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 »  Home  »  Blogs  »  Day 2-5
Jamie Wong
Hi, I am a level 2 USAC coach who has ridden now for six years. I first started riding to have a common hobby with my brother when I would visit him in California. I have usually been more athletic than him in most regards, but cycling has brought new challenges into the picture as it requires different abilities than most high profile sports. I decided to buy a pair of powercranks to try to train smarter and more efficiently so I can keep up with him on the hills.... 

View all blogs by Jamie Wong...
Day 2-5
By Jamie Wong | Published  02/25/2008
Day 2
My first day riding (on the trainer)
First I had to install the PCs on the bike.  This took a while, and it requires a number of basic tools for crank maintenance/removal.  Luckily, I was a bike mechanic for a couple of years so I had all the tools necessary, although it still took a while.  The instructions and video clip for installation were very good.  
So, they’re on the bike now and I set it immediately up on the trainer.  Needless to say, but the first several pedal strokes, if they could be called that, are very awkward.  It’s amazing to expose how much your pedal stroke relies on the connection of the two sides to get going.  It definitely took a good few seconds and then somewhat of a sputtered start before I could get going with any semblance of a rhythm.  
As a rule, every five minutes I stand up to keep the bum from getting sore from sitting on the saddle when on the trainer.  However, when I tried to stand up, my legs went nowhere and just sat at the bottom of the pedal stroke.  I can’t imagine what would have happened if I was outside when this had happened.  So, I turned a couple of single leg circles while standing, but that was all I could manage and sat back down.  
My feat for the day, though was completing the full 20 minutes that I had planned and I didn’t feel any muscle burn, only some soreness.  I guess that my fall training of one-legged drills has somewhat prepared me for my first day on the PCs, but obviously there were some gaps in what the drills could teach.  The desire to fill those gaps was another motivation for me to take the plunge and buy the PCs.  The first ride has given me confidence that I have made a wise choice.
Stats:  20’ AvgP = 127W

Day 3
Same drill today, same goal—twenty minutes solid.  It was good, although, I did feel some “laziness” in the legs from yesterday’s initial workout.  I did feel some new muscles being recruited from the groin area as well as what feel like stabilizers in the knee.  I did manage to do some short bits of standing, though—maybe 20” semi-fluidly.  However, I must warn you to be careful when plopping back on the seat as again, both legs will be at the bottom of the pedal stroke, and you’ll be that much closer to the seat.
Stats:  20’ AvgP = 155W

Day 4 (rest day)

Day 5
Today’s goal was 30’.  This wasn’t too bad.  Even though it’s the weekend, I didn’t want to do too much since I have to ride outside (normal cranks) and coach.  I think the main thing stopping me from getting in more time on the PCs is that since you’re sitting all the time, the sit bones get sore from not even having the shifting around.  So, the future scheme is to ride 5’ and then for the last 30” stand and do the isolated leg pedaling doing 5 turns on each side the switching until the 30” are up.  
Stats:  30’ AvgP = 174W; Avg rpm = 81

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