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. 

15 Mile Time Trial Course Found

Eschewing the snow and freezing temps of my AZ mountain home in Prescott I drove about 80 miles south, losing about 4,000 feet in elevation.  Dry and not as cold (in the mid-40's). 

 

A road that is almost without any traffic, no stop signs or lights, no intersections, excellent road surface.  It is a 30 mile out and back route.  Descending about 33 feet per mile on the out leg and ascending about 33 feet on the back leg. 

 

I'll be using this road / route as a reference point in my training (on flatlands).  Below are the figures for yesterday's transit (I wasn't `trying' to get good numbers, just assessing the course for practical utility).

 

I'm actually pretty excited about this.  Even though it is a round trip 160 mile commute it represents the first outdoor performance course that is not diluted by the effect of hills.  Training in hill country may be interesting but the descents tend to negate the benefits of constant intensity.  Grinding up a hill and then sliding, coasting down hill give the rider a `break' that real competition often does not offer. 

 

15 Mile TT Course

 

SOUTH	01/08/16
TIME	0:51:36
AVG SPD	17.4
MAX SPD	24.5
ELEV GAIN	13
ELEV LOSS	541
MAX HR	139
AVG HR	93
MOVING PACE	0:03:29
NORTH	01/08/16
TIME	1:22:57
AVG SPD	10.9
MAX SPD	20.6
ELEV GAIN	558
ELEV LOSS	20
MAX HR	129
AVG HR	119.4
MOVING PACE	0:05:32

Slice 'em and Dice e'm

The benefit of putting two tire liners between the tube and the tire.  I noticed this as I was removing the bike from the car rack after a training ride on a local 4 lane highway.  I was prepared for flats and other calamities but I didn't have a spare tire.  And I don't think a tire patch would have seen me to the end point if it happened at any distance.  

From now on I'll be bringing a spare tire, too, on that stretch of road.  

Highway 69

Training Routes Nearby

Living in the AZ mountains it is often a challenge to find routes that aren't so stratospheric that one spends 3/4 of the time just grinding up hills.  And in the winter I get sweaty climbing that much only to risk frostbite on the descents.  Shedding clothes, putting them on, etc.  

Driving 45 - 60 miles south lands me in the desert flatlands.  Getting there means I have to traverse mountain switchbacks that make the commute very time consuming.  

More important, however, is the issue of safety.  Many of the roads have literally no shoulder or massive rumble strips that consume the shoulder.  

From the solitude of the desert to the relative busy-ness of the local roads that offer good safety.  

Here are a few roads that are local, safe and not nose-bleeders.  

Prescott to Interstate 17 and Back - 50 Miles and 2500 Ft of Climbing

144 Miles 8600 Ft of Climbing  (Well, this one may be a bit of a nosebleeder)  Riding the course in reverse (south to Kirkland) can help to reduce the sweat-freeze-sweat factor a bit. 

And THAT is about IT for flattish training routes nearby.