Humm, funny but we all seem to have the same race plan

 

 

I have been reading the articles, blogs and postings of fellow 2015 TDR racers.  Just a few years ago TDR information was like gold, hard to find and maybe fool’s gold to boot.  Today everyone has easy access to successful gear choices, full route information and several successful race/pace strategies to pick from.

In fact many of the racers (myself included) already seem to have it down to some mythical day-by-day plan.  And what’s really funny, to me at least, is said day-by-day plans look to be all but identical.  Of course reality will set in soon after the start. 

For some reality may take 20 minutes to show up, for others a day or two.  But soon everyone will level off at or near their natural pace and that’s when the real racing begins.  That’s when you start to really scope out the ones around you, the ones close enough to your pace that you will probably see them over and over again. For a select few (myself NOT included) the natural ‘sustainable’ pace will be somewhere upwards of 150 to 170 miles per break.  These will be the ones racing for a win.  The SPOT leaders, the fit and talented (coupled with slightly deranged) will keep riding at all hours and conditions, ie: the ones who have a legitimate shot at the imaginary Antelope Wells podium.  Yes I like everyone else will start in Banff with this 150-170+ mile per leg group but I for one will not be racing them. 

No, I ‘hope’ and plan to be racing closer to the 120-150 mile group.  I suspect my sweet spot this year will be about 100 to 150 miles per leg.  Basically for me racing the TDR will consist mostly of how close to the upper edge of my personal/natural pace can I maintain.  I have all sorts of strategies, plans and ideas on how to maintain and maximize forward progress all the while minimizing the down time—ie: the exact same plans every other racer has thought of and will be using.

But other than higher or lower natural pace/ability what really makes the difference between racers? (note I am not including faux racers who are really touring the route—IE not giving it their all by design)

Hard to say, but: 

Experience plays a part.  But in general the more experienced will be pushing much harder, knowing that’s what it takes.  This could be one reason many experienced racers drop out, they were going all out vs just riding to finish. 

Luck plays a big part.  Bad luck can knock on anyone’s door.  However many times, not always but many times, bad luck is really the manifestation of poor judgment.

Mental fortitude is said to be a key factor.  Yet some racers, even fast ones seem to almost be in cruise control while others fight and claw the whole time.  In other words some racers exhibit real grit while others seem to be made from mental Teflon.

In the end I circle back to what in 2014 I called ‘balance’.  Say it how you will but I think every racer has a zone, a sweet spot, a natural balance.  In hind sight I can see in 2014 I gave my balance away in Banff, before I even started.  By the time I got it back my race was over from a personal goal point of view.

So for 2015, yes I will have a different bike, some different gear and a few pounds less fat etc etc--but my real race plan is to do in 2015 what I did not do in 2014--to stay on balance. 

I know from experience exactly what it feels like.  I know from experience how to re gain it.  And from experience I can often make consecutive judgment calls that will extend and maintain it.

Or to paraphrase Albert Einstein;  “The TDR is just riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you just keep moving.”

Uncharted Territory

 

Just like the picture above, with the trail cutting machine at the end of some new single track trail. I am now entering uncharted territory. Between training rides, gym sessions and a calorie counter app I have my weight equal to my 2014 TDR start weight, 157lbs.  Last year I reached 157 about 2 to 3 weeks before the grand depart from Banff.  I was very pleased with how I climbed in 2014, basically as well as I ever have.  So I can’t help but wonder what finish time I might attain with about 20 lbs (bike & body) less in 2015. In case you are wondering my goal is to finish in 20 days, give or take 1/2 a day. Or roughly about 2 days sooner than my 2010 21.75d finish.

We have about 16 weeks till GD 2015 and the hope is to get down to 148lbs, my old high school weight.  On paper it seems possible but there are lots of questions.  How much longer till I hit the dreaded plateau, beyond which additional loss becomes exponentially more difficult?   At what point do you lose critical muscle and strength vs fat?  And how long should one be at a ‘stable’ weight to optimize long term endurance?  (side note on the calorie counter app-the app really helps me hit my daily calorie goals but even more important has me eating a much more balanced selection of carbs/fat/protein)

From a practical point of view I will get a real test of my current fitness come March 27^th at this year’s Stagecoach 400. Last year I took my full rigid TDR bike, with aero bars etc, along with a body weight of 167.  It took me a bit over 3.5 days to finish and I treated it as a tough training ride—which it was. 

This year I should go in about 155 to 154 lbs.  I plan to slap the front suspension back on and gear out for about 3 days ‘light’. Hopefully I will have a stronger result and get some confirmation that I can race strong at lighter than 157.  I also plan to test my Blizzard emergency bivy/TDR sleep system with some real back to back night circumstances.

 

Book Review

I just finished reading Scott Thigpen’s “ Trail Magic and the Art of Soft Pedaling”.  This is Scott’s 1^st hand account of his 2013 TDR race. It is basically a detailed 'section by section' account of his race. 

Get it here--http://softpedaling.com/

I would highly recommend this book to any rookie TDR racer.   Because of its ‘location detail’ there is a lot to learn. IE Scott mentions by name many of the establishments where he re-supplied (or tried to).  It’s easy to google up these locations/establishments and include them in one’s own list of possible re-supply or shelter places.

I would also recommend it as entertainment; Scott tells a solid, funny story with professional illustrations, a few of which really ‘grabbed’ me.  You might notice a few ‘minor’ miss-identified locations or events but these do not detract at all.

I would also recommend it as a somewhat cautionary tale.  Like all TDR racers Scott makes some mistakes (including mistakes about magic-see below) but rather than hide or minimize them Scott lays them out for all to see, laugh about, and perhaps learn from.  See if you can pick out the minor vs the major mistakes.  As I was reading along one of the things I wondered was how many days (days not hours) Scott good have shaved of his strong mid-pack finish had he been able to race with fewer self-inflected mistakes.  Kudos to Scott for sharing with us such an honest, open and entertaining account.

Perhaps more importantly, along with a comical array of miscues and mistakes Scott also gives us an exemplementry lesson in perseverance and determination.  Over and over he beats back things that would stop many.  Most rookies and many Vets, myself included can learn from Scott’s tales of determination and grit!!  If we can eliminate most of our mistakes and race with as much perseverance as Scott did we very well may approach a personal best!

Reluctantly I must offer up one very tangible criticism of Scott’s book and the manner in which he conducted himself during his TDR race.  The book’s title mentions Trail Magic.  And Scott’s book has many many accounts of real trail magic, hence the title.  However several times Scott mistakenly confuses his asking, begging or soliciting shelter, water, food, navigation or mechanical help etc from noncommercial and non-race related strangers or fellow racers for real trail magic. 

Real Trail Magic is not a complex concept, yes it is sometimes shades of gray but most times it’s not.  If you have to directly ASK or BEG or deliberately place yourself in a position to SOLICIT help it’s NEVER trail magic.  On the other hand if some form of help or support is offered unexpectedly or randomly then it most likely is real trail magic. 

Scott’s account has mostly real trail magic incidents, many of them in fact.  But while reading his otherwise excellent TDR primer, see if you can’t pick out some questionable non-magic events.  Ones where Scott forced or attempted to force magic to occur.

Of course whether one does or does not accept real magic is purely a matter of style and personal preference.  Some racers accept magic and some do not.  But either way, every TDR racer should strive to avoid winding up in situations that ‘require’ you to beg for help.

Trail Magic Qualifiers:
It shouldn’t need to be said but for any nitpickers—
·         Yes, I agree, at one time or another most if not all races, myself included, wind up in a situation where we feel the need to directly ask for help.  But hopefully few and far between.
·         If you truly need help then do what’s needed to secure it, even if it means begging on hand & knee.  No ever argued that we be stupid about securing required/un-anticipated help.
·         Emotional support over the phone—yes I understand the nitpicker’s argument here but get real and don’t be a nitpicker…phones are allowed so it’s a level field. Period!  Just get over it.
·         Just because your personal style might exclude you from accepting real trail magic doesn’t make you somehow more pure or your results any more legitimate than racers who for whatever reasons accept real magic.

Finally, please do not any criticisms as a reason to not buy and read Scott's book.  In fact I invite you to get the book, enjoy it and learn from it, and make up your own mind if my criticisms have any validity.  Because sooner or later all self-supported racers bump directly up against situations of real and false magic and you might want to think about and pre-prepare for how you are going to deal with it.

 

 

 

 

Power to Weight Ratio and other ramblings………

Training in AZ 1st week in Jan, yuck-pretty porky at 170

There are a lot of key factors for a successful TDR run, some mental, some physical.  One of the most important, if not the most important physical factor is one’s overall power to weight ratio……….  

The same day I scratched in 2014 was when I began seriously planning for 2015…………A few weeks ago, back in Nov, I had a long conversation with Matthew Lee about the Tour Divide.  Mostly we talked about rules and race organization.  But somewhere in our conversation my 2014 attempt and failure came up.  In the excitement of discussing 2015 plans and strategies I casually tossed off a comment about wanting to start 20 lbs lighter in 2015.  I can’t remember exactly what Matthews’s response was but it included a distinct 20 lbs?, wow.  And I suspect I heard, and correctly so, some polite incredulousness in his voice.   

As the TDR gets closer I am busily working towards making good on that somewhat impromptu declaration.  The 2015 TDR bike and gear are 95% finalized.  In 2014 the bike and gear were 42 lbs (dry).  This year the bike will be between 29 and 32 lbs.  

So let’s see, 20-11=9lbs. Ie: come Banff I need be about nine pounds lighter.  This is going to be very difficult,in 2014 I was as light as I have been in at least 20+ years.  Basically to meet my weight goal I need to get back to my high school size.  So while not impossible it will be very difficult. The actual numbers you ask?  I hit Banff last year at 157lbs.  My goal for 2015 is to reach 148.  (Realistically I would be ecstatic to just crack 150)    

Health considerations you say?  Pretty simple really, as I work to lose weight I will monitor my % body fat and general energy levels.  By simple calculation I ‘could’ reach my goal if I get down to the ‘lower % fat limits’ for a man my age. And I am talking recognized/acceptable numbers, nothing extreme or excessive. “Adult males 40 to 59 years should strive for 11 to 21 percent body fat and those 60 and over want to have between 13 and 24 percent body fat.”  So from a % body fat perspective I need to get down from a current 162 lbs at 18/20% to 150/148 at 12/14%.   

How?  Always so simple on paper, always so very difficult in execution. Just simple exercise and nutrition.

Exercise:

I will ride the bike as much as I can.  I usually train fully loaded and mix it up between single track and bike path/gravel and truly love the smooth & steady 4+ hour rides.  As days get longer and warmer I will work in some overnight trips etc. I will cross train a modest amount.  As I travel (50-75% of the time) as conditions and time allow I will strive to hit the hotel gym, run the stairs, whatever to burn calories.

Nutrition:

I will habitually use the calorie counter app on my smartphone to help motivate me to stay at or just below my allotted calories.  And I will use the same app to balance out my intake for a healthy ratio of carbs, fat and protein etc. No latest craze fad diets for me as a part of my system is to be able mostly to replicate my training diet while on route.

Side Comment on TDR food:

Ha, I usually (always?) chuckle just a bit when I read TDR blogs or reports that incorrectly imply you ‘have’ to live off of sugar and hamburgers to race the TDR.  No, you just have to know the on route options and be willing to make the effort to secure it to have a fairly healthy calorie intake.  Vegans, vegetarians and other food non-conformists have all successfully completed the TDR.  If they can make do, (admittedly with extra effort) then someone who eats a more traditional diet need only pre-plan and hence ‘know’ where to find a good balance of both fresh and processed items.  This is not to say every day is equal in nutritional choice but the false idea you cannot routinely find fresh fruit, vegetables, pasta, non-hamburger protein or whatever on the TDR route is just that, false.  However I also think as the days pass food becomes more and more just ‘fuel’.  I think this food=fuel phenomena makes it easy to simple use what’s most convenient, rather than make the effort to balance out one’s diet.

Progress Report

Almost done---with the bike & gear that is…..

I never stop tweaking till my final pack out.  Still need to clean up the bags a bit--re-sew some straps etc--but unless some ‘later in the year’ overnight testing or trial racing pushes me to change something major- this is pretty close to what I will have in Banff come June.

Quickly, off the top of my head it includes:

Scott Scale 900 frame, carbon rims with SP front xx1 DT 240 rear (thanks MC –so far I am liking them! http://www.lacemine29.com/index.html) Serfas E-Gel Cruiser Bicycle Saddle, ‘china special’ carbon fork, Relevate Ermine Seat Bag https://www.revelatedesigns.com/index.cfm/store.catalog/Seat-Bags/Ermine , top tube bags from https://bolderbikepacking.wordpress.com/top-tube-bags/ --I removed the zipper from my oversized front bag and just use the rain fly to seal/open it—this is the cats meow for top tube food bag!!  If I was a bag maker I would refine this concept—no zipper to gum up/wear out easy on-the-fly access and rain proof, Handlebar bag from Bedrock http://www.bedrockbags.com/shop/tapeats-to-go-bag I am liking this design—might get a second one for the left side

Front bag—mostly empty—for stuffing food, occasional extra water and depending on the weather/time of day on-off stuff that I don’t want to ‘stop’ and repack in my seat bag things like like gloves, rain jacket, leg warmers etc

Sleep Bivy--Blizzard Survival Bag inside stuff sack—I ‘think’ I am going to like this system.  Yes its noisy but some 15 deg F testing in my garage indicates it will be warm –real testing to come in March on real rides/races

SP dyno hub, Exposure Revo light, waterproof buffer battery, Etrex 30, Sinewave USB, Ruggedized Kyocera Duraforce Smartphone, Diablo helmet light, have ordered a light/off/USB switch with pre-made wiring harness from klite http://www.klite.com.au/#!product/prd1/1992209975/top-cap-switch , a jersey clip on and frame rear blinkys

In the Ermine seat bag--Rain pants, rain jacket, thermal rest sleep pad, leg warmers, gore tex socks, wool socks, thin baklava, go-lite down jacket, go-lite thin gloves, warm over gloves, SPOT on top and about 2 spare 'twists' of the seal flap of extra room for more stuff as needed.

In small bag on the back of the seat tube-- inner tube, tape, hanger, sew, boot &patch kit, odds & ends

Here and there--First aid/elastic wrap, kinsio tape and various pills.  Personal-the usual stuff, wipes lotions etc, chain oil, multi tool, small Leatherman, water filter w/ 1 L collapsible water bottle, bear spray—still deciding if I will use a light ‘running’ style backpack as the spray carrier or maybe a chest strap, or as shown on the bike

I am sure there is stuff I forgot just now. 

As shown above, dry, it weighs in at 30.6lbs.

My general goal was to be 'just' sub 30 and I might still get there come Banff.

Light at the end of the Tunnel

Had a chance the other day to ride Gold Camp Road—it’s a local favorite with access to single track, interesting tunnels and depending on the section, little or zero traffic. Time to the 2015 TDR is marching on and I continue to test and evaluate gear choices. 

More on Saddles:

I tried the noseless Spiderflex saddle but have discarded it as it simply puts too much weight on my feet, hands and forearms.  In short there is no real ‘rest’ position; you always have to brace your arms or legs.  And it’s more difficult to grab & eat or other one-hand or no-handed actions with a noseless saddle

As part of my testing I have been riding without chamois padding.  Like everything else going combat has some pluses and minuses. Also along this line I will be trying some heavily padded, elastomer sprung “comfort saddles”.  These type saddles are aimed at the recreation/bike path crowd but my thinking is that if I remove the padding from my bike shorts but add padding to the saddle it might be a workable TDR combo.  In addition these type saddles are wider for a more upright position.  If I cannot find a clear winner I will simply buy a new Selle Italia Turbomatic.  That was my choice for 2014 and overall it’s the best saddle I have found for multi day.

Carbon ‘no-name’ fork is now on the bike.  Bike weight with aero bars is now 20.8lbs.  Once I put on the carbon rims with Nano’s I suspect I will be close to 20lbs.  So as mentioned in earlier posts with a 30lbs target this leaves 10lbs for bags, lights/electronics, sleep system, water system, tools, extra/rain clothing and miscellaneous gear. 

Sleep System:

As part of my quest to reach 30lbs I am going to test one of these as my TDR sleep system: Blizzard Survival Bag

From my web research these all-in-one bivy/bag are light, warm and waterproof.  On the other hand they are noisy, not very packable after 1st use and non-breathable.  But only some real testing will tell me if I want to use one on the TDR. 

 

My current sleep system, as seen above, is a SOL Escape™ Bivvy, old 1lb Montbell down bag and a couple of pieces of Therm-a-Rest foam.  I think with dry bag and straps it weighs in at 2 or so lbs. At the end of the day I know I will be in hotel rooms more than I think I will-- so who knows, a sub-1 lb sleep system may be just the ticket.

Sharing my Tour Divide with Bears and Lions

There has been some lively discussion on bikepacker.net (starting on pg 5, http://www.bikepacking.net/forum/index.php?topic=10802.80 )about bear spray.

Naturally I chipped in with my 2 cents about mounting your spray on the bike so you could access, arm and shoot your spray before coming to a stop.  Ha-but it was brought up what if you were knocked off your bike before you grabbed your spray?  Well if a bear knocks you off your bike it would probably be too late to use your spray, but if you have it on 'you' at least you ‘might’ get a chance.

And I should have thought of this myself as the one time I used my SPOT to call in SAR the darn thing was still attached to my bike, 15 rocky yards above me, while I franticly dealt with a 8 inch bone deep gash. 

And my one heart stopping mountain bike ‘close encounter’ with a scared momma bear took place at less than 20 yards.  She had heard me coming down the trail at a high rate of speed--and had tried to scoot up a tree, just  like her cub had, but fell from about 15 feet on her butt-- and was then scared, embarrassed and pissed—all at me, gulp!!

Well I survived both situations but it got me to thinking.  (And unlike some fellow TDR racers I believe in being efficient rather than stylish, blasé, trendy or whatever)  So my thinking got me to order one of these to be tested and played with.

It’s a light weight running vest that looks prefect to carry bear spray in a secure yet quick draw location.  Also I plan to load it up with ID, money, toilet paper, phone, chap stick, sun screen etc. etc.  In the back I can occasionally add some extra water or food as needed.   Basically in addition to a bear emergency and extra/occasional carriage space, I want to have handy all the little things that one uses over and over and many times misplaces or forgets on the bike and have to walk back to retrieve.

Yes yes, I could have just used/modified one of my many backpacks but this one looks so trendy and cool…and as you know I try so hard to always be in vogue.....

 

Ha-and for sneaky mtn lions who like to attack from the rear-- I will just tape two of these eyes to the back of my helmet.

In all seriousness I do carry and regularly use a whistle, avoidance really is best.  But wild animals could care less what one's philosophical quasi-religion outdoor experience leanings are.  Just because one seeks to avoid an encounter is irrelevant to an animal.  Hopefully I will never need to use bear spray but if I am going to lug it around I will try to do so in the most efficient manner possible.