Month: March 2011

The first official brevet of the SIR 2011 season drew a large crowd of 120 riders to the 7am start. I got up at 5am to make sure I could get to the start on time and didn’t forget any of my gear (the previous ride had seen me without any water bottles)!

We set off at a good pace, spurred on by a downhill descent from the top of the hill that we had started on. This hill would await us at the end of the ride after 123 miles for a final 2 miles of climbing to finish us off.

I stayed near the front of the main group, though Chris Ragsdale, Jan Heine and a couple others were off the front immediately riding a different ride altogether. They eventually finished in 7:15. We all made good time until the first vertical climb at 18 miles which spread the pack out a bit. My legs were feeling good, after making the wise choice to skip the P90X leg workout the day before so as not to fry them, and I hung on near the front as we climbed up and then on to the first official control at 24 miles or so.

I was trying to minimize my time at stops for this ride and did a pretty good job of it. My target was 1:10 off the bike and I held it to :50. I still didn’t feel to rushed and did eat a little at the 87 mile control though the food selection wasn’t great. I was eyeing some hot dogs but when the attendant couldn’t tell me how long they had been sitting keeping warm I decided to pass.

The course was a nice mixture of climbs, rollers and flats for some recovery. Overall I felt good though I started to cramp a little 80 miles in and had to back off the pace a little to let my electrolyte tablets kick in. I should probably start taking them a little earlier on my next ride. I didn’t have my usual gel bloks along so was mostly caffeine free for this ride.

I finished in under 9 hours (8:54) which was a good time for me and well inside my R70 target time of 9:28. Overall I was in the top quarter of the 120 riders which is an improvement over previous years.

Next up is the 300k on April 9th (Target time 13:50).

The SIR season officially kicked off with the Spring Populaire, a 100k ride starting in Woodinville and looping around country roads through Carnation and then back via Redmond.

There was a great turnout of close to 100 riders and it was great to see so many familiar faces from previous years.

My meticulous planning the night before ran into some snags when I realized that my two water bottles were still at home in the fridge and my Garmin GPS had no battery charge (it must have not charged properly after Thursday’s ride which had drained the battery). So it was off with the heart rate monitor and I scrounged a temporary bottle of regular bottled water so at least I would have some water with me. I reckoned I’d just need to drink when I stopped rather than as I rode.

The peleton took off at 9am at a leisurely pace along the trail before we left it a couple miles along and started our  climb out of Woodinville. My legs were feeling good despite a 110 mile ride on Thursday so I moved up the pack as we ascended the hill and then hopped on the Ragsdale express as it swept by me with Bob, Mike and other fast riders in the group. (They can ride a lot faster than me but I can hang on drafting for a while on any given day). It was fun riding some of the same roads that I’d been on solo on Thursday at a much faster pace. I stuck with them until the first control but then my extra minute spent drinking my make shift water meant they had left ahead of me.

I took off chasing and got on another group. My chain had been shifting a bit strangely on Thursday and I was planning to drop the bike in for a service this week. While I thought I could get one more ride out of it my chain didn’t go along wiht the plan.

I was pushing uphill on one of the rollers when it snapped. This had never happened to me before and lacking a chain tool (which was also safely at home) I didn’t have many options. Thankfully there were other riders who stopped and walked me through the steps to take out a couple of links and attach the chain back together again with their tool. It was great to have gone through this on a sunny day so that I should be able to do it again if need be (particularly if I’m by myself at 3am on a mountain pass in the rain … ). That will be the last ride that I don’t have a chain tool along with me.

I also checked my maintenance logs and that chain had about 3000 miles on it which is really too much. I think the average life expectancy is around 2000 miles.

Once the chain was back together (now a couple of links shorter) I babied it in for the rest of the ride, staying out of the big chain ring and staying seated on all the climbs. It survived but it meant my time and pace was a bit slower than usual.

A good stop at Sandy’s for refueling and then a climb over the hills to Redmond and back up along the trail to Woodinville. Next up is the 200k in 2 weeks as the first of my 4 qualifying rides for PBP this year.

I’ve a couple of speed targets for the various brevets this year. These were created by the Cyclos Montagnards group as a series of speed awards for those who are motivated by trying to go faster on these longer rides, http://www.cyclosmontagnards.org/R80Rules.html.

The R80 award seems very doable and the R70 as a stretch goal (I have ridden both a 200k and 400k at R70 pace in the past). The main issue is the 600k as I don’t think I can have a sleep break and achieve the necessary times.

The R80 honor requires completion of a brevet series (200, 300, 400 and 600 km) with each brevet completed in 80% or less of the maximum allowed time limit. The R70 and R60 honors are for those who complete the brevets in 70% or 60% of the allowed time, respectively.

R80:
200 km: 10:48 hours
300 km: 16:00 hours
400 km: 21:36 hours
600 km: 32:00 hours

R70:
200 km: 9:27 hours
300 km: 14:00 hours
400 km: 18:54 hours
600 km: 28:00 hours

R60:
200 km: 8:06 hours
300 km: 12:00 hours
400 km: 16:12 hours
600 km: 24:00 hours

I’ll be riding the inaugural running of a new 1200k bike ride in Colorado in July this year.

Here are a few of the challenges that the organizer has shared about this ride. I think the altitude will be the most “interesting” one based on my experiences living at 6000 ft in Nairobi and 8000 ft in Thimphu and the debilitating impact it can have on you when you first reach that altitude. I need to work out how far in advance I should arrive before the event starts to acclimatize sufficiently.

That said the altitude training should make me that much stronger for PBP in August. At least that’s the theory…

Source: http://coloradohighcountry1200k.blogspot.com/

TOP CHALLENGES:

• Altitude
• Extended Climbs
• Wind
• Temperature Range
• Chilly Precipitation
• Hydration
• Wildlife

CHALLENGES RESERVED FOR OTHER EVENTS (what you won’t be facing!):

• Steep Grades
• Technical Turns
• Complex Routefinding
• Congested Areas
• Crowds of Riders
• Humidity
• Insects
• Poisonous Animals

I mention these topics – and others, such as cattle guards – on the Rider Info page, but here are a few more gratuitous thoughts:

• Altitude – You’ll top out above 10,000 ft. three times on the route, and sleep near 9,000 ft. the final night.  This verges on being “at altitude” as they say here, and does have its effect, even for folks who live here on the Plains (at 5,000 ft.).  What effect??  I’ll discuss this more in a separate post, since a number of you have asked.
• Wind – Canyons can channel wind.  The open high-country areas (“parks” in Colorado terminology) have few trees so wind can have its way there, too.  A good reason to practice those social skills and cultivate riding partners early on?
• Extended Climbs – Those “endless rollers” where you may come from may seem tough (and are!), but you at least get a break every mile or two.  The one, or two, or three-hour climbs on this ride can grind a rider down.  Take this into account.  Take a stretch break; hydration break; chat break; whatever, if you need it.
• Temperature Range – Although it’s a “dry cold” and “dry heat” here because of the low humidity, you may need to carry more layering – for chillier parts of the day –  than you might otherwise in a more humid climate.  Have a look at the statistical low and high temps on the Rider Info page.
• Chilly Precipitation – Summer showers in the mountains can be cold, not a tropical shower.  You should be fine if you have the right outerwear, are smart, and don your gear in a timely fashion.
• Hydration – An arid climate + wind = lots of potential moisture loss.  It’s the same old advice: you won’t know you’re dehydrated in a cool, dry climate until it’s become a big problem.  So keep ahead of the game.  I’ll have a post about hydration-challenging segments later on.
• Wildlife – Each region has wildlife considerations.  Much of the High Country route passes through sparsely-populated areas: National Forests and National Wildlife Areas, where wildlife flourish.  Be mindful of moose, which are large and can be aggressive, and general wildlife on the roads in the pre-dawn and post-dawn hours (coyotes, deer, etc.)