Demands of Climbing on the Body

I rode the CA2 on a continuous and long 4 - 9 percent incline on a 20 mile course yesterday.  The steepest incline I've ridden in the past few months was 3 percent and then only for a short distance.  So this was a big change in riding terrain.

• I awoke this morning with a sore lower back.  I attribute this to the steep 8 percent degree of recline of my carbon fiber hard shell seat. 
• My front and rear chain ring combination is too severe, as well.  Front is 58/42 and the lowest ring in back is 34.  My rpm was way too low, probably around 75.  I have a lot of training to do the get the right muscle development that permits a higher rpm. 

Changes:

1. Decrease the angle of recline of the CFHS seat to about 22 degrees;
2. Switch to the Ti Aero with a triple crank up front (55/39/30) so I can get back to 95 rpm.

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April 2, 2016:

 

I modified my Ti Aero for climbing.  Double (50/34) up front with the 11/36 in back.  Decided against the triple up front.  Just don't need that low of a gear. 

 

Perfect gearing, though the relatively small big ring up front means that I spin out faster on the steep descents.

Steep Climb - 2016 Cycling Events

I really enjoyed flatland riding and training since the 12-24 Hour World Time Trials in Borrego Springs last November.  Borrego Springs is on the calendar again for 2016.  So many good things going for it.   But I doubt I'll do Bike Sebring next year.  Decent challenge but just too far away and too many logistical demands.  Sebring - A Road Too Far

 

Twelve days back from Sebring and today was my first time out on the bike since then.   Spent the time off the bike catching up on things I neglected. 

 

My criteria for cycling events for the remainder of the year include:

• Don't conflict with work or family responsibilities
• Within driving distance (600 miles or so)
• Not on dangerous roads
• Ultra but not too ultra (300 miles or 16 hours or less) 

This is the tentative 2016 cycling calendar:

• April: Joshua Tree Two Hundred  (Solo)
• May: Davis Double (Davis bike club)
• June: Terrible Two (Santa Rosa Bike club)
• July: Prescott - Congress Two Hundred  (Solo)
• August: Hoodoo 300 (Planet Ultra)
• September: Skull Valley Loop Challenge (Prescott Bike Club)
• November: 6-12-24 Hour Worlds Challenge  (RAAM folks)

Only one event (Hoodoo 300) will require crewing support. 

 

Lots of work ahead.  Drop weight.  Dial in the bikes for climbing events. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bike Sebring 2016

 

Next year I'll crew at Sebring instead of ride.  Logistics is the issue. 

1. Had to disassemble the bike. 
2. Pack up the bike in plastic bike boxes (3). 
3. Schlep the boxes to FedEx. 
4. Ship the bike to Sebring.
5. Unpack and assemble the bike. 
6. Deal with a mechanical problem (broken RD hanger).  (Allan Duhm saved my bacon by getting a RD hanger from Leroy's Bikeworks in Lakeland, FL.  Without his generous help ... I'd'a been a simple, plain spectator). 
7. Ride. 
8. Disassemble the bike. 
9. Pack up the bike.
10. Schlep the bike boxes down to the hotel holding room.
11. Ship the boxes. 
12. Pick up the bike boxes at FedEx. 
13. Unpack the bike. 
14. Assemble the bike again.

So.  Crewing is waaay better.

 

SOME PERSONAL OPINIONS - Not Intended To Piss You Off

I am generally disciplined and attentive to the possibility of drowning out the `signal' with `noise.'  That is, when I offer an opinion on a matter I try not to piss people off. 

If what I say does, in fact, result in a defensive or hostile response it troubles me and I wind up replaying the thing over and over in my head to see how I could have done it differently.

 

These, then, are my personal opinions.  They are as objective as I can make them.  If persons disagree with them I respect that.  Though my opinions may not shed new light on these issues I do hope that they don't generate `heat.' 

If you, the reader, wish to offer a comment to this blog post I will publish it only if it is not `anonymous.'  That is, be accountable.

 

Superman bars v. tiller:  if I were a fighter jet the issue of frontal area might matter.  But I just want to see what is in front of me better without a big riser pipe or handlebars obstructing my view.  Besides ... I wonder if, in a wind tunnel, handlebars and a riser pipe offer more or less frontal area than the tiller position.  `Angels on the head of a needle' thinking.

 

Rear wheel v. front wheel drive:

• FWD is a novelty and unnecessary. 
• In the terrain in which I live it is, in fact, more than unnecessary.  It is dangerous.  The FWD/MBB bikes I've owned (3 of them) were twitchy in steering and handling.  And very, very dangerous at fast (30 mph) speeds ... worse on descending switchbacks.
• The marketing pitch about how FWD exercises the upper body is not accurate.  If a person wants to exercise their upper body ... do some pushups and don't swallow the marketing pitch.    I sold two of them back to the manufacturer and gave one to an old peoples home as a stationary exercise bike.

 

Aero: If a bike is aero ... it is aero.  And that has nothing to do with whether or not it is a FWD or RWD bike.

 

Setting Records: Put a class A athlete on a class C bike and you're likely to get a class A performance.  Especially if the course is dead flat.  Especially if the class A athlete is supported by the class C bike manufacturer crew.  Don't make the mistake of thinking that the bike rode itself.

 

Bikes:  Ride what you like and like what you ride.                             

An Existential Assertion

I offer a different response every time I am asked why I do `the bike.'

Health.  Stress reduction.  It `wears me out.'  Etc.

Yesterday I added another reason.

I registered for a 12 hour `time trial.'  A race against the clock.  To cover as much ground (miles) as possible on the bike within the 12 hours.  

Objectively I did what I had expected.  Subjectively I gained much more than kudos for the numbers on the board.  

In the past I have often ridden the bike much, much further.  Taking more time to do it, with less intensity.  

So, yesterday, after 6.5 hours of intense effort without a break I was physically ready to call it a day.  ("Good numbers, Dan!") I did well, performance wise.  And here is where the `subjective' gain comes in.

I decided that I was going push on for another 5.5 hours, to pedal at a power level far greater than was comfortable.  Recalling my previous blog post on Degrees of Discomfort I was mindful of the fact that my discomfort level was past `soreness,' past `ache.'  But I didn't experience any `pain' that would be my body's way of telling me I was doing physical damage.  Even after the last 1.5 hours of almost maximum effort I just barely scratched `fatigue.'  

I've never pushed that hard, so consistently, for so long.  Every time my mph got below a figure I'd realize I was slacking off in effort and would increase the power and effort in pedaling.  

It was an endless dialogue.

"It would feel so good just to back off the watts."

"But you're only feeling the first two levels of discomfort (sore and achy).  That is not a good enough reason to back off the watts.  You're not risking physical damage or letting your ego talk you into injury."

And then I'd push harder.  

For 12 hours.  No letup.  

The `numbers on the board' mean almost nothing to me.  And the awareness that I have the fortitude to accomplish this `existential' assertion means everything to me.  A reason for living.

Sebring 2016 

Hearing Loss

When we age our `parts' wear out.  Our sense of `hearing' simply diminishes with time.  It is often a slow, barely distinguishable process. 

And then there are motorcycles. 

My hearing loss (left ear) happened fast.  Over less than a few months.  In April I could put my cell phone to my left ear and hear without a problem.  In June I could not. 

One of the local training routes is a mountainous two lane road, thick with ascending and descending switchbacks, that hangs off the edge of the Bradshaw Mountains in the Prescott National Forest.  In the winter there is very little traffic because of ice and snow.  The other nine months of the year hordes of motorcyclists practice suicides on this road.  Over the 17 mile length of the road I've counted more than 20 `road shrines' dedicated to motorcyclists who have careened off the cliff edges or smashed into the rock face. 

Motorcyclists like themselves to be noisy.  Big, blasting tail pipes.  Something between their legs that they otherwise lost many years ago. 

So, the hordes of lemmings on motorcycles that have made misery out of pristine nature have taken another toll: hearing in my left ear. 

Could be worse, I guess. 

Degrees of Discomfort

One of the reasons I cycle is the endless experience of self-discovery. 
 

Over the last few days I've been training on a course that encompasses all the best aspects of terrain.  Flats, hills, steep climbs, fast descents.  A 60 mile out and back course on road that is literally traffic free.  Long and short enough to offer both short time trialing and long distance training when ridden in multiples. 
 

After several hours I began to feel the usual discomfort one experiences when training.  I contemplated the nature of this discomfort.  Was it `pain?'  Was it `fatigue?'  'Soreness?'  `Aching?'
 

No pain.  No fatigue.  But I did experience soreness as I increased the watts of effort in pedal strokes.  Aching, too. 
 

Careful not to overdo it and cause physical damage I concluded that `soreness' and `aching' were forms of discomfort I could accept and keep pushing on. 
 

So, I've constructed a mental template of `discomfort' that will assist me in my training. 
 

• Soreness
• Aching
• Pain
• Fatigue

In competitive situations one certainly experiences discomfort.  And `discomfort' has a way of gnawing away at your consciousness, arguing to limit your effort so as to decrease the `hurt.'  Among the many mind tricks we employ in cycling (break a 100 mile course into ten sections of ten miles, imagining the sense of `victory' when crossing the finish line, etc) the `discomfort' ladder gives me another method to keep pushing.  

Or ...

 

What is `Metathinking?'

Metathinking is:   

"And just what is the effin' POINT of THIS?!!"

Not Your Ordinary Time Trial

There are some of us who don't really like going for a bike ride.  I mean, just toodling around enjoying the freedom and pleasure of bicycling.  I certainly don't.  

I don't have the patience for it.  I start building `to do' lists in my head.  I get stuck in that `I need to do something PRODUCTIVE' trap.  

Paradoxically, I am almost never bored when I cycle.  Numbers running through my head.  Assessing how much effort I can afford to put into a training session so that it isn't too much or too little.  

Not many cyclists will agree as to what constitutes `ultra' cycling.  For some it is getting in a fast thirty miles before church.  Some consider anything more than one hundred miles in a day `ultra.'  And then some push the pedals for a specific number of hours before they consider it `ultra.'

The term `time trial' is equally elastic.  How fast can you cover 10 miles?  How far can you go in 1 hour?  "A road race set over a specified distance with the riders being timed. Also known as a race against the watch."  Individual time trials.  Team time trials.  You are your own competition.  

Below is a fairly standard description of an `ultra' cycling time trial.

Ultra 12 Hour
This is an Ultra-Marathon Cycling Association sanctioned 12 hour event. Competitors ride as many miles as they can in 12 hours. 

24 Hour Option
This is a non-drafting RAAM qualifying event, open to the public. This event starts at the same time and place as our Ultra 12 Hour event, but doesn't end until the next morning.

Here are a links to just a few of the `ultra' time trial events:

• Bike Sebring 12/24
• Calvin's Challenge 
• National 24 Hour Challenge 
• 6-12-24 Hour World Championships 

I'll be participating in the Sebring event in February of this (2016) year.  And for the first time I'll be doing an `ultra' event without taking it `gravely.'  That is, I'm `serious' about it but not to the point of being my usual grim, gruesome self.  

You should try it.  It's more than a `ride.'  It's a challenge.  It's a social experience.  And it's probably got some discovery in it for you.  


 

Another Learning Experience

Among the myriad cycling diversions of late I swapped out the front 700cc wheel on my CA2 with a 650cc wheel.  I had to change the fork but that was the only real `mechanical' change.

Today I tested it out.  The 650cc wheel up front and a 700cc wheel in back.  I don't think it is of any benefit or advantage except for the fact that I am a smidgen lower to the ground when mounting and dismounting the bike. 

Steering is twitchy.  Imagine that your front wheel is the size of a dinner plate.  Every turn of the handlebar results in a dramatic change in balance and steering.  You get the idea.  A small change, but significant enough if you're screaming downhill or negotiating a pace line.

(Note: I'm linking to one of my regular training rides on the White Spars near my home in Prescott.  An out and back course up, through, over and back again on a series of mountain switchbacks.  At mile 10.3 you'll note a steep 5% descent and a 180 degree turn ... that keeps descending.  If you drill down into the RWGPS ride you'll find many similar descents and switchbacks.  I LOVE this course and it really tests my bike handling skills when I'm pushing it at speed.  Just the slightest miscalculation in steering would put me in the oncoming lane or into the rock face. http://ridewithgps.com/trips/4658466)

Being lower to the ground is not worth the increase in twitchy. 

So ... that was interesting.  I'm glad I did that.  I know more about the `dynamics' of movement on recumbents. 

My `guess' would be that a smaller wheel upfront would be less problematic on a long wheel base recumbent. 

Latest Pics of the Bacchetta CA2 - Jan 16 2016

With:

• Tiller
• Mini Bull Bars
• Garmin 500 on tiller
• Zipp R2C Levers
• Railgun Seat
• Angle of recline `about 10 degrees'
• Modified headrest (foam and PVC pipe ... and, of course, cable ties)
• Three Planet Bike lights in rear
• One Planet Bike light in front (not shown)
• Three bottle cages
• Two FastBack TerraCycle zip bags under seat
• 58/42 double up front
• 11/27 10 spd in back

Other stuff.

Going Fast -- Time Trialing and The Rest

A caveat: I am not fast on the bike.  What I am noting below is `relative' to my cycling in the past.  

I've identified a really great training course about 35 miles west of Phoenix and 65 miles south of my home, Prescott.   

Vulture Mine and Aguila Road Training Course.  

As my note on the RWGPS link indicates: "Excellent training route.  Almost no traffic.  Very good road.  Both flat and rolling sections.  Decent climbing without having to `grind' up 7% + grades.  Good weather almost always.  Many `sections' that can be used as Time Trial courses."

Over the last two weeks I've been making the twice weekly trek south to this course.  I park, typically, at the intersection where Vulture Mine Road transitions to Aguila Road, equidistant between both end points.  

Yesterday I combined Time Trial training with Long Slow Distance training, comprising a total of 5 hours or cycling.  Below is an Excel chart of one of the 15 mile TT course results: 

SOUTH - Descending	01/08/16	01/14/16
TIME	0:51:36	0:40:16
AVG SPD	17.4	22.4
MAX SPD	24.5	na
ELEV GAIN	13	20
ELEV LOSS	-541	-537
MAX HR	139	153
AVG HR	93	133.9
MOVING PACE	0:03:29	0:02:41
NORTH - Ascending	01/08/16	01/14/16
TIME	1:22:57	1:08:12
AVG SPD	10.9	13.2
MAX SPD	20.6	22.6
ELEV GAIN	558	539
ELEV LOSS	-20	-14
MAX HR	129	139
AVG HR	119.4	129
MOVING PACE	0:05:32	0:04:34

RWGPS: 15 Mile Descending
RWGPS: 15 Mile Ascending

I've made several `distance' sections to this course that allows me to tailor my training.  Some sections are `Time Trial' sections.  Others are just mileage and elevation sections.  For example, yesterday I did two 12.5 mile TTs.  A 12.5 mile ascending TT and, on the return, a 12.5 mile descending TT.  As well, I added a solid 55 mile section to round out an 80 mile training event.  

To give you an idea of the road quality and natural beauty of this training course: 

So, the twice weekly drive to this training location has been well worth it.