February 2009
43 posts
“Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
Whose woods these are I think I know....”
– Robert Frost
My Route
I just heard back from the UMCA Records Chair, Drew Clarke, about the start and finish points for the cross provincial record attempt.
I must start on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, and complete at Windsor City Hall in Windsor.
That makes it a little easier to comprehend - I was having a hard time imagining finishing the ride at the Canada/US border :-)
Next logistical issue, get my officials and...
1.21 gigawatts! Great Scott!
I started my power training sessions yesterday night. Power training is a type of training that focused on the development of absolute power output over time by a cyclist. This is measured in watts, and most effectively expressed on an individual comparative basis as watts/kilogram.
Watts/kilogram is simply the number of watts you can put out for any period of time, divided by your body weight....
Moving on...
I’ve been doing light training this week, just to stay limber mostly. Next week, its back to the full grind, but with the added motivation of a hot finish in Sebring that gives me line of sight to smashing the record in May.
If I ride in May like I did last week, I will break the record with a 32 hour time. That’s not quite good enough - I want to crush it with a sub-30 hour time.
...
On goals attained...
If you remember, I had some goals for Sebring 24 - here they are again, with some additional commentary post-event…
Goal #1. Enjoy myself. I will hurt, I will want to give up, none of what I am about to do will be easy. All of it should be made enjoyable through a positive mindset and an appreciation of how far I’ve come.
Status: Accomplished. As much as it hurt, as formidable the...
“[The body is] a marvelous machine…a chemical laboratory, a power-house....”
– Theodor Herzl
Race recap
As I write this, we’re heading back towards Toronto, just having crossed over the border into Canada. I don’t feel like writing this recap - I’d rather savor the event before trying to remember it. If I don’t get it out now, its just not going to happen when I get back home and re-enter the real world where I’m not a full time cyclist. The race started on Saturday...
Whew!
That makes for a long day. I’ll post a full update later, but suffice to say for now, it was a blast - and I even achieved most of my goals!
Gone riding...
I guess its up to the team now. The truck is packed and gassed up, I’ve just finished a huge breakfast of oatmeal, yogurt, bagels and bananas and we report to the race line in 90 minutes.
Not a lot left to say or do, other than finish this sentence and ride my bike.
A Dedication
Most of the big rides I’ve done in the past have been dedicated to special people who are dealing with extraordinary circumstances in their lives. I won’t go into their stories - they can each tell their own story on their own terms, but each of these people has touched me in a different way at different times of my life and my thoughts and prayers are with each.
Tomorrow’s ride...
“Set priorities for your goals. A major part of successful living lies in the...”
– Robert J. McKain
My Goals, My Priorities
In order of importance…
1. Enjoy myself. I will hurt, I will want to give up, none of what I am about to do will be easy. All of it should be made enjoyable through a positive mindset and an appreciation of how far I’ve come.
2. Finish. I will ride my bike for the duration of the event. I will not give up. I will not DNF unless my health is at risk, or my equipment prevents me.
3....
My Stuff
Bike 1
Giant TCR Advanced 0. Setup with DuraAce groupset, Topolino C16 wheelset, Fizik Airione saddle, Easton EC70 Carbon Seatpost and Bar, Conti GP4000 tires. Thomson stem. Gearing TBD, but likely 12-25.
Bike 2
Giant TCR Carbon 0. Setup with DuraAce groupset, Mavic Ksyrium ES wheelset, Fizik Airione saddle, stock Giant carbon seatpost, Easton EA70 bar, Thomsen stem, Conti GP4000 tires. Gearing...
Warmup Ride
We did a 100k ride this afternoon. I haven’t been on a bike since December, so I really needed to check in on where I’m at from a performance perspective, and I also wanted to give Pat and Des some crew time under simulated conditions to help get them comfortable with the race format before we actually hit the road on Saturday morning.
Everything worked out great. After breakfast, we...
That rocked
Awesome ride. More details after dinner. Des and Patrick rocked!
Dry run
Just heading out fir a ride simulation with the crew. Testing out the race strategy, food prep, etc. Should be fun. It’s a bit windy, 23 degrees. Temp going up to 27. Awesome…
heading down for breakfast
…the day begins in about five minutes. Didn’t get a great sleep last night. That’s okay I figure. I’ve got plenty of time to nap later today and besides, I won’t get any sleep on Saturday, so having regular sleep now might actually not be actually be the greatest thing. As long as cumulatively, I can get in enough snooze time to recover from the trip and rest up for...
Made it...
…after a 26 hour drive, one stop at a Starbucks, five stops for gas, three good naps, a weird shimmy that came and went, three of Des’ Miracle Sandwiches, very little opera, a quick breakfast at the Waffle House and a massive fire on the I-75 in Kentucky, we arrived at the world famous Sebring International Raceway at 12:30 or so this morning.
The ride was great - having three people...
zero hour
Operation Winter Eagle has officially commenced. Tech 1 has left home base.
On packing....
I’ve been packing since 11am.
Based on past race reports which indicated a potential for very mixed weather, Larry advised me to bring everything. Larry is quite experienced with long distance cycling, so I took his advice.
That’s a lot of stuff Larry.
Working on clothing right now. This is the last bit before I go shopping to pick up a few last minute items.
Then its off to...
a note about notes
Once in a while I will cross post an email to the blog here. So if you are reading something that looks like it should probably be an email to someone else, it probably is. I thought it would be neat to share the odd message here and there. I will also be using the post-via-email feature while I’m on the road to make sure that I document as much of the journey as possible.
Weather update
Just got off the phone with the race organizers - the forecast is 20% chance of rain for Sat./Sund - markedly different than the thunderstorms I was seeing in my forecast. You can make your own call, might be wise to bring a light raincoat just in case. I will be picking up some plastic sheeting later on to cover gear, etc. Also good news - we’ve secured two rooms for the duration of the...
Heading out
We leave Toronto this evening. Today will be spent doing the final packing and tying up loose ends.
I got a solid 9 hours of sleep last night. I needed it. I was pretty close to the edge. I will have to make sure I get a few extra hours over the next couple if days as well. I have a deliberately short taper in advace if this event. A taper is a recovery. Period you build into your training...
“On June 17, 2009, RAAM racers embark on the 28th annual journey”
– - RAAM
What I *won’t* be thinking about on Saturday. A lot of you have asked if I have RAAM aspirations. Right now, I have Sebring aspirations, XOntario aspirations and a dream of being invited to the 508. Next year and the year after don’t exist yet.
Its official, part II
“Your registration is complete!
Dear Ross, Congratulations! You are now registered for Bike Sebring 12/24 Hours.”
heh. and to think, just 8 weeks ago, I wasn’t even thinking about this race. gulp.
Its official...
“UMCA Membership Thank you! Your order (#732) has been accepted and a confirmation email is on its way to you.”
The UMCA website has been a trememndous resource this past year, and with Sebring and XOntario coming up, I need to become a member - I consider this $65 well spent!
“Having a spirit that can drive you through pain, discomfort, nausea and...”
– Ultra Cycling: Your First 24 Hour Race
just sayin'
did some work on a Cycleops PT3000 this morning. I forgot to reset the stats before my session, so I don’t know what my average for the hour was, but my hills were a solid 300-350 watts for 10-12 minutes at a stretch, with a peak of 538 watts. that’s an easy, albeit unscientific, 10-15% improvement over this time last year.
Feb 19, I start a power training camp using this same...
Getting ready for Sebring...
In just a couple of days I’ll be hopping in the truck and driving south for 2200 kilometers until I get to Sebring, Florida, home of the Bike Sebring 24 Hour Ultra Race. I’m doing this race as a warmup for The Next Big Ride. Originally Larry had suggested that I rent a bike for the 24 hour spin, but when I found out that it would cost me $600 just to rent the spin bike, I decided to...
Words to live by...
Muhammed Ali was a great boxer, but he also had a pretty good idea of what it took to be successful. Rarely is good boxing advice also good cycling advice, but there are some gems in this article that outlines some smart words from one of the best sports figures of all time. Some of this I follow, some I need to work on…
Take a risk.
Steer clear of self-sabotage and creating inner...