Late Season Push

My goal every year is to ride 6000 miles. 6000 miles is a lot of miles, and a lot of things have to go right to be able to get that many miles in. Some of those things are under your control--fitness, discipline, dedication and consistency. Some are not like weather, health and work and life commitments. I've cleared 6000 miles 4 times before, one time ending the year at an incredible 7150 miles. Some years, I don't quite make it, finishing somewhere in the 5000's. Its not that 5500 miles is a bad year--its not. It is more than a lot of people ride. But I set the bar high at 6000 miles to give me self a goal for each year.

One of the hardest things about logging that many miles is being consistent. There comes a point, typically in late July or August when you are just a little burned out from riding. It is hard to find the time every weekend to go out and log 100+ miles. By this time, many of your other season goals have been accomplished, so it just gets hard to go sit on your bike for 5 or 6 hours. Its not that I don't enjoy it, but when you've been riding 800-900 miles a month for 4 months, you are just a little tired of it. So for me, I always seem to have this dip in my miles in late summer. And that makes it hard to get to 6000.

Weather and health are both big factors too. Catch a cold or the flu, it wipes out riding for a week. That happened to me twice this summer. I look back and wish I had those miles now. And in Wisconsin, there are months you simply cannot ride. Cold and snow don't make good riding conditions. I got one ride (10 miles) in during February, but otherwise we couldn't ride until mid-March. And typically in November, the weather deteriorates enough that riding just isn't pleasant. In 2008, I rode only 4 times after November 3rd.

That is where this year has been different. October was poor for riding, with the Appleton area receiving double its normal precipitation. But November has been fantastic. The daily highs have been around 50-55 degrees. Last weekend, both days were in the 60's. And for the most part, things have been dry. So you can get in a 50 or 60 mile ride on both days of the weekend without feeling like an icicle.

Warmer temperatures also mean warmer temperatures in the evening. Typically, it has been in the 40's during the evenings. If you have arm and leg warmers, full finger gloves and a cycling jacket, riding is very comfortable. I have set up the Serotta with two headlights and two taillights, so riding at night is no problem. I've got in about 7 additional rides I otherwise wouldn't have by riding after dark.

As of today, I sit at 5588 miles. Tomorrow (Sunday) I'll get about another 50. And then it will be up to the weather. If I can get a couple more decent weekends and fit in a few more rides at night, I'll be able to get close. The forecast for the next week calls for highs in the upper 40's to low 50's, so I am hoping that holds.

With a little luck, I'll sneak over 6000 before the weather forces me onto the CompuTrainer, because in my book, indoor miles don't count towards this goal.

Late Summer Riding

There isn't much left to summer. Some od the leaves have already started turning yellow this week. Weather-wise though it has been about one of the nicest weeks we have had all summer. Highs about 80 degrees and very little wind. I wish I could have got out more, but three days is all I have been able to get in this week.

Today was just perfect. 80 degrees and light winds. A few trees with leaves changing colors and a few crops still in the field with their leaves changing to yellow as well. A couple of photos from the camera phone.



This is on County Road MM Between County T and Steeple Hill Road looking Northwest. Note the horses in the field and the steeple of the church in Winchester in the background atop the ridge.




This is on County Road T just north of where you cross Highway 10. Its a little retention pong, but with some nice colors in the fields.

Sometimes Your Body Says Stop

And that's what mine did this weekend.

I've been battling a cold for a couple weeks. Nothing too bad, but its there. And you don't really feel like pressing it. I've followed the old rule, since its only in my head and not my chest, I've kept riding. I have better and worse days, but its hanging on and just won't go away.

When I woke up Saturday, I felt awful. I felt like I was breathing through a straw there was so much crud in my throat. Whatever I did, I couldn't clear up my sinuses. For whatever reason, I'd taken a turn for the worse. Riding Saturday was out. And I decided not to go to Marinette to do the Menominee River ride. I needed to rest and get better.

To me, its clear what my body was saying. I needed rest. I've put in a lot of miles the last 3 months. 2850 of them. And that was really starting from no on road riding (my winter work had been all CompuTrainer). I did the 200, 300 and 400 km brevets. I have 7 total rides over 100 miles. While I have accomplished a lot, I've probably pushed myself a little harder and further than what I could handle. My body needed a break, to get well and to offload some fatigue.

I felt better Sunday, but still didn't ride. Winds were crazy in Appleton, and I think I needed a couple days off.

Sometimes its easy to focus on ride, ride ride, train, train, train. Sometimes though, all you need is rest. And if you miss it, your body will let you know.

Why I do long rides?

This question always comes up. From people you know, from people who are cyclists, from those who aren't. Even from fellow randonneurs. Of all of the things to do on a Saturday or a Sunday afternoon, why are you out here doing this, riding your bike 100, 200 or more miles. What is it that motivates you to do these rides of distances that are seemingly beyond reach.

Its a question that comes up a lot. And on brevets, we typically spend some time talking about it. Everyone's reasons are a little different. I think it has to be that way, because to endure those miles, you have to be out there for your reasons, not someone else's. So after a lot of thought, here is my answer.


Its About the Experience
Two of the best experiences I have had on a bike are riding though Yellowstone and Grand Teton National parks. Too often today, people choose to treat life as a spectator sport and not something to participate in. Its easier to watch the ball game on TV than to get out, but the experience when getting on the road is so much more. Its the fresh air, the scenery, the back roads, the seeing a road as you have never seen it before. When you watch TV or a movie, you are watching someone else's interpretation of things, whatever it may be. When you are out on your bike, you are experiencing all of those things first hand.


Its About the Adventure
One of my riding mates on the 400 km (Joe) brought this up. There really aren't many ways to go on a 'big adventure' these days. A long ride is one way to break out of that every day routine, to go farther than you ever have and see things you never thought you could see, to be a participant and not just a spectator. Its the adventure of what will be around the next corner or at the top of the next hill. It goes along with that experience thing, to experience something that at least for you is a little bit epic.

Its About What I Can Accomplish
I will never wear the rainbow jersey of the road race world champion. I'll never wear the Yellow Jersey of the race leader of the Tour de France. I'll never solo to victory in Liege-Bastogne-Liege or any other spring classic. I just wasn't born with those genetics. And even if I was, I didn't take up cycling until too late, and I'm not willing to dedicate my entire life to road racing. I made other choices, and I'm happy with those choices.

But I can and have completed a 400 km brevet. I can, and next year plan to complete a 600 km ride and a full super randonneur series. If I so choose, I can complete Paris-Brest-Paris or another 1200 km ride. Are those difficult, aggressive goals? No doubt? But they are also all goals that I can complete, based solely on how hard I train and my willpower to overcome the obstacles I face. And as I complete each one, I know the accomplishment is all mine

Its About the People
This is the best reason. Randonneurs as a group are great people. All kinds of interesting life experiences. What is better than being able to spend a few hours with someone who shares an interest with you trading stories of things you have done. The events are long enough and we travel at an appropriate pace that conversation is encouraged. And that is a great way to pass a day.

It also is often said that randonneurs trade competition for the camaraderie of one another. This is very true. There is no bravado, no smugness of the fast guys. I'm sure there are some primadonnas out there some where, but by far the exception and not the rule. Every one out there is pulling for everyone else to finish and do well. There is just as much respect for the rider who finishes last as there is the rider who finishes first (many times more respect). It truly is everyone rooting for each other. And in today's self rewarding, me first world, that kind of community is hard to find.

Everyone has their reasons, but those are mine.

Crash!

I did the Chain Reaction Wednesday night group ride tonight, which has become a staple for me. Its good to do some group rides to push yourself a little, break up the boredom and practice group ride skills.

We did the Grand View loop tonight, which is the first time I've done this route with this group. Turnout was impressive with 55 total riders. In the "fun" group (the group that does 18-20 mph) we had about 30 riders or so. For the route, we go north on Meade, then west on Rock Road all the way out to Stephenville, south on 76 to work our way down to Grand View. On Grand View is the bigger hill on the ride. Not long, not terribly steep, but it does get the blood flowing when everyone is sprinting up it. From there, its Grand View to Greenwood to Quarry to Mayflower to Capitol to get back in. I think from the Chain Reaction shop its about 35 miles in total. Compared to the other ride this group does (the Swamp Ride), I think this one has a few more hills.

So we are headed down Capitol coming up on Meade getting ready to turn right and head back to the shop. We are riding in two lines, and I'm up front in the first row. Becky and I had even had a conversation earlier about how its safer to be up front on these things. So we are coming up to the intersection and to the left I see a rider on a road bike heading south on Meade. He's going at a good clip, probably about 22 mph as he is headed down the hill from where Meade passes over 41. I shout "Rider Left, stopping". I'm in the right hand line, but my partner up front, in the left hand line either didn't see the other rider or didn't hear me. So as I am clipping out and stopping, he turns right into me.

Boom!

We both go down.

Fortunately, neither of us were hurt. And no one else went down either. My foot was tangled up in his spokes and Niki had to lift up his bike and rotate it around to get me out. I have a sore elbow and I'm sure he has sme bumps and bruises too, but no road rash. Mostly I think it was pride that was hurt. On my bike I have a scratch on the pedal and lost a bar end. I think he'll need a new spoke, but we were both able to ride home.

I haven't went down in a long time, like 10 years. You never want to go down, but if you have to, its sure better to go down when you are almost stopped rather than at 30 mph. The most important thing is that no one was seriously hurt. No one was really hurt at all. Its good that neither bike was damaged or seemingly even scratched at all either--but even if so, bikes can be fixed, people not so much.

If you ride enough, at some point you are going to go down. While I wouldn't describe hitting the concrete tonight as gentle, I also realize that both of us are very lucky that its just a couple bumps. We both rode away, which is the best you can hope for.

Mackinaw Shoreline Century

I traveled up to Mackinaw City, MI this weekend to do the Mackinaw Shoreline Century. I used to do a lot of organized century rides, but not as much any more. Of course I do brevets, which consumes a number of weekends, and if I want to ride 100 miles, I just go do it. I guess at some point getting a t-shirt didn't hold the same appeal. But this one interested me because it would be a chance to go to Mackinaw, see the bridge, see the island and ride part of the Lake Michigan shoreline. So I was in.



The first thing I should say is that the ride is advertised as a century, but isn't a century. Its only 86 miles. I appreciate the Mackinaw chamber folks putting on the ride, but just say what it is, an 86 miler. Nothing wrong with that.

Anyway, the route goes generally south from Mackinaw City. Withing the first few miles you do get some nice views of Lake Michigan. Then the route continues south on what are generally roads through wooded areas. Traffic is very low until you get onto Pleasant View road, which did have more traffic and a crummy shoulder (in disrepair), so it wasn't too great to ride on. Anyway, you soon turn right to head back east. While the route is generally flat, you now have to climb over a couple of ridges to get back to the Lake Michigan shoreline. Nothing too serious, but there are some genuine hills.

Climbing the last ridge takes you past a golf course at a local country club, and then you drop down a wooded road and turn north. I think the road was Michigan 119, but now you are near the shoreline, and for the next 20-25 miles, you are either in a tree canopy of beautiful woods or have a view of Lake Michigan. This is definitely the highlight of the ride. Probably the best part was around mile 64 and the so called tunnel of trees. Just a fantastic forested area. I was told by the rest stop volunteers that this road is much more popular during summer, so if you go then, be aware of increased traffic.

The route then basically worked its way back to Mackinaw City. At this point, only having 86 miles, I still wanted over 100 for the day. So I continued on into the City and made my way to one of the terminals for a ferry to Mackinaw Island. On Mackinaw island, there are only 7 cars, all for official purposes (fire truck, ambulance, garbage truck, etc). So you wither get around by horse taxi or by bike.

Getting off the ferry at Mackinaw Island, it was a tourist zoo. Tourists were everywhere. And so were bikes that people could rent to ride around the island. Some companies rented mountain bikes, but must of them were cruiser type bikes. In any case, I was happy to have my own bike.

I did a loop around the outside of the island. This afforded excellent views of Mackinaw Bridge and the Mackinaw Straits. There were also several interesting rock formations. Getting back to the area where the ferries were, I then went up Turkey Hill so I could take the road that bisected the island. And this was a hill. Short, yes, but probably 10-12% grade. Ouch. After passing some houses were the few locals on the island live, I was in some pristine wooded country. I then came up to an area where the British and Americans fought a battle in the war of 1812. Soon, I was back at the north tip of the island (the island is only 3 miles long). So I reversed course and went back via the middle of the island. On my way back, I diverted off on a bike only trail to see Arches Rock, a natural arch formation looking out onto the waters of Lake Huron. Once again, leading up to his area was the most beautiful forest one could imagine riding too. At this point, I was finished, so I went back to the terminal, boarded the ferry and returned to Mackinaw City. I ended up with 105 miles for the day.



I stayed overnight on Saturday night, so Sunday morning I went out for a quick ride. I rode from Mackinaw City down Highway 23 to Cheboygan. Highway 23 had a sufficient shoulder and there wasn't much traffic on a Sunday morning, so it was a good ride. Looking at a map now, there are other roads in the area, but this route worked OK for me this morning.

One of the things I really liked about northern Michigan was how many of the wooded areas are still intact. Whether these were preserved from logging or replanted, I don't know. But it really made for a lot of pleasant areas to ride through.

So all in all, a good weekend of riding. It was nice to do a century ride again. No brevet card to keep track of, no time limit to worry about. And I could get off my bike after 100 miles. Bonus all the way around.

400 KM Brevet - Gear that I Took

Wearing
Short Sleeve Base Layer
Short Sleeve Jersey
Arm Warmers
Pearl Izumi Shorts
Leg Warmers
Wool Socks
Cycling Gloves
Headband

In my Seat Bag
Crank Brothers Multi Tool
Two spare Tubes
Park Tire Boots
Park Spoke Wrench
CO2 Inflator with 4 Co2 cartridges
FibreFix Replacement Spoke
Reflective Sam Brown Sash (used after dark as per RUSA rules)

In my Top Tube Bag
Brevet Card (most important thing--no credit without this)
Cliff Bar (my bonk rations - didn't end up eating it though)
Jelly Belly Performance Jelly Beans (ate these about mile 50)
Extra Chamois Cream (used about mile 140 to reapply)
Extra Socks in a ziplock bag (did not use as my booties kept my feet dry)
Hand Warmers (didn't need, but with the cool temps, glad I had)
Extra Batteries for Lights

In my Jersey Pockets
Cycling Jacket (used the last 150 miles when it started raining and cooling off)
Full finger gloves (used in the second half of the ride)
Third Extra Tub
Hand Pump
Two packs of Gu (not used, but I never use Gu unless I'm in real trouble)
Cell Phone
Money Clip
Keys

Attached to my Bike
Extra Tire
Pearl Izumi Rain Booties in a ziplock bag (used these from Mile 97 on)

Comments and Thoughts
One of the difficult things about long brevets is all of the things you have to carry. This means bulk and weight, no other way around it. You about have to have three tubes for the distance you are going. Same with a spare tire. Weather complicates things. We encountered rain, so carrying rain gear was a must. But even if there is no rain, you will most likely be going significant night riding. And it cools off at night. So you have to bring things like leg warmers and a jacket, because 50 degrees at night is not very warm.

I didn't do a minimalist packing, but I didn't go crazy either. As it turns out, I could have left the hand warmers and extra socks at the hotel. But if it would have rained more, I probably would have been very happy to have those. I did not have any flats or mechanicals either, so I had no need or any of my spares. But you have to carry that stuff. It was good to have both sets of gloves. I used the normal set for the first 100 miles so I didn't feel overheated, and then switched to the full finger gloves later. My jacket is one of the bulkier items I carry, but you have to have it.

Is there anything I wish I would have had? Not really. A GPS, so we wouldn't have missed those turns, but that is something you attach to your bike, not something you carry with you.

That is what worked for me. Lots of other people have their lists out there for what to carry on a long brevet, but for now, that is mine.

The Longest Day - GLR 400 km Brevet

On Saturday, June 6, I completed the GLR 400 km Brevet out of Delavan, WI. And for those of you that no your history, the title is not coincidental. I am fully aware that that Saturday was the 65th anniversary of the true longest day, D-DAY.

A ride of 400 km would be the longest ride I had ever done. Its 250 miles. I had done the 300 km brevet three weeks earlier, so i thought my fitness would be OK. But I knew those extra 60 miles would be hard. There would be more hills. The weather would play a factor as it always does. And there would be more night riding. A significant challenge for sure.

The weather. Always an issue on these things. Early in the week the forecast called for partly sunny and 67. By Friday, it had deteriorated to a high of 56 with a 70% chance of showers and thunderstorms. Still, I decided to go and persevere through.

We started out at 6:00 AM from the Super 8 in Delavan. Temperature was about 55 degrees and the sky was clear. There was a wind from the east of about 10 mph, and this was good since it would give us a tailwind on our first leg. There were 18 riders at the start. We quickly formed into different groups based on the speed everyone was comfortable with. I was in the second group, a group of 4. In front of us were two riders. We did ride with them for about the first 10 miles, but one of them had completed Race Across America, and it was clear that he was a different category of athlete. Still, our group of 4 settled in and we maintained a brisk pace of 20 mph on the first legs.

The first 150 km (97 miles) is the same route that is used for the 300 km. In fact, the first 100 km is the same route that is used for the 200 km, so we were all familiar with the roads and the controls. The rides to Edgerton and Verona were uneventful. Unlike the 300 km were we battled a headwind the whole way out and every mile was a struggle, the miles just clicked off. After Verona, we got into the hills west of Madison. Some of these are tough. On in particular I remember is probably only a quarter mile long, but pitches up to probably 15%. All you can do is work your way up them.

We arrived in Sauk City around noon, and took a little bit longer break to refuel. While we were stopped, the rain started drizzling, so we put on our rain gear before heading to Baraboo. The rout to Baraboo was tough. Very Hilly. At mile 112, there was a very difficult hill that was 2 - 2.5 miles long. It had three sections that pitched up around 12%. I think all of us were spent at the top of it. By this point, it had stopped raining, so some of the rain gear came off. However, i left my booties on because the temperature had dropped down to about 45 degrees, so it felt pretty cold. But the booties kept my feet warm.

The ride from Sauk City to Baraboo is very scenic. Wooded hillsides are the norm. In Baraboo, we had a sandwich at a Cousins subs that was attached to the convenience store that was a control. Coming out of Baraboo, a light, steady rain had started. It wasn't a deluge, but it made the roads slick and made things cold. We headed through Devils Lake State Park, which was the most beautiful part of the ride. Just terrific wooded country, From here, we took the ferry across the river at Merrimac and headed into Lodi, our net control.

In Lodi, we were greeted by our local RBA Jim Kreps. Its always good to see the RBA out on a ride checking up on how people are doing. However, Jim had bad news. There was a line of thunderstorms moving in expected to hit our area between 5:00 and 7:00 PM. But at this point, what were you going to do. All we could do was refuel and head out towards Columbus.

The stretch from Lodi to Columbus was mentally the most difficult one of the ride. We were now heading into that east wind across flat, boring farm fields. The wind was not as bad as the 300 km, but it was blowing pretty hard, around 15 mph. And we were all tired from having already rode 150 miles and climbing numerous hills. So our paceline was pretty ragged. We did take a couple of short stretch breaks just to get out of the wind. Finally, mercifully, Columbus appeared. We were now at about mile 174, so just 75 to go.

In Columbus, right across the street from the control was a Burger King. One thing that all of us noticed was how much we were eating during the ride. It was a lot. This was probably due not just to the riding but also to the cooler temperatures. Our bodies were having to burn more calories just to stay warm. A double cheeseburger was mighty appealing at this point. So all of us went over to Burger King for dinner. Yes, its not the healthiest food, but it probably was about 1000 calories. And after that, I didn't feel hungry or behind on my eating the rest of the ride. I needed a lot of calories and I got them.

The other good news in Columbus was there was still no rain. In fact, the clouds did not look as threatening and the roads were dry. By a stroke of luck, the rain held off, even clearing up a bit after dark so we could see the full moon. This was magnificent news. Riding in the dark is hard enough. Riding when it is also raining, yuck.

We headed out towards Lake Mills, thankfully heading south so the wind was not nearly as much of a factor. Sunset came and we turned on our lights and donned our reflective gear. Riding to Lake Mills was for the most part uneventful. But in town, we did miss a turn and ended up wandering around a bit until we figured out where we went wrong. We backtracked, found our turn and found our control. At this point, everyone was tired.

The route then took us south through Fort Atkinson, where we missed another turn and had to backtrack some again. And then south some more to Whitewater. We wandered around a bit in the dark and finally found the control. This was nice because they had an indoor seating area, so we took a bit of a break here. And we were only 20 miles from Delavan.

One of the amazing things about these rides is people see you and they ask you where you are going. And then you tell them you are riding 250 miles in a day and they just can't believe it. This happened to us in Whitewater. I think the two girls working at the Citgo thought we were nuts (and they may have been right).

About 10 miles after Whitewater, I was feeling pretty low. My energy just felt very low and I was very tired from riding all day. I had a bag ok Skittles with me and I ate those, and immediately I felt better. I didn't have legs to spring up hills, but I just felt better. Unfortunately, about 8 miles out of Delavan, we made another navigational blunder in the dark. We missed a turn and went about 4 miles past it until we realized we were going the wrong way. So we backtracked, sound the right road, and started heading into Delavan. When we got to Delavan, everything was so quiet. The Wendy's and Perkins across from the Super 8 were closed. And I was never so happy to see a Super 8 sign in my life. At 2:53 AM Sunday morning, we had finished.

We signed our brevet cars and left them at the front desk. We congratulated each other and then proceeded with the business of getting some rest. I went up to my room, took a quick shower and went right to bed. It had been a long day, and I was ready to rest.

With our navigational errors, we accumulated quite a few 'bonus' miles. At the end, my computer read 261.75 miles. Wow. What a total. That is better than I do most weeks. Our ride time was 16:32, for an average of 15.8 mph. I think that is actually pretty good considering the distance and terrain. Our total time was 20 hours 53 minutes. We probably could have improved here. But what the heck, we finished. We were the second group in. What more can you say.

I'll right some more posts about my experiences. A ride this long deserves more than one post.

Riding to Ripon

I set out today to do a long ride ahead of next weeks 400 km Brevet. Not so much for the physical training as for more mental preparation. I chose to head southwest to the small town of Ripon, WI. I had originally planned to do a loop, but I didn't get going until about 11:30 AM, so I just did an out and back. Still, I got in 111 miles.

The town of Ripon is interesting for a number of reasons. First, its home to Ripon College. For students who agree not to bring a car to campus, the College will give that student a brand new mountain bike. I think this is great. We need more progressive thinking like this so people realize that firing up a car isn't the only way to get somewhere. If we are ever to solve our environmental problems and break our dependency on foreign oil, its going to take more forward thinking like this. Secondly, Ripon is where the Republican Party was founded way back in 1854. So a little history for you, how about that.

It was another windy day in Appleton. The wind was blowing anywhere from 16-22 mph, first out of the west and then out of the Northwest. It was almost as bad as a couple weeks ago on the 300 km brevet. And since it shifted to the northwest, I did have a headwind coming back as well. What helped though is that when I would turn south on the way out or east on the way back, I would get a break from the wind, and that was nice.

My route was pretty basic. I road from Appleton to Neenah using Lake Road. Then in Neenah, I use Park Road to get to the south end of Neenah. Here, you jump on County G headed due west an take this all the way out to County M where you are just north of Winneconne. I filled water bottles in Winneconne and then started a zig-zag route heading southwest. First it was Quigley Road, and then O'Reilly Road. Liberty School Road, Poygan Avenue and Edgewater Ridge Road get you to County Road K headed due south. This takes you into a small town called Eureka. Note, I did not see any convenience stores here, just a couple bars, so be sure to refuel in Winneconne, because there is nothing in Eureka. From here you get on County E headed south and that takes you all the way into Ripon.

I had a sandwich at The Sub Shop right in downtown Ripon. The sub was excellent, and not just because I was hungry. They have a great selection of sandwiches, so if you are in Ripon, be sure to stop by. Then headed over to the little school house where the Republican Party was founded. Apparently the restoration was funded by the town and the chamber of commerce. I snapped a few pictures outside and poked my head in. Unlike the political machinery of today, its just a simple one room schoolhouse that long ago hosted a very important meeting. Finally, I road over to the college campus to look around, refueled at the local BP and then started the trip home via the same roads described above.

It was a long day on the bike, but it should be good preparation for next week. I should be prepared to mentally battle through some wind. And I've now done two 100 mile plus rides since the 300 km, so my training should be sufficient.

I did snap a few pictures today. I was a bit of a tourist. But that is OK. I don't always have to be a randonneur minimizing my time at the stops. Sometimes, I go out and ride and just see something I want to take a picture of. That was today.

"The wind was baaaaaaah-d today"


The school house in Ripon where the Republican Party was founded.

Some of the scenery along the ride. Nice green Wisconsin hills.

Great Lakes Randonneurs 300 km ACP Brevet Ride Report

The Great Lakes Randonneurs held their 300 km ACP brevet n Saturday, May 16. This is the second brevet of the season in the and of the super randonneur series (200 km, 300 km, 400 km and 600 km. In mileage, a 300 km brevet is about 190 miles, so it is roughly equivalent to riding a double century. I have done 3 double centuries before Seattle to Portland in 2003, 2004 and 2005) plus a 300 km with the DC Randonneurs in 2006. So completing this ride would rank as one of the longest rides I have ever done.

A ride of this length is always very difficult. The amount of miles on the bike and the time you will be on the bike make it so. But Saturday's ride was made even more difficult by a 20 - 25 mile an hour wind blowing out of the Northwest. The route was an out and back, starting in Delevan, WI going to Sauk City, WI, meaning all the way to the turn around, we were going northwest, right into the teeth of the wind. Put another way, we had a headwind of 20+ mph for the first 97 miles of the ride.

It would be hard to understate the ferocity of the wind on Saturday. Since a lot of the terrain is farm country, there was nowhere to hide. You were always in it. Drafting was of little use because the wind was so strong, it just cut right through whoever was in front and affected everyone in the back just the same. And the wind never let up. It blew just as hard all day until about 8:00 PM, when we were well on our way back. During much of the ride on the "out" leg, speeds were between 11 - 13 mph. And this was actually pretty good.

One of the hardest things about riding in wind is that it never goes away. Even on a tough climb, you eventually summit the climb and get a little bit of a recovery/reward on the downhill. A headwind just keeps battering you, every minute of every mile and never goes away. It wears you down mentally as well as physically. And since this was essentially an out and back ride, we hhad to just keep going into the wind the whole first half, with not even a mile of releif. On Saturday, the last 5 miles into Verona seemed like they would never end. It was just more and more wind, and Verona just wouldn't seem to show up on the horizon.

After getting into Verona, you wind Northwest through the hills west of Madison and up to Sauk City. There are quite a few good hills in this area. The longest hill is probably a little over a mile long, but some of them are steep. And you have to navigate them twice, because you come back on this same road. These were tough, but you just work your way through them. One nice thing is that this area is a little bit more wooded, so it is more scenic. But the most scenic place of all was the turnaround in Sauk City. Now we would finally get a tailwind.

The effect of the tailwind was not immediate as we still had to go through the hills between Sauk City and Verona. And these were not easy after 100 miles of hard riding. But after Verona, the tailwind started to make a difference. Now our speeds were up to 20 mph, sometimes even 25 mph. Even with tired legs only able to put moderate pressure on the pedals, we could keep our speed up. The miles flew by, and this was good news since it would be dark soon.

We made a minimalist stop at the control in Edgerton and then tackled the last 31 miles. It would be dark soon, so we put on our reflective gear and turned on our lights. I had been riding with another rider from Madison most of the day, but now we joined up with a group of 4 that had been ahead of us, that included at least a couple riders from the Wausau Wheelers. The last wisps of daylight slipped away and we rode the last 15 miles or so back to Delavan in the dark. We were slowed by a rider with a flat about 12 miles out of Delavan, but otherwise, the the ride back in was quiet and peaceful. We arrived in Delavan at 9:35 PM for a total ride time of 14 hours, 35 minutes.

Overall, it was a very difficult day. The wind was absolutely brutal. A 300 km is hard wnough without a wind like that, but with it, there isn't much fun. Everyone I talked to at the end admitted to having thoughts about quitting because of the wind, just turning around and going back to Delavan. But in the end, you find a way to get through. And at times yesterday, that's all I was doing, was getting through. But in the end, that was enough.

The riders from the Wausau Wheelers wook some pictures, and I'll post those when they send them to me.

Hotfoot Part Two - Meeting with Dr. Tougas

The following blog post is not intended to constitute medical advice. It is simply a recounting of what I have went through with my hotfoot problem, what I tried to do to fix it and my experience working with a podiatrist. If anything, I would tell you to see a qualified medical professional sooner, not later if you have hotfoot or any other sports related ailment.

In March of 2009, I resolved to find a way, any way to get my hotfoot problem resolved. First of all, I had resolved to do Ride Across Indiana in July 2009, and I didn’t want to deal with a painful foot for a 160 mile ride. But more immediately, while for the last 3 years I had been able to put up with the pain and ride through it, my foot was now worse than ever. It hurt on days I rode or days that I didn’t. Every long ride was a new experience in suffering. It was clear, find a solution to the problem or stop biking. Completely.

In my last post, I talked about my experience with an Orthopedist in Richmond, VA. In the end, this wasn’t very fruitful. I still had the same problem, maybe a little better, but really the same problem. I think one of the things I did wrong was that I only went once. When the problem didn’t get better, I should have went back for another appointment and further examination. But one thing I have learned since is that I don’t think my examination and diagnosis 3 years ago in Richmond was very thorough. And that probably contributed to not getting the problem resolved then.

I needed a foot specialist, so I started looking for a podiatrist that specialized in sports medicine. Someone who specialized in cycling would be even better. I needed someone who wasn’t going just to examine me for 3 minutes, but someone who really understood what I was going through and could work with me to find a solution. Upon researching different podiatrists in the Appleton area, I found Dr. Tim Tougas at Northeast Appleton Foot and Ankle. Dr. Tougas is a board certified podiatrist with experience in sports related injuries. And he is a road cyclist. Jackpot.

I made an appointment and gave the receptionist the details of my condition. I also told her that was a cyclist that liked to ride 150-200 miles a week, and that was probably the primary cause. My appointment was on a Monday, and before I headed over, I put all the different cycling shoes in a bag with all the different insoles so I could explain everything that had happened. This time I was serious. I didn’t want a five minute examination, I wanted to get to the bottom of this.

I met Dr. Tougas and explained the whole history of the problem. I showed him all the shoes and all the things that had been tried. He put me into a chair and examined my feet, especially my right foot. He was able to put pressure right on the spots that were causing the pain. Dr. Tougas explained the problem I had was that the nerves between my big toe and second toe and the nerves between my third and fourth toe were inflamed, and this was causing the pain (he did not use the word Neuroma, but I think that is the medical term). The root cause of this was that the nerves were rubbing up against the bone, irritating the nerves, causing the inflammation and then the subsequent pain. He did an excellent job explaining all of this with the use of a diagram of the foot in the exam room.

The fix was simple. I needed a pad in my shoe to get that bone away from the nerve it was irritating. You often hear about the need to spread out the toes, as this will increase the blood flow and help hot foot issues. My issue was to get that bone away from the nerve it was irritating. Dr. Tougas marked the area on my foot with the worst pain with a magic marker, and transferred this location to one of my insoles. He then placed a foam pad on the insole and cut it to the appropriate size. He said this would result in immediate relief of a lot of the problem, because I wouldn’t be further irritating the nerve. He also said though, that once irritated, the nerves tend to take a long time to calm down, so it would be a couple-three months before I was fully recovered.

Overall, I was very impressed. Dr. Tougas spent probably 30 minutes with me. E asked about the type of riding I did and we talked about cycling. He quickly identified the problem and explained to me exactly what was going on and how we were going to fix it. He said we had the option of a cortisone shot as a short term fix, but it was really more important to treat the cause. I appreciated all of his information because I felt like I could be a partner in my treatment and recovery. And knowing what we were doing and why we were doing it, I could give him better information at my next appointment for how my foot was progressing.

Still though, I was a little skeptical. I don’t think that had anything to do with Dr. Tougas, but more with the fact that I had been going through this problem for three years. Could it be as simple as a foam pad placed in the right spot? I had had a few times where I would have some improvement only to regress again. So I really didn’t know what to expect. But that Monday I had my bike and I was determined to try it out. So even though it was only about 40 degrees, I went and did a 23 mile ride.

I was shocked. For the first time in 3 years, there was no pain. There was some discomfort because the foam pad felt a little high in my shoe (but he had told me this would probably be this way for a couple rides) but overall, for the first time in a long time, my foot felt normal. I rode a few more times that week, including a 90 mile ride around Lake Winnebago. Amazingly, I would say about 80% of my problem was solved. On the 90 mile ride, I had some numbness around mile 72, but this was a long way into the ride, and plus, Dr. Tougas said all this wasn’t going to go away overnight. But the improvement was remarkable.

The only downside of the foam pad is that it was not durable enough. Over three week and almost 600 miles, I wore the pad down to where it was providing less and less relief. I was still better than before, but I would say at the end of the three weeks, we were probably at a 60% solution. But overall, this was a very important step. We now knew we were working on the right problem. And we knew the solution. Get a pad in the right place to keep the nerve from getting irritated. Now it was just a matter of getting the pad to be durable enough so it wouldn’t wear out every three weeks.

I am planning at least one more blog post to cover what we have done from this point forward. But at this time, I want to stress, if you have a hotfoot problem, make an appointment with a podiatrist who specializes in sports medicine. Don’t let the problem go on and on like I did. In my case, I started getting relief the same day. Your case may be different, but a podiatrist is trained to understand how the foot works, and rather than you fiddling with shoes and cleats to fix the problem, they can tell you exactly what is going on, what is causing it and design a plan to address it. One of my major regrets is that I could have had my problem fixed 2 years ago if I would have been more proactive in going to a podiatrist.

When you go to your podiatrist, bring your cycling shoes. Be prepared to discuss how much riding you do and what type. This can help them to understand the cause of the problem. Ask lots of questions. Understand what is the cause of the problem and how they are planning to treat it. This may involve a pad in the shoe or custom insoles or orthotics. But you are the only one who knows how your feet feel. Knowing what you are trying can help you give the best feedback to your doctor so they can get you feeling better in the shortest time possible.

In part 3, I’ll talk about a more durable metatarsal pad and the decision to purchase orthotics.

Issues with Hotfoot

I have had hotfoot problems for three years now. It has been a painful and frustrating experience that has threatened to stop me from cycling all together. After working with a local podiatrist who is also a road cyclist, it appears we are finally close to solving the problem. If so, it will be the first time in 3 years I have rode without pain. I am going to write a series of blog posts on my experiences, what I tried to fix the problem, what didn’t work and what I wish I would have done long ago. These posts are not in any way meant to be taken as medical advice, but rather to share my experiences so others that have a similar problem can ask the right questions and get their problem taken care of in a much shorter period of time.

What is Hotfoot?

Hotfoot is a painful condition in one or both feet that some cyclists have. It is often characterized by a painful burning sensation in the ball of the foot area. I also experienced numbness and then outright pain in the ball of foot area. The pain was so bad sometimes that I thought I may have a fracture in my foot. It would be very painful to even press down on the pedals. Often times after I rode, I would have a “pins and needles” sensation in the ball of my foot. I could have numbness for the rest of the day and into the next day. Sometimes when I woke up at night, I would have a painful tingling in the forefoot area.

In the beginning, this pain was mostly just when I rode, but the problems I was having quickly started affecting me off the bike as well. My right foot would hurt to be in any shoes at all, so when I got to work, I would take off my shoes and walk around in socks. Just sitting in a car or at a desk the tingling or pins and needles feeling could start. But on the bike was the worst. The pain would start after riding about 30 minutes and then only get worse. I would loosen the Velcro straps on my cycling shoes which helped a little, but mostly it was just suffering through the miles.

How did all of this start?

My problems started around April 2006. My cycling shoes at the time had worn out, and I purchased a new pair. Its probable that the new cycling shoes contributed to the hotfoot problem. If that contribution was 10% or 90%, it is hard to know. It is very possible something was amiss anyway, and the new shoes magnified an existing problem.

My first thought was that I had a problem with my cleats. I use Look-ARC cleats, so surface area was not an issue (some riders say with smaller cleats, the force of pedaling becomes more concentrated and leads to hotfoot issues). So I moved the cleats back as far as they would go, but this did not help.

My next thought was to simply change shoes. Going back to the original shoes was not an option because they were totally worn out. So I got a third pair of shoes. The third pair of shoes I purposely bought a little bigger to give my foot some more room to breathe. I was also concerned that in the summer months in Richmond, VA, your feet may swell because of the hot weather, and larger shoes would help this. These provided some relief for about a week, but then the problem was back, just as bad as ever.

Throughout this entire time, I had been taking over the counter painkillers such as Advil to try to help the pain. I thought Advil being an anti-inflammatory would help, but it was of no help at all. The painkillers literally had no effect on the pain, either on or off the bike. I could take 6 Advil and it was zero effect.

Enter the Orthopedist

At this point, I went to my physician. They X-rayed my foot to make sure it wasn’t broken. It wasn’t, it just felt like it. My physician referred me to an orthopedist in the Richmond area. The orthopedist examined my foot and said my issue was purely a mechanical one, that I needed a pad placed directly behind the ball of my foot to spread the toes out and increase blood flow, and that would solve the numbness issue. He gave me two pads in from Hapad to put in my cycling shoes and instructed me in how to placed them. He suggested first taping the pads in place and attempting some rides with them before peeling off the backing and attaching them to the insoles with the permanent adhesive.

I was relieved this was just a mechanical issue and it could be fixed with inserts. I placed the metatarsal pads as instructed by the Orthopedists and went on a couple rides. They did help the hotfoot problem, but they were very uncomfortable. They meta tarsal pads he gave me fit under the arch of the foot, a very tender and soft area. They were also large, probably about 3/8” high. So while they spread the toes out, I had a feeling of something pressing into the arch of my foot, which was painful as well. Now when I got off the bike, instead of a numbness, I had this achy feeling all through my foot from this foreign object pressing into my foot in all the wrong places.

The Orthopedists had also told me about a company called e-Soles. They use a computer to scan the bottom of your foot and make an insole custom for you. He said people looking for a more permanent solution often had better luck with the e-Soles than the metatarsal pads. The cost for the e-Soles was $200, but at this point, I just wanted some relief. So I called up the local Richmond rep and scheduled an appointment. They scanned my feet, though they had a lot of problems with my right foot, which was the foot that really was bothering me. After about two weeks, I received the e-Soles in the mail. They did have a metatarsal pad on them to help spread out the toes. However, since it was integrated into the insole there wasn’t anything to push up into my foot. So that was an improvement.

The e-Soles were comfortable to ride in, but they really only helped the hotfoot problem a little bit. They did completely solve the problems I was having in my left foot. But my right foot was still problematic. I think e-Soles are good insoles. I just think my right foot is screwed up so much, that I needed something more.

But It Continues...

At this point, I didn’t really address the hotfoot issue much more. I just sucked it up and kept riding. Amazingly, with all these problems, I rode 7150 miles in 2006 and 6033 miles in 2007. All of them hurting. One thing I could tell l is that I could vary my position on the e-Soles insert, and sometimes the pain would be less. But this was often not repeatable. Part of the frustrating thing during 2006 and 2007 was that sometimes the problem would be a little better, and I would think I hit on something, then only to get worse again. I should have went back to the orthopedist, but didn’t. I just kept riding through the pain, I guess deciding this was the way it would be.

In the spring of 2008 I tried to fix the problem was purchasing a pair of Shimano cycling shoes with carbon soles. These would be very stiff, and the hope was this would better distribute the pressure over my entire foot, not just in one spot. Initially, these seemed to help a little. But as always, then the problem came back in my right foot, as bad as ever.

I moved to Appleton in June 2008, and in the winter of 2008, I started riding the CompuTrainer at the Recyclist. Recyclist is a Specialized dealer with their Body Geometry line of shoes and clothing. At one point in February, we tried a pair of Specialized shoes with the various different Body Geometry insoles to see if that helped the problem. What was nice is we could put in new insoles and I could ride the CompuTrainer for an hour. If it felt worse, I could make a change right away. I liked the Specialized shoes. They had a nice roomy toe box that felt very comfortable, so I bought a pair of those. The insoles with the largest metatarsal pad seemed to work a little better, but there was still no real relief.

So after almost three years, 4 different pairs of shoes, several different insoles, multiple adjustments of cleats and a trip to an orthopedist, I was still nowhere. In fact, in early March of 2009, my problem was worse than ever. My right foot burned in pain every day. I literally would only where shoes to go from the indoors to the car. I had to do something. This is when I found Northeast Wisconsin Foot and Ankle Associates and Dr. Tim Tougas, a Podiatrist here in Appleton and a road cyclists. So I made an appointment. My experiences with Dr. Tougas will be the subject of my next post, and what is hopefully the solution to this problem.

Spring is Arriving

A very quick post tonight, but spring is really here. In the last week, all of the trees have started to get leaves so now we have some green to look at and not just brown.

On Sunday, I did an 81 mile ride up around the Shiocton/Navarino area. This area is especially nice as the Wolf River flows through it and more of the area is wooded. I didn't go all the way over to Clintonville, but while on Highway 156, i did take the following picture of the Wolf River

What is Randonneuring?

I am a Randonneur. But when I say that to people, even fellow cyclists, few know what I mean. So I'm going to take a post to describe what randonneuring is.

In a nutshell, randonneuring is long distance, unsupported cycling. Randonneuring events are called brevets. Typical lengths for brevets are 200 km (124 miles), 300 km (186 miles), 400 km (248 miles) and 600 km (373 miles). There are also 1200 km brevets (750 miles), this most famous being Paris - Brest - Paris.

On a typical charity/century ride, you have support in the form of rest areas every 10-20 miles and a sag wagon that will help you fix your bike or transport you back to the finish if your car breaks down. Randonnneuring events are unsupported. There are no organized rest areas to stop at. You may stop at any stores or restaurants along the route and acquire additional food, water or supplies, but there will be no tent full of volunteers waiting for you with snacks prepared. There is also no SAG wagon. If your bike breaks down, you need to fix it. For this reason, randonneurs tend to favor more durable equipment over lightweight equipment. Randonneurs also tend to carry more spares with them than the normal rider. It is not uncommon to carry 3 or more tubes, a spare tire and a fiber spoke. I have even heard of randonneurs carrying a spare brake cable. Finally, personal support vehicles are not allowed. That is, you can't have your significant other or friend follow you along the course in their car with spare parts and food. The idea is to complete the course using your own ability.

At the beginning of each ride, each rider is issued a brevet card. Randonneuring events will usually have several controls along the way, and at each control the rider must have his or her brevet card signed with the time the rider arrived at the control. The brevet cards and controls serve to make sure that the rider actually completes the course specified, and does not 'short cut' any distance off of the course. They also serve to make sure the rider completes the course in the time allotted (more on that below). Controls are typically at a convenience store, which is useful so you can replenish your water bottles and fuel supply while at the control. There can be controls though which are not manned by a person. Typically these will have the rider note their time and answer a question about the spot, like some text on a historical marker.

Randonneuring events do have time limits in which they must be completed in. A 200 km brevet must be completed in 13.5 hours, a 300 km brevet in 20 hours and so on. Given, these time limits do not require one to go exceptionally fast. However, that time is total time, not 'on the bike' time, meaning the clock is always ticking. If you stop for lunch, the clock is still ticking. If you have to stop to fix a flat or mechanical, the clock still runs. So it is not so important to be fast, but to make consistent progress. As indicated above, not just the whole event has a time limit, but each control has a time limit as well. For example, if a control was located at 50 km of a 200 km brevet, a rider would have to pass this control by 3 hours and 22 minutes into the ride.

A typical charity or century ride will be a marked course, with arrows or signs along the route to guide riders on the right path. Randonneuring events are almost always unmarked. That is, before the ride, you receive a cue sheet (example here) with the course and turns on it, and you are responsible for navigating the course. The directions are almost always of very high quality, like "At 15.5 miles, turn left onto School Road". But it is important to pay attention to your computer and your cue sheet to know where you are at all times and if a turn is coming up. If you do miss a turn, you have to back track and rejoin the course at the point you left.

Randonneuring events are typically held over challenging terrain. Perhaps not mountainous terrain, but usually hilly terrain. Paris-Brest-Paris averages about 4000 feet of climbing per 200 km, so most brevets try to mimic this. Obviously in some parts of the country, that is more difficult. But a typical brevet will generally be much hillier than a normal century ride. So once again, while 13.5 hours seems like a lot of time to complete a 200 km brevet, a factor that slows you down is that there will be more climbing, so you are not averaging 20 mph.

The final difference I'll talk about between a typical century event and a brevet is the number of participants. Century rids usually have hundreds, sometimes thousands of participants. It is very often possible to get into a group of riders and draft for a lot of the miles on the ride. A typical brevet will have 30-60 riders. And it seems everyone tends to spread out after about the first 20 miles or so. Usually people do buddy up into groups of 2-4, but rather than drafting, because of the distance of the rides, you are typically riding side by side having a conversation to help pass the miles. I won't say drafting doesn't occur on brevets--it does, but it is not nearly as frequent as a century ride or club ride. Again, this is a reason that an average speed on a brevet tends to be a little bit lower.

There are other factors that come into play on brevets 300 km or longer, like weather and riding at night. But this post is really meant to give everyone an idea of what a brevet is all about, and most people start off by doing a 200 km or several 200 km rides before moving up to the longer distances.

All in all, if you have ever gone out and done a long ride between 80-100 miles either solo or with a small group, that is what a brevet is like. When you go out on your own, you are planning out a route, stopping at stores rather than rest areas for replenishment and there is no sag wagon following you. Probably the most important skills are aerobic endurance (obviously) and persistence. You don't really have to be fast, just keep going and making steady progress. And you have to be comfortable being on your bike all day.

Randonneuring Resources and Information

• Randonneurs USA (Body in the US that sanctions Randonneuring events)
• Great Lakes Randonneurs (holds their brevets in Delavan, WI, about 2 1/2 hours from Appleton)
• What to Expect on Your First PA Brevet (From Tom Rosenbaur of PA Randonneurs, where I did my first brevet--very useful summary)
• Intro to Randonneuring (From the group out of Rochester, MN)
  

New Bike - Specialized Tarmac Elite

By riding the most miles this winter on the CompuTrainer at the Recyclist, I won the competition for a new Specialized road bike. I did something a little different on the components than is normal, so it took a little bit for everything to come in. But now its here and ready to ride.



The specifics are

• Specialized Tarmac Elite full carbon frame
• Campagnolo Centaur 10 speed derailleur
• SRAM Rival 180 mm compact crank set
• Centaur carbon shifters and brake levers
• Velocity hubs and deep V rims

It looks great. The blue Velocity rims really set off the blue in the bike. I rode it a little yesterday, had some adjustments made, and rode it again today. It rides great.

So now I have 2 high end road bikes to choose from when I ride. (The other being my Serotta)

Wheel Choices

After the Chain Reaction Cycles group ride last Wednesday, there was another rider extolling the virtues of his Rolf Prima wheelset. Super fast he said, like you are riding on rails. To him, they were the best wheels available. He really didn't want to ride anything else.

I'm sure they are fast, but I asked him:

What happens when you break a spoke?

He claimed that would never happen. He said the bladed spokes were so strong that they were almost unbreakable. Well, it does happen. I have a set of Rolf Vector Pros from about 10 years ago, and I have broken spokes on them. One of the issues with Rolfs (or most any "Aero" wheel set) is that one of the ways they achieve more aerodynamics is by reducing the spoke count. Many of these wheels have only 16-18 spokes. While that is good for aerodynamics, if one of the spokes does break, the wheel will be way out of true. On my 32 spoke wheels, I've broken spokes, and the wheel goes out of true. However, I can just open up the brake and ride home. On a reduced spoke count wheel, breaking a spoke often results in the wheel being so far out of true that is will rub on the frame or fork. And then you get to call your family and friends on your cell phone to beg one of them to come get you.

Another thing to realize about wheels that each spoke is under a certain amount of tension. This is what keeps the wheel in true. If you have fewer spokes, each spoke has to bear more of this tension. You don't need an engineering degree (though I have one) to figure out that as each spoke is under more tension, it is more susceptible to some sort of failure. The more tension a spoke is under, the more sensitive it is going to be to any external trauma. True, bladed spokes are thicker than a conventional spoke, but at the bend where the spoke threads into the wheel, they are not. And at this bend is the weakest point of the spoke anyway. So if there is some sort of external stress to the wheel (like hitting a pothole or some rough road) you have two things working against you now. First, all of this stress is going to be absorbed by just a couple of spokes, rather than 6-8 on a conventional wheel and two, these spokes are already under significant tension. There is nowhere else for the additional tension to go, so often times, it results in a spoke failing.

During the GLR 200 km brevet I did on Saturday, I hit a bad pothole while riding in the rain (I never saw it due to how hard it was raining). As it turns out, it did pinch flat my front wheel. But otherwise, my wheel remained true and no spokes broke. The wheel was able to absorb and dissipate all of the impact of hitting that pothole, and I was able to continue the ride and finish. I have no doubt that if I would have hit that same pothole with a reduced spoke wheel, I would have broke a spoke.

There are places for reduced spoke count wheels. They are fast and aerodynamic no doubt. If you are racing, doing time trials or triathlons then maybe they are the right wheels for you.

But at the same time, we also have this mentality in cycling that lighter and faster is always better. Remember that lighter and faster often come at the expense of durability. Pro riders (who endorse all of these things) don't care about durability because they have a team car loaded with spares following them around on every single ride that they do. For the rest of us, durability takes on much more importance. None of us want to be sitting beside the road waiting for a friend to show up because our equipment has failed us. For me, that means riding conventional 32 spokes wheels that are built for strength and reliability. And even if I do break a spoke, I know that I can get home.

The reader can draw their own conclusions about what wheel set is right for them. And the "right" wheel set may even vary by ride. For the types of rides I do, durability rates first on my list.

Great Lakes Randonneurs 200 km ACP Brevet Ride Report

I completed the GLR 200 km brevet today in Delavan, WI. It proved once again that there is no such thing as an easy brevet, no matter what the course profile looks like. The weather forecast for Saturday had been steadily deteriorating through the week. At one time the forecast was saying 78 degrees and a slight chance of rain. But this later changed to a 70% chance of rain with a high only in the 60's. Unfortunately, the later forecasts proved to be correct.

Turnout was good with about 65 riders. We rolled out of the Super 8 in Delavan at 7:00 AM. Temperature at the start was about 65 degrees. I started out in arm warmers, no leg warmers. But I did bring the leg warmers along with a rain jacket of course. Within 2 miles it had started raining. A drizzle at first, then harder, then back to a drizzle. It only kept up for a couple of miles, so I didn't bother to put my rain jacket on, but it did manage to get all the roads wet, making things messy and more hazardous.

The ride from Delevan to Edgerton was mostly uneventful. There was a strong wind out the south, so most of the time it was a crosswind, but sometimes a tail wind. Ahead though, we could see ominous signs though--darker and darker gray clouds that we were headed right for. We got to Edgerton and stopped at the Shell station, which was the control. Getting brevet cards signed and more Gatorade only took about 10 minutes.

In those 10 minutes though, there was a marked changed in the sky. It was darker than ever, with the wind blowing harder, looking like a storm was imminent. And sure enough, half a mile out of Edgerton, the rain started. And hard. Now the rain jacket got put on. The rain was coming down at steady hard pace making sunglasses worthless. And it was hard enough that you had difficulty seeing the markings on the road.

Of more importance, you also had difficulty seeing bad patches of road because the rain was coming down so hard. And at about the 35 mile mark, I hit a pothole the size of the State of Massachusetts. I was fortunate it didn't wreck my front wheel or break any spokes. But it was a shock and sent a water bottle flying. After recovering the water bottle, I carried on.

At the 40 mile mark, I was having a harder and harder time staying up with the 2 people I was riding with. So I dropped back, and was soon joined by another rider named Jon riding a Seven. I had passed Jon earlier as he had punctured. Unfortunately for him, he punctured again at about mile 44. So we stopped to fix the flat. But worse yet, his second spare tube had a defective valve stem. So I gave him one of my spare tubes (I had two) so he could get going again. Right as we were about to leave, I noticed my front wheel was flat. That pothole I hit earlier must have pinched the tube and caused a slow leak. This probably also explains why I was struggling to keep up earlier. So the last tube between both of us came out and went into my front wheel. So to paint the picture for you, we have been on the side of the road for probably 25-30 minutes, raining the whole time with the temperature dropping changing three flats. We are now without any spare tubes, soaking wet and very cold as we start back up. I don't think either of us were in our happy place.

The rain continues steady to hard all the way into Verona. Some of the roads were busier, making it a real mess. There was a lot of standing water on the road and visibility was poor. Everyone is in survival mode now. All you are thinking about is getting to Verona, getting some food and turning around. And praying the rain will let up.

We got to the control in Verona and got our brevet cards signed. I had a ham and cheese sandwich and a coke. Jon opted for hot food, a couple of cheddar bratwurst. Not exactly cycling food, but it was cold, and he wanted to warm up. I do have to admit, the soup looked mighty tempting. I got out my now wet leg warmers and managed to put them on. The temperature had been dropping steadily, and was now about 47 according to a bank sign in Verona.

In Verona, the staff at the Kwik Mart told us about a bike shop in Verona, just a mile away. Jon and I could easily ride there and replenish our supply of tubes, so heaven forbid we flat again, we at least could fix it. So off we went and sure enough found Atkins Bike Shop. The staff working there couldn't believe we were doing a 200 km ride in such miserable weather, but they were very friendly and helpful. Jon also picked up some leg warmers (he didn't have any). I found some full finger rainproof gloves in my size and purchased those. So at this point, our luck started to turn around. We each had 2 spare tubes again, leg warmers on to keep some of the cold out and I had some nice gloves. And amazingly, the rain had let up.

Riding back, the rain would drizzle once in a while, but it never 'rained' all the way back to Delavan. Given, the roads were still wet, but at least they weren't getting any worse. And at some point, while still wet, a lot of the road splatter went away, so at least your shoes and legs stayed a little dry. This was very welcome news. The rain into Verona was miserable. Riding back was so much nicer. And to boot, we had an occasional tailwind.

We got back to Edgerton and back to the Shell Station, which was also the third control. I was hungry again, probably from burning extra calories to be warm. Connected to the Shell station was a Taco Johns. A chicken quesadilla totally hit the spot. Not cycling food, but hot food.

From here, it was 30 mostly uneventful miles back to Delavan. We did have to battle a cross/head wind for a few miles, and around mile 115, I was feeling a lot of fatigue, but I was able to battle through that. We arrived back at the Super 8 at 4:30 PM, making our ride time 9 hours and 30 minutes. Considering the elements, the fact that we spent 30 minutes changing tubes, had to go find a bike shop in Verona and probably took a little longer at the controls than normal due to the weather, I think that is a pretty good time. With what we had to battle through, its hard to imagine doing too much better.

Since this was an ACP brevet, finishers can purchase a finishers medal for $10 at the end. The medals are designed by the Audax Club Parisian and very attractive. And after the day I had, I wanted something to show for my efforts. So here it is, my 200 km brevet finishers medal. If you want to see what it looks like, go to the following link.

http://www.rusa.org/medals/medalimage28.html

Appleton West Between the Lakes

Another Saturday, another longer ride. I did 85 miles today on approximately the route below. I say approximately because I had to make a detour for construction and after riding the route, I made a couple small modifications. Plus, I started riding at my house, where the route in Bikely.com starts from Erb Park.

http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Appleton-West-Between-the-Lakes

The ride starts off escaping Appleton to the south and east heading through Neenah and then down close to Oshkosh. As I've discussed in my other posts, Prospect Avenue in Appleton is a little beat up, so you have to look out for road hazards. But the route down and through Neenah is either low traffic or with nice bike lanes, so its a pretty easy escape. County Road A to Oshkosh has some traffic, but it seems that a number of cyclists use the route and there is a sufficient shoulder, so it was not a problem to ride on.

My original plan was to go down to Sunnyview Road/County Road Y and then turn right (West). But when I got there, the road was closed for construction. So I headed back north and took Indian Point road over to 76, did a short stint on 76 (lots of traffic) and then back onto County Road Y heading west. And right by the Oshkosh Landfill. There were a lot of swarming birds over head. I am happy to say I didn't experience any bombing runs, but based on that, changed the route in bikely. Use County Road G, and then wind your way down to County Road Y once you get west of Highway 41 and the landfill.

County Y will pass under Highway 45 and then you will turn right on County Road S. One of the interesting places you pass is called M. Schettl. I guess these guys sell this sort of outrageous lawn art. If you have ever needed an extra large bison or bear for your yard, here is where you get it. I couldn't resist a picture.



From here, County S takes you up to Highway 116. Its just a couple miles into Winneconne. I only went into town far enough to stop at the local Kwik Trip to get some hydration and food. But that did provide a laugh. When I get up to pay, the clerk asks me "Any gas with that today?". Why yes, and a couple packs of smokes too.

From here, you backtrack about half a mile and take County M to the north. This eventually puts you onto County II where turning right (east) would shorten the ride and take you back to Appleton, and turning left (northwest) will take you to Fremont. This is really one of the nice parts of the ride. Very quiet, rural roads. You feel a lot more than 25 miles away from Appleton.

I did not actually go into Fremont. At this point, the skies were overcast and it looked like rain could come any time, so no time to waste to go exploring. I rehydrated at the store located at the intersection of Wisconsin 96 and County II, and then its about 1/4 of a mile to the west you can go north on County Road H. This is another great road to ride on. Quiet, rural, a good amount of trees. This eventually dumps you out on County W, where you turn left (north) to head towards New London.

About a mile up the road, you take a right onto Brehmer Road (which is really School Road). Its unmarked, but its the only right turn in the area. At the turn, there is a mill or agricultural storage units or something, so that is a good way to tell too. From here, its pretty much School Road back. I turned right on Manley and went down to Shady Lane just because I like that route back into Appleton.

Overall the route is very flat. There are a few small hills on School Road and a few others scattered throughout, but I never got out of the big ring. As with most rides in Appleton, wind can be a factor as you go through a lot of empty fields. There are stores in Neenah, Butte des Motes, Winneconne and Fremont. After you get out of the Oshkosh-Neenah area, the route is very rural. There is some traffic in the towns of course, but all of the back roads are very quiet. And yes, you do get some views of the lakes.

One good thing about the route is that there are a number of places you can cut miles off if needed. One option would be to head back to Winchester and then Appleton when you get to County Road II. Another option would be to head straight across to Winneconne on County G. Or you could add miles. My original plan was to head through Winneconne onto the west side of the lakes and work my way up to Fremont that way. It just all depends on the amount of time you have

Shawano Lake 100 Mile Century Loop

I completed my first Century ride of the year today, a ride from Appleton north to Shawano Lake. I circled the lake, went through the east edge of the town of Shawano, down through Shiocton and then back home. I have posted my route over at Bikely. This was not an 'organized' century ride, just a solo one I did on my own.

http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Appleton-Shawano-Loop

The weather was great. I left at noon, when the temp was about 45 degrees. It later warmed up to about 52. Wind was out of the northeast at about 8 mph all day, so not too windy. It made it a bit of a grind going up to Shawano, just because you were going into the wind for so long and the terrain was flat farmland, so there was no where to hide. But it was nice to have a little bit of a push on the way back.

Shawano is interesting because it is really sort or a dividing line in Wisconsin in that south of Shawano, most of the ground has been cleared for farm land, but to the north, the north woods of Wisconsin start. A satellite phot from Google maps clearly shows this.



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There is nothing wrong with rural roads, but it would be nice to trade farmland for forests once in a while. Now today, April 11, none of the trees have leaves, so being forested didn't really mean much. But this would be a beautiful ride in the summer.

The ride itself is pretty basic. Its not an out and back, but its pretty much a long leg north and a long leg south. I decided to take Ballard up today just because I've been on French Road a lot lately. Crossing 54, its more farmland as you keep heading north. As you get closer to Bonduel, there are a few more hills, but nothing serious. Bonduel is the first refueling point at 37 miles.

From here, I just took Highway 117 up to Cecil and Shawano lake. There is a fair amount of traffic on 17 and its fast. There is also a 4 foot shoulder, so its possible to ride on, but the riding conditions aren't great. I took it because it was expedient. A rider who is not as comfortable with fast traffic may want to zig-zag out to one of the country roads. But today, I wanted to do a 101 mile ride, not a 106 mile ride.

Cecil is a little town on the SE corner of Shawano lake, and you can actually see the lake at one point. From here, you swing north and then west on Lake Drive to circle the lake. This area has a lot of vacation homes, camps and resorts. There is some traffic, but due to the nature of the road, its slower. One does have to be careful though as there is no shoulder on Lake Road. At the NE corner of the lake, Shawano County has a park where you can see the lake (most the rest of the time you are just looking at trees) and I snapped the following photo.

From here, its into Shawano and the second refueling stop at the 53 mile mark. I actually ventured into Shawano a little bit to find a store with more food/beverage options. East Green Bay Street seems to be the main drag in Shawano, so there is a lot of traffic. But you only need to venture into town about 1/2 mile.

Out of Shawano, I got onto Airport Road and then Highway 187. Highway 187 is a highway in name only. There is almost no traffic on the road. And these 19 miles in many ways are the highlight of the ride. To your right, the ground is all forested. This is the Wolf River area, and in summer is just beautiful. Today, it was nice to have a smooth low traffic road with a light tailwind with something other to look at other than farmland.

Shiocton is around mile 80 and the last chance to refuel before heading back to Appleton. You immediately get off of Highway 76 onto County A and then wind through the country roads to get back to Appleton. I decided to do Mayflower to Capitol today just because I usually go over to Meade and go down.

So in summary, 101 miles is always a good ride. This ride also lets you see some forested land, different than what we have in the immediate Appleton area. There are 3 towns to stop in, and they are pretty well placed on the ride. If you are looking for something a little different than your normal century, this may be it.

Springtime Base Training

I now have almost 900 miles for the year. Given the late arrival of spring in NE Wisconsin along with a bunch of questionable weather days, I am pleased with that total at this point. Included in there are some long rides--102 miles to Shawano, the 91 miles around Winnebago and an 85 mile ride this weekend. So base training and endurance building are proceeding.

And that is what makes training right now hard. One of the most important rules for training is to build your endurance base first. It is so tempting right now to start doing speed work (and by that, I mean training to get faster, not the speed work that improves pedaling speed and efficiency). I've read an article on Joe Friel's blog about how important intervals are at improving Time Trial times. I have a book on riding faster that strongly advocates intervals. There is a monthly time trial starting outside of Oshkosh. You do the group ride and want to be in the "fast" group. And you remember what it was like to go out and do a ride and average 20 mph. And oh so much do I want to work on going faster.

And I will, in time. But for now my goal must be and will continue to be base building. I have long events I am preparing for. I need that strong endurance base. I am getting much closer now, but I need to work through the next couple of weeks to finish building my endurance base. By that time, I'll probably have about 1300 miles. And then I need to take a recovery week and let my body digest all of the training I've done so I can move on to the next step and start doing some faster rides. But I need to finish the endurance base first.

How many base miles are enough? I think that depends on a lot of factors, like what are your goals for the season, how well did you maintain your fitness over the winter and how consistent you have been in building your endurance base. Joe Friel advocates a 12 week base program consisting of three distinct base periods, each one consisting of 3 harder weeks and one recovery week. I think that is a great plan and I've used this type of approach before very successfully.

Unfortunately, spring got here late in Wisconsin, so I feel like I'm trying to catch up a little. While I didn't start riding outside until mid-March, I did have something of a base built up from the CompuTrainer. An old rule of thumb is 1000 base miles. For me, that seems to be pretty accurate. Personally, I'm going to do more than that this year because all of my goals are focused on long distance, endurance type events. So I feel like I need a little bit bigger base.

I should note that once the base period is over, that doesn't mean you stop doing endurance rides. It just means that you mix in more types of training. But you always maintain and enhance that endurance base.

From what I have seen, a lot of riders neglect base training. Doing group rides 3-4 times a week will certainly get you fast--to a point. But it will also put you on a plateau without the necessary base training to reach higher peaks. Would I like to be faster now--Sure. But I also remind myself, I'll be ready to go fast when its important for me to go fast. And this is the way for me to get there.

Of Magic Elixers and "Go Fast=Yes" Potions

Joe Friel has a great post over at his blog everyone should read.

http://www2.trainingbible.com/joesblog/2009/03/marketing-and-sport.html

When I was just starting out years ago, I bought some new tires. The shop mechanic said these were the best tires out there and would probably add 2 mph to my average speed. I was a little suspicious about this claim. Guess what? They didn't. In fact, they turned out to be some of the worst tires I ever owned. They were impossible to get on and off of the rim and handled like something out of the Flintstones,. Further, two of them split open and those that didn't wore out quickly. The only blessing was that I learned my lesson and got them off of my bike shortly after that.

A lot of people think their bike makes all the difference. I'm faster because I'm on a Trek or Specialized or Giant or whatever. I've got to get this bike because rider X rode it to victory in race Y. Guess what? Last year, when rider X was with another team, he rode a different brand of bike, and he probably was still 10 mph faster than you. The differences between frames, components, sports drinks, its all minuscule. Now maybe there is a particular brand of frame that fits you a little better than the next one, maybe there is a sports drink that tastes a little better to you than the next one so you hydrate better, but there is no universal go fast solution. If there was, everyone would be riding it.

There is no legal product out there that is going to add 2 mph to your speed. Period. End of discussion. No matter who is endorsing the product or what company is behind it. Lance Armstrong didn't win all those Yellow Jersey's because he was on that Fatigue reduction drink. He didn't win them because he rode a Trek with Shimano components. He won them because he trained smarter and harder than the next guy, because he was more focused on his training and his goals, because he scouted key stages multiple times in the months leading up to the tour and because when the critical time arrived in the race, he was mentally tougher than all the other riders. If Armstrong would have been riding a Colnago with Record, he would have still won the same number of races. If US Postal/Discovery Channel gets sponsored by Pearl Izumi and not Nike, doesn't matter. If Armstrong wears Rudy Project shades rather than Oakley's, he still has the same number of Yellow Jerseys hanging in his closet.

So as a consumer, when one of your buddies or someone at the bike shop tells you that you have to buy product X because it will make you go faster, remember two things:

1. The only thing that is guaranteed to make you go faster is training. Better training, more structured training, harder training. There is simply no substitute for hard work.
2. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is

Evaluate what works for you. If a certain brand of bike fits well and is comfortable, buy that one. If you like the ride of a certain set of tires, ride those. If a sports drink or gel tastes good for you, use that one. Chances are, if you are comfortable on your bike and have confidence in your equipment, you will feel better about riding, you will want to ride more and indeed be a little bit faster. Just figure out what works for you rather than jumping on the latest craze.

In the long run, if you evaluate things with a skeptical eye, you'll save yourself a lot of money and time.

NE Wisconsin Bicycle Shops

A really cool feature of Google maps is that you can create your own maps. You can drop points of interest on the map and label them how you wish. SO I have created one for Bike shops in NE Wisconsin. This is not meant as an endorsement of any shop on the map, its simply a listing (a graphical one) of where bike shops are located around the NE part of the state.

This list is not complete yet, but I'll work over the next couple days to get as many on as I know about. If anyone knows of one that I have missed or a shop that has closed down or moved, leave it in the comments section and I'll update the map.



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