MSers In Training 2011

[Stella]

Thanks Larry, glad you enjoyed the light bulb jokes. I am in awe of you guys. I really don't know how you guys do it - all those miles... Just goes to show with determination and willpower, anything is possible!

[AMFADVENTURES]

The Whole 9 Yards

Went for a ride with the team this morning. The ride was billed as an 18 mile climb, 36 round trip, with an option to extend. I took the option and went as far as I could. Head winds the whole way, gusts to at least 30. Lots of short sections up to 14% grade, finally snowed out (see pic.). I was so exhausted at the end of this I barely made the trip back down. This was really hard, definitely a test of trashed nerves. Based on this experience I'm going to have to significantly revise my plan for the Triple Bypass.

58 miles, 4.45 hrs, 4,400 ft. vertical, avg 12.3 mph.

Can't wait to hear how your time trial went Pell.

[pawpaw]

Larry, That sounds just awful. I hate wind and I can't imagine how cold and miserable you were. 14% is a steep grade- yuck.
I wasn't allowed on my bike today so I walked 5 miles. The time trial is tomorrow but I am trying to convince Mike to ride in the morning. It should be perfect early-cool and beautiful. I think we should be tired and not in our best form for the first time trial so that we can improve thoroughout the season.
He is so competitive that he wants to do our very best every time.
You will be fine for the MS ride with frequent stops. That triple bypass may be another story.

[pawpaw]

Tiime trial cancelled

Rained out today, so no time trial.

Pell

[AMFADVENTURES]

Planning

Pell,
Too bad you got rained out, I was looking forward to seeing how you guys did but I kind of agree with you Pell, I probably wouldn’t go all out on my first tandem competition either. There will likely be some kind of learning curve to master plus, I’d want to know where I stood WRT my competition before I gave away too much of my potential. Sounds like I’m a little more conservative than your DH. You’re also right about the “Triple”, I’m in trouble, and with that in mind, here are some thoughts.

When I did the climb on Saturday, I was at the end of a three-week training period so my fatigue level was on the high side. Just how significant that might be I don’t know.

I did very little drafting, which wouldn’t be a big factor on a climb except for the adverse wind conditions (I was the only one in the group I rode with who even attempted the extension). I’ll have to pay a lot more attention to conservation of energy when the time comes.

I made it to 10,650 ft. but was sucking air badly. Had I been able to keep going there was another 1,300 ft of ascent to the top of that pass, the highest one BTW. I’m going to have to spend as much time as possible at altitude from now until the event.

Although I tried to consume calories regularly, I don’t think I consumed enough. Part of that was do to limited support. I will need to pay a lot more attention to calorie intake. I felt like I did do OK on hydration though.

I came out with an average HR in the low end of zone 3 on that ride. I can use the second day century on the MS 150, when I’ll be fresher, to see if I can hold a slightly lower average HR without total fatigue by the end of the ride. I’ll see how that goes and plan for an average HR on the “Triple” based on the results. I’m thinking I might be able to tolerate near total fatigue on the “Triple” by the top of the last pass since the last 20 miles are mostly down hill. I also need to keep my max HR below zone 5.

Even assuming optimum conditions, I think I’d be looking at 12 hours to complete the “Triple”. 12 hours will be a stretch but if I haven’t cleared the last pass in 12 hours I'll probably get swept off the course anyway. I feel like I'm on the edge of being able to do this but it’s a tricky problem because of the time and fatigue issues. If I don’t go fast enough I’ll get swept, if I go too fast, I'll fatigue and won’t make it anyway.

This is the first time I've been in this situation. I'm more than open to suggestion.

[pawpaw]

My first thought is why do you want to do this to yourself? It sounds so brutal to me, but I understand the challenge.
I have never attempted anything of this magnitude, so my thoughts may be useless.
I think the value of energy conservation is huge. That includes many things- drafting, weight you carry, speed you climb, etc. What sort of support will you have? Do you have some strong riders to do this with who can provide some protection? Are there rest stops with plenty of food or do you have to haul most of your food? On the first century I rode and the MS ride, I drafted and had someone riding beside me to block wind almost the entire ride. I didn't even realize how 2 of the riders were protecting me until I thought about it later.
Do you have family members who can SAG for you if there isn't adequate SAG support?
I just checked out the website and it looks like they don't strongly encourage private SAGs.
The ride is in a few weeks so you aren't going to drastically change your fitness or strength in that time. Spending as much time at altitude will be helpful.
Sorry that I don't have any magic. 120 miles in the mountains is so brutal I can't even imagine.
Good luck. Have you already registered?

Pell

[AMFADVENTURES]

Thanks Pell, actually it helps a lot just to bounce this off someone. I have thought about reducing weight, now I’m thinking I’ll carry two water bottles but only fill one unless it starts getting hot. I also need to go through my saddlebag and empty out all the extraneous stuff I carry.

They only have 5 fully supported aid stations (seems a little light to me) but there are other places to re-provision along much of the route so I hope to get by with just a gel pack or two between aid stations. There will be SAG support between aid stations.

My brother is also doing this ride. He’s a little faster than I am but I can probably draft off of him at least early on. My bike buddy is doing it too but he’ll be gone from the get go. There’ll be 4,000 other riders to draft off of though. You are absolutely right, I’ll need to be aggressive about finding a group to draft with.

That climb last weekend convinced me I’ll have to put my cheater granny gear back on the bike, that might conserve some energy, at least save the legs on the really steep stuff.

We will have several DW’s with cars around. It would be the ultimate “agony of defeat” if I had to call for rescue but they could come in handy for other kinds of emergencies.

I really think there’s a chance I can do it if I don’t screw up somehow and if conditions are good. It’ll be a long day for sure but I’ve done a reasonably good job on the training, so maybe…

Why?????? Early this year some kind of poisonous spider bit me. The doc I went to see gave me a 6-day steroid pack for it (which BTW, performed miraculously). I remember those steroids making me feel bullet proof and that was exactly when I signed up for this ride. That’s a true story. I suppose I also thought that committing to a ride like this would force me to pay more attention to my training and as you know, I genuinely do believe that controlling the MS is all about the training.

AND, breaking news, the MS 150 team broke the million-dollar mark today. They did it in 8 years, not the 5 I thought earlier. I think they’re only the second team in Denver to do it at all. GO TEAM Raw Hinies!! Could be a good omen.

[Marinadca]

Larry - I cannot even fathom in my wildest dreams that kind of ride (the triple) I about died on the hills I encountered and none of them were even rated! Best of luck to you...I am kind of curious what you mean by a cheater granny gear...if there are gears even easier than my lowest, I so want to know about it.

As for me...I went to the doc about my knee. It felt funny to be called a "cyclist" as I feel like anything but that. Apparently my knee caps do not sit straight or in the right place. He told me to take 5-6 days off the bike and then work on "spinning" at a low resistance. I guess this is going to build up my quads? The advice was to build my quads...however I was told not to do any lunges, squats, or presses....so I am a little about that.

Last night me and DH hoped back on the bikes very light. we went for 40 minutes...my knee feels mainly OK now...but I don't know if I am "spinning" correctly.

I need a biking glossary

[Stella]

Hi Larry,

That is an awesome feat and I admire you so much for going after that dream! Please keep us informed how it goes and best of luck!

Stella

P.S Was it that bike video that inspired you, the one in Chile? :-)

[AMFADVENTURES]

Ms 150

MS 150 is tomorrow, our start time is 6:05 AM. We’ll have a little bike clean, tune and lube session today, then a short test ride after. I’m still planning to do the second day century.

Marina, that’s cool the doc called you a cyclist. I’m plagued with a chronic knee problem too and I do exactly what you’re doing, if it’s really bad I stay mostly off it for a few days, otherwise I just lighten up, spin more, avoid standing on the pedals and stay off the hills. Normally it’s only two or three days to recovery. It probably won’t ever totally go away, it’s just another one of those things to be aware of. Also, your position in the saddle can cause knee problems, if it persists or gets worse, you might want to have that checked.

On the granny gear set up, I replace the small 30 tooth chain ring on the crank with an even smaller 28 tooth one. It gives me just a little lower gearing to climb or spin with. The bike wasn’t designed to handle that so I have to be careful to keep my chain on the larger cogs in the back when I’m using it. It has gotten me through some tough spots though. Glad to see you’re back on the bike and just taking it easy.

Stella, yeah, the bike video was inspirational. I had a helmet cam all picked out and it must have been a good one because not only was Amazon sold out but the manufacturer didn't have any more either. I really want one of those. Thanks Stella.

Pell, yes, the MS 150 this weekend and maybe one more climbing ride early next week then it’s taper and rest until the Triple. Thanks for being there.

I'd love to buy you a beer at the Raw Hinies tent Saturday afternoon Sue.

I’ll let you all know how the MS ride goes.

[AMFADVENTURES]

The 2011 MS 150

I made it! 72.5 miles on Saturday and 94 miles on Sunday. Saturdays ride was the easiest I’ve experienced. We picked up a 10 to 15 mph tail wind for the last half of the ride. That little push up the Horse Tooth hills made them almost effortless, spirits were running very high as everyone commented on the phenomena.

I saw more “I ride with MS” jerseys than I’ve ever seen on this ride. At the lunch stop I sat next to a rider with MS. We talked about doctors, treatments and clinics and eventually she admonished me for not riding with the jersey. She made a very good point, riding with the jersey sends a message to the world that not only do we have the courage to face our diagnosis but also the fortitude and ability to do things many others wouldn’t or couldn’t do. In other words, don’t count us out. She is right and I will have to give that some serious thought.

The first days finish line festivities more than lived up to its reputation. The band was spectacular, our team won several awards including breaking the million-dollar mark and best decorated tent. Our jerseys were outstanding, a picture of the back is included here. The beer was good (thank you Left Hand Brewing), the crowd was huge, the camaraderie at a peak. This was the best MS ride I’ve experienced yet.

In bed by 8:00 and up by 4:00, breakfast at 5:00 and back on the bike by 6:00. The second day century started climbing right away. We did 1,000 ft. in the first 15 miles followed by a short descent and then straight back up and I mean straight up. This was the hill I had heard about, a 2-mile climb that started out at 6% grade and increased to 14% by the top. I had to stop in the middle of that hill and regroup my heart rate but once I did, I was able to rocket up the rest at a whopping 4-mph passing many other riders. Four more hills followed in quick succession, each of them between 200 and 300 feet of ascent at 6% to 10 % grade and then a long descent onto the plains at the base of the Rocky Mountain foothills.

We encountered a 10 to 15 mph headwind when we got to the plains and the riders just naturally regrouped into draft lines, at one point even a small peloton of 25 or so bikes formed. After about 30 miles the wind changed to a broadside and increased in strength. A broadside wind is OK, in fact, it seems to provide a pretty good push more often than not. A few miles later we were at the lunch stop and the wind was howling. Tents were leaving the ground and diners had to keep a hand on the contents of their plates to keep food from blowing away.

In the last 15 miles the wind shifted a little bit more to our stern providing an even better push yet still a bit of relief from an increasingly hot sun. My computer registered 107 degrees but I suspect the ambient air temperature was really somewhere in the high 90’s. There were 2 more pretty good hills and in contrast to the previous day, riders were now bemoaning yet another hill in the heat. Occasionally I’d see a group of riders gathered under one of the few small trees along the route grabbing a couple of degrees of relief in some very scarce shade.

At a fire station along the route, firemen were out with a hose spraying riders who rode by open armed begging for a good soak. Supporters were there with killer squirt guns dowsing riders who gratefully accepted it. It was hot and everyone was beyond tired when the finish line finally appeared.

My stats for the first day were: 72.5 miles, 6 hours elapsed time, 4 hours and 37 minutes saddle time (a new record by 8 minutes) and 2,664 ft. of ascent.
The second day was: 94 miles in 8 hours elapsed time and 6 hours and 35 minutes saddle time with 4,367 ft. of ascent.

Congratulations to all who participated in this ride and especially to all of those MSers who rode, it's likely you will see me in one of those jerseys next year. I hear your statement loud and clear.

I love this ride,

[pawpaw]

Congratulations Larry!!!

Wow, you really smoked that MS ride. The "I ride with MS" discussion is interesting. That will be a big step for you. I haven't seen those jerseys anywhere. Are they designed for a specific team or does the local MS society have them for purchase?
The second day sounds pretty tiring. I don't love riding in a head wind or a serious cross wind. It sounds like you were either climbing or fighting the wind. Great job with a strong ride in difficult conditions.

Pell

[Marinadca]

That is fantastic - so glad you had a great ride. I hope that triple bypass will be even better

[AMFADVENTURES]

Thanks Pell and Marina, that ride was a lot of fun. I suspect one has to register as a person with MS to get one of the "I ride with MS" jerseys but I'll let you know when I find out for sure. Or maybe someone out there cruising by on the internet highway will let us know.

I really admire all of the MSers who were doing the ride, especially the second day when it got so hot. I know that heat got to me in the last 15 miles.

It would be fun to do the century in that jersey.

Haven't been on the bike since, got to get out there again tomorrow.

Keep on riding,

[Stella]

That's awesome Larry! Well done! Absolutely incredible!