Mt Coot-tha training

[vbplease]

There seems to be a very annoying pothole on the descent of 'the back'.. around halfway down. A few weeks ago I hit so hard I thought my frame would crack in half and I lost my water bottle, never to be seen again.
Last visit I hit again and got a rear puncture.. might see if council can fill it in.

[Mr Purple]

Thanks! Definitely flag it to council and submit a report.

Apparently if you hit a pothole that's already been reported they're liable for any damage so they'll fix it pretty quickly. A guy I know holed his sump and got a new engine this way.

Unfortunately if I know BCC they'll pour a leftover load of lumpy asphalt in there and never touch it again. I like how there's spots over the top where the tarmac is so cracked it's like riding on rice bubbles. Or that long stretch on the concrete bikeway near the river where they've patched it with bitumen.

[jasonc]

There seems to be a very annoying pothole on the descent of 'the back'.. around halfway down. A few weeks ago I hit so hard I thought my frame would crack in half and I lost my water bottle, never to be seen again.
Last visit I hit again and got a rear puncture.. might see if council can fill it in.

Was that you on Wednesday morning (yesterday) I asked if you were OK and you told me you had punctured after hitting a pothole?

[vbplease]

Was that you on Wednesday morning (yesterday) I asked if you were OK and you told me you had punctured after hitting a pothole?

Yes, that was me! Trying to change the flat in the dark.. thanks for asking if I was ok

Lodged the pothole with Council online, so hopefully they have it filled soon.

[warthog1]

Yes, that was me! Trying to change the flat in the dark.. thanks for asking if I was ok

Lodged the pothole with Council online, so hopefully they have it filled soon.

Hopefully your wheel survived the hit.

[vbplease]

Hopefully your wheel survived the hit.

Yep, seems to be fine

We’ll see how the weather holds up this coming week.. it may time for another pb attempt

[jasonc]

Hopefully your wheel survived the hit.

Yep, seems to be fine

We’ll see how the weather holds up this coming week.. it may time for another pb attempt

I wish you luck

[warthog1]

Hopefully your wheel survived the hit.

Yep, seems to be fine

We’ll see how the weather holds up this coming week.. it may time for another pb attempt

Good to hear

[Mr Purple]

Interesting reflections on power versus conditions this morning - I did a slowish 8:12 at 352W.

Since I bought a power meter I’ve done 20 Cootha Backs between 347W and 353W. Time range is 7:45 to 8:12 for that 6W range.

Makes you realise how much you’re at the mercy of conditions. Only wish my 7:40 with 382W was done without a headwind!

[Comedian]

Interesting reflections on power versus conditions this morning - I did a slowish 8:12 at 352W.

Since I bought a power meter I’ve done 20 Cootha Backs between 347W and 353W. Time range is 7:45 to 8:12 for that 6W range.

Makes you realise how much you’re at the mercy of conditions. Only wish my 7:40 with 382W was done without a headwind!

Do you calibrate each day? Using a powermeter without calibration puts things in the realm of a known unknown.

My garmin has auto calibrate each time it sees a PM which is handy.

The other issue is it possibly depends as well on how consistently the power is applied and when. Although Cootha doesn't really have any significantly flatter sections...

[am50em]

Weather conditions plus any weight variations.

[Mr Purple]

I calibrate quite regularly.

Generally speaking the times correlate with the prevailing wind direction. The least power I have done a sub 8 with is 342W, and today 352W was only good for an 8:12.

It is a remarkably consistent gradient - I think the flattest part is 5.8% and the steepest 14.8% (weirdly just before the finish looking at it now, which I'd never realised before).

[warthog1]

I have the same pedals and calibrate every ride. Same as Comedian's head unit, which is also a 1030+ I think, mine prompts me to.
I noticed without calibration I had stupid L<>R pedal imbalance. Calibration sorted that.

In any case great power numbers and all very close. The calibration doesn't sound like an issue given how close the power is consistently.
I agree the conditions do change things. Wind and temperature. My rides seem a touch slower on the flat in Winter. Colder denser air I assume. I thought I was dreaming at first but there has been a seasonal difference over a number of years.
Unfortunately I am getting slower full stop now as I age. Oh well, still enjoy it and clears the head like nothing else.

[foo on patrol]

Interesting reflections on power versus conditions this morning - I did a slowish 8:12 at 352W.

Since I bought a power meter I’ve done 20 Cootha Backs between 347W and 353W. Time range is 7:45 to 8:12 for that 6W range.

Makes you realise how much you’re at the mercy of conditions. Only wish my 7:40 with 382W was done without a headwind!

Air density has a lot of impact on things also!

Foo

[Mr Purple]

Interesting reflections on power versus conditions this morning - I did a slowish 8:12 at 352W.

Since I bought a power meter I’ve done 20 Cootha Backs between 347W and 353W. Time range is 7:45 to 8:12 for that 6W range.

Makes you realise how much you’re at the mercy of conditions. Only wish my 7:40 with 382W was done without a headwind!

Air density has a lot of impact on things also!

Foo

This, I did not even consider. Explains why the times are always slower in winter - I always thought it was prevailing westerlies.

It's quite a difference as well - on the flat it's 0.2km/hr though what that translates to on a 9% gradient is anyone's guess. So a 5 degree Cootha Back is 0.8km/hr slower than a 25 degree Cootha back, with all other factors the same.

For me that's the difference between a 7:40 and an 8:01. Huge!

[am50em]

This site can show you the effects.
http://bikecalculator.com/index.html

[Mr Purple]

Thanks! I use that quite regularly, I just didn't realise it had a way to change the temperature.

Way off for my Cootha Back unfortunately - I'm 61kg on a 7.4kg bike which has me doing about 7:06 with that power. I think it's because it doesn't have a slider to adjust to 'standing'.

[am50em]

Probably more accurate for constant gradients as well. But I have found it reasonably accurate.

[foo on patrol]

Interesting reflections on power versus conditions this morning - I did a slowish 8:12 at 352W.

Since I bought a power meter I’ve done 20 Cootha Backs between 347W and 353W. Time range is 7:45 to 8:12 for that 6W range.

Makes you realise how much you’re at the mercy of conditions. Only wish my 7:40 with 382W was done without a headwind!

Air density has a lot of impact on things also!

Foo

This, I did not even consider. Explains why the times are always slower in winter - I always thought it was prevailing westerlies.

It's quite a difference as well - on the flat it's 0.2km/hr though what that translates to on a 9% gradient is anyone's guess. So a 5 degree Cootha Back is 0.8km/hr slower than a 25 degree Cootha back, with all other factors the same.

For me that's the difference between a 7:40 and an 8:01. Huge!

Most people wouldn't think about it but being an old Track Cyclist and seeing the difference on day when you think things are going too be fast, you soon realise that all of the elements work together for fast times. They use density metres at the inside Velodromes for working out how fast the Track will for gauging the likely hood of breaking records and picking gearing.

The old asphalt Tracks would be dead as a maggot on a hot day but at nightime, when the temp had dropped, the surface would become lightning fast. If you have ever ridden at night time after a really hot day, you will notice how much quicker the roads are, even on a rough section.

Foo

[Mr Purple]

A word of warning to anyone doing a Cootha this week - watch out for the 'slight' rut in the concrete footpath near Botanic Gardens. As in, longitudinally right in the middle of it.

Somehow missed it (it's pretty shady there and I was getting a bottle out) and managed to achieve this effort.





What gets me is that I'm not running 23mm tyres anymore - they're 26mm at 60PSI. So I have to assume this 'rut' in the middle of the footpath is at least 40mm deep and 80cm long.

They're only clearcoat scratches, but still that's very annoying, even on 20,000km old wheels. Now to google how to polish them out.

[Comedian]

Someone snap send solve that! Or call it in if it's that bad.

[Mr Purple]

I would have done it yesterday if I’d seen that damage.

Will do it tomorrow if it’s not been fixed.

[Comedian]

I would have done it yesterday if I’d seen that damage.

Will do it tomorrow if it’s not been fixed.

The best we can hope for is you report it and not too many people get hurt before they fix it.

[jasonc]

Bcc don't respond to snap send solve. You have to call them. Mr Purple I have a set of wheels for sale....

[Comedian]

Bcc don't respond to snap send solve. You have to call them. Mr Purple I have a set of wheels for sale....

Is this new? They always did respond? There was a delay with SSS, but they would usually call me back.