Getting to know Pointer28

pointer28

Hi Joey,

Any plans on getting a tt bike??

Realistically, I'm not in a financial position to do so and I'm not competitive enough that it matters whether or not I'm ten minutes faster on the bike so it's not going to happen anytime soon, but I would dearly love one.

Money no object what bike would you have??

Road bike, the new Cervelo S5 looks gorgeous or the Ritte Vlaanderen. I love most of the Cervelos and while they may be great bikes, some of the paint jobs are truly horrendous, the 2015 P5 and P3 are dreadful IMHO.

http://rittecycles.com/carbon/vlaanderen-2013/

TT bike, I really don't know. I love the clean lines of the Canyon Speedmax CF but I'd hate to ruin it by sticking on bottles, nutrition and repair kits. On the other hand I love the whole integrated solutions of something like the Shiv or the Speed Concept. But then I think the simple approach of the Cervelo P3 or the new Cannondale Slice would probably suit me best.

Heart says Canyon, head says get a bike fit and buy something like the P3 or Slice.

Your best race to date??

2014 Stone Mad HM Day 2

Wasn't in great form for this at all, training leading up to it wasn't great and was going through some issues that meant running wasn't my top priority at the time. Ran 1:43 the first day (flat course) and didn't finish in great shape, had a bad night's sleep and a dodgy stomach.

Woke up the next morning and my feet were in bits, my calves were like stone and I really didn't feel like racing. Tried a warm up and could barely jog 500m but decided to start anyway. I had 2/3 gels which I managed to drop on the first corner and that just made me thick so I dug in and ran the whole race angry and didn't give two craps if I exploded spectacularly or not.

Day 2 is very hilly for the first 13k so I slowed a bit on the uphills, thrashed my quads on the downhills not caring about the consequences, then picked it up a bit to 20k and ran the last 1k at better than 5k pace. Crossed the line in bits and nearly broke into tears.

My time was 1:43 again but the effort I made for that 1:43 on a really bad day might have been closer to a 1:30 on a good day with fresh legs.

As unimpressive as the numbers were, as an example of digging deep and getting the job done when everything goes against you, it's definitely my proudest athletic moment. As well as that, it also cleared my head of a lot of negativity that had been hanging over me for a long time, I asked myself a lot of questions that day and answered them all by the time I reached the finish line.

mossym

pointer28 wrote: »

some of the paint jobs are truly horrendous, the 2015 P5 and P3 are dreadful IMHO.

pointer28 wrote: »

or Slice.

okay. redeemed. but be warned, i'm the only one round here on a slice (as fas as i know...)

pointer28

Seriously though, the 2014 P3 is one of the most beautiful TT bikes on the planet and some of the custom P5's like Caroline Steffen's or Frederik Van Lierde's are fantastic but the plain grey or plain red are just awful to my eye. That's just me though, and I'm sure they're every bit as good if not better than the previous year but I couldn't hand over that much money for something I didn't like the look of.

http://aerogeeks.com/2015/03/18/cannondale-slice-uitegra-di2-review/

From a practical point of view I think the new Slice sounds ideal for someone like myself, probably not the most aero bike out there, but if you can't get comfortable you aren't going to go very fast anyway. I think for me that a comfortable fit and ease of maintenance should be my top priority. If money wasn't an object my choice might be different.

FWIW I actually think that your Slice is better looking than the new model.

mossym

pointer28 wrote: »

FWIW I actually think that your Slice is better looking than the new model.

Problem sorted. you buy a p5 and i'll swap you my slice for it.

68 lost souls

May have missed this one but as well as building courses and despite your fear of them until you were 23 do you do much horse riding? Perhaps a new twist on a duathlon even?

I have only been out on a horse a hand full of times but I loved it. Found you need an awful lot of leg strength to be good though, reckon it could be a useful cross training exercise what do you reckon?

pointer28

Hi 68 Lost Souls,

Don't ride horses at all any more, did do a lot at one time and I was crap at it and always had an underlying fear that would hold me back from progressing. The last time I sat on a horse was nearly two years ago, GF wanted to try it so I brought her for a trek in the Slieve Blooms, she loved it whereas I thought "I'd rather be running up here" and have done numerous times since then.

Could well be, never thought much about it THB. My extensive research has tended to concentrate on the female riders but I find that the better riders tend to have fantastic gluteal muscles ;-)

I've never seen a good rider with a flabby arse and a lot of runners (me included) are weak in that area. When you think about it, when you're trotting on a horse you're doing endless mini squats.

Dory Dory

Glass half full, or glass half empty?
If you could sit down with any one boardsie and have a chat about any topic in the world, who would you choose and what would the topic be?
What are you really good at, and/or what talent do you have that would surprise us?
Did that bubbly pop Eurovision song cause you to start tapping your foot after I posted it?

pointer28

Now, now Dory, you're just being greedy, only kidding

Glass half full, or glass half empty?

Unfortunately, glass half empty. I struggle terribly with mental strength and it's one the reasons why a Marathon doesn't appeal to me, just the pure fear of knowing whether or not I can do the distance, having only done 32/35 kms in training. HM's don't bother me at all as I'll always throw in a few 24/25 km runs beforehand.

Childish I know, but something I'm working on and a big reason that a fortnightly race simulation is in my plan from now on.

If you could sit down with any one boardsie and have a chat about any topic in the world, who would you choose and what would the topic be?

That's a hard one. As I mentioned in my own log, I'm fascinated by the science of coaching and just find it a really interesting subject. As such, I think I'd have to say Tunney as he really comes across as having a deep knowledge, understanding and interest in the subject. I'd probably drive him nuts with questions as once I start talking you can't shut me up and he'd probably be fit to strangle me by the end.

What are you really good at, and/or what talent do you have that would surprise us?

Although I don't do it very often, I have a good eye for carpentry and it's something I really enjoy doing, turning a lump of timber into a piece of functional art. There's nothing more beautiful to me than a piece of nicely grained hardwood. When I win the Lottery I'll build two large sheds, one a gym/bike workshop the other a fully fitted carpentry workshop.

Did that bubbly pop Eurovision song cause you to start tapping your foot after I posted it?

GOD DAMN YOU DORY !!!!!!

I only watched it a few minutes ago and it's going around in my head ever since, that weird accent just does something to me, whatever way she pronounces some of her words just sticks in my brain.

Dory Dory

Don't feel bad, my foot's been tapping some too!

Oh, and I've just started reading The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid.

pointer28

I hope you enjoy it Dory.

I loved it, I'd sit up reading and chuckling away to myself for hours on end.

So simple, but so true and funny, although as it's written from a young boy's perspective maybe it'll mean more to me than it would to you.

pgibbo

Who is up next?

pointer28

pgibbo wrote: »

Who is up next?

Sorry, busy the last two days and forgot all about it. I'll get onto it this afternoon.