Training: The Basics II

Last week, as part of the beginning of this series, we listed the “Ten Commandments of Training.”  Now there is a bit of jest in that list.  There is nothing biblical about the “commandments,” but rather a collection of principles derived from long experience, and from the extensive research of exercise physiologists and sports medicine professionals.  For the next few weeks we will be basing discussions on those principles.

Why now?  That is a reasonable question.  Summer is almost over.  Why discuss training and fitness preparation now?  Simple.  Because now is the time to start building a good sound season for next year.  So let’s get to it.

Please notice that the first “commandment” is

I)              Train MODERATELY

This is an important key to good and proper training.  Training is the application of a calculated overload, which then stimulates a “super-compensation.”  This “super-compensation” is the body’s response to training loads, and takes place during rest and recovery periods.  In short, the body adapts itself to the training stresses.  However, the body’s ability to make that adaptation is limited.  It is possible to apply loads that exceed the body’s capacity for adjustment.  Doing this is harmful and counterproductive.

Overtraining:  Overtraining is simply that, the act of exceeding the body’s ability to make adjustment to training loads.  There are two types of overtraining, chronic overtraining, and occasional overtraining.

Chronic Overtraining:  The long term application of unacceptably high training loads, or the application of training loads for long periods of time, resulting in excessive fatigue and maladaptation.

Occasional Overtraining:  The application of training loads that are simply too great for the body to adapt.  It is possible to overtrain in a single workout session.

We’ve all heard statements like these.  “You have to tear it down to build it up.”  “No pain, no gain.”  “Train Hard!”  “If it doesn’t hurt, you’re not doing it right.”  While there is a certain limited truth to these, they are generally wrong, and possibly dangerous. 

Here are three simple concepts for correct training volume and intensity.

1. “You should always leave the site of any training activity, happily willing to do more.”
2. Train hard, but rest harder.
3. Training to failure or destruction is counter-fitness, destructive, and a waste of time.

Overtraining Symptoms:

Occasional or Specific Overtraining (possibly in one training session):

• Any of the following can be symptomatic of overtraining…
• Extreme fatigue
• Loss of appetite
• Excessive soreness or pain
• Injury

If you experience any of these after one training session, stop training, rest, and recover properly.  Then re-evaluate training.

Chronic (long term) Overtraining:

Long term overtraining can result in the following symptoms.  (This is not an exhaustive list.)

• Persistent fatigue
• Persistent muscle soreness
• Elevated resting heart rate
• Reduced Heart rate variability
• Increased susceptibility to infection
• Irritability
• Depression
• (In women) cessation of menstrual activity
• Excessive weight loss
• Abrupt change in sleep patterns, or difficulty sleeping
• Increased resting heart rate
• Inability to complete a workout
• Loss of zest for training
• Constipation or diarrhea

If you are experiencing three (or more) of the above symptoms, stop training!  You need to rest and recover.  Your health is at risk.  Consult your doctor about your ability to resume training, and then reassess training levels, techniques, and goals.

Be wise in your training.  Besides, most of us are not professional athletes.  We are not being paid to train.  Presumably, we are training because we enjoy good fitness, health, and strength.  Why then would we wish to risk any of those good things by attempting to “train like a Pro”?  In fact, Pros (smart ones at least) do not overtrain.

Next Week:  Concerning Intensity Training

Dirt Road Rides

We’ve done a scouting ride on our first Dirt Road Practice Ride route.  It’s delightful.  This is an ideal route to try out for a first outing.  The surface of the dirt section is very light in gravel, very well packed, and nicely shaded.  I can hardly wait to see how many, and who, will show up.

On that note, I’d like to broaden the invitation.  If you are a seasoned unpaved rider, please do consider coming out for this one.  Your presence and experience could be a help to a newer chum.

I’ve had a couple of questions (inevitably) about bike types.  First off, let me re-state, we are riding on dirt roads.  A road bike will work on them.  That said, a full on, super light, high-end, racing bike, is possibly not the best choice for this activity.  Yes it can be done, but do you really want to subject your multi-thousand dollar rig to that?  Second, I would strongly suggest that you not try this on a tri-bike or time trial bike.

What other choices would work well?  Okay, as we’ve mentioned, road bikes will work.  (It’s what we’ll be riding.)  Mountain bikes are okay, although they will feel a bit heavy and slow on the paved sections.  Cyclocross bikes are ideal for this kind of thing.  Flat bar road bikes (fitness bikes), such as the Giant Rapid and Dash will work too.

Other considerations:

• Bring a couple of spare tubes.  (Bring your own spares!!!)
• Bring plenty of water.  It’s thirsty work, and likely to be quite warm. 
• Dress to ride on the road.
• Expect to work and learn.
• Wear a smile

"Slacker"

I don't really think I'm "slacking."  I have much to say, but too much to do.  So the discussions and fun will continue...  tomorrow.


See you all then.  Ride safe.

Friday Follies ~~ The Repurposed Bike (Redux)

As promised last week, here’s a bit more on the “Repurposed Bike” project.  I’m presenting this particular post on this day, the one reserved for “Follies” and foolishment, because this just might be a grand folly.  It could be a great success too. Sometimes it’s hard to distinguish between the two, one man’s Folly often being another man’s glorious march into self-delusion.

If you’ve been following this at all, you know that I’m intent on building up a dedicated commuter.  Once I get this done, I can de-commuterize my Giant Defy 1.  The Defy has been a good sport about being used as a commuter/trainer/explorer/fast recreational/light tourist type bike.  It’s such a versatile machine that it can fill all of these functions, but hauling a trailer with this bike is a bit like pulling a pop-up camper with a Mercedes S Class.  It can be done, but why?

Further, I don’t want to put racks on the Defy, but that means I carry a big bag on my back…  a lot.  That’s okay every once in a while, but one shouldn’t make a habit of it.  The bicycle should be the “beast of burden.”  The load should be on the bike and not on the rider.  After all the rider has to provide the power to move it, and should not be supplying the energy to support it too!

So I picked a bike to build up to my particular parameters.  That meant some fairly heavy modification.  Below is a picture of the stuff that is coming off of the donor bike.

The "Old" parts (removed from the bike)

In the picture above you are seeing the flat handlebar, and the attached grips, SRAM X.4 shifters, and brake levers.  Also included are the stock stem, pedals, saddle, tires, and tubes.  All that stuff is being removed.  Likely it will be sold, or traded, or will find it’s way into other projects.

Now in the next picture are the parts that are going back onto the bike to complete this transformation.

The "New" parts (ready to be installed on the bike)

Pictured are the following:  A Giant Connect SL handlebar and the compatible Giant Connect SL Stem, Cane Creek Drop V brake levers (mounted on the bar), Shimano 8 speed bar end shifters, an old Brooks Professional saddle, Giant FlatGuard Sport Tires (700 X 28), Velox rim strips, Shimano M235 dual use pedals, Shimano Deore rear derailler, Minoura accessory mount, Cateye Mity cyclocomputer, Bike Ribbon gel pads, Profile bar tape, inner tubes, SKS thermoplastic fenders, and a Tubus Cargo rack.

Most of this stuff was lying around in parts bins, fallout from previous projects and trades.  The items I bought specifically for this project are the fenders, tires, tubes, and rim strips.

There is one more small set of things that I still have to get, a one gallon plastic milk jug and stainless steel 8 nuts, 8 washers, 4 screws.  Keep watching.  It’s going to be fun seeing how this all goes together.

Thursday Thoughts: The Joy of Pain

Does that title sound twisted and weird?

It may, but there’s truth in it, and I do not mean in a sado-masochistic way.  It’s a simple fact; athletics serves us pain in a variety of dishes.  There is injury, and there is no fun and little joy there.  But there is also the pain that is associated with hard training, and with high performance.

A long hard climb inflicts an interesting kind of discomfort.  As the rider continues, the muscles fatigue. Fatigue products accumulate in working tissues.  Supporting structures (hands, backside, back, feet) begin to report discomfort from prolonged pressure.  All the symptoms intensify as effort level is increased.  More, if the rider starts to approach the body’s anaerobic threshold, the lungs begin to burn, the diaphragm starts to ache.

Stay in that high aerobic zone for a while.  The body begins to go into “oxygen debt.”  Vision tunnels.  The rider can hear the heart beating with a deep thud, right in the eardrum.  Push a little harder and color washes out of the visual field, the arms start to tingle, legs get (long past the “burn”) start to feel like they are made out of water.  Breathing is painful and difficult, and it seems there is on air in the air!  When little multi-color paisleys start to swim across the visual field, and the world is seen beyond them as if through the wrong end of a long telescope…  Stop!  The body is close to “oxygen bankruptcy.”  Go there and one simply falls over.

These same symptoms can be felt during specific, targeted intensity training.  And there are no small number of cyclists who engage in this.

Or take the more muted kind of pain that a long long ride generates.  After eight to ten hours in the saddle everything hurts, or is numb, or sore.  Further, the experienced rider knows it will stay that way for several days after.

Why on earth would anyone endure this?

I’ve been asked why the “hard core” cyclists subject themselves to that kind of pain.  I can’t answer for others.  And I’ll set aside the whole issue of endorphin addiction.  I can only answer for myself.

“Why do you do it?”  I am asked. 

The short answer is,  “Because I’m a hedonist.  I love to feel good!”  Usually this results in a perplexed expression on the face of my questioner.  But it’s true.  I love the feeling of well being that comes from a properly trained and fit body.  Brief periods of pain are a small price to pay for that.

And then too, there is an old expression among southern black field hands.  They speak of an individual who continues to seek out suffering, by saying,  “It got good to him.”  Maybe that’s it.

Training: The Basics

We’re starting another series here.  This one will run for several weeks, and is intended to present some of the most basic information about why to train, how to train, what to train for, and how to stay sane while doing it.

We’ll start with the two most important questions, often asked on the subject. “What do you mean by training?”  and “Why should I train?”

Training Defined:  At it’s simplest and most basic, training consists of a Regular and Consistent program of physical activity.  This activity consists of the application of a calculated overload of effort, in order to stimulate a super-compensation, which takes place during carefully structured periods of rest and recovery.

In short, Get off your couch and ride!  But do it with a plan and a purpose.  Do it regularly.  Get regular and sufficient rest.

The Why of it:  There are as many reasons for training as there are cyclists.  Here are some of the most common ones.

• Want more speed
• Plan to do a long or important ride
• Lose weight
• Want to feel better
• Considering competition
• Want to feel younger and stronger
• Want more energy
• Want to be ready in case of an emergency
• Tired of being tired
• Want to step it up to the next level of events

Good and intelligent training can accomplish any or all of these objectives.  I should warn, on some of them the approach is a bit counterintuitive.

I’m going to close this post with a bit of wisdom.  We’ll be coming back to that list above, and this list of “commandments” more in the future

10 Commandments of Training

I)              Train MODERATELY

II)            Train CONSISTENTLY

III)          Get ADEQUATE REST

IV)          Train with a PLAN

V)            Train with groups INFREQUENTLY

VI)          Plan to PEAK

VII)        Improve weaknesses

VIII)      TRUST your TRAINING

IX)          LISTEN to your body

X)            COMMIT to your GOALS

Next week we’ll discuss “Overtraining.”

Doing it in the Dirt (again some more)

Dirt Road Practice Rides:

The purpose of these is, first and foremost, to have some fun!  A close second is to go out, with others, and practice the skills necessary to riding on unpaved surfaces.

For the purposes of these rides, we’re choosing some routes that include sections of unpaved roads.  Initailly, we have two routes selected.  Each is less than 13 miles total.  One features 2.3 miles of unpaved road, and the other has 1.7 miles without pavement.

We can go out and do these in one pass, or we could do multiple passes on the dirt sections.  The decision will depend on the fun factor and enthusiasm of those present.  So it’s not going to be a grueling test of a rider’s might and sinew.

FAQs

Q: “Can I bring my mountain bike?” 

A:  Of course you can, if it will make you feel better.  But these roads most certainly can be ridden on a road bike, and the greatest amount of each loop is paved.  I’d recommend a road bike.  (A tourist would be a great choice.)

Q:  “Will these be “no drop” rides?”

A:  It would be kind of silly to engage in “keep up or die” behavior when the goal is to get everyone to the dirt.  And I have no intention of leaving anyone stranded.  So I guess the answer is, “Yes.”

Q:  “Will there be a cuesheet?”

A:  Come now.  We’re doing this in Fayette County, not outer Mongolia.  No point of either of the intended loops is more than five miles from the shop.  No cuesheets, but you won’t get lost.

Q:  “What if it rains?”

A:  Then water will fall out of the sky, and we will have to spend a bit more time cleaning our bikes after.  Oddly, dirt roads are easier to ride when wet.  Rides will go rain or shine.

Q:  “I’ve never done this before.  What if I can’t?”

A:  The whole purpose is to teach folks how to.  We’ll take it easy, and demonstrate and coach.  If you really and truly can’t handle it, you won’t be far from pavement, and an easy ride back home.

The Details:

Where:  Start and Finish at Bicycles Unlimited, Peachtree City, GA.

Dates:  (Let’s try two to start with.)  Sept. 11, and Sept. 25

Times:  Start at 2:00 PM (sharp)

Pace/Distance:  Approx 15 miles (more by consensus), moderate to easy (remember this is a skills exercise!)

Conditions/Requirements:  Rain or shine.  Helmets are a must!

The Case For (and Against) Rider Development

The Case Against:  All work and no play…

In a recent conversation, a good friend made the following statement:

“Why does everything have to be rider development?  Maybe I don’t want to be developed!”

My friend, a rider of moderate experience and well above average skill, makes a good point.  We’re committed to the idea that cycling is many things, a sport, a pastime, a means of transportation, and above all a recreation.  It is appropriate to say,  “I am in this to relax and to enjoy myself.  I don’t want to take it too seriously.”  Cycling, like almost any other activity, can be made into another job, a source of stress and anxiety.  That would be the last thing I would advocate.

In other words, once one has reached a certain level, it’s perfectly okay to relax, back off from the practice, and simply breath the free air from the saddle.

The Case For:  Be Prepared

A bike that is not maintained will soon stop working well.  This is true, even if the bike is not ridden.  The same is true of skills or fitness.  Any level of expertise must be practiced to be maintained.  There is no such thing as perfect.  Everyone has room for improvement.

There are certain basic and fundamental skills.  These must first be learned and mastered.  But more, they require recurrent training.  Failure to constantly repair and polish these skills will ultimately lead to problems, injury, and possibly death.

This is especially true if one is planning to ride a bike on the road!  (For that matter, unless one wishes to become a real tree hugger, there are some fairly important skills to be acquired for mountain biking too.)

To be a truly accomplished (and somewhat self-sufficient) cyclist, one must learn (and practice) a wide variety of disciplines.  The rewards are available and tangible.

Why I care:

Virtually everything I do is about rider development.  I do this for others, and for me.  I am dedicated to the concept of improving cycling and helping cyclists improve.  One might reasonably ask,  “Why?”

The reasons are fairly simple.  The overarching one is that I firmly believe that a world with more bike riders is a better world.

Personally, I am absolutely certain that cycling saved my life, and that it has done so many times over.  I am also thrilled with the fact that the sport did not just enable me to persist in this existence.  Living and breathing in this world of cycle-sport has given me an endlessly enriched and illuminated life.

Second, when I was actually making my entry into cycling, I had the extreme fortune to be around some incredible folks.  They taught me the following:  1)  There is no such thing as perfection.  There is always room for improvement.  2)  There is so much to cycling, so many dimensions, so many different sub-disciplines, that it is simply not possible for one person to exhaust them in a lifetime.  But why not sample as much of the banquet as possible?

Third, I have been given so much, that I feel an obligation.  There is an old (seldom heard now) expression, that one owes one’s profession.  In short, I feel an obligation to pay forward for that which I have received.

Friday Follies ~~ One for the Books

Over the many years I’ve seen a lot.  One recurring class of oddities is the syndrome of “The Man with an Idea.”  This is characterized by an individual who is in the grip of an obsession.  It’s an idea (usually a silly or bad one) that just won’t let go.  Where do these come from?  What perverse muse afflicts some people with grand and idiotic obsessions?  Why does an otherwise sane individual suddenly order 45 tones of boulders delivered to the front lawn?  What possesses someone who has no knowledge or talent to suddenly take up beekeeping?  And why, oh why are so many of these afflicted individuals struck with ideas involving bicycles?

When I was in high school there were, in my small town, two brothers of some repute.  The Goodsons, George and Jack, were famous (some would say notorious) for their tinkering and escapades.  Their family owned a junkyard.  That was significant.

One of their more brilliant (and sort of successful) projects involved a Volvo 132 sedan.  The car had a completely blown engine.  There was another crashed Volvo in the yard at the time.  George and Jack combined parts.  But it wasn’t enough to just re-engine the intact car.  No!  They equipped the thing with two transmissions.  They cobbled it together with one gearbox behind the other.  Among other things this gave them a car with four forward gears in reverse.  I leave it to the reader to imagine the resulting silliness.

After leaving high school, Jack went into the Marines, but George stayed in town.  He drifted into cycling.  That was odd enough at the time, but not odd enough for George.  He was far ahead of his time, and possibly operating in a parallel dimension.

George was fascinated by the idea of using bicycles to move things around.  He was also, as the previous story might indicate, intrigued with gearing. 

George was the first dedicated utility cyclist I ever met.  Most of us had bicycles as kids.  Some of us had continued to ride into high school, for transportation and for fun.  (Bashing around in the woods on old cruisers certainly counted as riding and as fun.)  After graduation a small contingent of us discovered road cycling, and road racing.  We bought ten speeds and raced them, and rode them around wherever we could.  George was one of us. Remember this was the late 60s.  Kids riding road bikes in tight clothes were already considered an odd bunch. But even in that crowd, George was a bit odd.

George had read an article somewhere, about using bikes for utilitarian purposes.  The magazine he read extolled the virtues and benefits of using the bike to go places, and to haul stuff around.

One other piece of background is needed.  This all took place in, and around, the town of Staunton, VA.  To put it mildly, Staunton is not flat.  The town is, with the possible exception of a couple of stadiums and Gypsy Hill Park, all hills.  Big hills.  Big steep hills.  We used to joke that our swim team was terrifically strong because they had the only uphill pool in the world. Terrain like that complicates the act of cycling, and makes the process of carrying anything on a bicycle a huge challenge.

George’s Monster started out as a cruiser.  It was not the result of some grand design, but rather the product of an evolutionary process.  The bike started out as a non-descript cruiser.  (George deemed road bikes as too flimsy for his purposes.)  At the time a lot of guys were using old cruisers as “paperboy specials.”  (I did this myself for a time.)  But that wasn’t enough to satisfy George.

He started out by managing to graft the drivetrain from a ten-speed onto his cruiser.  That meant he had to find a way to mount hand brakes to the thing.  Add a rack and some Wald baskets, and…  presto!  …a cargo bike is born.

Except the gearing wasn’t low enough to help haul the heavy beast up a steep hill.

What to do?  Add more gears!  The task would have daunted a lesser individual.  There just weren’t a lot of driveline components available at that point in history.

George persevered.  He adapted things.  He cobbled.  He made things with the turret mill, and lathe in his father’s machine shop.  He welded bits and pieces to the Monster.  The chainstays grew longer.  Frame parts failed and replacements were welded in, with reinforcements.  Eventually there were a lot of gears available.  There was a double chainring up front, a mid-drive to step that down and feed a three-speed hub.  The hub was mounted on a bracket, and had an output gear welded to it instead of a wheel around it.  The output of the three speed turned a chain that went to a rear cluster and another derailler.  More and more equipment went into the contraption, in the search for ever lower ratios.

At one point there was an insane combination that would actually cause the bike to move in reverse!  And more, George taught himself to ride it that way.  But there were other problems.

The thing is, there is a practical limit to how low a bicycle can be geared.  At some point the rider is spinning the cranks madly, whilst the bike is barely moving.  This makes for instability.  At the same time, there is an energy cost to turning all that metal in the complex driveline.  George solved that problem set too.  He dismantled an old kid’s bike and converted the 18-inch wheels into a pair of spring-loaded, retractable stabilizer wheels.  (Training wheels in other words, but ones that could be folded up away from the ground for descending and higher speeds.

Did I mention that the “Monster” grew more and more cargo space?  Did I also neglect to point out that the thing, with all the gears and gadgets, with it’s myriad of levers and knobs, was so heavy that it took two grown men to lift it?  Add cargo and the thing approximated the mass of a medium tank.  It went up hills all right, albeit slowly, but it went down them like a rocket sled.  So it grew more brakes too.

Shortly before I left that part of the world for larger adventures, George traded the Monster to someone for a battered and nearly worn out Harley.  The last I heard he was in the process of building a Harley Davidson powered experimental airplane.  I wonder if it can fly backwards?

Thursday Thoughts: The Wise Cyclist

~~//~~

This is a new feature.  “The Wise Cyclist” will appear at intervals.  This is simply a discussion of some of the broader aspects of the sport, as it relates to individuals.

~~//~~

Let’s start with some fundamentals.  What is a “Wise Cyclist”?  Perhaps we can determine some of the characteristics of this individual.

The wise cyclists knows:

Nothing is permanent, but many things are constant.

Consistency is not a part time occupation.

It is not possible to do anything all the time.

Each season has its appropriate actions.

There is a time to hold on, and a time to let go.

Preparation is everything.

There is no bad weather, only poor clothing choices.

Spontaneity is something too.

Let’s get serious!

But not too serious.

Childlike is good.  Childish?  Not so much.

Yes it is about the bike!

A bad day on the bike tops a great day at the office.

The State of Cycling in another State

On Monday I spoke of my long weekend trip, and recounted some good riding.  Today I’d like to share a bit of a different view of that trip.

While I was gone, I rode a bike, and drove a car, somewhat extensively in Virginia.  My travels covered the area north of Charlottesville, and then over the mountains into Rockingham County and Augusta County.  That is a fairly broad area.  The things I’m reporting below are not isolated, but rather are observable in a large area of the state, and can be assumed to be typical.  They have bearing on road vehicular cycling.  The following are observations.  I’ll draw some conclusions at the end of this post.  Please read on.

Infrastructure in advance of growth:  Much of the area I traveled through is obviously experiencing a period of growth.  That means increased population, development, and increased traffic.  Interestingly, the roads have been widened well beyond the areas of current development activity, and intersections have been improved (signage, traffic signals installed, etc.) well out beyond the current areas of activity.

Traffic signals:  I’m not sure how this is done, but it’s not like here.  The traffic signals sense traffic and respond.  They are not triggered by magnetic sensors embedded in the roadways.  Perhaps they use optical sensing.  I don’t know.  What I did observe is encouraging.  The traffic signals can sense, and do react to cyclists.  I was riding a light carbon bike.  On many occasions I was the only vehicle approaching an intersection, and was approaching from the non-dominant road.  Yet the signals still reacted to me.  More, they reacted appropriately.  If I was in a left turn lane, the left turn signal took precedence.  If I was in a through lane, the left turn signal did not activate, but the through signal did.

            I observed enough intersections to be sure this wasn’t coincidence.  Further, the effect was the same whether I was operating a motor vehicle or a bike.

Road design:  Where new road construction has take place (rather extensively) the shoulders have been widened and paved.  In many places there are extensive, ASHTO compliant, bicycle lanes.  Most notably, these bike lanes are installed in higher traffic locations.  Pedestrian sensors are obvious, and pedestrian signals are installed in all high traffic locations.

Motorist courtesy:  Almost universally, I was treated with respect and courtesy while riding a bicycle.  In four hours of riding, I experienced only one “buzzing incident,” and that may have been due to inattention.  Generally motorists obeyed posted speed limits, and operated with courtesy to other motorists and to bicycle and pedestrian traffic.

Bike lanes and sharrows:  As I’ve already mentioned, bike lanes were fairly common, and well designed and placed throughout my areas of travel.  In addition, I encountered several locations where a dedicated bike lane would have been impractical.  The road was an existing urban four lane, wide enough for two travel lanes in either direction, but not wide enough to accommodate a dedicated bike lane.  This problem had been solved handily.  On street parking had been eliminated in these areas.  This resulted a wide right hand lane. The new lanes structure was now much wider than standards, but not wide enough for a travel lane and a bike lane.  The streets in these areas were marked with “sharrows.”  Those are painted symbols, which indicate that motor and bicycle traffic will share this lane.

Conclusions:  My cycling and driving experience in Virginia was extremely pleasant.  I saw a lot of bicycle traffic, and it mixed well with the motor vehicles.  The design and construction of the roads showed signs of planning.  More, the planning had included all of the road users.  The roads were safer, and traffic congestion much less than it might have been.

Why can’t it be like that here?  If they can do it there, we can too.  We can do better.

The Return of the Repurposed Bike!

Back about 28 June I spent a bit of time discussing the Repurposed Bike Project.  I had fully intended to deliver a blow-by-blow depiction of the development of this adaptation.  But, as often happens, a bit of Life occurred whilst I was making other plans.  The Summer rolled relentlessly in, and life got incredibly hectic.  So the project went on a bit of a hold.

Now this is a somewhat frustrating state.  I have all the bits and pieces ready and waiting.  I have a strong desire to get the thing done.  But little things keep cropping up.  “What things?” you might ask.  I won’t bore you with trivia.  Everyone gets really busy from time to time.  And Summer is the busiest time in the bike shop too.

Enough with the excuses already.  Let’s get this show on the road!  I’ll be doing some work on this project this week, and will have results to show you soon.  Promise.

Good Weekend and a Recommendation

Last week I mentioned that I was going away for the weekend.  The Family gathered for a joyous occasion.  That made it an obligation.  ‘Nuff said.

The nature of the thing meant flying up there, and that meant that it would be extremely difficult to bring a bike with me.  My most travel-ready bike is the Surly.  Fixie.  With a high gearing.  Decidedly not the best choice for a region where “valley ride” means,  “We only have a ¾ mile long 8 percent grade every other mile.”

So I decided to try a different tack.  You see, there would be some significant down time in the weekend plan.  That translates to time that could be used riding.  So I did a bit of research, found a shop in Harrisonburg, VA, and contacted them.  I had a rental arranged for Saturday.

My previous experiences with rental bikes has been, to put it mildly…  spotty.  But these folks sounded good over the phone, and…  Well, even a rent-a-wreck would get some kind of wheels under me.

It helps that I know the area intimately.  I knew there would be surprises (and there were) but I know the terrain, and the roads are quite familiar to me.  I had several plans to choose from.  I was ready for an inadequate bike, for weather, for whatever the situation would bring.  Basically, I’m an optimist by nature, and a pessimist by policy.

Imagine my surprise when things went well.

A thank you, and some words of praise.  I want to thank the folks at the Shenandoah Bicycle Company.  They are located in Harrisoneburg, VA, right in the heart of town.  They set me up with an exceptional bike, at a very reasonable rate.  The bike was recent, clean, freshly tuned, full carbon frame, Ultegra equipped, and perfectly sized for me.  It was a bit more aggressive than my usual rides, but that is not a quibble.  I’m adaptable.  (More on this soon.)  The bike was ready for me at the appointed time, and the folks at SBC were efficient, courteous, knowledgeable, and a delight to work with.  It’s a great shop.  These folks get my highest recommendation.  Should you ever find yourself in the Shenandoah Valley, I would strongly advise you to drop in.

The Ride:

The weather outlook was not bad.  It was a bit cloudy, but the major rain event had been postponed until later.

I started out with a bit of “let’s get acquainted” riding around the town.  I did not just want to jump blindly out into the back of beyond on a completely unknown ride.  So I cruised around the town a bit.

The rental bike was more aggressively set up than most of my bikes.  Longer reach to the bar.  Bars a good bit lower.  Controls more forward.  But most significant was the gearing.  I usually like to have a lot of low available.  I prefer to downshift and spin an easier gear on climbs.  (Especially on long or steep climbs!)  This machine was not so geared.  It was equipped with a road double (53-39) in the front, and a 12-25 cassette.  (If you are not comfortable with tooth counts, let me assure you, this is a fairly high gear set.)

Harrisonburg is, as I’ve mentioned, not flat.  Here there be hills.  Big hills.  Big steep hills.  The higher gearing on the rental bike was noticeable.  On the other hand, the bike was light and responsive.  More, I felt good, strong, and well rested.  I had to apply more muscle and less lung to my climbing, but nothing seemed too out of place.  I decided to go for Plan A.

There is a wonderful mountain to the west of Harrisonburg.  I’ve done the trip to the top of Reddish Knob before, by car, hiking, and by bike.  I do this whenever I can.  But it’s been a long time.  My last ascent was over 15 years ago.  The wonderful thing about Reddish Knob is that the road goes all the way to the summit of the mountain.  Back in the 1920s a fire tower was built on this peak.  The tower is long gone, but there is still a small paved flat parking area.  The peak is the highest in Virginia, and it affords a 360 degree unobstructed view.

For the first five miles of the trip out, I was in roller country.  The local rollers are a bit taller and steeper than our north Georgia variety, but not unmanageable.  After the stretch from town, on US-33, my route turned toward Hinton.  At this point the ride flattens out marvelously, becoming gentle swells through beautiful summer farm country.  These are active, “small holder” family farms, mostly raising corn, grain, and dairy cattle.  It’s definitely “cow and tractor country.”

After the turn at Ottobine, the road begins to climb toward the George Washington National Forest.  It’s nothing tremendous, but the road is doing more up than down.  Soon I was entering the forest, and passing the entrance to Hone Quarry.  This is a significant point in the trip.  From here on, the climbing starts in earnest.

The run from Hone Quarry is mostly uphill, becoming all uphill.  This is the approach climb.  “Not too bad,” I thought, knowing that the real work was still ahead.

I should mention, the fomula for rating climbs is complex and arcane.  Two factors are considered.  Distance, and elevation gain.  No one has ever “officially” rated this particular ascent, but it would be a hors category climb by any standard.  It is ten miles from Hone Quarry to the summit of Reddish Knob, and there is over a 4,000 foot gain.  That’s an average of 7.6% grade!  About four miles into this climb, the road goes around a bend in the mountain, and there is a small steel bridge.  This marks the transition from the shoulder of the mountain to the main climb.  The grade gets noticeably more stout, and the road narrows.  There are no guard rails evident.  Curves are blind.

The day was warm, but not intolerably so.  Still, I was working.  I was fighting to keep the sweat from blinding me.  This is not a high traffic road, and none of the local colleges were in session, so traffic was very light.  Still, there were a few cars.  Each driver seemed to be surprised to see me, but all treated me well.  Most waved with smiles.

This was serious work.  I was alternately standing on the pedals, and sitting to grind.  The air got thinner.  I kept checking to make certain that I was in the lowest gear on the bike.  Yep, there’s nothing below 1-1!

There is an intersection on near the top of the climb.  The road flattens out briefly here.  My legs were burning, and my lungs were not far behind them.  Heart thumping hard and fast.  I savored the (very brief) respite, and then went into the serious work of the final ascent.  I estimate that the grade on this last stretch varies between 9% and 12%.  I may be off, but it is steep!

Finally, there is a “killer kick” to the summit.  The road is all gravel now, and not well maintained.  It spirals around the summit, and pitches up to something like 25% grade.  Fortunately this is only for about a quarter mile.  I will confess, I walked that last pitch up.

The summit was as rewarding as it has ever been.  It is silent, save for the soft rush of the constant wind, and a few distant cries from a circling hawk.  The view is spectacular.  The visual horizon, from this elevation, is over 100 miles distant.  On a day this clear, it is possible to see most of that distance.

I finished off one of my water bottles, and rested.  I did notice that there was weather approaching from the southwest.  That would be the heavy rains in the forecast.  Time to go.

The descent was astonishing.  Fast and technical.  By the time I passed Hone Quarry, the sky behind me was looking threatening.  But I’d ridden the hard climbs.  I up-shifted (for the first time in living memory) and put some power to the bike.

As is usual, I missed the turn at Ottobine, and, instead of returning directly to Harrisonburg, arrived in the small town of Dayton.  This is about seven miles south of Harrisonburg, on US-42.  The road was not flat, but it was gentle and well graded.  It was a four lane for most of the trip, with intermittent bike lanes.  Traffic was light, and I cruised the final miles into town.

Stats:  55 miles and change.  4+ hours.  Over 8,000 feet gained.  Summit above 4,300 feet above mean sea level.  Geography and terrain are terrific.  Vistas spectacular.