[911] Zone Two Training

I've started riding my bike more often again. While I can't seem to ride the distances I used to be able to do, I am trying to become consistent with my rides again.

I recently had a great chat with my friend JD, and he mentioned Zone 2 training to me. From what I understand, this is basically going long distances without straining your heart too much. This is to build endurance. Now, I don't have a heart rate monitor, nor do I have a high tech bike computer. All I have is a Cateye Velo 9 wired computer my dad gave me, and my adidas Running app on my mobile phone.

So how do I go about attempting this zone 2 training? Basically I try to set a pace I'm comfortable in and I try to maintain that pace and increase the distance I ride. Right now that's around 15-16 kmh around the subdivision. I know I can average over 17 kmh but when I do those rides I'm very winded when I get home.

With 15/16 kmh pace I can get home and I'm not as winded as before. How do I go about riding a slower pace? I try either spinning or grinding on my bike. Spinning is having a high cadence, and grinding is having a slow cadence. Since I don't have a cadence sensor I'm not sure if I'm legitimately spinning. When I do spin I use bigger gears that have almost zero resistance when I pedal, and when I grind I use smaller gears that make me feel the effort when I pedal.

So far I change techniques depending on my mood when I ride. There are days I prefer to spin to maintain my pace, and there are days I like to grind.

Bottom line is that hopefully I can keep this kind of riding up moving forward, and hopefully increase my ride distance back to averaging around 7-8 km per ride. Then go farther.

Out.

[910] Musings

These past two years have greatly affected me, truth be told. I've become more cynical and distant than I used to.

I've seen and read about great things humanity has done these past few years that have sort of restored my faith in humanity, but then all the bad things that have happened has also left me jaded.

People will say I should count my blessings and be thankful for the things I have in my life. I am grateful for the things I have, and I am glad that I am still alive, healthy, and capable of functioning similar to how I was before this pandemic started.

It's just been really, really tiring to experience everything that has been happening, and will possibly happen, these past few years. You've got the pandemic, the local presidential elections, the wars in some parts of the globe, rising costs of fuel and goods, and a hell of a lot more.

So focus on the things you can control. That's what everyone says, right? Easier said than done, I guess. I wish I could write more, but this is a public blog so I'd rather not.

Let's just say I'm not enjoying the ride and leave it at that. I haven't been enjoying for a long time.

Out.

[909] Bike Musings

I've had my gravel bike for a few months now. I can safely say I've learned my lesson riding it, and of course hindsight is 20/20. So with my experiences riding it (unfortunately mostly inside the subdivision because I'm still deathly afraid of riding on public roads here in Metro Manila) I can say what stuff I would have changed from the very beginning when I was buying parts to build it.

1. 11-42 max cassette, maybe as low as 11-34. I currently have an 11-speed 11-50 cassette. I honestly can't remember when I've gone to the biggest gear, because in our area there are no really steep climbs. I only got this because I had "delusions" that I would eventually be riding my bike for long distances to visit friends/family in the province and go trail riding where I would need gear ratios lower than 1:1. In truth I'm still stuck riding around the subdivision where I usually use the 21T or 24T cog paired my with 42T oval chainring. That's why I think the biggest cog I should have gotten was a 42T since that would still give me a 1:1 ratio gearing.
2. Saddle. I've already replaced the saddle with a foam saddle that's longer, but if I just read the details a bit better I probably should have bought the correct one from the very start. The current saddle I use is pretty comfortable but I'm not a fan of how it looks. Yes I still have issues with looking cool despite my age.
3. Fork. The frame came with a front fork but for aesthetics, and a longer wheelbase so it's not purely aesthetic, I should have probably gotten a separate rigid for for the bike. I'm probably going to push through with this soon.
4. Wheelset. I probably should have tried building one from ground up instead of buying the cheaper, pre-made ones from China. The reason for this is because I may have converted the current wheelset I have to tubeless, but having tubeless ready gear would probably have been better to begin with.
5. Tires. I got 700x38 and while I am happy with them and how they look on the bike, part of me is wondering if getting 700x35 would have been enough. I haven't even gone on trails but I'm really hoping I can eventually go somewhere with trails to go biking.

I'm not saying I'm not happy with my bike. I really am happy and proud that I was able to assemble it with lots of help from people. Experience is really a great teacher.

Out.

[908] More Car Musings

I was reading some articles online about the Toyota Rush and I discovered that the fuel consumption isn't that great. Safety features are still there though, so there's that to consider.

Checking out Suzuki's XL7 you can see that it does have better fuel economy than the Rush, though it does have less airbags.

Basically I guess you have to decide what your priority is when picking a car. In all honesty with how things are going now I'm actually leaning more on the XL7 than the Rush. Those few extra kilometers per liter you can get is a big deal considering the soaring fuel costs, inflation, and all other things.

There are other factors to consider when picking a car, like maintenance costs, reliability, and re-sale value. I guess what I'm trying to say is fuel economy and safety are the two biggest factors for me. This is probably why with my budget my top three picks are the Kia Picanto 1.2L, Suzuki S-Presso, and the Toyota Wigo.

Out.

[907] Cars Yet Again

I've been doing some thinking since I wrote the previous post. While the fuel economy figures of the previous hatchbacks I blogged about are indeed great, I'm worried that they only did the fuel economy test with one adult and no other cargo.

What does this mean? Basically that fuel economy might not be that great if I use those hatchbacks to drive my wife and daughter to their respective places of work and study. I have no idea how much it will be affected by having two more people in the car along with the things they need to bring. I've tried doing casual research on google but so far I haven't found anything concrete about fuel performance.

That brings me to this, maybe I should aim for the slightly bigger cars with the bigger engines. I'm talking about the Toyota Yaris or Vios, the Kia Rio, or even the Hyundai Accent Hatchback. The smallest engine among those cars I mentioned would be on the Yaris and the Vios with a 1.3L engine. The Rio has a 1.4L engine and the Accent has a 1.6L diesel engine if I'm not mistaken.

I should also consider just how safe and stable those small hatchbacks are on the highway.

Out.