Why Am I Five Pounds Heavier?

Ok. In the last 30 days I've ridden my bike 48 hours and 37 minutes. I've covered 828 miles at an average speed of 17 MPH. I've climbed 16,938 feet and burned 75,623 calories. Seems to me I should lose a few pounds. But no. I have gained 5 pounds. I think it might have to do with my new bike. I'm riding faster and farther but my heart rate is lower. In the last seven days my average speed has increased to 18 MPH (5.6%) but my average heart rate has fallen to 123 BPM from 128 BPM (3.9%). My new bike weighs 7.5 pounds less than my old bike. So what has happened is that I have gained part of this weight back because my new bike is easier to ride. I'm just not burning as many calories on my new bike. So, to lose weight I need a heavier bike or I have to bike a little longer (by 5%-10%). After the ride on Tuesday I replaced the seat post that came with my bike with a new Thompson seat post. It's black and made of aluminum and looks good with the bike. It weighs about the same as the original post but is lightly scored to prevent slippage. During the ride I got to talking to a fellow rider named $Bill who had experienced the same slippage problem with his seat post. He recommended the Thompson solution and has been happy with the fix. Tomorrow I'll be testing it with a little longer ride where I can burn a few more calories.

Back to Double Bagging and a Fast Ride

I've had my new bike for a few days now and have taken 9 rides so far for about 450 total miles. I'm continuing to wonder whether my new bike is faster, sleeker, quicker and generally a better ride than my old bike. I've have a few tune up problems to contend with but nothing serious. First, my seat post has slipped down a few times causing my leg extension to be too short. The slippage has been about one inch. This doesn't sound like much but when this happens it causes one to put more pressure on the knees and the thighs. Your knees get to hurt and your thighs start to burn. This is not good and you notice it after a few hours. It's definitely more fatiguing when the seat post is too low. I took the bike in on Saturday and they adjusted the post. Because the seat post is a composite (light weight and slippery) they needed to add a special lubricant with some grit to prevent the post from slipping down. Just to be sure I moved the back reflector down to sort of act like an extra stop. Also because of the composite post, one has to be careful of the amount of torque you put on the screw which clamps it...in my case 5 foot-pounds. Another thing I've noticed is that the right toe of my left shoe is sometimes rubbing against the crank arm. I need to adjust the toe clip a little to the left and things should be O.K. Finally, my saddle is a little narrower than my Sequoia saddle and I've noticed a little rubbing and soreness on my right bum. Almost a saddle sore. I've doctored the spot with bag balm and have double bagged my bottom to prevent it from getting any worse. By double bagging I mean I am wearing a pair of biking shorts under my biking bibs. This seems to work for now as my last ride with the Thursday pickup group was a personal best for a group ride traveling at 19.4 mph for 64.3 miles. Here's a link to the Garmin site and the ride. You can click on the Player in the upper right and it will replay the ride for you.

Thursday Starkey Park/Trouble Creek Ride