tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33857524598277573382024-02-07T10:04:00.242-08:00JV's Cycling BlogA nice place to keep my cycling related writing. Its mostly about go fast equipment, a bit of engineering analysis, training and racing snmarter, recumbents, and the dynamics of group rides.JVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11500377908398226515noreply@blogger.comBlogger33125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3385752459827757338.post-14130779192338148782018-11-27T00:27:00.002-08:002018-11-29T18:19:05.757-08:00Double chainrings finally practical for fast bents? 12s, XD drive, and super-compact 2x.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Of all the bikes out there, fast recumbents need the widest gear range of all. We go faster on flats and downhills than any other platform, but we can not stand on climbs, and we and our bikes are generally heavier. More than anyone out there we need wide range triple chainring drivetrains. Right?Right!<br />
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But there are problems with this. No one ever made a triple (3x) drivetrain with the range we need. the rear derailleurs can not handle all the extra chain in the small small combinations. I have a 54/39/27 crank and a 11-32 11s cassette. In the 27t chainring, almost half of the cassette leaves the chain slack! I can still use the gears, so it's not a big problem, but that's not ideal.<br />
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Lately things have been getting worse. Triples are going away in favor of all manner of doubles (2x), and, shudder, 1x! My set up leaves me with a gear range of 130.2-22.4 gear inches. I have calculated that to duplicate my current range of gears with 1x requires a 50t chainring, and a 10-60t cassette! To get the nice steps between gears it would need to be a 17s cassette too! That is well over a decade out, if ever. To make matters worse, you cannot entertain the thought of electronic shifting with a triple.<br />
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I have considered a compact double a few times in the past, but with 11s or even 12s I would want a 52/34, and would need an 11-40t cassette. The gaps between the small cogs would be too big so I would need a separate 11-32t or smaller cassette for flat rides and races. The great thing about my current 3x setup is that I can do everything with one cassette, so I don't want to give that up. Plus a 52/34 is not something any front derailleur will officially shift, let alone an electric one.<br />
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So what has changed? 4 things.<br />
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>SRAM is going to 12s for road groups. </li>
<li>The SRAM XD drive freehub bodies are gaining popularity. They allow the use of a 10t small cog on the cassette. SRAM is expected expand use of this from MTB to road with their new 12s road groups. It will be called XDR. The R is for road. </li>
<li>Super-compact 2x cranksets are now a thing, with 46/30t rings. There are even 46/30t rings being made to fit on some current compact 2x cranksets! Thank you gravel market!</li>
<li>I have decided I can give up the 54/11 gear (130.2 gear inches). I am running fatter tires every year, which helps mitigate this a bit. I am getting older too. </li>
</ol>
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How does this all work together to give you the range and the reasonable gear spacing you need? </div>
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<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>12s just gives you one more gear range while maintaining reasonable gaps between gears. For me a 11-28t cassette has reasonable gaps in 10s, and an 11-32t is good in 11s. So it makes sense that an 11-36 is good in 12s. </li>
<li>XD drive means I can actually go to a 10-36t cassette. </li>
<li>Super compact rings mean that while we still see a 16t max gap between the 2 rings, as we get smaller in ring size, 16t gives a greater percentage gear difference. The difference between a 52 and 36 is 44%, but a 46/30t is over 53%. So in smaller chainrings a 16t gap, which works with most 2x front derailleurs, gives us more range. </li>
</ol>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwB4sinDHBStN5QzQxIGZjiT0k7Hq14-xsqjCgJZqjk_3oFmyi3eoF1cDH60sEX6ov8bRgz1N66Lu1mhlK4Bgocsfb6ZmePmKfZnoLz9_gA0gqykTu5Gb8W0LBfG6WDi7ueBDOR1mql7U/s1600/gears.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="575" data-original-width="883" height="416" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwB4sinDHBStN5QzQxIGZjiT0k7Hq14-xsqjCgJZqjk_3oFmyi3eoF1cDH60sEX6ov8bRgz1N66Lu1mhlK4Bgocsfb6ZmePmKfZnoLz9_gA0gqykTu5Gb8W0LBfG6WDi7ueBDOR1mql7U/s640/gears.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Behold the comparison (thanks to Sheldon Brown). New double on the left, old triple on the right. This is for a 700x28 tire. I give up less than one gear on top, dropping from 130 to 122 gear inches. My low gear drops a hair from 22.4 to 22.1 gear inches. As far as reasonable gaps between gears, I go from a range of 7.1-15.8% to 7.7-16.7%. Tolerable. In the critical area for riding hard on flat ground (roughly 80-110 gear inches for me) I still have 4 gears. Instead of using the 54t with the 13, 14, 15 and 17, I will be in the 46t ring and the 11, 12, 13, and 14t cogs. I spend a lot of time in the 54/14 combination in training rides/races, now it will be the 46/12. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMNQEzGBqiXZ3l0rp-pArLU3zOJd1C9JHoNpA7fIE67ajINZJKySVw1bLiC_iapRzSswbl2yaOEgTrowRuBCNbq8poE3EV9jk_kxzunImEXQpRzFhnfrUQle8m-altKR0IdaKZ6QoUmRk/s1600/gears+650.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="578" data-original-width="321" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMNQEzGBqiXZ3l0rp-pArLU3zOJd1C9JHoNpA7fIE67ajINZJKySVw1bLiC_iapRzSswbl2yaOEgTrowRuBCNbq8poE3EV9jk_kxzunImEXQpRzFhnfrUQle8m-altKR0IdaKZ6QoUmRk/s400/gears+650.jpg" width="221" /></a></div>
This chart shows you can get almost the same gears with a 26" or 650c wheel with a 50/34 chainring combination.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyXGBWVBwqkXWgTRAwBwbtISKUtY5sADfQdeHBwVKUMKstiTAglAmHunNdxvu8zZYhxHIIJasnYErbx8gbHXFk3VPhZmFXjJTv2Psbmb627tSxrQXLlaWlFhIFbAlFfpYtoZa3oqUHn5w/s1600/gears+520.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="578" data-original-width="322" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyXGBWVBwqkXWgTRAwBwbtISKUtY5sADfQdeHBwVKUMKstiTAglAmHunNdxvu8zZYhxHIIJasnYErbx8gbHXFk3VPhZmFXjJTv2Psbmb627tSxrQXLlaWlFhIFbAlFfpYtoZa3oqUHn5w/s400/gears+520.jpg" width="222" /></a></div>
This chart shows you can get almost the same gears with a 24" (520mm) wheel with a 55/38 chainring combination. Now the gap between the rings is starting to exceed 16t, which may not work as well with a double front derailleur. You may want a 56t as well. </div>
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Upsides: </div>
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<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>Lighter for sure. </li>
<li>Simple front shifts.</li>
<li>Simplified shifting in general.</li>
<li>Electronic capable. </li>
<li>Less boom flex in the small ring, because it's bigger than the inner ring on the triple was. </li>
<li>No chain slack?</li>
<li>Triples are getting harder to find. </li>
</ol>
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Downsides:</div>
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<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>Slightly faster cog/ring wear. </li>
<li>Slightly more drivetrain rumble from the small cogs. </li>
<li>More boom flex in the big ring, since its now smaller than what the triple had. </li>
<li>As with most steps to more cogs on the cassette, chains get narrower, and the tolerances in the parts doing the shifting need to be tightened up, which costs money. </li>
<li>Not much available in oval chainrings yet. Absolute Black makes some, but they are not adjustable to a recumbent position like Rotor's Q-rings. </li>
</ol>
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Vaporware: </div>
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<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>Yes, the 10-36t cassette I show is fiction. I made it up. I bet a 10-32 will exist shortly. Not sure about a 36. Lets hope the gravel market continues to drive innovation. </li>
<li>Even if it does exist, it may only be intended for a 1x system, and a rear derailleur capable of shifting a 10-36t may not exist in a road group. Hopefully SRAM keeps with their history of making road shifters work with and 10s MTB rear derailleurs, and that 10s rear derailleurs will work on 12s+, unlike Shimano. Or use a JTek Shiftmate 9 <a href="http://www.jtekengineering.com/shiftmate/shiftmate-9/">http://www.jtekengineering.com/shiftmate/shiftmate-9/</a></li>
</ol>
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The future: </div>
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<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>When/if monotube recumbent frames get stiffer the boom flex issue in the big ring will diminish. </li>
<li>If at the same time they are also available to fit riders better, the ability to climb at lower speeds will improve, so there may be a desire for one or 2 more low gears say a 40 or 42t cog. By the time that happens I may accept a compact plus 42/26 or 40/24 2x combination for the chainrings instead. </li>
</ol>
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Crank/chainring/spider options:</div>
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<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>Super-compact cranksets: <a href="https://www.bikeradar.com/us/road/gear/article/super-compact-chainsets-the-next-big-thing-for-road-cyclists-48974/">https://www.bikeradar.com/us/road/gear/article/super-compact-chainsets-the-next-big-thing-for-road-cyclists-48974/</a> </li>
<li>More super-compacts and smaller! <a href="https://www.cyclingabout.com/low-climbing-gears-road-bike-crankset/">https://www.cyclingabout.com/low-climbing-gears-road-bike-crankset/</a></li>
<li>Engin cycles makes a super compact spider for SRAM cranks, but its not on their site: <a href="https://www.engincycles.com/">https://www.engincycles.com/</a> Picture: <a href="https://bikerumor.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Engin-Cycles-machined-bottom-bracket-yoke-custom-spider-big-tire-clearance-Philly-Bike-Expo-20187.jpg">https://bikerumor.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Engin-Cycles-machined-bottom-bracket-yoke-custom-spider-big-tire-clearance-Philly-Bike-Expo-20187.jpg</a></li>
<li>You can even just remove the outer ring from your triple and install a 46t ring in the middle spot. Leave the outer position empty or get a chain guard. Since no one makes a 12s compatible triple, ring spacing may be an issue. Dana at <a href="https://www.bentupcycles.com/">https://www.bentupcycles.com</a> did set up a bike like this years ago.</li>
</ol>
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Why chainring size affects boom flex.</div>
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<a href="http://jv-cycling.blogspot.com/2010/01/thorough-explanation-of-chain-bracing.html">http://jv-cycling.blogspot.com/2010/01/thorough-explanation-of-chain-bracing.html</a></div>
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Let's cross our fingers!!<br />
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PS. Just came across the 3T 11s 9-32 Bailout cassette!! So if we take the above principle one step further.....<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibDuLPge1rt0VqovFQstM5VuvOhwSub57-vklbyTqdoEtSDh8kWmrbaGLnSvbrijgU5QusYmg_ttW3ctQ8z7kC5fQvppZxkr9VVORYQUqr1fUGFLuJgixzfULfNUQ2IdCaM58izNnoCEM/s1600/gears3T.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="529" data-original-width="320" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibDuLPge1rt0VqovFQstM5VuvOhwSub57-vklbyTqdoEtSDh8kWmrbaGLnSvbrijgU5QusYmg_ttW3ctQ8z7kC5fQvppZxkr9VVORYQUqr1fUGFLuJgixzfULfNUQ2IdCaM58izNnoCEM/s400/gears3T.jpg" width="241" /></a></div>
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...and this cassette might exist!! See that as the rings get smaller, a 16t tooth gap is now 61.5%. That's how we get enough range out of a double.<br />
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JVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11500377908398226515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3385752459827757338.post-42792431835734400072018-11-12T22:18:00.002-08:002020-05-27T12:59:27.372-07:00Road tubeless has arrived!!!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
That's right! In fact it arrived over a year ago. At first the big plus to road tubeless was that it got a lot of folks to use sealant. With sealant, you only have to stop and repair half your flats, or less. The rest take care of themselves. Have a look here to pick a <a href="https://www.slowtwitch.com/Products/Things_that_Roll/Tires/Sealant_Test_-_Part_1_4147.html" target="_blank">good sealant</a>.<br />
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But the data from Jarno Bierman at <a href="https://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/" target="_blank">Bicycle Rolling Resistance</a> shows us much more. Jarno has been doing independent rolling resistance tests for a few years now, and not just on road tires. Unlike others who have done this work, notably <a href="http://bikeblather.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Tom Anhalt</a> and <a href="http://www.biketechreview.com/tires_old/images/AFM_tire_testing_rev9.pdf" target="_blank">Al Morrison</a>, Jarno has been doing puncture tests too. This way you get a more complete picture of each tire.<br />
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Now, click <a href="https://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/road-bike-reviews" target="_blank">here </a>and have a real close look at the data. We all expect that as tires go down the list from fast to slow, that puncture resistance will tend to increase. Generally for road tires, fragile means fast, and heavy means slow. So look down the list in the puncture resistance column. One good way to pick a fast tire is to decide how much puncture resistance you need, and look for the tires nearest the top of the chart that have enough. If you do this, you will see what I see. At almost every step up in puncture resistance, at tubeless tire is the fastest! Have a look down the Puncture Test column:<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>8/4 Vittoria Corsa Speed G+ 2.0, the fastest road clincher, period.</li>
<li>8/5 Vittoria Corsa Speed G+ 1.0, first tire to hit 5 on the sidewall.</li>
<li>10/6 Continental Grand Prix 5000 TL, first tire to hit 10 on the tread and 6 on the sidewall.</li>
<li>11/6 Schwalbe Pro One Tubeless, first tire to 11 on the tread. </li>
<li>12/8 Schwalbe One Tubeless, first tire to 12 and to 8, and its a few years old. </li>
<li>13/8 Schwalbe Ironman Tubeless, first tire to 13 on the tread, older and hard to find though. </li>
<li>16/9 Panaracer Race A Evo 3, the only tire to hit 9 on the sidewalls!</li>
<li>20/7 Pirelli Cinturato Velo TLR, first and only tire on the list to hit 20 on the tread!</li>
</ul>
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You can see that at both the fast end and the most puncture resistant end of the chart, tubeless dominates. Between each of these tires are almost all tubed tires that are slower and easier to puncture. So at a lot of puncture resistance levels, these tubeless tires are the best choice, even if you plan to use inner tubes!<br />
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The tubeless advantage is actually even bigger though. His puncture test involves trying to push a 1mm drill bit through the tire, at the tread and the sidewall. He adds weight until it goes through. In other words, this test does not involve holes being sealed by sealant. This is purely a test of the tires toughness, with both tubed and tubeless being judged evenly. A 1mm hole is easily sealed by sealant. A tire without sealant will go flat. So his puncture test does not favor tires with sealant in them. Another way to look at this is that if you run sealant, you can effectively add a few points to his puncture resistance scores!</div>
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The Continental Grand Prix 4000S2 has long been favored for its superb combination of speed and puncture resistance. Its a very popular tire. The Schwalbe Pro One and One are both faster <i>and </i>more puncture resistant. These 2 tires have had teething pains, but stellar warranty support, and my last set of both have been solid. The new Pirelli breaks new ground as it blows the old Gatorskin away, and in 35c would top the tour tire category as well. </div>
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With tubeless and sealant, you will have many fewer ride stoppages due to flats. The only downside is that if the sealant cannot seal it, it will be a mess to fix. Bring a tube, just like when you used tubed tires. Just don't plan on needing it nearly as much! Sealant can make a mess, but its a lot easier to clean off than chain lube or grease!</div>
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Some of these tires are fast and tough enough that even if you don't have tubeless compatible rims, or just are not ready to try tubeless yet, they are the best choice with tubes as well! There are sealants that work well in both butyl and latex tubes too. </div>
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If you ride bikes with nonstandard tire sizes, you still don't have an excuse, as the <a href="https://www.schwalbetires.com/bike_tires/racing_tires/pro-one" target="_blank">Pro One</a> and <a href="https://www.schwalbetires.com/node/2374" target="_blank">One </a>come in almost all sizes from 406mm (20") to 584mm (650B/27.5") too. The new Continental GP5000 is also out in both 650B and 700C. </div>
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Why are these tires all so good? Perhaps the design changes needed to make a tire tubeless compatible make it more durable. Perhaps these manufacturers are putting most of their development budget into tubeless, and not tubed tires. </div>
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So it comes down to this. If you want to deal with fewer flats on the road, you want sealant. If you are going to run sealant, it works better in latex or tubeless tires than it does in butyl tubes. Why run an expensive latex tube when you can run tubeless with tires that are faster than what you have now? </div>
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The tires are a bit more expensive, but you don't need hardly as many tubes. Using tubeless rim tape on your wheels is a good idea anyway as it makes mounting tubed tires easier too, and its less likely to move like some other tapes can. Its time to go tubeless on the road!</div>
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JVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11500377908398226515noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3385752459827757338.post-78890768069776078122018-05-24T16:52:00.000-07:002018-11-28T14:07:15.742-08:002018 Cheesehead-Roubiax ride report. Gravel in Wisconsin!!!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
So I am on a road trip and had the sense to bring 2 sets of wheels for my <a href="https://www.bacchettabikes.com/bike/carbon-aero-3-0-700c/" target="_blank">Bacchetta CA3</a>. On one set of Flo30s is a pair of 28mm Continental GP4000S2s. On the other set is a Panaracer Gravel King in 700x32c in front (almost exactly the same size as a 28mm Continental), and a a 700x32c <a href="https://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/tour-reviews/vittoria-voyager-hyper-2016" target="_blank">Vittoria Voyager Hyper</a> in back. These are about the biggest tires you can fit in a CA2/3 with X-eyed brakes. Why did I do this? Wheels take up space in a small car. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ2reDA1-0kCqbhlu4xr_amgRIiuGxXEg64JPGRLN7zhu0odcThDvzjRbrYnyy8cbZMtNgkJLRiHZg2DD9fo1UOEU2bxLLlOGIrZ3Dtn-D73od-P3IYgI5-vf5O4ym2X92HpSTZoGMMGw/s1600/IMG_3174.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="898" data-original-width="1600" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ2reDA1-0kCqbhlu4xr_amgRIiuGxXEg64JPGRLN7zhu0odcThDvzjRbrYnyy8cbZMtNgkJLRiHZg2DD9fo1UOEU2bxLLlOGIrZ3Dtn-D73od-P3IYgI5-vf5O4ym2X92HpSTZoGMMGw/s1600/IMG_3174.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Gravel!!! I have done a few gravel roads over the years in Florida, and other places. I like it! Less traffic, and you have to pay attention more to the surface you are on, so it keeps you focussed.<br />
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So being in Wisconsin for a while, I was bummed to miss the <a href="https://dairyroubaix.weebly.com/" target="_blank">Dairy-Roubaix</a>. I did however have time for the <a href="https://sites.google.com/site/cheeseheadroubaix/" target="_blank">Cheesehead-Roubaix</a>! Its a 63 mile ride with about 10 miles of gravel. They rate the gravel sections just like the cobbled sectors of Paris-Roubaix, one through five stars, five being the hardest. I used google street view to get an idea of that I was in for. Sure enough, the 4 star and less sections looked just like pea gravel and hard pack. Rough texture but pretty well groomed. The first section was the only five star, <a href="https://goo.gl/maps/z3xErSyUy2U2" target="_blank">Lovers Lane</a>. This was a mile of washed out jeep trail, with sections of deeper loose gravel, big drop offs in the washed out areas, and a serious grassy crown between the deeper wheel ruts. Its mostly uphill too with 2 steeper sections. Here is what it looked like in the rain last year. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG0s_QirMY9lvJpHBsQ2b32iei7f7QcFu0ZePj3x6GhOUSdxHqHoigVyeMUk04NRrY1entLSkFN9tuO1L9R_G4kJt9LgzZoxubBC6QMXehHA1lE3NrLLTx5pWintLG4j9zBaUi1259-_g/s1600/Lovers+Lane.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1065" data-original-width="1600" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG0s_QirMY9lvJpHBsQ2b32iei7f7QcFu0ZePj3x6GhOUSdxHqHoigVyeMUk04NRrY1entLSkFN9tuO1L9R_G4kJt9LgzZoxubBC6QMXehHA1lE3NrLLTx5pWintLG4j9zBaUi1259-_g/s640/Lovers+Lane.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Tuesday before the ride I drove out with the CA3 and my MTB to scout the worst section. I rode in on the MTB first. Easy. Only issues I needed to worry about were: having enough speed to steer well on the bumps next to the washed out sections so I did not fall into them, picking the best line through the ruts, staying clear of the deep gravel, and of course not pinch flatting on anything. So I got back the car and switched bikes. It was all pretty uneventful on the CA3, except the top where it was hard to find firm ground next to the deep gravel in the tire ruts. I settled on the far left edge and made it without putting a foot down. Alright then. If I have the choice of riding 63 miles with 53 miles of road on the bent vs the MTB, the bent is way faster. I figure I can deal with the gravel.<br />
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Event day!! Now here is the really cool thing about a lot of gravel rides. Many are not sanctioned by any governing bodies, so ride the bike you want! Yeah, I got some looks at the start. Many have no entry fee, but donations are accepted (and really recommended if you want to support the event). Turns out there were 300 riders, so they decided to start in 2 groups. I was ready to discuss or accept any assignment directed at me specifically due to the bike, but there were none. Instead, all USAC category 1-3 riders where asked to go to the front group, so I did that. My plan was to try to get to Lovers Lane in front of the front group, or at least in a small group. I wanted to have line choice, and impede as few others as possible if I did not. Well, I tried to get away, but with all the little climbs, and a group of 80 or so chasing, that did not happen. As I recognized that we were close, I slowed and motioned all the group by me. As we turned right onto the gravel I suddenly realized that I was not in the right spot here either. I was already passing people again! On the double track I was just rut hopping from one side to the other to keep advancing. About half way up I had passed about 12 and was riding on the crown to avoid some rocks when a DF rider 2 bikes in front of me crashes and flips his bike sideways in the road. I dive for his bar and get by the guy in front of me, and the bars, or so I though. My bike magically shifted into the 11t cog! I get off and realize that something must have hooked my rear derailleur cable housing and pulled it out of the chainstay stop. It took a minute to get going again. Well, not as bad as a flat. I had to walk the gravel on the last pitch too, as the 80 riders in front of me had scattered it all over, and there was no smooth line. Maybe I should have stayed at the front of the group, or the middle? Here is a sequence of me before the crash:<br />
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So, time to chase. I was now farther back then I should have been. I got groups together a few times, took long pulls on the flats, then they would all launch past me on the climbs, doubling or tripling their power outputs. 5 minutes later I would be riding past the strongest one of them. My pulls were appreciated though. I did this a few times, and had a nice group of 5 together when we passed the rest stop. Lots of riders there. I was all set with 3 bottles, so I kept at it, alone. I was making progress on a group of 8 or so in the distance. I turned onto a sector of gravel and watched them crest a hill. I crested the hill, and they were no where to be seen. In the distance, I saw a rider stopped. So I went all the way too him. He did not know the course either. Just as we were laughing about this, we see the next group of 20 or so make a turn North just past the crest of the hill! We back track and chase. Its hard to paint turn arrows on dirt I guess, and there was no sign. My Garmin was not being much help either. I missed a few more turns, passed a few single riders and smaller groups and eventually got caught by 2 if the 5 guys I was with before the rest stop. They wanted to know how I made it through Lovers Lane. I still had an arm covered with cockleburs to show for my efforts. I told them that they were seriously messing with my aero, and that all I had. We had fun for the next 10 miles to the finish.<br />
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At the fire house, the crew had lots of options, brats being the most important in Wisconsin. Everyone was just throwing them 10s and 20s instead of the prices. This led to a good donation amount. I came to the food line just in time to hear the 4 guys in front of me asking did you see what happened to "that guy" to each other? Yep, "that guy" was me. We had a fun talk. I was talking to another few guys later, about tire choices. Nice talk. As I am riding away I hear one of them say,"That guy is nuts!" Nuts, but I sure had a fun ride! I think I finished in the top 15% or so. Not bad considering my fitness and the challenges.<br />
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So what did I learn? I don't know that it would have helped much on Lovers Lane, but on the other sections I would have been faster on even fatter tires, with less air. I had to back off the power several times due to fishtailing, or my front wheel bouncing around too much. I had mine at 60f/55r. Now knowing that the pinch flat hazard was not big, I could have gone lower with the air. I really want to get up to about a 40mm tire. Word is that is the fast size for Dirty Kanza/DKXL and a few other events. That is not going to fit my CA3 without voiding the warranty by removing the whole area around the rear brake bolt, and a different fork that is going to elevate the front of the bike a bit. I am still convinced that if its dry, tread on the tires is not required. Hoping to try some 36c Challenge Strada Bianca's or something bigger soon. <a href="https://www.cxmagazine.com/top-pave-dirt-gravel-pavement-tires-tubeless-clincher-open-tubular-roubaix/5" target="_blank">Here </a>is a review of them and the front tire I was using. I'll be looking for something as fast as a <a href="https://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/tour-reviews/compass-bon-jon-pass-2018" target="_blank">Compass Pass</a> tire, but more puncture proof. For a frame and fork, if I want to keep running 700c tires, and I want to because they will roll better, I need to look beyond Bacchetta.<br />
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Addendum 5/25/18: Just realized that <a href="http://belgianwerkx.com/" target="_blank">BelgianWerkx</a> who puts on this ride is also a sponsor of the <a href="http://www.jbvcoaching.com/links.asp" target="_blank">JBVCoaching </a>CX team! Yes, I am a bit disconnected, from CX.<br />
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JVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11500377908398226515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3385752459827757338.post-65019768516152356822018-05-01T12:06:00.002-07:002019-06-11T23:36:07.848-07:00High performance U-bars, stem and riser for recumbents. <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This all started in 2013 with a <a href="http://www.bacchettaforum.com/forum2/tm.aspx?m=97679" target="_blank">post I did on the Bacchetta Forum</a>. <a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4...0/IMG_4044.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: white; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1" data-original-width="1" src="https://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4...0/IMG_4044.jpg" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Let me make a few prefaces first. If you are looking for handlebars that are adjustable in length and width and grip flare angle, consider Schlitter J-bars as seen on the <a href="https://schlitter.bike/shop?olsPage=products%2Fschlitter-encore" target="_blank">Schlitter Encore</a>, available from Jacquie and John Schitter at <a href="https://schlitter.bike/" target="_blank">Schlitter Bike</a>. These bars a very easily folded for a travel bike too. Do keep in mind that grip flare angle will be a function of width. If you just want bars with adjustable length, consider <a href="https://shop.ransbikes.com/product-p/bphb0079.htm" target="_blank">Rans 3Way Bars</a>, available from Jerrell Nichols and team at <a href="http://www.ransbikes.com/" target="_blank">RANS</a>. Both these bars make great sizing tools to figure out what size custom bar you need too. You can even use the RANS bar with my suggested stem and riser below. If you are very concerned with weight, both bars are pretty light. both are easier to shop for and set up as well. I believe many riders would enjoy their riding more with a focus on bike fit and handling though. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The above are simpler to set up than what I describe below. But keep in mind, you can have a shop do this for you too. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This configuration has a range of applicability with regards to boom length. If you have a boom of 12.5" (current Medium Bacchetta), you can also use the current </span><a href="https://www.bacchettabikes.com/product/riser-3-piece-system-bacchetta-lwb/" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">Bacchetta 3 Piece Riser</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> with a 120-140mm off the shelf stem to get your bars maximally low. It will not be adjustable for reach, only height, but it will weigh less. The cost will be the same or more depending on how much you spend on the off the shelf stem. If your boom is even shorter, just use a shorter off the shelf stem. On the other end of the spectrum the stem angle of +35 degrees means that as the boom get longer than about 17", and the frame deviates from a stick, you may not be able to get the bars low enough with this set up. I think a <a href="http://pelso.bike/" target="_blank">Pelso Brevet</a> L will work. If you are choosing a geometry for a new <a href="http://www.carbent-hpv.com/" target="_blank">Carbent</a>, this is something to keep in mind as well. Reducing effective tiller is always good, until you need a $1000 stem to locate your bars!</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This will not work on Metabikes, as there is too much effective S in the frame, and the boom is too long. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you have great visibility over the bars, your arms are relaxed when you can reach the brake and shift levers, your hands are in line with your shoulder, your bars and short and stiff enough, and you are happy with your seat recline, this is not something that will make a big improvement to your riding experience. In fact, if you are more upright, you may not want maximally low bars, as it will put your hands well below your shoulders. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This combination of parts suggested below will achieve significantly greater rigidity than the bars currently used on many recumbents, including the options above, and allow you to recline as far as you wish and still have relaxed arms, and allow you to get the bars maximally low for the best forward vision without hitting your feet. The key is using 31.8mm tubing rather than 22.2mm for the bars, and an adjustable length stem. Many riders are looking through their bars, and reaching too far to hold onto them as they recline more. Sadly to recline more you have to use a shorter stem, which means the bars go higher! I have seen many recumbent riders challenged by flex between the hand and the front wheel. On many bikes this flexibility is in the bars, but some stems and forks and frames can be contributors too. This flex causes hand shake at higher speeds and power levels, lack of control during hard cornering, and a general lack of oneness and ease when riding. This becomes a bigger factor on rough roads (or worse yet gravel), technical descents, fast group rides, and even hard solo efforts on smooth ground for some riders. Even the most relaxed and skilled riders can be affected by this. Whats to follow fixes all that, and more. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Here we go with the pieces!!</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">First you need a <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Control-Tech-Stoker-Tandem-190-230mm/dp/B00BK0CSD6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1525200287&sr=8-1&keywords=control%2Btech%2Bstoker%2Bstem&th=1&psc=1" target="_blank">Control Tech Stoker Stem</a>. This will allow you to adjust both the height and the fore-aft position of your bars for maximum forward visibility and without hitting your feet. This stem is not light. It is rigid, and very reliable. It comes in several clamp diameters at both ends. You need the 31.6mm seat post diameter (that goes on your riser), and either the 25.4mm bar clamp diameter (if you are using Bacchetta stock bars or most others), or 31.8mm bar clamp (If you go with custom <a href="https://poweroncycling.com/" style="color: #0e1536;" target="_blank">Power On Cycling</a> bar that I recommend). If you only want to buy this stem once, go for the 31.8 bar clamp as you can shim a 25.4mm bar with <a href="https://smile.amazon.com/Wheels-Manufacturing-25-4-31-8-Handlebar-Shim/dp/B000AO5FME/ref=sr_1_3?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1525114576&sr=1-3&keywords=25.4+31.8+handlebar+shim" style="color: #0e1536;" target="_blank">Wheels Manufacturing Handlebar Shims</a>. The 31.8mm bar allows you to put your cables inside the bar. A big shout out to Mark Power, as without his custom bars, we would be a lot more limited! He can make U-bars for Lowracers too.<br /><br />For length mine is at about 200mm, so the short one is fine. I am on a L frame (14") boom, and 170 cranks. On an M frame (12.5") boom, I would only use this stem if you are a very toe down peddler, or are running 155mm cranks or shorter, or some combination of those, or you are willing cut some length off both stem pieces to get it down to about 145mm with 170mm cranks. Also, bar width at the front has an effect on how long you can run the stem without bumping your foot on the bar in turns. My U bar has some V to it so I can get my bars the lowest possible, and fit it in my car easier. My bar is about 16" wide in front and 19" where my hands are. This is why an adjustable stem is so cool. No matter what your bars, pedaling style, foot size, or crank length, you can get your bars maximally low. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Here are the dimensions of my bars, and this is what Mark will ask you for as well. </span><br />
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<li><b style="background-color: white;">Handlebar wall thickness (065" recommended for .875" OD HB's)<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> 31.8mm, 22.2 grip</span></b></li>
<li><b>Outside of HB width at end of horizontal (~18.5", narrow spec Aero) <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span>19" </b></li>
<li><b style="background-color: white;">Outside of HB width just after aft bend (~17.5", narrow spec Aero) <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span>16" </b></li>
<li><b style="font-size: 13px;">Front center of HB's to center of grip zone bend (horizontal HB reach)<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span>10.5"</b></li>
<li><b style="background-color: white;">Grip zone angle (40 degrees Bacchetta stock)<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span>40 degrees</b></li>
<li><b style="font-size: 13px;">Grip zone length, end of grip zone to center of bend <span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span>7"</b></li>
<li><b style="background-color: white;">Grip zone boring requirement and length (if bar ends are used)<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span>reamed for Sram/Shimano bar ends. </b></li>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You will need to figure out yours based on what you currently use, how much more you want to recline and how much forward extension your current stem has. This should help if you are on a Bacchetta: </span><a href="https://bentupcycles.com/bacchetta-risers-three-generations/" target="_blank">Dimensions of all Bacchetta Risers/Stems</a>. On any other bike, just measure from the center of the steering axis to the center of the bars, with the tape measure or ruler parallel to the frame tube. You want the bars to be wide enough that you have enough steering room for steep climbs, and corrections in gravel. An inch between you hands and thighs is enough for most. You can add some V to your bars like I have by making the front narrower than the grip area, but you must have clearance for your calves, and if you are bowlegged at all that will be a factor as well. Keep in mind extra clearance for tights or rain pants if needed. 31.8mm bars are not very bendable, so you want to order them right. As a rough guide, if you are on a Bacchetta L frame, your new stem will have about 165mm of reach once you adjust it. Keep in mind that even if you change to a different boom length frame, as long as recline stays the same, your bars do not change, only your stem. Bar dimensions are only a function of your body and its position on the bike. Also, people hold the grips in different spots to get comfy, so you do not have to be accurate to the tenth of an inch on the length of the bars. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />For the riser tube, you need something with an ID of 1 1/8" (28.6mm) that slides snugly down your steerer tube. The wall thickness needs to be 1/16" so the OD is 1 1/4". You can just use an old one piece Bacchetta riser (either reach), or lower section of a Bacchetta 2 or 3 piece stem, and cut off the top, like I did at first.<br /><br />..or get a piece of carbon tubing from Dana at Bent Up Cycles (cleanly cut and slotted on a water-cooled saw), or Rock West Composites, which I did later. Chuck your BFT, and put a star fangled nut (for aluminum lined steerer tubes) or an expander nut (for full carbon steerers) down the steerer and add a conventional top cap and bolt for headset adjustment.<a href="http://a.co/8Zcmp8P" style="color: #0e1536;" target="_blank">Headset Cap and Bolt</a></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you are doing this to a bike with a 1" steerer tube, you need a riser tube with an ID of 1" (25.4mm) and an OD of ~31.8mm. <a href="https://www.rockwestcomposites.com/round-tubing/34049-s" target="_blank">Here</a> is one I found. You will also want a 1" top cap for the headset. <a href="http://a.co/cFDAOV0" target="_blank">Here</a> is one of those.<br /><br />For the riser clamp to the steerer, I first went with Bacchetta dual bolt clamp, which you can see in the pic above. <a href="https://www.bacchettabikes.com/product/riser-clamp/" style="color: #0e1536;" target="_blank">Bacchetta Double Bolt Riser Clamp</a><br />Now I use the single bolt clamp they used on their newer 2 and 3 piece stems. Never had a slippage problem and it's lighter and cleaner looking.<br /><br />Also, since the 31.6mm stem clamp to the riser is actually 0.2mm too small, its good do have a Cal-Van spreader tool to use, rather than twisting a big screwdriver to spread it. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I don't not see them on Cal-Vans site, but have seen them in auto parts stores recently. I believe they were designed for R&R of springs in automotive drum brakes.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Having put stiffer bars on several personal bikes (Velokraft Nocoms, Bacchettas, and Carbents), I have noticed that it allows me to now feel the next largest source of flex. In the case of the Nocom, it was the fork, and nothing could be done. On the other 2, I was now much more cognizant of the affect of tire pressure and sidewall flex. It also made me wish for a frame with a tapered steerer and a thru-axle fork, just so I could see if it could be even better. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">The only thing I might have done differently on this bike is to make the bar grips and inch longer and the length of the bars a little less, so my hands would be in line with my shoulders with the bars level. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Contact me at Jim@JBVCoaching if you have any questions, need a fitting, or a coach!</span></span><br />
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JVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11500377908398226515noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3385752459827757338.post-37223311442677543392017-10-05T18:31:00.000-07:002017-10-11T07:19:28.549-07:00Training for Ultra-Cycling Events<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;">I wrote the following </span><span style="font-size: 13.3333px;">article</span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> 5 years ago, for UltraRaceNews.com, and it was the most widely read article on that site for years. Now its here, and improved! As you read this you will see the </span><span style="font-size: 13.3333px;">acronyms</span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> FTP and CTL. You can think of <a href="http://bit.ly/2ybfKZR" target="_blank">FTP</a> as aerobic power and <a href="http://bit.ly/2wHNKt2" target="_blank">CTL</a> as fitness, or you can click the links and learn a lot more. </span></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></i></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Friends and clients often ask me if ultra-cycling events are good
training for ultra-cycling events. The answer is yes, and no. It depends on your
experience level, confidence, and your speed. In discussing training here I will address 2 aspects. The first is physiological adaptation. See <a href="https://www.trainingpeaks.com/blog/power-training-levels/" target="_blank">this article</a> for an explanation of the physiological adaptations that occur in humans from various intensities of work (training). These adaptations will increase a riders FTP and CTL. One thing should stand out immediately from Table 2. There is a lot more benefit from riding in zones 3-5 than riding in zones 1-2. The second aspect of training is not about your body, its about your mind. Its about gaining the knowledge, skills, and abilities it takes to ride an ultra. Much of this is experiential learning, meaning you have to ride long at some point to learn some things. </span><br />
<br /><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Next let’s draw a line, and say that anything that takes you over 6
hours to complete alone is an Ultra Event. For some riders and/or tough courses this makes a
metric century an ultra event, for some a double metric, or 200K on a fast
course, can take about 6 hours. Notice that I am defining the effort from the rider’s
point of view, mentally and physically. To do this you have to accept the
premise that your body does not have a GPS or an odometer, it doesn’t know
distance. It knows how hard you worked (intensity) for what duration (time). It
could be 20 miles up a 10% grade or 100 miles dead flat. If you put out the
same power at the same cadence for the same duration, your body did the same
work. Even more importantly, it will also be tasked with the same recovery time before you can do it
again. If you are rested and pace yourself evenly for 6 hours, by definition, the intensity of your effort will put you squarely in zone 2. As events get longer, your intensity drops into zone 1. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.3333px;">There is a concept in training known as the Principle of Specificity. That principle says that if you want to excel at riding 200m sprints, ride lots of 200m sprints! If you want to do well at 40k time trials, ride lots of those. Of course the program will include rest and other intensities but the focus will be on the event duration you are targeting. The point I’m making in this article is that, physically, that principle falls apart at around 6 hours worth of work! That means that physiologically speaking, if you want to be a fast 24hr racer you should not do lots of 24h races! The intensity zone you can ride those in results in very little physiological adaptation, and the recovery time needed between them means that even though each one will result in a big increase in CTL, it will drop just as much afterwards, so it retards the rate at which you could be building fitness, if you can build at all. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Next let’s talk more about the physical side of training. By training we mean periodic and increasing stress, and recovery, that results in increased FTP and CTL. The more the FTP the faster you can ride aerobically. The more your CTL the quicker you can recover for the next intense workout. From a physiological point of view, I'd put a cap of six hours on your longest training effort. Most
rides will be less. The reason for this is that in order to achieve most of
these adaptations, you need to ride with some intensity, and fairly regularly.
That means 3-4 hard days per week, for multiple weeks at time. The hardest days
require a rest, or better yet a short easy ride the following day. Longer
events take more recovery time and disrupt that regularity. Longer rides thus prevent
you from doing the regular work needed to achieve and maintain the physiological
adaptations crucial to success. If the weather is very hot, or you can't/don't fuel yourself on a ride, this increases recovery time, in which case 2-3h maximum ride length makes a lot more sense. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Looking at longer events, if you are doing something that will require you to sacrifice your sleep schedule, subject
your body to a lot of thermal variation, in addition to the
caloric debt and dehydration that are normal in these events, then the
toll on your body is so high as to not be worth what you might gain from it.
Beyond the toll on your body, there is a bigger issue. After such an event, you
might not want to even look at your bike for some time. This is a not good in
terms of training and fitness. The longer, and less well-supported the event is,
the greater the risk of more recovery time and of post-event motivation loss. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Recovering from your last hard training
effort so you can perform the next one is the key to becoming well
trained, reaching a high chronic training load. Having a high chronic training
load means you are ready to go your
hardest and longest and recover the quickest from the effort. Lots of riders can go on a hard
ride, but what you need to be able to do them regularly, and that requires rest and recovery. Put simply, the more you do, the more you can do. Rides over 6 hours
cost more in recovery time than they gain you in physiological adaptation. Once
rides get over approximately 14 hours (assuming you wake up and start riding),
they start to interfere with your sleep time. Sleep is a crucial component of
recovery. The balance we have to assess is just how much are you detracting
from your ability to train by doing ultra length events due to the extended
recovery they entail. Training sessions over 6 hours are detrimental to maintaining
a steady training load. Sessions over 15 hours are really detrimental. On
average, I have seen riders take 2-3 weeks to fully recover from a 24hr event,
and as long as 4-5 weeks from a 40-90 hour event. That’s time you cannot spend
training for the next event. Its time you spend losing fitness, and FTP.</span></div>
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The question arises, however, is physiological adaptation the only thing we
should try to accomplish in training for ultra cycling events? The answer to that for less experienced riders is no.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Training includes experiential learning. To succeed in events lasting more than 6
hours, you need to really have a good sense of your fueling needs such that you
can formulate a plan, and then actually follow that plan. It is amazing what
you can get away with in a 4 to 5 hour event that simply will not work as you
get into 12h, 24h, or even longer events. You need to be able to recognize the
signs from your body and respond correctly, and that implies you need to
experience and experiment a bit in ultra events at some point to in order do
well in ultra events.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">You need to experience the sensations of being low on calories, or
low on electrolytes, or getting dehydrated, or of overheating, or getting drowsy. You
need to experience and then recognize these feelings in order to devise and
then follow a plan to cope with them. Your perception of these sensations will
be different after 12 hours on the bike. Your ability to keep focusing and take
care of yourself will also be diminished. You need to learn steady pacing. If
you are riding self-supported events, you need to learn how to handle your own
logistics, and how to coordinate that with your navigation. If you are riding
supported events, you need to learn how to take advantage of the benefits a crew
can provide, in addition to recruiting a good support crew.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Perhaps the most important experiential attribute you will gain from practicing
ultra events is the confidence you will gain once you develop the skill and
knowledge to get the most out your body. That confidence will be in both your
physical and mental capabilities. Do not underestimate this. Once you have this
confidence, you can go into an event not only well trained physically, but
knowing that you have done this before, and knowing how you did it. You can go
into an event focused on how hard and how steady you can go, not worrying whether
or not you can complete it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">This leads to a lot of conclusions. If you are new to ultra
events, a coach can help a lot. In addition, you can read a lot, and learn from
some of the more experienced riders. But, eventually, you have to just do some
and experience it on your own. You may fail to finish a few, but the goal is to
learn from all of them!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Now the conundrum: Once you have the knowledge and skill to perform well in
ultra events, and the faster you want to go, the fewer of them you should do.
Pick a few and space them so you can get some good training cycles (5 weeks or
more) in between events, allowing as many weeks as you need for recovery from
the last event, and also allowing 10-14 days to taper before the next one. If
you do really long events, it could be 3 months between events if you are
trying to stick to a schedule that has you more trained for each successive
event. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">If you are chasing Ultra Cup points, the prior scenario is not really feasible.
You will have much less time between events, and full recovery and retraining
will not be possible. The best you can do in that case do is come into the
season at the highest CTL you can get too, and then do your best to
recover between events, training when possible. This means 3-4 months of hard training before the first
event of the season if you are starting from scratch. This means hard training
in the winter, which is harder even in the best climate. If you go all out in
each event, trying to set records, training load will drop, you will lose fitness, and recovery will
take longer with each event. If you are only interested in a points total, you can ease this by carefully studying the points
structure of the series, and maximize the points you get for your effort as a result. Only go as hard as you need to. Either way its a very tough season to pull off mentally. Much respect to those who can
do it well. Its is not often you see someone try to do this type of series two
years in a row. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">If you are doing a full brevet series in one year there are other issues. You
will likely not have 2-3 months between events. One way to deal with this is to
pick which distances you really want to do well in, and target those as your
“peak” performances. If you are strong and just focused on a 600k or 1200k, or
both, get the shorter ones out of the way as soon as you can, and use all the
time allowed riding at an easy pace and sleeping. This will leave you time to
train for the important one(s). If you are challenged with completing these
under the time limit, space them out as evenly as you can in the year. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Once you have the skill to complete ultra events you can train for them very
successfully on as little as 10-12 hours a week with high intensity
work (zones 3-5). This also leaves more time for other parts of life. It also makes it
easier to stay active in ultra racing for years without burning out as a result
of all that time spent on the bike.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">As some proof of this, note how well professional and high level amateur road
racers do in ultra events once they have the skill and knowledge. Their
training only changes slightly. Less focus on shorter supra-threshold efforts
and sprints, and more on the bread and butter of aerobic training: 20-60 minute
aerobic threshold work, 2-4 hour tempo rides, and some VOMax intervals to put the frosting on the cake. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Lastly, no matter how well trained you are physically, and well prepared
and schooled you are mentally, to perform at your best
involves a desire to push the limits just a little bit. This means coming into
an event rested and hungry for the bike. In the last few days before the event,
you should really be looking forward to going out and doing it. If your
preparation does not leave you feeling like this, one or more ingredients are
missing.</span></div>
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JVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11500377908398226515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3385752459827757338.post-54174146208828996532014-11-09T13:29:00.000-08:002017-10-10T16:02:27.935-07:00My advice on nutrition for Ultra Marathon races, and how to dial in your own liquid mix from Infinit Nutrition.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="text-align: left;">Lets start with the reason this article is about liquid nutrition. If you eat solid food on an ultra you are signing up for a stop for #2, which costs time. If you have a solid snack as some point, your ability to absorb calories has not changed, meaning you have to lay off your liquid mix for a while, and get your water and electrolytes some other way. If you have a snack with fat, or a lot of protein, you have actually reduced your ability to take in calories for the next few hours. So, if you can come up with a liquid diet that works for you its an advantage. I am very comfortable with liquid only up to at least 30 hours. I know some who have gone to 50. Christoph Strasser does mostly liquid on RAAM as well, and that is about a week.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<span style="text-align: left;">The great thing about </span><a href="http://infn.us/a/W72MfIIL" style="text-align: left;" target="_blank">Infinit Nutrition's</a><span style="text-align: left;"> custom formulas is the ability to customize a mix through experience and experimentation, and they make it easy for you to keep track of the all the mixes you try too. Infinit can help get you started with their free consultation service as well. My advice is specific to ultra racers and differs a bit from what they told me in January of 2012. So, go </span><a href="https://www.infinitnutrition.us/custom-formula.html" style="text-align: left;" target="_blank">here</a><span style="text-align: left;">, and follow along.....</span></div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li style="text-align: left;">Flavor: I use lemon lime almost exclusively, so my mix tastes a lot like a salty margarita. You are going to want some salt, so why not. Having bad experiences with other fueling solutions can make you not like their taste, as you associate it with stomach issues, or other maladies. For this reason I started with only about 35% on the flavor slider. Over several years I have upped that to about 70% as I really do like the taste, and have not had any stomach issues at all with it. More flavor goes well with more electrolytes. More of both of those also hide any soapy flavor from the protein or amino acids. </li>
<li style="text-align: left;">Carbs: For ultra endurance events I like this slider full scale, for longer chain, slower burning fuel. That being said the mix still works great for 2-4 hour tempo rides and fast centuries. If you are on a ketogenic diet, this is also your best choice. This also minimizes the osmolality to minimize stomach issues, and makes you less vulnerable if you forget to fuel for too long. </li>
<li style="text-align: left;">Calories: I started at about 280cal per bottle (24oz) and have varied up to as high as 320cal. For over 4 hours I think 280 calories an hour is my limit. The more calories you can take in on an ultra the better, so this is one to experiment with over time and try to maximize. 1.5 calories per pound of lean body mass is a safe place to start. You will always ride better with a mix that is a little too lean than one that is too rich and causes bloating, but over tie you wnat to increase calories as much as you can for best performance. </li>
<li style="text-align: left;">Electrolytes: A lot of other drinks/systems would have you take a lot of pills to get 500mg+ of Na per hour, this is easy and I finally get enough sodium. The rough range for this in my experience is 300-600mg/hr. I started at 425mg, and am now at 560mg per hour. The less salt in your daily diet the less you need on the bike. Magnesium is a key to preventing cramps, and at this sodium level I must be getting enough, along with calcium and potassium. If you are on a Ketogenic diet, you may need more electrolytes than if you are not. </li>
<li style="text-align: left;">Protein: I would caution ultra racers to start around 2g of protein an hour. Many cannot handle any more with out stopping up their stomachs on long events. The first symptom of too much whey protein for many is gas, so if you start farting a lot on 2-4 hour rides, you might want to back off the protein for longer events. If you are lactose intolerant, ~2g may be your limit. If you feel the need to eat solid food or just feel hunger, you may want to add more protein. If you are allergic to whey, you could order it without any and add your own (soy, egg, <a href="http://www.bobsredmill.com/shop/nutritional-boosters/hemp-protein-powder.html" target="_blank">hemp</a>....), as long as it will stay dissolved in the mix, or you shake your bottle every swig. To see how many grams of protein you have, you have to click on the Nutritional Info link. See example at the end of this article.</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">Amino acids: The key ingredient in the amino acid mix is L-glutamine. In larger amounts (2500mg) its common in recovery drinks. If you try to use a recovery mix like that on a ride, your legs will feel very very tight. With just a little, your legs will feel a little tight, but not tight enough to slow you down on a L3 (Tempo) ride. If your legs feel too tight, back of this slider. If you notice no tightness when you use this on L3 rides, try more. I am right were I need to be for L3 rides with this slider at 25% but wonder if I could tolerate more on ultras (L1-2).</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">Caffeine: Personally, it makes me anxious so I do not use it very much. Protein and amino acids, particularity L-glutamine, keep me awake fine. For those less sensitive to stimulants add some caffeine, but beware its a diuretic, so only use as much as you need. Its also a good idea to save it until you need it. Most riders go out too hard or way too hard during ultra distance races, so try not to use any until several hours in, or you can really blow yourself early. Like electrolytes, the less you use in your daily diet, the less you will need on the bike. The more you use the harder it will be to sleep post event as well, if that concerns you. </li>
</ul>
</div>
Other tips:<br />
<div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<ul>
</ul>
</ul>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li style="text-align: left;">Drinking all these electrolytes, be sure brush your teeth after all rides with it. </li>
<li style="text-align: left;">If you do hard weeknight rides or races in training, a major challenge is getting to sleep afterwards. Take all the protein/aminos/caffeine out of your ultra mix, or just go with <a href="https://www.infinitnutrition.us/shop-infinit/preset-formulations/speed.html" target="_blank">Infinit Speed</a>, and cool down with a bottle of <a href="https://www.infinitnutrition.us/nocturne-night-time-repair.html" target="_blank">Infinit Nocturne</a>.</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">For those who don't want to deal with a custom mix for ultras, but want to try something safe, just mix <a href="https://www.infinitnutrition.us/shop-infinit/preset-formulations/speed.html" target="_blank">Infinit Speed</a> and <a href="https://www.infinitnutrition.us/shop-infinit/preset-formulations/go-far.html" target="_blank">Infinit Go Far</a> 50/50. Its a good start for a custom ultra mix. </li>
<li style="text-align: left;">For ultra races, set a watch with a repeating count down timer to go off every 10-15 minutes to remind you to drink, as no one can stay on top of that without a reminder once the endorphins and fatigue gang up on you. Also use the alarm as a reminder to ask yourself if you are feeling as good as you can and going as fast as you can, and if not what can you do about it. </li>
<li style="text-align: left;">Do not eat solid food within 3 hours of the start. If its an early morning start, just get up as late as you can and ride. If you are up 3 hours before the start eat one of your normal meals, but not too much fat. You want to evacuate your bowels by the start. Stay away from caffeine as well. </li>
<li style="text-align: left;">If you eat solid food on an ultra you are signing up for a stop for #2. Stay on the liquids if you can. If you must have a solid snack as some point, keep in mind that your ability to absorb calories has not changed, meaning you have to lay off your liquid mix for a while, and get your water and electrolytes some other way. If you stop for a snack with fat, or a lot of protein, you have actually reduced your ability to take in calories for the next few hours. If the liquid is working for you, don't sabotage yourself with a solid snack.</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">What works for 4 hours may not work for 12 or 24. Although doing an ultra in training may not be beneficial physically, it is a great opportunity to vet a new fuel. </li>
</ul>
Here is a link to the formula I have arrived at after some tweaking: <a href="http://bit.ly/2xQ9Zjr" target="_blank">My Infinit Formula</a> ...and here is the nutritional info that you cannot see from the community formula link click on it for a more readable size:<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF15FjuVOY6NbGe1a68EDGtKqfanAUbsHqq6X17yA8B45XKKC9xx_E2Cf0Uyg6Nq1GGyipgz9dg0ZZ3uQU-35SO5pQRijX-ty1CZXjwAPsIzTrnxS2OVgWTixoK1EgBtC8ei_gWn8ccLM/s1600/Infinit+Nutritional+Info.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="585" data-original-width="379" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF15FjuVOY6NbGe1a68EDGtKqfanAUbsHqq6X17yA8B45XKKC9xx_E2Cf0Uyg6Nq1GGyipgz9dg0ZZ3uQU-35SO5pQRijX-ty1CZXjwAPsIzTrnxS2OVgWTixoK1EgBtC8ei_gWn8ccLM/s320/Infinit+Nutritional+Info.jpg" title="Nutrition Info Example" width="207" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Proper on bike nutrition is one of the bigger hurdles for ultra riders, and I hope this helps you find your optimal solution. Feel free to contact me for further discussion of your specific issues.<br />
<br />
Cheers,<br />
JV<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
</ul>
</div>
</div>
JVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11500377908398226515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3385752459827757338.post-63250155617298022592014-06-17T19:11:00.002-07:002017-10-01T13:08:14.241-07:00Solo RAAM recumbent riders average MPH as a function of miles ridden<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Solo RAAM recumbent riders average MPH as a function of miles ridden. 6/21/14 10:17:39 RAAM Time (EST)</td></tr>
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Keep in mind that as you move right on the chart it takes a lot more speed to change your average just a little bit. There are 2 interesting ones to look at in the plot: MPs historic rampage through the women's field after having her follow vehicle and spare bikes destroyed by a texting driver, and BBs decline after the Mississippi.</li>
<li>Both DJ and Jac showing the typical overnight dip from sleeping. </li>
<li>DJ still on pace for overall 60+ and bent records, and first US rider, and first rookie. Fighting to regain 6th overall from Stefan. He had a scrum with a resurgent Hoppo, but just put 12 miles on him. </li>
<li>Jac still flirting with time cut offs. The next one is Mount Airy, MD, at 7:43 AM on 6/23. She must be above 9.714803 MPH there. She has to be above 9.7735 at the finish. </li>
<li>Maria's uptick at the end is from the application of a 3 hour time credit from the time lost from having her follow vehicle hit and totaled outside Tuba City (the big downward spike after mile 500). </li>
<li>I wonder what JS and TW were thinking looking at BB's time coming into Kansas. She really slowed towards the end. </li>
</ul>
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JVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11500377908398226515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3385752459827757338.post-82051440009710395052012-03-26T21:53:00.000-07:002017-10-01T13:10:25.895-07:00Sebring 2012 24h drafting race top 4 lap times in the last 12h. <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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JVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11500377908398226515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3385752459827757338.post-78229724636702304272012-02-20T19:38:00.000-08:002017-10-11T08:33:54.489-07:00My first 24 hour race: 2012 Bike Sebring<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Wow! Where to
start? </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 11.25pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Lets get the equipment
information out of the way:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20151018152827/http:/www.bacchettabikes.com/bikes/performance-bikes/carbon-aero-2.0" target="_blank"><span style="color: #003366; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Bacchetta Carbon Aero 2.0</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> Large 700c, Euromesh seat with custom
pad. No headrest.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 11.25pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Zipp Firecrest 808
front wheel, HED Jet9 C2 rear with a </span><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20151018152827/http:/www.wheelbuilder.com/store/aerodisc.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #003366; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Wheelbuilder.com</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> cover.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 11.25pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Vittoria Open Corsa
Evo CX 320tpi tires, with Michelin latex tubes, broken in with 300 miles.
See</span><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20151018152827/http:/www.biketechreview.com/tires_old/images/AFM_tire_testing_rev9.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="color: #003366; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> Al Morrisons data</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> for why I chose this combination.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">SRAM 10s drivetrain<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 11.25pt;">
<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20151018152827/http:/www.bentupcycles.com/catalog/accessories-parts-1/bags-panniers/seat-bags/bent-up-cycles-aero-bag.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #003366; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Bent Up Cycles Aero Bag</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 11.25pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">OK, no more plugs for
a while.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">I have never done very
well at Sebring, at least in my own eyes. I dropped out of the 12hr early
on two occasions, once nutrition issues, then physical issues. The one
time I finished I was not in my right mind, and it was below freezing at the
start. Thats a shame, as its a really nice course, and by that I mean a fast
one! Plus the fact that Bacchettas headquarters is close by means tons of
riders a supporters. I was almost sad to be doing the 24 this years as I
would miss the big party in the pits at night! Alright, forget the almost
part. I made a bunch of important changes in my life a few months ago,
and one side affect was the loss of about 15 pounds. I was not in great
shape at the time, but I had been riding. My </span><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20151018152827/http:/home.trainingpeaks.com/articles/cycling/what-is-the-performance-management-chart.aspx" target="_blank"><span style="color: #003366; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">CTL </span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">was about 40. In 07 I set an UltraCycling 12 Hour Challenge
total mileage record that still has not been topped. Back then it was
called the John Marino Challenge. Kurt Searvogel, you have a good start
to top 768 miles this year! So, I thought that maybe this would be a good
year to give the 24 a shot, and where better to start than Sebring? My
only previous rides through the night had been 2 26.5 hour 600Km brevets, so I
had the confidence that I could keep going for 24 hours if I had too. So
I started a training cycle on 12/15 and made plans to travel. Here we go!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 11.25pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Training went pretty
well. If you read my </span><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20151018152827/http:/www.ultraracenews.com/2011/11/18/training-for-ultracycling-events/" title="article on training for Ultras"><span style="color: #003366; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">article on training for
Ultras</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">, you know I am a
quality over quantity kind of guy. I covered 775 miles in January.
Thats right, I average under 200 miles a week. Some riders do that
in one day prepping for an Ultra race! At first it seemed my threshold
workouts were a bit sub par, but then I realized it had been eons since I had
done any hard work over my threshold. Usually thats the kind of work I
usually get from training races and hilly group rides. I had not done
much of that for a year and change. I tried not to let it worry me.
My ability to ride hours of tempo seemed undiminished though! That
was good! I stayed on a completely aerobic program until I got my CTL up
to about 70, when I finally let myself do a few training races. This was
with 2 weeks left in my plan. The first one hurt a lot and I did not do
well. The second one was a home run though. Waiting until I had a solid
aerobic base and a good CTL number before doing anaerobic work meant I
responded very quickly to it, and recovered quickly enough to maintain the
amount of tempo work I was doing on the weekends. The last weekend of my
training involved 2 very hard tempo rides back to back. I took a chance
and tried a new nutrition solution, you know, the stuff you put in your
bottles. Sara Kay Carrell had been raving about Infinit Nutrition and it
sure seemed to work for her for 45 hrs straight on </span><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20151018152827/http:/www.ultraracenews.com/2011/12/31/yellow-labrador-scores-a-508-first/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #003366; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">her record setting Furnace Creek 508 ride</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">. Id be happy with 24 hours! Well,
it worked really well! So I tweaked </span><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20151018152827/http:/bit.ly/IsM4Tn" target="_blank"><span style="color: #003366; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">the formula </span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">a bit and took a big chance on Sebring.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 11.25pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">A big thank you to
Dana at </span><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20151018152827/http:/www.bentupcycles.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #003366; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Bent Up Cycles</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">, my ex boss, for helping with the plane ticket! Rich
Pinto picked me up at the Tampa Airport Wednesday night. Rich pretty much
invented the highracer style of recumbent that has been so successful in ultra
events. We started talking non stop as we had not seen each other in a
few years. Thursday I got to pick up the CA2.0 that John Schlitter had
built for me, and put a few of my pieces on it. He even made me a custom
seat pad insert for my back, and did a few subtle things he knew only I would notice
and appreciate. Thanks John! I threw on wheels, lights,
RotorCranks, computer, camera, and bag. Then Rich I were off to Costco to
get food for his famous annual Sebring BBQ. Its now a 2 night affair,
Friday and Saturday. Well on the way I notice some funniness in the
trucks behavior and we start diagnosing it based on the symptoms, mostly
thumping and smell. We are both engineers, so this is inevitable.
Long story short, we did not leave for Sebring until 3pm the next day
because the truck was getting new brakes! That left me time for one loop
around the 12 mile day loop to get my position fine tuned and check that
everything was ready to go. Of course, it rained on me most of the way.
This was good though, as I realized that the rain was not that cold, making
it easier to dress for the next day. I thought I remembered a hill at the
far end of the day loop, but I seemed to have completely missed it. This
was a really good omen! I got back to </span><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20151018152827/http:/www.cesebring.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #003366; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Chateau Elan</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">, added a touch of recline to give me some more leg extension,
lowered the bars a bit more for visibility, and set about making final plans.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Rich and I were
staying in the Fangio suite, named for </span><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20151018152827/http:/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Manuel_Fangio" target="_blank"><span style="color: #003366; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Juan Manuel Fangio</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">, the greatest Formula 1 driver in history up until 10 years
ago. Another good omen. I took final look at the forecast and
took a stab at clothing. My plan was not to stop at all if I did not need
to. So, as a hedge against the rain I wore an undershirt and a cap. With
the cap I can squint between the top of my glasses and the brim and see, no
matter what is coming down. I picked my tightest team jersey, as
aerodynamics matter for clothing too. Some white arm coolers, and new
Garneau gloves I bought at registration. I packed a light rain jacket in
my bag too just in case. Along with that went a spare tire, tubes, pump,
tire irons. The TSA took my CO2 cartridges! We had a lot of Team
Bacchetta visitors in the room, so I could distribute the prototype </span><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20151018152827/http:/www.surefire.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #003366; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Surefire </span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">bike lights I had built up in the preceding week. I got in
bed at 10 and was asleep by 10:15. That was really good!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 11.25pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">I woke 5 minutes
before my alarm at 5:55am. Took my time getting dressed and getting all
my bottles and mix to Rich. I got to the startline just in time to check my
timing transponder, and plop myself in the middle of the front row. Boy
it was foggy! Not too cold though, good! I turned on my video
camera for the pre ride lecture, but I had to use the waterproof housing as
rain was forecast, so there is no sound. My teammate Kent pointed out
Kurt Searvogel to me as we waited for the start signal. I did not know
Kurt at all, but he had voiced some pretty strong opinions about my</span><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20151018152827/http:/www.ultraracenews.com/2011/11/18/training-for-ultracycling-events/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #003366; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> training/coaching principles</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">, so I winked and blew him a kiss. It
was hard to tell how he reacted in the dark. When the start signal was
given, I yelled YeeHaaa at the top of my lungs. I did this so loudly in
fact that I have no idea if anyone else did! Well, once we were rolling
the big problem became apparent. We could not see diddly in the fog, and
neither could the pace car driver who was to lead us for 3 laps and off the
track. I tried to stay in the front 5 riders to reduce the chance of
hitting someone in the confusion. I was doing that pretty well, leading
in fact, right at the point that the pace car driver led me off the track and
into the grass on the inside exit of turn one! Would not have noticed
except that I seemed to be slowing down and the ride got bumpier. I got
lucky that the ridge back onto the track was not sharp, and that I only lost a
few spots in line. This may have happened again, and to more people. The driver
of the pace vehicle could not see any better than us! At the point that
we exited the track the driver did something else tricky. He/she, did not
drive the route we were to follow, instead parking in the grass just beyond it.
I clicked out of my pedals not knowing what was coming next, but made the
right choice and led the whole way out the the main road.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 11.25pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Upon getting to the
main road, there was a flag person, and traffic to be flagged, but with the
visibility we were on our own. You can see on the video how close we all were,
the flagman, the racers, and a big silver BMW. No one got hit as far as I
could tell. We headed out of the track and up a grade. I remember
how hard this usually felt in previous years. I was totally relaxed this
time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 11.25pt;">
<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20151018152827/http:/www.vimeo.com/37434121"><span style="color: #003366; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">JV
Leads the pack off the track at Sebring</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 11.25pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Doyce Johnson came to
the front on his long wheelbase recumbent, with fairing and body sock. It
was hard for most of us to keep up with him. Before the race my teammates
had been concerned about the affects of the new 100 mile race, and how
fast/aggressive those racers would want to go. Was Doyce doing the 100?
Nope, the 12 hr. Still, this was a new variable. Could any of
us hang with a faired bike for the duration? Well eventually Doyce and I
open up a gap on the rest of the group. We rode through several traffic
lights. Police were stopping traffic and letting us go straight, even the
last one. About a mile after that last one, both Doyce and I got a bad
feeling. We hit the brakes, got off our bikes, jumped the median, and
rode back from whence we came. As we got to the light, we could see the other
racers being directed to our left, their right. Oh well, maybe we did not
look like the kind of bikers she was expecting, plus the fog. So, here I
am at the 18 mile point of the race and what have I done? On one hand I
felt like I had blown it right then and there. On the other, well, whats
the plan JV? Thats right, keep riding! Thus began Doyces and my
chase of the front group. We figure we lost 5 minutes or so. But
there are only 2 of us, against a pack of probably 20 at the front. Only
one goal at this point, catch them! I remember passing Mark from Catrike
and his buddy, and explaining why we were there. There were a lot of
riders to leap frog, which helped with the navigation. Just follow em.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 11.25pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">We caught a bigger
group eventually, with teammate Allan Duhm. He had a GPS. The mans
a genius I tell you! We still had a few miscues, but only from not
listening to Allan. He gave me a list of the next few turns to memorize,
and eventually Doyce and I got away from that group. Doyce is a master
bike handler by the way. I swear he carried so much speed into a tight 90
degree right hander that his tires were sliding. Scary, but he kept it
up. After this it was just lonesome me. I started to remember the
coarse more. I finally thought to try and wipe the fog form my glasses
too. Holy cow! Californians dont have very good fog skills I guess.
Now I could see the road markers!! Duh! I kept picking off
riders. I new after the right hander before the turnaround point that it
was fast road, and that I should eventually see my prey and get a fix on them. Well,
I was only a minute out of the turn when I passed them going the other way.
Good, progress!! I managed to remember the poker chip, turn without
hitting the dirt, and get a fresh water bottle from Rich. He later
admitted wondering what I was doing so far back at that point. OOoops.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 11.25pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">So I keep passing
folks.. and finally, out of the clearing fog, they appeared,
a group too big to be anything but the front group. A few minutes later I
was in it, vowing to myself to be very lazy and focus on eating and resting for
the rest of the century. I thought I had just emptied most of my match
book. I was happy to see that none of my teammates were driving the pace
at this point, maybe they had been thinking of me and wishing for my return.
Then one of my teammates says they had been trying to get away from the
bunch. I did not know what to think, but its hard to understand anyone at
25mph. Based on what I was seeing, maybe he was talking about Kurt. Ah,
Kurt! Time to play. He seems very powerful, but he has to move a
huge amount of air out of the way. and those silly looking support
hose.. </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "segoe ui symbol" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">😉</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> He does a few
attacks and gets a few gaps, so do I. The second he gets on my wheel, I
stop pedalling. When he goes to the back of the bunch for something, I
pull harder. Playing, not serious playing though. I wind up
spending much more near the front than I planned. I am also starting to
notice teammate Jacquie Hafner. She is taking the occasional pull just
like the rest of us. When she is in the group she is very quick to get on
a wheel and close a gap. Fantastic instincts. As we neared the end
of the century she was one of 2 women left in the front group. Kent was
looking good, but said his hamstring was annoying him. It looked like the
12 hour would come down to Kurt, or 2 Austrians. Given how much work Kurt
was doing, and how cagey the Austrians were, I was betting on 2 to beat the
one. I still did not get just how strong Kurt was.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 11.25pt;">
<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20151018152827/http:/www.ultraracenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/20120218_038.jpg"><span style="color: #003366; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shapetype id="_x0000_t75"
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 11.25pt;">
<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20151018152827/https:/picasaweb.google.com/mateo.in.stpete/Sebring2012#5712889636962883330"><span style="color: #003366; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Here
I am making Kurt chase me</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">.
Look at him pushing all that air! and those funny socks.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20151018152827/http:/www.ultraracenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/20120218_039.jpg"><span style="color: #003366; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="Picture_x0020_1" o:spid="_x0000_i1025"
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 11.25pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Some has to teach me
not to make </span><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20151018152827/https:/picasaweb.google.com/mateo.in.stpete/Sebring2012#5712889757590510482"><span style="color: #003366; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">silly
faces</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> at the camera!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 11.25pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">So, we roll through
the 100 mile mark at about 4:20. Just about right for me, except for my
empty matchbook, or so I thought. The great thing that happened here is
that most of the riders in the front group did not stop! This usually
breaks the front group into much smaller pieces. Not this time. It
gets warmer. I start proactively watering my arms and neck a few times a
lap. By the time you feel hot, its too late. Somewhere in here I
made it a point of telling the 12hr riders, all on DFs, that they were all in
the 12hr race, and that we were all in the 24. That meant that they could
not expect us to be closing the gaps when one of them attacked. Just
after that, </span><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20151018152827/http:/forum.bacchettabikes.com/forum2/fb.asp?m=87151" target="_blank"><span style="color: #003366; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Uwe Brockman</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">, one of my roomates, got dropped. He had hung with us for
most of the first 12 hours, despite being completely new to all of this, and on
a not so aerodynamic Bacchetta. We start lapping riders and they joined
the group. I found myself playing at the front a bit. One time I
wound up off the front with Jacquie, until John chased us down. Told you
she was attentive. The 2 Austrians try the feeding zone attack a few
times. Smart. Kurt and my teammates are still there though.
Later Kurt gets away and Kent goes with him. I was OK with this as
the gap was not very big. Then I see that Kent is taking pulls!
This surprises me. I did not have my powermeter set up right to
follow the mileage, but I did not want to see one of us helping Kurt beat John
Schlitters 12 hour course record. So through the feed zone I launch after
them, catch, and have a word with Kent. There went my last match, right?
It does not take Kurt long to see that we are not being any help at all,
and I cannot say he was happy about it. He did understand the tactics of
the situation, and he accepted his grim fate. Gotta respect that.
Still, with us doing less than 5% of the work, he is pulling us away from
the main group! Wow! At one point we passed Sara and I asked her to
relay the message to the rest of the team that Kurt was doing all the work.
After enough of his pleading, and a bit of sympathy from us, Kent and I
start doing a bit more work for him so he can rest.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 11.25pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Then something
happened I did not expect. We got to the turnoff to head north as I was
about to take a pull. It slopes down and rolls a bit there, and I just
rode away from Kent and Kurt. I was not pushing hard, its just a fast
section of road. I rode up to Tim Woudenberg and said hi. Then
continued on. I expected they would catch me as I was not pushing hard.
As we got on the main road back to the track, I realized I was riding
away from them. I made sure I was going easy enough and just kept pedaling.
Through the feed zone I got a fix on where they were, and where the main
group was. I picked up another bottle from Rich and headed out for a solo
lap. Next time I came through the feed zone and exited, Kurt and Kent had
been caught by the main group, and John was on the front pulling, and it did
not look like things behind him were very tight. Also, my gap to the main
group was unchanged. This is a drafting race, so I just assumed we would
be drafting most of the night. The only point in me continuing to ride
alone was to get close to 10 minutes up on the pack before we hit the track.
At the peak of the gap it was only 2:20. So a lap up did not look
likely. Plus, I really needed to go, if you know what I mean. I
also wanted to figure out why my left cleat was stuck to the pedal. This
was going to make my stop a bit tricky. Well, I took a few minutes off the bike
for the first time. Felt a lot better and managed to get my shoe free of
the bike so I could put it back on. Then I got back on the road and
caught up with Sara who seemed to be going a lot faster than I thought.
We rode west until I saw the main bunch coming, at which point I wished
her no more flats and rejoined.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 11.25pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Going onto the track
at 5:30 is new to me, and caught me by surprise. Luckily Rich was in just
the right place with a bottle for me before we climbed the bridge over to the
track. Once on the track I make it a point of riding on or near the front
as I wanted to learn all the turns and figure out the best lines up the straights
as soon as possible, and before dark. I also wanted to help get
teammate </span><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20151018152827/http:/teambacchettaraam.com/bike-sebring-1224-post-ride-report-kristy-halvorsen/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #003366; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Kristy Halvorsen</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> another lap to add to her already clinched 12 hour record.
She has been riding for a total of 4 months. In the words of Rich
Pinto, unbelievable! I was also hoping that my teammates would get a feel
for the fast lines around the course. Jacquie was definitely picking it
up. Quick learner. Well, it turned out that Kristy pulled off
realizing that we would not make it. We would have needed an 8:20 lap I
think. I had just done an 8:36, and could have done 8:20, but I think
only Jacquie would have been left on my wheel. As we backed off, Sara
uncorked a major sprint to finish out her 12 hour. Congrats to Kurt for
getting 271 in the 12hr, a new record!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 11.25pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">We all calmed down a
bit. About 10 seconds before the pit on the next lap, John announces he
is pitting and Jacquie says she will stay with him. Its race lap 20 at
this point. I am not sure what Kent is doing, or how long this stop is
going to be. Johns stated goal before the race was to help get Jacquie
get a new womens 24h drafting record, hopefully over 500 miles. Mine was
to get over 502.9 to top Chris Ragsdales drafting record. I also did not
plan on stopping more than absolutely necessary. If folks like Sara Kay
and Chris Ragsdale can ride for 45 hours straight, I could manage a measly 24,
right? Not knowing how long they where stopping, I kept riding steady as
I could, cautious not to go to hard. Kent must have stopped too, so I
thought if it was a short stop, surely 3 of them will catch one of me.
Well I got into a rhythm, and Doug Morgan kept giving me bottles of
Infinit. Big thanks to Doug who I did not get a chance to thank post
race! A few laps later I dropped my sunglasses off for cleaning and rode
bare eyed for a lap. They surprised me with my clear lens glasses, but no
mirror. Riding at night with traffic I usually flip it out of the way
anyway so I did not make a fuss. This might not have been the best idea.
My feet also really started acting up, so I loosened my shoes about all I
could. As I write this a week later, I am still waiting for feeling to return
to the front of my left foot.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 11.25pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">From lap 32 to 37 I
rode with Kent, this was from 14:17 to 15:10 race time. I got this from
the </span><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20151018152827/http:/www.racesmith.com/results/2012results/BikeSebring24HoursSplits021912.html"><span style="color: #003366; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">lap
times</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">. I had a chance
to draft for a bit. Kent is pretty smooth too so it was good.
Unfortunately his rear H3 bearing was seizing, so he went from taking
even pulls with me to hanging on after a while. Without the mirror I dont
know when I dropped him. He caught back on later, now much happier with a
disc wheel on the back. Cool! Together we rode.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 11.25pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">So, at lap 45, at
about 16:23 race time, Kent and I caught John and Jacquie. Now I had
discovered with Kent that if he had his brights on (Surefire lights have a
remote switch and 2 levels of light) and peaked inside me on corners in an
attempt to light of the road better, all it did was give me peripheral glare
and keep me from seeing the apex. Well John did it too, and I asked him
not to as well. I thought it was just me with this issue, but it should
have dawned on me that even though they did not say it, it was bad for John and
Jacquie too. Sadly I gave them the good cables, mine was a damaged one. I
had no dim. I figured I would be OK with my the extra 2 cells in my
battery pack. Well I was, but in retrospect I think the 2 of them swerved
the most in the corners when I was behind them. When I was pulling I kept
on pulling away and without a mirror it was hard to know when. With all
the chaos in the corners, there was a lot of acceleration out of them, which
was really starting to kill me feet. John was also picking up the power
when the wind hit on the back straight. The key to my speed had been
keeping power very steady and shifting down for the wind. To top it off,
Jacquie would ride away from us every time she got to the front. One of
here hardest surges dropped Kent, again. She is really very strong.
I wonder if the 2 of them might go faster if she took longer pulls than
at Sebring. She is an amazing talent. So I was with them until
18:44 race time, lap 57. For the last half of our time together I was just
drafting and trying to save my feet. I figured if I did not I would get
dropped like Kent. On lap 57 I wound up at the front pulling anyway, and
all I could muster at the time, 120 measly watts. I did that for 3
straight laps, expecting John and Jacquie to ride by at anytime. It did
not happen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 11.25pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">After that I was able
to start picking it up. Good, but carefully. The whole night I was
passing people and saying hi to those I knew, and a few I did not. I was
really happy to have such an amazing head light. I saw a lot of riders
slowing and struggling to find the apex of corners. I saw riders exit
corners and not know the straight line to the next turn in point. I had
my light aimed straight ahead so that these were non issues for me. I
think riders I was passing also knew I was coming. My apologies to anyone
who got blinded by peripheral glare. Next time I will have a working
remote cable. I started looking at my watch too. I was looking to
see just how long I had to keep this up. I kept looking more often too.
Sometime past midnight, Rich abandons his grill and starts giving me
times to John and Jacquie. At one point I think he said 3 minutes.
It was then that I stopped to dehydrate a bit. I was thinking it
was better with me riding alone anyway, so why catch them sooner than I need
to. That was my second stop of the ride. I had to leave my shoe on
the bike again as it was stuck. Next time through, Rich says 525, which I
assumes meant I had taken a 2:25 stop. Later I learned thats not what he
meant, at all. Sometime later I remember the words overall course record.
I figure its late at night and he is confused. He might mean Jim
Kerns 516 mile RAAM Q number, but maybe he doesnt remember Dennis Grelks 522 in
the Barracuda. Who knows which he means. Ill be happy with 503.
Still his words and tone are motivating. So I try to pick it up
some more. Looking back, that must have been around 470 miles.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 11.25pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">As I came up on John
and Jacquie again, I resolved to ride right by if I could, as we had not been a
very good combination for each other last time. Unfortunately I killed
myself doing this. That was about mile 500 with a bit over an hour left.
My lap speed dropped from 22 down to 20. If I had only stayed in
more control of myself.. Now it was just a
matter of doing what I could, grabbing my last bottle, and keeping an eye on
the clock to see if it was going to be close on my last lap. When I
figured there was no way for me to pull of an extra one, I came through the
pits and gave everyone in reach a high five. That was really fun.
The pits looked so pretty with the lights. I went straight to the
hotel, very sadly missing awards. I am told Rich stood in for me with
pride!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 11.25pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Not once did I feel
like I was falling asleep. Probably the glutamine in the Infinit. I
had Hammer Espresso with me and took 2 small tastes, but no more. There
was no caffeine in my Infinit mix either.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 11.25pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">From the data I looks
like Jacquie and John may have made a few more short stops. When riding
we were almost the same speed, just different pacing strategies and my light
issue made us incompatible.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 11.25pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Sara calls her steady
pacing self Steady Betty. Am I Steady Freddy? This is the first
time I am proud to be a Fred!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 11.25pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Shoulda coulda woulda
racing says we all could have had another lap or 3. I know where I messed
up a bit. Adding it up, I spent more than half the race by myself.
Given that, there is value to more even pacing than you get with the
drafting bunch. Next time if I go it will be for the RAAM Q. But
its a long race, and a year away. Lots can change.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 11.25pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Really happy for </span><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20151018152827/http:/www.ultraracenews.com/2012/02/26/maria-parker-first-overall-in-raam-qualifier/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #003366; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Maria Parker</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> setting a new RAAM Q record in her first 24. She
went a bit farther than we thought! As her coach I am glad for her and
for me, as this is a small vindication (2 data points) of the </span><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20151018152827/http:/www.ultraracenews.com/2011/11/18/training-for-ultracycling-events/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #003366; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">quality over quantity approach to ultra training that I
wrote about</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">. Her training
was a very close mirror to mine in all respects, except for 2 things: I did not
have time for the recovery rides, so she got a few more miles in. I also
did training races instead of structured intervals at then end of the build.
Congrats Maria, you did it!!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 11.25pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">It was not until over
an hour after the finish, trying to get some food down in the hotel restaurant,
that I got the number. I honestly did not believe it until I had 2
friends confirm it. Then I got goose bumps and a bit teary for a while.
Holy crap! Yeah, it was pretty fast weather, and a pretty fast 12hr
group, and I had the best nutrition ever on the bike, and a really fast bike,
and very close to my best fitness ever. Thanks again to teammates </span><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20151018152827/http:/www.ultraracenews.com/2012/02/22/jacquie-hafners-sebring-24hr-debut/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #003366; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Jacquie Hafner</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">, </span><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20151018152827/http:/www.ultraracenews.com/2012/02/25/team-bacchetta-raam-crashes-the-500-mile-party/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #003366; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">John Schlitter</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">, </span><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20151018152827/http:/teambacchettaraam.com/bike-sebring-1224-post-ride-report-kent-polk/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #003366; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Kent Polk</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">, Doug Morgan, and </span><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20151018152827/http:/forum.bacchettabikes.com/forum2/fb.asp?m=86834" target="_blank"><span style="color: #003366; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Allan Duhm</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">. A big thanks to Ann and Rich Pinto for treating me like
their long lost son for a long weekend. Thanks to Sara Kay Carrell for
helping me get my mind right. Without that I would not even have been at
Sebring, or have accomplished a lot of other amazing things in the last 4
months. The world is looking so much brighter for me. This race was
just one sign of it, and what a race it was!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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https://vimeo.com/37434121<o:p></o:p></div>
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JVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11500377908398226515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3385752459827757338.post-15795304029100292892011-10-20T19:11:00.000-07:002017-10-11T08:26:38.610-07:00Yellow Labrador on the 2011 Furnace Creek 508, Sara Kay Carrell sets the mark!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN">It was sometime in May that Sara Kay asked me if I or
anyone I knew on the left coast was up for crewing for her on the Furnace Creek
508. I think it was via Twitter. For those that don't know about the 508 its a
509.5 mile supported ultra race with a lot of climbing in it. If she pulled it
off she would be the first woman to compete it solo on a recumbent. I knew if
SK was going to try, it was because she was ready to pull it off. She is the
master of showing up prepared. How could I say no? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN">Now, I had crewed once before on the 508, and that did
not end well. Something about a rider in cleats running across the desert in
chase of a flying $3600 wheel that the 40mph wind decided belonged much farther
north.......<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN">Somewhere in here she asked if I would be crew chief. You
know, with these races, the racer foots the bill, and puts in much more work
that the rest of us just training. So in the end, you know who is really the
cheif. But still you need someone in the van to carry out her wishes and make
sure she gets what she needs. I was quick to say yes. My ego told me, and SK,
that I'd be great. ;-) The more I thought about it though, the more I realized
that I was new to this. Luckily I found a crew member with a lot more
experience than I at that position. When I put a call out on the local
Randonneuring mail list for crew, Ron Smith Jr. replied with,"Pick me!
Pick Me!" Ron has been chief for I think 7 different teams over the years,
including RAAM. Thank you Ron! Thank you Ron! Greg Raven was our newbie crew member.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN">Our totem was to be Yellow Labrador, in honor of
Moonlight (SKs Lab). Moonlight chose his human very well. SK put one of my
mottos on the van graphic with Moonlights image: Plan, Prepare, Execute,
Conquer! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN">There is definitely some work involved in prepping a van
for ultra race support. My preparation work for the 508 has been mixed. In 07
with Mike Wolfe (totem Mussel), I got the van, build the cot, installed the
hitch and rack, got bins, and when the rest of the guys showed up, we go it all
together. SK helped with the cot design and buildin'. In 09 with David Bradley
(totem Raven Lunatics), David had done all the work to his van before he left
home. No work at all for Anthony, Sabrina and I! I felt a bit uneasy, and like
a slacker, at first. But once I saw it was really all set, I slept like a baby.
In 2010 with Puca Fairies, I don't remember doing a lot either. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN">Well Sara shows the Wednesday before the race with the
van almost ready to go. Everything is labeled, and I mean everything. Spares
too, and the spares for the spares, and I get a detailed tour so I know where
all of it is. I try my best to remember it all. Most well prepared vans for
this race have either radios for 2 way communication with the rider, or a PA
system with music and a mic for one way. So what does Sara have? Of course,
both! The mic for her radio she keeps pinned on her chest so she can grab it
and talk anytime. We got a charger for all the batteries too, and spares for
the radios, and instructions that when her battery died we needed to take the
unit from her, swap the one short antenna, and just put it on a radio with a
fully charged battery. Now the speaker setup is something I am not sure had
ever been tried before. Some of the cheap PA speakers are useless due to sound
quality. The one I tried to listen too on RAAM was! Cheap wood speakers usually
come apart if it rains. SK brings high quality waterproof outdoor speakers,
from a ski boat I think. Next is where to mount them. Most put them on the
roof, and that makes it hard for the crew to sleep. Some put them on the hood,
better but ugly and not pointed easily. SK had removed the emblem from the
grill and welded and mounted the equivalent of a receiver hitch to the front
bumper reinforcement. It sticks straight out the front of the grill by a few
inches. To this she attached the big T that holds the speakers. Right at ear
level for her, we can't hear them unless we go slow and roll down the windows,
and easy to remove. Wow! I think this is the template for the future, assuming
your vehicle will accept it. SK engineering! Innovative, elegant, reversible,
and functional. <a href="http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/318621_160937497330191_100002418243571_317117_1312840969_n.jpg">http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/318621_160937497330191_100002418243571_317117_1312840969_n.jpg</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN">OK, she had to get the roof rack on for the spare wheels.
I busied myself with giving both bikes (CA2.0s) a good looking over. She had a
few complaints, and I think I hit most of them. We tweaked her arm position on
both bikes to relax her arms a bit. No messing with leg position at all so
close to the event. She’s got a set of knees that seem gravitationally
attracted to the right side of the road.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN">We all got together got to tech inspection at noon on
Friday. Hooked up with Ron, and Greg. Passed with flying colors after SK got
some reflecto tape on her spare helmet. Got groceries done before the Big Feast
with 5 or 6 other teams at the Olive Garden. Always a good time. Lots of excited
faces. We all got our crew T-shirts! We had to show Chris Kostman, the race
director, what it looked like to get his reaction. He took Pics!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN"><a href="http://www.the508.com/2011web/shows/2011showRJ01/images/RJ1_7211.JPG">http://www.the508.com/2011web/shows/2011showRJ01/images/RJ1_7211.JPG</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN"><a href="http://www.the508.com/2011web/shows/2011showCK01/images/PA074822.JPG">http://www.the508.com/2011web/shows/2011showCK01/images/PA074822.JPG</a>
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN"><a href="http://www.the508.com/2011web/shows/2011showCK01/images/PA074822.JPG">http://www.the508.com/2011web/shows/2011showCK01/images/PA074822.JPG</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN"><a href="http://www.the508.com/2011web/shows/2011showRJ01/images/RJ1_7209.JPG">http://www.the508.com/2011web/shows/2011showRJ01/images/RJ1_7209.JPG</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN"><a href="http://www.the508.com/2011web/shows/2011showRJ01/images/RJ1_7210.JPG">http://www.the508.com/2011web/shows/2011showRJ01/images/RJ1_7210.JPG</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN">We got back to my place after the shortest ever 508 pre
race meeting. 8 or so I think. Thanks Chris!! Final prep work. SK starts giving
the rest of the crew the full van tour and it occurs to me that if I was racing
the next day I'd want to have a peaceful evening and take care of my own stuff.
SK agreed I tried to remember where everything was. We all got to bed at a
reasonable time. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN">In the morning we had to get up early for the drive to
the start. SK cooked up a big pot of oatmeal with fruit. Crew did the final
loading. ........and SK had an extra big smile on her face. She had slept well
and was really excited to race! Great way to start the race! Forecast was for
50-80 degrees and not too much wind. The temperature projections we had some
faith in, but not the wind. Not in Death Valley!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN">Got to the start and dealt with the crowd of riders and
vehicles and wished the other teams well. It was cool but not bad, 50s. We have
to leave before the riders and get to the first feed zone. So SK had a tire and
tube and a pump, and the 4 pound steel tire levers it takes to get a GP4000 off
a Zipp 404! We drove up to the feed zone. Watched the racers go by. JS and Tim
looked to be racing each other pretty hard so early on. Weird. After a time we
started looking for SK. Well after 15 minuntes had passed since the last rider,
we started to get a bit concerned. Could she have flatted, or crashed, or
worse? Well, SK has the most self-control and pacing sense out there. Steady
Betty she calls it. The vast majority of riders go out way too hard on these
events. Not Sara. I don't know if she was watching the power meter or just
going on feel. She radioed us once she was close and we had everything she
needed ready for a no stop feed. Here she is just after the feed zone. <a href="http://yfrog.com/kkqavuyj">http://yfrog.com/kkqavuyj</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN">Somewhere thereafter I messed up on navigation. I did not
read the laptop right and I thought we had the route book up front. Oooops, it
was still in back. The cost us a few minutes. SK was completely un-phased. I
decided right then that I needed to try to sleep. If I can mess up on a course
as simple as the 508..... Ron moved
to navigation and Greg kept driving. Sara was riding steady as ever up the
windmill climb and to Time Station 1 (TS1), California City:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN"><a href="http://yfrog.com/ntqoncoj">http://yfrog.com/ntqoncoj</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN">I think we crossed the tracks just before that train.
Crew was doing a great job keeping SK fueled. Somewhere in here we started
passing other teams. Steady Betty in action! Somewhere in here I had a look at
the log sheet and realized she had been very low on caloric intake for the first
3 or 4 hours. She started eating a bit more. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN">On the first day of the 508 the van cannot follow the
rider and hand them stuff from the vehicle. We do leapfrog support and hand
stuff to her, on climbs when speed is lowest, from the roadside. With the radios,
this went very well. At the top of the Randsburg climb we fueled as we needed
to be in following Sara at 6pm sharp, night rules. If we refueled at night Sara
would have to stop too, and that costs time. Good thing we did as we had to go
into night mode a mile or 2 outside TS2, Trona. Now we could just hand her stuff
from the car. It was now that SK efficient planning really kicked in. We kept
the feeds for the vehicle to a minimum, as they can be tricky when we all get
fatigued. SK stays hydrated well, and when I say well, I mean more than her
bladder can store for too long. With the radio she would let us know what she
needed, stop, pee, and be on the way again. Very little time off the bike, and
maximizing what got done when she had to stop anyway.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN">Here she is leaving Trona:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN"><a href="http://yfrog.com/j2fo3fxj">http://yfrog.com/j2fo3fxj</a>
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN">Townes Pass was difficult. It’s a 4000' climb at 7-8% I
think. To make it worse, even on a calm day, there is a swirling wind that
bounces off all the rock formations and changes directions every few
second. You struggle to keep the bike
straight. Sara still had her trusty Zipp 404 on the front, as I did the one
time I climbed it. Any aero front wheel makes it a bit more work staying on the
road. SK got to the top and grabbed a lot of clothes. It’s easy to freeze after
climbing and getting sweaty, and then descending for 20 minutes at 40-50mph.
Yes, even though it was the middle of the first night, she descended most of it
at that speed. I think she topped 50 a few times! Ron, being the most
experienced follow driver, followed her down. As we got near the bottom and she
had to stop and take all those clothes off. At 200' below sea level, it was
still about 70F. At Furnace creek we all had to pee! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN">I think the sun came up somewhere past Badwater. Through
one night and not a moment of rest for SK. No sleep. She just kept pedaling!
Like the energizer bunny! ....and she was still smiling. I remember we found
some toilets down a dirt road near Ashford Mills. Then started Jubilee and
Salsburg Passes. They are really one climb, the second biggest in the race. I
can't remember why, and maybe it was just me, but we all seemed really happy
going up these two. The sun was up on a beautiful day, we were keeping fed, and
SK was motivating herself and the rest of us. We even started to think about
finishing times. SK was not, she was just riding her pace. Very smart. Ron and
I were thinking 43 to 45 hours I think. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN">....and so it was through Shoshone, over Ibex Summit and
on to Baker. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span lang="EN" style="color: blue; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://yfrog.com/nxp87dvj">http://yfrog.com/nxp87dvj<o:p></o:p></a></span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN">Coming into Baker we left SK to execute an excellent pit
stop. We got to Baker, dropped Ron off at the Greek for to get us all some
food, then he would verify they got SKs time as she passed the time station,
then he would walk over to the gas station where I was refueling and Greg was
grabbing more ice and water. It went like clockwork! We caught up with SK about
2 miles outside Baker. We were enjoying warm fresh meals, and SK was still at
it, smiling and pedaling. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN"><a href="http://yfrog.com/hw4u0uj">http://yfrog.com/hw4u0uj</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN">How many hours on the bike at this point? 33? ....and we
were headed to the dreaded boulderseal section of the 508. The upper section of
the Baker Grade. This is the nastiest section of pavement you have ever seen,
and there is no smooth line through it. Luckily SKs digestive tract is
bulletproof, so she survived it. It was really pretty on top as the sun was
setting on the second night. She took 10 minutes to just sit in the back of the
van this pee stop, put on a few more clothes, and we were off to Kelso. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN">The climb up the Kelso grade is tougher and undulating.
At one pee stop we ran into a Scottish couple out cheering for the racers in
the night. By this time I was pretty much assuming she'd need to stop for
sleep. It was the second night after all. Not yet! Still going. I started to
spend more time on the radio, talking with her. To gauge how she was
functioning mentally, to keep her occupied and awake. ....and she just kept pedaling!
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN">On the descent into Amboy, I remember seeing her arms
start shaking, and the front wheel with them. Cold. She was not taking any
chances with holes and dips in the road either, keeping speeds under 30 most of
the time. We all enjoyed the fresh pavement in Amboy. As she crested the climb
up to Sheephole, we had a few cleat issues and did a few shoe swaps to get it
all sorted. Just after that was done with, SK spots a target ahead, another
team to pass. No time for sleep now!! After the pass she asked a few times how
close they were. I told her not to worry about them as they were disappearing
fast. ......and gave her a new target,
finishing in under 45 hours! Well I did not think she was going too, but she
did it with 4 minutes to spare!! There is now a female solo bent record! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN">I have crewed at night at Sebring a few times for the 24
hr racers, and ridden a few 600K brevets with others, and never have I seen a
rider so consistently focused, positive, and just plain steady for close to 2
straight days, without sleep. Always smiling and thinking about what she needed
at the next stop. Most rider eventually let the cadence drop a bit as they get
fatigued. Not SK. Nothing could phase her.
.....she just kept pedaling!</span></div>
</div>
JVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11500377908398226515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3385752459827757338.post-49031895712400920562010-06-08T11:03:00.001-07:002010-06-08T11:12:42.006-07:00Carbent Raven Ready for RAAM<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi_H9euUBk-SsnlPigXh24um9w8BlLkUXoWs4Q18lQI8bI-2YTUhtxWxIonkQa8i_gUREvNLSKJ7dsLI3O5TY8XZZ3j18L3apdur9KPbcMF1ufRW46bMK1PNiYRD24LhMlf_ExPqARI9Q/s1600/=%3Futf-8%3FB%3FSU1HMDAwMTYtMjAxMDA2MDgtMTA1NC5qcGc=%3F=-762007"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi_H9euUBk-SsnlPigXh24um9w8BlLkUXoWs4Q18lQI8bI-2YTUhtxWxIonkQa8i_gUREvNLSKJ7dsLI3O5TY8XZZ3j18L3apdur9KPbcMF1ufRW46bMK1PNiYRD24LhMlf_ExPqARI9Q/s320/=%3Futf-8%3FB%3FSU1HMDAwMTYtMjAxMDA2MDgtMTA1NC5qcGc=%3F=-762007" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480467444854529090" /></a></p>JVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11500377908398226515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3385752459827757338.post-2915255612647471222010-06-08T11:03:00.000-07:002010-06-08T11:10:40.888-07:00Carbent Raven Ready for RAAM<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8EVIRHP0WAkh_ZDwq55v_YBosW92XWaXoePA1lUc5PXqmi2Blm0wiR-19Q8OACWsbfMcgoj7Sqyhy1EI3TnhV5Zc0Lys-ivkMomJZ3Zn1AAh8l_5PX_1cm2ZLKUgdebU73vOppdKMRRE/s1600/=%3Futf-8%3FB%3FSU1HMDAwMTUtMjAxMDA2MDgtMTA1My5qcGc=%3F=-740889"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8EVIRHP0WAkh_ZDwq55v_YBosW92XWaXoePA1lUc5PXqmi2Blm0wiR-19Q8OACWsbfMcgoj7Sqyhy1EI3TnhV5Zc0Lys-ivkMomJZ3Zn1AAh8l_5PX_1cm2ZLKUgdebU73vOppdKMRRE/s320/=%3Futf-8%3FB%3FSU1HMDAwMTUtMjAxMDA2MDgtMTA1My5qcGc=%3F=-740889" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480466921398373378" /></a></p>JVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11500377908398226515noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3385752459827757338.post-81151534082574247662010-06-08T11:02:00.000-07:002010-06-08T11:08:49.191-07:00Carbent Raven Ready for RAAM<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU6jjkZZ6eU65o-Mw2E_Hn1tDRQGvG8GeRsp_eqVe-_oToW9bbUJrbfD4awT0_wo61zuD-seIZ0LkoGP11eu4sYGTWI_QxFbTij4yRs1g0E1Sdo2HrpGQKU1pBFxiIm1uZEcj2OmbIv1A/s1600/=%3Futf-8%3FB%3FSU1HMDAwMTQtMjAxMDA2MDgtMTA1My5qcGc=%3F=-729193"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU6jjkZZ6eU65o-Mw2E_Hn1tDRQGvG8GeRsp_eqVe-_oToW9bbUJrbfD4awT0_wo61zuD-seIZ0LkoGP11eu4sYGTWI_QxFbTij4yRs1g0E1Sdo2HrpGQKU1pBFxiIm1uZEcj2OmbIv1A/s320/=%3Futf-8%3FB%3FSU1HMDAwMTQtMjAxMDA2MDgtMTA1My5qcGc=%3F=-729193" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480466444904964530" /></a></p>JVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11500377908398226515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3385752459827757338.post-71105074339661476702010-06-08T11:01:00.000-07:002010-06-08T11:06:57.612-07:00Bacchetta CA 2.0 Ready for RAAM<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibYzDu0FnBFiVV59IjBMlKvBi07gxDUk2ovnUjQWO9XE6MWGUPLQ9crs8dj5p2gXCc0GQILXkl7s2ZJI5Z_K5NLWTHinV5Xnzuh3vaMZgLupifq1eUhlu4IH1P6WjZ-bNVR5nyo3SpV8w/s1600/=%3Futf-8%3FB%3FSU1HMDAwMjAtMjAxMDA2MDgtMTA1Ni5qcGc=%3F=-717613"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibYzDu0FnBFiVV59IjBMlKvBi07gxDUk2ovnUjQWO9XE6MWGUPLQ9crs8dj5p2gXCc0GQILXkl7s2ZJI5Z_K5NLWTHinV5Xnzuh3vaMZgLupifq1eUhlu4IH1P6WjZ-bNVR5nyo3SpV8w/s320/=%3Futf-8%3FB%3FSU1HMDAwMjAtMjAxMDA2MDgtMTA1Ni5qcGc=%3F=-717613" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480465960892451266" /></a></p>JVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11500377908398226515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3385752459827757338.post-67527057754545375942010-06-08T11:00:00.000-07:002010-06-08T11:05:05.423-07:00Bacchetta CA 2.0 Ready for RAAM<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijTejS6Fn7YUBBoJbTecm6uGX01Wpkr6D6Sw2Z7kyFQXsPRsOehcj8JHjgs4LllUxt27Vn-g0xoy7vguEPuFqGQXLRT-FTRGBQGdpNYjPhtTVSThCqo1y7BLK4mFSghMKZioMcgpxiQfA/s1600/=%3Futf-8%3FB%3FSU1HMDAwMTktMjAxMDA2MDgtMTA1Ni5qcGc=%3F=-705424"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijTejS6Fn7YUBBoJbTecm6uGX01Wpkr6D6Sw2Z7kyFQXsPRsOehcj8JHjgs4LllUxt27Vn-g0xoy7vguEPuFqGQXLRT-FTRGBQGdpNYjPhtTVSThCqo1y7BLK4mFSghMKZioMcgpxiQfA/s320/=%3Futf-8%3FB%3FSU1HMDAwMTktMjAxMDA2MDgtMTA1Ni5qcGc=%3F=-705424" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480465482796479378" /></a></p>JVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11500377908398226515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3385752459827757338.post-41696669249125465662010-06-08T10:59:00.000-07:002010-06-08T11:02:12.448-07:00Bacchetta CA 2.0 Ready for RAAM<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmjFlp99JI5A9MgniNDKyH08c2w3EurAbc_2cyu-SQaCleBQI7CNSsJZhYUT0r5m0ykmcwBX15KAVmqDHIUqlfNcvq0NuRF2GtTR6JOvJ55SvvKz2IziAzCk-xX4ci_844ow2IBgpRwjg/s1600/=%3Futf-8%3FB%3FSU1HMDAwMTgtMjAxMDA2MDgtMTA1Ni5qcGc=%3F=-732449"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmjFlp99JI5A9MgniNDKyH08c2w3EurAbc_2cyu-SQaCleBQI7CNSsJZhYUT0r5m0ykmcwBX15KAVmqDHIUqlfNcvq0NuRF2GtTR6JOvJ55SvvKz2IziAzCk-xX4ci_844ow2IBgpRwjg/s320/=%3Futf-8%3FB%3FSU1HMDAwMTgtMjAxMDA2MDgtMTA1Ni5qcGc=%3F=-732449" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480464736876466498" /></a></p>JVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11500377908398226515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3385752459827757338.post-61556218892284259452010-06-07T20:35:00.000-07:002010-06-07T21:00:48.079-07:00JV's RAAM Bikes I had to do this for the mechanics on the crew, in preparation for making tool kits and bringing spares. Here is the full spec for my RAAM bikes:<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 700px;"><col style="width: 126pt;" width="168"></col> <col style="width: 163pt;" width="217"></col> <col style="width: 236pt;" width="315"></col> <tbody>
<tr height="24" style="height: 18pt;"> <td class="xl66" height="24" style="height: 18pt; width: 126pt;" width="168">Bike</td> <td class="xl66" style="width: 163pt;" width="217">Primary Bike (flat)</td> <td class="xl66" style="width: 236pt;" width="315">Secondary Bike (climbing/windy)</td> </tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;"> <td class="xl67" height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;">Frame</td> <td class="xl65">Bacchetta CA2.0 L 700c</td> <td class="xl65">Carbent Raven</td> </tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;"> <td class="xl67" height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;">Fork</td> <td class="xl65">Easton EC-90 Aero</td> <td class="xl65">Easton EC-90 Aero</td> </tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;"> <td class="xl67" height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;">Headset</td> <td class="xl65">FSA Orbit X 1 1/8"</td> <td class="xl65">FSA Orbit XL II 1 1/8"</td> </tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;"> <td class="xl67" height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;">Hdst. Adj.</td> <td class="xl65">Easton Beartrap</td> <td class="xl65">BFT</td> </tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;"> <td class="xl67" height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;">Seat</td> <td class="xl65">BacchettaEuromesh 2</td> <td class="xl65">Velokraft L</td> </tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;"> <td class="xl67" height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;">Seat pad</td> <td class="xl65">Bacchetta filter foam</td> <td class="xl65">Hostel Shoppe dual layer</td> </tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;"> <td class="xl67" height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;">Seat Base Hardware</td> <td class="xl65">6mm allen bolts, 10mm nuts</td> <td class="xl65">na</td> </tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;"> <td class="xl67" height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;">Seat struts</td> <td class="xl65">Bacchetta</td> <td class="xl65">na</td> </tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;"> <td class="xl67" height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;">Seat struts Hardware</td> <td class="xl65">5mm allen bolts, 8mm nuts</td> <td class="xl65">3mm allem bolts</td> </tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;"> <td class="xl67" height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;">Seat struts adjusters</td> <td class="xl65">Velogenisis, 3mm allen bolts</td> <td class="xl65">na</td> </tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;"> <td class="xl67" height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;">Stem</td> <td class="xl65">Bacchetta Short</td> <td class="xl65">Bacchetta Short</td> </tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;"> <td class="xl67" height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;">Bar</td> <td class="xl65">Bacchetta Long</td> <td class="xl65">Bacchetta Short</td> </tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;"> <td class="xl67" height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;">Grips</td> <td class="xl65">Oury</td> <td class="xl65">Oury</td> </tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;"> <td class="xl67" height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;">Front Brake</td> <td class="xl65">X-Eyed</td> <td class="xl65">Bacchetta Dual Pivot</td> </tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;"> <td class="xl67" height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;">Rear Brake</td> <td class="xl65">X-Eyed</td> <td class="xl65">Royal Gran Compe</td> </tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;"> <td class="xl67" height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;">Brake Levers</td> <td class="xl65">Avid Ti Ultimate</td> <td class="xl65">Avid Ti Ultimate</td> </tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;"> <td class="xl67" height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;">Pad Holders</td> <td class="xl65">X-Eyed (Shimano Compatible)</td> <td class="xl65">Dura Ace</td> </tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;"> <td class="xl67" height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;">Brake Pads</td> <td class="xl65">Dura Ace</td> <td class="xl65">Dura Ace</td> </tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;"> <td class="xl67" height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;">Brake Cables</td> <td class="xl65">Gore</td> <td class="xl65">Avid</td> </tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;"> <td class="xl67" height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;">Pedals</td> <td class="xl65">Speedplay Zero</td> <td class="xl65">Speedplay Zero</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl67" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">Crank</td> <td class="xl65">Rotor 170mm</td> <td class="xl65">Rotor 175mm</td> </tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;"> <td class="xl67" height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;">BB</td> <td class="xl65">Rotor integrated</td> <td class="xl65">Rotor integrated</td> </tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;"> <td class="xl67" height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;">Big Ring</td> <td class="xl65">Rotor 54</td> <td class="xl65">Rotor 54</td> </tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;"> <td class="xl67" height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;">Middle Ring</td> <td class="xl65">Rotor 39</td> <td class="xl65">Rotor 39</td> </tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;"> <td class="xl67" height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;">Granny</td> <td class="xl65">Rotor 26</td> <td class="xl65">Rotor 26</td> </tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;"> <td class="xl67" height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;">Ring Bolts</td> <td class="xl65">5/6mm allen</td> <td class="xl65">5/6mm allen</td> </tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;"> <td class="xl67" height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;">Chain</td> <td class="xl65">KMC DX10SL</td> <td class="xl65">SRAM 1090R</td> </tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;"> <td class="xl67" height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;">Master Link</td> <td class="xl65">KMC</td> <td class="xl65">SRAM</td> </tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;"> <td class="xl67" height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;">Idler</td> <td class="xl65">B</td> <td class="xl65">Terra-Cycle Ti Yellow</td> </tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;"> <td class="xl67" height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;">Ft Derailleur</td> <td class="xl65">Ultegra Triple</td> <td class="xl65">Ultegra Triple</td> </tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;"> <td class="xl67" height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;">R Derailleur</td> <td class="xl65">SRAM XX (torx T25)</td> <td class="xl65">Dura Ace Triple</td> </tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;"> <td class="xl67" height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;">Derailleur Hangar</td> <td class="xl65">Bacchetta 3mm allen</td> <td class="xl65">Dedacciai, 3mm allen</td> </tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;"> <td class="xl67" height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;">Shifters</td> <td class="xl65">SRAM TT-500 10s (torx T25)</td> <td class="xl65">Dura Ace 10s</td> </tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;"> <td class="xl67" height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;">Der. Cables</td> <td class="xl65">Avid</td> <td class="xl65">Gore</td> </tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;"> <td class="xl67" height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;">Computer</td> <td class="xl65">PowerTap Wireless</td> <td class="xl65">PowerTap Wireless</td> </tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;"> <td class="xl67" height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;">Front light</td> <td class="xl65">Surefire</td> <td class="xl65">Surefire</td> </tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;"> <td class="xl67" height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;">Front light mount</td> <td class="xl65">Ti One Armed Bandit</td> <td class="xl65">Integrated</td> </tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;"> <td class="xl67" height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;">Rear light</td> <td class="xl65">Planet Bike Superflash Red</td> <td class="xl65">Planet Bike Superflash Red</td> </tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;"> <td class="xl67" height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;">Headrest</td> <td class="xl65">no</td> <td class="xl65">no</td> </tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;"> <td class="xl67" height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;">Cages</td> <td class="xl65">2 Black Blackburn Switchback<span> </span></td> <td class="xl65">3<span> </span>Velocity Velocage</td> </tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;"> <td class="xl67" height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;">Cage Hardware</td> <td class="xl65">3mm allen bolts</td> <td class="xl65">3mm allen bolts, 8mm nuts</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl67" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">Seat bag</td> <td class="xl65">maybe</td> <td class="xl65">no</td> </tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;"> <td class="xl67" height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;">Mirror</td> <td class="xl65">no</td> <td class="xl65">no</td> </tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;"> <td class="xl67" height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;">Bell</td> <td class="xl65">no</td> <td class="xl65">no</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl65" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"><br />
</td> <td class="xl65"><br />
</td> <td class="xl65"><br />
</td> </tr>
<tr height="24" style="height: 18pt;"> <td class="xl66" height="24" style="height: 18pt;">Wheels</td> <td class="xl65"><br />
</td> <td class="xl65"><br />
</td> </tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;"> <td class="xl67" height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;">Rear hub</td> <td class="xl65">PowerTap SL+</td> <td class="xl65">PowerTap SL+</td> </tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;"> <td class="xl67" height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;">Rear spokes</td> <td class="xl65">24 Sapim CX Ray</td> <td class="xl65">32 DT 2.0/1.8</td> </tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;"> <td class="xl67" height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;">Rear nipples</td> <td class="xl65">Alloy 5.5mm bolt head</td> <td class="xl65">Alloy</td> </tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;"> <td class="xl67" height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;">Rear rim</td> <td class="xl65">Hed Jet9 C2 24h</td> <td class="xl65">American Claasic Hurricane 32h</td> </tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;"> <td class="xl67" height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;">Rear rim strip</td> <td class="xl65">Velox</td> <td class="xl65">American Classic</td> </tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;"> <td class="xl67" height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;">Rear tube</td> <td class="xl65">Panaracer Greenlite 60mm</td> <td class="xl65">Panaracer Greenlite 60mm</td> </tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;"> <td class="xl67" height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;">Rear Valve Extender</td> <td class="xl65">Problem Solvers 55mm, teflon tape</td> <td class="xl65">no</td> </tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;"> <td class="xl67" height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;">Rear tire</td> <td class="xl65">Conti 4000s 700x23c</td> <td class="xl65">Conti 4000s 700x23c</td> </tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;"> <td class="xl67" height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;">Skewer</td> <td class="xl65">HED</td> <td class="xl65">American Classic</td> </tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;"> <td class="xl67" height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;">Cassette</td> <td class="xl65">Dura Ace 11-28 10s</td> <td class="xl65">SRAM XX 11-32 10s</td> </tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;"> <td class="xl67" height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;">Cover?</td> <td class="xl65">Wheelbuilder</td> <td class="xl65">no</td> </tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;"> <td class="xl67" height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;"><br />
</td> <td class="xl65"><br />
</td> <td class="xl65"><br />
</td> </tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;"> <td class="xl67" height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;">Front hub</td> <td class="xl65">Hed Sonic</td> <td class="xl65">American Classic MTB</td> </tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;"> <td class="xl67" height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;">Front spokes</td> <td class="xl65">16 Sapim CX Ray</td> <td class="xl65">32 ?? 2.0/1.8</td> </tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;"> <td class="xl67" height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;">Front nipples</td> <td class="xl65">Alloy 5.5mm bolt head</td> <td class="xl65">Alloy</td> </tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;"> <td class="xl67" height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;">Front rim</td> <td class="xl65">Hed Jet9 C2 16h</td> <td class="xl65">American Claasic Hurricane 32h</td> </tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;"> <td class="xl67" height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;">Front rim strip</td> <td class="xl65">Velox</td> <td class="xl65">American Classic</td> </tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;"> <td class="xl67" height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;">Front tube</td> <td class="xl65">Panaracer Greenlite 60mm</td> <td class="xl65">Panaracer Greenlite 60mm</td> </tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;"> <td class="xl67" height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;">Front Valve Extender</td> <td class="xl65">Problem Solvers 55mm, teflon tape</td> <td class="xl65">no</td> </tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;"> <td class="xl67" height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;">Front tire</td> <td class="xl65">Conti 4000s 700x23c</td> <td class="xl65">Conti 4000s 700x23c</td> </tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;"> <td class="xl67" height="21" style="height: 15.75pt;">Skewer</td> <td class="xl65">HED</td> <td class="xl65">American Classic</td> </tr>
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</tbody></table>JVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11500377908398226515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3385752459827757338.post-78320582295495456632010-05-09T18:59:00.000-07:002010-05-09T19:17:37.918-07:00Ed Llorca demonstrates CVC passing ettiquette on Stunt Road Descent.The title of this is supposed to sound like the 1998 DVD <i>Ballerini Shows Grace in Hell</i>, a story of the late riders win at Paris-Roubaix. <br />
<br />
I yell at the new guy in this one, as I knew he wanted to go left for water, and he had gone right first, making me incredibly nervous about what he was going to do next. I am learning that he can be trusted. I apologized for yelling at him at the bottom. <br />
<br />
Anyway, this is another scenic desent in the Santa Monica Mountains, dropping 1300' in 4 miles. I can only imagine how fast Ed would go down this on a fast bent. ;-)<br />
<br />
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<a href="http://vimeo.com/11392263">Ed Llorca demonstrates CVC passing ettiquette on Stunt Road Descent.</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user2168726">Jim Verheul</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
GoPro HD on flashpoint bar mount, 1280x720p, 60fps, wide angle.<br />
<br />
<iframe frameborder="0" height="500px" src="http://ridewithgps.com/routes/70612/embed" width="100%"></iframe>JVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11500377908398226515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3385752459827757338.post-27945991661004712842010-05-09T18:39:00.000-07:002010-05-09T19:20:59.711-07:00Cruisin' the Conejo Potrero Descent, passing technique.Here is a short 5 minute descent that drops 1000 feet from Newbury Park , Ca, to the Oxnard plain. If you turn up the volume you can hear me apply the brakes hard a few times, and lightly during a few corners (trail braking).<br />
<br />
I love the easy turns on top, its clear I can let it run for those. Then it tightens up a bit. <br />
<br />
@ 0:37 you can see a rider has picked a really poor spot to stop, and I tell him so. He is just around a blind corner from the cyclists descending behind him, at the exact exit point of the turn, on a narrow shoulder that he cannot fit himself and his bike on, with his back to the place he might get hit from. Please think about other road users. There is a nice wide shoulder with much more visibility from both directions just a few feet down the hill. Fittingly, his jersey says he's armored. ;-)<br />
<br />
@0:50 and 4:45 I pass too pairs of cyclists. I brake a bit on both occasion. I yell,"On your left" beforehand, and,"Thank you" as I pass. Both pairs are riding predictably and move a bit to the right or hold their line after I announce my presence. I try to always thank riders like that. Plus, I am pretty sure that even though they don't appear startled, my yell is only slightly less of a surprise than if I did not let them know.<br />
<br />
Peak speed is over 50 where I pass the second pair of riders. Nice pavement!<br />
<br />
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<a href="http://vimeo.com/11608245">CTC Potrero Descent</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user2168726">Jim Verheul</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
This is from The Conejo Valley Cycling Clubs Cruising the Conejo flatland 68 mile ride. First you have to get to the flatland though, thus this 1000 foot drop from Dos Vientos to California State University at Channel Islands on the Oxnard Plain. Here is a map:<br />
<br />
<iframe frameborder="0" height="500px" src="http://ridewithgps.com/routes/70614/embed" width="100%"></iframe><br />
<br />
Cheers,<br />
JVJVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11500377908398226515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3385752459827757338.post-53295601693848182712010-05-03T12:42:00.000-07:002010-05-03T19:02:54.117-07:00Cda and Crr testing highracer vs highracer with a powermeter & Golden Cheetah AeroLabI am usually too busy or ADD affected to actually go out and test, so I just dump the data I have into tools and see what I get. The crit I do on Thursday nights is not completely flat, but it is a loop. It was also very windy this Thursday. I spend the whole warm up ant the last 19 laps of the event riding pretty much alone, and then a 4 lap cool down.<br />
<br />
This was on <a href="http://bentupcycles.com/enter.cfm?Affiliate=1">Carbent Raven</a> (27 degree seat angle) with American Classic Hurricane wheels, used Continental GP 4000S tires (100#f/120#r), one with a butyl tube and one with Panaracer Greenlite tube. One bottle on a seat back cage, no seat bag. I was wearing Defeet wool Kneekers, a <a href="http://jbvcoaching.com/">JBV Coaching</a> LS jersey, and a Giro Atmos helmet. <br />
<br />
This is getting me interested in going down to the same industrial park on a calm weekend and actually riding to collect data, not to train. <br />
<br />
Anyway in the plot below you can see how well the tool (Roberts Chung's Aerolab in Golden Cheetah) works. The first level section is warming up alone, at a variety of speeds, but no coasting. The last level section is a 19 lap solo breakaway followed by 4 laps of cool down. <br />
<br />
See the cool down laps slope up? My Cda goes from .268 to .286 there. Why? I was wearing a slightly heavier jacket, I had one more bottle, and I probably had one arm hanging or on my chest most of the time.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg23ETPwempxdbL7HOJMeBDMCcbi-OCrSH1f-qCZImc54XfU2uUWH2A6tOctVSW0LXzgzRRwfUzAolL8mBKecMyO61o2TbRMIAWVsEJPBp2fBFD4H2GTg9zAoxO8hRMspkiM3s0u12B70k/s1600/042810+crit+carbent+hurricanes.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg23ETPwempxdbL7HOJMeBDMCcbi-OCrSH1f-qCZImc54XfU2uUWH2A6tOctVSW0LXzgzRRwfUzAolL8mBKecMyO61o2TbRMIAWVsEJPBp2fBFD4H2GTg9zAoxO8hRMspkiM3s0u12B70k/s640/042810+crit+carbent+hurricanes.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
This is just a tease. The thing that really impressed me we how repeatable it is at a big variety of speeds and power levels. Maybe even bigger is that this was on the windiest day at the crit I have ever experienced! If it can look this steady lap to lap, I can't wait to see it on a calm day. The course has sections that are sheltered, some that are wide open and some where the wind can channel between buildings making it change direction. <br />
<br />
At first I thought my Crr was different for the 2 level sections, but once I corrected for air density they were the same. Also, the course has 3 meters of elevation change per lap according to Ridewithgps.com. Aerolab shows an average of about 3 meters if you look at a bunch of laps. Good! In fact, I can look at the 1st 7 breakaway laps and see that my Cda was a bit lower, until I got smacked with a big gust of wind, probably from an angle. My Cda might have hit as low as .245 in the last 3 racing laps, due to a lull in the wind I guess. <br />
<br />
I am working with Robert Chung to understand the data better, and how to interpret and apply it. An interesting question is what the drag of a reclined bent rider and bike does at different yaw angles. Are we more or less sensitive to that than our DF brethren?<br />
<br />
Next I need to put the roof rack on my car so I can bring 2 bikes to the crit. Next up will be my 700c <a href="http://www.bacchettabikes.com/bikes/performance-bikes/carbon-aero-2.0">Bacchetta CarbonAero 2.0</a> with Hed Jet9s and a 22 degree seat angle, assuming is a bit calmer.<br />
<br />
What I want to test later: bottle locations, wheels, clothes, and seat bags. <br />
<br />
References:<br />
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/">Weather at the time in Camarillo.</a><br />
<div class="Author"><a href="http://www.sportsci.org/2006/jcm.htm"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Aerodynamic Drag Area of Cyclists Determined with Field-Based Measures by James C Martin, A Scott Gardner, Martin Barras, David T Martin</span></span></a></div><div class="Author"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.sportsci.org/2006/CdA_calculator.xls">Spreadsheet for calculating air density from weather data. </a></span></span></div><div class="Author"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://goldencheetah.org/index.html">Golden Cheetah</a></span></span></div><div class="Author"><br />
</div><div class="Author"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Although you can use Golden Cheetah to download data from my Powertap powermeter, I used <a href="http://home.trainingpeaks.com/wko-desktop-software/analysis-software-for-training-files.aspx">TrainingPeaks WKO+ 3.0</a> and imported the file into Golden Cheetah. GC is only supposed to support WKO+ 2.2 files, but it seems to work. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Adendum:</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">Here is the link that Robert refers to in his comment, from someone else who has dome some Chung method aero testing.: </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://colinsbikingbits.blogspot.com/search/label/Aerodynamics%20and%20Chung%20Tests">Colin's Biking Bits</a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US"><br />
</span></span></div>JVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11500377908398226515noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3385752459827757338.post-66705846840906399792010-04-30T18:02:00.001-07:002017-10-05T17:51:29.435-07:00The Optima Baron that folds, very quickly.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
This is the best folding recumbent I have ever seen, period!<br />
A share from Becky's blog:<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nyVb9cZRD1E" width="560"></iframe></div>
JVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11500377908398226515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3385752459827757338.post-16057654053158854662010-04-28T18:46:00.000-07:002010-04-28T19:04:55.478-07:00Anatomy of a failed breakaway.I did this a few weeks ago, before my camera was being reliable, and before my new mic showed up. Crank the volume to hear me. I shot video at 4 or 5 other crits, but the camera shut down. Sad, as I would have been able to show you the best save after slamming the inside pedal into the pavement that I have ever seen a DF rider do.<br />
<br />
I am starting to learn, always have the camera on. Never know what your going to catch....<br />
<br />
So why do some breakaways fail, even with very strong riders? Watch:<br />
<br />
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<a href="http://vimeo.com/10731968">Anatomy of a failed breakaway.</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user2168726">Jim Verheul</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
Filmed with GoPro HD camera at 720p, 60fps. Edited and narrated with VideoPad free version. I need a better mic, you might have to really crank the sound to hear me talking. Vimeo reports the video at 28 minutes but its only a shade over 10. <br />
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Cheers, JVJVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11500377908398226515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3385752459827757338.post-42653655041880749802010-04-28T11:49:00.000-07:002010-05-09T19:25:25.610-07:00Descending Decker Canyon (ATOC Stage 8) with Bruce and Matt.Here is my second narrated road riding video. This is the same descent that will be featured on the last stage of this years Amgen Tour of California, 4 times. Bruce and Matt skillfully lead the way down. As I make these its occurring to me that they have some instructional value.<br />
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<object height="486" width="864"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=11302890&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=00ADEF&fullscreen=1" /><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=11302890&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=00ADEF&fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="864" height="486"></embed></object><a href="http://vimeo.com/11302890">Bruce, Matt and I on Amgen Tour of California Stage 8 (Decker Canyon Descent)</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user2168726">Jim Verheul</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
GoPro HD on Flashpoint bar mount, 1280x720p, 60fps, wide angle. <br />
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Oh, this is embarrassing: I refer to Bruce as Kurt a few time in the video. Yeeeeesh!!!<br />
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Here is a map:<br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" height="500px" src="http://ridewithgps.com/routes/70619/embed" width="100%"></iframe><br />
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Cheers,<br />
JVJVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11500377908398226515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3385752459827757338.post-77996283649791190852010-04-27T23:07:00.000-07:002010-04-28T18:38:17.083-07:00High speed passing etiquetteMost cyclist agree that its a good idea to warn someone that you are about to pass them. You yell "on your left" or ring a bell. I like the bell myself. It seems more polite and cheerful, and saves my throat.<br />
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Keep in mind I speak as a rider who is commonly passed on the climbs, but does a lot of passing everywhere else. Its the bike. <br />
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Skilled racers in higher categories rarely do this amongst themselves, because most racers ride predictably enough that notifying them will not change a thing. Also most racers are not startled by being passed. Most race packs involve constant passing and being passed. <br />
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There are however a few riders that you do NOT want to notify. They will either move into your path or turn their shoulders to look at you, causing them to move into your path. Unless you know the rider, it can be hard to tell. But, some riders do not respond well to notification of a pass. Please don't be one of them.<br />
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Here is a video of this very thing happening tonight. One ding of a bell and the rider looks behind him, moving 3 feet to his left in the process. <br />
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<object height="486" width="864"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=11288025&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=00ADEF&fullscreen=1" /><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=11288025&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=00ADEF&fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="864" height="486"></embed></object><a href="http://vimeo.com/11288025">CVC Tuesday Night Rock Store Ride (Also ATOC stage 8), passing etiquette</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user2168726">Jim Verheul</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
GoPro HD on flashpoint bar mount, 1280x720p, 60fps, wide angle.<br />
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Cheers<br />
JVJVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11500377908398226515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3385752459827757338.post-12769601514126704142010-04-07T09:18:00.000-07:002019-06-01T16:29:36.435-07:00The latest tire rolling resistance data is out!!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Al Morrison puts all his data together once every year or 2. Al does a big service to the racing community with this. <br />
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<a href="http://www.biketechreview.com/tires_old/images/AFM_tire_testing_rev9.pdf">http://www.biketechreview.com/tires_old/images/AFM_tire_testing_rev9.pdf</a><br />
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If you put it into Excel or an other spreadsheet application, you can sort by only new tires, width, clinchers.....<br />
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Interesting observations from the data:<br />
<ul>
<li>25c Pro3 Race are indeed faster than the same tire in 23c, at the same pressure! </li>
<li>Used tires are faster than new. Some get faster than others, depending on how much rubber hey had when new. I always thought that 4000Ss had a bit much rubber on them, and you can see how much they benefit from some miles. </li>
<li>Knowing how durable a lot of these tires are, I am still stuck riding Pro3 Race, and 4000Ss, but now have an interest in trying the Bontrager/Trek tires, and maybe the Pro3 Light. </li>
<li>Urethane tubes roll just about as fast as latex without the air loss.</li>
<li>There are slower tires that he has not tested, but you can send him some. The fattest one is 27mm. </li>
</ul>
If you read his test set up at the top of the document, its done on 2 smooth 79mm rollers, corrected for temperature, and pretty repeatable. Look at the standard deviations. There is a 12W per wheel difference between his fastest and slowest clinchers at the test speed, 30mph. That's 24W of lost power if you have 2 wheels on the ground. Since rolling resistance is linear with speed, that's 12W of lost power at 15mph.<br />
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Here is some data he took on a bumpy roller.<br />
<a href="http://www.biketechreview.com/tires_old/images/AFM_Bumpy_Data_BTR_rev1.pdf">http://www.biketechreview.com/tires_old/images/AFM_Bumpy_Data_BTR_rev1.pdf </a><br />
More air is almost always faster on smooth pavement, but not when its bumpy.<br />
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There has also been some work done by the esteemed Dr. Andrew Coggan correlating Al Morrison's roller data with rolling resistance on the road:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7I8G7C7depx_L2YNPMMLBBQYJUTH5_ZOcc_AipX0wEqtFbnEUNAm5ha2wA4pQUUoOjrVReMdSbG39ZD6fisMRA6ofUlesvpGIPKR15qJleMBsZhLN5EKL32gQsM4nEzBvxx1dnYaevvI/s1600/Crr+-+roller+vs+field.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="276" data-original-width="400" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7I8G7C7depx_L2YNPMMLBBQYJUTH5_ZOcc_AipX0wEqtFbnEUNAm5ha2wA4pQUUoOjrVReMdSbG39ZD6fisMRA6ofUlesvpGIPKR15qJleMBsZhLN5EKL32gQsM4nEzBvxx1dnYaevvI/s320/Crr+-+roller+vs+field.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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For the test methodology, see this article:<br />
<a href="http://www.trainingandracingwithapowermeter.com/2010/12/crr-roller-vs-field-test-results-part.html">http://www.trainingandracingwithapowermeter.com/2010/12/crr-roller-vs-field-test-results-part.html</a><br />
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In brief, this is why we believe data taken on rollers is very useful indeed, as it accurately ranks tires in the right order, so you can choose intelligently, not based on marketing hype, or feel.<br />
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Anyway, if you want efficient tires, this is very useful data indeed.</div>
JVhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11500377908398226515noreply@blogger.com3