bike-fit shoe wedges

I just got a set of shoe wedges from Bike Fit Systems. They are little plastic wedges that fit between your shoe and cleats. The idea is that most people apply perfectly flat pressure to the pedals (much like over or under-pronators in running) except these things cant the ball of your foot instead of the heel. They recommend installing two shims under each cleat and then add or subtract wedges overtime until you get to the point when your knees wobble back and forth as little as possible. I already had some expeirence with this idea because I used to have a pair of Specialized shoes that had this feature built in but I think the wedges are a better idea because it allows for adjustment. I found that I need 2 wedges on my left foot andn 3 wedges on my right foot. It really is amazing how much more comfortable this makes pedaling. They make claims of power gains. I don't know about increased power but increased comfort is gaurenteed.

4 hour trainer ride!

5 bottles of water, 4 hours of DVRed TV shows, 3 energy bars, 2 soaked jerseys, and 1 rearranged living room is just the recipe for a four hour trainer ride. As I told Henry on our New Year's day ride I started by dong my normal power testing routine and then just kept going for the rest of the 4 hours. The good news is my 20 minute power is up 8%. It was also my highest 20 minute power output ever indoors. Things seem to be going in the right direction. Maybe taking a month off was a good thing. So my 4 hour journey started off well and then got monotonous. Hopefully it'll help in the spring but my death stare (below) should tell the rest of the story of my experience.

I was out for a couple hours today. It is amazing how much warmer 30 degrees can feel after doing a 20 degree ride on New Year's Day. It was cold and windy but it sure beats work.