HD300 - Analytics

• How much climbing is there on this course?
• Where does the climbing take place?
• Is the climbing bunched up in only a few miles or is it spaced out?
• Descending: where, how much, when?
• Should my training be heavily weighted on climbing?  Descending skills?  Long hours of steady riding?
• What kind of lights should I have?
• Cold weather, rain?
• Sweating makes for wet clothes.  What kind and how many?
• Hydration?
• Nutrition?
• Cramping?
• Where should I expect to lose / gain time? 
• What will the long stretch of climbing do to my average MPH?

These are a few of the questions that need answers so that proper training and accomplishment can take place. 

CLIMBING:

• There are 16,800 feet of climbing over the entire 300 mile course.
• 80% (13,700 feet) of the climbing occurs within the first 191 miles. 
• Though there is a `shock' climb of 13% grade at mile 13 of the HD300 it is only 3/4 miles long. Thereafter the climbing is more moderate.  Until mile 156. 
• At mile 156 the grades become more steep (4% to 9%) and continue on that way for 31 miles.  An increase in elevation by 4,500 feet (to a top elevation of 10,600 feet).

So the most challenging part of the climbing starts at the halfway point of the event. 

DESCENDING:

• In the last 95 miles of the event end there are 10,250 feet of descending. 
• More than half (5,300 feet) of the descent takes place in the short distance of 26.7 miles (immediately after reaching the highest elevation).
• The last 95 miles will take place in the dark of night, on empty and desolate roads.
• Ambient temperatures will be in the 40F range.  When descending at speeds of 20 - 40 mph the windchill will drop that another 15F - 25F degrees.
• Within this 95 miles there are another 3,100 feet of climbing. 

 STRATEGY:

From `the neck up' it is easier to do twelve 25 mile stages than to do one 300 mile stage.  

 

 TACTIC:

Two bikes.  One for climbing and one for descending and the flats. 

CLIMBING BIKE: 

• Bacchetta Ti Aero
• front double rings: 50/34t
• Rear cassette: 36/11t
• Railgun carbon fiber hard shell seat (Kent Polk)
• Tiller and Zipp/SRAM R2C levers on a mini-bullhorn handlebar

DESCENDING AND FLATS BIKE:

• Bacchetta CA2:
• Double front gears: 58/42
• Same rear cassette, Railgun seat, tiller, levers and handlebar

TRAINING:

I live in the Arizona mountains so it is a matter of choosing the `best' set of training courses.  Comparing the mileage, cumulative climbing and average feet of climbing per mile I've got excellent ("no excuses") training terrain. 

• Failing to plan is a plan for failure. 
•  Every time we breathe in and breathe out we get another chance.
•  Action defines us.
•  Behavior precedes awareness. 

More on `Fear as a Motivator'

I'm cognizant of the fact that any writing that I do now about my preparation for an upcoming race in August (Hoodoo 300) will ultimately be read after the event.  I've written about past cycling challenges and have felt somewhat embarrassed or `odd' when later reading it.  

`Embarrassed' because I may have been too optimistic or too ignorant to do the proper training.  `Odd' because I wonder what it is about these things that gets me so engaged that it knocks my life off balance (family, work, etc).  

I was born a `psychologist.'  That is, I probably overthink everything.  Luckily I chose to make my actual profession that of a `psychologist,' as a practical defense against `stinkin' thinkin'.  Cognitive traps.  Emotional tail-chasing.  Too often this `defense' gets pretty weak and worn down.  

For the past few years I've focused a good deal of my training for `flat land' competitions.  The 6-12-24 Hour World Championship in Borrego Springs, CA.  The Bike Sebring 12 Hour race in Sebring, FL.  

I trained in the flat desert, 80 miles away and 4,000 feet below where I live in Prescott, AZ.  Why?  Because there are no recumbent cyclists up here!  And I wanted to `compare' my abilities with other recumbent cyclists.  Not to mention just for the company of other serious cyclists.  

Another important reason I targeted these events: safe roads.  Although there is a vibrant randoneurring community in Arizona many of the courses they use are dangerous.  Trucks, RVs, ATVs and other vehicles whizzing by on a 2 lane road with minimal shoulder at 80 - 85 mph.  Riding a recumbent bike on these roads is, in my opinion, even more dangerous.  

(I remember, on a randoneurring brevet near the Grand Canyon, climbing a 15+ mile 6% incline - south to Flagstaff on AZ 89 - with a 20-30 mile crosswind blowing me from a 12" shoulder into speeding trucks and cars.  Navigating the crosswind, the rumble strips ... I finally just stopped and hitch hiked to the top.  Live another day.)

Now that I've chosen to compete in an event that takes place on safe roads, in the Utah mountains, over 300 miles, with 17,000 feet of climbing - all within a time limit of 24 hours - I am not allowing myself any excuses if I do poorly.  After all, I live in the Arizona mountains; the perfect training terrain for this event.  

THE RACE PLAN:

It is more psychologically feasible to race twelve (approximately) 25 mile stages than to race one 300 mile stage.  As well, breaking the race event into 12 stages allows me to train specifically for each particular stage.  

For example, stage seven is 32 miles long with 4,500 feet of climbing.  That is a `huuuge' amount of climbing in such a short space.  

The very next stage, stage eight, is 27 miles long with 5.300 feet of descending.  (In the dark of night, from an altitude of 10,500 feet above sea level to 5,750 feet above sea level).  Reaching speeds in excess of 40 mph, for long stretches, is an almost certainty.  A `certainty' that carries with it serious risks (mechanical failure, hitting critters on the road, road surface problems, windchill and frostbite). 

THE TRAINING PLAN:

The 300 is a valid competitive challenge.  Not `too easy.'  Not `too hard.'  Right in the target zone for me.  No excuses.  I live in the perfect training terrain.  And that is sobering.

I'm training now in a way that I've never trained before.  My training courses simulate both the climbing and descending of the 300.  I've broken the training courses into discrete sections that I am timing.  Each segment will serve as a baseline against which I will attempt to improve on each time I train on that course.  

THE TYRANNY OF TRAINING:

I can make myself miserable when I set a goal that requires disciplined and difficult training.  Worse, I can make those around me even more miserable ... because of how I act when I feel miserable.  

I don't know, yet, quite how I am going to not go off the deep end in the training process over the next three months.  But I will be making it a priority to remain mindful of my mood, of not feeling `rushed' and unwilling to relax, to be patient and `smell the roses.'  

No doubt I will have more to `blog' about this process.      

INGESTIBLES FOR CREW SUPPORTED LONG-DISTANCE CYCLING

O.K. My special ingestIbles on long-distance crew-supported cycling competitions:

Foodstuffs: ((Little sandwiches. Smashed tight so that they can be easily grabbed, quickly eaten and swallowed.)
-white bread
-peanut butter
-mayonnaise
-tuna fish
-pickle relish
(Little balls of ...)
-Avocado
-Brown rice
-Peanut butter

Fluid
-Maltodextrin powder
-Whey protein powder
-Water
-More water: not when I'm `thirsty,' but on a regular schedule

Minerals
-Endurolyte (electrolyte) pills
-Magnesium pills
-Potassium pills

Medical
-The occasional ibuprofin
-Tums

NO ENSURE PRODUCTS AT ALL, EVER, FOR ALL TIME, IN PERPETUITY AND FINALLY .

Yarnell Grade, Mountain Training ... and Balance In Life

I could write an incomprehensible book on this subject. 

Over the past week I've `psychologically inoculated' myself against early season doubts about my capacity for riding up mountains and long grades.

• Two weeks ago I rode the Skull Valley Loop, with 2,000 feet of climbing in 20 miles.  
• Last Friday I joined 300 intrepid cyclists and rode up Mt. Lemmon in Tucson, Arizona.
• Yesterday I rode the legendary Yarnell Grade, where the Arizona desert meets the mountains of the Colorado plateau.

Here are two videos of the descent down Yarnell Grade.  The first one is on May 18th in a car.  The second one is on May 19th on my Bacchetta Ti Aero recumbent bike.

1. Descending Yarnell Grade - Car
2. Descending Yarnell Grade - Bike   

Though I had planned to do a 34 mile, 3,300 foot training ride today ... my body is telling me to rest. 

And that is the hardest thing to gauge in terms of training: balance.  Balance as it relates to performance improvement; balance in terms of the rest of  my life: family, work, social activities and just simple `relaxation.' 

More on this topic over the next several weeks and months.   

Ride Report - Mt Lemmon

Living in the American Southwest offers great opportunities for challenging cycling.  From grim, hot desert to mountainous terrain.  

The Greater Arizona Bicycle Association (GABA) sponsored a supported (SAG stations and vehicles) ride up Mt Lemmon, just northeast of Tucson.  Excellent road and mostly good weather in Spring makes for a great one day cycling challenge.

At this point I'm training to enter the Hoodoo 300  in late August of 2016.  I live in a mountainous area in Arizona (Prescott) so I have the perfect training ground for the Hoodoo 300.

The Mt Lemmon ride constitutes about 30 miles of almost non-stop climbing for an approximate total of 6,000 feet.  An average 5.6 degree grade, with a few 12's and 13's thrown in.  

Starting on Friday the 13th, at 7:10AM, I pedaled 25.8 miles and 5,600 feet to the top.  All was going well until I hit the first descent of the climb.  Flying down a short 150 meter hill at 42 mph I heard a loud `pop' and immediately unclipped my feet from the pedals and began feathering the brakes.  I managed to maintain control of the bike and come to a safe and sudden stop just as the hill was tipping up again.  The front tire.  

Popping the wheel from the frame I inspected it very carefully for tire rip.  I pulled the tube and noted a tear.  Matching the tear to the tire location ... nothing.  The tire looked solid.  I concluded that all I needed to do was to put in a new tube, inflate it and get back on the road.  

Not.  When I inflated the tube I checked the tire again and again, disbelieving my first inspection.  And there it was: a small tear just at the wheel rim. 

I usually carry a spare tire when training at home.  But, since this was SAG supported I didn't bother to bring one.  My ride was over.  Descending Mt Lemmon on that tire would certainly have resulted in tragedy.  

Despite the fact that it was Friday the 13th I was extremely lucky to have that tire blowout before I started my way down the mountain.  Descending at 35 - 50 mph on mountain switchbacks ... certain death.  I imagined myself making a sharp descending turn, the tire blows, the bike goes out from under me, I slide into the oncoming lane ... and under the wheels of a car or truck.  

The GABA SAG vehicle, driven by `Bob,' rolled by within 5 minutes.  He put my bike on his rack and shortly I was heading down the mountain to the starting point.  

THIS is a link to a short video that I took at the top of Mt. Lemmon.  It was the `penultimate' SAG stop about 5 flat miles from the end of the ride.  

And THIS is a link to the Ride With GPS metric of the ride.  

Luge - Minimizing Wind Resistance on Long Descents

This descending method minimizes wind resistance without the use of special gear (fairing, aero bars, etc). 

Riding a Bacchetta Ti Aero recumbent with a tiller and Railgun (Kent Polk) carbon fiber hardshell seat at a 11 degree angle of recline. 

The technique involves extending both feet parallel to the ground. One foot (left) remains clipped in. The other foot is unclipped. Right leg extended with calf resting on right pedal crank. 

Note the video of the descent, below.

Video Clip of 2.2 Mile Descent

This is a picture of the Bacchetta Ti Aero bike. 

• Tiller steering
• Zipp R2C levers
• Railgun carbon fiber hard shell seat at an 11 degree recline. 
• 650 Zipp wheels
• 650 x 23 tires

Recumbent Gearing in the Mountains

The steepness of climbing and the overall amount of climbing that I do in the hills and mountains determines which bike I use.

The Bacchetta Ti Aero has 650 wheels.  I've set it up with a double (50/34) up front and an 11/36 ten speed SRAM cassette in back.  This is the bike I use if the course has inclines greater than 6% for long stretches.

The Bacchetta CA2 has 700 wheels.  I've set it up with a 58/42 up front and an 11/36 ten speed SRAM cassette in back.  This is the bike I use if the course has less steep inclines.  As well, on the descents I can continue to apply power for longer before I spin out (i.e., pedal RPMs greater than 110 or so).

The chart below illustrates how many forward inches is gained with every turn of the crank by bike.

Gear Inches		KEY: With every complete turn of the crank the THIS is the number of inches the bike is moved forward.
175 mm crank
23-622 tire
SRAM 11-13-15-17-19-22-25-28-32-36 10-speed Cassette
	TI	CA2			TI	CA2
Wheel	650	700			650	700
	50	58			34	42
11	111	139	125%		75	100	134%
13	93.5	117	125%		64	84.9	133%
15	81	102	125%		55	73.6	134%
17	71.5	89.7	125%		49	64.9	134%
19	64	80.2	125%		44	58.1	134%
22	55.3	69.3	125%		38	50.2	134%
25	48.6	61	126%		33	44.2	134%
28	43.4	54.4	125%		30	39.4	134%
32	38	47.6	125%		26	34.5	134%
36	33.8	42.3	125%		23	30.7	133%

Training Routes for Mountain Ultracycling Event

This is the target:

300 Miles x 17,000 Feet of Climbing

These are the training routes:

46 Miles x 4,300 Feet of Climbing

56 Miles x 4,300 Feet of Climbing

100 Miles x 8,100 Feet of Climbing.