The Replacing of the Cleats (OR Something Simple is a Pain in the Ass)

The cleats on my bike shoes were wrecked. They haven't been replaced since I started riding, which makes them over two years old. That means that they've had plenty of time to wear down. Way down. Which is bad. You see, dear readers, the part of the clip that wears down is also the part that clips in to the pedal. You're starting to see my problem, aren't you? As the clip wears down it becomes more and more difficult to clip in. This is a real problem on inclines. Or stop lights. Or when you don't want your ride to be populated with minor pains in the ass.
My clips looked like this.

Yeah, not great. They look like the Terminator's face after getting dragged my a Mac truck. They needed to be replaced.
See a problem with that? Notice the screws. Worn down like a Buffalo Bills fan after yet another disappointing season. There isn't an Allen wrench in the world that is going to get purchase in there. Plus the rust (alllloooooohaaaa!) and all the dirt and mud caked in there, this is going to be one hell of an operation.
To the professionals! I went to Island Triathlon and Bike for my new clips because support local business, I like them, I had a gift certificate for them, and I knew their customer service was good enough to replace the clips for me. Well, try to replace the clips for me. Oh, you should have seen the look on the poor girl's face while she fought with those things. She tried so hard, she really did. But in the end she said it would take replacing the inner plates to get the screws out. I really didn't want to buy more stuff right at that moment so I said I'd give it a try at home and went on my merry.
A few texts back and forth with Diesel later and I had another plan. Drill them out. I wasn't sure what that meant but he promised to show me so to his house I went I went.
To drill out the screws you take a power drill...and you drill at the screw head until it is clear. Then you pound another tool who's name escapes me at the moment so we'll go with magic chisel bit, into that clean drilled hole with a hammer. Then you use a wrench to turn the magic chisel bit, therefor unscrewing the unscrewable. How hard could it be?

Well, kind of a pain in the ass. Diesel, honestly, did the majority of the work. But that wasn't all my fault. You see, as I was working on the shoe he noticed something else. 

Yep. Totally flat. Big giant hole in it. Passenger side rear tire of Super Awesome Wife's car, which I commandeered for the short drive. Change of plans. I, using a ton of Diesel's tools, changed the flat and put on the spare, while Diesel continued removing screws from my shoes. He had to drill the heads off all three in the second shoe, but a pair of pliers made the removal of the threading easier.
Then it was home to watch the strangest Super Bowl I've ever seen and be bummed about the Niners losing. If they didn't spot the other team 20 points to start the game I bet they'd have a better chance.
After the game I finished the cleating process by screwing on the new cleats. This is the easiest part, but also the part with the most bug the crap out of me potential. You see, the cleats can be adjusted and if I know anything about myself it's that if something can be adjusted I'll want to adjust it. Then I'll think it doesn't feel quite right. So I'll fix it. Over and over. I'm going to try not to think about all of that.

Much thanks to Diesel for the use of his garage and all his tools. 
Just for fun, let's compare the old cleat and the new one, side by side.

Forever Adjusting Gear: New Seat Edition

Today was supposed to be a swim. Things got in the way that were nobody's fault. So it was a rest day instead, which I suppose I could use. But its hard to take a rest day on a day when I'm geeked up for a long session of pain in the pool. So the weekend, instead of looking like long ride Saturday, long run Sunday, suddenly has become early long swim Saturday, early afternoon long run Saturday, long ride Sunday. Why not ride after my swim Saturday? Because I'm planning 50 miles, which will take a tad over three hours. And I don't want to do that after a swim.
So instead I Gear Fiddled. Gear Fiddling is the fifth event of triathlon. (The fourth is transitions, and the sixth is not puking after completing a triathlon and then consuming perhaps too many of the post-race bagels/bananas/oranges/sugary snacks they always provide.) Today's Gear Fiddling was replacing my seat with a new one, which you all bought for me if you don't remember. I'd been meaning to get around to this since the seat came in the mail last week so I got off the couch and actually did it. And it was easier than I thought. I think it was because I ignored the advice of the ancient philosopher Clarksonius and his First Rule of Fixing Anything and didn't once say, "How hard could this be? Really?" And when it wasn't that hard, I may have reacted in my head like this:

On to fiddling! As I mentioned, the switch was rather easy. Here, you see my old seat compared side-by-side with the new one:

And here are some fancy shots of the new one by itself, all mounted and everything:

(Those of you with sharp eyes, yes, you can see a Wall-E bank, a Final Fantasy XIII Special Edition Guide, and a Pirates of the Caribbean DVD player which is plugged in to nothing in that bottom picture. However, did you notice the top of a Big Daddy action figure in the lower-most corner?)

Now the trick is to see how well I guessed at the angle and forward/backward positioning of the seat. This will lead to the Forever Adjusting mentioned in this post's title. Nothing adjustable is every quite right. Quite perfect. It always feels like there is another millimeter one way or another something can go that would make it juuuuuust a little more comfortable, a tensy bit more aero, ever so slightly more power-productive. So now begins that journey. I'll be sure to let you know how comfortable (or not) the new seat is after it gets ridden on.
Till then, I MENDED SOMETHING!!!

Skinny Tires

My new tires are skinnier than the cuts on Emo Kid's arms. (Originally, this joke was "...skinnier than Emo Kid's jeans," but this is funnier.)
I bought skinny racing tires for Kratos two or three months ago but decided not to put them on until after the Lanikai Tri. That way the majority of my training would be done on thicker, heavier tires, making me stronger. So when I switch, the new tires would be one more thing pushing me towards faster. So on Tuesday, between my ocean swim and my slow fartlek, I spent some time putting them on.
They are much skinnier than the ones which used to be on the bike, as you can see. That means less ground contact, which means less friction and less weight. During yesterday's ride I'm not sure I could tell if there was a huge difference, but the bike looks faster and it does feel lighter. And the red trim looks Dirtbag Badass. With Kratos 4.0 up and rolling, we are prepared to make the jump to light speed.

Nice Ride And Newness

Ride Day
time- 2:19
distance- 39mi

Today was a beautiful day for a ride. Not a rain cloud was a-looming and the sun was a-shining. Got out and hit it moderately hard, I do need to pace myself on these long rides after all. The most exciting part of the ride was getting to check out how Kratos 2.0 was going to handle.
For those of you just tuning in, where have you been? You're late by like 150 posts. Go to the beginning and catch up. And for those of you with less-than-amazing memories, let us remember what happened a few weeks ago. The bike continued to act up, leading to me take the drastic action of taking it in to The Bike Shop. No really, that's the place's name. Clever, right? "What should we call the bike shop we want to open?" "I dunno, but we should choose a name that lets people know what it is." Yeah..."
Anyway, took it in Thursday and Friday it was ready. They had to replace the chain and along with it the cassette. That's the gears in the back for those of you not up on the lingo (like I was up until a few days ago). When they replaced the cassette they switched the old one, which was geared more for cyclecross, my bike's original purpose, for a new one geared for road racing. And Cycle Dirtbag, Official Mainland Parts Supplier for Team Dirtbag, mailed me a new crankset (that's the gears in the front and the pedal cranks) that was also more race-centric, the original having the same problem as the cassette. I'd give you all the numbers and tooth-count details but you don't care that much, do you? These switches mean that the bike should go faster under the same number of rpms. For me, it means that the lighter gears, the ones easier to pedal, now feel a little bit heavier. So climbing is slightly more effort but on the level I should be quicker and I no longer spin-out, run out of heavy gears and no matter how fast I pedal I'm not actually helping, when descending. All in all, I am now superduper fast!
Ok, not really.
Also, the guys at The Bike Shop removed my top brakes, which means that the only things that make my bike a cyclecross bike are the decals and the frame shape. It also means that I now have room to install my aerobars, which will happen some time this week. And then I'll be superduper fast with Kratos 3.0!
Or not.
BUT I still have skinnier tires I've been saving for the Honolulu Tri, which I'll put on after my Lanikai Sprint. Those are much lighter than the ones currently on the bike and should be faster. THEN I'll be superduper fast.
For sure.

Swimming and Shopping (But Not in That Order)

Swim Day
Recommended: 600yds
I had a much better swim today than last time. Makes me think that, because of all the swimming I have done in the past, this is the discipline that will come snapping into shape the quickest and easiest. Although, technically, my run is my strongest discipline because I've been doing it the most consistently recently. Running outside is different than on a treadmill though. Better, but different.
On to my workout (all freestyle):

1 x 100yds warm-up
3 x 200yds on the 3:30 (swam these on a 2:45ish pace, very pleased with that. Really, had too much rest. Hey, it's only Swim Day 2. Gimme a break.)
1 x 100yds Anaerobic (breathe every 3, 5, 7, 9, repeat. This stretched my stroke out and felt very nice)
2 x 25 Drill Stroke Length (first 25 I took 16 strokes, second I took 14. No breathing either lap.)
1 x 50yds Cool Down
Stretch
Total yards: 900

Like I said, I'm really happy with how that swim went.
But before the swim I went shopping. Since a bike has come through and I hope to be picking it up this weekend I require the proper gear. I return to Sports Authority a man on a mission. And leave a man owning skin tight lycra shorts with a pad in the butt. Also the ever-important helmet, a pair of gloves, and a shirt (jersey? specially designed, aerodynamic, sweat-wicking, breathing top with Go Fast green piping?). Before the race I'll need to buy actual tri shorts, which are like bike shorts but with a much smaller pad in the butt. Since you don't change clothes in the middle of the race, the smaller pad doesn't absorb water during the swim and turn into the dreaded diaper butt. For now I just needed shorts to train in. I may also have bought myself a swim suit special for the wife...

(possible special for the wife suit not pictured...if it exists)

Thank you again for the donations. This gear was bought with my own money, as right now I'm planning on putting donations towards race registration and then my own bike.