Hey Carla! Welcome back! I was wondering where you've been. It sounds like you have been doing a lot of bike riding! That's awesome! I'm sure you will do great on the century race - especially if this heat lets up by then! I can't imagine doing that much riding in this disgusting heat. How do you get enough water?

I'm sorry to hear your back is giving you some trouble. When you do get back on the machine again PLEASE take it easy!! (and I'm not just saying that so I can catch up with you! ha, ha!!) Xeno's been posting some great info about form and making sure you drive from rotating the hips. Another way to put this that one of my coaches so eloquently put was 'imagine squeezing a dime between your buttocks during the drive.' I know that sounds strange but it really makes you use the right muscles rather than putting the strain on the lower back. It's worked for me all these years. I've had intercostle tears, popped ribs, torn stomach muscles, pulled glute muscles, carpel tunnel, pulled achillies...but never a lower back problem.
Anyway, welcome back and good luck with the bike race!! You'll be great!

DB

Debra,

I never knew studying for two degrees could be so dangerous . Best stick to rowing love, much safer!!

Congratulations Debra on breaking through the 600,000m mark . Great stuff!

Good to see Blod (Sue) piling on the metres too, keep it up girl!

Mick Halligan's broken his first 100,000m too so great focus there Mick!

Just 22K to go for Daren to break the 500,000m mark - this week Daren?

Keep up the great work Taffs, Team Oarsome are getting uncomfortably close so we need to put more distance between them and us!

It's a 100% nailed-on cast iron certainty. The garage conversion is now complete (bar floor laying/carpeting and painting), and I've already moved my erg in there. I will probably get another 7k done at lunctime and go through 500k tomorrow.

I would have gone for it tonight, but I'll be at Anfield watching the European Champions start the defence of their Champions League title against Total Network Solutions, the Welsh champions. I'm taking my 10-year-old nephew to his first match, so he's really excited.

My only hope is that your new garage wont be too hot in the summer or too cold in the winter! Has it got temperature control as now you're back rowing, we want to see it continue hroighout the year (winter too!). Good luck with the 500K mark.

Hehe, it's hot, definitely, in weather like we're having at the moment. It has nice big French windows though (see pics in my diary entry on the UK site). There's no way it should be tool cold or damp in winter though, because it's fully insulated and there's a heater too.

Hi Carla,

Just keep eating and drinking during the century ride and you'll be fine. For many years I was the only cyclist in my small group of cycling friends who was also rowing. Within the last year two friends have gotten C2's and another one is talking about it.

I've known for a long time that good rowers, speed skaters and fencers are strong cyclists and especially good hill climbers.

Yes, those Taffians are a fine looking group. It must be our Welsh heredity that makes us all look so good.

Byron

Ha, ha Niall! The (mental ) injuries incurred over the past 4 years pursuing those degrees are far, far worse that those measley physical ones!

...and to add insult to 'injury' I'm currently doing yet another course. I think I would be best to just stick to rowing unfortunately I can't take the little ones with me yet.

DB

HAPPY B-DAY MARTIN!!!!!!!!!

Speedy

Indeed, happy birthday Martin. \o/

Yep, Happy Birthday Mart, and out of interest what was the Austrailian take on

A) The lions performance?,
The AB's performance,
C) Chances in the up and coming tri-nations?

Cheers Dude,
Chris.

Happy birthday Martin. More help required by the pig. Could someone tell me how everyone knows when someones birthday is? Is there some way of looking at someone elses profile to know when?

I didnt say when i posted before nice to meet you adams ( bore da ) at evesham.

Porky.

As i am writing this a big massive chippy has just appeared beside me.

Thanks Dwayne, Daren, Chris and Porky - had a quiet b'day up in Qld as family is 2500K away in Melb !

Chris -

Lions barely raised a meow towards the end of the tour, must have been in holiday mode

Made the ABs look pretty top notch but they have been a bit ordinary before the Lions tour so we'll see when the Tri-nations comes around. Oz is starting to hit some form too so with a strong SA side (esp. their forwards) should be a top series.

Well done to all at Evesham. Any chance of a full list of Taff achievements Niall or Chippy/Chris ?

Cheers,

Martin

Belated birthday wishes Martin (sorry it's late mate!).

With regards to Taff Attack results from the Evesham Golden Mile, these are available here (just click the link)

It has to be said that the M30-39Hwt and M40-49Hwt categories were very competitive indeed and represented the largest number of entrants and also the fastest times of the day (with the exception of the Open Hwt category). Full results for all races can be accessed through this link.

Let me know if you want any further info and I'll do my best to accommodate.

Once again, many apologies for the belated birthday wishes .

Thanks Niall, that's just what I was hoping for.

Some great individual results - Dykie so close to Chris and Chippy not far off either. And your 5:44 Niall, does that equate to a sub 7 2K ? (assuming you can see it out to 2K). I guess there's a 'rule-of-thumb conversion factor' for relating milers and 2K performances ? Graham's time looks pretty quick too. Sue and Tracey being so close must have been pretty exciting to call.

Top photos too Niall, thanks for setting up that thread and adding to it. Makes me feel as if I was there too.

What's next for the Taffios ?

Martin

Morning everyone....good turn-out and results from Evesham. Wish I could have been there but the misses had other plans for the weekend

Where did you get your all in ones? I wouldn't mind wearing the taff colours when I make my competitive debut later this year.

At the moment I'm closing in on the first million meters which will be a bit of a landmark for me and increasing the amount of speed work for a 7 min 2K. Phil Tilley tells me its easy but I'm still not so sure

On the topic of racing when is the next meet? Phil reckons Abergavenny.

Also anyone had a PM3 error before? I finished a 2k training session last night and my PM3 popped an error code and said I should refer to C2 if it happens again. Any thoughts?

Mike

You can watch the Evesham races "as they happened" using the HTML replays here. There are two sets of replays, one lot work in IE, the other lot work in Firefox.

Niall was in race 2, Chippy in race 15 and Bore Da in race 19, I think. Dunno about anyone else, but if you know, feel free to post. =)

Yes, my PM3 has occasionally produced an error. More often than not, you can just press a button to reset the PM3 and it'll be fine. There are a couple of methods for doing a full re-set (one involves a paperclip inserted into the hole in the back), but I mostly found that the infrequent errors weren't a problem.

However, eventually my PM3 started being a lot more troublesome. It was displaying an error and even fully resetting it and re-flashing the BIOS didn't cure it. I contacted C2 UK and they sent me a new PM3 under warranty since my Model D was only 9 months old at the time.

The next indoor rowing event in the UK is the Enfield Rowing Gala (ERG for short ). It's on September 25th and details can be found here. Interestingly, as well as the 2K distance, there's also going to be 1K and 500m races too aswell as a team event (details not known yet).

So there's plenty of time to get your Taff Attack All-In-One (me included ) aswell as getting that 2K time down.

I'd say the sub-7:00 2K is beyond me right now despite my "considerable progress" (to quote my coach) in fitness and performance in training. Between now and Enfield my training will be to continue building up base endurance aswell as speed. I'm very confident of a sub-7:00 at Enfield and the only question as far as I'm concerned is "by how much" (I've never lacked self-confidence ).

Next event for Taff Attack (UK Chapter) is the Enfield Rowing Gala on September 25th.



List of races with Taff Attack competitors:

Race 2 - Niall (Race Replay)
Race 11 - Tracy and Sue (Blod) (Race Replay)
Race 14 - Richard (Dykie) (Race Replay)
Race 15 - Robert (Chippy) (Race Replay)
Race 19 - Chris (Bore Da) (Race Replay)
Race 22 - Graham (Ramboyo) (Race Replay)
Race 24 - Eddie (Race Replay)

Wow! awesome times. When I first looked at the list I thought for a minute they were 2Ks and really thought man oh man What a team! But then realized they were miles. Still and all great times! I'm going to watch all the races tomorrow night when I have time--I'll be late to work if I watch them now but it's so tempting! Sorry I missed your b'day, Martin. Nobody gave you your own erg for a present? I hope you had a nice cake, anyway. I don't know about you guys but these days I can eat as much as I want of anything--I love it!

Don't those all in one suits make you really hot (besides hot looking?) They look like they'd really make you feel sweaty and cross.

Biked 25 miles yesterday and 25 the day before, with other people, so not as fast as usual. I ended up sprinting the hills and sort of waiting around a bit so we'd be together but I'd feel like I had enough work out. I have been dubbed an "animalette". Only 9 days until the century. I can bike now without my back belt on but I might just bring it with me. I plan to replace my 75 psi tires with 90s or something like that to get a bit of an edge. No time to try to find hard soled bike shoes or deal with switching to clipless pedals--those freak me out too much anyway.

Keep up the great work everyone--I'll be adding meters again after the 24th. Well, probably the 26th--don't know if I'll be even walking normally after the 100 miles! eek

Carla

Hey there Taffs,
Just an FYI I start my taper for Masters Worlds this coming Monday.

That means I expect all of you to make up my meters for the next couple of weeks.

Do what you can though. We don't want those bl**dy Oarsome people going by us.

Speedy

It goes without saying, but I'm going to say it anyway, that you will be in our thoughts all next week as you prepare for the Masters and will also wishing you all the best for the Masters themselves.

Is there a website where the results will be available from aswell as background information on the event itself.

And finally, just remember....row hard, row well!

Thanks Niall.

The current website is www.2005worldmasters.com

I'm guessing the results will be posted either on that site, or on row2k.

Dwayne

Good luck Dwayne. Which event are you doing?

Good luck, Dwayne! I've missed the details - which event(s) are you competing in? The web site says all races are a mere 1000m. Should be a breeze! =)

MD 2x. We race on 24 July.

You'd think it would. But all events (heats, semis, finals) are on the same day. So if we make it all the way to the finals, then we have three, all out, 1k pieces to do in a matter of eight hours.

I shouldn't really complain though. Paul Smith (PaulS) is doing the same thing in three different events, in three different days. The boy in nuts!!!

Managed a 7.17.1 for 2k this evening (new PB) after doing 23k this morning.....didn't push really hard but wasn't wearing a HRM so couldn't be sure. I think I need to increase the drag to get the power up a bit as I feel that I'm free wheeling a bit with my current setting. What do others on this board have their drag setting at?

Mike

Congrats on the pb. Especially after doing the 23k earlier in the day.

I'd be careful on how high you go with your df. Where are you set at currently?

Dwayne

Currently set at 5....not sure if that is good or bad

Probably a bit high. I would recommend no more than a 120 (about a 2 on a C model).

What this will cause you to do is be quicker out of the catch. It will force you to engage your legs faster than you're doing now.

On the subject of DF:

When I knew nothing I used 220 (level 10), then I met Neil Ridge and read the manual and dropped to 140, then I spoke to Dwayne and dropped to 120, then Martin blabbed on and on about his 117, small difference but it turns out hes right.

117 is lucky and I use it in all the races (evesham was 115 and 1.5 secs off my best!!!).

For trainning I use 125 coz I think it will build better strength, but what the h*** do I know. Im sticking with 117

Chip? How about a 2K next week at 220 df, be like the old days - see how much difference it really makes. Im happy to donate my body to rowing science. Oh forgot, and STOP PRESS - looks like me, Chippy, Dykie, and Graho are oof to Monmouth rowing club next week to try out some water rowing.....will let you know how much strongbow dykie drunk............Tidy Like

??

Wilko well done on the PB.
Not bad after the morning session and I guess it was in the heat as well that must add a second or two.

Phil

I heard earlier in the year that Monmouth do an event for novices any ideas when this might be? All this time on the erg and have never sat in a boat. Wilko or any others in a similar position who fancy a go?

I'd be interested in more details.

[quote=AussieTaff,Jul 15 2005, 02:31 AM]
Thanks Niall, that's just what I was hoping for.

What's next for the Taffios ?

Dykie, Chippy, Bore Da and Ramboyo rowing on water Tuesday July 19th Monmouth Rowing Club. Hope the boat does'nt sink

Watch this space

Dykie

I heard earlier in the year that Monmouth do an event for novices any ideas when this might be? All this time on the erg and have never sat in a boat. Wilko or any others in a similar position who fancy a go?

[/quote]

I'd be interested in more details.

[/quote]

Niall,

There is a fun Regatta on August 7th which is open to members of the public. Check out website www.monmouthrc.org.uk

Dykie

[quote=Dykie,Jul 16 2005, 05:25 PM]
I heard earlier in the year that Monmouth do an event for novices any ideas when this might be? All this time on the erg and have never sat in a boat. Wilko or any others in a similar position who fancy a go?

[/quote]

I'd be interested in more details.

[/quote]

Niall,

There is a fun Regatta on August 7th which is open to members of the public. Check out website www.monmouthrc.org.uk

Dykie

[/quote]


Thanks
Website doesn't have too many details. However I will be in the land of the Goggs that weekend. Encouraging my kids in their national sailing championships at Pwhelli.
Perhaps I leave getting into a real boat for a bit longer.

I know this is going to be one of those RTFM questions but how do you check the drag factor on a PM3? Spent the day sunning myself at the Fairford air tattoo. Excellent day out with lots of things to do. The red arrows were just incredible (haven't seen them since I was a kid). If you have a spare day Sunday go along.

Phil, yes I'm up for some water rowing. Might be even able to keep up with you

Mike

Displaying the drag factor on a PM3:

1) Make sure the PM3 display is on the initial menu
2) Press the bottom button for More Options
3) Press the top button for Display Drag Factor
4) Pull a few strokes and a number will be shown on the PM3 display
5) Move the lever up/down as appropriate and try another few strokes to get an updated display
6) Repeat step 5 until the drag factor displayed is what you want to row at.

Evesham Golden Mile Video Files
For your viewing pleasure, I have created some video files of some of the races at Evesham. I've created a simple web page from which you can access the video files. Races available so far are::

1) Race 02 - 30-30 MLwt (my race!)
2) Race 09 - 30-39 MLwt, 19-29 WHwt, U23 WHwt, 30-39 WHwt
3) Race 10 - 40-49 WHwt, 50-59 WHwt, 50-59 WLwt
4) Race 11 - 19-29 WLwt, 40-49 WLwt (heat 1) (Sue/Blod and Tracey's race)
5) Race 12: 40-49 WLwt (heat 2)
4) Race 16 - 40-49 MHwt (heat 3)

The video files can be accessed through the following link:

Evesham Golden Mile Race Videos

I'll get some more files created and uploaded during the course of the weekend (domestic duties allowing ).

Hope you like them.

Okay, I've got a real treat for you. I've created some animated gifs from the video I took at Evesham (just in case downloading each of the video files is too much):

Ladies first (Sue/Blod and Tracey):



Next up is Ramboyo:



Then Dykie:



And Chris:



And Grumpy (suspect Chippy spotted a bare midriff - Cathy or Kelly probably - judging by his distraction ):


And Eddie:

Last but not least, Chippy:



(And if you haven't seen the video of Chippy's race, you've got to take a look! It's worth it just for the ending!!)

Click here for Chippy's race video from Evesham

The video of Dykie's race is up on the Race Video page now too (click this link for the video page)

Chris, Ramboyo, and Eddie/Grumpy's video files should hopefully be available some time tomorrow.

Thanks for the set-up info Niall. I was at 130 and adjusted down to 120 and was about 2 secs quicker per 500 which is a big bonus. The question is whether I can translate that into a 2k time

I also tried downloading some of the videos but it didn't seem to work. First time round it looked like an NTL hosting issue and the second was a media player problem. I'll have another go later.

Mike

Had a couple of broken links for races 12, 14 and 15

All fixed now though!

Well done Niall on all of the pictures videos etc. Not being computor literate i have not got a clue how you do it. Looked at my work rota for Enfield and am working, but good luck to everyone and if you do anymore vids, clps etc i will look forward to them.


Porky.

A friend of mine took a load of pictures using his spiffing new 400mm lens at RIAT this weekend. RIAT 05 (BadgerSnaps).

Some of the images are pretty good. I particularly like this one of a Spitfire and one of the Red Arrows:



And this one of the two Arrows:

Well, my garage conversion is finally finished.

First, here's a reminder of my old "rowstation" in the garage:



A couple of weeks ago, I finally had someone start on the conversion of my garage into a usable office space. The reason is that my son and daughter (approaching 3 and 7, respectively) currently share a room. I use the third bedroom as my office since I work from home.

The garage has been converted in such a manner as to retain a space at the pront for the family bikes:



The rest of it has benefitted from a floating floor, lined and insulated walls and a false ceiling. This weekend the plaster was dry enough, so I painted, laid the floor and put up the shelves. The flooring is a cheap as chips laminate. I was amazed to find that the laminate was even cheaper than carpet tiles. As you can see from the following pics, my desk fits in there nicely along with the erg. I've still another bookcase and stuff to move in, but it's all worked out pretty well.

No worries about the garage being too cold and damp for winter rowing now, but I'll tell you what -- it's bloody hot at the moment!

Great setup Daren! If I had a room like that, the only time my wife and kids would see me would be at meal times (when they delivered my food to me!!).

Actually, if I had catering packs of malt loaf and jaffa cakes, I could probably survive in there for months, no problem !!