Heat Training - on the Rollers

Today was Joanne's High School Reunion so I did not have an opportunity to ride this morning. So, once I got my chores done, I broke out the rollers and did an hours worth in the garage. HAC4 Output. Notice that the temperature was 90° when I started. I road for an hour warming up for twenty minutes. Then I did intervals - 4 minutes above my lactate threshold and then four minutes just below repeating four times.

I did this session on the rollers for a couple of reasons. One is that this weekend is the Race Across Oregon and I wanted to ride it this year on a two man team. But, I could not find anyone who thought that was a good idea. So I at home and not racing. But, since this is the hottest weekend of the year (so far), I should be happy that I am in my air conditioned house. No, I want to suffer so I ride the rollers in the hot garage.

The second reason is that I know doing this session on the rollers will enable me to go to sleep on time tonight. This is important because tomorrow is my first "night ride". I am training for a twenty four hour time trial and my coach wants me to get some experience riding from the early morning to sunrise.

Posted 9:43 PM by John Henry

Thursday - Scott's Cycling Ride

It has been some time since I have ridden with the group from Scott's Cycling. Martin, my workout partner, is on grandbaby watch, and is not allowed to leave the house, so I had an opportunity to join the Scott's ride.

I rode down to the shop from our home and I took the long way, so the distance was 10 miles.

A about 30 of us headed north out of Salem toward Windsor Island Road. The pace was slow, perhaps due to the higher than normal temperature. But once we left the urban area, the pace picked up. Even though this ride would put me over 300 miles for the week, I intended to contest the Revina climb. I moved up in the group and the pace picked up, but I was not up to the task today. My heart rate entered the anaerobic zone, and I knew I had to slow down. In other words (Phil Ligget's?), I cracked.

I dropped off of the back, and recovered while I watched the group ride away from me. None the less, I caught the slower climber at the top of the hill and I was back with the pack.

Instead to turning back toward town, the group continued north and we had an opportunity to climb another short, steep hill. This time, there was no sprint to the base of the hill and I was managed to redeem my prior poor performance and finished in the top quarter of the group.

This did me in though, and I was pretty much done for the rest of the ride. I turned toward home and held a slower but still respectable speed home.

DST: 40.80 miles
AVG: 18.6 mph
Avg Heart Rate: 114 bpm
Max Heart Rate: 172 bpm
Avg Temp: 92° F

Posted 9:21 PM by John Henry

Wednesday Recovery Ride

After a very hard Tuesday night ride, I was ready for an easy recovery ride.

I met my wife at McKay Park with our tandem, only to find out that she intended to ride one of the steepest hills around - Hibbard. And, she intended to ride it twice!

Well, we took it easy out the way to the foothills, which was good, because my legs were complaining every time I tried to pick up the pace. "Hey, wait a minute. We worked hard yesterday and I really don't want to work today!" Part of following a smart training plan is knowing when to listen to you legs. I backed the pace off.

When we came to the Hibbard hill, I made sure I shifted into the inner chain ring early and we spun up the hill. Yes, we were last up the hill, but my legs were happy.

DST: 21.93 miles
AVG: 15.1 mph
Avg Heart Rate: 90 bpm

Posted 9:04 PM by John Henry

About Last Night's Ride

An email I received from the ride leader.

"Fellow riders,

I am appalled at the dangerous, unsportsmanlike and just plain
stupid riding I witnessed last night. I really have a difficult time
justifying the time and energy I put into promoting these rides if this
crap goes on week after week, and this is two weeks in a row now.

We try to provide a variety of routes, but starting in a very urban
area it is necessary to ride through congested or otherwise
undesirable routes on our way to open road. As I re-emphasize
every available opportunity, written and verbal, there are some
places where we need to ride with caution. This would include,
among others: heavy traffic, construction zones, traffic signals,
multi-use paths and especially the I-5 Boones Bridge shoulder.
Is it really too much to ask that we ride neutral in these areas?
DO YOU GUYS KNOW WHAT NEUTRAL MEANS??? It does
NOT mean you have a golden opportunity to hammer away in
front and drop your "competition". Do we need to have course
monitors waving yellow flags and disqualifying people? Aren't
you smart enough and/or good enough sportsmen to understand
that riding safe and watching out for your fellow riders is a tad
more important than average speed or who can open a gap?

Oh, you're all innocent and have no idea what I'm talking about?
I will remind you. Last week I was quite pleased with the group
riding on the Canby bike path -- courteous to other users, riders
communicating, aware of obstacles, etc. I was very displeased
with front riders sprinting off the ferry as if it were a time trial
starting ramp. There were dozens more trying to exit in an
orderly manner, which cannot be done at high speed or with
one's head down. Last night we had riders sprinting through yellow
lights, seemingly unconcerned about those delayed by red. Or
even worse, sprinting through the red light so as not to be dropped.
What really disgusted and enraged me though was the group ethic
on the freeway bridge. That bridge is a vital but unfortunate link in
many of our rides south of town. The shoulder is wide and safe, but
usually contains a lot of debris, and last night was worse than usual.
I have suggested, begged, cajoled, pleaded with anybody that will
listen that it would be safer, smarter and more sporting to SLOW
DOWN, SPREAD OUT and TAKE IT EASY on this short stretch.
But NO, everybody just loves the tailwind so the pack jambs through
the mine field at 30+ mph. Fine if you are in front, but think about
the poor bastards trying their best not to be dropped. I guess at 60
years old my reflexes are deteriorating, but NOBODY should have to
be dodging all those big unmoveable objects at high speed with huge
trucks speeding by in the next lane. Its just plain Dangerous. Slow
down and reduce the risk. We had two flat tires on the bridge last
night. Dozens of riders slowed abruptly, putting those behind them
in mortal danger. But instead of slowing down to see that everybody
was OK, the opportunistic accelerations just increased the risk for
everybody. Sprint so hard you can't see straight or get dropped and
ride by yourself the rest of the evening. THAT JUST PLAIN SUCKS!
Don't you give a damn whether everybody behind you is still able to
continue? Would you even notice if somebody crashed out? Even
if it was your stupid, careless riding that caused the mishap? Sure
looked doubtful to me. I didn't even stop, but just slowing for a few
seconds to ask if riders were ok was enough to get me shelled and
ruin my evening. WOULD IT BE ASKING TOO MUCH TO REGROUP?
I came away feeling that most of the riders cared about nobody except
themselves and that really pisses me off. I regret that my fostering of
fast rides and friendly competition has deteriorated to this. I do not
want to be associated in any way with this cutthroat attitude.

This is not a laughing matter. If you're unaware that this crap is going
on, that is even more scary. Pull your head out of your butt and know
what's going on behind you as well as in front. Do Tour de France riders
attack through the feed zones or when the yellow jersey stops for a pee?
Just today we saw Simoni attack AFTER Landis regained the peloton.
Sportsmanship. Heads up awareness. There are 150 riders in their
peloton, but they know what's happening. Can't we figure it out with
just a few dozen?

-- Del"

Posted 11:00 PM by John Henry

Tuesdays in Tualatin

For the last two months, I have been joining the Portland Wheelman Touring Club's Tuesday Night Ride which starts in Tualatin. This is on my way home from work so it is easy to me to attend. That, and my coach told me to ride with these guys as they are fast and they ride hills. Both are true.

The ride starts at 6:00, or at least he fast guys do. The slow guys start at 5:30 and the almost fast guys start at 5:45. This is the group I have been riding with, as the fast guys are really fast. But yesterday, the route was flat so I thought I would try my luck hanging on the back of the fast group.

We started promptly at 6:00 and headed south toward Willsonville. I was doing OK, until a traffic light broke me and three others off of the group. From that point on to Willsonville, we rode hard trying to bridge the gap. We did not work together, and the only reason we succeeded was the long traffic light at Willsonville Road allowed us to roll up to them as they waited for the light to turn.

So, as a large group, we headed up the freeway ramp to cross the Willamette River on Boone Bridge. Imagine if you will, thirty cyclists at thirty miles per hour on the narrow freeway shoulder of Boone Bridge when a tandem in the lead flats suddenly. It was not something that I would want to experience, that suddenly, the pack in front to me was braking hard. I had no choice but to do the same. Luckily, no one who dodged into the freeway traffic was hit or anyone went down. But, this did break up the pack again as the cyclists in front did not allow us in the rear to regroup. So, I was chasing the leaders again.

I never caught them, but I did pass one by one the cyclists who were tossed off of the back.

Stats:

DST: 40.32 miles
AVG: 19.3 mph

Posted 7:46 AM by John Henry

Oregon Ultimate Road Ride Report - Part One

I finished!

Joanne, Mark, his wife Mary Lou and I towed our travel trailer to Sisters, Or last Friday night where we stay at the Sisters Inn and RV Park.

Saturday morning, Mark and I were standing with 35 other cyclists awaiting the start of the 2006 Oregon Ultimate Road Ride. It was dark and cool - just below 50°. I felt good, but somewhat intimated by what I was about to do - 215 miles and four major climbs.

For breakfast, I consumed two bottles of Ensure and two Paley Bars. I was ready to ride.

Promptly at 5:00 am, we headed west toward the first climb of the day - McKenzie Pass at 5355 ft. We stayed together, with the exception of a few dropping back early. The pace was not great, but we did move along quickly. Once the incline steepened, I dropped off of the back as I did not want to expend the energy needed for me to stay with the group. Marked stayed with the group longer than I but he also dropped off. I obtained the summit with two other riders and I stopped to put on my heavy jacket as last year's finisher Jonathon Wolf warned me about how cold the first descent of the day would be.

On the descent, I caught Mark and we stayed in contact down to the first rest stop of the day.

DST: 41.31
AVG: 18.2
Food: One bottle of liquid food (2 scoops of Sustanined Energy and 1 scoop of Heed), one banana and one energy bar.


I took a quick rest stop, even if I dropped off my heavy jacket, long fingered gloves and tights. Mark and I left to do the next climb of the day - the Aufderheidie to Box Canyon.

When we reached the short climb up to Cougar Reservoir Dam, Mark rode away from me. He can always climb better then me, when he is feeling well. After the short climb, and while I was riding along the lake, I was caught by five cyclists, all from Spokane Wa. They were riding in a rotating echelon. I asked to join them and my pace picked up as a result. Soon, we caught Mark who joined us. Only the steeping incline broke us up as we climbed up toward Box Canyon. We came upon Gabe and I rode to the top of the hill with him. He seemed to be suffering, but was still climbing well.

DST: 72.45
AVG: 16.5
Food: One bottle of liquid food and one banana.

This was another quick rest stop, except for Mark. He began to suffer from an upset stomach and was resting in a chair. We had previouls agreed to ride our own rides, so I headed down the hill toward Westfir. The descent is steep and the road is rough. None the less, I let my speed get up to 42.5 before I began to brake. After the steep descent, the road was generally downward all of the way to the next rest stop at Westfir.

DST: 104.19
AVG: 17.8
Food: One bottle of liquid food, 2 oz of Hammer Gel, two small bagel turkey sandwiches.

Westfir was the lunch stop and I ate two small sandwiches. I was hungrey and they were easy to eat.

The first hundred miles went well for me. I did a less than six hour century and still had energy in my legs. Of course, the fact that I had lost over 2000 feet in elevation may have had something to do with my speed. None the less, I was feeling well and was eighth into Westfir.

Just as I was leaving Westfir, Mark came in.

Next come the toughest climb of the day - Willamette Pass. Thirty miles of pure suffering in the heat. To begin with is a tough short climb over the ridge to Oakridge. Then, I turned east onto Hwy 58 and the climbing soon began. I was riding alone. I could not see anyone in front of me, nor behind me. But that soon changed. Looking in my rear view mirror, I saw a cyclist coming up behind me and I thought I could hold him off. But it soon became apparent that he would catch me, and he did at the un-manned water stop half way up the climb. There I refilled my water bottles (one of liquid food and one of just plain water) and continued up the climb.

It was now the middle of the afternoon, and the heat of the day had arrived. In addition, my left food began to burn from a "hot spot". As I climb the hill, the pain increased, and I was being passed by other riders. In all, I was passed by seven others, the last one looked like he was suffering as bad as I was.

Just short of the summit, I could not stand the pain any longer and I stopped to masauge my foot. The eased the pain and I continued up to the rest stop at the top of Willamette Pass.

DST: 133.25
AVG: 15.3
Food: Two bottle of liquid food, 4 oz of Hammer Gel and one piece of jerky (for the salt). The jerky was the only solid food that now appealed to me.

To be continued....

Posted 9:28 PM by John Henry