Saturday, November 14, 2009

C'trainer. I used the DeLorme / Racermate software to construct the Assault on Mt Mitchell (AMM) (102 miles, 11,000 ft of climbing, most of it in last 30 miles). Since Tuesday I've been putting in 2 hours per day completing what I could (without wasting myself before I go to work).

Today I rode miles 77 to 90.33 and the average grade was about 6.5 - 7% with several 9's, 10's, 11's, 12's, 13's and 14's thrown in. Avg HR was 141 and the avg watts came in at just under 145. It was hard. It was 13.3 miles of nonstop climbing - no break (unless you call a few hundred yards at 2.8% a 'break').

I set my weight on the C'trainer at 50 lbs more than I weigh (200) and use a double (49/55) upfront and 12/28 in back. Spent a lot of time in the 49x28. Really fried at the end.

The grades on RAW will not be as steep as the 7 - 14%ers I did today. And when I hit the switchbacks and the grades DO get into the 7 - 11% range it will be only for a short stretch. But ... this work needs to be done.

Tomorrow I finish up the remaining miles of AMM and try to put in another 5 hours on the C'trainer for a total of 6 indoor hours of riding.