Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Preparing for the Audax 200K

If you are relatively new to endurance bicycling, this should be a primer for you. If you are not, you might learn a thing or two, or possibly be willing to contribute a bit of your experience.

One of the things that new riders almost always question is the distance involved. 200K (that’s about 125 miles) seems like a big number. The simple fact is you can do this, and it’s not all that hard. Remember this principle. If you riding on a consistent basis, and have been for eight to ten weeks, you can do your weekly total in a day. That means your total of hours, or miles, whichever way you reckon it.

NOTE: I prefer to think in terms of hours. The cardio-vascular system doesn’t know what a mile is. A better measure of training is duration and quality of effort.

So let’s look at what we’re aiming for. The Audax Ride will cover 125 miles of road. The route is mostly gentle hills, some nice flats, and one modest mountain. At the intended event pace, we expect to spend eight to eight and a half hours on the bike. That’s a rolling average of 14.7 to 15. 6 mph, or an overall average of about 12.5 mph.

To get ready for this, a rider needs to be riding 10 to 13 hours per week, or (if you insist) 125 to 150 miles per week. More, this target needs to be one that is consistently maintained for at least four weeks, with a fifth week of decreased activity and rest prior to the event.

It is now 10 weeks until the event. That means a potential rider has five weeks to build up to that consistent weekly average, and then must hold it for another four weeks. The last week prior to the ride should be one of much more relaxed riding and resting.

I’ll make one last suggestion in this overview. Don’t try to build up too fast. If you are now riding about five hours per week, don’t add more than an hour a week for the next five weeks. Then give yourself a week of reduced activity to allow rest and recovery from the build up.

Try this gentle and progressive approach and you’ll do fine.

Sunday, July 27, 2008

RIDE REPORT: Audax Tune Up 1

So we all assembled in front of the bike shop ready to ride. Present were: Bob Coup, Scott Rutkowski, Jim Peeks, Cindy Whitley, Deb Kalish, and your correspondent. Chris Muntzel was kind enough to ride escort with us for the first seven miles, then she had to return to town to attend to personal business.

The weather outlook was not unusual for a north Georgia, mid-Summer day, temps in the high 80s, partly cloudy, and the ever-present 20% rain chance. It was the kind of day that insisted on copious sunscreen use, and carry a rain jacket.

We pushed off pretty much on time and riders immediately encountered the first challenge of this route. As we proceed north on the Peachtree Parkway there is a series of big, long, steep hills. I hate to start a ride with a climb, but it’s almost unavoidable from this location. (The actual Audax Ride uses the one route that avoids the start off climb.) To do this right a rider must use a bit of discipline and consciously ride at a slower pace, staying aerobic while the body gradually warms and adapts to the task.

One of our group had to abandon. This happens sometimes. Every one of us will experience a rough day from time to time, and it’s good to have the wisdom to withdraw and “live to fight another day.”

The route for this tune up is deliberately hilly, but has two stops, spaced about equally along the way. We made good time through the first leg. Good time, but not great time, I should say. Deb Kalish experienced a tough mechanical. The shift cable for her rear derailleur snapped. Deb pressed on, with the rear of her driveline stuck in the highest possible gear. Ouch!

At the first store stop, I was able to limit Deb’s derailleur in the middle of the cassette. This gave her a two speed bike. She could only shift her front derailleur between the small and big chainrings. She elected to press on.

I would like, here and now to let it be known that Deb is now a candidate for my annual “John Wayne Iron Ass Award.” This honor is presented annually for persistence in cycling far beyond the call of lunacy. Deb finished the ride, while holding a tough and steady pace. Bravo!

I should also like to recognize Cindy for a solid effort. Cindy is relatively new to cycling and to group riding. She hung on, and persevered to the end. I believe this is the longest ride she has done to date. Kudos!

It was a happy, if somewhat tired group that returned to Peachtree City. We had pushed hard through the hills, and made up considerable time along the way. For those interested in numbers:
Distance: 44.5 miles
Total Time: 3:48:17
Time Stopped: 42 minutes
Rolling Average: 14.2 mph
Overall Average: 11.6 mph

The next Tune Up Ride will be on 10 August. It will follow the same route as today’s ride. Come join us.

Saturday, July 26, 2008

In Times to Come

The intent of this blog is to share information, answer questions, and generally prepare riders for the 200K Audax Ride I'm hosting on 4 October 2008.

Tomorrow is the first of a series of three "Tune Up Rides." It's a great way to start to get ready. But perhaps 45 miles seems a bit rich for your blood right now. If so, please don't dispare. It's a bit over two months until the actual 200K, plenty of time to get fit enough and ready.

As an aid, I'm planning to discuss the following topics in upcoming posts. Please, feel free to comment. If there is a question that you have, or a topic you would like covered, this is the place to exchange that information. There are no dumb questions. If the question is an honest one, I'll deal with it to the best of my ability. Please don't be embarrassed about asking. Chances are exdellent that, if it has occurred to you, someone else needs to know it. It's even likely that the question hasn't even occurred to the person who most needs the answer.

In the Future:
How to prepare for the ride

Training

The "Tune Up Rides"

Bike choices

Equipment

Weather Riding

Audax Riding style

The route

Details on food

Touring

And (of course) any reader suggestions or questions that merit exploration.

Let's hear from you.

Friday, July 25, 2008

Come along on the Tune Up Ride

The first “Audax Tune Up Ride” for this series is this coming Sunday (27 July 2008) at 1:00 PM. If you are even remotely interested in doing the Audx Ride in October, you should come along.

Ride details:
Distance: Approximately 45 miles
Start/Finish: In front of Bicycles Unlimited, Peachtree City, GA
Pace: Approximately 12.5 mph overall average
Route: Through Fayette, Coweta, and south Fulton counties. Hilly. There will be two store stops, at approximately 15 miles and 30 miles.
Conditions: Rain or shine. Group will stay together.
What to bring: You. Your bike, in good working order. Sunscreen. Rain jacket (optional). Helmet. A cheerful attitude and a smile.

Purpose:
These “Tune Up” rides are intended to do several things. First and foremost, they are meant to be a fun activity. Overall, they are intended to let a new rider assess their fitness and ability to do this kind of ride. They also provide a skills training opportunity for folks to learn to ride in a self-supporting group. The terrain is deliberately chosen to be a bit more difficult than what will be encountered on the actual Audax Ride. The pace is the same. The idea here is to do something a bit tougher, but for a shorter distance. This gives a rider a good idea of their condition and ability to complete that actual event.

Audax Riding and the spirit of compromise:
Every cyclist has things that they like to do. For some it’s climbing, for others it’s high speed cruising in the flats. It is a difficult thing to mesh these abilities in a group. Why bother? Because there is a magical synergy to group riding. Each of us contributes some of our particular strength, and everyone ends up going a bit farther and a bit faster than they would or could alone.

But there is an important implication to this. It means that each rider must be prepared to slow down a bit in their particular specialty, and to work a bit more on the other aspects. Climbers must ease off a little and resist the urge to leave the less gifted ascenders. Descenders will need to use some brakes. The big diesels will pull in the flats, but they too must be prepared to use a little restraint. In this way everyone stays together.

It is a contest, but not between individuals. Rather, here the contest is between the group and the elements. We win when we all arrive together.

Come on out and give it a try.

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

What is this "Audax Ride"?

What the heck is an Audax Ride? The following definition is from the Randonnuers USA website.

Audax (oh docks) - A style of group bicycle touring found mostly in France, but also in Holland and Belgium to lesser degrees. A steady pace is set by a road captain, who is in charge of a group of fellow club members. In modern times the pace is usually about 22 km/h between stops; the itinerary and resting places are planned in advance.

For the purposes of this blog, we are talking about doing a 200 kilometer (approximately 125 mile) audax style ride. Ours will go on Saturday, 4 October 2008.

To aid folks in preparing for this style of riding, and this particular ride, I’m leading three “tune up” rides.

Fall Audax Tune Up Rides:
27 July (Sunday): 1:00 PM, 45 miles (approx)
10 August (Sunday): 1:00 PM, 45 miles (approx)
21 September (Sunday): 11:00 AM, 65 miles (approx)

We will ride these in an Audax style. The group will stay together. The pace will be moderate. We will be riding a predetermined course. Anyone who is willing to abide by the intent and spirit of these rides is welcome to come along. The rides will leave from the front of Bicycles Unlimited, in Peachtree City, GA.

There will be a $27.00 fee for the actual Audax Ride, on 4 October. This fee will cover your lunch (sit down at a good restaurant), a post ride sandwich snack, and water refills along the ride. There are no fees for the “Tune Ups.” Ride fee is payable, in advance, by check or cash.
Hope to see many of you all there.

I'll be posting more info on all of this soon.

Oh yes, one last and critically important note: Helmets required on all rides.

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Welcome

This will be a very short post. Please forgive me. Time presses.



If you've looked at the top of this blog, you may be wondering what an "Audax Ride" would be when it wasn't dressed for church, and why anyone would care. Stay tuned. These and many more questions will be answered in the very near future.



One item of import is pertinent at this time. The ride in question will be taking place with a Start/Finish, in Peachtgree City, Georgia, USA, Earth, Sol System, Milky Way, Local Group, The Universe. Feel free to stop by and post, but most of the info on this blog will be of concern to folks local to this physical address, who might actually consider participating in this ride.



See you on the road.



Steve