Today I participated in Stage 3 of the Canada Cup. It was a brutal experience - I had issues with my trainer and digital connections right from the start. I had to log out 3 times and attempt a restart. Unfortunately, when you restart, they throw you right up with the pack again - I would have much rather done the course on my own instead of being thrown back in the pack. I have a feeling that because of this, the entire effort today disqualified my entry for the contest. Which means that if I don't properly participate in the next two events then I'm fully disqualified for the prize.
Here are my efforts for today:
After this very discouraging session I decided to spend some time tuning the trainer and finding out what is really going on. It seems that I had not fully connected the magnets that are generating the resistance on the back wheel. So when I would put out a lot of watts, the magnets would move off of the wheel track and then create minimal resistance thus slowing my virtual self down significantly. This would happen anytime I would go over 200+ watts. which is a decent effort but if you're in a sprint, 200 watts will not cut it and it'll put you close to last place if you're participating in any race.
After the troubleshooting session and believe I sorted out the issue. I tested out the trainer and I maxed out a 600 watt burst! The magnets on the rear trainer stayed perfectly aligned and I could go straight back into a normal pace without having to dismount and adjust the magnets back. Yes, that is just as annoying as it sounds.
Stage 4 of the race is tomorrow - here's hoping for a much more entertaining and fun experience which is exactly what this is supposed to be.
I've also been experiencing a knocking noise coming from what seems to be the bottom bracket each time the left pedal is at the 6 o'clock position (down). It's a very annoying noise and I'm not entirely sure whats going on. From my research, when the bottom bracket needs to be replace, it will make more of a grinding noise which is definitely not what I'm hearing. If any cyclists have an idea as to what could be causing this, I'd love to hear from you!
Yesterday I ordered a new rear cassette (Ultegra 6700 - 10 speed) and a new chain (Ultegra 6701 - 10 speed). As I'm new to the cycling game, I'm trying to stay ahead of the maintenance and prevent any unnecessary wear and tear. Once I receive the product and install I'll be sure to do a review.