Raw 2026 Training: Week One
What have I gotten myself into?!
My new Felt VR 40 in hand, it was time to begin training. But first, completing my initial bike setup.
First Challenge: Clipless Pedals
While I’m not going “all out” on fancy bike gear, I do want to improve my odds of completing the century ride. I’ve seen that all the pros use clipless pedals:
“Specialized shoes and cleats that snap into the pedal, enhancing power transfer, control, and efficiency by keeping feet securely in place.”
Deal! I bought Keo Look 3 pedals and with some difficulty, added them to my bike. It was late Friday afternoon and I was excited to jump on and begin riding right away. I have a Peloton bike I ride in the winter so I’m used to clipping in. Then I realized: the Peloton bike is stationary. A road bike? Not so much.
Uh oh.
No problem - YouTube to the rescue - to learn how to clip in and balance with these pedals. I decided to use my Peloton shoes at first. Depending on comfort I may get different shoes. Common advice says to clip in with your dominant side first (right side for me), then push off and clip into the other side.
Cue the music and montage over the next couple of hours of me in front of my house on the sidewalk trying and failing to clip in. I fell a lot - mostly in the grass - but it mostly bruised my ego. I’ll admit that I thought about switching back to the stock flat pedals, but stuck with them.
I bruised my knees pretty badly and called it quits for the day. No ride for me! I had some success - I could clip in when facing downhill (I live on a hilly incline) but not facing up the hill. I’ll take it!
Weekly Training Summary
I’m very happy with my first week of century training. I rode 51.6 miles total and kept up with my weight training.
First Ride
A lot of nervous excitement the evening before and the morning of my first ride, mostly thinking about falls. My friend Jonathan from my men’s neighborhood workout group joined me for a great 22 mile loop. The bike felt great and I was floored by how fast it seems compared to my hybrid bike. In fact, I achieved some PRs without trying.
Unfortunately, I had a nasty fall about one hour into the ride on a concrete bridge, scrapping my knee badly. Blood dripping down my leg, I joked to Jonathan, “tis but a flesh wound!” 😂 Still no regrets going with clipless pedals.
One bike issue I noticed: occasionally the gears would grind and at one point, slip loose on the back. Easy enough to pop back on but I chalked it up to my novice gear shifting skills.
Let the Training Begin!
I’m experimenting with switching my sleep schedule so that I wake up between 5 to 5:30am in order to ensure I have enough ride time.
I woke up at 5am on Tuesday and was on the bike path by my house by 5:30. It was chilly and I was groggy, but once I started moving I felt wonderful. There’s nothing quite like being in the middle of a bike ride while the sun rises.
Arriving home just past 6:30am, my wife getting ready for work and my kids still sleeping, was immensely satisfying. My exercise was complete and the day hadn’t even started yet!
Gear Trouble?!
During my next ride the gear issues became more apparent. Halfway through, the rear chain slipped again and for the life of me I couldn’t get it to reattach for a good 20 minutes or so. I almost panicked thinking I’d have to call an Uber to get home since I was a good 7 miles out on the trail.
I eventually reattached it and cautiously rode home with no further issues. With a longer Sunday ride planned, I knew I couldn’t ignore the issue, so I called the bike shop I purchased from. The folks at Budget Bicycle Center are awesome. Over lunch break on Friday, I went to the shop and in just minutes, a mechanic fixed it free of charge. The derailleur hanger was bent:
“A replaceable, sacrificial piece of metal connecting the rear derailleur to the bike frame, designed to bend or break during impacts to protect the frame and derailleur.”
I’m lucky my initial falls didn’t damage anything. The bike mechanic bent it back and the bike was as good as new - gear shifting worked well again. Sigh of relief!
Saturday Adventure
I wrapped up the week with a fun outing with my kids to soccer practice, the zoo, playing in a park, and having a picnic.
I attached a burley loaded with both kids to my original hybrid bike (Trek FX 3). While hills are a challenge, I’m proud to have built the strength to pull them myself (70+ pounds!).
Week One Complete!
I’m feeling proud of my first week with my new bike because I powered through the difficult of falling with clipless pedals and exercised intentionally six out of seven days. Looking forward to carrying the momentum into next week!