Week Two of Testing – Day 1

Week Two of Testing – Day 1

 

Starting week two of road tests on Arion4:  Day one we were rained out. I got a message late the night before our first test day with instructions to head to Liverpool University as the forecast didn’t look good. The next day I awoke to an overcast day but by the time I was ready to head out it was starting to sprinkle. Then, as the morning progressed, the rain just became heavier and heavier. This wasn’t the start that I or the engineers were looking for.

 

Luckily, we had a lab where the ULVTeam had built a test cradle and with a turbo trainer set up so we could go over the changed the team had been working on for the last week or two. After the first week of testing there were a number of things that the team wanted to revisit and tweak, some were fit and some were mechanical, and even through it all, the team threw in some cosmetic improvements as well.

New Decor
New Decor

Judging by the late night message I received, it was clear that the team were putting in some very long hours but their hard work paid off and there were a number of improvements both to mechanical systems and fit. The steering looked like it was going to be more stable and the seat was shaped for a better fit.

Steering dampener and my favourite part of the forks
Steering dampener and my favourite part of the forks

Amongst all this we discussed a number of other changes and additions that had been discussed and weight out a few, in the end deciding that some weren’t necessary, thus saving weight and labour. As we worked on these matters we kept waiting for the rain to stop and for the forecast to improve but it never did.

 

So, with rain pelting down, Stephen and I headed over to the computer lab to crunch some numbers and look at the race technique. Early in my own research, this was one of the first critical features I looked at, knowing how having the right approach could make or break the attempt. Seeing the more advance calculation that the team have done factoring in very fine detail shows that it is indeed a very fine balance, and I was hoping we’d come up with a rough idea that I could test in the next two days if the rain ever stopped.

Stephen: intrepid stunt double
Stephen: intrepid stunt double

While the ULVTeam were working feverishly on refinements to the bike, I was working feverishly on refinements to my performance. In the gym I was meeting up with Bob running 3 sessions per week doing near max efforts. Feeling like I was pushing the limits and risking getting sick from over training, we took the option to back of slightly on the weigh, but compensate on the reps to keep up  effective, but not overtaxing sessions. On the bike, Davie has continued to have me run session with the parking brake on for added resistance. Here, I’ve been working on max effort sprints and simulated race day ramp sequences. Essentially it’s pushing me to take things to the limit, and then see how much further I can push it.

 

With day one of week two finished, our fingers were crossed that the weather was going to hold out for the two remaining test days, after all, I needed some time to try out my cool new team jersey!

ULVTeam Jersey
ULVTeam Jersey

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