schmalz’s log week 13

splitting up

 As of this typing, I have yet to ride outside in 2014. I have still been "riding" mind you, but my efforts have all been in my basement, on my trainer. You may not have noticed, but we’ve been in bit of a cold spell on the East Coast recently. Well, you probably have noticed because everything, even the weather, is more newsworthy when it happens on the East Coast. When the temperature drops to the level of a Tuesday in Saginaw, the reporters get shoved into parkas and pushed out into the street. This is how we know there’s weather happening, because there’s people standing outside and talking to cameras.

This past week has produced a lot of this weather standing, and when there’s a lot of parka people on the television, that’s my cue to not ride outside. My last outdoor ride was on December 30, 2013, and with this weekend’s forecast for rain with periods of misery and despondency, I see more indoor riding in my future. This is a daunting notion, as my techniques for coping with the soul crushing boredom of trainer riding are becoming less effective. I’m running out of ways to maintain trainer sanity, and that’s bad because trainer madness is the price of mightiness.

These are indeed the dark days in the pursuit of mightiness. Every year at this point my resolve is tested. Each basement pedal stroke becomes a challenge, a trial where my desire for speed is pitted against my desire to sit comfortably and not sweat my way through a pair of shorts. Until now, I have been up to the challenge, and hope to be able to maintain the low-level of brain activity required to continue on the trainer. This may require beer.

In other news, I think I need new shoes. My trusty DMTs are slowly coming apart. The soles are detaching from the uppers, and it’s only a matter of time before they go their separate ways. This may surprise you, but there is absolutely no one anywhere that is interested in sponsoring a middle aged New Jersey man as he plods away in his basement on his trainer, so I will be purchasing these shoes myself, as I do with almost all of my cycling equipment. (Contrary to what some may think, no one at NYVC gets anything for free, except for Andy on occasion, and he earns these items by reviewing and photographing them. I am too stupid and lazy to write reviews.) This means that my quest for shoes has begun, and I can look forward to my Google searches funneling images of shoes I just searched for into every available advertising nook and cranny of my browser window.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 This is probably bad, right?

I have also not been diligent in requesting beers to showcase from Roman. This is due to laziness and sloth on my part. I will remedy the situation in time for next week’s post.

24 Comments

Mathias Saddlebag

The chances of a shoe working for another person are slim. Put aside the materials the shoe is made out of and look at if the shoe will fit your type of foot. A shoe maker generally will service one type of foot. For example boots are great for wide feet and a large “toe box”. Suggesting a shoe to someone else because they fit your feet is ridiculous. Do you have identical feet? I doubt it. End rant.

Eli

I got an email from Rapha saying that they’re about to release a new shoe. Same price as entry fees for the entire season.

mikeweb

I got the Lake CX236 shoes about 3 years ago and would get them again. Very solid feeling yet comfortable, and for a carbon soled shoe with the BOA closure system the price was very reasonable. I think that model was discontinued and not sure what the new comparable model is and how much.

If you like your DMTs and they’re otherwise in good shape, have you considered re-gluing the sole back on?

joshs

you are going about this all wrong. you should be re-gluing them and then using it as an excuse when you lack mightiness (“i totally would have won that race if not for these stupid glued shoes”) or to hype up your mightiness when the opportunity arises (“can you believe i just won that race by out sprinting mihael? even with my glued shoes! Mihael really sucks!”).

mikeweb

Perhaps you could convince your state’s esteemed Guv’nah to threaten DMT that he’ll close the Ponte Vecchio if they don’t send you a new pair.

Benedetto Brazeon

Same thing happened to my super-comfy Carnac Carbones a few years ago. I took them to Lucio, the local shoe repair guy, and he fixed them for $20. They are still in use today.

Ethan Biopace

Who is promoting the Spring Series this year? I don’t see anything from AVD and I believe he said he was stepping down last year. Really eager to see it back this year.

Sascha Swage

I asked AVD about it at the Pete Senia race in October and he enthusiastically told me he was doing it, but have also heard rumors to the contrary. I guess we’ll find out for sure in late February.

Bernardo Bearing

I picked up an old LeMond Classic trainer (TDF Yellow) in October, on ebay – $300. Replaced the bearings – silent now. Well, I must say that indoor training in the 80’s on my Vetta ‘wind’ trainer was more of a test of mental toughness than cardiovascular fitness. This item has transformed the activity into a more meditative trance that I look forward to every other day. I actually prefer it to the bad roads, dangerous traffic, cold air, unforgiving wind, and the tired eyes after 3 hours of motion in winter bliss. A great song list, two water bottles, a cracked window, I can wear my summer kit… life is grand. I find varied terrain with a simple rotation of a black knob. Now I drag my feet when considering the complex ritual that is outdoor winter riding. Balaclava… why?

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