Today is June 20, that means 2.5 weeks until Greylock century. So far the training this year has been great. After King's Tour double metric, I felt great and my legs feel good. The cardio is in good shape, so it's really just a matter of training properly and not peaking too soon.
I know I can finish greylock century, but I'd like to improve my average. Last year it took me 8:43 minutes with a ride time of 7:17 averaging 13.72mph. I hope to average 15mph this year and finish with a ride time under 7 hours. Given there's over 9000 feet of climbing on the century, that would be impressive to me. The latest elevation map says it's over 11,000 feet of climbing.
http://bcacycling.blogspot.com/p/greylock-century-ride.html
Of the three big climbs, the second climb up route 2 is the easiest. The grade up to Whitcomb summit is steady the entire way, so once you get into a nice rhythm it's autopilot. According to the berkshire cycling association, the first climb up to Greylock summit is a CAT 1 climb. Mapmyride and other apps call it 2 separate CAT 2 climbs. In the middle, there is a "flat-ish" section, which lets you recover. The road was repaved a few years ago, so it's smoothe and clean from the visitor center to the summit.
By far the hardest climb is up East Hawley road. The grade changes from 6% to 15% several times, so it's tough to get in a nice rhythm. Last year I trained on the hill several times and found myself getting out of the saddle on the steepest grades.
After Hawley, the rest of the climbs are only cat 4 or 5. I look forward to riding it again.
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Friday, June 15, 2012
Feeling healthy
Like most cyclist, I put on weight over the winter and spend the spring getting rid of it. This morning I finally got rid of the last few lbs I put on. This winter wasn't too bad, I put on 10lbs of weight. This morning I stepped on the scale and was about 141lbs. Last september I got down to 140 after working my ass off from May.
Thinking back to high school. When I was a freshman, I joined the cross country team. My Senior year I was pretty active, but my resting heart rate was only about 64. The last 2 mornings I measured my resting heart rate and it was between 48-50. Going by that measurement, I'm more fit at 40 than at 18. In high school and college, my cardio was ok. It wasn't great.
Last nite, I went on a group ride with 5 of the wednesday nite A group. Boy, I got my ass kicked by them, but it was loads of fun. Since I'm a glutton for punishment, I don't mind getting dropped. It is humbling to see guys older than me fly up a hill like it's flat.
Looking at the splits for the ride, we were averaging 19mph on the climbs. They weren't big, only about 3-3.5% average grade. Last year I rode with the A group a few times and I got dropped hard. On similar hills, they were averaging 19mph, while I was averaging 16mph. Overall, I feel healthy and strong. The feeling of spinning on the road is a physical and spiritual experience for me.
Thinking back to high school. When I was a freshman, I joined the cross country team. My Senior year I was pretty active, but my resting heart rate was only about 64. The last 2 mornings I measured my resting heart rate and it was between 48-50. Going by that measurement, I'm more fit at 40 than at 18. In high school and college, my cardio was ok. It wasn't great.
Last nite, I went on a group ride with 5 of the wednesday nite A group. Boy, I got my ass kicked by them, but it was loads of fun. Since I'm a glutton for punishment, I don't mind getting dropped. It is humbling to see guys older than me fly up a hill like it's flat.
Looking at the splits for the ride, we were averaging 19mph on the climbs. They weren't big, only about 3-3.5% average grade. Last year I rode with the A group a few times and I got dropped hard. On similar hills, they were averaging 19mph, while I was averaging 16mph. Overall, I feel healthy and strong. The feeling of spinning on the road is a physical and spiritual experience for me.
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Eating and drinking properly
On monday's 7HW social ride, I had a chat with a fellow cyclist. He rode the King's Tour of the Quabbin Century. Right around mile 50, the route goes up route 202. He's done it a few times and every time, he bonks on the climb up route 202. That got me thinking.
Why is that? I rode with Gary for the double metric. He bonked around mile 75, but Gary is a pro at cycling. He knows the importance of drinking and eating properly during a long ride. I emailed him after the ride to see how he did. Gary has the legs and the conditioning. When he bonked, he realize his body needed fluids and calories, so he stopped at the mile 75 rest stop to refuel and rehydrate.
From my own experience these last 2 years, eating and drinking properly makes a huge difference. There have been times when I bonked at 50 miles on a 60 mile ride. What I notice is that I didn't drink enough or get enough calories that morning. Say it takes 4 hours to ride 60 miles. Going at 15mph average a cyclist weighing 140-150 lbs will burn about 2-3K calories. The human digestive system takes several hours to digest food and it takes several hours to properly hydrate.
On Saturday, I made sure to drink more than usual and consume extra calories. On the day of the ride, I try to drink 1 water bottle per hour. If the weather is hot, add another bottle per hour. On Sunday I went through 5 bottles of water and 3 bottles of Gatorade. At around mile 100, I started to get a little dehydrated, so drank the last of my water. At every rest stop I ate 1 banana and 1 PBJ sandwich. During the ride I ate 2 Clif bars.
I don't use Gu or that stuff, since I don't like the taste. It feels nasty to me. There's a reason why professionals use it though. Liquid calories are absorbed more quickly into the body and doesn't require the lengthy digestion process.
I'm still a newbie when it comes to cycling, but listening to my friend dave and my wife has helped reduce the learning curve. My lovely wife, whom I think is hot has been very patient with me. She has been giving me advice on cycling, but it's taken me a long time to "learn" it. It's not that I don't listen, it's that I'm not ready to implement it. It's similar to the advice my friend dave gave me. The first year I was trying to get used to a road bike, so I just wasn't able to follow his advice. Once I felt more comfortable, it became easier. Note, that easier doesn't mean easy.
As an example, dave suggested I use water bottles instead of camelbak. The reason I preferred camelbak was it felt safer and easier for me. I simply didn't have the skill to reach down, grab the bottle, drink and put it back without crashing. I was so focused on handling the bike that using camelbak was more comfortable. As my skill improved, I felt more comfortable using water bottles.
The same thing happened with shifting and learning when to shift. Early in the season, my conditioning isn't great, so at the bottom of a hill I shift to a lower gear. As I get stronger, I shift up and get out of the saddle. Sometimes, as much as we want to follow others advice, we're just not able to. It's part of being human.
A great example of this is mountain biking. I love spending time with my wife and kids on mountain bike, but my handling sucks. That's not modesty either, it's the blunt truth. When I look at videos on YouTube of guys doing amazing things on a mountain bike, it's painfully obvious my handling is pathetic at best. Even on a road bike, my handling isn't good or great. When I looked at the elite guys on 7HW rides, they are completely one with their bike. I'm not one of those. Where I lack in talent, I make up with passion. I feel better when I ride daily.
Why is that? I rode with Gary for the double metric. He bonked around mile 75, but Gary is a pro at cycling. He knows the importance of drinking and eating properly during a long ride. I emailed him after the ride to see how he did. Gary has the legs and the conditioning. When he bonked, he realize his body needed fluids and calories, so he stopped at the mile 75 rest stop to refuel and rehydrate.
From my own experience these last 2 years, eating and drinking properly makes a huge difference. There have been times when I bonked at 50 miles on a 60 mile ride. What I notice is that I didn't drink enough or get enough calories that morning. Say it takes 4 hours to ride 60 miles. Going at 15mph average a cyclist weighing 140-150 lbs will burn about 2-3K calories. The human digestive system takes several hours to digest food and it takes several hours to properly hydrate.
On Saturday, I made sure to drink more than usual and consume extra calories. On the day of the ride, I try to drink 1 water bottle per hour. If the weather is hot, add another bottle per hour. On Sunday I went through 5 bottles of water and 3 bottles of Gatorade. At around mile 100, I started to get a little dehydrated, so drank the last of my water. At every rest stop I ate 1 banana and 1 PBJ sandwich. During the ride I ate 2 Clif bars.
I don't use Gu or that stuff, since I don't like the taste. It feels nasty to me. There's a reason why professionals use it though. Liquid calories are absorbed more quickly into the body and doesn't require the lengthy digestion process.
I'm still a newbie when it comes to cycling, but listening to my friend dave and my wife has helped reduce the learning curve. My lovely wife, whom I think is hot has been very patient with me. She has been giving me advice on cycling, but it's taken me a long time to "learn" it. It's not that I don't listen, it's that I'm not ready to implement it. It's similar to the advice my friend dave gave me. The first year I was trying to get used to a road bike, so I just wasn't able to follow his advice. Once I felt more comfortable, it became easier. Note, that easier doesn't mean easy.
As an example, dave suggested I use water bottles instead of camelbak. The reason I preferred camelbak was it felt safer and easier for me. I simply didn't have the skill to reach down, grab the bottle, drink and put it back without crashing. I was so focused on handling the bike that using camelbak was more comfortable. As my skill improved, I felt more comfortable using water bottles.
The same thing happened with shifting and learning when to shift. Early in the season, my conditioning isn't great, so at the bottom of a hill I shift to a lower gear. As I get stronger, I shift up and get out of the saddle. Sometimes, as much as we want to follow others advice, we're just not able to. It's part of being human.
A great example of this is mountain biking. I love spending time with my wife and kids on mountain bike, but my handling sucks. That's not modesty either, it's the blunt truth. When I look at videos on YouTube of guys doing amazing things on a mountain bike, it's painfully obvious my handling is pathetic at best. Even on a road bike, my handling isn't good or great. When I looked at the elite guys on 7HW rides, they are completely one with their bike. I'm not one of those. Where I lack in talent, I make up with passion. I feel better when I ride daily.
Monday, June 11, 2012
King's Tour of the Quabbin 2012
The heavens shined down on cyclist Sunday and blessed everyone with perfect weather. If I was a witch doctor with magical weather spells, it couldn't be better. At 7:00 the temperature was around 65, but once we got going, things warmed up. Around noon time, it was in the low 70's, but going at a 20 mph it felt awesome. Around 2, it was starting to get hot, but the wind picked up. Not sure if that's good, cuz the head wind made the last 20 miles feel tougher. Then again, I'm not sure if the "feeling" of wind was really a breeze or my legs giving out.
This year, I rode with the 7HW wednesday nite A group. Old fast Don, Eric D and Peter kept a steady fast pace the whole way. I managed to stay with them for the first 98 miles. At the last rest stop we regrouped. After 105 miles, I simply couldn't keep their pace, so I rode the remaining 10 with Peter Howard and a few other 7HW cyclist.
Thanks to the A group for pulling me along for 98 miles. According to my bike computer, here is the stats:
Miles: 121.74
Average speed: 18.3 mph
Ride time: 6:39:07
Max Speed: 43.5 mph
Average Cadence: 90
Max Cadence: 156
Zone 1 (102-130): 14%
Zone 2 (130-148): 41%
Zone 3(148-185): 43%
Uphill trip distance: 37.28 miles
uphill Avg speed: 13.56
uphill Avg incline: 3%
uphill trip time: 2:45
uphill altitude: 7217
uphill max incline: 10%
downhill distance: 38.9 miles
downhill avg speed: 26.11
downhill avg incline: 3%
downhill trip time: 1:29
downhill altitude: 7273
This year, I rode with the 7HW wednesday nite A group. Old fast Don, Eric D and Peter kept a steady fast pace the whole way. I managed to stay with them for the first 98 miles. At the last rest stop we regrouped. After 105 miles, I simply couldn't keep their pace, so I rode the remaining 10 with Peter Howard and a few other 7HW cyclist.
Thanks to the A group for pulling me along for 98 miles. According to my bike computer, here is the stats:
Miles: 121.74
Average speed: 18.3 mph
Ride time: 6:39:07
Max Speed: 43.5 mph
Average Cadence: 90
Max Cadence: 156
Zone 1 (102-130): 14%
Zone 2 (130-148): 41%
Zone 3(148-185): 43%
Uphill trip distance: 37.28 miles
uphill Avg speed: 13.56
uphill Avg incline: 3%
uphill trip time: 2:45
uphill altitude: 7217
uphill max incline: 10%
downhill distance: 38.9 miles
downhill avg speed: 26.11
downhill avg incline: 3%
downhill trip time: 1:29
downhill altitude: 7273
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