Routing Problems

By now most of you are aware that there is a major and massive problem right on one of our most favored routes into and out of Peachtree City.  I’m referring to the construction project at the intersection of Bernhard Rd and GA-85.  It puts an effective stopper in using Bernhard to either leave or return.  Basically, Bernhard Rd. is out of operation.  Worse, the situation will likely continue for something like the next six months.

What does this mean?

If we want to access those roads down around Woolsey, Brooks, and points south and east, we have only a few options.

1. Do such rides as “out-and-backs” using Ebenezer Church, Redwine, and Harp Roads.
2. Alter routes to the east and north, using Fayetteville as one leg of the route.
3. Alter routes to the south, with travel options including riding along GA-74.
4. Pick other routes that don’t go down towards Brooks and Woolsey.
5. Start riding from venues remote from Peachtree City.
6. For shorter rides, stay entirely inside Peachtree City.

There are pros and cons to each of these options.

For purposes of our Novice Road Rides, I’m experimenting with routing.  I’ll be testing several different options for the next few weeks.  For other riders and rides, I’d suggest exploring options 4 and 5.

The situation is annoying, but we’ll get through it.  Just have patience and be prepared to be adaptable.

Friday Follies ~~ The Horde

After I discovered road bikes and road riding, I quickly found myself getting into group rides.  In Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, during the late ‘60s and early ‘70s a large group ride might consist of 10 or even as many as fifteen riders.

When I started attending these things, I had an experience that was fairly common.  I would start out with the group, and find myself working hard to stay with them through town, and throughout the “warm up” part of the ride.  We would hit the edge of town, make a couple of turns, and invariably, climb some awful thing.  I would, by the top of the climb, be at the back of the group.  Shortly after that, I’d get dropped.  From that point on, I would be riding alone.

With time, I gained skill, fitness, and technique.  My equipment improved too.  In relatively short order, I was staying with the main body throughout the ride.  I enjoyed those early “training rides.”  There was something about being with a group of like-minded oddballs, out on the bike, moving through the landscape.

Advance the time by about six years.  I had begun what I refer to as the longest sentence I’ve ever served.  I was living in southeastern Pennsylvania.  After a brief period of bikelessness, I was again saddled up.  I had employment and a new road bike.  Life was, if not wonderful, at least good.

When time permitted, I got on the bike and started exploring my surroundings.  Gradually, I expanded my range.  I found ways to ride from my apartment, into urban Philadelphia, the very belly of the beast.

Philly can be one rough city.  But it does have its charming points.  One of the most amazing is an incredible park system.  The centerpiece of that system is Fairmount Park.  This is a positively huge park.  There are a large number of roads through and around the park, and I enjoyed exploring them.  Usually these exploration trips took place on weekends.

Spring came.  The days grew longer and warmer.  Work at the plant slacked off a bit, and I’d moved to another apartment, one closer to Philly.  I began to include weekday evening excursions into the city.

There was an evening in early June.  It was warm and sultry.  I was on the bike, and just cruising along.  I’d was just making a turn from one of the park’s cross-streets, when a motion to my left caught my eye.  I completed the turn, and looked back.  I almost fell off the bike.

Behind me (and closing fast, I might add) was a mass of humanity.  It actually took me a moment to resolve this mass as being mounted on bicycles.  I had never see so many people on bikes.  It looked like photos I’d seen in Velonews, of the peloton at major elite races.  The street was filled, from curb to curb with riders, and they were moving!

It occurred to me that I was in the path of this two-wheeled onslaught.  My survival urge dictated that I must get out of the way!  NOW!

I applied power to the pedals, shifted, and accelerated as hard and as fast as I could.  Bad move!  I was now going too fast to hop one of the tall curbs, and there was a considerable distance to the next cross street.  I risked a glance back.  They were still gaining on me.  In fact, they were closing at an alarming rate

I up-shifted again, and redoubled my efforts.  I was thinking that I would, at the very least, want to lessen the velocity of the impact.

The road crested the rise at about that point, and I found more speed on the downhill side.  That was when the group engulfed me.

Surprisingly, there was no crash.  Riders were on all sides of me, smoothly passing me.  Occasionally I took a slight jostle, as the huge pack passed around me.  And as abruptly as it had started, it was over.  Sort of…

I’d been spit out the back of a huge group of riders.  I glanced back to see another group, about two hundred yards behind me, and closing.  This pack looked just like the first one, and it was also coming on fast.

I kept my speed up, to no real avail.  The massive group closed, surrounded me, and again spit me out the back.  In the process I’d been carried out of the park, and onto one of the city streets.

Again, I looked back, and again I saw a huge group of riders.  This group was about a quarter mile back.  I experimented, and discovered that I could stay ahead of the third group, but could not gain distance on them.  I slowed a bit and let the group catch up to me, surround me.

I let the group pass for a bit, and then matched speed with them, moving along quite briskly.  I asked some of the riders around me the question that was burning in my brain.  “What’s going on?  What is this thing!?”

I was informed that this was “The Drives!”  It was a huge group ride, one that had been going on since the beginning of time.  That it formed in The Park, on Tuesday evenings, starting on the first Tuesday After Memorial Day, and continuing until the last Tuesday before Labor Day.  Typically “The Drives” ride attracted something like 300 riders…  Sometimes more!

I made a point to be there again.  It took me several weeks to find the exact start location.  Once I did, I found that joining the ride at the beginning was a lot less stressful.  From that point on, I was a regular member of “the horde.”

I don’t know if this ride still exists.  It’s been over 30 years since I left that area.  But for a time, it was possible for me to ride in a monster group, on a regular basis.  It’s an experience, it is!

Thursday Thoughts: Lost

What does last mean?  I can’t find a thing, so it’s lost.  Okay, but if I can’t my way, then I’m lost.  But I can find me, even if I don’t know exactly where I am at the moment.

Someone once asked the great explorer and trail blazer, Daniel Boone,  “Dan’l, have you ever been lost?”

Boone is reported to have replied,  “No.  I cain’t rightly say I’ve ever been lost.  But I’ve been bewilder’d some.”

I’d back that up with words from my primary flight instructor, a very seasoned flier by the name of Art Jones.  When I was learning the art of aerial navigation, I asked Art,  “What do you do if you get lost?”

Art replied,  “I’m never lost.  I don’t always know exactly where I am, but I’m never lost.”

I guess, for people, lost is a state of mind.  But for objects, lost means that they can’t be readily made available.

I’ve just been through a spell of lost stuff.  Things seem to have developed the ability to move around on their own.  My wonderful GoreTex ™ cycling cap disappeared recently.  It went missing just before that last stretch of rainy weather.  I looked everywhere for the thing.  I shredded the laundry room, turned all the dresser drawers out, went through every gear bag, back pack, pannier, messenger bag, and took everything out of my truck.  Did all that, and some of it twice.  No luck.  Then, on Monday, while I was retrieving a seldom used tool from the under shelf of my workbench, the thing just popped out.  I have no vague idea how it got there.

Of course, just as I “found” my rainproof cycling cap, one of my important back up light-sets went missing.  This causes me to wonder if there isn’t a conservation principle at work here.  Something like this:

The Universe is divided into that which is Lost, and that which is Found.

Lostness will be conserved.

• It cannot be diminished or reduced.
• If, at any time, local lostness is reduced it will be found that the total lostness of the Universe has increased.
• Eventually everything will be lost.
• Lost objects can be made found, but only total lostness will increase.  (Something else will be lost, along with a “cost” of lost time and energy.)

Seems to make sense to me.

This brings me to cycling.  One of my favorite pass-times is to go out on a bike and get “lost.”  I’m using the word in the Daniel Boone-Art Jones sense here.  When I do this, I’m never lost, but I am often bewildered, and sometimes don’t know exactly where I am.  I’ve found that, given plenty of time and resources, this “getting lost” can be a delightful use of time.  If one is on a schedule, or low on resources, it’s a great producer of stress and anxiety.

A good clarifying example of this would be night riding in unfamiliar areas.  If I have enough battery or generator to make light all night long, or if I have a functional cell phone, then not knowing exactly where I am is not a worry.  On the other hand, if the phone has no signal, and the batteries are running low, not knowing where I am is a serious problem.

But then, problems are opportunities.  And resourcefulness must be tested from time to time.  If not, how would we know if we have it?

Some of the best discoveries I've ever made came from being "lost."  I highly recommend it.  Take some time, and go get lost.

Utility Cycling 101: How do I get started?

Definition:

Utility Cycling;  The act of using the bicycle for any practical purpose or pursuit.

Please note, it’s okay to enjoy the act of “practical” cycling!

How does one get started on this?  It’s not hard.  Start with just one trip.  Pick some errand or chore that would ordinarily be done in a car.  Grab a bicycle.  Then Ride to do the trip.  It’s that simple.

The errand could be returning that library book, or picking up that perscription.  It could be going to that club meeting.  It could be dropping the video in the box, or going to the Post Office.  Note:  It doesn’t have to be any great or grand thing.  Just replace one trip by car with one trip by bike.

What kind of bike?  One that rolls and will get you there.  Likely you have access to something of the sort.  Sure, it could be a bit of over-kill to take your beloved carbon wonder-bike to the drug store, but so what?  On the other hand, it might seem a bit beneath your dignity to take the old clunker mountain bike out and ride it to the store to pick up that loaf of bread.  Again, so what?  Are either of these trips really worth burning a gallon of gasoline?  What do you really have to lose?

Great journeys start with one step.  Grand buildings begin with one shovel of dirt moved.  Every large accomplishment is luanched with some small deed.  So it is with utility cycling.  One does not become a dedicated transportation cyclist all at once.  For that matter, one doesn’t necessarily need to ever completely replace the automobile.  But it makes good sense to replace at least some of our driving with something more positive and beneficial.

We’ll discuss purpose built bikes and tactics in future articles in this series.  But for now, look for that one trip.  The one that could be replaced by a bike ride.  It doesn’t have to be long.  No need for epics yet.  Just find that one short trip and replace it with a gentle bike ride.  That’s a great way to start.

Mixed Monday Bag

Hello and welcome!  Today we do have a mixture of things to present.

• Plans for the Upcoming Audax 200K
• Information about the changes to the Bicycles Unlimited Novice Road Ride
• A wee bit of Seasonal Whining

THE AUDAX 200K:

This is going to take place on Sunday 21 May.  The start/finish point will be at Bicycles Unlimited.

There will be a small fee for this ride, to cover lunch, a post ride snack, and water at stops along the way.  (I’ll have more info on the amount later this week.)

I will need to know who is actually planning to attend.  I need to know in order to make reservations.  The sincerest form of commitment is a check or cash for the food.  But please do let me know if you plan to come along.

~~//~~

CONCERNING THE NOVICE ROAD RIDE:

Bicycles Unlimited Novice Road Ride starts this coming Thursday!!  (April 26, 2011)  But…

As many of you know, there is some serious construction, taking place on Bernhard Rd.  This interferes with our usual routing for the ride.  It’s just not possible to use the old return route, and there is no good alternate.  Further, at this time, we have no clear information regarding the time length of this project.

I’ve been looking for alternate routing for these rides.

Please bear in mind, the primary purpose of these rides is to encourage and train new road riders.

To that end, I see a couple of possible solutions.

For the more experienced riders:  Please feel free to come out for the ride.  As usual, I’ll start you off at 6:00 P.M. promptly.  I would suggest that you follow the plan that Pat Burton developed for the Erin’s Fight rides.  This is, essentially, an out-and-back, based on the traditional Novice Road Ride Route.  You can find a map and cuing by following this LINK.

For New Riders:  I’ve been looking at several different options.  I’m not yet clear on which one will be the final choice, so I’m going to try all of them.  (For that reason, I haven’t painted any route yet.

My first choice (the one I’ll start out with this coming Thursday) will be a bit hillier than the traditional route, but it will also be shorter.  Likely the route will be between 15 and 17 miles.

Attention New Riders!  Since the route is new, and unpainted, you will need to stay with me.  We’ll keep the pace slow, and NO DROP policy will be in effect.  BUT if you decide to ride off ahead, you are on your own!

The usual procedure will be in effect.  I’ll launch the more experienced riders promptly at 6:00 P.M. and will ask that new riders, and those who wish to have more support stay back with me.  We will leave 2 to 3 minutes later, and follow my revised routing.

PLEASE NOTE:  I’m testing several different routes!  If you come out and do the ride on any given week, there is no guarantee that the route will be the same on the following week.

Do come to the ride, and please come early enough to attend the pre-ride briefing.  Things may change at the last minute.

I do apologize for the inconvenience and uncertainty here.  Please bear with us.  We’re doing the best we can with a situation we did not create.

~~//~~

THE SEASON!

It is truly Spring.  And despite the fact that all the flowers have pretty much done their blooming thing, and then departed, there is plenty of pollen or something in the air.  One would think that the heavy rain of Saturday night would have washed the stuff away.  Perhaps it did.  On the other hand, maybe the conditions were right for something to let go.  I expect the high winds may have had a bit to do with it too.

In short, Sunday’s riding left me half wrecked.  The whatever it was went after me with a vengeance.  Eyes burning, throat closing up, nasal congestion, you name it.  I’m not ordinarily bothered much by attacks like this, but there was certainly something out there with my name on it.

That said, wasn’t Sunday one glorious day to ride?  Yes it was windy, but I like windy days.  I find the gusty conditions invigorating and thrilling.  The air was crisp, the sky clear, and that amazing deep blue, and the riding was simply excellent.

I hope you all managed to get out and enjoy some of the weekend’s good weather.

Friday Follies ~~ Bike Shorts

When I started riding a bicycle I just got on the thing and rode it.  No special preparations required.  In the Summer, I walked up to the bike in whatever I was wearing (usually cut-off jeans, T-shirt, and sneakers) and rode.  There weren’t bottle cages on the bike.  I didn’t worry about nutrition, or hydration, and I don’t think helmets had been invented yet.  Most of those rides, on the big Schwinn Cruiser, were short and local, but I did range about and abroad.  Sometimes I even packed a lunch.

Road bikes happened to me. 

At first I treated the idea pretty much as I had the old cruiser.  I rode where I wanted to, wearing what I wore.  I did make one clothing concession to riding a bike.  I learned (the hard way of course) to tie my shoelaces up short and tight, and to either roll my right pants leg up, or use a clip to keep it gathered and out of the chain.

I must have been a laughable sight the first time I showed up for a formally organized race.  My low-end ten-speed was decked out with fenders, a generator, and a rack.  It was a somewhat chilly morning, so I was wearing jeans and a sweatshirt.  I was the only rider in that race who looked like that.  The others were all wearing these funny, black, tight shorts, and these bright colorful, tight fitting jerseys.

I learned a lot in that race.  I managed to keep the back of the pack almost in sight, for the first lap.  I did other races and got better.

I had people laugh at me because of the stuff I was wearing.  I thought they looked funny.

In something like the fourth or fifth race I entered, I placed tenth.  By then I was riding a lot farther, on a regular basis.  I experienced some odd things.  Chafing.  Saddle sores.  Other discomforts.

Some of the people I met through racing told me I would perform better, and be more comfortable in proper cycling clothing.  I gave it some thought.

In those days, back at the dawn of history, the DuPont Company had not yet invented Lycra or Spandex.  Shorts and jerseys were made of wool.  The pad of the short was called a chamois, because that is what it was made from.  There was no real padding to speak of.

I bought a pair of shorts.  Yipes.  Itchy britches.  Oddly, I was more chafed and galled than I had been in cutoff jeans.  I had not learned that one did not wear underwear under riding shorts.  It took me a while to learn to lubricate the chamois before riding.  I learned.

By the end of that season I looked like a real racer.  I wore wool shorts and jersey.  When it rained, I smelled like a wet sheep.  It itched.  Everyone, all the serious riders put up with this.  I’d even managed to get comfortable (somewhat that is) wearing those shorts without underwear.

The stuff still itched, and it had an odd odor to it when wet, but it was far superior to street clothing for the long riding I was doing.

It’s better today.

Thursday Thoughts: T-SPLOST? REALLY?

On this coming 31 July, Georgians will be asked to vote on a transportation funding bill.  That bill is the “T-SPLOST.”  That stands for Transportation-Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax. That July day is listed as a “General Primary/Non-Partisan/Special Election (to fill vacancies and propose questions)”  One of the “Questions” will be whether we will add a sales tax to fund a huge laundry list of “regional transportation projects.”

We, as cyclists and residents of the area should pay attention, and take some actions.

Possibly the first thing that should be done is to look at what this proposed SPLOST is to fund.  This LINK http://transformmetroatlanta.com/regional-projects/  will take you to an interactive map of all the projects that are to be funded by the Sales Tax.  I only count six project that are bicycle-pedestrian related.  On the other hand there are numerous roadway projects.  More, if one looks at the money proposed, a huge amount is going to heavy rail.

I’ll leave the analysis and debate of the merits of each of these to others.  I should like rather to address some principles.

The “Build Your Way Out of It” model:

This one seems, intuitively to make some sense.  The problem is, it doesn’t work.  The concept is that we have congestion and transportation problems, so increasing system capacity will alleviate them.  This has been tried.  I’ll mention Los Angeles, New York City, and Houston, Texas as examples.  Simply put, increasing roadway capacity, and extending highway networks leads to increased usage!  That’s not less, but more congestion.

 The “It’s Not Working, Make it Bigger” model:

This seems to be the philosophy behind the “transit” portion of these plans.  MARTA doesn’t have enough riders to make it pay.  It’s never met its budget, and it always runs in the red.  So what’s the solution?  Well, if we just made the whole system bigger (and more expensive) then it would pay for itself.

A History Lesson:

Once upon a time, we here in Fayette County were handed a SPLOST to fund a “transportation improvement plan.”  I worked hard on that one.  I worked to motivate cyclists to support the passage of the SPLOST.  The idea was, there would be nice things for cyclists in the plan.  The SPLOST passed.  It was a narrow passage.  It could be argued that the vote of cyclists in the county made the difference.  (Cyclists vote.)

What were the results of that particular plan?  Well we had to charge 1% more for everything sold in the county.  But aside from that…  How many cycling improvements have you seen?  I see large road-building programs going on.  The southern portion GA-74 has been turned into a massive highway.  It’s all but impossible to cross it, and there are no accommodations for cyclists along it.  As I write, the massive “West Fayetteville Bypass” project is advancing.  It’s tearing the heart out of the county.  I don’t see how it will benefit cyclists, and I see a lot of ways in which it will have a negative impact.

A Look at the Big Picture:

To se an interactive map of all of the proposed projects the T-SPLOST is supposed to fund please follow this LINK.

One of the biggest problems I have with this whole thing is that the proponents have no “Plan B.”  We are told that we must do this, and that this is the only way to accomplish “critical” ends.  I’ve never been happy with that kind of rhetoric.

I’d urge all to take a look at this thing and ask the following:

• “Do we really need another regressive sales tax?”
• “Do we really need to do all this stuff?”
• “Is this the only way to accomplish it?”
• “Will any of this stuff actually help us?"

Holy Catfish! It’s SPRING!

Conquering Hills

One of the larger challenges in cycling is going uphill.  For new riders this can be particularly daunting.  It’s bad enough when the new rider reaches the hill alone, and finds that it’s hard to get to the top.  It gets worse in a group ride.  The perception is…

“I was doing pretty good, and then we got to that hill, and everyone just took off and left me.  I mean they went up that thing like it wasn’t even there!  And it was killing me!  Am I really that bad?”

This can be a real blow to the self-image.  The truth is, there isn’t all that much difference between the new rider, and those who are clobbering them on the hill.  Yet, on the road, that small difference equates to something that looks huge.  Here’s why it looks so bad.

If another rider has a one mile per hour advantage on you, they are opening up a gap at a rate of 88 feet per minute.  That doesn’t sound all that bad, but it’s fifteen bike lengths, in one minute.  And that looks like an unbridgeable gap, especially if it keeps widening and you are already winded.

There are several factors that figure into hill climbing ability.

• Fitness
• Bike adaptation
• Weight
• Technique

We’ve already devoted a good bit of  time to fitness.  It comes with persistent work, and it takes the time it takes.

Bike adaptation means becoming accustomed to your bike, to the position, and to operating the bike well.  This too comes with time.

Weight.  Get lighter.  That takes time too.

So what can one do from a technique standpoint?  Actually rather a lot.

There are two principles invovlved in good climbing.

• It’s the average speed that gets you over the hill, not the maximum.
• Don’t go anaerobic too soon.

That first point is rather crucial.  Many riders intuitively think that they need momentum to get over the hill faster and better.  That means that they want to attack the hill, to hit it at a high speed.  This actually doesn’t work well.  But it sure looks like that’s what is going on when one sees the “experts” hitting the big hill.  First off, they descend the previous hill faster.  But of course!  There’s nothing like “free speed,” and the more knowledgeable and experienced rider has learned how to gain some of that on the descent.  But this can lure the newer rider into thinking that higher speed on the previous hill, and through the bottom is essential.  So the new rider waits until close to the bottom of the descent, and then powers up the bike, and then tries to hold  that higher speed.

Honest, this just doesn’t work.  First, the aerobic capacity used is huge, so one arrives at the bottom of the hill, already close to anaerobic limit.  Second, the higher speed drastically increases wind drag (a non-linear force).  (Oops!)  Third, the hill is still waiting and gravity (another non-linear force) begins to drag one back.

The older and wiser cyclists will remind us of two truths.  1)  Races are won on hills.  2)  Don’t go anaerobic too soon.

The thing is, if a rider can not choose exactly where to “go anaerobic, then the advice in that second point is useless. The beginning of the hill is too soon.  If the hill decides when the anaerobic limit is reached, the rider is not capable of taking that advice.

So what’s the answer then?  Simple.  Learn how to control your efforts in a climb.

First off, stop trying to carry speed into the beginning of the climb.  Coast down the hills, and let gravity do its job.  Descents are for recovery!

As for picking the right place to increase power on a hill, one must first learn to get over the entire hill without going anaerobic.  This is best done by performing a fairly simple, but highly instructive drill.

Efficient Hill Drills:

Do this drill on a solo ride.  (Honest this one does not work well with riding partners along!)

Pick a hill.  For your first attempt, pick one that is moderately long, but not too steep.

Before starting, choose two heart rate levels.  The first is your “Target Heart Rate.”  The second is your “Do Not Exceed Heart Rate.”  For the purposes of this drill “Target Heart Rate should be quite low, around 75% to 80% of Lactate Threshold.  The “Do Not Exceed HR” is slightly higher, typically 80% to 85% of LT.

Coast down the previous hill, and approach your exercise climb at a gentle rate, breathing easily.

Now begin climbing, and attempt to hold your heart rate below the target.  You may sacrifice almost anything to keep your heart rate down.  Go to lower gears, slow your cadence, relax your upper body, loosen your grip on the bar, control yoru breathing, even let your facial muscles go slack.

If you exceed your target, slow down.

If you hit your “Do Not Exceed HR” you must stop, do a standing recovery until your HR is well below 75% LT.  And begin again.

Once you have mastered this hill (and don’t be dismayed if it takes several attempts to do so) you may select a different hill for the exercise.

Repeated “Efficient Hill Drills” will teach you to climb efficiently, and will put you in control of the hill, not the other way around.  You will find that you can use the same techniques, at somewhat higher heart rates to climb almost any hill efficiently and smoothly.  Remember, smooth is fast.

Good luck with your climbing!


NOTE:  This concluded the "Spring Training Series," which started with the March 13 post.  Beginning next week  "Utility Cycling 101."    Don't miss it!

Ride Report & A Problem

Audax 65 Mile Tune Up:  Challenges

Sunday was the last of this year’s Audax Tune Up Rides.  I’m a little puzzled.  The group was smaller than I anticipated.  Only seven of us.  Still, the day was excellent, and the road was waiting.

We were only just started, barely more than a mile into the ride when we had our first “incident.”  On a brisk descent two riders had a crossed wheel event, resulting in a crash.  Fortunately, the rider who went down landed in the best possible situation,  a “corkscrew fall” off of the pavement and into grass and dirt.  If one is going to hit the ground this isn’t fun, but it beats a lot of other possibilities.

I must say, I’m proud.  A black eye, and a fat lip don’t make for a happy start to a day, but the rider in question decided to press on, and made a good ride of it, completing the day in fine style.

Traffic is always an issue near our start.  Yesterday was no exception.  Still, we handled it well, and by the time we got out of Palmetto and into a more rural setting, things were a lot calmer and better.

Good riding and good times prevailed, until…  At almost the exact midpoint of the route we had another “event.”  One rider hit something in the road.  In all my years of riding, I have never seen a bike tire so completely damaged.  Whatever the object was, it took a bite out of the tire.  A big bite.  We attempted a repair, but it didn’t hold.  With a round hole of more than an inch diameter, I didn’t think it would.

Fortunately our rider was able to call for a ride, but sadly had to abandon.

Thankfully, we had no further incidents, and the afternoon was simply one of good riding, against the challenge of long climbs and brisk winds.  A good and happy group rolled into Peachtree City, in good order.

I should mention that we had one rider who set a personal record for distance, and one rider who equaled a recently set record.  Neat!!

Watch this space for details about the upcoming Audax 200K.  It should be a great one!

New Route Needed:

My regular Novice Road Ride route is in trouble.  There is heavy construction at the intersection of Bernhard Rd, and GA-85.  I have not been able to determine how long the project will last, or what the ultimate goal of it is.  But for now the conditions at this site range from difficult and extremely dangerous, to impossible.

The Novice Road Rides are scheduled to resume on 26 April.  New routing is going to be necessary.

I’m considering the following:

• Develop a “re-route” and get it painted in time for the Novice Rides
• Alter the route to make it a somewhat abbreviated “out and back.”
• Truncate the route to a much shorter distance and concentrate on only the new riders.

All of these ideas have difficulties.  I’m open to suggestions, and would welcome any advice in route alterations.  My criteria are as follows.

• Safety First
• Routing must be “New Rider Friendly”
• Routing must avoid the construction at the intersection of Bernhard GA-85.

Friday Follies ~~ Peace

Fifteen miles.  Six percent.

As soon as the ride begins, so does the climb.  It’s only fifteen miles.

People who ride tend to toss grade values around.  One hears them.  “It’s a ten percent grade for miles.”  Sounds intimidating.  “There’s sections that are over fifteen percent!”  Wow.

There is one group of folks, here locally, who speak of a two mile long grade at a whopping ten percent.  It’s supposed to be over near Luthersville.  I find that interesting.  Two miles is 10,560 feet.  If there were a 10% grade of that distance, it would rise 1,056 feet.  Add to that the general terrain elevation in the area, and it should stick up to an elevation of around 1,800 feet.  For purposes of comparison, Stone Mountain has an elevation of 1,686 feet.  I’d think the “Luthersville Mountain” would be visible.  Odd that I’ve never seen it.

The number 6% doesn’t sound like much.  That’s an elevation change of only six feet in a distance of 100 feet.  Hardly sounds like much.  But at a mere 12 miles per hour, a cyclist will cover 100 feet in 5.7 seconds.  To do that, on a 6% grade, the cyclist must lift the bike and rider 6 feet in that same time.  Not that tough.  The first time.  But it keeps going on.  That’s like picking the bike up and climbing stairs.  To maintain the same effort as a 6% grade, at 12 mph, the climber must go up one complete story, two flights of commercial stairs, every ten seconds.  And keep doing it.  A 6% grade is steep enough to make one know that it’s a climb.  It’s hard.  It’s not super hard, or terrible.  The bike isn’t in danger of stalling or tipping over.  But it takes an effort to make it go forward.

From the south end of Waynesville, North Carolina, the climb starts the moment the bike is mounted.  It goes to six percent immediately.  The grade continues up to Balsam Gap, and from there onto the Blue Ridge Parkway, heading south.  For fifteen miles, from Waynesville to Water Rock Knob, that grade is a relentless, steady, consistent six percent.  It will rise 4,752 feet in those 15 miles.

As the climb progresses, the rider will notice that breathing becomes more difficult.  This isn’t imagination.  The very air is thinning.  Half of the atmosphere is below 5,000 feet.  Ten miles into the climb, when the legs are really starting to burn, there is only half as much oxygen per breath.

It’s 15 miles long.  The grade is a constant 6%.  The rider will gain 90% of a mile of elevation.

Is it worth it?  The view is spectacular.  The descent back down is exhilarating.  Is it worth it?  A car could do it in a half hour.  A rider takes more than twice that long going up.

I can’t wait to do it again.  Peace lives at the top of that climb.

Holy Catfish! It’s SPRING!

Developing Speed

If you’ve been following this series, you may be wondering, “Just how do I go about getting faster on the bike.”  Likely you’ve noticed that we think highly of moderate and careful interval training, but not as a vehicle to speed.  Intervals help build endurance.

There are two basic kinds of things meant by “speed” on the bike.  One is absolute, all out, top-end speed.  The other is “speed maintenance.”  Interval work will help with the latter of those two.  Maintaining a given speed over a period of time is a function of endurance or stamina.  But top end speed comes from other areas.

It turns out that the “secret” to becoming faster is no secret at all.  It’s simple and consists of two parts.

1)    Get lighter.

2)    Ride a lot at very low speeds.

Remember, “simple” does not mean easy.  Truly most folks just won’t do what it takes.

Get Lighter:  Every pound you have to haul around slows you down.  A rider who is 15 to 20 pounds above idea weight, is a rider who is giving away a lot of speed.  Lose the extra baggage and feel better/ride faster.

Ride a lot at very low speeds:  This is a bit misleading.  By “very low speeds” we mean, “maintain a sustained, low aerobic zone heart rate.”  This is the famous “Base Riding” we’ve all heard about.  And there’s good news here.  Riding base, and doing it properly will help to reduce body fat content!

Long-slow riding does a lot of interesting things.

1)    Stimulates the development of deep rich capillary beds in the working muscle tissues.

2)    Gradually fatigues the muscle fiber at the periphery of the working groups,

3)     Stimulates the body to raise the base metabolic rate.

Number 1) is necessary, if more muscle fiber is to be recruited for higher output efforts.

Number 2) results in the strengthening and development of th fibers deep within the working groups.  This is essential to higher houtput efforts.

Number 3)  Means that the body’s engine burns more constantly and at a higher rate.  This results in fat conversion, while working and on a 24/7 basis.

That’s the argument.  Just how does one go about this kind of riding?  Base riding should be done in the range of 70% to 80% of Lactate Threshold (LT).  For those of you who don’t know your LT, this means really really easy.  Heart rate is only slightly elevated, breathing is easy.  Conversation is unimpeded.

Before I go on, I’m often told by folks,  “I can’t ride that slow!”  The reply to this is…  Baloney!  Yes you can.  And yes you can climb hills that slowly too!  (More on that soon.)  It takes a bit of practice, and you may not be used to it, but it’s completely do-able.  More, if one truly wants to be able to ride faster, then one will do the work of riding really slower.

Duration:  The clock is your friend for this kind of riding.  It’s not about getting there fast, but rather about taking one’s time to get there.  An ideal “Base Ride” is between two and five hours long.  (Start with shorter rides and work up gradually.)

Discipline:  One of the problems with this kind of riding is that it is fragile.  It takes an odd kind of focus and dedication to do it right.  Basically, the low output must be maintained for the entire ride.  No sprints.  No breakaways.  No jumps.  One must stay focused on keeping the effort well down, and within target range.  An hour of low zone riding is completely wasted, if one goes to high aerobic zones for only two minutes during the hour.  To get the maximum benefit from this kind of ride, go slow and stay slow.  Save the speed work for another day.  For this reason, it is best to do this kind of thing alone, or with one trusted riding partner.  (Groups tend to get faster.  Someone else always has an agenda!)

Nutrition:  One must “wash” exercise calories.  Riding at this level requires about 200 calories per hour.  An equal amount of food (fuel) must be taken in to offset this output.  If this isn’t done, the body will attack lean muscle mass.  Not good.  Eat enough to replace the “Base Ride” calories.  The fat loss occurs from proper control of food intake when not training.

Good luck with your slow riding.  Honest, it will make you faster.

Next Week:  Conquering Hills

Persistence

“You say the hill’s to steep to climb”

“Climb it.”

“You say you’d like to see me try”

“Climbing.”

“You pick the place and I’ll choose the time”

“And I’ll climb”

“That hill in my own way.”

“Just wait for the right day.”

“And as I rise above the tree lines and the clouds”

“I look down, hearing the sound of the things you’ve said today.”

(Fearless  Waters, Gilmour)

There are things one does on a bike, things that mean something to the individual.  For me, each and every one of these meaningful things was something that didn’t work the first time, something that took effort, repeated attempts, and often a lot of false starts and failures along the way.

My first attempt at a hard climb wasn’t a mountain.  It was a steep street in Staunton, Virginia.  I didn’t make it.  In fact, I barely made 20 feet before I stalled.  Wrong bike.  Wrong rider.  Wrong day.

I eventually got it right.  There is no way to relate the feeling I had as I crested that hill the first time.  Today, I have no idea how many times I have climbed it.  It always leaves me breathless and hurting.  It’s always good.

The first attempt at climbing a mountain was similar.  I started the thing.  Soon the legs were on fire.  The lungs followed.  I’d barely gone a mile before I had to pull over and stop.  I made two more stops, and two more starts on the way up.  I did make it to the top, but it wasn’t pretty, and I walked the last half mile.

One of the best days I ever had was the day I rode, in one long unbroken effort, to the top of that mountain climb.  At the top I knew that I could do this.  It still wasn’t pretty, but it was a triumph.

It is not given to all of us to be fast, or to be great climbers, or to be super endurance riders.  Sometimes the best yardsticks are not the accomplishments of others, but rather the testing of our own limits, and the surpassing of our own boundries.

We do not know what we are capable of.  We will never learn without the risk of failure.  We will never improve without the will to persist.