How Bad do you want to be Good (on a recumbent)?

I know and can name at least 4 or 5 people who could say this better than me. 

The other day a new recumbent rider with a fairly distinguished history as a diamond frame rider said to me: "On the DF I'd be able to get my `climbing legs' in about 3 days of a long event.  Two weeks in the Dolomites in Italy on my carbon fiber high racer recumbent and I was still last up the hill, and half dead doing it. What does it take?"

A few of my thoughts were:

• On a DF you can `fall on' the pedals (dump your weight on each pedal) on the steep climbs;
• On a DF you can move your body around on the bike and recruit different muscles as you grind your way up a hill: sitting, out of the saddle, pushing your pelvis back or forward on the saddle, sit up and spin and rest, throw the bike left and right to loosen muscles and relax the back, etc...;
• A well trained recumbent rider can climb as fast as a well trained DF rider, all things (except bike) being equal;
• A recumbent rider has one, and only one, position on the bike and all the power comes from the legs and hips in that one position;
• A recumbent rider has to master `enduring' that one position the entire duration of a climb ... and that takes deliberate training of the muscular system (and mental foucus).

My thinking is that a recumbent rider will get his/her `climbing legs' after about 6 months of focused training. 

• On long climbs I vary the power but not the cadence.  This allows me to rest some muscles periodically. 
• On suddenly steep climbs I employ ankle pedalling, like a turbocharger that gives short bursts of power.
• Pushing up a long climb, even if the watts are low and the cadence is high, will have an impact on your knees that requires time to manage.  The knees experience stress forces unmitigated by the DF's ability to `fall' on the pedals.  To be competitive the recumbent rider must carefully, over several months, increase the capacity of the knees to deal with the stress.  Ligaments and muscles have to be developed and strengthened, cell by cell.  And that takes very careful and consistent training. 

I think it is less fun to train for performance on a recumbent than it is on a diamond frame.  On the DF the rider can flail his/her body and bike around ... which is lots of fun.  Not so on a recumbent. 

Do you think Lance could have given Ulrich `the look' if he had been on a recumbent?!  Nope.  That exquisite piece of drama wouldn't have occurred. 

So, back to the title of this post: How Bad do you want to be Good (on a recumbent).  It takes the same grim determination and discipline to be good on both platforms.  But ... a recumbent rider has to forego some of the `fun' and excitement that a DF rider enjoys.  At least that's what I think.

A few tips about tires and flats

I've been putting in more miles on the bike lately and, despite having great, grippy tires I've had 2 flats in the last two training sessions.  Each time the flat was due to going over a `goat head.' 

I ride the Bacchetta Ti Aero most of the time and it has 650 wheels and tires.  I use bombproof Velocity wheels because they've been extremely strong and reliable. 

When I ride the Bacchetta Carbon Aero (CA2) I have 700 wheels and tires.  The wheels are nothing really special but they're also strong and reliable. 

On both wheels I run Continental Gatorskins (650's and 700's).  I'd be happy with Conti 4000's too.  But ... I have what I have at this point.  (I also have some Schwalbe Durano Plus 700's and am comfortable with them). 

Some of my tires are `foldable' and some are wire bead.  For some reason it is very hard to mount both kinds of tires on the 650 wheels.  It isn't as hard to mount the tires on the 700's, but it is still quite a struggle. 

Getting a flat on the open road in the high desert or mountain grades (or anywhere else, for that matter) is a pain.  And having to struggle with getting the tire back on the wheel rim is even worse.  But I've made it easier with a simple fix.

I carry a small plastic vial of powdered chalk (you can get it in a hardware store).  When I'm down to the last few inches of mounting the tire I spread some powdered chalk on that section.  This substantially lubricates the interface between the rubber and the metal.  I  mean `SUBSTANTIALLY.'  I don't struggle anymore.  The first effort is usually the last effort. 

Another things I've begun doing (again) is putting tire liners between the tube and the tire.  I use to do this all the time when I rode in the city (Chicago - a lot of small pieces of metal easily penetrated any tire). 

Even though the tires I currently use are excellent they are still no match for mother nature's `goat head.'  They are sharp enough and just long enough to work themselves through the tire thickness (23's) that I use. 

Adding another layer of firm plastic between the tire and the tube seems to defeat the goat head. 

I've heard from others that they've had problems with the tire liners, that the `ends' of the liner are sharp enough to pinch the tube into flatting.  I've never experienced that problem but I've taken steps to minimize that from happening. 

First, I cut the edges of the tire liner to round it.  Then I take a metal file and `smooth' the edges.  Finally I carefully measure the tire liner so that it doesn't overlap and doesn't leave a big gap between the edges when in the tire.  This last step also helps reduce or eliminate a small `thumping' feeling I may get when descending on smooth road. 

"Bents can't climb" NOT!!!

I recently participated in a `race / ride' called the Skull Valley Loop Challenge. It's a 52 mile, 4800 feet of climbing loop from Prescott, AZ, south into the desert and back up the White Spars (RAAM / RAW route).

Though a few other folks in Prescott own recumbents and ride them I'm currently the only one that trains hard for time and distance (ultra stuff).

The previous year there were about 148 entrants in the SVLC. Having just moved to Prescott I entered on the Ti Aero (and weighing about 40 lbs more than I do now). I was the only recumbent. At that time I placed 52nd for a time of 3:21:00.

This year there were 179 entrants in the SVLC. Again, I was the only recumbent in the event. I rode the CA2. I didn't use any carrying device (no bag). I put a C02 cartridge, tube and levers in a small bag and stuck it in my jersey. I carried a 16 oz bottle of my usual maltodextrin / water mix. This year I placed 34/35 (tie) for a time of 2:49:00.  Skull Valley Loop Challenge - 2012   That is a 32 minute improvement from last year.

A few things having to do with my strategy.

• I kept a liquid diet the day before.
• I hydrated and fueled very well before the race.
• I wore (and needed) the external catheter. (Peed 4 times ... very discretely.
• The bike was stripped down, i.e., minimal water and tools. No bags. Triple 53/39/30 with a 10 spd 11/32 rear cassette. 700cc wheels of course.
• Last year I waited until ALL riders left the start line before I took off. This year I was at the front line and took off in the lead pack.

• PLANNED: On the 2 mile flat section before a 5 mile steep climb I pushed to be in the lead ... and was.
• PLANNED: When I hit the 5 mile steep climb I didn't challenge anyone; I just kept the HR at a reasonable number while I was passed by many cyclists.
• PLANNED: At the top of the 5 mile steep climb there is a screaming 19 mile twisting descent. I was not passed by ANYbody on the descent; I passed everybody within sight.
• PLANNED: At mile 30.2 begins a steady and relentless 9 mile climb (4 - 8% incline/grade). My plan was to crank up the hill at a HR of 140 - 142 bpm until the 6th mile. Then my plan was to crank up the hill at a HR no greater than 150 bpm.
• STRATEGY: What I may have lacked in climbing speed I more than made up for in stamina and endurance. I was passed only once by the owner of the LBS and his wife on a tandem. As the tandem was struggling to pass me I simply noted that if I kept my pace / HR I would pass them. And I did.
• PLANNED: When I passed the 6th mile of climbing I increased my effort / watts to approach the HR of 150 bpms for the next 3 miles. I began passing several other cyclists again. STRATEGY: Exploit my stamina and endurance, despite the fact that the cyclists all seemed to weigh 30 - 50 lbs less than me.
• PLANNED: After mile 40 the long climb transitioned to a series of steep, twisty descents and ascents until mile 48. I let myself make the maximum effort for speed with no regard to HR bpm. Hammer up the hills and scream down the descents. The tandem that had been trailing me passed me once (at clear maximum effort). I didn't challenge them at that time. I kept to my plans and passed them again and finally shortly thereafter.
• NOTE: It is common for cyclists, when they crest a hill, to back off on effort and rest a little. My strategy is to do the opposite. Once I crest the hill I dramatically increase my effort and watts to achieve maximum speed. This results in a few effects: first, it surprises those ahead of me when I pass them; second, it cuts into their motivation (psychological) to have someone inrease their effort just when they are backing off, exhausted.
• PLANNED: I continued to pass everyone I encountered that was ahead of me. There is a final climb (100 yards) to a crest, thereafter it is 4 miles of ranging descent to the finish line. I continued pouring everything I had into the remaining distance and, in the process, reeled in another 5 cyclists.

At the end of the `race / ride' I noted that I drank only half (8 oz) of the fuel I brought. I was not thirsty at all.

Had I tried to `burn all my matches' from the first to the last I don't think I would have done so well. The strategy and tactics that I used maximized natural advantages (stamina, endurance, power) and minimized the initial climbing disadvantages in the first 5 mile climb.

How I Rationalize My Athletic Failures

As I age (and age and age) I have a new ally in my many shortcomings: rationalization.

"I'd do better but I'm an `older athlete,' so that's o.k."

And then a patient, Cheshire smile.  (Now slowly blink your eyes and pat your belly).

Greying hair turning silvery white adds a sort of distinction to getting worse and worse and worse. Isn't that a dirty trick!

While wishing I were in the Olympics but searching for a way to let myself off the hook I came upon this interesting essay:
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Against Athletic Pride
Brian Jay Stanley

Watching Olympic swimmers paddling through the water with gangly legs and arms, heaving their heads up for air, unequipped with fins or gills, I question the pride of the champions.

Goldfish in an aquarium move more gracefully.

Is not a contest of humans swimming like a contest of fish running?

If animals competed in the Olympics, few humans would win medals.

• An elephant or rhinoceros would hurl our strongest wrestlers from the mat like plastic dolls.
• Our fastest sprinters would lose the 50-meter dash to their cats.
• Schools of sardines would dominate synchronized swimming.

Feats of intellect should be accorded more honor than feats of athleticism.

To be an Einstein is to comprehend more of physics than any other mind in the known universe. But to win a gold medal in the Olympics is merely to stand atop one's narrow class of competitors, human beings, who share the same evolutionary handicaps.

The Olympics are really the Special Olympics.
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Being old enough to find one's own history filed away in a folder in the National Archives (true) puts a new spin on cycling event records. When I turned 60 I was elated. Now I could be at the back of the pack and still be `first' in my age-category. "(F)or his age category" always followed "And a new record was set by Dan Fallon."

Like I have said many times in the past: I'm special. (Given my age).