New Toy: MTB PowerTap

Well, i had it built up a month ago, but i got a faulty hub - it wasn't transmitting. After a gong-show affair with the warranty buffoons at OGC (Outdoor Gear Canada), and a month later and THREE different stories/excuses, it finally arrived on Wednesday.

Steve and i met up at the Switch Bridge today for a relatively easy ride, and i was happy to give my new toy a spin. Works amazingly, btw, even under the powerlines at the dump!

Below i've posted three screenshots from WKO+, the software i use to manage my data and training. All the neat info is on the lower left. For some reason, the power averages (ie, 30 seconds) are all for the full ride, not the MTB portion..not sure why it's doing that.

Trails we took were my standard 'Dave's Loop' route: up Executive, then left over to the 'beginning' of Shock Treatment - great 'warm-up', all the way up to the end near the bottom of Pooh Corner. From there, down to Skull Trail, and up that, left to Inventive and Little Face. Left at the Centerfold 4-way up to Switchbacks, no-name over to Twister and up to Phase Two. Across Dave's Line from there, South Ridge, across to the second part of Fun Trail, South Ridge, Say Ahhhh..., a bit of Crossover to N'Trail, Madonna, 2nd Ave up to Two Trees, then back on the Regional Trail to the top of Executive. It's a great loop! The last portion is a bit tricky to follow, as there are a ton of smaller trails in there. If feeling more peppy, will re-do Shock Treatment. And from there, back down Executive. The Kilarney Lake trail is fab too, but didn't do today.

Loop is 13.7km according to my data, and ride-time at a fairly brisk pace was 1h10. (1h50 actual, but we took some longer breaks.) You can see the rest of the data on the screenshot.

First, here's the MTB portion highlighted:



Click here for the full sized JPG.

Here's the full ride:



Full sized.

And, for comparison, here's the OBB group ride from the day before:



Full sized.

If for some reason those aren't loading, they're all here. Either choose 'Download' from near the top left, or click on the magnifying glass on the right to zoom in...

Interesting that they're both similar workouts, as far as TSS goes. The MTB ride was what i expected, lots of peaks, etc.. I seem to spend a lot more time in the 300-600watt range, getting up short climbs and rocks...and a lot more time spent coasting. I was surprised to hit the peak i did (1142w) I think that might have been on a rock face mid-way through Inventive (normal people go up the right side, and there's a rooty bit to get through, but there's also a line on the left straight up the face.. ;)

Also tracked my HR, haven't worn a strap much (esp. after OGC kindly replaced my failing PowerTap computer for the road, but now it required a differently coded HR strap..which i don't have..they're sharp.) Surprised it only got up to 185..some spots felt higher! Cadence with the new PT is a bit whack, it just 'guesses' the cadence in the hub (no cadence monitor), so i don't really believe i hit 206rpm...although i *could*..hehe

Curious to see how this unfolds over the long-run!

In other news, Cyclocross season is about to begin, if you're in the Victoria area, i lead Learn to Race Cyclocross clinics every Saturday morning, we meet at OBB at 9am, and ride off to a few locations. Also, will be holding what we're calling Mini 'Cross Comps, short competitions based on CX skills, such as the 2nd Annual Whirly Whirl World Championships! They start at noon. We've also got some guest instructors, including Drew Mackenzie, Geoff Pendrel, and Alison Sydor has also said she'll be out to help one day! More details and schedule posted at: http://victoria.organicathlete.org - it's free, and all are welcome! Check the page frequently for updates..

Peas out!