The final countdown to Europe has started as I fly out in three weeks’ time. Training has been going reasonably well as can be seen on the chart above of my training since the start of the year. After the hiccup in mid-February when my knee started acting up and I had to take time off to get it sorted, things have been fairly consistent. Progress has stalled the last two weeks as the bike went in for a service, rain scuppered my long ride last weekend and I’ve also been getting a few knee niggles as the workload increases. This time it’s not serious, but I need to be careful and manage it properly lest I tip it over the edge. Lots of stretching!

I’ve a new pair of bike shoes on the way with much better arch support which I’m hoping will help alleviate the knee issue, and I’ve fitted a 32-tooth sprocket at the rear to give me more options when the roads get steep. I had a 28-tooth cog in 2010 which meant that my cadence got quite low (and hence the effort going through my knee increased a lot) once the gradient got up near 10%. At the slow speed I climb at, the 32 will mean my cadence can increase from 60rpm to 70rpm which feels a lot easier on the knee.

I also have a new set of custom-built wheels on the way; they’re lighter, stiffer and they roll much better than the heavy training wheels I got with the bike 4 years ago. I’d planned to buy a set of DuraAce C24s (1390g, $800), but spoke to a local, well-respected wheel builder, whose name I’d seen mentioned quite a lot, and opted for a set of his wheels, which, at 1520g, are a little heavier and therefore marginally less suited to mountain climbing, will be much more suitable to the racing I want to do when I get back. He also backs his wheels with a full warranty, including crash replacement so it was an easy decision in the end. They should be here early next week, so I’m looking forward to trying them out.