Indoor Training: from ridewithgps blog

http://blog.ridewithgps.com/blog/2013/10/06/Indoor-Bike-Trainer/

Posted on 06 October 2013.

There is a strong opinion that is shared by some cyclists, and that is that indoor bike trainers “Suck.” We can’t argue too much about that. We can probably all agree that there’s not much more enjoyable than a great ride out on the open roads in the fresh air. However, we can also argue about the importance of the indoor trainer for maintaining some cycling fitness through the winter or for getting some time on the bike in the early spring.

 

Because fall is rapidly approaching and the inevitability of winter is looming, we’ve been finding ourselves engaged in conversation about our upcoming “trainer season.” It sparked a good dialog and we thought we’d share some of it with all of you.

 

First, let’s tackle why riding the trainer is a good thing:

1. Riding the trainer a couple times a week allows you the ability to maintain some of your fitness through the winter. By not losing all your fitness through the winter months you have less of a build up in the spring where you’re just working on regaining what you had the last summer. This allows for you to have more enjoyable rides earlier in the year!
2. Riding the trainer when the weather is really bad can be better than a road ride because it takes less time. If you ride the trainer when the weather is bad you don’t have to spend a ridiculous amount of time putting layers on and off. Additionally, with the fact that you should reduce your ride time by ~25% from the road to the trainer you get a lot more return for you time.
3. Riding the trainer is better then getting rained on because you get to watching a movie, favorite TV show, or listen to an audio-book. The key with this is to find something that you enjoy, will help pass the time, and maybe isn’t something you’d get to keep up on normally. Some of the types of shows we really like to watch are: sci-fi movies, sports center, old bike races that are on Youtube, and any TV series because there’s always more to watch.

So what do we use?

Cullen and Zack both have Kurt Kinetic Trainers. Cullen got his because a friend sold it to him used for a bargain price of $120 and he knew it was well-reviewed. Both of them really like their trainer and they recommend it to others because it's fluid-filled and high quality, and supposedly has the best resistance curve unless you spend real serious $$$.

I have a Trek Mag by CycleOps trainer that he also picked up used. It’s not fluid, but it has served him well for several years. He also has a set of rollers that he uses in addition and that helps prevent things from getting stale.

We’ve also tried to answer the question of, “what trainer would we get if we could get any trainer?”

The consensus seems to be split between the LeMond Revolution Trainer, and the Wahoo KICKR. Both have a similar design, and are definitely more of an investment.

Ascending Mt. Lemmon in Tucson, AZ

Mt. Lemmon:

This was a solo and unsupported ride. 

Ridiculous wind. Both going up and descending. ...

(Ascent) http://ridewithgps.com/trips/1966285

Pretty much endless 4-9 degree incline the whole way. Above 6,000 feet the wind was whipping along the sheer cliffs and pocket clefts on the switchbacks. Stopped for a bathroom break once, got stung by a bee that was out of control in the wind, had to put on a windbreaker about 30 minutes before I reached the summit. 

 

Getting to the mountaintop town of Summer Haven I looked for the road to the very top of the mountain (observatory) but the road names changed up there to `boutique' names and I decided not to just troll up and down roads, esp. given the wind and low temps. 

 

Ride/elapsed times were good, esp given the wind.

Again, the wind was dangerous (of course) but I was careful. There were times I broke out in laughing fits ... it was that bizarre.

(Descent) http://ridewithgps.com/trips/1966283

The drive home. 

 

I decided that I wasn't getting any sleep yesterday so I packed up and left Tucson at 9pm expecting to be home by 2am at the latest. Fifteen miles north, on I-10, I ran into a ten mile traffic backup due to a crash by several cars and trucks that killed three people. News reports said that the accident was due to sandstorm obscuring vision around 8pm. Sat in my car for 90 minutes until the site was cleared. Then, when I got to the exit ramp from I-10 to I-17 it was closed off while they were doing service. Had to negotiate Phoenix side streets for another hour while I found my way on to I-17.

So ... Mt. Lemmon is off the `to-do' list at this point.

"Not gonna' let 'em catch me"

Wow.  I just found what a local bike shop did with my vid.  Great music.  "Not gonna let 'em catch me"

Doable, Non Brain-Killing Off-Season Training

I used to report my philosophy about cycling as: "I'm a fanatic about living a balanced life."  I hope the irony is taken.

Due to both a desire to pursue other interests (reading, geology, local history, etc.) and have emotional and physical energy available for family and social life I've struggled with bicycling.  To develop the level of performance I want requires at least 12 hours of cycling and the concomitant 8 - 12 hours of recovery (being `flat' and tired) per week.  In a word: unbalanced.

`Reluctant' is the word that best describes me when it comes to intense training.  (Joe Friel's recent blog entries do an excellent job of defining `intense').  Intervals are uncomfortable and taxing.  Tempo training, for me, bleeds off some of the pleasure I take in cycling up here in the beautiful high desert and Arizona mountains.  As well, when I have the expectation of doing tempo training I have made myself feel `pressured.'  As an adult I've pushed back against things and people who pressure me.  I get angry (and stubborn). 

Moving into the `cold' season adds to the reasons, and excuses, to not train well.  Too cold.  Takes too much time arranging clothing for cold, warm and even hot temps at different altitudes.  Shorter sunlight and black ice on mountain roads limits the times during the day I can ride.  The certainty of unavoidable mechanicals and flats reinforces the need to carry dry clothing available while I fix the problems. 

Yesterday I completed a training regimen that holds real promise for a good `off season' experience.  It addressed much of the reluctance and many of the  objections I have to winter training -- and training, in general.  It holds promise for a good several months of training. 

1. I don't have to carry 3 seasons of clothing.
2. I don't have to worry about ice and daylight.
3. I don't have to deal with the cold.
4. I save a great deal of time.
5. I can ramp and taper `interval' and `tempo' training.
6. I don't have to worry about mechanicals or flats.
7. I can hit the road less frequently and still maintain good fitness.

Indoor training.  Without the mind-numbing boredom of 3+ hour sessions on a bike. 

Below I include Garmin HR data for three activities.  The first activity is use of the Concept2 indoor rower.  Then the elliptical.  And finally the bike on an indoor trainer (Lemond Revolution).  Each `machine' allows for measuring time and effort.  Doing so permits development of a training schedule and program.  And, to paraphrase many, `anything that exists does so at a certain quantity that can be measured.'  And anything that can be measured allows for comparison and improvement. 

One Hour on the Indoor Rower

One Hour on the Elliptical

One Hour on the Indoor Trainer (Tempo and Intervals)

Now I have all the benefits listed above and a baseline with which to build a Training Plan and against which I can measure change (performance improvements). 

This is a great relief to me. 

But right now I have to get out the door to do this:  Skull Valley Loop





 

Aging: The Problems of High-Intensity Training

Joe Friel's Blog

Posted: 09 Oct 2013 10:42 PM PDT

 

Can the loss of performance with aging be overcome by training? Can you maintain your 35-year-old aerobic capacity and muscle mass, the keys to aging performance, when you’re 55 or even 75 years old? Most scientific research tells us that it’s highly doubtful (Doherty, Faulkner, Foster, Phillips, Raue). Even though much of this loss appears to be a result of disuse (LaRocca, Leyk, Wroblewski, Wright), there is no doubt that there is a decline in endurance performance with age that appears to be inevitable even among elite age group athletes regardless of sport. 

We know, however, that the rate of loss can be slowed if you continue to train at a workload similar to when you were younger, especially the intensity of your workouts both in aerobic (Katzel) and strength training (Aagard, Porter). I wrote about that here and here. But as many readers have told me recently in comments to this blog and in emails, the problem is an increased incidence of injury resulting from high-intensity efforts that seem to be especially high among runners. The other problem is slow recovery. The keys to maintaining aerobic capacity and muscle mass then are injury prevention and rapid recovery following workouts. I wrote about recovery and aging a few weeks ago here. So let’s now examine Injury prevention in greater detail.

Modifications to training are necessary to avoid an increased likelihood of injury. Typically, the older you are the easier it is to become injured and the slower an injury is likely to heal (Kallinen). Bones, tendons, ligaments, cartilage and muscles break down and form scar tissue at lower levels of training stress than they did when you were younger. An increased likelihood of orthopedic injuries may be the reason runners seem to slow down more than their similarly aged peers in swimming and cycling. While running is not the only sport athletes get injured in, it is more likely to produce orthopedic injuries than, for example, swimming, cycling and cross country skiing. So the normal training stress of runners often declines at a steeper rate over time. That may well be necessary.

In terms of continued performance improvement, there is nothing worse than an injury. It can easily result in a bunch of zeroes in your training log. Missed workouts mean lost fitness and starting over again.

To avoid injury, regardless of your sport, there are two things you must always do. The first is to start at a training stress level you know you are fully capable of managing. This has to do with how long and intense your workouts are and your weekly volume of training. The second imperative to avoiding training setbacks is to be patient with your progress. This is where most athletes make their greatest mistake. Allow more time at each stage of training than you did when you were younger. Be patient. Wisdom is supposedly one of the attributes of age. Apply it to your training.

Increase your workout durations and intensities slowly over time. Don’t rush to the next level. It’s too risky. Counterbalance these two workout variables. When you increase the duration of your workouts, decrease their intensity. When it’s time to increase intensity, decrease duration. For older athletes it's probably wise to avoid increasing both up at the same time. If you do, your risk of injury increases exponentially. You may have gotten away with a double increase when you were younger, but it’s now more likely to result in injury.
If injured the timing of treatment is critical. Don’t wait to seek medical help. Every athlete, but especially you as an older athlete, need someone in your corner who can treat injuries, or even niggling aches, when they occur. This could be a family physician, chiropractor, physical therapist, podiatrist or naturopath who you trust, who knows your endurance sport and who understands the treatment of aging athletes. I rely heavily on Nate Koch at Endurance Rehabilitation, a physical therapy practice where I spend my winters in Scottsdale, Arizona. With my summers in Boulder, Colorado I go to the Boulder Center for Sports Medicine and to see Dr. Andy Pruitt, an old friend and fellow aging cyclist. They’ve both been treating my aching bones and soft tissues off and on for 11 years. I have complete faith in their effectiveness when I place myself in their hands as I’ve had to do on numerous occasions.

Closely related to injuries is arthritis which becomes increasingly common with advances in age. The best way to avoid this may well be continued exercise since it is less common in athletes (Maharam). The research doesn’t tell us, however, if exercise helps to prevent joint disease or if those who experience it drop out of their sport becoming sedentary and so skew the data. If you suffer from arthritis you have probably become adept at knowing not only what aggravates it, but also how to modify your training to accommodate it until the inflammation subsides. Prescribed medications may well be necessary at these times.

Training for Redemption (Note: no `god' talk here)

I've done better (2:49:00) and I've done worse (3:21:00) on the annual September Skull Valley Loop Challenge.  But I've never hurt so bad as I did this year (3:10:00).  Cramps.  Bonking.  Disappointment. 

In an earlier blog entry (IT NEVER STOPS) I offered my `analysis' of why things went so awry this time.  I also vowed that I would train differently and do better next year. 

Since writing that blog entry I concluded that I can race the SVLC course any time I want.  I don't have to wait a full year to do this course. 

So I gave myself seven (7) weeks to train differently and then do the SVLC course again.  I'm scheduled to race the course (solo) on Monday, November 3rd.  I intend to `redeem' myself. 

I'm training at `race pace' instead of at `tour pace.' 

Mindful of the need to balance rest with effort I've ratcheted up the `intensity' factor of my training.  Here are the factors of the `race' training method:

1. disciplined hydration while racing.
2. disciplined fueling / eating while racing.
3. twice weekly indoor intervals.
4. twice weekly tempo outdoor training. 

Intervals: 

I've avoided intervals in the past because a) they're uncomfortable, b) I've `wasted' myself when doing them by doing too much too fast.  This time my program is tighter and less arduous.  I'm doing only one half hour of intervals twice per week.  And the schedule is as follows: 30 seconds intense effort, rpms around 95; 3 minute rest between sets. 

I've found that this formula taxes me but doesn't deplete me for the rest of the day.  (INTERVALS)

Tempo Training:

Outdoor intervals and tempo training in mountains is hard to actually `dial in.'  For example, I can do interval max output for 30 seconds on a 4% incline, but backing off for 3 minutes ... still leaves me with cranking up that 4% incline.  Not quite `rest' between max efforts. 

And typically, when the 3 minutes is up I find myself descending and am unable to push as needed for the 30 seconds. 

Tempo is much more manageable but still gets complicated.  Ascending inclines I can hit my tempo heart rate goal but only as long as I'm ascending.  Of course, ascending takes more time than descending.  But there is scant chance for continuous, non-stop climbing before I hit a descent and the effort and heart rate plummets.

So, yesterday I developed a plan to accomplish steady and constant tempo pace. 

The 54 mile, 4,400 ft of climbing route from my home in Prescott to the `intersection' called Kirkland includes some climbing at the outset.  But after about 14 miles of steep ascents and descents (the White Spars) the route changes dramatically.  After 14 miles there are 9 miles of continuous descent (during which the power and heart rate drops).  Then there are another 4 miles of rolling descent to Kirkland. 

The opportunity for good tempo training occurs on the return trip up from Kirkland to mile post 298, a solid 13 miles of climbing at 2% - 9%.  With two exceptions of about 100 yards each it is all uphill. 

Yesterday I did the tempo training on the `Kirkland' route.  It is a great training ground for tempo.  It took me two hours, at increasing heart rate (and power, though I don't have a power meter), to complete the 13 miles. 

I stayed in the big (55t) ring up front and rarely got below the 28t ring in back.  My rpms were probably 70-75.  (TEMPO - Kirkland Route)

By the time I hit mile post 298 I was really feeling it.  That is a good thing.  (As well, I was feeling the cold of altitude and had to put on some arm warmers and a windbreak jacket).  I had about 17 more miles to go (including several long 9%-15% grades) but I allowed myself to keep the HR in the 115-130 bpm range.  Essentially, at `tour pace.'

So now I have two components of `race pace' training available to me right out my front door. 

I'm still looking for that (nearby) elusive flatland for long, 8 hour aerobic training.  Might be a long wait. 

RAAM: Serious Problems

A link Trans America Bike Race (TABR) sent to me by a friend the other day triggered this post. 

The first thing I did when I went to the TABR website was to look at their route.  In detail.  The second thing I did was to follow a link to Bikepacking.net, a website for bicyclists using off-road routes for longer distance bicycling and camping. 

What was I looking for? 

• Did TABR find a route that was less dangerous (cars, trucks) than the RAAM route?
• Did TABR find a way for entrants to avoid spending tens of thousands of dollars?
• Is everybody doing TABR `white?'

You should go to the links above and get answers to questions you may have.   I'm still drilling down to get my answers.

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I don't have many real friends now (my choice) so I'm not risking much in this domain by addressing the `RAAM' question. 

As well, I'm an easy target for those objecting to my statements because:

• I did not finish my own Race Across the West (RAW) attempt in 2010 (Not Finishing RAW),
• I was a real pain in the ass to the RAAM folks when I was a RAAM Official in 2012 (My Experience as a RAAM Official - 2012),
• as the Crew Chief for a RAAM solo racer in 2013 I pulled her out of the race after her crew vehicle was back ended by a driver who was texting (RAAM 2013: Close Call) (She ultimately - without me - reentered the race and finished.) 

My objections and criticisms can be dismissed by some as `sour grapes.'  Or, as one hubris-disabled sot referred to me by saying: "There are `champs.'  And then there are `chumps.'"

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• The RAAM route is meticulously researched and selected.  But it has many conspicuous and oft-cited problems.  I do not know why RAAM management has not accepted suggested reasonable safe alternates to current dangerous routes.  Meticulous research, lacking good decision-making, results in bad outcomes.  Bad outcomes, over and over again ... why?

• When I articulated my concern about route safety to one of the key RAAM executives I was accused of "undermining a sport we are trying desperately to grow."  My unstated response was: "It's a profit-making BUSINESS that you are trying desperately to grow!"

• Several years ago the legal ownership of RAAM changed from that of a non-profit to a privately held for-profit entity.  I think that is a real problem.  The temptation to `grow' the event may lead to decisions that place the interests (safety, safety, safety) of participants at risk. 

• Agreed that RAAM raises money for charity.  But participating in RAAM as a racer can exceed $100,000.  Less for solo racers and (much) more for teams.  Why spend $70,000 to participate in RAAM only to raise $70,000 for a charity? 

• So many white people!  Yes, there is international representation at RAAM.  And, perhaps my objection is not so much the issue of race, but that of `class.'  (There was a phrase we used to point out the irony that the University of Chicago is situated and bordered on four sides by poverty, crime and ghettoes:  "White and black.  Shoulder to shoulder.  Against the poor!")

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I have a problem.  I find meaning and expression in endurance bicycling.  But I'm a `road' cyclist.  Sharing the roads with motorized vehicles is inherently dangerous (i.e., you can get killed a lot :) ). 

I'm going to give off-road `bikepacking' type activities more study. 

Who Am I to Judge?

But we all do it.  `Judge,' that is.  We decide (explicitly or implicitly) what is `worthy.' 

Joe Friel's latest (9/27/13) blog post (Aging: An Excuse) approaches from a physiological, data driven, perspective something that I've been saying for years: Many of us use getting older to justify laziness. 

Now THAT is a `judgmental' statement. 

I didn't choose my profession: psychology.  Focusing on what is going on in the minds of other people is not something I choose to do.  I can't NOT do it.  It's like water seeking the lowest point.  You don't see water hesitate to flow once it is free to do so.  It's an implacable law of nature.  I call this invasion into people's motivation and mind my `talent.'  Because I certainly didn't choose to `learn' it.  I have no choice.  My `head' just goes there.

I have deployed my `invasion' force toward my own behavior.  And it has been a godsend for me.  I'm impatient with most people (unless I'm paid not to be).  I `reverse engineer' from their accomplishments, deficiencies, etc, what it took to `get there.' 

The other day somebody said "Oh, I'm too old to learn about that (a minor computer thing)."  I exploded with frustration: "Well, hell.  Why don't you just dig a hole and bury yourself right now!" 

Many of my contemporaries whine (different from complaining: 2013  ; 2010 ).  They have worked hard to be out of shape, fearful of the morning, avoidant of challenge, essentially numb to themselves and the world from head to toe.  I call it `passive suicide.'  Waiting to die.  It takes real effort to stay bored and afraid all day long. 

So, again, what the frig does this have to do with `Training?!'

First, I used running and cycling to wear myself out so that I didn't have to sit in a chair shaking and trembling with `existential' fear and tension.

Then I worked insane hours in an effort to distract myself from deciding what was worth it.  "I can't leave Chicago and wander from this to that because a) I'd be irresponsible, b) I'd not be productive, c) I'd be just like (pick a name)."  

Sex and ego were the penultimate distraction, causing me to be dead from the neck up for decades. 

When my body started to `lose' shape ("Check your pockets. Did you `lose' it there?") I got frightened.  When folks didn't know I was a `doctor' I felt an urgency to set them straight about my top-dog status.  When I passed a mirror and saw my father I began to lose hope that I was `different.'

Training is an anvil and I use my body as the hammer.  The outcome is `performance.' 

These days the battleground is between the conscious knowledge of the difference between `riding the bike for long hours and distances' and `a structured plan of training that includes intervals, tempo, rest and goals.' 

I resist the hard stuff because a) it's physically uncomfortable (if not actually painful), b) I `predict' poor performance and how I judge myself for it (thereby energetically engaging in the self-fulfilling cycle), c) it requires me to set priorities.

Priorities.  When I'm tired from training I decide not to do things with my wife that she would enjoy.  I don't like to disappoint my wife.  So I train less.  I exaggerate her disappointment and don't place a demand on her to be responsible for making a fulfilling life without my being there all the time.  (Of course, THAT is a bullshit pretext to avoid the consequences of 'resisting the hard stuff.')

Priorities.  Being neat and clean, being completely on top of finances, getting all obsessed with house maintenance, appearance, etc.  It's `good' to have these things in my life.  But the extra 80% effort I make to get that last 20% of perfection is just plain mental illness.  It's nuts.  I'm trying to push the river back upstream. 

Training to fulfill the potential I have can be accomplished without abusing or neglecting other domains in my life.  In other words, manufacturing in my mind `catastrophic' consequences is a conscious decision I make.  Even if it has emotional and psychological origin. 

Who am I to judge?  Well, me.  I AM the judge!

Joe Friel: A Pillar of Sport and Fitness Excellence

I've had a love-hate experience with the work of Joe Friel for years.  But I don't know of any sport and fitness professional who covers so much ground (intellectually speaking) with such focus and legitimate authority. 

Here's Joe's recent blog post.  You can find more of his work here:  Joe Friel's Blog

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Joe Friel's Blog

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Aging: What’s Happening to My Muscles? Posted: 18 Sep 2013 11:42 PM PDT Scientists who study aging have been telling us for years that we can expect a loss of muscle mass as we get older. We’re simply destined to lose muscle fibers, especially type II fibers – the fast twitch ones (Deschenes, Iannuzzi-Sucich, Karakelides, Proctor, Short, Wilkes). We are told to expect about a 40% to 50% loss by age 80 (Doherty, Faulkner, Karakelides, Lemmer). Depressing for someone of my advanced age (69). Several more recent studies, however, are now concluding that the changes with aging reported in such research are largely the result of disuse and not as much due to the ravages of age as previously believed (AAgaard, Maharam, Melov). How is it that science is finally coming to this conclusion? By measuring what’s happening with older masters athletes who continue to compete and comparing them with young athletes and with the oldsters’ sedentary age peers. For example, Wroblewski compared athletes aged 40 to 81 in a cross-sectional study and found that although body fat increased with age, quadriceps muscle mass and strength were similar across all ages. All of the subjects, regardless of age, trained four or five times weekly as runners, swimmers, cyclists or triathletes. Use it or lose it. Right? Of course, the confounding element in cross-sectional studies such as this is that the older athletes may have self-selected. In other words, perhaps they didn’t maintain their muscle mass because they were athletes, but rather they were athletes because they maintained their muscle mass. Those who couldn’t maintain muscle mass with age may have quit their sport or never even started such strenuous activities. So the research still leaves us wondering. It could be inevitable that you will eventually lose some muscle, but it may be insignificant for decades if the more recent research is to be accepted at face value. The most common reason given for this happening is a decrease in the body’s production of anabolic (muscle- and tissue-building) hormones such as testosterone, estrogen, growth hormone, and insulin-like growth factor. But then exercise is anabolic also – it may help us hold onto muscle as we get older by slowing the demise of these hormones (Arazi, Kraemer, Cadore). The accompanying pictures of the cross-sectional areas of three people of different ages illustrate this belief (Wroblewski). These MRIs compare the thigh muscles of two male triathletes at ages 40 and 70 with those of a sedentary 74-year-old male. Note the atrophied muscles and surrounding fat on the thighs of the sedentary man and how similar the muscle mass of the two triathletes are regardless of age. Is this what we can expect? These pictures made the rounds on the internet about a year ago and lend support to the idea that remaining active through strenuous exercise may well be the best thing you can do to hang on to your muscle mass as you age. One of the authors of this study believes that aging accounts for only about 30% of the decline in athletes (Wright), whereas most cross-sectional studies of sedentary older people place 50% to 70% – or more – of the blame on age alone. Could exercise keep your muscles young? A couple of recent, unique studies from the University of Western Ontario lend support to the “use it or lose it” concept (Power, Power). The researchers counted the number of motor units in both young and old subjects. A motor unit is a group of muscle fibers activated by a single nerve in the spine. With aging (or is it disuse?) those nerves die and their associated muscle fibers atrophy. And so we lose muscle size, strength and power. This has been known for quite a long time with aging rats. But how about with people? The initial Power’s study done in 2010 was the first to examine this phenomenon in humans. Basically, the researchers found that we’re quite similar to rats in this respect. Runners in their 60s had about the same number of motor units in their tibialis anterior (a shin muscle) as runners in their 20s. But when they counted the motor units in sedentary but healthy people also in their 60s the scientists discovered the inactive older folks had 35% fewer motor units than the same-age runners. Essentially, the old runners had young leg muscles. The Canadian researchers logically wondered if this finding meant that all the muscle motor units in an aging runner’s body were maintained, or just the running-related motor units? So in a similar follow-up study they counted motor units in the biceps brachii (upper arm) of aging runners, young runners and aging sedentary. They found that the older runners had about 48% fewer motor units than the young runners and about the same as the older sedentary. Apparently, exercise does not maintain muscles unless they are strenuously trained. So there is now little doubt – use it or lose it. Right? But, again, could this result could be the consequence of who the subjects were? After all, it was a cross-sectional study. The subjects may have self-selected. People who maintained their motor units may have continued to compete into old age while those who didn’t maintain them dropped out of sport at a much younger age. I wish we could take a look at some longitudinal studies of aging to see if these results hold true when athletes are followed for several years. Unfortunately, such research is lacking. So it still comes down to opinion. Mine is that the existing research is probably accurate and that while aging has some affect on muscles mass, the greater cause of the decline is more than likely lack of use – an increasingly sedentary lifestyle as we get older. I see this even in master athletes. The older they become, the less strenuous their training. In the next post I’ll take a look at sport science’s somewhat depressing view of aerobic capacity (VO2max) and aging. Then we’ll move on to what I think the solutions may be for maintaining (or even improving) muscle mass, VO2max and performance as we get older. I know some won’t like my conclusions. Everyone is entitled to an opinion when we have little in the way of data.

Paleo Diet

I got the book Joe Friel recommended ("Paleo Diet for Athletes").  Cover to cover. 

Though it was written by a university academic it reads like one of those advertisements from Hammer products: "wow," "amazing," "you'll improve your times, lose weight, develop a following of groupies, get rich, dance better, fart less, your hair will grow back, and people will say you remind them of Brad Pitt."

Paleo means `cave man.' 

You're supposed to eat meat, fish and vegetables.  All of it fresh, if not actually trying to eat you back while you eat it. 

You're supposed to avoid milk and grains.  You're supposed to drink fluids only when you're thirsty. 
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• Cave men typically didn't live long enough to develop heart disease.  They checked out in their 20's.  So, it's true that they didn't die from age related diseases.
• As we age our sense of thirst isn't as reliable as when we were cave man `eligible.'  Almost all folks over 50 are chronically, even if mildly, dehydrated. 
• I will not allow my food bill to double.  Fresh meat?  Fresh fish?  Organic vegetables? 
• The meat-producing industry does massive harm to land and ecologies.
• I'm supposed to buy frequently (fresh!) and local.  (Right.  I'll just rearrange my houseboy's schedule during the week so that he chauffeurs me less and shops more discriminatingly).
• The author has 30 or 40 `recipes' for me to cook up.  My houseboy can't cook for crap.  That means I'd have to add a chef to my payroll.  I wouldn't trust them.  I'd probably find them both smokin' on the veranda when they're supposed to laboring away, perfecting my mortal `temple.'
• The author laments the fact that our species became agrarian, no longer hunters and gatherers.  He blames climate change for this tragedy, suggesting an asteroid caused it.  He would prefer, instead, that we died off in our 30's, never developed science, writing, art (oops!  bone necklaces and pictographs are art), culture.
• The author (and others) reports amazing data regarding improved biometrics, i.e., cholesterol, triglycerides, and countless other things.  I don't have the training, education or knowledge to dispute, let alone comment on, much of the detail.  So, I got tired of saying "Mmm. Uh-huh" after each 20 page dollop of chemistry lesson. 
• My family has always had a problem with cholesterol.  I take a small, inexpensive statin drug and it has made a miraculous difference. 
• It makes no sense for me to "get in the river and try to push it back upstream."  I mean, I should eat meat all day and then take a statin to reduce cholesterol?!  I DO see the contradiction.

I'm gonna stick with veggies, peanut butter and lots of fluids.  And NOBODY is going to take my glass of two buck chuck from me.

After all, it appears that the time has passed (40+ years ago) when I should be a dead caveman.  Something I'm doing (or not doing) has got to be working.

Here is a link to an interesting YouTube vid on this subject:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4RB50h61FQ

It Never Stops. And That's a `Good' Thing.

Over the weekend I did a `ride qua race' (for me, at least) called the Skull Valley Loop Challenge.  The course, road conditions, weather, terrain and number of entrants couldn't be better.  SVLC Route

This was the third SVLC in a row for me.  My times are as follows:

2011:  3:21:00
2012:  2:49:00 Garmin Data - 2012
2013:  3:10:00 Garmin Data - 2013

I was disappointed with my time this year, of course.  On comparison of the Garmin data of 2012 and 2013 a glaring difference became apparent: in '13 my heart rate was much more elevated than in '12. 

Long story made short: if you're going to try to `race' a short course don't train for a long course. 

In 2012 my training was more intense.  I pushed myself for speed on the climbs as well as on the descents. 

In 2013 my training was much less intense.  I did far more long, slow, multi-hour training sessions.
--
In 2012 I allowed myself to coast down the mountain (max of 48 mph) during the first half of the event and then applied intensity and effort to the climbing back up the mountain in the last half of the event. 

In 2013 I pushed myself hard down the mountain (exceeding 53 mph) and didn't have the training-built stamina to maintain the intensity for the climb back up. 

---

The 5 mph addition in 2013 was at the cost of physical capacity to maintain the pace for the race. 

Not complicated.  And had I been paying a 3rd party to structure and supervise my training I would have been corrected and put on a different training track.

I can be properly faulted by not paying for a coach.  But, frankly, I'd rather take this `lesson' than spend my money for a faster, more effective, lesson. 

Lifestyle: as disciplined as I am I'm too stubborn to place my own cycling so central to my everyday priorities.  It's not that I have so many more `honorable' priorities (e.g., family, friends, etc).  I just don't want to be on that treadmill.  I simply prefer to be stubborn and undisciplined in this way. 

---

Going forward.  Next year I'll spend the 8 weeks preceding the SVLC ramping up the intensity level so that I can have more stamina and rationally expect as good or better outcome than my 2012 time. 

It never stops.  And that's a good thing.

Transition to Colder Weather

I live in Arizona so many will scratch their head when I describe my plans for transitioning to `colder' weather.  ("Arizona?  It's always hot there, right?!)

Today is Sept 12th and at 7AM it's 51F and sunny. 

One hundred (blessed) miles southeast and 4,000 feet lower is the obscenity called Phoenix where it is currently 75F with an expected 95F today. 

Down `there,' in the `valley' the cycling season is coming alive. 

Up `here,' in the mountains we're a bit more reality based with four actual, real, seasons.  Snow as early as November, even though most of it melts off in a day or two.

Because we're in the mountains, though, the roads can stay iced in the mountain shady sections during the day.  Cycling requires much more planning and is typically of shorter duration.

Last winter I found myself schlepping the bike south and down to warmer climes to get in some training.  Punched a big hole in my day without much of a return.  I spent many, many hours grinding away on the indoor trainer while looking out the window at snowy mountains.

Not this year. 

Yes, I'll continue to put in hours on indoor equipment.  But I won't be schlepping the bike or threading the weather needle during sunlight just to be on the road.  Instead of `looking out the window at snowy mountains' I'll be on the mountains.

Literally every time I ride I find myself wondering what it must be like to be `up there,' in the woods and on the mountain.  I plan to find out this winter.

Trekking up and over rural mountains, thinking it is going to be a fun hike, is an invitation to calamity.  There are `trails' galore out this way.  But they're not the kind of trails with benches every 2 miles and informative little descriptive signs.  Some trails go untraveled for years.  And they often lead over one mountain, down to a wilderness valley and back up to another mountain that is even more wilderness.

I'm very much engaged in learning as much as I can in advance of a careful, considered winter of hiking and climbing.  If and when I conclude I know what I'm doing I'd like to do some multiday hiking. 

Sleep is a Good Thing

In the run up to this coming Sunday's Skull Valley Loop Challenge my training schedule made last week the `heavy' week for workouts.  And `heavy' it was.  My last workout was yesterday.  So, after doing the 20 Mile Descending Time Trial  my wife and I had a nice brunch and did some local touring of beautiful Arizona.

Returning home around 2pm I was unable to keep from nodding off the minute I sat down for the rest of the day and evening.

Today started the `taper' of light training in advance the Challenge.

I got up later than usual this morning, did some household chores and made a week's worth of my "grim concoction" of vegetables, fruit, protein, wheat germ and lemon concentrate in the VitaMix blender. 

But I kept nodding off.  DEEP nodding off.

I finally gave up the battle and went back to bed and slept for three more hours.

If my body had a brain it would send me a `thank you' gift.

20 Mile Descending Time Trial Result

Completed the test with link below. 

Here are data and thoughts from today's test:

• Top of Iron Springs Rd. to Skull Valley RR track (12.4 miles = 00:21:39);
• SV RR track to Kirkland (6.65 miles = 00:15:43). 
• Total of 19.05 miles in 00:37:22. 
• Same speed for same distance as on Sep 15, '12. 

But 00:03:00 short of my goal for the race next Sunday.

Four possible reasons:

1. no headwind last year but 10+ mph headwind today;
2. 32 minutes of racing to warm up last year but started `cold' this year;
3. racing TT / solo today and not as `motivating' as competing against others last year;
4. I'm not as strong as last year.

Sep 8, 13: 20 Mile Descending TT

Race Experiment: Descending Cum Riding Time

http://ridewithgps.com/routes/3307104

In about one hour my wife will drive me to the top of Iron Springs Road and drop me off. I'll then descend down, at maximum speed, 20.5 miles to Kirkland.

I'm stripping the bike (Bacchetta CA2. blue, carbon fiber) down so that I carry nothing ... no food, water, tools, seatbags, etc. This serves two purposes: ...

a) to assess the descending speed capability of the bike without ballast,

b) to determine the bike handling dynamics of a totally naked bike. A bike with seatbag, water, etc, has variable weight distribution that interferes with air resistance, affects vertical stability at speed, i.e., there is wobble making the bike whippy at high speeds with minor directional forward changes [slight weaving at speed to stay upright, avoid rough road, etc].

I don't expect my maximum speed to exceed 55 mph (which any skilled cyclist - DF or bent) can achieve. But, because of the oversized front chain ring (58t) I'll be able to increase the amount of time/distance I can maintain pedaling (i.e., apply power) at the bottom of descents and beginning of ascents. So, max speed may not be much different but elapsed time between start and finish will certainly be shorter / less.

When I descend so fast that `spinning' generates instability I stop pedaling and become nothing more than a bag of rocks coasting. When I coast less and power pedal more the average speed over distance and time improves.

A Surpising Training Efficiency.

In less than two weeks I'll be racing the Skull Valley Loop Challenge. Here's the Course Map.

Arizona Central Highland terrain (6,000 feet).  Fifty four miles and 4,800 feet of climbing.  To `ride' the SV Loop is a `challenge.'  To race it is several steps beyond a `challenge.' 

Last year I took 32 minutes off my previous best time and came in at 02:49:00.  I was very surprised at doing so well with very little focused training. 

This year my training for the SVLC is now very focused and intense.  Wish me luck.  I'm intending to take another 15 minutes off my PB.  Maybe even sub 02:30:00. 

I don't `race' often.  (I do hold two world racing records: fastest recumbent crossing of Illinois; fastest recumbent crossing of Indiana.  Both in 2009.)

Rather, I've done long distance endurance events.  I've often been the only recumbent to finish such events but never first. 

On Sunday, October 6th, I'll be `converting' the SVLC course from a race to an unsupported ultra endurance event.  Instead of racing one loop I'll be stringing five loops together over twenty-four (24) hours, i.e., 270 miles and 24,140 feet of climbing. 

All but about 7 miles of the `loop' are in remote mountain, forest or ranch land.  When the sun sets vehicle traffic can be literally non-existent.  Critters.  Flat tires.  Accidents.  Very, very dark.  And alone.

Current training for the `race' has included speed work, climbing with 25-30 lbs of extra weight (power to weight ratio) and increased frequency of `hard' training sessions.  So as not to `over train' I've incorporated easy days into the mix.  These `easy' days cover the same mileage and climbing but at a much less intense effort.  That is, instead of being on the road for 3.5 hours I'd put in 6 hours ... just time `in the saddle.' 

The 24 hour ultra endurance event (5 loops) scares me more than the one loop race.  Can I `do' 24,000 consecutive feet of climbing in 24 hours? 

It turns out that my `race' training program is fitting well into my `ultra endurance' training needs. 

In the last week my long, `easy' training sessions left me with lots of energy and little wear and tear.  If I carefully attend to proper pacing on the ultra event I'm very, very confident of finishing five loops in 24 hours.  One month to go. 

Logistics.  Hydration.  Food.  These remain the factors requiring careful planning for the ultra event. 

Joe Friel's Blog: Aging and Performance

Certainly, because of my own age (67) Joe Friel's recent blogs are of intense interest for me.  His latest topic is no disappointment:

http://www.joefrielsblog.com/2013/09/aging-my-performance.html
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Aging: My Performance Posted: 03 Sep 2013

I’ve got training logs that go back to the 1970s when I first started recording my workouts. My heart rate data started in 1983, power in 1995. I had intended to go back and review all of that before sitting down to write this. But last weekend we flew to Lucca, Italy, where I am now. Preparing to leave is always a hassle. But being gone from my office for two months meant getting a lot done before the trip. I never got around to checking my training records, so much of what follows is based on memory. And it seems the older I get, the better I used to be.

Things appear to be changing this year. I’m not sure if it’s my age that’s behind it, just an aberration, or the inevitable circumstances of a busy life in 2013 with lots of travel. Of course, it could be some combination of all of these – and more. Regardless, it’s disturbing and has me wondering.

By “changing” I mean I’ve become less powerful. And it seems like it happened all of a sudden. In March I tested my Functional Threshold Power (FTP) and it was right where it has been for the last six springs when I first started testing this marker of performance. This was done in Scottsdale, Ariz. where I spend my winters. My summers are in Boulder. My power is always considerably lower in the latter due to the altitude. And sure enough, my FTP was where it always is in the first few weeks after arriving at 5500 feet – down about 8% from Scottsdale where I live at around 1800 feet.
Usually, around a month into my adaptation to the higher altitude about half of the lost watts come back. By the end of the summer when I’m ready to head south to Scottsdale, my FTP in Boulder is about what it was at the lower altitude in March. Then when I get back to the lower altitude I see my peak FTP for the season.

But not this year. Things were different. My FTP in Boulder never rose. It stayed at the -8% decrement all summer. And when I got back to Scottsdale, it didn’t come up – at all. To add to the concerns, my sprint power is the lowest it’s been since I started testing it. Could these changes be the first signs of age catching up with me?

For many years my FTP and sprint have been about the same with only seasonal or environmental (altitude in Boulder, summer heat in Scottsdale) shifts. My power for specific types of workouts, especially intervals and tempo rides (here’s the questionable memory part), has changed very little since 1995. As a 50-something rider I was slightly above average at, for example, time trials and climbing back then. Fifteen years later I’m a much better-than-average senior rider for TTs and hills. I don’t think I improved; my age peers just slowed down more. But now I may be catching up with them, it seems.

Of course, we are all going to have reduced athletic performance in endurance sports as we age. It’s inevitable. But we really don’t expect to see it happen - ever. And when it does, as I seem to be experiencing this year, it’s a bit frightening.

How much of a change should we expect? And when?

There was a great study that came out of Boise State University in 2009 – “Masters Athletes: An Analysis of Running, Swimming and Cycling Performance by Age and Gender” (Ransdell). The problem with most studies on athletes and aging is that they look at broad cross sections of various age categories by gender. That means they are comparing a wide range of abilities – front to back of pack – with motivation having a lot to do with performance. Some people simply aren’t motivated to train. And as the number of participants in endurance sports increases, the percentage of those who could not care less about performance and are only doing it for social reasons is likely to increase. That waters down the data so that we really don’t know what the true impact of age on performance is likely to be.

The authors of the Ransdell study examined only current US and World record holders by age groups in three sports – swimming, running, and cycling. That means we are now able to better understand what happens when motivation to train and compete is taken out of the equation leaving only age and gender as the modifiers of performance.

The following three charts are based on data from this study. While the scientists looked at several event distances within each sport, I’ve selected out only the longest and most common, long-endurance distances – 1500m swim, marathon, and 40k time trial. On the left side of each chart (the X axis) are the times of the records and across the bottom (Y axis) are the age groups. The charts aren’t terribly precise but give us a good look at trends.



Note from these charts that in the age groups from 50-59 there is a slight decrease in performance with it being greatest in swimming (the times get slower as indicated by rising lines). Women’s performances tend to decline even faster than the men’s, especially in running. Swimming shows the least gender-related decline.

These findings are roughly in agreement with other papers that also studied elite age-group athletes. For example, Wright and Perricelli looked at the performances of senior Olympians (50+) in the 2001 National Senior Olympic Games. Both male and female performances declined by about 3 to 4% per year from age 50 to 85, but at a great rate after age 75.

Tanaka and Seals looked at US Masters Swimming Championship results from 1991 to 1995. They found a steady decline in performance until about age 70 when times started declining at an exponential rate. The declines were greater in women than in men.

Many other researchers have found similar rates of decrease in elite master-athlete performances at national championships in swimming (Donato, Fairbrother) and triathlon (Lepers). In the triathlon paper Ironman age group performances declined faster than for those doing Olympic-distance races. I’ll get to the assumed reason why from the authors in an upcoming post here.

So it appears we can expect to slow down significantly some time in our 50s and experience the greatest negative rates of change in our 70s and beyond. (Want to guess what my next birthday will be? Right. 70.) The key questions are, why are these changes taking place and what can be done to slow them? That’s what I’ll take a look at in my next three posts.

References
Donatao AJ, Tench K, Glueck DH, Seals DR, Eskurza I, Tanaka H. 2003. Declines in Physiological Functional Capacity with Age: A Longitudinal Study in Peak Swimming Performance. J Appl Physiol 94(2):764-9.
Fairbrother JT. 2007. Prediction of 1500-m Freestyle Swimming Times for Older Masters All-American Swimmers. Exp Aging Res 33(4):461-71.
Lepers R, Sultana F, Bernard T, Hausswirth C, Brisswalter J. 2010. Age-Related Changes in Triathlon Performances. Int J Sports Med 31(4):251-6.
Ransdell LB, Vener J, Huberty J. 2009. Masters Athletes: An Analysis of Running, Swimming and Cycling Performance by Age and Gender. J Exerc Sci Fit 7(2):S61-S73.
Tanaka H, Seals DR. 1997. Age and Gender Interactions in Physiological Functional Capacity: Insight from Swimming Performance. J Appl Physiol 82(3):846-51.
Wright VY, Perricelli BC. 2008. Age-Related Rates of Decline in Performance Among Elite Senior Athletes. Am J Sports Med 36(3):443-50.

Now This is More Like It

Skull Valley Loop - Clockwise

Training task today: handling of bike on fast descents into crosswind.  Making this more difficult was the fully loaded seat bag with water and tools; top heavy, made things `whippy' at high cadence (114) and speeds in the 45-55 mph range.  A good 8 on 10 pt scale. 

The lessons are: a) work on smoother high cadence pedaling; b) race time there will be no seat bag to whip around.

Thirteen days out from what amounts to the only race I regularly enter: Skull Valley Loop Challenge.  It's short enough (54 miles), demanding and challenging enough (steep descents, long ascents, twisty switchbacks), beautiful enough ... and local. 

This week is the `tough' training week.  Next week is taper and rest in preparation for the race. 

When I put in a `tough' training session it usually takes me about 36 hours to fully recover.  Not doing that this week.  By week's end I'll be on the edge. 

Sloppy Training Tips for Disorganized Mortals

Sloppy.  And far from `correct.’  But I’m pretty happy with today’s `training for disorganized mortals.’ 

Two weeks from tomorrow (Sunday, Sep 15) a local annual cycling event will take place.  The Skull Valley Loop Challenge.  Fifty-four miles of climbing and descending (about 4,500 feet).  Drop dead gorgeous mountain terrain in Arizona’s Central Highlands.  Screaming descents (-3% -11%) on glass smooth roads for more than a dozen miles (video of me doing one of the long descents).  Demanding, non-stop ascents (+3 +9%) for more than 9 miles.  Miles and miles of rollers.  And more than 10 miles of rapid ascending and descending, sharp-angle mountain cliffside switchbacks.   Words just can’t describe this course. 

I live less than a mile from the start and end points of this event (SVLC Route).  I train on some or all of this course all year long.  I never tire of the almost overpowering majesty and beauty of the terrain.  I’ve studied the geology (`rotten granite,’ `1.8 billion year old gneiss,’ `rhyolite lava flows from massive tectonic separations’).  Scrub brush desert to Prescott Pinon forest ranges.  Monsoon rains and lightning.  Intense, body killing solar radiation and heat at high altitude. 

Today I did the Skull Valley Loop clockwise, i.e., in the opposite direction (SVL clockwise today).  It’s actually much harder to do the `loop’ clockwise.  The last half of the route is unremittingly and increasingly steep.  It just grinds and grinds. 

Train heavy.  Race lite. 

When I train I carry 100 oz of water and `food,’ an extra tire, 4 tubes, tools, food, clothes for 3 seasons.  Probably as much as 25 – 30 lbs of stuff.   Given the rapid uppy-downy nature of the terrain I have an uncommon gearing setup (even for a recumbent).  A 58/42 double upfront.  And a ten speed 11/36 cassette in back.  The 58/11 combination allows me to maintain power (and speed at approx. 46 mph) on the initial descents and flats before I spin out (approx. 114 rpm).  The 42/36 combination lets me crank within a comfortable rpm on the steepest of the climbs. 

Yesterday I was a pig.  I ate sausages, cake, pasta, pizza, lots of bread and peanut butter.  Half a bottle of wine.  All of this put me at a 195 lb starting weight this morning.  (Within 5 miles my body gets the point,  authorizes emphatic peristalsis … and I’m returned to something somewhat lighter). 

The first half of the `loop’ was great.  Some ups and downs but lots of long descents where I could really put that 58t front ring to work. 

In a `race’ (for me) it’s important to be able to produce lots of power without backing off.  I’m particularly motivated to `catch’ whomever is in front of me.  Especially on the climbs.  Why `especially on the climbs?’  Because other cyclists ride upright, diamond frame bikes and they smugly `know’ that “recumbents can’t climb.”  I like to pass them on the climbs.  Aggression.  Almost to the point of dangerous hostility.  When I’m doing this I literally don’t care if my heart rate exceeds 3 digits.  I’m often breathing so hard I sound like a train. 

When I race the `loop' I carry nothing.  No water.  No tools.  No tubes.  No food.  Nothing.  I don't stop.  Just me on the bike.  And I'll probably drop 10 lbs by then.  I feel literally `bouyant' for the race.  And I'm (humility is such a burden) fast. 

So today I made myself do a non-stop 17 mile climb in the 58t big ring upfront.  My cadence, at times, was as low as 40 rpm.  My speed stayed just barely above 4 mph at times.  The last 5 miles of this climb was constantly between 6% and 11%. 

I was fat.  Carrying 30 lbs of dead weight.  And cranking low and slow. 

I know that pro trainers and many other more informed cyclists disapprove of, or find this training tactic either pointless or destructive.  For me, however, it builds a) capacity to endure the stress of constant power output, b) muscle and ligament strength. 

At the very end of the `loop’ (clockwise) there is a 2 mile steep descent.  I clicked into the 58/11 and tore down the descent.  I had to feather the brakes at one point because the rushing wind was pushing my helmet visor down over my eyes. 

Sloppy.  Heavy.  Mortal.  And better.   

Dan Fallon: Descent to Skull Valley

Dan Fallon: Descent to Skull Valley

The descent to Skull Valley from the top of Iron Springs Road is 12.2 miles long. (http://ridewithgps.com/trips/1623786)

The last 7 miles of the road has been completely repaved allowing the total descent to be on glass smooth surface with wide shoulders.  This is a video (GoPro) of my descent (starting at 5:30 minutes into vid).  Clear day.  Very little wind (early). 

Purposely restricted my speed to 50 mph, but could easily have exceeded that simply by not feathering the brakes.  I rode a Bacchetta CA2 high racer recumbent bicycle.  This descent is part of the Skull Valley Loop Challenge: (http://www.prescottbikeped.org/prescottcycling/loopchallenge/)

My Experience with Ultracycling

When I was a kid I rode around the block until it was dark.  As a young teenager I rode in a `pack' with other kids.  When I was 16 I decided to ride the circumference of Lake Michigan.  Then I took up running.  That and work and family kept me stretched for a few decades.  In my late forties I came back to cycling.  It was always a release, for fun.  Sometimes for social interaction. 

It wasn't until my early fifties that I made a real effort to ride long distances (which amounted to club centuries a few times a month in good weather).  That grew to week long events of over one hundred miles a day.  Throw in a few one day double centuries. 

In 2008 I began riding the recumbent bike.  Big improvement.  More miles, far less agony (no more saddle sores, sore shoulders, neck pain, numb hands and wrists).  I got a `bug' in me to join the UltraMarathon Cycling Association in 2009 for the purpose of setting a few cross State (Illinois and Indiana) speed records. 

And then things got complicated, expensive and much less fun.  My own fault.  I got on the `ultracycling' macho machine.  Criminy!  The money I spent. 

Knowing me, it had to be done.  A very, very complicated set of expectations and motives played themselves out over a good five year period. 

With significant exceptions (people I met) the fun got extinguished by politics, people wanting to sell bikes, and an enormous amount of `mine is bigger than yours.' 

I seem to do most things in `fives.' 

I am still very much involved in challenging myself with demanding bicycling activities.  But I've returned to the `fun' of it again.  I still consider myself an ultracyclist and have the current credentials to prove it. 

In some respects, stepping back from attempting to be an illuminatus in the cycling world is like chopping off an arm.  There is a mania (and myopia) about it.  And giving up an addictive delusion leaves one in a state of intense introspection: what am I getting back for all the energy I'm putting out?

I'm fortunate to live in one of the most exciting, spectacular and challenging places in the world.  I can roll out my front door literally instantly have multiple options for meaning and fulfillment. 

More to come on this topic.  I consider it a welcome maturation process.

A 58t Front Chainring Will NOT Make Me Faster on the Downhills

I'm changing my front triple (55/39/30) to a double (58/42).

In doing so I'm stepping smack into the middle of the mistaken conclusion of many that I'm doing so in order to exceed my current 54 mph max downhill speed. 

First, I can exceed the 54 mph max downhill speed already without changing my gearing.   Just don't use the brakes. 

What with the long, steep and straight descents out my way I spin out in my 55/11 combination at around 42 mph (that's about 111 rpm).  The difference between the 42 mph and 54 mph is solely due to a) angle of descent, b) minimal to zero crosswinds, c) good road quality. 

Second, a 58/11 combination will see me spinning out at around 46 - 54 mph.   

So why am I making the switch?

Short answer: because on the initial ascents and initial descents I will be able to apply power longer (maintain and accelerate speed) before I spin out. 

As it is with the 55t, when the conditions allow it, I spin out and am `stuck' at that speed,  having to `coast' down or up to the next ascent/descent.  I'm just a sack of flower on two wheels restrained by the limits of my pedal rpms. 

Why don't I `pedal faster?'  Because increased rpms generate instability, esp. if conditions are not just perfect. 

Explanation. 

On long, 4%+ descents, many casual/recreational cyclists can exceed 54 mph simply by not applying the brakes.  Especially if that casual cyclist has `ballast.'  (Ask a pro cyclist weighing 120 lbs how difficult it is to achieve and maintain descending speeds). 

I have kept my descending speed `down' to 54 mph simply because it is unneeded risk injected into a race by going faster.  Any extra distance gained by that added speed is lost very quickly at the next turn, when you have to slow down because of a pack of cyclists blocking the road ahead, or because of road conditions. 

When I am capable of consistently maintaining high speed (without spinning out) on initial ascents and initial descents (i.e., achieving `'54 mph' sooner and staying there longer) I accumulate additional distance over my competitors.  I get fast faster and stay fast longer because I can continue to apply power to the pedals at a manageable rpm. 

Example #1:

A cyclist will pass me (doing 58-60 mph) on a roller.  He then begins ascending the next hill/roller.  As gravity slows him down he applies power until he either reaches his power-to-weight maximum or he has to downshift. 

As I begin ascending that next hill/roller my 58t big ring allows me to apply power longer without spinning out, passing the other cyclist at a good rate of speed, adding cumulative distance that will be very difficult for the other cyclist to recover.  (Note: I have a very strong power to weight ratio; much better, longer, than most cyclists).

Example #2: 

I and another cyclist will be racing neck and neck as we reach the next descent.  As we both accelerate down the descent he will reach his `spinout' threshold (i.e., when he has to stop applying power and simply coasts) sooner.  Because I have a bigger (58t) front ring I will be able to apply power longer without spinning out.

Caveat:

There are many cyclists who are both capable and willing to pedal at a faster cadence, higher rpm, than me.  All things being equal, then, the advantage of my 58t ring will be reduced.