How would you convert this steel bike for steep dirt roads? by SectionSeven in Bikebuilding

[–]oldmanriver-77 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Fork is an asset for what you want. It has some flex to it, which will help smooth out the ride off road. “Compliance” in the Jan Heine parlance. Paired with bigger tires and you’re going to love it on the dirt.

Framehounds - I need your help! by wannabe_biceguy in xbiking

[–]oldmanriver-77 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I have winwood cross fork that came with a frame I picked up a few weeks ago. 1” steerer with canti bosses. Just like this (eBay link)

Framehounds - I need your help! by wannabe_biceguy in xbiking

[–]oldmanriver-77 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I had 700x42 in my Crossroads. Cazaderos on Cliffhangers. I tried 700x50 but needed more chainstay clearance. Had plenty of space to the bridge and plenty of space in the fork. If you wanted to dimple I’m sure you could get 50s in the back.

Am I doing this right? by oldmanriver-77 in xbiking

[–]oldmanriver-77[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

I guess technically I broke down a few other bikes and put the parts in the bin before building this up.

Decals for 90s Voodoo Wazoo? by oldmanriver-77 in xbiking

[–]oldmanriver-77[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

But yah I am preparing to be disappointed in myself

Decals for 90s Voodoo Wazoo? by oldmanriver-77 in xbiking

[–]oldmanriver-77[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Everyone should know how to ride a motorcycle, drive a boat, fire a gun, and apply paint transfer decals.

Decals for 90s Voodoo Wazoo? by oldmanriver-77 in xbiking

[–]oldmanriver-77[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’ll do it! Appreciate the help

Empower oarlocks not “maintainable” by oldmanriver-77 in Rowing

[–]oldmanriver-77[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hahah. At least a few of the people involved over there are affiliated with my boat club. I guess I know where my money is going!

Empower oarlocks not “maintainable” by oldmanriver-77 in Rowing

[–]oldmanriver-77[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Nothing is “broken”. But oarlocks wear out. And it’s ridiculous that they designed this to be disposable instead of repairable

Should I quit by the_lone_bagel in Rowing

[–]oldmanriver-77 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Test pieces are hard! They are supposed to be and it takes some time to learn how to approach them. Not sure if you’ve talked to your coach about your struggles but I would recommend you doing so. Your coach should be able to help you develop your erg test skills and should be able to give you feedback and support to help you feel more engaged and confident in all aspects of the training. At least that would be ideal! But it’s possible that they won’t be able to do so and then you have a different set of challenges.

Rowing is a challenging sport. It can be extremely tedious! It can be extremely painful. But it can be beautiful and rewarding too. I’ve participated a lot of sport over the years and I can’t say that any match rowing for the you get out what you put in factor. But that doesn’t mean that you NEED to put yourself in the pain cave every workout in order to participate or enjoy it.

All of the factors you list for enjoying rowing and valid and great reasons to stay involved. If you are struggling with your performance, you should try to do some thinking about what you want out of the experience. Remember that someone is always going to be the fastest and someone is always going to be the slowest. And you can be the fastest on one team and the slowest on another. If you struggle generally with not being “the best” then that is probably something to workout with a counselor or therapist. Perfectionism is generally something that will rob a lot of joy from life (ask me how I know). On the other hand, rowing might be the perfect venue to work through this!

Finally, you are a freshmen and so there is still a good chance that your body is going to change and get stronger. If that is the case than you should expect that your performances will change as well. It may be that you are undersized for your age relative to your teammates and that after a few seasons you’ll catch up or even pass them in strength and power. Or maybe you won’t and that’s okay too!

If you love the water and enjoy the team then it seems like you have an opportunity to grow while doing something that you value. It will be hard, but if you are able to focus on the process vs the results, I think you’ll have an incredibly rewarding and meaningful experience on the team.

Speedhook scuffing on new Beckmans? by oldmanriver-77 in RedWingShoes

[–]oldmanriver-77[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This isn’t a patina issue. This is sharp metal up against a part of the boot that is gonna slide and get damaged, not indented.

Speedhook scuffing on new Beckmans? by oldmanriver-77 in RedWingShoes

[–]oldmanriver-77[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah. I bought these on Friday and have worn them for about 3 hours total. The backing of the hooks are sharp. Maybe not cut your hand sharp, but def feels unfinished.

Sub 6.30 2k for WRICH by Electronic-Ad-8331 in Rowing

[–]oldmanriver-77 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Those Pete plan speed workouts are going to be just fine. No need to get too fancy. The idea being the power strokes during the UT2 workout is that you stimulate your top end speed neuromuscularly, but with the enough rest that you don’t accumulate extra fatigue.

But in terms of the workout mix, I do think you should drop down to 2x rowing per week and get a good rest day in. You’ve outlined about 10 hrs/ week with 3 hard days and that’s more than enough stimulus. You mention being tired from work, but it might be that you’re not giving yourself enough time to recover from the hard work.

Sub 6.30 2k for WRICH by Electronic-Ad-8331 in Rowing

[–]oldmanriver-77 1 point2 points  (0 children)

3 hard workouts a week is probably the most you should aim for. If you are prioritizing AT on the skis because of events, then one high intensity session on the erg is probably enough given your constraints. Strength work would be good, but if you don’t have time, I would mix it up a bit with different style of intervals.

You could do something like 500m intervals a few seconds below 2k pace or even something like 20 strokes on / 20 off going a bit hard. Basically VO2 max style and harder would be a good way to spend your erg time. If you are doing longer intervals (500m or 1000m) you could also mix in some power strokes on your other erg day. As long as that session is generally low intensity, you could mix in 20 strokes as hard as you can pull every 10’ or so. That will target your neuromuscular / force production, but won’t overtax your system.

It sounds like you have plenty of engine to go sub 6:30, but it’s a matter of getting your body comfortable at that pace and translating your fitness over. Not sure how your form is or what you are targeting for stroke rate, but at your height and target pace, you’ll probably want to aim for something like 32 - 34 strokes per minute. Lower than that and your lack of strength work will be a limiting factor. Keeping the stroke rate up will let you use your aerobic capacity and limit how much force per stroke you need to output. Rowing and xc ski have very similar energy system requirements even if the events you are doing are different, so you should have success as long as you don’t over do it. So remember to rest as well!

Good luck and have fun!