EXAMPLE OF POST TO THE CREW:
Folks ...
Joe has checked out the signage and electrical on the van to make sure that we have all the parts we need and that all the parts and the van work properly.
Joe has mounted the top of the van bike rack that we will use to put the spare bike during the race. At all other times the spare bike and the racing bike will be in the van for security.
The top van rack can allow for stowing of well-packed and secured gear that we won't need during the race. This will free up space.
Joe has modified the spare bike to accomodate my sizing and it is ready to go. I've mounted my Velocity Spartacus wheels on this bike.
I will be bring a third set of wheels: Velocity bombproof wheels that I use in training. Just another `insurance.'
I'm not going to obsess about proper placement of the gear and equipment in the van. This is something that Jeff, Allan and James can do in San Diego. I will, however, have lots of bungie cords and cable ties that will allow you to secure the gear once you decide on how you want it organized.
HYDRATION:
I'm only bringing the 70 oz bladders, not the 50 oz or 100 oz camelbak bladders. The 100 oz is too heavy and won't fit in the bag attached to the bike seat. If we only want 50 oz in the bladder we don't need a special bladder for that; just fill the 70 oz with 50 oz. Makes things simpler.
I found this weekend (two hot days in a row of riding) that I `use up' the fluid my body naturally over-stores within the first 4 - 5 hours of riding. At that point sipping from the bladder doesn't seem to be enough to make me pee at least twice per hour.
So, I am anticipating that in the hot and desert-like weather I'll just need to have handed off to me a 16 oz `bonus bottle' of electrolyted water - with the top off the bottle - so that I can just gulp it down. This is a very critical point as my `racial heritage' body type did not anticipate prolonged sweating... although I have a profoundly productive sweating capacity. Combine a strong sweating capacity with too little electrolyted water and I risk subtle but certain dehydration. Thus the `bonus bottle' every hour.
FUEL:
Again, after 12 hours of riding I use up the ambient extra calories in my liver and gut that give me a great calorie cushion at the outset of an event. Thereafter, however, I have to really pay attention to calorie consumption.
Saturday I rode 160 miles in the heat and did not remotely bonk. Sunday, however, after only 50 miles I felt myself at the edge of getting jello legs and only the vaguest feeling of bonking. Proves my point: my body `grants' me the first 12 hours of energy without asking much in return; thereafter, it is `cash on the barrelhead,' i.e., I have to follow a strict schedule of calorie consumption.
LIQUID V. SOLID FUEL:
I know I've said this too often but I HAVE to start a race with little-to-nothing in my gut, i.e., I have to have a liquid diet for 2 days before a race. If I've got anything in my gut it wants to get out NOW.
Also, I have to restrict myself to only a liquid fuel the first 12 - 18 hours of a race. Thereafter ... I know I have to start eating soft solids. BUT, I don't know what specific foods that means.
Honestly, I'm pretty sure that somewhere along the route I'm probably going to want a few Big Macs for the meat and sodium.
Also, small plastic bottles of caffeinated Coca Cola are great on the fly. They're small, tasty and easy to manage.
By the time I get to San Diego I'll have a list of several types of solid food I can eat and tolerate.
COOLING IN THE HEAT:
Two years ago I purchased `arm coolers,' i.e., thin white sleeves that are made from a material that doesn't absorb water but wicks it to the surface. The air flowing over the material has the effect of a `swamp cooler,' i.e., it reduces the surface temperature, thus `cooling' the arms.
These things really work well. Before I used these my arms would just soak up the heat without sufficient reflection, thus adding heat, not cooling at all.
I just purchased two pair of `leg coolers.' They serve the same function and are great.
I used both of these over the weekend and even in the humid heat of the midwest they literally kept me cool all the time EXCEPT when I had a tailwind.
Though the arm and leg coolers do reflect the heat of the sun, when I had a tailwind there was little wind that could evaporate the water sweating off my arms and legs. So ... the cooling feature wasn't working.
What I propose: Allan's idea of using a pressurized gallon jug of water with a flexible hose and wand to `spray' me with a watery mist is quite likely going to be the very best thing we can do to keep my core temp manageable.
I have two other methods (chilly towels, and something akin to an ice bib) that we may consider along the way.
(O.k.. Back down to the cellar to complete the packing and van storage process.)
- d