Arizona 200km Brevet (Mt Lemmon)

Yesterday, I attempted the hardest 200k brevet I've tried to date. See http://www.azbrevet.com/. Great route, I hope Susan Plonsky (the RBA) decides to make it a permanent fixture.

62.5 miles from Dove Mountain on Tangerine Rd to the turnaround point in Summerhaven at the end of the Catalina Highway and nearly to the top of Mt Lemmon - and back - makes for an epic 200k. A nice touch is that we got to mail a postcard (provided) at the (closed on weekends) postoffice in Summerhaven. Zip code up there past 8000ft is 85619.

As a local, I've done the Mt Lemmon climb many a time. However, I haven't attempted it after a 5 month layoff before - my last ride was at the end June after the transcontinental, so I knew I was going to suffer. I've been trying to become a runner exclusively this semester, so my quads weren't getting the workouts they needed. I didn't think I was going to have to get off my bike a dozen times though.

My stomach cramped up on the climb - I use Sustained Energy and dosing is critical for me: too much and my stomach rebels (as it did yesterday), too little and I bonk. Build up of tolerance is another factor. I switched immediately to plain water. That makes the stomach cramps disappear but then of course my stomach is not processing correctly and on a climb of this magnitude I ended up bonked anyway. That's when it got difficult: riding half mile chunks, stopping, and riding a bit more until I hit the Palisades checkpoint (mile 20 on the climb) where Susan was waiting with food and a drop bag. A banana and some brownies and I started to recover.

Five miles remaining to Summerhaven to mail the postcard and back down to the Palisades where I ate a sandwich for lunch. I then rode the rest of the brevet with Alan Marmostein, finishing at 4:40pm having started at 7am. We'd started off in the same group but Alan simply was too strong for me as soon as we started the Mt Lemmon climb. And he probably outweighs me by 50-60lbs. Ouch! He is clearly in excellent shape. (BTW, Carol Havrda from Colorado finished at 3:12pm.)

About 20 miles or so into the ride, the lead rider just a minute or two up the road got hit by a car exiting a road onto Sunrise. Separated shoulder and squished disc in the back. Paramedics were there even before our group arrived. Turns out it happened next to a firehouse. Rather sobering as always to see a rider down, but at the same time it was reassuring to see that he got immediate medical attention.

Some ride details now... I carried a Garmin etrex vista to record the route.

1. Mapsource:

2. Google Earth:

3. The profile, total 8700ft of climbing:

4. The descent from Mt Lemmon from my SRM powermeter.
It's a bit unexpected but I could keep up with Alan Marmostein here despite him outweighing me by 50%. Hey, I'll take anything positive given my rough day.

There was a 15 mile run scheduled for Sunday morning at 6:30am. Needless to say, I didn't make that...

AZ 600k Brevet and Moots Tailgator rack

This past weekend I did the AZ 600k brevet, website here. An official qualifier for Paris-Brest-Paris. 29 hours and 24 minutes total time. 380 miles (600 km). Ouch!

It all began on Saturday morning at 5am. Route was Casa Grande to the west side of Tucson, to Continental, to Sonoita, to Elgin, to Tombstone and all the way back. Recent emergency travel has left me without significant brevet training. I was restricted to 30 minutes on a hotel gym treadmill. This does not make for a lean, mean brevet rider. I also managed to pick up a sprained left ankle (anterior talofibular ligament) and a dry cough a week before. So it was all about surviving the distance.

Once again I have Gerry Goode to thank for surviving a 600k. Gerry is one of my heroes of cycling. Let me explain. Some historical context is in order here. My very first 600k was at the 1996 Boston Brevet Series. I had stomach problems and Gerry played a large part in making it possible for me to complete the ride in 39 hours and 30 minutes, barely under the 40 hour cutoff. Years later, my best time (on the Boston 600k with about 18,000 ft of climbing) was 23 hours and 30 minutes. However, despite the accumulation of experience, I've never managed to comfortably master a 600k: meaning that I've always felt completely wasted at the finish.

Now, over ten years later, Gerry again schools me on how to survive a 600k. Given my lack of bike-specific training, an untimely puncture at mile 20 didn't bode well for survival. (However, Mark Thomas broke a Cinelli stem on a bridge expansion joint, and still managed to continue after purchasing a new stem, so that puts my puncture into perspective.) Anyway, I played mostly solo catch-up for over 80 miles before seeing Gerry and co. again.

Image linked from AZ Brevet website (by Lonnie Epic Wolff): (from front to back) Greg Jones, Lisa Jones, Sandiway Fong (red jersey), Clair Jensen (yellow jersey), Rick Blacker.
Picture was taken in Marana on the way down after my puncture. I believe this was one of the groups I caught on the way back up to Gerry and co.

Come darkness, as we progressed from Sonoita to Elgin to Tombstone and back, I was of little use as Gerry set the pace. Given my lack of shape, I think I spent a few too many kcal during catch-up. Only after a dawn breakfast stop at the Marana (Avra Valley Rd) airport on Sunday morning for scrambled eggs, sausage and toast, did I manage to reboot my legs and pedal respectably. Real food. Real results.

Rather dangerously, my tiredness meant that I also nodded off a few times on the bike, only to be woken by a jerk of the handlebars as my bike dove either to the left or right. On Kinney Rd just after dawn on the return leg, one micro-sleep episode freaked me out so much I believe I got a shot of natural adrenaline that kept me awake for the rest of the ride. I woke to find myself off the paved road, wobbling in the sand. Years of bicycling reflexes came into play as I steered myself away from an unscheduled meeting with a cactus: a collision that I could only lose.

I think part of this was compounded by the lack of sleep also on Friday night, i.e. the night before the 5am start. I was making changes to my brevet bike setup and it took all evening.

Fortunately, the equipment change was a positive one. And I felt very pleased with how it worked on the 600k. I finally found a very lightweight seatpost rack that didn't sway but could hold a few kilos of equipment for ultra-riding. This is the Moots titanium/aluminum Tailgator rack (website).

For a quick changeover, I bought a second Selle Italia SLR saddle and Bold Precision seatpost (300mm). Once sized and aligned, I plan to leave the rack permanently attached to the seatpost. And I can quickly swap the entire setup out for regular riding.

Weight as shown above (458g): 144g Selle Italia SLR saddle, 190g Bold Precision Ti 300mm 27.2mm, 14g 27.2mm Moots shim, 110g Moots Tailgator rack.

Below is the entire system with the separate upper and lower bags (230g + 130g, respectively).

I stored clothing in the top section. Leg warmers, long-sleeve windshell, ankle reflectors, helmet liner, liner gloves, and reflective vest. Unfortunately, even when adding a long-sleeve jersey from the bagdrop at the Elgin checkpoint to this list, all of this was not sufficient to keep me from shivering on descents in the middle of the night. At altitude, it was much colder than I'd budgeted for.

Food and bike accesories go in the lower section. 3 inner tubes. 4 CO2 cartridges. Tools. On-bike food and energy drink mix for 200 miles.

Unlike the Klikit trunk bag and nylon seatpost rack I used back on Boston-Montreal-Boston 1996, I detected no sway when leaning into the corners on descents. Also I mounted the Moots low enough not to interfere with my legs during pedaling. Highly recommended.

I now have the 600k and 300k down (see prior blog entries Eve of Stupidity and 190 miles). I'm missing the 400k and 200k qualifiers. Gotta make up those if I'm to be in Paris come August.

190 miles

Today I'm really sore. Yesterday, I rode 190 miles (see AZ Brevets).

It was the 2nd time I've touched my bike this year (see earlier blog entry on the eve of stupidity). That's why today my body is aching.

First the statistics: 11:25 ride time. 12:50 total time. 190 miles. 5500 kJ (SRM powermeter). Intake: 3300 kcal (est.)

Long distance bike nutrition is all about continually fueling the body to meet the massive kcal deficit: staving off the bonk while not overfilling and upsetting the stomach. I tend to eat on the bike only. At the checkpoints, I get my brevet card stamped/signed, grab water, use the bathroom and that's about it. Nutrition cost: $23.

160 oz dilute Sustained Energy ($4) 800 kcal (est.)
2 Powerbars and 2 Balance bars. ($4) 880 kcal
3 Clif Shot Blok packets ($5) 600 kcal
8 Gu ($8) 800 kcal
24oz Coke ($2) 300 kcal

After all that, I really enjoyed my dimsum today!

Given my lack of bike time this year, I rode conservatively, using my powermeter to keep my effort level low, especially on the Gates Pass approach on Sweetwater and the climb itself at mile 105. Last thing I needed was to attack the climb and die afterwards. After that, as usual, the headwind was persistent and strong on the I-10 Frontage road back up to Picacho Peak. At times, I rode alone, other times I got dropped, got caught or caught up to and rode with others. On the Frontage Rd, I banged my knee. My first crash on a brevet since I started riding them in 1996. I was riding with two Ironmen, one guy touched the wheel of his buddy, fell and I was inches from his back wheel and had nowhere to go. Over the top of his bike I went. Banged my knee, a bit of blood and bruising around a rib or two. Fortunately, my bike was ok, i.e. no tacoed wheel. Not a showstopper.

Today the knee is a bit swollen. Got a 1 hour massage for my aching back and neck. Sauna, steam room and whirlpool should accelerate the recovery process. After all, I'd better get in some training before the 400k brevet (250 miler) comes up!

eve of stupidity

Am I on the eve of stupidity?

I've ridden my bike exactly once since the beginning of the year, and tomorrow is a 300k qualifier for Paris-Brest-Paris.

If I had basic fitness, I really wouldn't be worrying about a 190 mile ride too much. Sure I won't be looking to set any PRs, but at the same time I know it won't be some deathmarch.

Instead, right now on the Friday night before a pre-dawn start at 37F on Saturday morning, I'm not sure my body is up to the task.

I rode last Sunday. Cleaned my wheels. Put air in the tires. Lubed the chain. And took the bike and my laptop down to the university, ran some errands, and did some work sitting at the local coffee shop (where the picture above was taken).

Worked until dark, then tested my new DiNotte 5W headlight on the way home. (See an earlier blog entry here for a lighting comparo.)

Total: a leisurely 2 hrs spent on the bike. 150W average. 32 miles. 1060 kJ.

Well, the bike and the headlight check out fine. At least, they're both ready. But I can feel it, despite my running program (I last ran on Wednesday and my last treadmill workout was Monday, see entry here), the body just isn't there yet. One lame excuse I have is that it has been unseasonably cold here in Tucson and that makes me not feel like riding. We've even had snow (some pics in a later post).

And that disappoints me. Whatever the environmental conditions, I need to maintain a minimum and appropriate standard of fitness for the kinds of events I do. Or I might as well not try.

What is this minimum standard? Base level is being ready and able to ride a double century on the bike or run a marathon any day of the week. This doesn't mean being able to do it on consecutive days. It means not having to any special training for it. And I'm worried I'm going to come up short tomorrow morning starting at 5am. Well, there is only one way to find out...

Update:
Dan Emery came up with the following very cool lyrics to be sung to the tune of Barry McGuire's Eve of Destruction (weblink here).

Eve of Stupidity
The flabby quads they are explodin',
Nostrils flarin', carbo loadin',
You're tired enough to bonk about to start bloatin',
You don't believe in drugs, what's that flask you're totin',
And even the Santa Cruz River has waterbottles floatin',
But you tell me over and over and over again my friend,
Ah, you don't believe we're on the eve of stupidity.