Heading into winter and exciting riding

October 19th and I'm feeling like I'm just getting started on my cycling season.  Last year at this time I was putting on the weight, dealing with rain, wind, cold, traffic, urban density and congestion.  This year I'm working my training plan and tracking significant week to week improvements. 

I've never had the opportunity to focus on cycling as much as now. 

Today I got in a 20 mile 1,800 feet of climbing training ride `after' I did the finances, met with the plumber and made some phone calls.  And I got back in time for a fried chicken lunch with our neighbors in our Common House.  Our cohousing neighborhood and community ... 

Took a nap, reviewed the training plan and confirmed that I'll be attending some great cycling events here in the SW this winter. 

• I'm stoked about the 200 K brevet (Heart of Arizona) with the Bullshifters Cycling Club this November 5th;.
• I'm focused on training for strong and fast hill climbing in a rational and thoughtful way;
• I'm targeting the Sebring Bike races in Florida next February 18th and 19th, the 24 hour non-drafting RAAM Qualifier event.

These are just a few of the great things I can train for and accomplish with `performance' in mind (not just `survival.')

I'm fortunate and lucky.

Ownership and attribution

I just sent a comment to the spam folder.  The author of the comment did not identify him/herself and made claims without attribution of sources.  Finally, this person made personal insults (not to me).

One of the reasons I blog and welcome comments is to further dialogue and questions.  Unsubstantiated claims and uncivil comments that do nothing to support dialogue will be deleted. 

Freedom of the press is guaranteed only to those with one.  Those having an axe to grind or who are working out issues for which they should seek treatment can start up their own blog or pedal their tripe to listserv's that allow it. 

If you don't like what is said here don't read it. 

Another Roadside Shrine

Coming north on White Spar Road (89A) from Wilhoit to Prescott, AZ.  As one leaves Wilhoit there are signs warning drivers of dangerous mountain curves and grades ahead for the next 14 miles.

Here is a Garmin recording of one of my training rides on White Spar between Wilhoit and Prescott.  Wilhoit - Prescott: Road Shrine Row  You can zoom in to see for yourself the twists, inclines and descents.  For most of the route the road hangs off the side of the mountain with a wall on one side and a steep drop off on the other side.

Seven weeks ago I had just turned around at Wilhoit to return to Prescott on a training ride.  Less than a mile up the road I saw several people, motorcycles and a few cars at the lip of the cliff on a 90 degree ascending (4-5%) turn.  A motorcyclist had miscalculated his speed and the angle of the turn and rode right off the cliff, falling about 20 yards into a steep ravine filled with brush and cactus.  Foolishly his mates pulled him out of the ravine.  As I stopped to offer some aid it was apparent that this fellow was nonresponsive and quite likely dead.

A few weeks later I noted a `road shrine' cross and fake flowers planted in a pile of rocks.

Today I was barely out of Prescott and into the mountain grades to Wilhoit when I was passed by 3 or 4 emergency vehicles and an overhead helicopter.  About two miles up traffic was stopped.  I rode past the stopped traffic to see the helicopter slowly ascending and on the way to some hospital.  The police turned me back stating that they would be taking pictures and surveying the site for some time to come.

About an hour later I concluded the road should be clear and resumed my training ride to Wilhoit and back.  As I passed the scene of the accident I saw the destroyed motorcycle and metal and plastic on both sides of the road.  There were no tire skid marks.  But there were several fresh white gouges in the road.  And I am assuming that the motorcyclist was going downhill too fast for the curve, oversteered, lost control of the bike and s/he and the motorcycle went end over end until they came to the road barrier or mountain wall.  It was a bloody mess, with two squad cars parked nearby.

Returning later to Prescott past this accident scene I saw a tow truck attempting to collect the many pieces of motorcycle.

I myself have gone down twice on this same road at speeds greater than 35 mph.  Lots of road rash.  Some stitches.  About $800 of total damages to the bike.

Those of us surviving our bad judgment have a deep respect for the dangers of the road.

I'll be looking for another road shrine at that location soon.  How deeply sad.

HA!! Two Speeds

Speed # One:  All out race!
Speed # Two:  Dead stop!

Conclusion?  Delusional thinking and denial of the reality of dealing with time and anxiety.

Ha!!!

I just spent the last hour reviewing journal articles on `denial of aging.'  I've even got a book on that subject waiting for me at the Prescott Library.

With the wife gone for a week and being relatively immobile while the knee heals up I've spent waaaaay too much time `thinking.'   Such a waste!  Not my best `muscle,' i.e., from the neck up. 

I preached two mantras in my clinical practice as a psychologist: "Action Defines Us" and "Behavior Precedes Awareness."  One of my patients even went out and got me a ball cap with those phrases emblazoned on it as a retirement memento.

Take my own advice: Think less.  Do more. 

A good deal of the reason I am so active with cycling is so that I can wear myself out.  (DSM-IV-TR diagnosis: Cyclothymia.  Just a tad short of all out mania).  Just a different way of dealing with the same anxiety that creates alcoholics, zealots, workaholics and others among us burning up excess psychic kerosene. 

The challenge of `retirement' is in being able to integrate life's accumulated wisdom and the strengths it brings, and a relative certainty about the trajectory of the future having an ultimate downward slope (unless of course I'm on a 4% downhill descent into Wilhoit on a 75 degree angle left turn doing 36.4 mph on a posted 25 mph speed limit ... then the slope is a right angle, straight down.  I got lucky and am here to tell about it.). 

I really did feel pissed that I came in behind 51 other people in the recent Skull Valley Loop Challenge.  Angry, in fact.  I gave myself no `slack' for probably being among the 3 oldest people racing.  Some of it is good fuel for motivation.  A lot of it is denial of `inherent' athletic/genetic limits and limits imposed on me as a consequence of age. 

Transition.  Age and the time to think about it carefully and with acceptance and courage. A denial of it ... thinking that "I'm different and I'll prove it" can prove futile.  And `resistance is futile.' 

Of course, we all know that the only people without stress in their life ... are dead!

Sermon over.

Chondromalacia and Plantaris Muscle / Tendon

Left knee.  Had nothing to do with cycling.

Definition of chondromalacia patella: (By Mayo Clinic staff)
 
The cartilage under your kneecap (patella) is a natural shock absorber. Overuse, injury or other factors may lead to a condition known as chondromalacia patella — a general term indicating damage to the cartilage under your kneecap. A more accurate term for chondromalacia patella is patellofemoral pain syndrome. 

The plantaris muscle / tendon definition is so tortuously medical-wordy that I won't even try it here.  Essentially, it is a tendon behind the knee that is missing in 7-10% of the population and has little purpose or consequence.  However, when, for whatever reason, it is inflamed or damaged it causes pain and swelling.

I was schlepping 50 lb bags of dirt and rocks for some landscaping of our house and I pivoted on my left leg, generating these two conditions.

In 1989 I had arthroscopic removal of torn meniscus / cartilage in my left knee.  I'd run about 8 marathons at that point and ... that's what happens to some of us.  The cartilage gets damaged.  Since then I've been totally pain free (ran another marathon 9 days after the surgery).  But when I flex that left knee I'd always hear a few clicks and grinds.

Today I rode the bike 34 miles and climbed about 4,000 feet with nothing more than a slight sense of tightness.

When walking it is painful to straighten the left leg because of the plantaris muscle.  And the patella problem is resolving with NSAIDS, careful stretching, alternate heat and cold compresses, a knee band that sort of stabilizes the patella.  I used one on the Race Across the West and the slight initial pain literally vanished in less than 12 hours, never to return.   

Training will probably be on flat stretches for a while, avoiding too much power strokes on inclines.  Though, I still climbed faster than all my buddies today, and without pain.

Prudence, however, suggests reduction of climbing intensity.  So, for the next few / half dozen training sessions I'll be a flatlander again.  Probably a wise change of pace.  

Attention `Excess' Disorder

In graduate school we had to learn how to diagnosis mental disorders.  There is a `big book of mental disorders' that all credentialed folks have to use.  The unanimous experience of I and my classmates was that each one of us had at least half a dozen diagnosable serious psychiatric disorders!

Decades later... no different.  We were right. 

These past two months of cycling in `valhalla' (Prescott, AZ) with more time to ride and train than I've ever allowed myself I've violated my notional dictum: `Be a fanatic about living a balanced life!!'  In otherwords, I'd frequently overtrain by doing too much, too hard, too fast.  Fortunately, I've been able to `listen to my body' and recognize it in a day or two and back off. 

This last `go-round' with overtraining left me wiped out, empty and flat all day after my early morning training ride.  I liked the training ride.  I `hated' feeling flat the rest of the day.  And, of course, my `psychiatric disorder' raised it's ugly head and I started blaming myself for stepping into this familiar hole again.  Then I started making lists of things I have neglected.  Finally, I took two naps instead of just my usual one -- this so that I can pile on the self-loathing for being such a slug and a sloth. 

This morning I looked at my Training Plan and realized that I had abandoned any forward looking Plan two weeks ago.  Instead I was just using it as a Riding Log. 

So now I'm going to do what I am supposed to have been doing all along:

• Identify cycling events that I want to train towards;
• Anchor my training to these events;
• Set short and longer term goals;
• Follow the `Periodization Training' method that has served me so well;
• Live a frigging `balanced life!'

Skull Valley Loop Challenge - Prescott, Arizona

Skull Valley Loop Challenge Garmin Data

The heart rate data are completely wrong. There were power lines that screwed with the HR. And halfway through the race the `grade' function on the Garmin stopped working. 

The last time I did this route was June 17, 2010 -- (http://connect.garmin.com/activity/37612893). Climbing gain was 4,079 feet. Still, this beats previous Personal Best by 49 minutes. I was the only recumbent in the event and finished 52st among `around' 150. 

I liked it.  It was fun.  I used some muscles that connected to my coccyx that I didn't even know were there.  Coccyx muscles?!!

Big Bad Bagdad!!

Training in the Arizona deserts and mountains is humbling.  In the midwest there was a farm or a town within spitting distance of most anyplace I was training.  If my unconscious carcass was off to the side of the road I'd probably be noticed within an hour or two by some passerby.

Here, though, the natural threats are dramatically more profound, if not actually lethal.

First, there are the descents and twisty turns.  I was baptized in this danger a few weeks ago by foolishly speeding down a twisty mountain grade at 35.1 mph (posted vehicle speed limit: 20 mph) when I let the bike get out of my control (spooked myself by a crease in the road) and destabilized myself, going down HARD, damaging some bike components and getting lots of bloody and painful road rash.  I'm lucky I didn't kill myself.

The other danger has to do with the dramatic climatic and terrain conditions.  A few weeks ago I left Prescott in the AM when it was 66 degrees.  I rode 44 miles south and descended about 3,000 feet, arriving in Congress, where the temperature was 104.

The solar radiation of the sun at this altitude is dangerously intense, certainly burning the skin and risking pain, injury if not cancer (melanoma).

What humidity?!  Sitting on my front porch, in the shade, for an hour results in passive dehydration.  Training uphill, into the sun, with no wind for fifteen minutes means that I have to drink a quart of liquid with electrolytes.  Training on a relatively flat surface of slight descent can `trick' me into forgetting to hydrate.  Both conditions can cause loss of consciousness or severe disorientation, making cycling even more dangerous. 

Twenty miles between dirt roads leading to ranches three or four miles off the paved roads constitutes a relatively densely populated area :)  So-called `towns' amount to one store and a few dozen mobile homes off on the side of a hill.  Today I had to plan for a source of water (post office has an faucet out behind, near the dumpster) in the likely event that the one store in town was closed.

Things `eat' you out here.  Not little `bites,' like with a bug or mosquito. 

No.  They friggin' EAT you.  Javelinas, mountain lions, coyotes, critters of all sorts that might consider my conscious / unconscious carcass found bounty.  And don't sit down on the side of the road. Snakes.  Spiders. Scorpions. 

Tires.  The road surfaces just eat up road tires.  I've already had one tire literally split apart at the middle of the tread due to the heat of the road and the roughness of the pavement. 

These were just some of the things in the back of my mind over the past week as my training distances and challenges increase.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bagdad is a copper mining town 68 miles from my front door.  A two lane state road `terminates' in Bagdad.  There are three little one-horse towns between my house and Bagdad.  The road to Bagdad is paved and passable but it follows some very significant changes in geology, climate and terrain.  From table top mesas to `bottom of the earth' canyons.  Not a 10th of a mile of straight road to nor from Bagdad.  Descents and ascents and descents again, ranging 3,000 feet at a lick and 30 to 45 degrees in temperature difference.

I'll be in a brevet to and from Bagdad in a short time.  

So, this morning I was working on the Silvio and adding long-distance `worst case' gear and equipment so that I could `probably' survive a trip to Bagdad. 

Big, good week.

Here it is Friday, September 2nd, and I know that I've got at least four good months of training ahead of me.  No more of this `dash' to squeeze in as many events as possible before the ice and snow get here. 

This week is Week # 6 of the evolving Training Plan.  I've still got two days before I close out this week and already I've ridden more miles, hours and climbed more feet than any of the previous weeks.  And I'm not tired! 

Because of the distances and climbing I've done so far this week I've trained every other day.  Again, trying to be careful about overtraining. 

Monday I had planned to do hills and mountains but wound up going north toward Ash Fork to get in some flat miles.  Mistake.  Intense traffic. All kinds of crap on the road.  Got a flat tire.  Four and  half hours, 3,451 feet of climbing, 60 miles.  Nice to get in the miles but I felt like I was riding on a crazy highway ... which I was.

Wednesday I rode from Prescott to Congress and back.  Ten hours, 9,504 feet of climbing and 9 hours of riding, with one hour off the bike for food and hydration.

Today, Friday: Good workout. 5,170 feet of climbing over 45 miles. I feel like I'm cheating when flying on the descents but later, on the climbs, I'm paying cold hard cash. Stayed in 39 front ring and 23 rear ring on all climbing (except the two 11% and 14% `pops' at the very end of the training ride). Cadence was typically in the 40's. Climbing HR usually in the teens(except for those last two `pops'). Training goal was to develop capacity for long (4.5 hours) solid grinds, i.e., endurance. Good week of training and rest. 

Here's a link to the rides.  Page back to see the rest.  3 Training Rides this week 

Four Week Block Data

Elevation Correction is a Garmin setting that I had inadvertently disabled when I was training in the flatlands.  I recently discovered this function and applied it to the training over the past four weeks and came up with a significantly different number.  I'm correcting the climbing figures below.  ("Garmin Connect selectively applies corrections to depict a more realistic representation of your elevation experience.")

WEEK 1:
Hrs trained:   7.33 hours
Miles:  79.26
Feet of climbing: 8,510

WEEK 2:
Hrs trained:   11.6 hours
Miles:  133.3
Feet of climbing: 13,525

WEEK 3:
Hrs trained:   16 hours
Miles:  162.5
Feet of climbing: 17,379

WEEK 4:
Hrs trained:   13 hours
Miles:  158
Feet of climbing: 14,760

Very unlike previous training in the midwest my 4-week block miles are down (533) and my climbing is up (54,174).  That averages to 101.6 feet of climbing per mile, or an `average' 1.92% incline.  Grade Percent Incline And Downgrade Calculator

Ugly butt ....

I'm sorry, but I've been thinking of that post `title' almost all morning as I climbed from Skull Valley to the top of Iron Springs road.  It was `ugly' but ... I did it. 

Every time I do that section I say to myself ... "but it shouldn't be so difficult.  I've done it before and I MUST be in better shape by now."  NOT!

Skull Valley Loop Clockwise

Temptation .....

Got a late start (12:15pm) at the hottest time of the day (92 - 93). Up, over and back over the mountain again. Rushed back home to finish a project before I had to attend a meeting, eat a late dinner and ... crash! 

Training is coming along really well.  But I constantly have to reel myself in from doing too much and risk overtraining. A real temptation when you find yourself making significant improvements ... makes me want to push it even harder. BIG mistake ... that, so far, I've avoided making.

Up, over and back over the mountain ....

Skull Valley Loop Challenge - Prescott, AZ - September 11

Skull Valley Loop Challenge

The Skull Valley Challenge is a 55 mile loop with over 4500 feet of climbing.  More than half of the loop takes place on some of the most difficult climbs on the RAAM / RAW route (Kirkland Junction - Skull Valley - Prescott).

This is my Garmin data for the Skull Valley Loop in June of 2010:  Skull Valley Loop - June 2010

Many a RAAM / RAW racer report that it was the most unforgiving section of the race. 

I'll see you there!

On track. On the edge.

These past 3 weeks of summary data:

WEEK 1:
Hrs trained:   7.33 hours
Miles:  79.26
Feet of climbing: 6,954

WEEK 2:
Hrs trained:   11.6 hours
Miles:  133.3
Feet of climbing: 10,826

WEEK 3:
Hrs trained:   16 hours
Miles:  162.5
Feet of climbing: 14,028

At the end of the first week I felt very fatigued and sort of shocked at how difficult it was to train.  I expected the fatigue and was alert to not overtrain.

At the end of the second week I felt fatigued, too.  Lots of naps.  But it was dawning on me that my gearing was not right.  Too many high gears, too few low gears.

Now, at the end of the third week I am pretty much on top of the fatigue and realize that this next week needs to be a week of relative rest.  Fewer hours of training.

Yesterday I switched out some gears (from 11-25 to11-34 cassette) on the rear wheel of one of my bikes and rode a triple crank (60-39-30).  My training ride today was significantly improved because of it.  Lots of climbing, mostly in the 4% - 7% range with some 11% - 14% climbs. 

Previously on the longer 7% climbs my speed would be paced in the 5 mph to 6.5mph range.  Now, with the improved gearing I'm steady in the 7 - 7.5 + mph range for long periods.  Tangible proof of improved fitness and better gearing. 

Pacing was good.  Within my capacity.  Fatigue was not as overwhelming as it was the previous two weeks. 

Two Speeds: Race and Stop

The plan was to ride the 34 miles and 3,700 feet of climbing to and from Wilhoit. But I sensed even before I started that I was on the edge of the dreaded `over-training' factor. So, ten miles into the ride I turned around and came home. Two minutes after I got in the door an enormous monsoon storm roared and exploded overhead for about 45 minutes. Instantly the temp dropped 20 degrees. The experience of these past four weeks has been intensely physical, tangible, sensual. Among the many changes I expected on retirement the one that is most poignant is that from semi-sedentary daily life to full-on physical intensity interrupted by complete and total sleep. The metaphor I have used to describe my life has been that I have two speeds: race and stop. Strange to enter the domain of the elderly and find that it is no longer a metaphor. It is reality. 

20 miles = up and down

Classic: Skull Valley Loop

It wasn't pretty ... but it WAS:  4,519 feet of climbing in 56.29 miles.

Skull Valley Loop - 08-10-2011

I was fit for about 40 of those miles.  The rest were done with a pact with Satanl that if I finished I'd name all my future children after him.  HA! Future children?!!

(Re)Balance

Almost a year ago I entitled a post `Balance.'  Had to do with balancing job, family, training, private time, time to do nothing.  I didn't and still don't know anybody who can do it all well.

Now that I'm retired I have a new set of factors that don't include `job' and a few other things.  The transition, for a type A kind of guy, needs to be considered well in advance or you'll experience the `Wiley Coyote Syndrome,' i.e., the absence of demanding schedules and professional adulation will make you feel like you ran off a cliff and the bottom dropped out from under you.

Action Defines Us.   And it requires structure, initiative and determination to re-manufacture relevant meaning in one's life. 

I'm experiencing two important discoveries.  First, spending more time training on the bike takes a toll on my post-training energy.  At this point in my training the naps become more frequent and my sleep is deeper and more satisfying.  Second, I'm tempted to put non-training things off until later.  Part of that has to do with the post-training fatigue.  A fair amount, though, has to do with a sense of anxiety about `change.'  I don't entirely understand, yet, what that anxiety is about but it's getting clearer and clearer --- that's what maturity helps with: one works on a thoughtful `response' instead of just `reacting.'

More later about this topic but it is as relevant to my training as everything I've done in the past.  Training has to be what you WANT to do, not something that is an addictive distraction from floating anxiety.

Can't learn if you don't try ...

Everything carries some risk.

Those of us who think they avoid risk are, in fact, risking the possibility of a good outcome to an anxiety producing stimulus.  Those of us who withdraw from recognizing this, those of us who make our world smaller and smaller by trying to eliminate anxiety live truncated and sad lives.

So, our task is to attempt to improve our judgment as to what constitutes a calculated risk for an outcome that is worthy.  How do we improve our judgment?  By taking risks, becoming experienced, getting some knocks along the way that motivate us to exercise better judgment the next time.

Today I did what is becoming my usual training run.  A 35 mile up and over out and back course with lots of hills, turns, burning sun and threatening wind and thunderstorms.  An excellent training course.

Navigating a 2 mile descent to the turnaround point there are many twists and turns in the road.  Today I encountered a `crease' in the road surface at one of the turns while doing 35.1 mph (according to the Garmin) and feathering the brakes.  My wheel drifted in and out of the crease in the road and I went down, sliding about 15 yards to the sandy shoulder of the road.  I got three nice, red skin burns (aka `road rash') destroying my shorts and an arm `cooler' in the process.  Mountain training course - Crease in Road

What did I learn? 

• To be alert to that curve and crease.  
• That I made a good decision in buying cheap riding shorts at Walmart.  
• That when something like that happens it is best to take an inventory of your body first, the bike next.  
• To do whatever road repairs necessary to safely finish the training course.  
• To finish.  
• To finish!

A fellow in the group with which I was riding was coming back up the mountain and was good enough to stop and offer assistance.  I asked him if, when he got within cell phone service, he could call my wife to get her to come get me.  He made sure I had food and water and took off.  I got the bike back on the road, rode to the turnaround point and started back up the mountain.  When he got to the start point (Safeway) he drove back, halfway to Wilhoit, in his car to assure I was o.k..  He offered to drive me back.

What a great fellow!  Again, he assured I had food and water and even offered to give me `a push' as we were on a 6-7% incline.  I thanked him profusely but declined the offers.  As for the push I told him that my `ego' wouldn't allow me to accept it.  We shook hands and I assured him I would `pay it forward.'  I took off and as he drove past me he honked and I waved. 

Perhaps more importantly, today, I learned that I need to begin to modify my training program to include short uphill intervals.  I was passed by a handful of DF cyclists while climbing the 4 mile elevation to a `rocky top.'  Though I am improving my endurance I need now to carefully but deliberately begin intervals.

I'll review my plan to include this 4 mile 3% - 8% series of steady inclines so as to ... go faster.

A good day!!

Dearth! Calamity.

Not as in `Darth Vader.'  Dearth means there is a relative scarcity of something. 

There is a `dearth' of recumbent cyclists where I live.  Almost, in fact, an utter absence of bent cyclists. 

I can understand why, of course.  Today, on what is becoming my frequent training run, http://connect.garmin.com/activity/104259159 I did 34.75 miles and climbed 3,277 feet at an altitude of 6000 feet.  Most of the course was between 4% and 8% grades (out and back so I got what I gave) in just over 3 hours. 

When I think of doing 34 miles in just over 3 hours when living in Illinois I'd have probably just sold my bike and taken up recreational drinking til the end.  But today there were as many 5 mph uphill grinds as there were screaming 36 mph descents. 

--------------------------

During my training today I encountered packs of recreational motorcycles, two and three at a time.  They looked like they were loaded up for long distance riding and it appeared to be a motorcycle club probably out of Phoenix going north. 

As I returned from the `out' limit of today's course I was going up the Bradshaw Mountain two lane road with numerous switchbacks and sheer drop-offs to the right.  About 3 miles into the return I noticed a fellow standing at the bend of a switchback, stationary.  Who is that?  Why is he just standing there? 

As I neared the sharp bend to the left in the road I then noticed about 12 motorcycles, two SUVs and lots of fellows clustered near the edge of the cliff.  I was wondering: "What?!  Are they taking pictures of the valley below?"  Until I got closer and realized that there were two feet sticking up from a stretched out body. 

I pulled over and was prepared to help if possible.  No need.  At least, as I write this there seemed to be no need. 

One of the motorcyclists was either taking the ascending switchback too fast or he was not paying attention.  In any event he just drove right off the road - no skid marks --, off a cliff and into a ravine about 100 - 200 feet below.  His mates saw this and came to his aid ... at least, this was certainly their intention. 

His motorcycle was deep down in the ravine among the rocks and brush.  He was apparently brought out of the ravine and laid out on a flat section of road.  The fellow attending to him was asking him to tell him the day, what date it is.  He was laying there motionless, his eyes open, unblinking and dilated.  No response.  Motionless. 

The fellow I saw at the corner of the switchback was calling for help on what must have been a satellite phone (because there is no cell service in this remote location). 

I hope that my conclusions about what I saw are incorrect, that he was just dazed and unhurt.  But further up ( 30 minutes!) in my ascent into the mountain road came four emergency vehicles including an ambulance. 

Pay attention, mates.

45 miles, 3800 ft, 4 hours

Going south from Prescott the rider has two choices.  One option is to take 89A; the other is to take Iron Springs Road.

89A to Wilhoit has more ups and downs and turns.  The rider does have to deal with 6-8% grades but rarely for more than half a mile before there is a `false flat' offering a short respite. 

Iron Springs to Skull Valley and back is a course that is dramatically different.  Briefly out of town one hits the top of a hill (6,014 ft elevation). From there it is 12 miles of almost full-time decline to Skull Valley.  And the rider has to `pay for it' on the return.

The route south to Skull Valley took about 1:25:00.  The return took almost twice as long (2:30:00).  No false flats.  Common inclines of 4-8%, reaching 9-11% briefly.  When I am riding a 2% incline I have the sensation that it is `flat' and that I can stop pedaling now.

The reward for getting back to the top of Iron Springs road from SV is an almost 1.5 mile series of declines to the more populated Prescott area ranging from 4-9%. 

Today, on the descent I reached 48.2 mph into a headwind.

Heart and lungs doing well.  So are the legs.

Here is the Garmin data from today's training ride.

Skull Valley via Iron Spring Road

Training is on track

Plan was to ride from my house to Wilhoit and back: 35 miles.  Nothing special, just over the mountains and back.  Got to Wilhoit and was tempted by the 7 mile downhill to Kirkland Junction on new pavement. 

Current gearing is o.k. for the 4 - 9% grades along this route.  But got totally squeezed almost empty with the 11 - 17% grades I ran into.  Thats why the gearing changes needed. 

P'cott to KJ an back

Note my observation about Garmin.

I'm changing my gear setup for the hills and mountains

As a caveat, I am not a mountain bike owner or rider.  No off-road dirt trails (yet) for me.  So the gearing description that follows relates to recumbent road bike riding and racing.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I'm changing my gearing setup to accommodate the hill training. 

Currently I'm running a SRAM Force 53-39 130-BCD Q-Ring setup up front with an 11-28 ten speed cassette in the back. 

I'll be switching to a SRAM Force compact crank 52-36 110-BCD Q-Ring upfront and not changing the rear cassette. 

Essentially, I'm giving up one tooth (from 53 to 52) on the big ring to gain three (from 39 to 36) on the small ring.  The smaller the `small' ring the more likely I'll be able to climb hills with inclines in the teen percentages (i.e., 13% - 18% incline) when needed (for example, switchbacks on mountain roads, i.e., Mingus Mountain and from Sedona to Flagstaff, etc). 

As well, the smaller `small' ring may be helpful when grinding up mile after mile of 7% - 11% inclines. (Yarnell Grade, Iron Springs road to Prescott from Skull Valley).

I could opt for a long-cage RD that would permit an 11-34 cassette but ... I just don't want that pizza pan size ring back there. 

A comment about (what I consider to be) the relatively small big ring.  

In the past, when my training and racing terrain was mostly flat with a few short 6% inclines every now and then, I would want to keep my pedaling RPM lower (85 - 95) when I had a tailwind.  This RPM range suits my weight to power ratio. 

My front big chain ring had 60 teeth.  This allowed me to frequently exceed 30 mph for extended periods of time.  (On one race [Race Across the West - 2010] I found myself averaging 40+ mph on a flat and glass smooth road with an 18 mph tailwind.  This went on for more than 15 miles).

Now that my training and racing terrain is mostly hills and mountains ... I don't need a 60 tooth big chain ring.  When descending even 3% declines my speed approaches 40 mph with the smaller front big chain ring.  Short of the TdF these descending speeds keep me well in the competitive range. 

If and when I'm racing ultra distances and have a follow vehicle and a crew it might be smart to have two bikes to accommodate both flat terrain and mountainous terrain.  One bike would be geared for the flats (big front chain ring).  The other bike would be geared for long and steep inclines. 

Perspective thoughts ...

As I peck out these words I'm sitting in our home, looking out over a few dipping valleys and buttes toward the horizon filled with taller mountains.  Sunsets are crimson along the rim of the full horizon.  The temperature is around 81, humidity 30%.  Rolling thunder in the distance though there is just a mild overcast.  The `monsoon' months of July and August.  Cools off and the humidity drops in September.  Sweater season starts December for a few months.  Some snow at times amounting to several inches but it all melts away in days.  A few really cold nights (7 degrees) just to remind us that we're 5,625 feet high.

There could not be a more dramatic difference from Chicago just less than 10 days ago.  Our Chicago friends report temps in the 98 degrees and humidity to match.  "It's hard to even breathe here."  Chicago reported the most rainfall in any 24 hour period in recorded history yesterday: as much as 7 inches in some places. 

Here, `home' in Prescott, we're finding that the altitude adjustment is subtle but progressing nicely.  Afternoon naps a must.

Taking off from our front door yesterday I rode just under 13 miles in 1:14:00.  This works out to an average incline of 2%.  But it doesn't reflect the fact that much of the route was comprised of 4 - 8% inclines, reaching into the double digit inclines on several occasions.  On the way back I reached 41.3 mph on a slowly twisting downhill stretch.  Friday Training Ride

THEN:

• My `job' required me to be sitting 11 hours per day.   
• I sat another 2 hours commuting no less than 75 miles each day to and from my practice.  Fuel for my pickup was rarely less than $450 each month.   
• And when I needed to train for long hours I'd have to pack the bike into the pickup and drive 105 miles, round trip, to the flat and rural farmland roads. 
• I rarely saw the front of our house because the garage was in the back and I had to drive everywhere. 
• Shopping and going to stores required navigating heavy traffic almost all times of the day.  
• Sitting in our back yard we couldn't hear one another speak because of the airline jets flying in and out of O'Hare Airport, the freight train and commuter train lines (2!) half  block away, and two major interstate highways half a block away.  

NOW:

• I don't commute at all.  
• We can't move 10 yards from our home without going uphill or downhill.  
• Everything is within 4 miles of our house (downhill).  
• I ride from my front door to train on both hills and flats.  
• Our second story porch faces the west and we sometimes whisper so as not to disturb the humming birds nearby.  
• Cars and vehicles are quarantined/restricted to a nearby parking area, leaving the meandering road in front of our home free for people to walk, sit in the small park in front of our house, sometimes stop and chat with one another.
• My first night here I woke up because it was too quiet.  
• We saw a handful of shooting stars last night.
• My body is adjusting to the reality of not sitting for half the day; I'm sometimes tired, even sore.  But less and less each day. 
• On days when I'm not training on the bike I'm doing errands and getting our house together, climbing hills, carrying things, walking to and from the city center, Farmer's Market, etc.... 

Though this is a more substantial physical experience than I had anticipated ... it makes all the sense in the world.  I have my body back all day, every day.  And there is no time, mileage, urban barrier to keep me from doing what is needed or wanted.

Modified my Training Plan - Next 5 weeks

Like everything I've done in my life I've set goals that are about 50% too big.  I did that a few weeks ago with my AZ training program. Yesterday's experience (felt wiped out) helps me `inform' my thinking so that I don't overtrain (and miss out on the rest of life).

Because the terrain around Prescott is hilly to mountainous it requires some `grinding' up 6% - 9% hills for at least half of every training workout.  Far less `gliding along' even though there are lots of downhills.  (Interesting, the downhills really demand riding skill improvements ... essentially making them almost as difficult as the uphills).

So, I'm focusing less on Miles trained and more on Time and Intensity.

Next week I've got 11 hours scheduled, the next 12.5 hours, next 14.5, next 18 (which may be too demanding).

The temptation to take advantage of the wonderful training opportunities here requires real discipline.

There is that `balance' thing in life.  Not to mention the fact that `overtraining' plays more havoc than `undertraining.'

And, though I hate to say it, being 65 yrs old may have some impact on my physical ability to recover one day to the next.

Attacked by tumbleweeds ...

After a few hours of shakedown and dialing in the gearing I managed to get out for 25 miles of gently rolling hills (max 3%), out and back today.  First time on the bike in probably 3 weeks.  Rode the high plateau road from Chino Valley to just past Paulden and into the northerly section of the Prescott National Forest.  Great road, good shoulder.  Still when out in the AZ high desert and heat I use tire liners between the tire and the tube to add that extra margin against flats.

I certainly need to get back into regular training because I was feeling a little tired at the end of the ride.  Fortunately, it is very likely that this will be the most consistent and potentially challenging training I've ever been able to do in my life.

A pretty stiff westerly wind whipped up something I've never encountered before: an `attack' of tumbleweeds being blown across the road.  Started looking for Roy Rogers, Gene Autrey ...