I have been back from France and the ETape for almost a week. My legs are 80-90% recovered from the ETape. I can produce power but not for long periods of time. The good news is that I have never been stronger or faster. The bad news is I really have limited endurance.
What I miss the most is the change in scenery, the French countryside, long rides in the morning, the cheering crowds, the podium girls, the medals, the fame and fortune. Oops not me; thought I was Lance for a minute. I do miss the change in scenery. In the Chicagoland area there are really 2 rides. North up Sheridan and West to Barington. The French countryside was great.
I have been doing a lot of thinking about the Etape and how I would have changed my training. Basically I was very happy with my training and the help I got from my VQ buddies and coaches. I was in great shape for the ETape in fact I may have been in the best shape of my life. The only thing I would have done differently would be to do more intervals at lower power, just below lactic threshold or at LT and to do intervals at low revolutions inside. I think this would have helped on Ventoux and after all that was the real goal.
Now it is back to the grind. 10-12 hours a week doing LT intervals, submaxes and long rides on Sundays. Now that I have accomplished this years goals training is a tad harder. However the quest for speed and aerobic shape continue. Its upward and onward. So if you need me I will be on the road.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Thursday, July 23, 2009
ETape Race DAy
The day started at 3:50am when my alarm went off. Truthfully, I was not really sleeping but dozing, flipping in and out of consciousness, obsessing that I was going to miss the bus to the start. That 3:50am cell alarm just allowed me to get up from that not sleeping state I am always in before a race.
I had laid out my cloths and gear the night before and began to dress quietly in the dark as to not wake Ruth. I had decided to carry enough supplies in my jersey pockets to last me to the second water stop, in case I missed the first stop, as recommended by others that have done previous ETapes. I put on the blue and yellow VQ kit and packed the back pockets with powdered drink mix, 3 GU packets, 2 air cartridges, a course guide, my cell phone (required by Ruth so I could call for help), 20 euros (may have to buy water), extra Nuun, Saltstick and a partridge in a pear tree. I dumped the extra tube and the extra water bottle because I was just carrying too much weight. Also I did not want to wear a vest to ward off the early morning chill so I brought newspaper that I was going to stuff inside my shirt to add another layer of insulation in the starting pens.
I had been pretty sick for the 2 days before the ETape with an upset stomach and the runs. The change in climate and time zones were had been doing a number on me. I dipped heavily into our stash of Imodium and Pepto and I had been pushing fluids in an effort to flush out whatever was attacking my system. The good news was on ETape Day I was not nervous just nauseous and I was hoping my calmness would chase the runs away. I was only semi-successful in feeling 100% and went down to breakfast with the mantra “nothing new.” Breakfast consisted of white toast and Nutella; it tasted delicious.
4:30am, and it was time to load the coach-bus. The bike trailer that came the day before had no way to secure the bikes so we packed the 16 of us and our bikes on the bus and took off for the start. It was quite a sight; each row was sitting a bike or 2 guys fully dressed with helmets on. On the way we saw other groups heading to the start. My goal during the 50mn ride was to rest and not try not to stress about French traffic. Earlier in the week Ruth and I had driven through Lyon. The traffic was so bad it took 3 hours to drive 10 miles. Several other times traffic would just stop on the highway for no apparent reason. It seems the French are worse rubberneckers than the Americans.
Fortunately the traffic was light considering that 9,500, mostly amateur, riders were descending on a town of 35,000 to start the 20th leg of the Tour de France. ETape Day is a local holiday in France. The course is closed, meaning only official vehicles (mostly motorcycles), are allowed on the route. The streets are narrow so the locals just hang and watch the show. Once we left the highway it was a short drive into town. We found our parking spot, reassembled our bikes, I lined my chest with newspaper, mounted up and departed for the starting pens.
Once I was riding my nervousness ebbed. I was a lot calmer because the day had started and I was doing something very familiar, I was riding. We had a quick ride to the gates where we were sorted by our race numbers. There were 7 pens each holding about 1250 riders. My pen was about half full. We rolled in and then waited, we were about an hour early.
Being in the starting pens can be fun but is mostly boring. I was able to scout out the others riders, watch people run off to pee, and see what everyone else was using for nutrition and hydration. One French rider caught my eye. He had long frizzy blond hair, a killer handlebar frizzy mustache and unique nutritional supplements. He had divided a bagget into 5 equal parts and stuffed them into his rear pockets. No need for all those expensive goos and gels-- just bring a loaf of bread. (On the other hand the guy looked like a killer rider.) I am going to suggest to Robbie that he dump all the goos and put in a bread store in the HP location.
Finally the start sounded and we were off. OK we were not off. I was in the 5th pen and there were 3000 riders ahead of me so we just sat there and looked at our navels. I was psyched, my illness forgotten and I was ready to roll. After about 10mn we could see the people ahead of us moving. 5mn later we could mount our bikes a ride.
The ETape had finally begun. 20,000+ feet of the climbing 15,000+ feet of descending with the finish on the legendary Mt. Ventoux, the most feared climb in France, all wrapped in a 90°+ package. The early part of the ride was calm. Everyone was focused on riding and not crashing. Spectators lined the streets and cheered as we passed. I was totally excited and pumped, what a great way to ride.
The beginning of the ride was one of the most enjoyable experiences I have had on a bike. The town’s folk came out to cheer on the riders. If you said merci or acknowledged their presence you got more cheers. The scenery was awesome and included tiny medieval towns, ancient castles, panoramic views of the countryside, purple fields of lavender and bikers as far as the eye could see both in front and behind me. The first climbs were not difficult-- just long 3-5% climbs. One the way up you could see a 3K line of riders snaking up the mountain. At the top you could see and smell the fields of lavender and the surrounding countryside. It was glorious.
Descending the mountains was dangerous because of the large number of riders and the aggressiveness of some of the other cyclists. Just after the 1st climb we bunched up and came to a stop. A rider was down having crashed on the descent. While I did not see the crash I am sure it was caused by the more skilled riders who would bomb down the mountain brushing by you and you had better get out of the way or you were going to crash. Several times riders came so close to me I felt their front tire on my legs. I would calmly steer away and yell, but riding defensively was the way to go.
The ETape can be boiled down into 3 experiences; the water stops, the ride to Ventoux and Ventoux. There were 3 official water stops plus we had 2 club stops where I stored my critical supplies of extra Carbopro, Gu, tubes, air and my secret weapon, Oreos, pure sugar in a chocolate wrapper. I was carrying enough food and Gu to last 6 hours. I expected to finish the ride in 9+ hours so I had to find a least one club stop. I had marked the stops and the kms on my cue sheet so when I was tired and not thinking terribly straight I could just look at the distances and know where I had to go.
The first club stop was just after a descent and I blew by it. I went by at about 25mph and my brain said, “hey you just blew a food drop,” but the body said push on. The 1st official water stop was 20k later and I was set so off I went. When I got to the stop I needed water. This is what I saw empty plastic water bottles and people everywhere. I could not see the water tables so I found a place to lean my bike and went into the water scrum. I elbowed my way to the table and grabbed 5 small bottles not knowing how many bottles I needed to refill my supplies. There was an Aussie rider beside me and we talked as we drank, mixed our drinks and took electrolytes. It turned out I only needed 4 bottles, 3 for refills and 1 to be carried so I could dump it on my head for cooling. I traded my extra bottle for a banana that I tucked in my jersey and off I went. Total stop time about 10mn.
After refueling, the ride became more congenial and less congested. I had time to look at the other participants. There were several para-riders, people wearing funky things on their helmets like feathers, tandems and groups of riders hanging together. I was able to draft behind a tandem for at least an hour. I remembered Robbie saying that tandems punch a big hole in the air. I jealously guarded my wheel position and did not let anyone get in front even when they motioned to be let in the groupetto. “Hey, I don’t speak French, sorry buddy. “
It was fun to watch the groups of riders. The one group I saw most often was dressed in a total white kit and did everything together. They pace lined, waited for their buddies after a climb and even peed together. It was quite a site.
I also noticed there were a ton of bike makes that I had never seen before. There was Time, a French bike, Trek, Cannondale and I even saw a Litespeed. There were also a ton of Cubes and other makes I had never seen before. The bikes looked the same, mostly carbon, but had exotic names.
Most riders were riding road bikes with climbing wheel-sets. However there were some exceptions. The most notable were: the woman on a mountain bike, she was fast and passed me on a climb; the person riding a time trial bike with a disc rear wheel, that guy was struggling up every climb; and the people who had the deep racing wheels like Zipp 404s or cosmic carbons, those people were fighting to stay erect in the strong cross-wind.
Because I missed the first club refueling stop I had to make the second. It was at the 141.2 km mark or in the area just before Ventoux. By the time I hit the stop I was hot, tired and hungry. Thankfully my group was easy to spot and I stopped to refuel. However, the people manning the stop were only semi-organized and it took time to find my pre-packed goodie bag. It had been sitting in direct sunlight at 95°+ heat for a few hours and most everything in my musette was hot and melted. In 10mn I was able to slam a coke, mix my bottles, soak my head in ice, eat 1 Oreo and take off. Unfortunately my secret weapon, the Oreos, were too dry to eat.
I had taken about 30mn in stops total up till then and I wanted to push on because Ventoux was looming. After the stop it was a short downhill ride through a beautiful town. The town was packed with spectators cheering, yelling and sitting in café’s drinking. It looked like a great way to watch a race. Up until now the heat had been manageable. Then, I turned a sharp corner and crossed the timing mats indicating the climb had begun. (The race rules required riders to hit the base of Ventoux by 3:30pm or they wouldn’t be counted as finishers.) As I made the turn I noticed the heat; I wasn’t even thinking that I had made the qualifying time. It was about starting the Ventoux climb.
The first 3ks of Mt. Ventoux are very deceiving. They are not very steep, about 3-5% grade and you can’t really see what is coming. After those relatively easy ks the real climb begins. A relentless 19K climb at an average grade of 7.5% with pitches as steep as 12%. After I entered the 10k forest leg of the climb I noticed the mood of the ride drastically changed. It was desperately hot during the forest ascent, there was very little shade and no hiding from the climb. No one was talking. There were riders littered everywhere. Some cyclists were walking up, others were passed out on the side, and still others were throwing-up beside the road. I polled the riders in my group and we feel that 25% of the riders cracked on Ventoux and had to walk up. At least 5% were laying beside the road and could not even move. There was no first aid there was just Ventoux.
The heat in the forest was oppressive. When I took out my other secret weapon, a cold bottle of water. I poured it on my head in the hope of cooling myself off. However the water was hot. No relief there. I just kept climbing one pedal stroke at a time, riding Ventoux like walking up stairs.
My average speed uphill was 5mph. There were times when I looked down at my speedometer and found that I was going 5k an hour or 3mph. I did not even know that a bike could go that slow and stay upright. I had hoped to do the final ascent in 2 hours so I would not have to refuel, but it was going to take longer. There was a water stop at the final 6k mark, and I knew I would need to stop 1 more time.
Unfortunately the stop had run out of water. But there was a huge bar with a mob scene of riders sitting around drinking beers and I calmly fought my way inside. I felt like I was in the scene from Blues Brothers when the cops are surrounding City Hall and Jake and Elwood are serenely riding the elevator. It was pure chaos outside with cyclists scrounging for water so they could continue. Inside people were calmly cued up paying for beers, water or whatever. That stop cost me 20mn.
I grabbed my water and mounted up: 6k to go and the steepest yet to come. Push, push I told myself. I made agonizingly slow progress up Ventoux. I tried dancing on the pedals but I did not have enough energy to stand up. I sat back don and slowly climbed past the spectators sitting by their RV’s and the riders walking up the mountain.
The top 6k of Ventoux is a barren wasteland that looks like the moon. There is nothing there just the weather station and lots and lots of white rocks. Campers were already lining the race route waiting for the pros on Saturday. I just pushed on. 5-7k an hour and up I went. At the 2k to go point I passed a guy changing a flat. How depressing is that? I could see the top but could not see the finish line. It was too high above me.
Finally I summoned the energy, from where I don’t know, and finished. There is no ribbon at the finish, just an electronic beep registering my time. But the Ride is the Thing. I finished. I was very excited and satisfied with the accomplishment. I rolled past the timers and went to the rim of Ventoux to watch the other riders make their tortuous assent.
I finished the ride in 9 hours 50mn. The official cut off time was 10 hours 30mn. I could have ridden faster but halfway through the ride my goal shifted from time only to include, enjoy the journey. The ETape was an epic experience. I learned to trust my coaches, my training and myself. ETape also was a group effort and Joe Wroble, Harry Bliss, Robbie V, my VQ buddies and my wife all get a huge assist. I could not have done the ride without them. Thanks to you all for your help and encouragement.
I had laid out my cloths and gear the night before and began to dress quietly in the dark as to not wake Ruth. I had decided to carry enough supplies in my jersey pockets to last me to the second water stop, in case I missed the first stop, as recommended by others that have done previous ETapes. I put on the blue and yellow VQ kit and packed the back pockets with powdered drink mix, 3 GU packets, 2 air cartridges, a course guide, my cell phone (required by Ruth so I could call for help), 20 euros (may have to buy water), extra Nuun, Saltstick and a partridge in a pear tree. I dumped the extra tube and the extra water bottle because I was just carrying too much weight. Also I did not want to wear a vest to ward off the early morning chill so I brought newspaper that I was going to stuff inside my shirt to add another layer of insulation in the starting pens.
I had been pretty sick for the 2 days before the ETape with an upset stomach and the runs. The change in climate and time zones were had been doing a number on me. I dipped heavily into our stash of Imodium and Pepto and I had been pushing fluids in an effort to flush out whatever was attacking my system. The good news was on ETape Day I was not nervous just nauseous and I was hoping my calmness would chase the runs away. I was only semi-successful in feeling 100% and went down to breakfast with the mantra “nothing new.” Breakfast consisted of white toast and Nutella; it tasted delicious.
4:30am, and it was time to load the coach-bus. The bike trailer that came the day before had no way to secure the bikes so we packed the 16 of us and our bikes on the bus and took off for the start. It was quite a sight; each row was sitting a bike or 2 guys fully dressed with helmets on. On the way we saw other groups heading to the start. My goal during the 50mn ride was to rest and not try not to stress about French traffic. Earlier in the week Ruth and I had driven through Lyon. The traffic was so bad it took 3 hours to drive 10 miles. Several other times traffic would just stop on the highway for no apparent reason. It seems the French are worse rubberneckers than the Americans.
Fortunately the traffic was light considering that 9,500, mostly amateur, riders were descending on a town of 35,000 to start the 20th leg of the Tour de France. ETape Day is a local holiday in France. The course is closed, meaning only official vehicles (mostly motorcycles), are allowed on the route. The streets are narrow so the locals just hang and watch the show. Once we left the highway it was a short drive into town. We found our parking spot, reassembled our bikes, I lined my chest with newspaper, mounted up and departed for the starting pens.
Once I was riding my nervousness ebbed. I was a lot calmer because the day had started and I was doing something very familiar, I was riding. We had a quick ride to the gates where we were sorted by our race numbers. There were 7 pens each holding about 1250 riders. My pen was about half full. We rolled in and then waited, we were about an hour early.
Being in the starting pens can be fun but is mostly boring. I was able to scout out the others riders, watch people run off to pee, and see what everyone else was using for nutrition and hydration. One French rider caught my eye. He had long frizzy blond hair, a killer handlebar frizzy mustache and unique nutritional supplements. He had divided a bagget into 5 equal parts and stuffed them into his rear pockets. No need for all those expensive goos and gels-- just bring a loaf of bread. (On the other hand the guy looked like a killer rider.) I am going to suggest to Robbie that he dump all the goos and put in a bread store in the HP location.
Finally the start sounded and we were off. OK we were not off. I was in the 5th pen and there were 3000 riders ahead of me so we just sat there and looked at our navels. I was psyched, my illness forgotten and I was ready to roll. After about 10mn we could see the people ahead of us moving. 5mn later we could mount our bikes a ride.
The ETape had finally begun. 20,000+ feet of the climbing 15,000+ feet of descending with the finish on the legendary Mt. Ventoux, the most feared climb in France, all wrapped in a 90°+ package. The early part of the ride was calm. Everyone was focused on riding and not crashing. Spectators lined the streets and cheered as we passed. I was totally excited and pumped, what a great way to ride.
The beginning of the ride was one of the most enjoyable experiences I have had on a bike. The town’s folk came out to cheer on the riders. If you said merci or acknowledged their presence you got more cheers. The scenery was awesome and included tiny medieval towns, ancient castles, panoramic views of the countryside, purple fields of lavender and bikers as far as the eye could see both in front and behind me. The first climbs were not difficult-- just long 3-5% climbs. One the way up you could see a 3K line of riders snaking up the mountain. At the top you could see and smell the fields of lavender and the surrounding countryside. It was glorious.
Descending the mountains was dangerous because of the large number of riders and the aggressiveness of some of the other cyclists. Just after the 1st climb we bunched up and came to a stop. A rider was down having crashed on the descent. While I did not see the crash I am sure it was caused by the more skilled riders who would bomb down the mountain brushing by you and you had better get out of the way or you were going to crash. Several times riders came so close to me I felt their front tire on my legs. I would calmly steer away and yell, but riding defensively was the way to go.
The ETape can be boiled down into 3 experiences; the water stops, the ride to Ventoux and Ventoux. There were 3 official water stops plus we had 2 club stops where I stored my critical supplies of extra Carbopro, Gu, tubes, air and my secret weapon, Oreos, pure sugar in a chocolate wrapper. I was carrying enough food and Gu to last 6 hours. I expected to finish the ride in 9+ hours so I had to find a least one club stop. I had marked the stops and the kms on my cue sheet so when I was tired and not thinking terribly straight I could just look at the distances and know where I had to go.
The first club stop was just after a descent and I blew by it. I went by at about 25mph and my brain said, “hey you just blew a food drop,” but the body said push on. The 1st official water stop was 20k later and I was set so off I went. When I got to the stop I needed water. This is what I saw empty plastic water bottles and people everywhere. I could not see the water tables so I found a place to lean my bike and went into the water scrum. I elbowed my way to the table and grabbed 5 small bottles not knowing how many bottles I needed to refill my supplies. There was an Aussie rider beside me and we talked as we drank, mixed our drinks and took electrolytes. It turned out I only needed 4 bottles, 3 for refills and 1 to be carried so I could dump it on my head for cooling. I traded my extra bottle for a banana that I tucked in my jersey and off I went. Total stop time about 10mn.
After refueling, the ride became more congenial and less congested. I had time to look at the other participants. There were several para-riders, people wearing funky things on their helmets like feathers, tandems and groups of riders hanging together. I was able to draft behind a tandem for at least an hour. I remembered Robbie saying that tandems punch a big hole in the air. I jealously guarded my wheel position and did not let anyone get in front even when they motioned to be let in the groupetto. “Hey, I don’t speak French, sorry buddy. “
It was fun to watch the groups of riders. The one group I saw most often was dressed in a total white kit and did everything together. They pace lined, waited for their buddies after a climb and even peed together. It was quite a site.
I also noticed there were a ton of bike makes that I had never seen before. There was Time, a French bike, Trek, Cannondale and I even saw a Litespeed. There were also a ton of Cubes and other makes I had never seen before. The bikes looked the same, mostly carbon, but had exotic names.
Most riders were riding road bikes with climbing wheel-sets. However there were some exceptions. The most notable were: the woman on a mountain bike, she was fast and passed me on a climb; the person riding a time trial bike with a disc rear wheel, that guy was struggling up every climb; and the people who had the deep racing wheels like Zipp 404s or cosmic carbons, those people were fighting to stay erect in the strong cross-wind.
Because I missed the first club refueling stop I had to make the second. It was at the 141.2 km mark or in the area just before Ventoux. By the time I hit the stop I was hot, tired and hungry. Thankfully my group was easy to spot and I stopped to refuel. However, the people manning the stop were only semi-organized and it took time to find my pre-packed goodie bag. It had been sitting in direct sunlight at 95°+ heat for a few hours and most everything in my musette was hot and melted. In 10mn I was able to slam a coke, mix my bottles, soak my head in ice, eat 1 Oreo and take off. Unfortunately my secret weapon, the Oreos, were too dry to eat.
I had taken about 30mn in stops total up till then and I wanted to push on because Ventoux was looming. After the stop it was a short downhill ride through a beautiful town. The town was packed with spectators cheering, yelling and sitting in café’s drinking. It looked like a great way to watch a race. Up until now the heat had been manageable. Then, I turned a sharp corner and crossed the timing mats indicating the climb had begun. (The race rules required riders to hit the base of Ventoux by 3:30pm or they wouldn’t be counted as finishers.) As I made the turn I noticed the heat; I wasn’t even thinking that I had made the qualifying time. It was about starting the Ventoux climb.
The first 3ks of Mt. Ventoux are very deceiving. They are not very steep, about 3-5% grade and you can’t really see what is coming. After those relatively easy ks the real climb begins. A relentless 19K climb at an average grade of 7.5% with pitches as steep as 12%. After I entered the 10k forest leg of the climb I noticed the mood of the ride drastically changed. It was desperately hot during the forest ascent, there was very little shade and no hiding from the climb. No one was talking. There were riders littered everywhere. Some cyclists were walking up, others were passed out on the side, and still others were throwing-up beside the road. I polled the riders in my group and we feel that 25% of the riders cracked on Ventoux and had to walk up. At least 5% were laying beside the road and could not even move. There was no first aid there was just Ventoux.
The heat in the forest was oppressive. When I took out my other secret weapon, a cold bottle of water. I poured it on my head in the hope of cooling myself off. However the water was hot. No relief there. I just kept climbing one pedal stroke at a time, riding Ventoux like walking up stairs.
My average speed uphill was 5mph. There were times when I looked down at my speedometer and found that I was going 5k an hour or 3mph. I did not even know that a bike could go that slow and stay upright. I had hoped to do the final ascent in 2 hours so I would not have to refuel, but it was going to take longer. There was a water stop at the final 6k mark, and I knew I would need to stop 1 more time.
Unfortunately the stop had run out of water. But there was a huge bar with a mob scene of riders sitting around drinking beers and I calmly fought my way inside. I felt like I was in the scene from Blues Brothers when the cops are surrounding City Hall and Jake and Elwood are serenely riding the elevator. It was pure chaos outside with cyclists scrounging for water so they could continue. Inside people were calmly cued up paying for beers, water or whatever. That stop cost me 20mn.
I grabbed my water and mounted up: 6k to go and the steepest yet to come. Push, push I told myself. I made agonizingly slow progress up Ventoux. I tried dancing on the pedals but I did not have enough energy to stand up. I sat back don and slowly climbed past the spectators sitting by their RV’s and the riders walking up the mountain.
The top 6k of Ventoux is a barren wasteland that looks like the moon. There is nothing there just the weather station and lots and lots of white rocks. Campers were already lining the race route waiting for the pros on Saturday. I just pushed on. 5-7k an hour and up I went. At the 2k to go point I passed a guy changing a flat. How depressing is that? I could see the top but could not see the finish line. It was too high above me.
Finally I summoned the energy, from where I don’t know, and finished. There is no ribbon at the finish, just an electronic beep registering my time. But the Ride is the Thing. I finished. I was very excited and satisfied with the accomplishment. I rolled past the timers and went to the rim of Ventoux to watch the other riders make their tortuous assent.
I finished the ride in 9 hours 50mn. The official cut off time was 10 hours 30mn. I could have ridden faster but halfway through the ride my goal shifted from time only to include, enjoy the journey. The ETape was an epic experience. I learned to trust my coaches, my training and myself. ETape also was a group effort and Joe Wroble, Harry Bliss, Robbie V, my VQ buddies and my wife all get a huge assist. I could not have done the ride without them. Thanks to you all for your help and encouragement.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
On My Way to France
This week has been a blur. I have been training/riding, dealing with work issues, trying to plan another trip to Japan and pack. I am totally glad the ETape is here. I could use the rest.
Here are my number from the last few months.
Month Hours Miles KJs (calories used)
July : 24 412 11,000
June : 38 617 17,000
May : 33.5 551 15,500
The hours spent training do not include the time spent in core work, 2 hours a week, the time stretching, 20mn to 1 hour a day, and the massages I have been receiving to make sure I remain as semi-flexible as possible, 1 time a week. Needless to say I am excited about the trip but I am relieved that all my intense training is over. I am looking forward to just riding in France the next few days.
Interestingly, when I compared this years training schedule with last years, the numbers are not so different. This year I have more intensity earlier in the summer but the hours spent training are about the same. What has changed you ask? One crucial factor has changed. My LT, lactate threshold, has jumped from 195 to 210ish. (I use 210ish because I have not been tested recently and I am using my TSS scores to approximate my LT.) My increase in power should make the ETape a successful ride. While I do not plan to ride a substantial portion of the ride at LT, in fact the winner of a race usually uses the least amount of power (draft, draft, draft), I will need all the power I have to get up Mt. Ventoux after a 85 mile ride, mostly up hill.
My goal for the the ETape is to finish the ride before quitting time, (The race has a 10 hour time limit.) Hopefully I can do the miles before Ventoux in 6-7.5 hours. I think Ventoux will take 1.5 to 2 hours at about 190 watts. That part of the ride will be very challenging. I have trained, I am ready: So France here we come. Have a great week riding.
Here are my number from the last few months.
Month Hours Miles KJs (calories used)
July : 24 412 11,000
June : 38 617 17,000
May : 33.5 551 15,500
The hours spent training do not include the time spent in core work, 2 hours a week, the time stretching, 20mn to 1 hour a day, and the massages I have been receiving to make sure I remain as semi-flexible as possible, 1 time a week. Needless to say I am excited about the trip but I am relieved that all my intense training is over. I am looking forward to just riding in France the next few days.
Interestingly, when I compared this years training schedule with last years, the numbers are not so different. This year I have more intensity earlier in the summer but the hours spent training are about the same. What has changed you ask? One crucial factor has changed. My LT, lactate threshold, has jumped from 195 to 210ish. (I use 210ish because I have not been tested recently and I am using my TSS scores to approximate my LT.) My increase in power should make the ETape a successful ride. While I do not plan to ride a substantial portion of the ride at LT, in fact the winner of a race usually uses the least amount of power (draft, draft, draft), I will need all the power I have to get up Mt. Ventoux after a 85 mile ride, mostly up hill.
My goal for the the ETape is to finish the ride before quitting time, (The race has a 10 hour time limit.) Hopefully I can do the miles before Ventoux in 6-7.5 hours. I think Ventoux will take 1.5 to 2 hours at about 190 watts. That part of the ride will be very challenging. I have trained, I am ready: So France here we come. Have a great week riding.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
From Today's NY Times
This articles the famous climb I am doing in 1 week, Mt Ventoux
Following the Path of Lance Armstrong
By SEAN D. HAMILL
DESPITE his personal biking coach, his New York City Cycling Club membership, his weekday ritual of 6 a.m. rides through Central Park and his weekend rides of 40 to 50 miles in the New Jersey countryside, Dan Keating does not consider himself a competitive cyclist.
“I just always enjoyed being outdoors,” said Mr. Keating, 59, a financial executive who lives in Manhattan and took up cycling in the early 1990s after knee surgery.
That won’t stop him from trying to emulate some of the most competitive athletes on the planet for a week this month. He and a friend, Diane Kee, 48, will spend six days riding about 250 miles of the Tour de France bike race course — on the same challenging hills and valleys the pros themselves use, albeit it before the race itself actually reaches those particular places.
They consider this a vacation, despite the fact that the tour company they signed up with, Steve Bauer Bike Tours of St. Catherines, Ontario, promotes stages like the one that tackles the infamous Mont Ventoux with a brochure that says: “You will understand the racers’ suffering after feeling the pain of Ventoux yourself.”
Needless to say, Mr. Keating and Ms. Kee have stepped up their training, doing long hill rides in Vermont on some weekends and hill repeats in Central Park.
“You don’t want to find yourself halfway up Ventoux and realize you’re out of shape,” Mr. Keating said.
That is the ethos that guides the thousands of amateur riders who buy vacations like this from the 50 or more tour groups that offer Tour de France packages. The same companies also sponsor trips based on bike races in Italy, Spain and Australia.
Attempting a leg of the Tour de France is “a great goal to have,” said Ann Marie Miller, a national champion masters biker who helps train Mr. Keating and Ms. Kee. “It gives them a focus to training because, simply, you are more reluctant to blow off training if you know you have got to race some Tour de France mountain stage that last week of July.”
The lure for most people who pay handsomely for the trips — the one-week Steve Bauer tour, for example, costs $6,400 per person — is not just to focus their training. Tour operators routinely refer to “the Lance effect,” which refers, of course, to the star power and seven consecutive Tour de France victories of Lance Armstrong.
With Mr. Armstrong leaving retirement to return to the Tour de France this year, there has been a bump in interest, the tour companies say. Some programs can expand as necessary, accommodating as many cyclists as want to sign up and letting people enroll at the last minute.
More amateurs have begun to see the roads of France as an enticing destination: if you really want to test your skills, why not ride the same roads you saw Mr. Armstrong ride?
“I suppose it is a cyclist’s Mount Everest,” said Peter Davies, cycle tour manager for Sports Tours International of Manchester, England, which offers a tour that allows bikers to ride every stage of the Tour de France, two days before the race itself. “It’s this thing you have seen on television, the Tour de France, and you wonder if you can do it.
“A lot of them take it extremely seriously,” he said. “And though they will never be pro riders, for three weeks in July they get to ride like pros.”
William Webb, 42, of Cambridge, England, who is head of research and development for the British government’s communications agency, was in the midst of a weeklong tour with Sports Tours International this week. He said that he and three other cyclists were riding the same first nine stages that the pros were riding this week, and that it had been a humbling experience.
“I’m doing better than I expected; I’m generally riding about one and a half hours slower than the times the pros are over a five-hour race,” he said in an interview Monday after riding about 120 miles through the Pyrenees. “But I long ago realized they’re in a different league than I am. It gives you even more respect for them.”
In part because of the expense, and the technical nature of cycling, the people who go on such trips are often men in their 40s and 50s who hold professional jobs, tour operators said.
The tour packages vary greatly, with some providing just a rented bike and a map. At the other end of the spectrum are full-service tours that book hotel rooms, set up meals and provide a mechanic and a chase van in case of problems.
And while they don’t do physical tests on their customers, all of the tour operators try to gauge the fitness of the riders before they come out to tackle something like a mountain stage.
“We’ll talk to them about their fitness and the tour they want to do, but we’re not going to keep anybody from coming on a tour,” said Monica Malpezzi Price, co-owner of Experience Plus! Bicycle Tours, based in Fort Collins, Colo. “It’s usually not a problem. Most people who want to come on these tours are fit and are your more passionate riders.”
Most tour operators will provide advice on training, if asked. Experience Plus! has 24 specific training programs on its Web site, divided by age, fitness level and intensity.
The company didn’t have to provide any advice to the Haleys of Evergreen, Colo., who have signed up as a family. Mike Haley, 46, vice president of an oil and gas service company, and his wife, Marla, 49, co-owner of a spa, and their sons Trevor, 16, and 14-year-old twins Cade and Dillon, are all going to try to spend seven days this month riding up to 400 miles of current and former Tour de France routes with Experience Plus!
Everyone in the family already rides and runs, but the parents hope this experience will serve as motivation for a lifetime of fitness for their sons.
“I’m just excited to share it with our guys and I hope they’ll have a real passion for it after this,” Mr. Haley said. “What better way than to ride the same roads Lance did?”
Following the Path of Lance Armstrong
By SEAN D. HAMILL
DESPITE his personal biking coach, his New York City Cycling Club membership, his weekday ritual of 6 a.m. rides through Central Park and his weekend rides of 40 to 50 miles in the New Jersey countryside, Dan Keating does not consider himself a competitive cyclist.
“I just always enjoyed being outdoors,” said Mr. Keating, 59, a financial executive who lives in Manhattan and took up cycling in the early 1990s after knee surgery.
That won’t stop him from trying to emulate some of the most competitive athletes on the planet for a week this month. He and a friend, Diane Kee, 48, will spend six days riding about 250 miles of the Tour de France bike race course — on the same challenging hills and valleys the pros themselves use, albeit it before the race itself actually reaches those particular places.
They consider this a vacation, despite the fact that the tour company they signed up with, Steve Bauer Bike Tours of St. Catherines, Ontario, promotes stages like the one that tackles the infamous Mont Ventoux with a brochure that says: “You will understand the racers’ suffering after feeling the pain of Ventoux yourself.”
Needless to say, Mr. Keating and Ms. Kee have stepped up their training, doing long hill rides in Vermont on some weekends and hill repeats in Central Park.
“You don’t want to find yourself halfway up Ventoux and realize you’re out of shape,” Mr. Keating said.
That is the ethos that guides the thousands of amateur riders who buy vacations like this from the 50 or more tour groups that offer Tour de France packages. The same companies also sponsor trips based on bike races in Italy, Spain and Australia.
Attempting a leg of the Tour de France is “a great goal to have,” said Ann Marie Miller, a national champion masters biker who helps train Mr. Keating and Ms. Kee. “It gives them a focus to training because, simply, you are more reluctant to blow off training if you know you have got to race some Tour de France mountain stage that last week of July.”
The lure for most people who pay handsomely for the trips — the one-week Steve Bauer tour, for example, costs $6,400 per person — is not just to focus their training. Tour operators routinely refer to “the Lance effect,” which refers, of course, to the star power and seven consecutive Tour de France victories of Lance Armstrong.
With Mr. Armstrong leaving retirement to return to the Tour de France this year, there has been a bump in interest, the tour companies say. Some programs can expand as necessary, accommodating as many cyclists as want to sign up and letting people enroll at the last minute.
More amateurs have begun to see the roads of France as an enticing destination: if you really want to test your skills, why not ride the same roads you saw Mr. Armstrong ride?
“I suppose it is a cyclist’s Mount Everest,” said Peter Davies, cycle tour manager for Sports Tours International of Manchester, England, which offers a tour that allows bikers to ride every stage of the Tour de France, two days before the race itself. “It’s this thing you have seen on television, the Tour de France, and you wonder if you can do it.
“A lot of them take it extremely seriously,” he said. “And though they will never be pro riders, for three weeks in July they get to ride like pros.”
William Webb, 42, of Cambridge, England, who is head of research and development for the British government’s communications agency, was in the midst of a weeklong tour with Sports Tours International this week. He said that he and three other cyclists were riding the same first nine stages that the pros were riding this week, and that it had been a humbling experience.
“I’m doing better than I expected; I’m generally riding about one and a half hours slower than the times the pros are over a five-hour race,” he said in an interview Monday after riding about 120 miles through the Pyrenees. “But I long ago realized they’re in a different league than I am. It gives you even more respect for them.”
In part because of the expense, and the technical nature of cycling, the people who go on such trips are often men in their 40s and 50s who hold professional jobs, tour operators said.
The tour packages vary greatly, with some providing just a rented bike and a map. At the other end of the spectrum are full-service tours that book hotel rooms, set up meals and provide a mechanic and a chase van in case of problems.
And while they don’t do physical tests on their customers, all of the tour operators try to gauge the fitness of the riders before they come out to tackle something like a mountain stage.
“We’ll talk to them about their fitness and the tour they want to do, but we’re not going to keep anybody from coming on a tour,” said Monica Malpezzi Price, co-owner of Experience Plus! Bicycle Tours, based in Fort Collins, Colo. “It’s usually not a problem. Most people who want to come on these tours are fit and are your more passionate riders.”
Most tour operators will provide advice on training, if asked. Experience Plus! has 24 specific training programs on its Web site, divided by age, fitness level and intensity.
The company didn’t have to provide any advice to the Haleys of Evergreen, Colo., who have signed up as a family. Mike Haley, 46, vice president of an oil and gas service company, and his wife, Marla, 49, co-owner of a spa, and their sons Trevor, 16, and 14-year-old twins Cade and Dillon, are all going to try to spend seven days this month riding up to 400 miles of current and former Tour de France routes with Experience Plus!
Everyone in the family already rides and runs, but the parents hope this experience will serve as motivation for a lifetime of fitness for their sons.
“I’m just excited to share it with our guys and I hope they’ll have a real passion for it after this,” Mr. Haley said. “What better way than to ride the same roads Lance did?”
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Riding can be Dangerous
The ETape is looming. My ride is on the 20th and there are only a few more days of training. To increase my fitness I am lengthening my rides and increasing the intensity of the shorter rides. My long ride of 5+ hours is on Sundays and I usually ride with my VQ buddies. We meet at a school in Gurnee, IL and ride all around Wisconsin for 4 hours. Then after the group ride is done I go out and do another hour solo all in the name of fitness and the ETape.
This past Sunday our peloton had a bad accident and I was reminded that riding in a peloton can be dangerous. We were in the last 12 miles of a 75mile ride and all of a sudden there was a loud crash. I looked down and a wheel was sliding toward me. I quickly veered away from the crash. Luckily I did not go down; however 3 members of our group crashed and had to be transported to the hospital by ambulance. Wally broke is scapula, Don broke his elbow and fractured his hip, and Kevin dislocated his shoulder. While two of the riders had serious injuries none of the injuries were life-threatening. Here is what happened: The lead rider, Wally, was swatting at a bee lost control of his bike crashed into the rider next to him causing a 3 bike pile-up.
The moral of the crash is: leave the bee alone and if you get stung ride through the pain or calmly slow down telling everyone what you are doing and remove the bee. Whatever you do don't panic. I was stung a few days ago. While riding home from a submax a big bumble bee hit my glasses and stung me in face just below the eye. It really hurt. However I kept my head and rode through it. (I did feel like I was being attacked by a swarm but that was my mind playing tricks.) Falling from a bike is far worse then any bug sting.
Luckily everyone involved in the crash will fully recover. The injured parties will be out of commission for 6 weeks then its back to training. I am playing it safe and will be avoiding large groups and dangerous situations. For another week, look for me on the road covered in foam.
This past Sunday our peloton had a bad accident and I was reminded that riding in a peloton can be dangerous. We were in the last 12 miles of a 75mile ride and all of a sudden there was a loud crash. I looked down and a wheel was sliding toward me. I quickly veered away from the crash. Luckily I did not go down; however 3 members of our group crashed and had to be transported to the hospital by ambulance. Wally broke is scapula, Don broke his elbow and fractured his hip, and Kevin dislocated his shoulder. While two of the riders had serious injuries none of the injuries were life-threatening. Here is what happened: The lead rider, Wally, was swatting at a bee lost control of his bike crashed into the rider next to him causing a 3 bike pile-up.
The moral of the crash is: leave the bee alone and if you get stung ride through the pain or calmly slow down telling everyone what you are doing and remove the bee. Whatever you do don't panic. I was stung a few days ago. While riding home from a submax a big bumble bee hit my glasses and stung me in face just below the eye. It really hurt. However I kept my head and rode through it. (I did feel like I was being attacked by a swarm but that was my mind playing tricks.) Falling from a bike is far worse then any bug sting.
Luckily everyone involved in the crash will fully recover. The injured parties will be out of commission for 6 weeks then its back to training. I am playing it safe and will be avoiding large groups and dangerous situations. For another week, look for me on the road covered in foam.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
The Etape is close
On Saturday July 4th, the Tour de France starts. This marks the beginning of the end of my training to some degree. I still have to do long rides, 3-5 hours twice a week, and I still have to work on my flexibility, but my goal is insight.
After having a very difficult time at the HHH I consulted some very experienced athletes and they said train long. Heeding their advice I have increased my training rides to 2 hours twice a week, a 3 hour hard ride on Fridays and a 5 hour submax on Sundays. I have decided to supplement my nutrition with GU and have a little less Carbopro because I am not sure of its effectiveness. The new addition to the mix has been a product called Saltstick. It is a nutritional supplement with salt. Saltstick will help replace the electrolytes and salt that I am loosing due to the heat.
I tested this new plan last weekend in the Adirondacks. I was in the Lake George area visiting family and I had a chance to ride in one of the most beautiful places in the US. I consulted the local bike shop, Blue Sky Bicycles, and they gave me 2 rides to try. I chose the one they said was the most scenic and went the next day. It was a beautiful ride with low traffic through the rolling foothills of the Adirondacks. My plan was to ride for 2-3 hours and just do as many hills as possible. Because I was unfamiliar with the route I did a few more hills then planned but it was a great ride and the hills did not seem too hard.
The following day I rode along 9N beside Lake George. The route was along rolling terrain and had 2 big climbs over Mt. Tongue, about 1000' of climbing in each direction. My strategy was to ride the mountains as close to my LT as possible, which would be about 200 watts, and then recover on the downside and ride submax all the other times. The strategy was great and allowed me to do a 3 1/2hr ride with plenty of power. The only issue during the ride was the rain which made the downhills somewhat scary.
Now that I have returned to the Chicago area I have resumed my training. Flying always disrupts my rhythm and it takes me a day or so to recover my form so my first ride was a 2hr submax. I was doing a low submax ride with a buddy, Ted, and after he dropped off to go home I decided to take a scenic rout back a went along the Skokie Canal. While traveling at a pretty good clip I hit a huge bumble bee and was stung in the eyelid. It really hurt. But those are the trials and tribulations of training.
I am in good form. HHH is behind me and I have refocused on my goal. The rides are long and hot and my riding buddies are back from Italy. Its good to be back in the saddle. So my training continues and intensifies as the Tour begins. I can't wait for the next ride. So if you need to reach me I will see you on the road.
After having a very difficult time at the HHH I consulted some very experienced athletes and they said train long. Heeding their advice I have increased my training rides to 2 hours twice a week, a 3 hour hard ride on Fridays and a 5 hour submax on Sundays. I have decided to supplement my nutrition with GU and have a little less Carbopro because I am not sure of its effectiveness. The new addition to the mix has been a product called Saltstick. It is a nutritional supplement with salt. Saltstick will help replace the electrolytes and salt that I am loosing due to the heat.
I tested this new plan last weekend in the Adirondacks. I was in the Lake George area visiting family and I had a chance to ride in one of the most beautiful places in the US. I consulted the local bike shop, Blue Sky Bicycles, and they gave me 2 rides to try. I chose the one they said was the most scenic and went the next day. It was a beautiful ride with low traffic through the rolling foothills of the Adirondacks. My plan was to ride for 2-3 hours and just do as many hills as possible. Because I was unfamiliar with the route I did a few more hills then planned but it was a great ride and the hills did not seem too hard.
The following day I rode along 9N beside Lake George. The route was along rolling terrain and had 2 big climbs over Mt. Tongue, about 1000' of climbing in each direction. My strategy was to ride the mountains as close to my LT as possible, which would be about 200 watts, and then recover on the downside and ride submax all the other times. The strategy was great and allowed me to do a 3 1/2hr ride with plenty of power. The only issue during the ride was the rain which made the downhills somewhat scary.
Now that I have returned to the Chicago area I have resumed my training. Flying always disrupts my rhythm and it takes me a day or so to recover my form so my first ride was a 2hr submax. I was doing a low submax ride with a buddy, Ted, and after he dropped off to go home I decided to take a scenic rout back a went along the Skokie Canal. While traveling at a pretty good clip I hit a huge bumble bee and was stung in the eyelid. It really hurt. But those are the trials and tribulations of training.
I am in good form. HHH is behind me and I have refocused on my goal. The rides are long and hot and my riding buddies are back from Italy. Its good to be back in the saddle. So my training continues and intensifies as the Tour begins. I can't wait for the next ride. So if you need to reach me I will see you on the road.
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