Category Archives: biking

FrankenBike

Posted on by dimsumandsiomai
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I just made a lot of weird updates on my bike. It looks so unconventional now but I think it will do the job.

Front View

Cockpit

I moved the arms pads a bit closer to me. It feels a lot more comfortable now. I think I can manage a lower more aggressive drop. If I can manage to mount the aerobars under my handle bars, I think I can achieve that. I must slam them some more. My stem can’t be further slammed because it has reached the slam limit.

Butchered Drops

I butchered my handle bars. I wanted my bike to look like a tri-bike. I think it looks the part. A switch to proper brake levers and bar end shifters is in the horizon for me if I can manage to enjoy this look.

Tool Kit

Behind me is an improvised tool kit. The clear bottle holds my tools and an extra inner tube. I also have that canister thing that is used for flats. Haven’t had the chance to use it yet in a race and I am hoping that I never get to. This looks so unorthodox. I should get a seat mounted rear bottle holder instead of this.

Dimsum and Siomai 30 Days of Sweat Challenge Update:
Day 1: 80 Minute Spin at 80 RPM
Day 2: 30 Minute Run in the Morning. 45 Minute Spin and 15 Minute run in the evening.
Day 3: 4 Sets: 13 Bicep/Tricep Curls, 13 Plato Lifts, 40 crunches
Day 4: 60 Minute Spin
Day 5: 30 Minute Run. 80 Minute Spin.
Day 6: 2.5 Hour Fun Ride. Up – Ateneo – Up. 30 Minute Run
Day 7: 90 Minute Spin. 30 Minute Run.
Day 8: 30 Minute Run.
Day 9: 60 Minute Morning Run.
Day 10: 10 Minute Insanity Workout.
Day 11: 4 Kilometer run.
Day 12: Weight training
Day 13: 50 Minute Spin.
Day 14: 30 Minute Interval run. Weight training.
Day 15: 90 Minute Spin.
Day 16: 2500 Meter Swim.
Day 17: 60 Minute Spin.
Day 18: 2500 Meter Swim.

TV and Spinning

Posted on by dimsumandsiomai
2

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Here I am again trying to make the most of my TV series addiction. I first made amends with myself playing PS3 so much by spinning while playing. It was great. The feeling of guilt for playing all day was nullified because I was training on the bike as well. It limited my playing time to about 2-3 hours too. I made it a point to stop playing when I stop spinning.

Here I am again faced with another opportunity to make the time I spend in front of the idiot box a lot more productive.

I spun for a good two episodes of Doctor Who last night. That was a good two hour spin coupled with a good sense of accomplishment and a sense of entitlement for having progressed in the series that I am so addicted to right now. I am currently wrapping up season 4 and I have three more episodes to go. I cannot wait to see how it ends. A three hour spin tonight will reveal how the Doctor will fare in the end of the season.

I could not help but wonder why I thought of this just now. How much stronger on the bike could I have been if I started spinning when I started watching season 1. I do have 2 more seasons to go and that’s a guaranteed 26 hours of spinning. Good times and heavy legs are up ahead.

Let’s Spin Again: Like We Did Last Summer

Posted on by dimsumandsiomai
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I took the liberty of going to MOA this morning to do a test on myself. I wanted to check if I can finally hit below 60 minutes on my 30k. It was quite a chore getting out of bed earlier but I trudged on. The cold weather hasn’t really been kind to my waking up early routine but I had to. The drive to MOA was a little light since it was still very early. I managed to hit MOA a little before 6 am. I parked, set up my bike, and then rode off.

I started off light at first. I was surprised that I managed to get up to around 28 to 30 kph on the small chain ring. I guess those butt numbing hours on the trainer is finally paying off. I would average at around 1:55 – 2:10 per kilometer which was well in target for a sub 60 finish for the 30 kilometers.

The 60 minute finish was well into the horizon up until kilometer 25 but fatigue started to creep in. My legs started to feel heavy and I could spin at a decent rpm anymore. I switched to the big chain ring to compensate for the reduced cadence. Instead of getting a bit faster, it wrecked my thighs a lot more. I had a hard time spinning on the heavy gears. I barely glanced 30kph on the last 5 kilometers.

I pushed on and tried to finish under 70 minutes and I did. I clocked in my 30 kilometers at around 63 minutes. It was a decent effort but I still didn’t hit sub 60. It’s back to the trainer for me tomorrow and Friday and a loooong ride on Saturday. Here’s to hoping that I can hit sub 60 next week. This will surely prepare me for the Sprint Triathlon that I have on June 12.

Spun easy for the next 6 kilometers and then, I called it a morning. Good workout!

BHS Bike Fun

Posted on by dimsumandsiomai
2

I just realized that a 60fps camera is not enough for super slow motion type of videos like those found in Discovery’s Time Warp. After looping around BHS with the team, I hopped off and took out my cameras and started shooting. It was a shame that I didn’t get as much angles and shots as I wanted to because I couldn’t leave my bike alone on the sidewalk. I really need a glide cam for my 5dm2. I will make life much more easier.

I let one of my teammates wear the GoPro. I let it shoot at 60fps and the output was nothing but spectacular. As I’ve said, 60fps isn’t enough to make super slow motion videos but it will do. I found this neat plug in for Final Cut Pro that would convert my 60fps video into 1000fps. Maybe I’ll try that in my next video. Enjoy!

Endure BHS Fun from dimsumandsiomai on Vimeo.

GoPro Bike Test

Posted on by dimsumandsiomai
1

I recently acquired a GoPro HD cam and I am loving it. It will be a great compliment to my 5dm2. I love how you can virtually mount it anywhere.

Bike Time with the GoPro from dimsumandsiomai on Vimeo.

Mounted it under my aerobars and on the left side of my rear tire. Looked ok. Expoure on the shots mounted under the aerobar could use a little work though.

Had a lot of fun editing but I had to export the raw files to MOV first before I could finally get them into FCP.

I need to make some DIY mountings so I can put the cam anywhere.

Go Pro Helmet Hero
Final Cut Pro