
Not pretty, and not so very effective.

 
Fig 5. New Brooks B17 Narrow saddle on Cannondale.

Notice the cable tie between seat side flaps which has not been pulled tight yet.
Saddle needs more time on bike to break it in.

Fig 6. Old Brooks B17 Standard on Carl Wilson frame with Laprade seat stem.

Notice the apparent sag in this old saddle. It needs some slight tightening of tensioning bolt.
Side flaps are fully drawn under with a cable tie. The rivets have all been replaced with M4
countersunk machine screws and nuts and a total of 5 screws in nose bracket.
This leather has traveled maybe only 10,000 km, and it initially sagged much more on one side
than the other after maybe only 1,000km, or a month of riding. This meant I had to wrench the
leather rearwards with vice-grips on the most sagged side and drill new positions for some screws to extend
the life of the saddle and justify the cost of buying the darn thing.
Brooks saddles require very caring quality control dudes who really understand leather behaviour and quality.
Perhaps the dude got old, and was replaced by a dumb newbie, a tragic mistake by Brooks.


Patrick in 2011, dressed to keep fit during winter.
 
The bloke is but a bloke, but the bicycle is worth a description.......

All this following stuff was written before April 2014 when I found I could afford a carbon
framed bicycle........

Frame was hand crafted in 1988 by a relatively unknown tradesman but labeled
'Carl Wilson' of Sydney and was state of the art and cost $1,200, or about the
equivalent of $5,000 now. I heard Carl was a real larrikin, but he sure knew 
how to make a good frame equal to anything used by elite cyclists in major
world cycle races such as Tour De France of the 1980s.
Mine has Reynolds 753R, and it feels lively yet stiff, and has the classic "steel feel"
and is beautiful to ride.

If I bought a good carbon fibre frame, I might save 1.2Kg. But I am 85Kg, and the
because I don't race, and am old, I would not notice the benefit of a lighter frame.

As always, I built the wheels in 2007 using Mavic CX33 aero shaped rims each with
32 stainless steel double butted spokes and with whatever cheap deal was going for
hubs. While I could have lighter wheels, they may not make much difference to
my speed. I cycle to keep fit, and not to keep up with faster cyclists, and you don't
need to go fast to become extraordinarily fit.

In the picture, cranks are Shimano Compact with 50t x 34t chain wheels and
Shimano mountain bike 8 speed rear cassette with 12t-28t allowing fairly easy
pedaling up long climbs of 10% average slope, such as the 3km long Fitz's Hill.
( BTW, my idea of "fairly easy" = "close to death" for many people ).
The rear touring derailleur with a long dropper allows the 28t largest rear cog.
Hence I have avoided a triple chain wheel.
In 2011, health bothers made me weaker, and I changed to 9 speed Sora with
9 speed mountain bike 11-32 cassette. Ah, much better!
 
Saddle is Brooks leather. I tried other lighter and prettier saddles, but the relationship
would always go sour, and I was always forced back to old faithful Brooks, ugly and
heavy, but extremely comfortable on any ride and 120km is quite OK for me.
Gears are now 9 speed Shimano Sora to replace earlier levers and derailleurs bought
cheaply at a local bike shop where they get a stream of incoming wrecked bicycles
or leftovers after cyclists have up-graded to ever more gear speeds and narrower chains. 
The other bits are generic old stuff which is mostly 20 years+ old. The 1988 Mavic
brakes work fine, although require more force on levers than the original 1988
brake levers did. Seat stem is Laprade, which needs to be strong as I am 85Kg.
I once broke a seat stem near the end of a long race where I have broken away
and was in the winning position. Most upsetting, as it was too risky to continue
with a razor sharp broken piece of aluminium tube pointing at my arse.
I have a mountain bike headstock with deep insertion to the steel fork tube.
In 2007, on a second bike I have, I had a fall caused by complete steering failure
because an old Cinelli headstock had fatigued the fork tube which broke because the
insertion depth was 5mm above the limit. Lucky the steering failed in town at 5kph
and not the weeks before during a wild descents down many hills out of town at 60kph.
I don't believe in God, but I sure have room upon my shoulder for my Guardian Angel,
if there is one, but they can't really save you if you have a bad fall at high speed.

I was using 24yr old Duegi cycle shoes and toe clips on cage pedals until just
before the photo in 2010 but I have since changed to modern Specialized shoes
with clip in pedals. I could no longer find shoe plates to suit the old shoes which
were beginning to fall apart after about 70,000 km.

Total Bike weight is about 2.0 Kg more than a latest carbon fibre framed modern
equivalent costing say $8,000 and including the same comfortable heavy Brooks
saddle and sensible wheels and pedals. So how much did a good 1988 bike weigh?

Here is the answer I got using a modern electronic bathroom scale :-
My weight in normal clothes, after a feed, 87.2Kg.
Weight while holding bike in hands, a full 750ml water bottle and a long pump,
99.0Kg
Weight of bike = 11.8Kg.

Weight while holding bike in hands, WITHOUT full water bottle and pump,
98.0Kg.
Weight of bike = 10.8Kg.
Less 2 x water bottle clips, bell, - 300 grams, so possible bike weight = 10.5Kg.

Modern bikes are usually weighed without pedals, which would be 900 grams,
so that leaves 9.6Kg.
When I raced I used tubular tyres, lighter wheels ( but still with 36 spokes ),
so bike weight would have been 9.2Kg.

Now my frame size is quite large, and about 100mm higher than most smaller
frames, making it maybe 500gms heavier than that suiting a typical 65Kg
racing cyclist of 1790cm.

If I spent $15,000 on the latest bike with mostly carbon parts, it'd be 7Kg with
the lightest race wheels and tubular tyres, no pedals, no water bottle, clips or pump etc.
But for less money and using heavier wheels and tyres which are an absolute necessity
for reliability where there is no team support car following me around the suburbs,
Maybe weight = 8Kg. Add the Brooks saddle instead of some horrible fly weight arse
breaker, and same pedals, bike weight would be then become 9Kg, and with a water
bottle and pump it'd be 10.0Kg.

So I see that I ride with about 2.0Kg more than those who have spent $7,000 recently.

Now total weight I have to move = 99.0Kg, and speed is not proportional weight.
It is closest to being proportional going up hills, which are only part of the distance
one cycles.
2Kg = 2% of total of 99Kg. If average speed is now 23kph then I estimate the speed
increase would be  +1% if I could reduce bike weight by -2Kg, so speed would be
23.23kph, which is hardly measurable, and hardly something worth $7,000.
if I lost 2Kg of body weight, it makes a similar difference, but I save money by
not eating chocolate or drinking wine, eating cheese and crap so I could become
0.23kph faster and be richer not poorer.

I cannot remember when I was overtaken by anyone my age or over 55
while out on a casual keep-fit ride, so I've never felt the obsessive need to have the
very latest modern bike with lots of carbon fibre.  Even if I did have the latest
bike, and if I lost more weight, I still could not keep up with many seriously athletic fellows
under 55 who ride in the many bunches I see out on a Sunday. Spending up makes
no sense to me bearing in mind that bicycles wear out, break, or get easily damaged in
accidents.

When a young man overtakes me I marvel at his speed, and it reminds me of how
I once was.

If only every man could feel good about another passing him by, it probably would
be a better world.

I use a Cateye to record all my efforts on the bike. I have it set for auto recording where
it stops recording speeds below 6kph. This means that many slow speed sections of
my rides on footpaths and cycle paths are still included thus giving an overall average
about 3kph slower than if I rode the best open roads all the time. Coffee time and
coffee aroma and best looking cafe waitress is not recorded on the cyclometer.

Very rarely, a female cyclist overtakes me. In 2008 a very beautiful young blond girl of
perhaps 19 went past me up Mt Stromlo. Kinda like a dancing mermaid on a bike.
As she passed, and in a very laconic Australian accent asked me, "Are ya winning?"
I replied immediately,
"Nope, you just passed me!"   

Then she was gone.

And such is life, no?

Some tips about cycling, July 2012.
For nearly a year I have now been using 9 speed Shimano SORA gears with compact
50+34 chain rings plus 9 speed Tiagra 12t to 32t mountain bike cassette.
Before I changed to the 9 speed I had had a lot of increasing trouble with gear cables.
When I first converted the steel frame bike from 7 speed cluster and levers on
the front down tube, the changeover worked quite flawlessly. But after time the cable
running under the centre bracket began to wear a groove in the cable guide eyelet.
Friction increased and gear change became erratic. I thought it was just cables or
the handlebar gear lever mechanism and i decided to try new bar lever and go to 9
speed but that made no difference. Then I found a shop selling a plastic slide to screw fix
to the frame, and after removing the steel eyelet the plastic worked fine.
I also used a Durace gear cable which has been ground flatter and smoother and it
worked exceptionally well. But it lasted only 5,000 km, and was $24. I'm now using a
normal generic $5 gear cable which isn't as good as the Durace, but next time I will

I also switched from using engine oil on chain to using Rock n Roll "dry lube".
http://sprockt.com.au/rocknroll-absolute-dry.html?
This stuff seems good, it soaks into a chain and floats out the shit, good after a chain
dries right out after riding in the rain. I will see if I get the same distance with
Rock"N"Roll as I got with messy and dirty engine oil needing frequent active cleans
by removing rear wheel, and hanging bike up from roof, and running the chain through
a pot of petrol with brushing, after  and dipping rear end in the pot and turning cranks
by hand. Always messy. Since last October I've done maybe 8,300km and so far no
chain troubles. Only 3 days where the chain got soaked during a 20km ride home in
rain.

I guess if you ride on 700C x 23 road tires, and around suburban streets with many
broken bottles from arsoles chucking them out car windows then you will get lots of
punctures. I don't believe the most expensive tires give many less punctures than the
cheap ones.
To minimize the punctures, try inspecting tyres after each 150km. Turn the bike upside
down and clean off loose junk on rubber with a your hand or a brush under strong light
and use reading glasses if your eyes are old, like mine. Rubber on tyres can differ, and
some tires pick up more stuff than others. Look closely at the rubber while rotating
the wheel. Use an awl to dig out embedded bits of glass, stone, thorns, or steel
fragments. Often glass will appear as a little white dot, and it needs to be probed with
the awl to test if it is glass or stone. Its not unusual for me to find 4 pieces of glass
in each tyre and each piece longer than 2 mm, and in the form of an "arrow-head"
or pointy glass fragment trying to go straight into the woven fabric and then to the tube.
Such bits of glass can slowly be hammered on each wheel turn towards the inner tube.
Neglecting the connection of hard sharp objects stuck into your tyre rubber will give you
3 times the number of punctures. You cannot see the thousands of pieces of glass
and other things you ride over. You can avoid where a drink bottle has been smashed
on a road recently, but after time the traffic grinds in the glass to leave ever finer
particles, some pointing straight up, waiting patiently to get right into your tyre, then
work their way into the tube. The awl you use to dig glass out should not be sharp
as a sewing needle lest you dig around and puncture the tire to get a deep piece
of glass out, but sharp enough to be able to feel the grittiness of the glass at the
bottom of a hole.
The very worst tyres I've used in the last year were SECA with very soft rubber.
Boy they were bad, they picked up and retained many more bits of glass than any
other brand I've used.
I've done about 170,000kms on a bicycle since 1987. I've never had a tire slashed
by a large enough object to cut a large hole requiring a replacement tire, not
just a new tube, but I always carry a piece of tyre cut from an old one in case I get
a large hole so I can make it home. I also patch my tubes regularly, and some have
up to 10 patches. I probably average about 1 puncture each 3weeks, and that's 17
a year and as I ride 11,000 km a year, its so about 1 puncture each 650km.
Eventually, a patch might fail, or a puncture occur on an existing patch, and for
some reason the inner tube is then chucked out.

The SECA tyres became so bad before they wore out that I tried putting in
polyurethane "puncture proof" strips between inner tube and inside the tyre.
Well, that made the bike feel slow and heavy and after two more punctures in
a month I decided such rubbish just doesn't work.

Cycling and lifestyle change in 2006
In 2006 and after not riding a bike or doing much manual work for about 12 years
my weight had gone from 82Kg to 102Kg and I didn't like myself. The reason
for the rest had initially been sore knees due to trying to work as a builder and cycle
200km a week and race every weekend. My knees are the genetic product of my
parents, and my father was a brilliant athlete, but my mother never could run
anywhere, and I got the blend. A broken cruciate ligament at age 19 didn't help
matters. It had never been repaired, and still has not. In 2004, doctors wanted to
put in metal&plastic joints but in 2005 they gave me a joint clean out with endoscope
surgery. Pain stopped immediately, and in 2006 I decided to ride again.
 
I dusted off the old bikes and began to pedal off the fat. Because I was heavy
I broke quite a few spokes in the old wheels. One day a pair of front forks broke
in traffic and I crashed to the road and people and parts scattered. I survived
nearly being run over by a following bus because I was in the cycle lane alongside
the traffic lanes which were installed after 2004 in Canberra. Roads became much
safer with cycle lanes. Roving speed cameras slowed down traffic so cycling
became safer than it had been in the 1980s. I realized that some parts of the bikes
I had bought in the 1980s had bad metal fatigue. I re-built wheels and replaced
head stocks on handlebars and replaced lever gears with Shimano Sora indexed
gears. I've had very few mechanical troubles and have continued to never
need a bike mechanic.

In 2006 I changed my diet to lots of salads, not much carbohydrate, and just enough
protein. Most people overstate the exercise they do and underestimate the amount
they eat, so they just fail to deal with getting heavier in a world of plenty. Many deny
they eat and drink much rubbish. My bicycle and diet change created a slight calorie
deficit, but my nutrition was excellent. My knees felt better than they had for years.
My body knew it was carrying too much fat, and knew its muscles would have to
push it around the town, and so while I lost fat I didn't feel hungry while eating well.
After losing up to 1Kg a week my weight fell from 102Kg to 84Kg after only six months.
I went back to my best "racing weight" of 1989, OK for me because I am 186 cm tall.
My BMI went from 29.5 to 25. I gained muscle weight and got down to 83Kg in 2010.
My resting heart rate went from 65 beats per minute in 2006 to less than 50 by 2007.
It is now 48bpm in 2011. And is now 46bpm in 2012. If I ride up a long steep hill I can
maybe get my heart rate up to 130 maximum but if I rest at the hill top it slows very
quickly.
Everyone should look at the truth about their hearts, but they don't. I try not to be
like most people. Its difficult. If anyone at age 60 finds that their HR does not fall back
to resting quickly after ceasing very vigorous exercise then the chance of heart attack
within 5 years is very high. The rate of heart rate recovery after exercise is an excellent
indication of heart health, and I suggest everyone do a Google on it. As I age my problems
may increase because I won't be able to exercise as much. But I plan to keep exercising
within reason, and as a healthy old hunter would have done in the year BC 40011.
( only 30,000 years before civilization began ).

Until mid 2010, I often cycled with a friend of 70 who discovered his HR went to around
150 too often and on hills went higher while mine was half that. We were worried.
He was often breathless. He also became fat around the middle so the slightest
hill became a struggle. His asma didn't help. He gave up cycling and moved house
to the south coast to pursue a quiet life without as much hard regular exercise -
and this may be good for him if he controls eating and does enough moderate
exercise. It appears his smoking-drinking habits before age 60 finally caught up with him.
Right now he is happy at 71, and resigned to a lifestyle I don't feel would suit me yet.
He's not obese, and has stayed off the grog and cigarettes, and cycling hasn't wrecked him. 

In 2006 and after 13 years off a bike I found that no matter how light and fit I became
I could not easily get up some hills with the same old gear ratios I had used when
I raced in late 1980s. I used to have chain rings of 52+42 with largest rear cog of 23
teeth. I changed to Compact Shimano chain rings 50+34 and an 8 speed mountain
bike cassette with largest cog = 28t, and in late 2011 I changed to 9 speed with
11t to 32t cassette. I often use the lowest possible gear of 34t to 32t, and yet
other blokes my age never overtake me. I don't have to wreck my knees trying to
push a big gear on steep hills. I have a long dropper Tiagra touring rear derailleur
to allow the largest 32t rear cog. I can just pedal up the steepest of hills of up to
12% slope, sitting down.

When choosing gearing, it is important to always have low enough gears to allow
climbing the steepest hills while seated, so you can change from being seated to
standing to vary the muscle groups used and thus distribute the effort. Many
people buy road bikes which have gearing which only suits racing on mainly flat
roads, so they don't have low enough gears for steep hills, and they don't have
the fitness from constant effort each week. Recreational or old riders like me will
damage their knees if they cannot keep up a quick pedaling rhythm on steep hills.
Inexperienced cyclists will try to use ever increasing leg force at slow revolution rates
to go up hills. Its the force which creates excessive pressures on cartilages and other
tissues which causes damage. So its always better to use less leg force with higher
revolutions per minute (cadence) to achieve the power required. There is an optimal
cadence rate for a given slope of a hill and the right gear should be selected for this.
It takes time to learn this. While standing during a climb, the cadence is usually
slower than when seated although the bike speed will be the same. So when you
enter a climb you might stay seated, drop down a gear, then another and another,
as you slow for the body of the hill as the heart and lungs start to pump hard.
When you stand, maybe you can go a gear higher. Then you sit again, and go
back down a gear. This is what happens when I attempt Black Mountain near
Lake Burley Griffin, or Red Hill, both with 10% slope. I change gear up and down
as I climb, and my heart rate is high but comfortable, my breathing is rapid and full,
but I am not spent or exhausted. A rhythm is maintained. The inexperienced cyclist
will attack the hill, and try to sprint and he will exhaust himself with excessive heart
rate and breathing rates from which he cannot quickly recover so he slows to
recover and loses all he gains.
I am far too heavy to be a natural born good climber on a bicycle. I have a fat content
probably up around 18%. The men with fat content of 10% or less have a huge
advantage. I think I should have been a rower where I would have the ideal physique.
But I do get up some long steep hills faster than many other people 1/2 my age
because I have a enough low gears, I know how to pace myself, and I have bothered
to get fit and stay fit, and all because I like doing it and I'm not afraid. If I do get scared,
its during the descents where my weight propels me faster than most others, so I
often catch up with better climbers who are so smug about dropping me on a hill.

I am very lucky to live in Canberra which would have to be the safest place
in Australia where you can ride on hundreds of kilometers of dedicated sealed
cycle tracks.
But since 2008 I have slowed by about 3kph on my average speeds due to prostate
cancer treatment, and yet I am rarely overtaken by anyone over 40.

My knees improved after 2006 and for 2007 to 2009 I did 200km a week regularly.
Several rides were over 130km, but 105km is about the longest 2011 - 2012.
In summer I like to swim about 1.5km a week. Its not far, but it helps the body
after the unnatural body position of riding a bike. Swimming is very good for one's
spine which tends to get lots of problems as we age.

Since 2006, the fastest ride I did was in early 2008 on an ideal windless
February morning.  I went out and back along a 25.5km course to Geary's Gap
near Lake George on the Federal Highway with start and finish at the roundabout
corner of Antill St and the Federal Highway at Watson. I achieved an average speed
of 32.6kph for the 51km total.

Maximum hill slope is 4%, with about 400 metres of vertical rise up-hill over half a
dozen or more hills in both directions. The turnaround point near Lake George is
100 metres higher than the start point, so coming home was faster than going out.
I think this course is a great time trial venue for anyone cycling alone to test their
abilities on their own. But it may not be suitable for a legal club event with many
competing cyclists because it is a busy public high way. Its safe though, because
all cycling can be done in the well surfaced "break down" lane on the separated
dual carriageway highway. 
The turnaround point involves riding from the breakdown lane across two lanes
of 100kph traffic, crossing a wide median strip, then riding across two more lanes
of 100kph traffic in the opposite direction and getting into the breakdown lane to
ride back to the start. On my own, I had to give way to motorists which takes time,
and maybe I lost 30 seconds.
But for the first time in my life I did a faster average speed for a 61 yr old as listed
in Veteran Age Standard for time trials usually established on quite flat courses in
the UK, and my time was equal to the standard for someone 56, not 61. And this
course is not flat as an ideal venue with hills less than 1% slope.
The Age Standards for time trials were established in the UK, and mainly set by
clubmen in the cycling club time trials. Most courses for time trials are chosen
for their flatness and speed, ease of turn-around, lack of traffic, so attempts to
get to age standard times can succeed. My little achievement does not count
for much bearing in mind that so many cyclists who were good in their youth, ie,
before age 45, have retired, while idiots like me battle away......

On 13 March 2011, I went out with a bunch of 11 others and rode with them for
the first 26km along the same course as I had done 3 years previously in 2008.
At first I got a couple of minutes ahead of them all except for one who trailed
in my slipstream for the first 13km, and average was 27.4kph. After re-grouping,
3 of them rode away from me on hills but I later caught and overtook them.
But they increased the pace and I faded, and arrived to the 26km point 20 seconds
behind and drafting didn't help me much. Average was 26.8kph. I didn't want
to ride the extra 15km for coffee at a winery at Lake George so I said bye bye
and returned alone to where I started and average went up to 27.6kph, because
its got more downhill than the out journey. So I was about 5kph slower than I
was 3 years ago, and I had drafted. I have maybe lost 20% of my power due to
medical treatments and having zero testosterone.
The age standard time for a man 64yo and for 48.3 km is 1:34:42 and so my
speed should be 30.6kph average, but that is now an impossible speed speed for
me to get. My speed is 3kph below where it should be.
The age standards may be inspected at
http://www.vtta.org.uk/newsite/php/StandardsTabels.php
But even at age 41, I could never get the age standard time for a 40km time
trial on what was regarded as a flat TT course from Curtin to just past Canberra
airport on a freeway. And despite riding 300km a week at training I could never get
better than 1:08 or 35.2kph. If one searches the absolute age records for time trials
one will find much lower times than the age standard tables. I saw a record where a
man of 83 in the UK achieved my 2008 result. We are definitely not born equal and
cannot become equal even if we tried. We are born different, and that we will remain.
Most very keen riders in time trial events have pushed up the speed and lowered
the time by using a special time trial bike with lightweight frame, disc wheels,
special geometry with a more forward seat position, special handlebars, skin
suits, booties over shoes, and whatever else may be done to increase speed
over what may be achieved with an old fashioned steel framed bike with nothing
fancy at all as I have. When I raced in the Canberra Cycling Club after 1986,
there were men 10 years older who went 3kph faster. There are now probably
fellows of 90 who can ride as fast as I do now over 40km. Speed itself is NOT
the main focus for me, but being personally "together" and fetching a personal
best is rewarding. It is a selfish concern with only indirect social benefit, ie,
because I am well, I am less dependent on anyone else. Part of being well is
not being obsessed with cycling or anything else.
 
Last year I met a guy my age who raced in the A-grade vets in the club 20 years
ago. I could never keep up with him. But like me, he had a long break from cycling
and he put on more weight than I did. We went out for a good together and I got
up a long hill much faster. It may be the last time I was quicker because during
last year he lost weight, and he's about level with me now. I expect to never
be able to stay with him if he keeps trying to get fit. But he has a girl friend
who keeps him in bed on Sunday mornings, and he won't come out with the bunch.

Always remember there is someone better than yourself. Be not jealous.
Is it not a marvel, that someone is better than you? 
 
But if I were to put together a new bike I might buy a titanium frame rather than
carbon, then transfer much of what I have on bike No2 with Reynolds 531 to
the new bike.
The bikes at this address look nice http://www.habcycles.com/road.html 
 
I can only smile when I see fat guys with bikes costing $10,000. They really
need to lose at least 10 Kg of their own weight. Well, we all enjoy our cake
but it is the quick cyclist who does not eat cake too often.

For 2008 and 2009 I often rode with Pedal Power, ACT,
See http://www.pedalpower.org.au/
I began doing about 100km every Sunday with the fastest members of the 50
people who may turn up on a fine Sunday morning. They divide themselves
into a fast, medium and slow group, with an average of 10 in the fast group.
I found riding in the fast group was OK for 2 years and then it became just
plain too hard because most were 10 years younger and naturally faster without
raising a sweat. I saw no point in staying with them uphills and tearing along
the flats at 40kph. In 2009 I began riding with the intermediate group who I
found were a bit slower and more sociable. I have never wished to compete
in a cycle club again because it is so demanding and inevitably one finds
oneself up against other veteran cyclists 10 years younger. It became quite
enough to try to keep up on a Sunday and enjoy the stop at the cafe.
Sometimes I stayed  with the slower guys just to enjoy the day and the country
scenery. It is mainly all men over 50. Occasionally there were females who
joined our group but most struggled to keep up even though they are younger.
I saw some young females turn up to ride once with us and then were never seen
again. They didn't realize they have to ride 100km each week and EVERY
week and fairly quickly to be able to get fit and stay fit. The slow group attracts
a regular number of many older females and all married, but it is no fun for me
to ride so slow.
The important thing is to be out and about on the bicycle and retain your
freedom to choose your speed; it is not racing, and speed is not required to
enjoy a coffee at cafe. If my health deteriorates and my cycling slows then
I will join the slow group where the oldest rider is about 75. Indeed in 2009
I fell over at home while gardening and slightly injured a knee and I rode with
the slow group until I healed and then rejoined the intermediates.
If you become a financially paid up member of Pedal Power then there are
benefits of good insurance cover; I suggest you check it out from their website.
The Pedal Power rides are often on country roads which are roughly tar sealed,
not with smooth hot-mix, so they cause vibrations. So one has to get used to
riding on rougher surfaces.

Do tell yourself each morning, "I must Ride Carefully."

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