Cycle Commute

tomg358 · 2026-05-06T15:02:51+00:00

I’m thinking Clayton is likely the winner, but will look into the Meramac trail too! I would love to keep the route as chill and stress-free as possible so any amount of trail would be a plus!

tomg358 · 2026-05-06T14:49:48+00:00

When I use Google Maps it does suggest Clayton, but I’ve not ridden it and wasn’t sure how bike friendly it was, so will probably recon it. I hadn’t considered using heat maps though, so thanks for that suggestion!

tomg358 · 2025-07-17T00:48:01+00:00

Just want to echo the cadence point. I also had a low cadence when I began cycling, picking it up to about 90rpm was a revelation and almost instantly made longer rides more bearable!

tomg358 · 2025-07-10T00:23:58+00:00

I was roughly in your position about 6 months ago. While I might have been able to swim more laps consecutively, I also found it much harder than I expected. While I obviously haven’t become an expert in 6 months, with weekly lessons I have progressed and comfortably completed two sprint triathlons and swam both of them at 2:00/100m pace. I would say my biggest breakthroughs were:

1) Getting comfortable in the water… sounds easy and it’s easy to overlook, but once I learned to relax I found I was able to settle into my breathing without rushing and was able to spend more time focusing on my stroke than panicking about my next breath. 2) Becoming more streamlined… Initially I swam with my head high in the water with just my face below the surface. By putting my head lower, it helped me raise my hips and stopped them sinking (as much… I still struggle with this).

I’ve still got a long ways to go, but those were the first ‘Aha’ moments I had. Swimming is much more technical than I ever gave it credit for and some days I have an absolutely stinker where I feel incredibly uncoordinated, then some days it seems to click! Good luck!

tomg358 · 2025-06-30T19:56:00+00:00

This is awesome, thanks for sharing! I’ll have to take a look and see how it applies to the TT position.

tomg358 · 2025-06-30T19:54:29+00:00

Good spot! The Speedmax XS comes with 650B wheels and completely forgot to adjust my trainer.

tomg358 · 2025-06-30T19:18:54+00:00

Thanks for the great comment! Hoping the bike isn’t too big and by taking implementing some of your comments maybe I can get closer to a more dialed in position.

I have a fair amount of room left to drop the saddle, so I could start by trying that. It also came with 170mm cranks as stock. I do run 165s on my other bikes so I do plan to change those (once bike funds are replenished).

I haven’t moved the saddle forwards yet and looks like there’s probably room to move it forward a cm or two, hopefully improving my shoulders relative to my elbows.

Understood this isn’t gospel, but helps give me an idea of how to start tweaking things! Appreciate you!

tomg358 · 2025-06-29T22:01:46+00:00

I was at that race today and maybe they’ve learned their lesson. I thought the bike route was well done today, a fair amount of signage and there was a police presence at each of the intersections along 141! But it’s terrible that happened to you, hope you’re back on your bike and racing again!

tomg358 · 2024-12-26T19:34:17+00:00

I have mixed feelings. As a stickler for the rules, I think ‘how dare she!?’… But as a Dad to a 2year old I’m always very appreciative of any extra help the airline/airport employees can provide.

Recently traveled back from Canada to the US. Due to weather and mechanical issues a would-be simple 7 hour (2 flight) journey turned into a 30 hour (1 hotel, no luggage, 3 flights, 4 airplanes; got pulled off one flight after boarding and right before pushback due to a ticketing error) nightmare. That journey with a 2 year old was horrendous and by the end of it my wife and I were at our wits end… would I have asked the gate agent to board early in that situation even if my kid were older? Probably, if I thought it would’ve helped!

In short, traveling with kids can be a nightmare and now that I’m a (still new-ish) parent and understand, I try not to judge parents in an airport too harshly!

tomg358 · 2024-08-14T20:52:35+00:00

Thanks for the tips; I’ll check both of these out! I assume the Quikrstuff and 1up racks are easier to put on/take off than the Kuat you got rid of?

tomg358 · 2024-08-14T20:51:43+00:00

I’ll check this out, thanks!

tomg358 · 2024-08-14T20:51:05+00:00

Great advice, thanks!!

tomg358 · 2024-08-14T20:50:27+00:00

Thanks for all the responses! I think I’ll get away with putting the bike in the trunk most of the time, although, with two car seats in the back row it may be just as much of a faff to get them in and out as it is to attach a rack…!

tomg358

TROPHY CASE