Speedplay pedals

 

Probably not an equivalent problem on recumbents, but ...

A few weeks ago a buddy (a physician) told me about a serious injury he received when clipping into his Speedplays on his DF.  The cleat didn't completely clip in, he pushed down hard on the pedal to get started.  Instead, his foot slipped off the pedal, he literally catapulted over (to his left), landed hard on his head and his left shoulder.  He was knocked unconscious for more than 20 minutes.  Given that this was a concussion he suffered proximate memory loss and serious shoulder injury (but, fortunately, no broken or separated bone).  Wisely, his own physician recommended against open road cycling for several weeks to be certain that there wouldn't be sudden dizziness or disorientation.

Yesterday, I was starting out on a training ride with a few buddies and the exact same event happened.  Fortunately there was no loss of consciousness.  BUT my buddy's helmet was cracked in half.  Imagine if he hadn't worn that helmet.

My own issue has more to do with the SIDI shoes I wear ... when I wear them.  (Another reason I wear sandals or shoes with recessed cleats).  The `plastic' bottom of the SIDI shoes slips on the pedal when I try to clip in.  In very hilly terrain, when starting uphill trying to clip in ... I have to be very, very careful not to slip off the pedal with the shoe.  If I `miss it' I usually tear some skin on the ankle and have to scramble fast to recover my balance on the bent.

Mountain `Road' Racing on the Bacchetta Carbon Aero 2.0

The Skull Valley Loop Challenge for 2014 takes place on Sunday, September 21. 

  

This is a short (53 miles, 4,000 ft of climbing) `ride' that many of us use as a `race.' Some screaming descents and witheringly long climbs. (vid of descent)

 

My current training schedule is probably too aggressive. (below).  But ... I can revise it as things evolve / develop.  

 

I had earlier planned on using both an upright bike and the recumbent on this year's race.  But, as it turns out, I am climbing faster on the recumbent.  So it'll be just the Bacchetta Carbon Aero 2 recumbent.  Gearing is 58/49 upfront and 11/36 (10 spd) in back.

  

Most of my training is done with my two good friends and neighbors, Forrest Holly and Dave Dornbush.  We've formed a `mutual annihilation society.'   

 

I'm also attaching the training routes, miles and climbing feet for each training route.

 

TRAINING SCHEDULE: Aug 28 - Sep 19: With Ridewithgps.com links

  

I've not assigned discrete training tasks for each day but I'll use the Bacchetta Ti Aero to train on for all but one Skull Valley Loop circuit and I'll incorporate the following training methods: 

• intervals
• tempo
• strength training (climbing in high gear, keeping HR Zone 3 or below)
• low and slow (aerobic)
• bridging
• ankle pedaling
• bike handling on fast descents

Given that my `ready to ride' weight is currently hovering around 175 I'd like to get it down to 165 on race day.  Dicey.

 

Annie, my wife, will meet me at the top of Iron Springs Road (MP 7.5) with a bottle of water with electrolytes.  Then she will meet me at MP 298 (mile 40) again with another bottle of water with electrolytes.  I'll `preload' with a liquid formula of maltodextrin and protein powder.  During the race I'll consume Hammer Gel from a 4 oz plastic squirt vial.  No solid foods for two days preceding event.  External catheter (oh, get over it!). 

 

I don't intend to stop during the `race.'  I'll be using the `blue bike,' i.e., the CA2.  I'll be carrying no tools, no extra tire, no extra clothing.  If I get a flat or a mechanical ... I'm over.  Cooked.  I'll sag it to the end.   

 

My PB on this course is 2:49:00 in 2012.  I'm going to try for 2:30:00 this year.   

 

As you can imagine I'm over-involved in this craziness.  Why else would I be cathexing like this in such a public manner?

Goal # 1

175 lbs.

Accomplished.

Am I a cynic? Or what?

The more I attempt to improve my performance the more I find I have grimy little pockets of self-deception that I have to deal with. 

Only recently have I conceded that I have to drop to no more than 165 lbs to cross the barrier from `finisher' to `wiener' (uh, I think I mean `winner').

Intervals.  I've avoided them.  I actually restricted my cycling to `ultracycling' so as avoid intervals.  Intervals are uncomfortable, hard and sometimes just really scary. 

Sandbagging.  I'd carry the kitchen sink on training rides.  The deceptive rationale was: "I can't go fast because I'm carrying too many tubes, tires, clothes, tools, too much water, food, etc."  And then I'd find cover in "but I'm an ultracyclist and you don't want to be caught out on the Mongolian Steppes without at least four gallons of Hammer shit." 

Today I read about a fellow who managed to do a sub-4 hour 100 miler.  I'm purposely going to not name the fellow or the bike because I'm trying to be less of a prick these days.  Most of the time. 

The sub-4 guy attributes his accomplishment to the wonders of the bike he rode (he owns the company, as it turns out).  Claims the bike is special, remarkable, brilliant, etc. 

It's not.  But it is different. 

`Different' is like the right shoe is different from the left shoe. 

`Special' is when the right shoe also works on the left foot. 

His bike ... it's good on the flats, with few intersections, with little vehicular traffic, with a tailwind, is really aero ... and is mechanically reliable as long as you have a pro mechanic or two to keep it working. 

Hype. 

So. 

• I'm a inveterate rationalizer. 
• A wiener (I mean `winner'). 
• I procrastinate. 
• I make up excuses. 
• I'm not as much the prick I used to be. 
• And I have less patience with creepy generalizations. 
• Maybe, too, I'm a cynic. 

Nah.  I'm not a cynic.

I'm a sharp-eyed, no-bullshit skeptic. 

BOOJWAH!!

(Boojwah: Something distasteful. A replacement for the swearword "bullshit" Can be used to describe something stupid or annoying.  Source.)

Be suspicious of things when they go well. 

The `addiction' voice says: Wow!  If you've made such progress with the current level of effort think what you could do with 2  X the current level of effort.  

--- 

What is the definition of a fanatic? 

A fanatic is a person who redoubles his effort as soon as he loses sight of the objective. 

But what is the `objective?'

---

Only through error, mistakes and wasted effort have I learned that the effort to `be the best that I can be' regarding cycling .... it isn't worth it. 

One surefire way to live a life of thin gruel is to `hide out' in the few areas in which we excel. 

And then we find `WHAMMO!'  Life has passed us by while we've been diligent in burying our head, seeking blindness, numbness and order.

---

Standing near that precipice, that slippery slope of `doubling up' my training I'm chuckling now and saying:

"Oh bullshit!  Ha!  This is just another trap."

Boojwah! 

Life's too short. 

Screw pouring all of my energy into `performance.'

Too many other interesting things.

• Friends
• Family
• Reading
• Napping
• Work (not `job')
• Things I haven't tried yet.
• Especially things I haven't tried yet. 

TURBO TECHNIQUES: Full Power Circle Pedaling and Ankle Pedaling

Yesterday I completed an out-and-back 100 mile course with 7,300 feet of climbing.  "Double Trouble Century"

I was the only recumbent cyclist among the nine of us.  Since it was a circular out and back course riders had the option of just doing one loop (50 miles).

This course is a very difficult climbing course.  Even more so given that we rode it counter clockwise.  The last half included 19.5 miles of unremitting climbing with the grade of climb increasing (7-9%) the last 4 miles. 

Physics and aerodynamics give the advantage to the recumbent on descents.  Less wind resistance.  Somewhat the same on flats but a very good upright bike cyclist can reduce or even eliminate these advantages (especially if several upright cyclists form a paceline and rotate taking the lead). 

I chose to live in this terrain (Prescott, AZ) because, in fact, it is mountainous.  Perhaps a consequence of my personality (adversity builds resilience and capacity) it is an even more demanding cycling terrain for recumbents.  Hence the fact that I am the only recumbent cyclist out here.  (There are a few other recumbent cyclists but they stick to the few flat areas and ride short, short distances for recreation). 

It is an oft referred to prejudice that 'bents can't climb.  To challenge this popular premise I've spent the past 3 years doing almost nothing but climbing (650,000 feet of climbing with 7,000 miles in '13).  The assumption on my part was that my climbing speed would improve the more climbing I did. 

I've learned that that is the `lazy man's' assumption.  My speed did NOT improve.  My stamina for climbing improved, of course, dramatically.  (I would always be the only recumbent finishing cycling events ... and almost always the last to finish). 

In 2014 I accepted the gentle and persistent advice of two outstanding recumbent cyclists: Jim Verhuel and Dennis Johnson.  Both advised me to deal with the fact that there is no way to cycle faster without building power.  And the way to build power is to a) get a power meter, b) do speed intervals and climbing tempo, c) carefully lose body weight (speed is a function of the power to weight ratio). 

Without much surprise my climbing speed has improved using these principles.  A careful training regimen to accomplish this outcome meant that I actually spent less time on the bike.  Instead of taking off for 11 hours every other day on long, slow endurance training events I would do 3 - 4 hours of short, fast and intense training.  The added `pain' of intense workouts was sufficiently mitigated by the fact that I had more time for friends, family and reading.  An unexpected (I don't know why it would have been `unexpected') benefit has been the fact that I'm much faster.  Very satisfying outcome. 

TURBO TECHNIQUES:

Along the way, this year, I rediscovered a `turbo' factor to my training to ride faster.  I call it `turbo' simply because there seems not to be another name for it.  The `turbo' factor is comprised of two pedaling techniques.  The first technique is `full power circle pedaling (FPCP).'  The second technique is `ankle pedaling.' 

Full power circle pedaling is nothing more than `pushing' with one leg while `pulling' with the other leg.  (This can be done only if the foot is attached to the pedal with a cleat or cage).  The `cost' of FPCP is the expenditure of more energy, i.e., increased heart rate and increased respiration.  Makes sense doesn't it.  Almost double the effort is rewarded with improved performance. 

Ankle pedaling seems to add another 10-30% to performance while not increasing the effort (some time in another blog entry I'll discuss this odd fact).  Feels like cheating :)  Getting something for nothing. 

Ankle pedaling recruits the shin and calf muscles.  The shin and calf muscles can be very strong in some people.  Use or overuse of these muscles can also cause painful splints, tendon damage and cramps.  Fortunately for me I have experienced none of these problems; quite likely because I have actively used them (without overuse) in many years of cycling. 

This year I have emphasized both FPCP and ankle pedaling in my training.  Lots of intervals and tempo.  For example, I would engage FPCP for 100 pedal strokes multiple times per training.  As well, I would `metricize' (i.e., 50 ankle strokes multiple times per training) ankle pedaling. 

I can understand why FPCP and ankle pedaling is received with mixed report by ultracyclists.  Anything that stresses or increases steady low-level effort results in compromised performance on ultra events.  Only so much juice in an orange.  Better to roll along at an average speed of 11.5 mph for 20+ hours than to `hammer' at 13 mph and burn out in 17 hours. 

This leads me to an increased appreciation for the accomplishment of Jim Verhuel.  Two years ago he broke a course record (perhaps a world record) for the most miles covered in a 24 hour event (Sebring 24 Hour).  Jim has been both an advocate (coach) and a practicing athlete in the use of the power meter (recumbent).  He has combined both power training and ultra cycling.  In my estimate, this goes beyond having been `gifted' the genes for athletic accomplishment.  It takes dedicated and disciplined training. 

So, on yesterdays `Double Trouble Century' I was able to finish the first lap `first'  (besting second place by 10+ minutes).  The other cyclists having dropped out or been slower.  No small accomplishment, I admit, for a cyclist on a recumbent.  It is more notable given that I was the oldest cyclist among us. 

NOTE: (That others dropped out does not mean they were incapable of being `first.'  They could simply have had something to do or someplace else to be.  Cycling has been, for me, a `humility training machine.') 

This result is attributable almost exclusively to the effect of focused training using the FPCP and ankle pedaling techniques. 

Train fast to race fast. 

On the second (`back') loop I did not have the stamina to maintain such a high level of performance.  I am concluding that with more training I would develop the essential stamina to maintain a high level of performance for the second loop. 

Ongoing Learnings From Training on Both Recumbent and Standard Upright Bike

Certainly, I've been very vigilant to not overtrain.  Rest is almost as important as planning and executing a smart training plan.

I use sections of the Skull Valley Loop for training tasks.  Long climbs, steep descents, numerous mountain switchbacks, desert heat, mountain cool air.  And, today, thunder, lightning and rain. 

The most productive training is on some of the shorter (4.3 miles of 6 - 9%) climbs and longer (12.5 miles of 2 - 9%) climbs. 

On each chosen segment I ride either the bent or standard bike.  I carefully track time, distance, average and max heart rate, elevation gain and loss.  I then compare each training event on that segment. 

Within the past six weeks I've been using `full circle pedaling' with both bikes.  Apply force pushing with one leg and pulling with the other leg.  Lots of `ankle pedaling' to engage the entire leg. 

To my surprise I'm climbing faster on the recumbent.  Much faster.  Which is interesting to me because the recumbent descends much, much faster than the upright bike.  So, if I can continue to develop strength and stamina on the recumbent using the full circle and ankle pedaling methods I may not further consider the upright bike for shorter (less than 100 miles) competition.

Today I rode the upright bike over the mountain on a 22.7 mile circuit.  It took me 13 minutes longer than on the recumbent bike two days ago. 

Along with careful data collection from my training rides it is becoming clear to me that a) the DF bike is agony to ride, b) my 'bent legs allow better stamina, power aand balance. 

And therein lies an incentive to emphasize full circle pedaling while climbing on the recumbent: riding the upright bike for any distance beyond 25 miles is an intensely painful experience. 

Yesterday (45.5 miles out and back on the upright).  My wife asked me on my return from training: "How was your ride?"  I replied, grimly: "Agony. Pure agony.  Shoulders, neck, wrist and hand numbness, arms, glutes, lower back, hamstrings.  All so painful halfway through the training that I'm sure it sucked energy from my performance." 

Upright Bike v. Recumbent Bike: Further Discoveries

Over the past few months I've made good headway on adding the DF to my cycling habits. It's taken some real discipline to do so because, as most of us know, DFs simply hurt.  The usual suspects: neck, shoulder, wrist, back, saddle sore.  

I've mitigated the discomfort by adjusting a few things:

• adjustable stem to lessen my `leaning' over the handlebars;
• double padding of the handlebar where my wrist presses down;
• tilted the saddle so that the only part of my butt that touches it are the seatbones; (this dramatically reduced the friction that was beginning to cause tissue soreness);
• raised the seat post so that I could get good torque on the pedals both when in the saddle and when pedaling out of the saddle.

Other things improved simply as a function of time on the bike:

• less severe shoulder and neck pain;
• stronger arms;
• better bike handling skills (muscle memory returned after a month).

But a few things remain problematic: 

• glutes and hamstrings are muscle and tendon that are both strengthening but need to be watched so that reasonable stress doesn't become abusive strain and injury;
• even with the `Gutr' the sweat pours down over my face and messes with my glasses (in the reclined recumbent position the sweat just rolls down my neck);
• I'm slower on the descents and flats simply because, no matter how I scrunch myself, I'm a bigger wind sail (less aerodynamic) than on my Bacchettas.

I go anaerobic faster primarily for two reasons:

• the heart has to push blood vertically more so than on the recumbent;
• the discomfort of being in the saddle, the sore glutes and hamstrings make standing on the pedals, out of the saddle, a relief.  This results in me being tempted to `hammer' more.  (I could just reduce cadence and lean / relax when standing but ... I haven't allowed myself to do that -- yet).  

---------------
There is no question in my mind that the DF is fun.  

• I'm faster when climbing;
• it is a more dangerous position (endovers are worse than full body road rash) and that affords me a completely stupid sense of thrill (call it a death wish if you want);
• I find myself `racing' other DF riders --- simply because there are no other recumbent cyclists out here to race on a pick-up basis.

BUT ....

• The DF is ungodly uncomfortable;
• I would never consider riding it more than 60 - 80 miles in one `sitting.'
• There is no comparison of the `enjoyment' factor between the DF and the recumbent.  
  • I look forward to the recumbent as a form of pleasure, giving me the opportunity to see the world around me when I'm riding.  Comfortably.  Can't do that on the DF.  
  • On the DF I'll always be aware of the discomfort factor.  Not so on the recumbent.  

Crotchrocket to Heaven - OR - Natural Selection in Action - OR - Another Road Shrine on the White Spars

Forrest and I decided to ride over the White Spars today.  Nothing intense or fast.  Time for a nice, slow, leisurely Sunday morning bike ride.

On the way back (just south of mile 20) I saw a firetruck, an EMT vehicle, a police car and three motorcycles off on the west side of the road  One of the motorcycle's front end looked like it was made out of clay and had been mangled.  All the motorcycles were of the `crotchrocket' variety.

The EMTs, fire personnel and police were standing deep in a ravine off the side of the road.  Below I noted a person laying on the dirt, on it's back, with a sheet over the top half.

That particular section of the road,(crotchrocket) when traveling south, is a steeply descending switchback.  Apparently one of the `rocketeers' chose to ignore physics and thermodynamics.

I'll Settle.

Tonight I pronounced, thoughtlessly, that I was `happy.'  And I immediately checked myself. 

All my life I've skirted around declaring `happy' about anything.  `Meaningful.'  `Useful.'  `Can't complain.'  But ... happy?  Nope. 

I'm refitting my upright bike so that it works better.  Since I've not used the upright bike for years the components were worn out and pretty much a hodge podge of incompatible parts. 

The right Ultegra shifter is a really banged up 9 speed.  The big ring up front is worn to the nub.  Shifting is sloppy. 

All my newer inventory parts are 10 speed so I bought a new Shimano 105 10 speed right shifter.  Replaced the big ring with a new one.  I've got a dozen nearly new rear 10 speed cassettes in inventory.   

Looking online at rear 10 speed derailleurs meant putting out anywhere from $65 - $110.  So I started digging around my derailleurs bin and found five almost brand new SRAM and Shimano 10 speed rear derailleurs. 

So I `felt' really happy.  I can finish the job tomorrow in half an hour with great drive train and shifting parts. 

It isn't so bad being an `inventory' freak.

HOPE

Maria Parker's determination to raise funds for brain cancer research is chronicled in this incredible feature film.

HOPE

I'm a Slow Learner

The motivation for athletic accomplishment is complex and multifarious.  My own motivation has been fundamentally to stroke my own ego.  There are other motives that are less vain and perhaps more reputable.  Introvert.  Health benefits.  A sense of control over the simple mechanical aspects of bicycles.  Ego.  And ... more ego.

RAAM.  Race Across America.  Several years ago this annual event was sponsored and run by a non-profit organization and then sold to a profit based private party.  Before the sale RAAM was apparently on the ropes because the non-profit organization did not have the resources to pull it off. 

I'm disenchanted with the RAAM organization.  It seems that it is nothing more than a marketing organization that holds a party on two coasts every year. 

I'm not disenchanted with a race across America, though. 

Is the `RAAM organization' worth it?  I don't think so. 

Its sort of like a new religion that sets itself up with rules, rituals, promises and entry fees.  History is littered with examples of people who convince themselves that `nothing' is really `something.'  The RAAM organization is not something that takes place between two coasts.  It takes place between two ears. 

Once the race starts it is literally `out of business.' 

For hundreds and thousands of miles there is no presence of the organization. 

Check points are mostly intersections on a map with nobody there. 

Racers are to call in when they get there ... the honor system. 

The organization has marketing and media teams that take pictures, videos, produce short internet bobbling head youtube videos. 

Data reported to the organization for presentation to the public via internet is late, slow, after the fact, rarely current and often inaccurate. 

So, admittedly, I don't get it. 

At least NOW I don't get it.  Because I was swept up in the race `hoopla' myself.  So that I could publicly scratch my ego. 

I can publicly scratch my ego for a lot less money and with a lot more validity without the organization. 

So ... it's a marketing and media organization.  Except for recording when the racers start and when they stop it throws parties on both coasts and ... is like a cult of true believers. 

I guess bowling is like that, too.  But a lot cheaper and without the hype. 

That's nothing new, though, for me.  I mean, being a `slow learner.' 

Slow, but I usually come around.  Often with a spongy sounding `thud.' 

RAAM - Is There An Adult In The House!

Brilliant!

RAAM Media puts out a 14 minute video clip about how RAAM Officials are out on the road making sure that "safety is our first priority." http://www.ridefarther.com/

And, of course, they film a RAAM Official driving and texting and reading email at the same time while she participates in an interview with the videographer. (6:50 into the June 19th video)

The clip shows two `racers' casually riding 2 x 2 on a two lane road with a passenger vehicle less than 10 feet behind them.

That shit just sickens me.

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

UPDATE:

I JUST WATCHED THE VID AGAIN.  SINCE I BROUGHT ATTENTION TO THIS LAST NIGHT (June 20) AT AROUND 11PM (Pacific Time) THE RAAM MEDIA CREW EDITED OUT THE TWO SECTIONS I NOTED IN MY POST FROM LAST NIGHT. 
 
FREEDOM OF THE PRESS IS GUARANTEED TO THOSE WHO OWN ONE. 
 
AN EXAMPLE OF DISHONESTY AND DECEPTION ON THE PART OF THE RAAM ORGANIZATION. 
 
HAVING BEEN A RAW PARTICIPANT, RAAM OFFICIAL AND RAAM CREW CHIEF I CAN ONLY CONCLUDE THAT RAAM (MIS)MANAGEMENT AND INCOMPETENCE IS ONE THING.

DISHONESTY AND DECEPTION, HOWEVER, CHEAPENS THE COURAGE AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF ALL RAAM AND RAW PARTICIPANTS.  

DRAW YOUR OWN CONCLUSIONS. 

Progress With Standard Frame Bike

The two wheeled bike many of us rode as kids goes by many names:

• standard bike
• diamond frame bike (DF)
• upright bike
• road bike
• cross bike
• mountain bike. 

This is an example of a contemporary `standard' bike.

Recumbent bikes tend to not have so many `names.'  But recumbent bikes all share a key feature of allowing the cyclist to `recline,' more or less, on the bike. 

I've been training on my DF Airborne Zeppelin road bike for the past few weeks and am relearning and learning some useful things.

First, I've confirmed that the DF bikes are faster when climbing.
 
Second, my heart rate when climbing on the DF is about 15% higher, in general.  Part of the increase is due to the fact that my heart has to pump blood perpendicular to the road surface.  On a 'bent I'm partially reclined and my heart doesn't have to fight gravity so much.

Third, getting re-acquainted with the hunched over discomfort in the DF position has been difficult.  But I'm surprised that only 12 - 15 hours of training (over several days) has resulted in a dramatic reduction of discomfort.  It's working.

Fourth, now that my heart rate is elevated and my upper body (shoulders, arms, neck) is more intensely used I'm becoming stronger and more fit.  I'm riding faster and with less perceived effort. 

--

I recently read an old thread that keeps coming up in cycling email forums about `best way to pedal.'  This is an area that is very unique and different for each cyclist.  So your experience may be different than mine. 

But I find that my cadence is faster, and that I'm much more quickly enlisting the entire leg (thigh, calf, shin and ankle) when I turn the crank.  And my cadence with strength and power is much faster. 

--

I'm really enjoying the DF and I'm even more pleased that my body is `learning fast.'  

Using Both Recumbent and Standard (diamond frame) Bike in a Race

In 2008 I completed an 8 day 900 mile trip through southern and central Indiana on my Airborne Ti Zeppelin standard (diamond frame) bike.  Having found meaning and expression in cycling all my life I was pretty shaken at the end of those 8 days: it was physical and emotional torture.  More pain (saddle sores, shoulder, arm, wrist, neck) than I could `rationalize.'   

Cycling had become a way for me to push back (be tough!) against the kinds of limits that life presents to us all: age, job, responsibility to find meaning, relationships.  But in 2008, when cycling went `flat' on me I was presented with a growing sense of worry, mild dysphoria.   Was my `tough' self defeated? 

What would I do with myself?   

We are all confronted with the `problem / opportunity' of making meaning in our life.  A need to express our self in ways that we consider useful, good, productive.   Sometimes we're able to do that in an abiding way.  A struggle, perhaps, but `worth it.'  Sometimes we're not so `able' to do that and wind up being frustrated and feeling empty inside.  Like "What's the point!" 

A friend suggested that I try riding a recumbent bicycle.  My reaction to his suggestion was: “A recumbent?  Why?  I don’t have any physical problems?  I’m not fat.”  But, I gave it a try and found it a very demanding athletic challenge.  (Bacchetta Ti Aero high racer). 

The recumbent bike has been one of the key methods by which I have been able to express myself in a useful (healthy) and productive way these past several years. 

--

I'm fortunate to have survived many of life’s adversities.   That is, the stupid stuff I've done hasn't had such crushing consequences that I couldn't recover.  (Just dumb luck!)

I live in what is called the `central highlands’ of Arizona.  The Bradshaw Mountains.  Nary a flat stretch of road for miles and miles.  Great training location for cycling.   But, for recumbent cyclists it can be a solitary experience. 

Recumbent bikes don’t climb as fast as standard bikes.  They are typically faster on descents and the flats than standard bikes.  There are no other recumbent cyclists out here.  It is just too damned hilly. 

The result is that when I ride with a group they are all on standard bikes.  They wait for me at the top of hills.  I wait for them at the bottom of hills.  Kind of herky-jerky.  Takes lots of the socializing and fun out of group rides. 

So I’ve done almost all of my cycling alone.  A guy can be `solitary’ just so much.  It’s good to have friends, acquaintances, shared activities, etc.  

--

A (very) long story short: I’ve taken up riding my standard bike again.   One day I ride the recumbent bike.  The next day I ride the standard bike. 

In fact, I went on a small group ride on my standard bike just a few days ago.  Met a new person and had the pleasure of the company of a few cycling friends. 

But I really, really suck on the standard bike!  It’s painful.

I’ve been off it so long that I don’t have the capacity to deal with even a few hours of the discomfort standard bikes require (hunching over the handlebars; shoulder, neck, arm, wrist fatigue; saddle sores).  But … I think I can reduce the discomfort with consistent and progressive training on the standard bike.  Enough so that I participate in group rides with the locals. 

--

Herewith enters the `tough guy.

I want to do a race using both the standard bike and the recumbent bike. 

Climb with the standard bike.  And descend and do the flats with the recumbent bike.  Best of both cycling `platforms.’ 

I do know of cyclists who are `good’ on both kinds of bikes.  But there are no `races’ that permit, allow, the racer to interchange bikes during the race.  (That I know of).

There are, however, cycling events that are challenging, recreational and don’t restrict the cyclist to any one platform.  The event that I’m giving some thought to is the Skull Valley Loop Challenge
http://www.prescottbikeped.org/prescottcycling/loopchallenge/.  It is an annual (September) open invitational cycling event in Prescott, Arizona. 

The SVLC is a 52 mile loop through the Bradshaw Mountains.  Lots of climbing and descending (about 4,500 ft).  I’ve `raced’ this event three times in the past three years.  I know of no two wheeled recumbents ever doing this event.  (But Mike Cash raced his Ice Trike at the Skull Valley Loop Challenge last year.  Riding trikes in this terrain is even more uncommon than two wheeled recumbents). 

With a vehicle and a crew of one or two I’d switch bikes (standard to recumbent to standard) about three or four times.  There are two long ascents and two long descents with very little flat to rolling terrain. 

My best time is 2:49:00 (2012) http://connect.garmin.com/activity/223495272.  At this point I wouldn’t venture a `goal’ finishing time.  But I could guess that I could take 25 minutes off of that PB. 

 

Multiple Bike Types in Cross Country Race

Wouldn't it be cool to do a raam style event (without the glitz, hype, "charity" charades, etc) allowing for recumbents, cross bikes, mountain bikes and DFs available to the racer.

Some off-road / mountain bike / gravel race routes could be included, too.

I think it is essential to have support vehicles (two) for a cross country event.

However, I don't think it necessary to have the same crewmembers all the way across the country.   Two `core' crewmembers would do the whole trip.  The other crewmembers would start and stop every 300 - 500 miles.  Different crewmembers. 

Maybe the crew would use their own vehicles, and `relay' bikes and provisions to the next crew and vehicle.  Even use mountain / cross bikes `borrowed' and left behind. 

A few dry runs for shorter distances (1,000 miles) and safer routes would work out some logistics and offer productive lessons.

I  might do it.

"So I just laid down on the road."

I was driving back home after a long solo bike ride on a stretch of empty, desolate, desert road in the middle of scorching Arizona.  On a turnoff into more empty, desolate, desert road I came across a school bus is stopped in the middle of the road.  No bus lights were flashing.  And there wasn't a kid in sight.  But the car in front of had stopped as well.  We're waiting for the kids to be discharged, etc.  

Nothing is happening.  No kids visible, neither in the bus nor out of the bus.  But the school bus is half on/off the road. 

After 5 minutes the car in front of me slowly drives to the left of the school bus and stops.  I watch as the driver rolls her window down.  A fellow steps out from in front of the school bus and is talking to the driver.  A minute later the driver's window goes up and she drives off leaving the fellow still standing there in the road.

I slowly drive to the left of the school bus and stop.  Same guy in front of the bus.  I roll down the window.  The guy has his shoe in his hand, gestures in 3 - 4 directions, explaining something.  He says something about the police being called.  I assume there is mechanical problem with the bus.  Then the guy asks for ride to Congress (15 more empty miles ahead) where he'll meet police.  

Sure. 

So the shoeless guy gets in the car and continue on to Congress.  He is clearly tense, nervous, hyperverbal - and smelly.  He says he has been `on the road' for a few days.  He "tried" to get a ride at the last intersection but nobody would stop.  He says: "I'm tired, hungry, thirsty and my feet are killing me.".  

Then he said he just got frustrated and decided to just lie down in the middle of the road to "make the bus stop."  

I'm curious.  Alert for danger, etc.  But there didn't seem to be a hint of danger.  

I'm trying to think of some kind of conversation for the next 15 miles to Congress that won't result in an `episode.'

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

ME: "So. Um. How was the road? Warm?"

HIM: "Yeah. Not bad. Hard. But o.k."  "I'm going to the Hillside church because I live in Yava." 

ME: "Yava?"  (Yava is a barely a faded bent up road sign next to a cattle guard on another desolate road in a desert canyon).

HIM: "Yeah. Yava."

ME: "Couldn't be more than 3 people in Yava."

HIM: "Twelve of us, actually." 

I get to the gas station at Congress, drop him off, wave goodbye.  

The `West' IS wild. 

RAAM '14: Sedona to Flagstaff Forest Fire - Possible Bypass Routes

Today they opened 89A from Sedona to Flagstaff to residents and business owners about 3 hours ago. But utilities, etc, are patchy at best and Fire Service, utility (electric, gas, etc) vehicles, ADOT and construction vehicles crowd the road.

The Forest Service plan is to allow the fire to continue to burn through non-residential areas until it reaches an area they have cleared with fire breaks. This is the smart play for the forest fire folks because it would use up the dry brush and tinder and eliminate the risk of future fires in this area for decades. Also, it puts no lives or property at risk.  

 ---

There are 10 days til RAAM starts and probably 12-13 before solo racers get past Jerome into Cottonwood. 

IF the road is opened to RAAM racers and traffic by that time it will be even more crowded and dangerous than in the past. You'll be breathing ash. Direct Follow may not be allowed. Leap Frogging will require you to compete for pullouts with the vehicles I described above.
 
The Boethlings will probably want the route to go through Jerome, as in the past. Once you're down from Jerome, though, there is really only one `decent' bypass. This should / would likely be it:

Cottonwood - 260 - I17 - Flag. http://ridewithgps.com/routes/4869893

The other roads would be through Cornville to I-17 or from Sedona on 179 to I-17.

The Cornville road is not much more than a strip of oiled dirt with no shoulder, heavily travelled by trucks, haywagons and horsewagons.

179, once you get past the Village of Oak Creek is very dicey. Narrow, two lanes, fast moving vehicles (trucks, commuters), one foot shoulders, twisty and densely traveled.

I'm Ever Learning From Joe Friel (And So Many Others)

Basic Questions About Power Meters

600K Brevet - Exhaustion beats Suffering Every Time

DNF'd on the 600K AZ Brevet over the weekend.

22.5 hours in the saddle brought another CA2 rider and I into Bisbee (230 miles and 12,000 ft of climbing) at 3:40AM. I don't know for sure but the SSW winds gusting to 30+mph probably forced half of the riders to miss the cutoff times at control points well before 100 miles.

Had I continued on I would have had to get only 2 hours sleep and then pushed straight into a growing (25-30 mph) wind for another 145 miles. I've been exhausted after a cycling event before but this one is among the top five. It was a smart move to pack it in.

In terms of `suffering' it was a 3 out of 10.  In terms of what it would have taken out of me to finish (exhaustion) it would have been a 12 out of 10.  In my book, at this time, the exhaustion would not have been worth it, i.e., wise. 

Quality v Junk

Yesterday I had planned to ride 55 miles with 5,200 feet of climbing. 

That's a lot of climbing. 

I didn't do it. 

About 10 miles into the training I found myself loathing the thought of spending 6 or more hours on the bike, by myself. 

A week earlier I had served as a `domestique / crew' for a good friend who was attempting to do 200 miles in 12 hours.  We started riding at 6:30am on good road, cool temps and almost no wind.  By 8:AM the wind was howling.  Sand, dust, tumbleweeds flying across the road and into our face. 

I saw it my duty to serve as a windbreak for her.  First `paceline' style.  Then `echelon' style.  After 6 hours of on again off again riding, getting water, fluid, food, etc. I decided to `pack it in' and leapfrog her from my car. 

I managed to cover 97 miles during that 6 hours.  For all practical purposes it was both fast tempo and interval training the entire time. Though I was pretty beat by the end I felt really great about the `quality' of the training. 

My `domestique' experience pulled the rug out from under my excuses for avoiding `quality' training. 

So, yesterday I decided to cut my training ride short by doing a fast 35 miles with 3,600 ft of climbing: 3:00:00.  35 minutes faster than I usually do that route.  It wasn't as `painful' as I had expected. 


GETTING INTO A JUNK MILES RUT:

Laziness (and a few aspects of my temperament) has had  me doing long hours and distances on the bike for the past few years.  Here are some of the weak excuses I made for doing `junk' miles:

• the desert is mystical, beautiful and I love the solitude;
• if I exert too much energy on the hills I'll `blow up' and bonk;
• the 15 or 20 lbs of weight I'm carrying needs to come off before I do any serious training;
• my friends, associates and neighbors know me as a long-distance junkie and that appeals to my ego;
• I'm afraid that I push to hard at my age I'll injure myself. 

This is just so much bullshit! 

These are the real reasons I do junk miles:

• laziness. 
• avoidance: anxiety about having to decide to invest myself in other things that may frustrate me, not be satisfying, at which I may be average;
• worry that I'll not find anything I `like' and will be knocking around doing pointless `busy' work;
• ego;
• ego;
• ego.  

TRAINING FOR QUALITY:

• Every other day I'll train. 
• My training will be `smart,' intense and not go on and on for hours and hours. 
• I know I rebel against following a strict calendar plan (e.g., Tuesday, intervals, 60 minutes, etc; Wednesday, 90 minutes of tempo, etc).  So I won't set myself for predictable failure;
• Intensity over long Zone 1 and Zone 2 slogging.

WHAT TO EXPECT:

• Less (and better) time on the bike will confront me with more time on my hands;
• I will invest more time in social interaction with friends, coworkers and acquaintances;
• I will no longer be `special,' i.e., that guy who is a long-distance junkie;
• I will experience failure more often as I work to improve my times; 
• Failure scares me and I `catastrophize' that I will be ... not fast.  (No!  I fear that other's will be faster than me and I'll be average).
• ego;
• ego;
• ego.

Blood Alley: RAAM Time Station # 10 (Tuba City, AZ)

Despite numerous incidents of RAAM cyclists getting hit by cars and trucks on AZ 160 near Tuba City (RAAM Time Station # 10) the RAAM Race owners (Fred and Rick Boethling) continue to ignore the urgent need to change this section of the RAAM route.

Family Killed in Traffic Accident near Tuba City AZ

The Importance of Getting it Wrong

Yesterday I was scheduled to ride for 3 + hours.  Up here in the Bradshaw Mountains my training courses are limited to lots of climbing, descending and tight switchbacks.

We had continuous strong winds in the range of 25 - 30 mph.  Funnel those winds into mountain cuts, cliffs and ravines and you get frequent gusts in the 40+ mph range.  So I drove about 40 miles south and 3,500 feet lower in elevation to train on a flatter, less dangerous surface. 

The plan was to do a 50 mile out and back on Eagle Eye Road from Aguila on US 60 to Salome Road.  The road quality is excellent.  And there is virtually no traffic.  At worst, a vehicle comes by every 30 - 45 minutes. 

50 Miles Of Eagle Eye Road

I used my Bacchetta Ti Aero recumbent bike, as I typically do for training rides.  As well, I recently bought a rear Zipp wheel with a Power Tap. 

On the return leg of the training ride, with 12 miles to go, I noticed the rear tire getting `soft.'  A very slow leak.  I'm guessing it was a `pinch flat' as I crossed a particularly rough cattle guard early on. 

Here is how I discovered what I had done wrong. 

Zipp wheels are notorious for being hard for mounting tires.  Worse, wire beaded tires are harder to mount on a wheel than `foldable' tires.  Even worse, Conti wire bead Hard Shell Gatorskin tires mounted on a Zipp wheel ... you're lookin' for trouble if you get a flat.

It was a bitch getting the tire off the wheel.  Because the rear wheel is a Zipp I use tubes with 80 mm valve stems.  I carried two extra tubes.  I punctured both tubes trying to get them on the Zipp wheel, under the Conti Gatorskin.

There I was.  4pm in the middle of the desolate Arizona desert with a flat that could not be fixed, 12 miles of empty desert from anybody or anything.

I wound up stuffing desert shrubbery (twicks, sticks, grass, dried out cattle dung) into the tire.  That gave me sufficient `filler' in the tire to limp back at 9 - 10 mph.

The Lessons:

1. Don't ride the empty desert with fancy wheels;
2. Don't use fancy wire bead tires on the Zipp;
3. Think this stuff through before blithely heading off into a location with no resources.

While I was `limping' home on my spongey rear tire a total of 3 vehicles passed me.  My life wasn't at risk but I placed myself in great risk of discomfort. 

Part of the interest I have in cycling `out here' has to do with the challenge of difficult situations. 

I'm fortunate to find meaning in adversity and problems.  But I have to do more thinking.



 

The `Almost' Perfect Course for DF / Recumbent Competition

DF (diamond frame) / upright / standard bikes are faster than recumbent bikes when climbing. 

(Sellers of recumbent bikes will differ in the same way Pope Urban VIII differed with Galileo in the 17th century about whether or not the sun revolved around the earth.  So be it.)

All things being equal (bike weight, cyclist weight and fitness) physics favors DF bikes in climbing. 

DF cyclists are advantaged over recumbent cyclists in climbing for one simple reason: they can get out of the saddle, drop (dead weight plus gravity) their entire weight on each pedal stroke, pull up on the handlebar.  This allows them to gain wattage / power at less physical cost. 

Recumbent cyclists are disadvantaged over DF cyclists in climbing because they can't drop dead weight onto the pedal.  All forward motion is generated exclusively by physical muscle, with no help from gravity.

---

On the `right' course a recumbent cyclist would be able to sustain continuous muscle power on a climb for a short enough time so that depletion, exhaustion and fatigue do not fully occur. 

On the `right' course the steep climbs (5% +) are short in distance.  (Without the advantage of dropping dead weight on a pedal the steeper the climb the slower the recumbent: fact).

On the `right' course the steep descents (6% +) are short enough so that simple aerodynamics don't favor recumbents, i.e., a skilled DF rider can descend as fast (or, almost as fast) as a recumbent.  (The steeper the descent the more the recumbent is advantaged by simple aerodynamics). 

On the `right' course there are limited `flat' miles where the aerodynamic advantage of recumbents is unquestioned.  (`Unquestioned,' at least by those who are not 17th century `faith-based' cyclists or sellers of recumbent bikes). 

---

This is the `almost' perfect course for DF / recumbent competition: 

The Skull Valley Loop Challenge

But I doubt that there will ever be an apples to apples DF / recumbent competition on this course. 

Why? 

• Because recumbent cyclists don't train for fast competition on hills. 
• Because DF cyclists do train for fast competition on hills. 

---

Why do I say `almost?' 

• Because ... DF cyclists are advantaged over recumbent cyclists for one simple reason.  (See above).

My First `Double Century': Joshua Tree 2014

This was my first formal `double century’ and I was curious how this might be different from brevets and other ultra events. So far as I can tell the difference must be in the number of people (164 for the JTDC14) and the many, many SAG stops (9).

Anny Beck, the event organizer, warned us many times in emails to be prepared for anything. So: a 3-liter camelback under the seat; two 24 oz bottles of liquid fuel; spare foldable tire; two tubes; cartridges, pump, tools; arm warmers and wind vest. A veritable `ton’ of weight.

Also, typically recumbents don’t form pacelines or echelons … because there usually aren’t enough of us in any event to do so.

I don’t mind taking pulls on an upright paceline but, as most uprights admit, they don’t get much draft from a recumbent. And I refuse to draft behind a paceline if I can’t `pay my way’ with pulling.

So … I rode the JTDC14 entirely alone. Didn’t recognize a soul.

Brutal wind. So many times as I was cranking uphill (2-5% grade) for hour after mile after hour I recalled what a fellow cyclist said at dinner the night before: “The worst for me is long, straight, 2% grades without any letup.” And I was thinking: “Jim must be hating this!”

It is exactly 27 miles of unrelenting 2-5% uphill grades from Desert City to Sag 7, 144.7 miles into 200 mile ride. North into a stiff 15-20 mph headwind. Midday. Intense, cloudless sky, beating sun.

Climbing doesn’t bother me, living in Prescott, AZ, as I do. I had done an out and back 90 miles from Prescott to Congress and back two days earlier. About 8,500 feet of climbing. And the tame 3%’ers put me into my usual `grind and bear it’ mode. 650,000 feet of climbing on a recumbent every year has a way of preparing you for hills.

All the upright / standard cyclists had formed protective pacelines of 5 – 9 riders, reducing the intense force of the wind. I felt sorry for myself. And … ANGRY, too. That 27 mile section is where I wasted myself (“burned all my matches”), becoming empty and hopeless by the time I got to SAG 7.

I was ANGRY that I was being passed by so many packs of upright cyclists! Anger got the better part of me and I decided to chase down every rider ahead of me and watch them getting smaller and smaller behind me in my mirror.

There is a `wind’ advantage to the recumbents. And as long as the grade is in the 2-3% range a fairly fit bent rider can hold his/her own. By the time I got to SAG 7 … I was barely able to walk straight.

I wear sandals / SPDs so hotfoot hasn’t been an issue for me for years.

When I got to SAG 7 I tried to quit. There was a SAG van with several bikes on top and their riders inside. I asked: “Is there any room for me?” The driver (Andy) said he’d “drop off” this “load” and come back from 29 Palms to get me in about “2 hours.”

I am constitutionally unable to “wait” for anything. I told him that I’d just take off up that series of godawful hills, into the wind and into the setting sun, taking up each of the remaining 52 miles, one at a time. And if he saw me on his way back … well, honk or something.

Slow, painful grind. Mile after mile. Reaching the summit after ten miles only to find it to be a false flat, followed by another slow grind.

Started at 4:30am.  Finished at 10:30pm.  18 hours at TwentyNine Palms, CA.

Unforgettable.

The final `finish’ report noted that 1 out of 4 riders starting didn’t finish.

http://ridewithgps.com/trips/2352851