Sometimes they get it right

With the suspension of the RUSA permanents program, the only "for credit" rides that are available are RUSA populaires and brevets. These can be added to the RUSA calendar with 5 days notice for existing routes. Typically, this time of year there's not much point in scheduling a ride because the weather ranges from unpredictable to bad.

However, the long range forecast for the weekend of 12/21-12/22 looked promising with a forecast high temperature above 40F. Bob Booth got in touch with me and asked me to put two populaires on the calendar for the weekend. I agreed and said I'd ride with him if the forecast stayed reasonably decent.

For the most part, weather forecasters can barely get tomorrow right some of the time so the forecast a week away needs to be viewed with a fair amount of skepticism but in this case they nailed it.

The morning of the 21st dawned quite cold, air temperature of about 24F but the forecast high was 43. Equally important, the winds were forecast to be "light and variable" and there wasn't a cloud in the sky so it looked like a good day. As an aside, it's funny how that first 40 degree day in September it's "too cold to ride" but 40 degrees in December is "wow, a warm spell! - let's ride".

In general, the roads were ice free with a slight layer of frost. At this time of year given that the sun stays low on the horizon and that it's hilly there are long stretches of road that never see the sun. Typically, in December these are sheets of ice and you either need studded tires or have to walk. on Saturday these could be ridden with care (no sudden moves, smooth pedaling, etc) and we managed them without difficulty.

At the start

We rode over to Spring Green which is a mid-point for the populaire and had a nice leisurely breakfast at the general store before continuing on and finishing the ride. I'd recently made a route change for the ride that deleted the section after Spring Green that was wide open and generally westward (winds are normally either NW or SW so it's almost always a headwind) in favor of a slightly busier road that's more scenic and sheltered by pine trees on the south side of the road.

We finished the ride in 5:49 which was expected given the long lunch break and leisurely pace.

Overnight there was a lot of moisture in the air which turned into a heavy blanket of frost when the temperature dropped. It was a bit warmer in the morning (28 degrees) but the roads were coated with frost. We thought they might clear when it got warm but the ground is frozen hard enough that the places that don't get sun didn't melt at all despite the warmer air temperature.

Walking a frosty stretch

Not a whole lot different on day 2 than the first day. Leisurely stop in Spring Green joined by Melissa and Marcia which made for a fun breakfast and a longer stop. The wind was a good bit stronger on Sunday out of the SW so the route change was appreciated even more. This plus the longer stop at Spring Green contributed to our 6:09 total time.

All in all, a fantastic couple of days riding!

Beautiful winter day

An update from the weak and infirm

As noted previously, I signed up for the HCR 600K this past weekend for several reasons but the one relevant to this post is to experiment with using aerobars to give my hands some relief. My thinking going in was that if I had the "hands crushed in a vise" sensation post ride then my days of doing long brevets on a DF were over.

I took careful inventory of how my hands felt prior to the ride and they were actually pretty good. Maybe a 1 on a 1-10 pain scale.

During the ride, I really focused on not keeping my hands in the same place for any length of time. My mantra was "tops, drops, hoods, aerobars, tops, drops, ...". I didn't set an alarm or anything, just stayed in one position until it started to feel slightly uncomfortable (this on day 2) then moved on to the next.

I'm happy to report that it was mostly a success. My concern with using the aerobars is that I'd be substituting low back or neck pain for hand pain but this didn't prove to be the case. After the ride I'd say I had "normal" 600K soreness. A bit of tingling in ring/pinkie on both hand and some general soreness/aches but nothing like the post-PBP pain. Post ride I'd say 3-4 level of pain/ache which I'd consider mostly normal, especially for a 600K on Texas chip seal.

In related news, I had the first of several appointments about my hands yesterday. This was with a GP/Sports Medicine doc that does consulting for Trek. I went through the history and my diagnosis and he did some tests. For the most part, he thought it likely that my theory of nerve impingement in my neck was probably correct. I have some weakness in my right hand/wrist as compared to my left and constant readers will recall my right hand hurt somewhat worse than my left.

I've got an MRI scheduled in a little over a week on the C2/C3 area (which are the vertebrae I broke). If it doesn't reveal anything then we'll move on to a test that focuses on the flow of signals through the nerves (don't recall what it's called).

So, some progress. Too early to declare victory but at least some forward movement on a few fronts.

December in Texas - A Risky Proposition!

As previously noted, I signed up to do the Hill Country Randonneurs 600K (the Old Dime Box 600K) some time ago. I did this for a few reasons:

1. To thaw out.
2. To test the theory that I could do longer rides using the aerobars to give my hands a break (more on that in a follow-up blog)
3. To ride with a group of folks that I enjoy riding with.

As it happens, in the last 14 months I've ridden a full brevet series and a 1000K with the Hill Country folks (Jeff Newberry, Rob Tulloh and Amy Russell) along with some assorted Lone Star Randonneurs (Dan Driscoll, Gary Gottlieb, Dana Pacino) and assorted others. I always enjoy rolling with these folks and this trip proved to be no exception.

My friend Eric Peterson was also interested in doing a longer ride so we ended up sharing a rental car and hotel room. I did this ride last year and screwed up my travel arrangements big time. I arrived on Friday after 6 PM so by the time I got my rental car, drove to the hotel, got something to eat and put the bike together it was quite late. I then booked my return flight on Monday at 10:30 AM. We finished the ride at 19:00 on Sunday. By the time I showered, got something to eat and packed the bike it was 01:00 and I had to get up at 07:00 to make it to the airport.

Not again.

This time Eric and I flew in on Thursday and had a leisurely dinner at 600 Degrees (good pizza and a really good beer selection!) then spent Friday assembling the bikes and generally faffing about before joining a subset of the group (Dan, Gary, Dana and Dan Colvin) for dinner at a nearby Italian place.

We rolled out at 07:00 and the weather looked great for the day. It was cold at the start (mid-40's) but warmed up to the mid-60's during the day and the winds were fairly light all day so we made great time. The route goes northward toward Crawford where it turns around and returns to Georgetown for day one. Last year we got to Crawford at dusk and left after dark just before the Christmas parade was going to start. This time, we got there about 16:00 and had a nice meal. Only mishap on the way up was Dan Colvin had a flat, other than that no problems at all.

He's every bit as smart as he was in office

Here's the Strava from day one.

Last year we finished the first day at 01:00. We made much better time this year (the light winds and riding with the Charly Miller group) and got in at 11:50 so a luxurious sleep before rolling out at 07:00 the next day. 

The weather on day 2 wasn't quite as nice on the first day. It was warmer (high in the lower 70's) but quite windy and we'd have a headwind most of the way out to Old Dime Box. We met a group of HCR riders doing a 100K/200K about 8 miles into the ride and the pace picked up dramatically. I knew better than to try to keep up with fresh legs doing a shorter ride so I fell off the back. We eventually regrouped at the first control and Jeff, Amy, Eric and I rode together the rest of the way. We saw Gary, Dana and Rob on the retour when we were headed out to the turnaround at Old Dime Box and would regroup with them at the last control at Thrall. 

The control at Thrall has a good kitchen where they'll custom make pizzas but what I was looking forward to was mashed potatoes. Alas, the Gary/Dana/Rob group had eaten the last of the mashed potatoes (sad trombone sound) so I had to content myself with a couple of pieces of chicken. 

The rest of the ride was uneventful and we finished at a little after 20:00 for a ride time of just over 37 hours. I hadn't done a long ride since my Hound Dog DNF and was really feeling the lack of miles in my legs but I got it done.

Eric and I hurriedly said our goodbyes and went back to 600 Degrees for more pizza and several FCAB's (Frosty Carbonated Alcoholic Beverages).

Here's the Strava from day two.

On Monday, the weather went somewhat to hell and on Tuesday it went totally to hell. Monday was cold and very windy, Tuesday was 38 degrees and steady rain.

We lucked out.

My return trip was mostly uneventful for this time of year. The flight out of Austin was two hours late because they had to de-ice the inbound plane in Chicago so I had to reschedule my Chicago->Madison flight and ended up getting to Madison about 3 hours later than planned.

And the wind chill was -7F when I arrived :-(

Some pictures from the ride courtesy of Jeff Newberry and Rob Tulloh

Yes, we have no bananas

Beautiful sunrise

Me bringing up the rear - as usual

Showing off that winter weight

Living large in Old Dime Box

Eric and Jeff

Eric and Amy with me in my usual position

Happy to be at the top!

Before the ride - look at those bright, cheerful faces!

Beautiful sunset

Got it done with a great group!

Musing on my infirmities

I've been doing a lot of thinking/reading about what's been going on with my hands. Although I've got some of the "classic" symptoms of ulnar nerve compression there's more to it than that. Here's a relatively complete list of the symptoms/sensations:

1. Tingling in ring/pinkie fingers. This is symptomatic of carpal tunnel/ulnar nerve compression.
2. Both of my hands hurt, all over, wrists to fingertips. If it were possible to cause the sensation of pain to generate light both of my hands would glow.
3. No symptoms of arthritis (swelling, pain localized to joints, redness).
4. When it's bad like it was immediately post PBP the sensation is that my hands have been crushed. I mean literally like they were put in a vise and smashed. This was especially bad on ring and pinkie fingers but applied to my whole hand.
5. Right hand marginally worse than left but only a very small amount.
6. Simultaneous and very similar onset with both hands and very similar sensation/level of pain with both hands.

While pondering all this the things that stood out:

1. As I said, it doesn't fully fit the standard "cyclist palsy" ulnar nerve compression symptomology. That's part of it but there's more.
2. The simultaneous onset in both hands seems significant as does the similarity in symptoms and their magnitude in both hands.

So my non-medical conclusion is that although I do likely have some degree of ulnar nerve compression the real culprit is higher up and at an intersection.

I broke my neck (c2/c3) years ago (bike crash). Without going through the details of the crash, imagine taking your head and bending it backward as far (or farther) than it will go, that's what happened. Spent several of the longest months of my life in a halo. 

I didn't use aerobars at PBP, instead I rode long distances with my forearms rested on the top of the bars (how pro is that!) so had to crane my neck to see where I was going.

Like a lot of cyclists, I tend to "hunch" my shoulders (imagine trying to touch your shoulders to your ears - not that bad but that's the idea) at times creating a fair amount of tension. I focus on staying relaxed but it's like telling a teenager to sit up straight. They do it for a little bit then go back to slouching. I'm relaxed when I think about it, I try to think about it a lot (I mean seriously, what the hell else is there to focus on when you're riding?) but I still catch myself doing it.

So my diagnosis: I've got some nerve impingement in my neck that's affecting both hands.

Assuming I'm right, it has some interesting implications wrt cycling, especially long distances:

1. Aerobars is likely the worst thing I could do. Although I do think my position on the aerobars is pretty good and I try to keep my head/neck aligned with my torso, you do have to look up to see.
2. I'm going for comfort rather than aero on the aerobar setup so the bars are up higher than e.g., a world class triathlete or time trialist would have them so I don't have to bend my neck quite so much to see but still my neck is bent when I look up.

So for the moment, my plan is unchanged. I'm doing a 600K in a few weeks, I'll put aerobars on the bike and will see whether it's better or worse.

This could force the "all in" on the recumbent or at least swing the pendulum strongly in that direction.

We'll see.

November 200K

Got out with a friend pursuing a K-Hound (10K RUSA kilometers in a year) yesterday morning for a 200K.

As noted previously, streaks are powerful things ;-) I've finished both my R12 and P12 for November despite my previously posted ambivalence toward continuing the pursuit of both.

Rode the Hampsten equipped with aerobars. As described previously, I'm experimenting with using aerobars to give my hands some relief. The issue historically is back or neck pain unless I'm sufficiently acclimated. I'm planning on a 600K next month so yesterdays ride seemed like a good opportunity to accomplish a few related goals: get some time on the aerobars and see what benefit having another position would give my hands.

In general, things went fairly well. I used the aerobars for a good part of the ride, perhaps 40% including some extended stretches on them. I also focused on varying my hand position when not on the bars and other posture related things e.g., keeping wrists straight, bend in elbows, etc.

My back and neck were OK during the ride but a bit sore/tired after. Started to get some shoulder/neck soreness toward the end of the ride. My hands were OK during the ride but afterwards I had the "fingers are smashed" sensation in the ring and pinkie of my left hand and a bit of tingling in my right.

As I write this the following morning the smashed sensation is gone, replaced by tingling which persists in my right hand as well.

So not a total win but an improvement. It might be a full solution if I'm able to increase the amount of time I spend on the bars somewhat or perhaps this is as good as it gets.

We'll see.

Life, the internets and everything

One thing I've realized about posting my musings about my "problem" on the internets is that it likely comes across that my life is in ruins because of the pain in my hands after long rides. Although my hands do hurt and I hope there's a resolution to that, there's an awful lot of ways to enjoy riding a bike without doing 1200K's. In fact, I rode 10K+ miles a year for more than 20 years before I did my first brevet.

At some point, my long distance riding will come to an end regardless. Right now, it's my hope that I've not yet reached that point and part of what I enjoy about doing longer rides is overcoming the hurdles they present. The problems with my hands is just one of them and I'm exploring different things to ameliorate the problem and writing about what I've tried and what I might try next, mostly for my own edification and to document for myself where I've been.

I've had conversations with other folks my age and older about when we'll stop doing the longer rides. The obvious answer is when we stop getting enjoyment out of doing them. Other answers are if we get a "career ending" injury. A bad crash might also bring about the end. Another answer (for me) is when I'm no longer fast enough to get adequate sleep. When I get to a point where I'm struggling to make control close times that's a clear signal that I'm done.

I'm not there yet and I'm still enjoying the challenge so I'll keep exploring alternatives that let me continue. If I don't find one, c'est la vie. I'll still ride my bike.

At a crossroads - afterthoughts

I've been post-processing my post (see what I did there?) and rather than extend an already long post I thought I'd make a new one with some additional thoughts.

I said that in the list of reasons why I do 1200K's that "the bike I ride" is either not on the list or is well down and that's true. It's all about the best tool for the job.

However, on shorter rides which, let's face it, constitute the majority of my riding the bike I ride does matter. I really enjoy the nuances of one bike versus another. In fact, I usually decide a day in advance what bike I want to ride the next day and if for some reason I'm not able to ride that bike I don't ride. Yes, mental I know but there it is.

For reference, as I write this I'm at 8,106 RUSA K's plus a 1000K and flèche in Australia, PBP and the Herentals 1200K for a total of 11,896 or thereabouts (I don't recall what the exact distance is for PBP) or 7,435 miles. I'm at 14,475 miles total for the year so just about half of my total miles are brevets.

So if:

1. I'm unable to ride one of my many DF's for brevets and can only do longer rides on a recumbent.
2. There's not close to 100% crossover between DF miles and recumbent miles from a training point of view.

Then I would be giving something up to ride 1200K's which is not currently the case. I can e.g., ride my Firefly exclusively for 6 weeks then jump on my Hampsten and do a brevet. No problem, done it. But I don't think I could jump on my Bacchetta (or Cruzbike) in similar fashion. I wouldn't have my "bent legs".

So given my ridiculously overambitious brevet schedule for next year, it's either all in for the DF or all in for the recumbent.

That's the conundrum.

At a crossroads?

I've been pondering things bike related lately. I thought I'd write some of my thinking down, mainly for my own reference although being a blog post these thoughts are out there for all to see.

Here's the current state of affairs:

1. My hands still hurt. Badly. I can't sleep at night. I've been taking tylenol which doesn't really do it for me in general as a pain reliever but it's easier on the stomach than ibuprofen, naproxen, etc., and my upper GI is fairly sensitive.
2. As noted earlier, I'm using aerobars on the DF and have bought and installed a set on the trainer since I've been using it more than riding outside (the weather sucks!).
3. My lower back muscles are initially sore after a ride using the aerobars but are OK after a few hours. I've been mixing up positions (hoods, drops, aerobars) to allow myself to become accustomed to the aerobars. As I might have noted, I used aerobars with good success on the Natchez Trace 1500K so I am able to use them once acclimated. The only time I've ever had trouble with them (back and neck) was when I put them on and then did a long ride where I used them a lot. This was the case most recently at the Hound Dog 1200K.
4. As I might have said elsewhere, I'm in the queue for a new bike. The idea is to combine the attributes of my S-Works Roubaix (light weight), Roubaix disc (disc brakes) and Calfee Adventure (650b or 700c wheels) in a single bike.
5. I bought a new recumbent, a Cruzbike S40 (more on that elsewhere) and am learning to ride it.
6. I've had recurring back problems but believe I have learned the things I do on a DF that cause them and how to avoid doing those things. Avoiding injuries due to off the bike stupidity is another story.

Given all that, how to move forward? I've said it several times but for completeness I'll restate the options here:

1. Continue doing long rides on the DF using aerobars and hope my hands improve.
2. Use both the DF or recumbent depending on terrain and whim. Alternate my regular rides between the two so either is a viable option.
3. Go all in on the recumbent.

Stream of consciousness on the various options:

1. I'm heavily invested in DF's and perhaps about to become moreso. This investment is both financial and emotional.
2. Riding the recumbent doesn't "do" it for me on an emotional level. Historically, I've only ridden the Bacchetta when I'm injured or out of a sense of obligation.
3. At this point, the Cruzbike does kind of do it for me but it might just be that it's new and different (and boy, is it different!).
4. Regardless of whether the recumbent is a Bacchetta, Cruzbike or something else, riding a 'bent has its own set of issues:
1. Packing it for travel. I've got a couple of solutions for the DF: an S&S Hampsten and associated bike cases and a BikeND Helium for non-S&S bikes. I've used both extensively in the past and can pack/unpack in less than an hour. I have no similar solution for either recumbent.
2. Riding with others. The fact is recumbents have different characteristics than conventional bikes. They don't climb as well, they descend like rockets and they roll on the flat better (aerodynamic advantage). These things combine to make riding with others difficult to impossible. I've ridden with a friend that rides a fixed gear. He's a very strong rider but it's basically impossible to ride together for any length of time. I'd expect the same to be true on a recumbent.
3. From what I've read, there's not a lot of crossover between the DF and the recumbent from a training point of view. You either have "bent legs" or you don't and it's difficult or perhaps impossible to be near your best for both. Longer brevets, especially the ones I enjoy, are hard enough that I need to be firing on all cylinders to ride them well which to me means I'm getting adequate sleep. So the bottom line (I think) is that I need to do the majority of my riding on one or the other.
5. I'm not ready to give up doing longer rides, in fact I've got my usual ridiculously over ambitious ride plan for next year.
6. If it really is the case that I'd need to commit to either a DF or recumbent in order to be able to finish a 1200K and I'm not forced into riding the recumbent due to my hands/back then it's a certainty I won't do a 1200K on a recumbent in 2020. There just isn't room in my planned calendar for me to come up to speed on the recumbent, do a 1200K then come back up to speed on a DF. For example, I'm planning on riding the Cracker Swamp 1200K pre-ride in late October (assuming the RO let's me in) and the Great Southern in early November. No way I could "optimize" for both a DF and a recumbent given the short time between both rides.
7. If I make a list of the reasons I enjoy doing longer brevets, "the bike I ride" isn't even on it or if it is it's way down the list. The only time where what I'm riding matters is on local rides and there I do enjoy the nuanced differences between the various bikes I own. For brevets it's really more a matter of the tool that'll best get the job done.
8. If it turns out that for me "recumbents can't climb" then this would eliminate hillier brevets and those are the kind I enjoy most. If my only goal were to rack up 1200K completions I'd find the flattest ones available since they're generally easier (modulo bad weather/wind) but grinding along on the flat for hours on end is mind numbing.
9. I will not, under any circumstances, have surgery on my hands.

Those who know me know that I always have a plan. It might change as I learn more but I always have a plan. Here's my current thinking:

1. My current plan is to continue doing longer rides on the DF with aerobars and use the recumbent as an adjunct.
2. I'm planning on doing a 600K early in December, possibly followed by an SR600K. If I do both, I'll only do the first day of the 600K then go to the SR600K. If I decide I'm not ready for an SR600K I'll do both days of the 600K. I'm planning on riding the S-Works Roubaix with 30mm tubeless set at fairly low pressure and with aerobars. 
3. Depending on how my hands are after the rides in (2), I'll make a decision on which direction I'm going to go DF or recumbent. This still might not be an "all in" decision. Whether or not it is depends on my experience with training on both.
4. I have postponed the custom bike I have on order until February. Based on the current uncertain state of the world adding another bike that I might not be able to ride seems foolish. 
5. I have an appointment with a "hand specialist" in January. Although I'm not in the slightest bit optimistic that the medical profession will be of any use whatsoever (based on a combined 120 years of experience between my wife and I), what the hell, I'll give it a shot and see if there's anything revelatory.

That's it for now.

Another trainer ride on the 'bent

I've removed my regular bike from the trainer and installed the 'bent (a Bacchetta CA 2.0) "permanently". I say that in quotes because it is changeable but rather a pain so it's likely I'll just leave it on there.

Given that there's 4" of snow on the ground and it's cold AF, it's likely I'll be spending more time on the trainer than outside, at least for the next several days. Having said that, the forecast for tomorrow is 40F so I might try to get out for a bit.

I rode the trainer this morning. The default Zwift route was NY. This isn't one of my favorites but I don't dislike it so I just went with that. I did a total of 24 miles with 1,745 feet of climbing. I did a few miles to warm up then did the Central Park loop at a 6/10 level of effort. Here are the stats for the Bacchetta vs. the diamond frame:

Bacchetta
Distance 6.06 miles
Time 17:37
Avg cadence 74
Avg HR 126
Max HR 143
Avg power 200w
Max power 464w

DF
Distance 6.06 miles
Time 15:58
Avg cadence not recorded
Avg HR 146
Max HR 159
Avg power 244w
Max power 941w

So an 18% drop in average power and an incredible 74% drop in max power. I have to say the max power number is suspect as I honestly don't think I can produce that many watts. I think somewhere in the 800 range is my max but who knows?

The heart rate numbers are similar with the 'bent still being 10% or more lower.

I also did the "NYC KOM" climb. I hit this one pretty hard at an 8/10 level of effort. The climb is .85 miles with an average gradient of 6%. Here's the comparison

Bacchetta
Time: 5:51
Avg cadence 74
Avg HR 137
Max HR 151
Avg power 230w
Max power 341w

DF
Time: 4:37
Avg cadence not recorded
Avg HR 141
Max HR 156
Avg power 295w
Max power 451w

Here the HR numbers are pretty close. This probably has a lot to do with the fact that the KOM was farther into the ride today and after a moderately hard effort on this ride whereas on the DF it was the first hard effort I did that day after warming up. The power numbers are interesting with the Bacchetta average power being 22% lower and the max power being 24% lower. A pretty significant drop in power. I should also note that I did a moderately hard sprint (367 watts for 28 seconds).

The rest of the ride was either warming up or JRA after the hard efforts so I won't bore you with the stats. It is interesting to note though that when I finished today's ride my gluteus maximus was incredibly fatigued and painful to the point that I could hardly stand up when I got off the 'bent. It was very sensitive to the touch and I couldn't walk up the stairs. I did about 10 minutes of stretching which allowed me to at least walk upstairs. As I write this 3 hours later it's still really sore.

I wasn't sure whether this fatigue/soreness was due to the harder effort or poor position on the 'bent. After looking at the position (recall I adjusted the seat a couple of rides ago) I think I'm in the right place so I've concluded for now it was just due to the harder effort.

Testing my resolve - part 2 of the ongoing mini-series

In our last episode, I was set to do a 200K brevet that started in Fennimore, went down to Galena and back. I spent the night in Fennimore, got up the next morning to winds gusting to 35 MPH and temperatures in the teens. Decided not to ride.

Onward.

For those who aren't randonneurs (which, given the demographics, is nearly everybody), there are two challenges called a P12 and an R12. Like most things in randonneuring, you're only competing with yourself. The P12 challenge is to ride 100K or more every month for twelve consecutive months. The R12 is the same with the distance being 200K or more.

Oh, and both have an "ultra" version where if you do ten years you complete an "ultra-P12" or "ultra-R12". If you miss a month, you reset the annual (but not total) calendar so if e.g., you've completed 48 consecutive months you have 4 of the 10 years required in the bank and if you then miss a month you don't lose those you just reset the clock.

And what do you get for this? The usual: name on a list and a trinket should you decide to order it.

When I started, I didn't really set out to do either. My normal brevet riding season runs from April to October. The first year of the cycle, the weather was pretty decent in November and December so I did a 100K and 200K permanent each month. So there I was in January (in Texas) thinking "if I do a 100K/200K each month while I'm here I can finish the year" so that's what I did. One year done.

And that's how it's gone every year thus far. I get to November and think if I can push through and do a 100K and 200K in November and December I can complete another cycle in Texas and bag another year.

Which brings us to this year. I'm currently at "P55" and "R55" which means I've completed a 100K and 200K every month for 55 months. The weather this year has been dreadful. We're about one month ahead of seasonal norms in terms of both temperature and snow. As I type this, we got 4" of snow yesterday and the wind chill is in the single digits.

So, being the cold weather wimp that I am, I've started thinking "do I really care about this enough to go ride in the freezing cold to complete another month?" and, a very related thought, "what's the long term plan?" Is getting an "ultra" anything important to me?

The answer to the last question is no. I don't really ride for trinkets, I just do the rides I want to do and let the awards take care of themselves. In fact, I've missed some awards that I could have gotten just because I don't pay attention to them. For example, I have 4 RUSA cups (a RUSA cup is awarded for 5000 kilometers of RUSA calendared events which must include a 100K, 200K, 300K, 400K, 600K, 1000K and 1200K and a team event (Dart or Fléche) in a 2 year period. I missed having a 5th RUSA cup because I hadn't done a 100K.

So here we are. It's cold AF and I need a 100K and 200K. The forecast doesn't look promising for the next 10 days with the warmest temperature being 42 degrees for one day and most of it being in the 20's-30's with some additional snow.

Streaks are powerful things.

More 'bent data after some adjustments

I felt like I was extending my legs a bit too far on the pedal stroke so I moved the seat forward a few cm and did another Zwift ride. This one had a longish climb (Fox Hill in London) that I pushed moderately hard on - not killing myself but a steady 6/10 effort. I also focused on keeping my cadence in the 70+ range. And on that topic, I'd previously said my cadence was about the same on the 'bent as on the DF but this was based on estimation since I didn't have a cadence sensor on the 'bent. I've remedied that and the second set of numbers below reflect measurement with a cadence sensor.

To recap, here's what I posted before:

Distance 14.04 miles
Moving time 0:47:12
Elevation gain 407 feet
Weighted average power 135
Heart rate 94 bpm average, 110 bpm max
Power 134W average, 323W max
Perceived exertion moderate

Here are the numbers on the London Zwift ride

Distance 14.0 miles
Moving time 0:47:56
Elevation gain 781 feet
Weighted average power 164
Heart rate 104 bpm average, 132 bpm max
Power 164W average, 330W max
Average cadence 71
Perceived exertion moderately hard

And here are the previously posted numbers from my last Zwift ride on the DF

Distance 26.03 miles
Moving time 1:42:19
Elevation gain 3104 feet
Weighted average power 191
Heart rate 124 bpm average, 162 bpm max
Power 176W average, 461W max
Perceived exertion hard

So average and max heart rate a bit higher but still significantly lower than on the DF (104 vs 124). The power numbers are also somewhat higher with the average approaching the DF (14% lower) but the max still significantly lower (28%).

I don't know how much of the improvement is down to position vs being somewhat more acclimated. It'll be interesting to see how this evolves.

Early winter continues

The weather this year has really been off the charts nuts. We might get a dusting of snow before December but it's usually gone in a few hours and our first real snowfall is generally around 7 December.

We got 4" yesterday on top of the 3" that fell the day before.

It's 9 degrees Fahrenheit this morning.

The forecast for the week has a high temperature of no more than 40, and that's only one day. Most days are in the upper 20's to mid-30's.

Life in the frozen North.

Time for some data

I thought I'd put the Bacchetta on the smart trainer and do a Zwift ride in part because the weather sucks but also to begin collecting a bit more data.

Here are the details:

Distance 14.04 miles
Moving time 0:47:12
Elevation gain 407 feet
Weighted average power 135
Heart rate 94 bpm average, 110 bpm max
Power 134W average, 323W max
Perceived exertion moderate

I've done this in the past with similar results. I felt like this was a moderately hard effort and at one point I was pushing quite hard yet my max HR was 110 and max watts was 323. Similar level of effort on a DF would result in max HR in the 160 range and max watts in the 500-600 range. I freely admit I don't have my "bent" legs but that difference in max power is huge. The average power number of 134 on a DF would be a JRA level of effort.

By comparison, here is the data from my last Zwift ride on the DF

Distance 26.03 miles
Moving time 1:42:19
Elevation gain 3104 feet
Weighted average power 191
Heart rate 124 bpm average, 162 bpm max
Power 176W average, 461W max
Perceived exertion hard

The two differences of note between these two rides are the heart rate and power averages. Focusing on heart rate, the average on the 'bent was 94, 124 on the DF so my average heart rate on the 'bent was 24% lower.The max was 110 on the 'bent and 162 on the DF so the 'bent was 32% lower. I think I can somewhat ignore the max because I did do one burst on the DF that was much harder than I did on the 'bent but the averages are telling.

My explanation for this is twofold:

1. My muscles aren't developed enough on the 'bent that I can push my heart that hard i.e., I don't have my 'bent legs.
2. I'm nearer horizontal on the 'bent so my heart isn't having to push against gravity through the venous system.

I think the second accounts for the difference more than the first but that's opinion only, I'm no cardiologist.

The power numbers are also interesting. In the only objective account I've read, a rider put separate power meters on the crankset (Garmin Vector pedals) and the drive wheel (PowerTap hub) and measured the difference between a Cruzbike and a Bacchetta. The measured power loss through the drivetrain was 8% comparing apples to apples or, more accurately, recumbent to recumbent.

I've read various estimates that the power loss on a 'bent (not sure what flavor of 'bent) versus a DF was in the range of 20%. This jibes reasonably well with the numbers I'm seeing here. My average power level on the 'bent was 134, on the DF it was 176 so nearly a 24% loss in power.

As I said at the outset, I'd expect these numbers to go up somewhat as I become more acclimated to riding the 'bent. The big question is were I to invert my choice of bike i.e., ride the 'bent exclusively and the DF periodically would my power on the DF drop and, if so, how much?

As I said in a previous post, it'd be cool if I could alternate between the two, become acclimated to both and then choose one or the other  for a 1200K based on the terrain or whim and be equally well prepared.on either. Somehow I don't think that'd ever be the case but I don't know.

We'll see I guess.

More 'bent musings

I've been riding the Bacchetta exclusively for the past few days for a couple of reasons. As noted previously, I hurt my back pretty bad and the 'bent is a little easier on the back since on a diamond frame your lower back is the fulcrum against which you push when you pedal.

The second reason is my hands continue to really hurt. This one frankly has me more than a little puzzled and quite concerned. Broadly speaking, several days or even a few weeks of numbness or tingling in the ring and pinkie fingers after a long ride is fairly common. But this is worse in that my entire hand hurts (both of them) all over from my wrists to my fingertips. They just ache something terrible and I have no grip strength at all. I've kept them in a constant state of soreness by riding the DF and by doing other things that are hard on the hands e.g., pruning bushes.

So because the 'bent doesn't put any pressure on my hands I've continued to ride it and it has helped. They're better. Not cured, but better.

So this has obviously caused me to think about whether I'll continue to ride the 'bent. In the past (as is the case now), I've only ridden it when I'm injured in some way. The primary goal is to keep the legs turning over and get some exercise while I let some other body part heal. But I keep pondering the notion that were I to ride it more perhaps I could ease the stress on my aging body.

I see three choices:

1. continue doing what I'm doing. Ride it when I hurt but as soon as I'm healthy again go back to the DF.
2. mix riding the DF and 'bent - perhaps even in strict rotation i.e., alternating every ride between a DF and the 'bent.
3. Go all in on the 'bent, ride it exclusively.

OK, I'm not there yet for (3). As I noted in an earlier post, I like riding DF bikes in a way that the 'bent just doesn't do for me. At this time, the only way I think I'd do that is if I was simply unable to ride a DF.

That leaves the other choices. Although (2) might seem compelling, it has some issues. 

1. The Bacchetta doesn't climb particularly well. This is due both to efficiency loss in the drive train and the fact that the "stall speed" is around 4-5 MPH. Below that you end up weaving as you climb in a way that's unsafe, especially if there are other cyclists and/or traffic around. As I said in an earlier post, it's very hilly here and I like the ability to be spontaneous as to the direction and duration of my rides. Consequently, I don't like either not being able to go a particular way or shorten my ride because of the hills.
2. There isn't a lot of crossover between the DF and the 'bent from a training point of view. Yes, riding either is certainly better than sitting on the couch with a 6-pack and bag of chips but if e.g., I had a hard brevet coming up I'd need to devote myself to one or the other and commit to riding it exclusively until after the ride. So given the fact that I tend to fill up my dance card with hard or long brevets the obvious implication is I'd spend pretty much the entire year exclusively on one or the other (which takes us to choice (1) above).

Besides its poor climbing ability, I find the muscle groups engaged when riding the 'bent are pretty different. In this recent spate of injury, the longest ride I've done on the 'bent thus far is 25 miles and the longest I've ever ridden it is 100K. I find the 'bent uses the muscles on the front of my legs (quads, and tibialis anterior) much more whereas the DF generally uses the muscles up the back (hamstrings, calves, glutes). When I finish riding the 'bent, even the short rides I've done, the muscles that run up my shins are burning and extremely tired.

Because of that, I'm fairly confident I could do a 200K+ brevet on a DF tomorrow. I'm also fairly certain I couldn't even manage a 100K on the 'bent without significantly more acclimation. 

So for all those reasons, alternating between the two, especially when I've got a long ride coming up, makes less sense. Now it is possible, even likely, that other 'bents climb better. From what I've been reading, Cruzbikes climb well due to the much shorter drivetrain and the ability to engage the upper body and core in a way that's similar to DF bikes. So that might ameliorate point (1) of the issues but doesn't address point (2), or at least I don't think it does.

I'm continuing to ponder this. More immediately, I'm considering what I'm going to do in preparation for the SR600K in December, assuming I decide to still take it on. More on that later perhaps.

Another disappointment

In what is an all too often occurrence, I ended up cancelling my trip to Australia. As I sit here writing this, my back really hurts and there's no way it's up to 25 hours of flying and then a 1200K.

I'm incredibly disappointed, especially since this one is basically self inflicted. I was having a pretty decent year with my back until I stupidly lifted something heavy.

I was really looking forward to seeing my friends in Australia and the ride itself. As I said previously, I did the 1000K version in the spring and enjoyed the route and the always wonderful support that Peter Donnan provides.

As things stand, I'm planning on an SR600K in December, a little over a month away. Previous experience suggests that's hard enough that you need to be 100% in order to get it done and I've got a little under 6 weeks before the ride. Will that be enough? At this point, I don't know. In normal circumstances I'd do a bunch of hilly rides to prepare but I know my back isn't up to that right now. Also, the weather sucks. It's cold and the extended forecast suggests it's going to stay that way. We'll see.

But right now, all I feel is disappointment.

Off to Oz

And not to see the wizard (sorry, couldn't resist!).

Headed out tomorrow for Australia and the Geelong Flyer 1200K. I did the 1000K version in March and the route is mostly the same. Wonderful organization and support from my good friends Peter and Eileen and looking forward to seeing many Aussie friends (plus a fellow Yank).

I've done a lot of traveling in my life and have always enjoyed the "being there" part. The "getting there" not so much. 16 hour flight to Hong Kong (hopefully no protest issues at the airport) followed by a 9 hour flight to Melbourne. Sigh.

I'm honestly not sure how this ride is going to go. As I wrote earlier, I hurt my back pretty badly a few weeks ago and it still hurts. The route has some pretty stiff climbing out of Adelaide then is relatively flat for most of the rest of the first day. The second day also has a fairly stiff climb but the third day has the longest/steepest climbs (Lavers Hill and Horden Vale). Lavers Hill is an 11.3 mile climb with an average gradient of 2.5% (very misleading) and a max gradient of 14.6% (ouch!). Horden Vale is a little over 6 miles of climbing with an average gradient of 3% and a max gradient of 12%.

I did mostly the same route in the spring and managed it OK but my back wasn't hurting at the start. I'm hoping that I can ease into it the first couple of days and my back will adjust to the load and be up for it on day 3.

We'll see.

'bent musing on a wintry day

OK, time for a stream of consciousness. 

In full disclosure, it’s completely within the realm of the possible that at some point in the future either I’ll stop doing 1200K’s or I’ll do them on a recumbent. As I sit here today, 5 weeks after PBP, my hands are a mess and I’m seriously concerned about loss of function/ongoing pain/future surgery; I’ve had nagging back issues for years and despite more than $10K spent over the years haven’t been able to find a saddle that’s not agony for the last 400K. I can’t use aerobars to give my hands a break due to the back issues.

Given how heavily invested I am in conventional DF bikes, that’d be a big step for me. Especially since I’m still fast enough to get good sleep on 1200K’s (I got 7+ hours stopped every night at PBP) but if I make a list of the reasons why I like doing 1200K’s “the bike I ride” isn’t even on it.

The main issue (for me) is it’s relentlessly hilly here in SW Wisconsin and ‘bents don’t climb particularly well, or at least the Bacchetta I have doesn’t. 11% is about the maximum gradient I can handle. I’m investigating other ‘bent alternatives that supposedly are better climbers but have yet to pull the trigger on anything.

With a DF bike, I start off my rides with a general idea of the direction I want to go and then let how I feel dictate the particular route I take and distance I ride. With the ‘bent, I don’t have the freedom to do that i.e., “I’d like to go that way but there are those two big climbs on it so that’s out” – I really dislike being limited in that way.

I freely admit that I don't ride the 'bent often enough to develop my "bent legs" and based on my experience there is definitely a difference in the muscle groups used between a DF and a 'bent. However, in the only objective measure I have to this point, I put the Bacchetta on the smart trainer and measured my power output on some fairly lengthy climbs. My FTP (Functional Threshold Power) on a DF is 254, tested this year. On the 'bent I develop about 20% less power. Note that I didn't do a full FTP test, just a series of long climbs but still, my average power for 5 minutes was in the 200-210 watt range on the 'bent.

That's a lot of power to give up, especially when your shit is weak already like me. I expect that were I to ride the 'bent exclusively for some period of time the power numbers would go up. That leads us to another issue.

I've read on numerous 'bent related internet forums that there's not a lot of crossover between a 'bent and a DF. Based on my limited experience I believe this is accurate. I bought the Bacchetta several years ago when I'd hurt my back. I was hoping to be able to put in some serious miles on the 'bent and then go do a 1200K I'd signed up for. Despite the fact that I put in 400-500 miles per month for three months on the 'bent I was in no way ready to do a 1200K on a DF so I scratched.

In an ideal world I could alternate between the two and be ready to do a 1200K on either depending on the route & my whim. The reality is I'd need to ride one or the other almost exclusively for several months in order to have a chance of finishing. I'm not really ready to ride a 'bent 100% of the time.

Also, I just like DF bikes. I think they're beautiful in their simplicity. I enjoy the finely nuanced differences between the various bikes I own.

Although I have done rides on the Bacchetta that I've enjoyed it's not the same.

Another factor is I like climbing and I like 1200K's with 30K+ of climbing. If whatever 'bent I'm riding can't climb that means I'm constrained to riding in Florida :-(

We’ll see.

Too much, too soon

In general, when people ask me about snow in Wisconsin my answer is always the same. We get our first snow on 7 December plus/minus a couple of days but after that it's cold enough that what falls in December is on the ground until the end of March. We don't get thaws in Jan/Feb like they do farther south. One side effect of this is due to the fact that it's so hilly here and because the sun stays so low on the horizon in the winter there are long stretches of road that never see the sun and end up as several hundred yard sheets of ice. The highways are generally cleared/salted but on the secondary roads (which, given the rural nature of the area, is most of them) the highway depts tend to rely more on mother nature to do the clearing.

At any rate, we got 3" of last night. It'll most likely be gone by noon but we're supposed to get another 3" on Wednesday.

Too much, too soon.

A couple of cold ones

From the forecast, it looked like we were in for a few days of decent weather. Although it was forecast to be unseasonably cold, no high winds or rain were in the outlook so I decided to do a couple of my 100K permanents.

First up was Boscobel. This isn't one of my favorite routes as it involves too much riding on US-60 but the stretch out of town on CR-Q then CR-E which is done twice (on the way out and on the return) is pretty nice so I decided to ride it.

Long story short, as I've noted elsewhere, my back was hurting and I'm trying to strike a balance between riding and letting it relax/heal so I decided to turn North rather than South at the CR-Q/CR-E intersection and head towards home. Ended up with 27 miles.

https://www.strava.com/activities/2816364484

I'd sent a message to my friend Bob Booth about riding my Spring Green perm on Saturday and he was up for it. Uncertain about my back but decided to do it anyway. The day dawned really cold (26 degrees) but the forecast was for light winds and mostly sunny until early afternoon and that's pretty much what we had. The first few miles were really cold until we warmed up from riding but after that we were generally OK. I always feel like in cold weather if I'm hot part of the time, cold part of the time and OK most of the time I've pretty much nailed it as far as dressing for the conditions.

We had a nice brunch at the Spring Green general store and were surprised when John Thier walked in. John and I had exchanged some texts about getting together this weekend - he'd invited me down south to Sinesawa to ride with him and Greg Gabrilson and I'd invited him to do my Spring Green perm. We were both set in our plans so I was surprised to see him in Spring Green. He said Greg had to cancel so he decided to come up and start from Muscoda.

The ride was uneventful. We high fived at the end to celebrate breaking 6 hours (5:50). I usually do this perm solo (including a lunch stop) in about 4:30 but that doesn't include sitting for an hour having coffee and chatting. An enjoyable day. Oh, and the back was mostly OK, a few twinges but nothing more serious. The relaxed pace probably helped.

https://www.strava.com/activities/2819072579

Oh, and here's a shot I took of the mighty Wisconsin. You usually can't see the rock bluffs on the left due to the trees/bushes but they're visible this time of year.

A cold and wet ride

October has really been a bust as far as my brevets and the weather in general are concerned. Usually, the fall is my favorite time of year to ride - cool & crisp days, sunny skies, fall colors - love it!

This year, we went straight from hot to cold. Temperatures in the 40's with a huge amount of rain and high winds. I had three brevets scheduled for October, all 200K's. The first was my "Fledglings Dare" route which is one of my favorites for the fall with a lot of sections up on the ridge tops where you can really take in the fall colors.

This year, I went from 11 riders registered to 6, then 3, then 1 (me). Cold, windy, rainy and solo just wasn't a good time. Got it done but didn't enjoy it much.

Next up was my "Galena Gallop 200K". This is a "Meet in the Middle" ride done in conjunction with Quad City Randonneurs where we start in our respective locales and ride toward each other meeting in Galena, IL where we have lunch then turn around and ride back. As the date approached the forecast got worse and worse - really cold and really windy. Again, I went from 6 registered down to 2, this time not including me. I went over to the start in Fennimore where I spent the night in a hotel before the ride. Got up the next morning to howling winds (gusts to 35 MPH) and a wind chill in the 20's - no thanks. I had two riders start and one finish. A very strong rider who finished with about 4 minutes to spare. Mike Fox in the Quad Cities had one rider start and finish. Marcia and I drove down to Galena and had a nice lunch and chat with Mike and Bob Booth then we all adjourned to the Galena Brewing Company for a beverage. We hung out there until 5 then Marcia and I started for home. On the way, we decided to go to Potosi Brewing and have dinner (pretty good prime rib). So not a good day for riding but the caloric intake was right up there ;-)

The final ride for October and the 2019 riding year was my "Via Viroqua 200K". This is another favorite and a good year ender. It's a hilly route (about 6K of climbing) but quiet roads and nice vistas. This time I had 11 sign up which shrank down to 8 with 7 starters. The forecast didn't look too promising with rain likely.

Intrepid group at the start

Bill and I sporting our Midwest Randonneurs jerseys

Fixing a flat (Photo by Richard Burnside)

We rode as a group the whole day with a nice stop at the Co-Op in Viroqua for lunch. The promised rain didn't happen until after we left Viroqua (51 miles) but rained for the next 50 miles. Not hard but steady with the temperatures in the low 50's.

Nevertheless, it was a good ride. Everyone was prepared for the rain so we were wet but warm enough. My back held up mostly OK. In each segment between controls it would get to where it was hurting pretty bad by the time I got to the control but a little bit of stretching helped. I pushed it a bit in the last 20 miles to see how it'd hold up and how I'd feel the next day. Pretty sore but not any worse so that's encouraging.

And as I write this, it's 42 degrees with winds gusting to 45 MPH.

Sigh.

I'm devastated

Like I'm certain everyone here does, I see the all too frequent posts about cyclists being killed. I don't know them but nonetheless I empathize with them and their families, reflect on my own riding & life and am deeply affected for a period of time. But it passes, life goes on and I continue riding.

I saw this post on FB this morning.

Although the cyclist in question isn't identified in the article I've since learned who it is. He and his wife are friends. In all honesty I have to say they weren't close friends but I've known them for a long time (16 years). I'd see them at rides and we'd chat for a while. Had dinner at RAGBRAI one year. You know, kind of the typical friendships you make with people that you see on rides over a period of years.

They're both active (she does tri's, he does ultra events) and giving people (they've crewed RAAM and RAW several times). Parents and grandparents. Good people.

Just devastated today.

Proof that you can't fix stupid

Regular readers (both of you ;-) ) will know that I've a history of back trouble caused by a bulging disc at the S1/S2. I know this. It's caused me to DNF several rides when I was otherwise riding well. I've learned over the years the things that I do on the bike that cause me problems and avoid doing them.

Then there's off the bike :-(

Two days ago the flood alarm went off on our septic system. The system is a really simple one and the house is about 15-20 feet above the septic field so even if it flooded significantly there's no way the house would be affected. Also, we had the tank inspected and drained last year and we don't really produce that much waste.

So given that, it was really unlikely that it was actually flooding and more likely something simpler like the float was stuck. So naturally, I decided to lift up the really heavy concrete cover so I could have a look. This despite the fact that I have a tractor with a front loader that would have made childs play out of lifting it up and it would have taken me every bit of 5 minutes to walk down to the shed, start the tractor and lift the cover off. Oh, and my loving wife standing there saying "don't do that, don't do that".

Hurt my back. Still really hurts.

You just can't fix stupid.

Oh, and the float was stuck.

2020 Musings

As is always the case at this time of year, I've started thinking about next year. This is generally precipitated by having to submit a ride schedule for my region to the ACP

[rant]One of the things I like least about being an RBA is I have to submit the schedule for my region before the RM schedule comes out so it is inevitably the case that there are 1200K's that I want to do that conflict with rides in my region. Unlike other regions, I'm "an army of one" (well, two if you count my wonderful wife) so finding someone else to run an event for me is difficult. Since no one that does my rides lives anywhere near Richland Center running a brevet involves one, if not two, nights in a hotel. That's a big ask.[/rant]

OK, with that out of the way...

Here are the 1200K's that I know about thus far (most info courtesy of my friend Dave T):

• Jan 18 - to Bangkok
• Feb 2 - Thailand 2020
• Feb 15 - from Bangkok
• Apr - Brazil LGR 1300
• Apr 25 - Japan 1200
• May 23 - Simcoe Devil Week
• Jun 3 - NVA 1200
• Jun 13 - South Korea
• Jun 27 - PBP Audax 1200
• Jul 6 - High Country 1200
• Jul 8 - LOL 1200
• Jul 13 - BC 1200
• Jul 20 - France 1200
• Aug 2 - Manhattan Montreal 1200
• Aug 13 - Iron Porcupine 1200
• Aug 13 - Manitoulin 1200
• Aug 16 - 1001 Miglia
• Aug 29 - Crater Lake 1200
• Nov - Brazil 1200
• Nov 5 - Cracker Swamp 1200
• Nov 8 - Great Southern 1200

At this point, I'm for sure doing the June 3 NVA 1200K (perhaps pre-riding it) and the November 8 Great Southern. I pre-registered for the August 16 1001 Miglia and am thinking about the Nov 5 Cracker Swamp if I can do it as a pre-ride (too close to the GSR otherwise). I'd like to do the Japan 1200K - Marcia has never been to Japan - if I can get in.

Marcia wants to take an extended motorcycle trip next year (read: sit all day, drink beer and eat pub food at night, generally lose conditioning) so the year sort of lays out:

- April 25 - Japan 1200K (conflicts with a regional event but if I get in I'm going to do it)

- April/May:  a brevet series for my region

- June: NVA 1200K, my "Tour of the Driftless" 1000K

- July: motorcycle trip

- August: 1001 Miglia

- October: Cracker Swamp pre-ride (?)

- November: Great Southern

I enjoyed the High Country last time I did it so if the motorcycle trip falls through or we decide on another time of year (September?) I might do that. If I decide not to do the Miglia (I have until early next year to complete my registration) I might do either the Crater Lake or Manitoulin 1200K's.

It's a great time to be a randonneur! Lots of choices.

Testing my resolve

When we bought our house in Wisconsin in 2009, we did so in the knowledge that we'd never spend the whole winter there and ten years later, we never have, instead spending the coldest months of the winter in Fredericksburg, TX.

We typically go down between Christmas and New Years then return the first week of April. Usually the weather here is decent enough until then that it's tolerable.

But not this year. I don't know if my ability/desire to tolerate the cold is decreasing as I get older or if it's the case that I know I've got an alternative so why suffer?

I was set to do a 200K brevet yesterday that started in Fennimore. I drove over the night before and spent the night in a hotel. This despite the fact that it was supposed to be cold and windy the next day. The route went South to Galena, IL for 65 miles then returned straight North to Fennimore.

I got up the next morning and checked the forecast: winds out of the SW gusting to 35 MPH with a wind chill in the mid-20's. The warmest it was forecast to get (wind chill) was 38 degrees and the wind was actually forecast to reverse in mid-day so that there'd be a headwind both ways.

God hates randonneurs.

I decided that didn't sound like a whole lot of fun so I didn't ride. The next day was a little bit warmer and not quite as windy with a high in the mid-40's but I still couldn't bring myself to go outside so I did 32 miles on Zwift. It's forecast to be somewhat warmer tomorrow so I'll see if I can bring myself to get out and ride.

There seems to be a trend here

This year, I wanted to put on 3 brevets in October to give riders the best chance of riding in the Fall. I love riding in the Fall - crisp temperatures, clear skies (usually), beautiful foliage. So I put a ride on the calendar for Fall Colors weekend.

I had a brevet on the calendar this morning - the "Fledglings Dare 200K". It's one of my favorite routes and I typically put it on in October because the fall colors are so beautiful on this route.

They hold a "Fall Colors Weekend" here in Richland Center every October. They have a parade, tractor show, crafts fair, etc. In years past they've had a bike tour that goes to local farms and orchards. You know, typical small town stuff.

I usually hold my brevet for the following weekend. This is so riders who are staying overnight can get a hotel room (there are only two decent hotels here in the big city and rooms tend to fill up on Fall Colors Weekend).

But there's another reason.

It rains on Fall Colors Weekend. Every. Single. Year.

We've been here since 2009 and it's rained every time.

As I write this, it's raining.

Hard.

When we lived in Boerne, Texas there was a group that put on a "Saint Valentines Massacre" motorcycle rally in Boerne near Valentines day in February. It rained that weekend for the 9 years we lived there. Every. Single. Year.

So no brevet on next years schedule for Fall Colors Weekend.

A cold, but dry, pre-ride

I don't normally pre-ride my brevets, I think I've done two pre-rides in the 5 years I've been an RBA. I'll typically ride the route on the motorcycle or drive it if I feel it needs to be checked out or I haven't ridden it in a casual ride lately. I choose not to pre-ride for credit for several reasons:

• I'd rather have company.
• The credit usually doesn't matter that much to me. I'll get the R12/P12 rides done via other brevets or permanents.
• My turnouts are small enough that if only 1-2 people come I'd rather that they have company on the ride. This is especially true if a single person comes out for the ride - if they've made the trip out to the big city it seems a shame that they don't have company for the ride.
• I've got to get up on the morning of the brevet anyway so I might as well ride it on the day.

For today's brevet, the weather forecast was looking dreadful - temperatures in the mid to upper 40's, rain and fairly high winds (gusts to 30 MPH). I had 7 riders advance registered which went to 0 as the day approached and the forecast didn't improve.

For whatever reason, it didn't occur to me to do a pre-ride until the middle of the night on Thursday but once it did I quickly checked the forecast for Friday and it looked fairly decent: same temperatures (mid-40's) but dry and moderate winds of 10-15 MPH.

So I decided I'd take advantage of the respite in the rain and pre-ride the route for credit. I set the alarm for 5:45 and went back to sleep.

5:45 came too soon. As I always do, I woke up about 10 minutes before the alarm went off and briefly considered whether or not I still wanted to do the ride. Once I start thinking "should I or shouldn't I" it's over - I'm awake. So I got up, had a quick breakfast then drove over to the start.

Although I can start at any time on a pre-ride, I got on the road at the normal start time of 07:00. Not really much to say about the ride. The forecast was pretty much right on, it was gloomy all day and company would have been nice but I got it done.

For the "Strava or it didn't happen" folks:

https://www.strava.com/activities/2763070245

Into the Inferno - Hound Dog 1200K

When I signed up for the Hound Dog (I think I was the third person to sign up behind Dan D. and Pam W.) I thought "end of September/beginning of October, temps should be in the mid to upper 80's".

This just goes to show how wrong you can be.

As the date approached I started anxiously, then obsessively checking the weather forecast which basically was the DNF trifecta: hot, humid, windy. More detailed forecast was heat index near 100 degrees, wind gusts 25-30 MPH and humidity in the upper 90% range.

Ouch.

For those who've followed my travails for a while, either here on my blog or in person, you'll know that I don't do heat well. The basic problem is that living in Wisconsin I never really acclimate to riding in high temperatures. When I lived in Texas, I used to run or ride in temperatures well over 100 degrees without a problem but now, any time the thermostat heads north of 90 the line between finishing and not is vanishingly small.

I've done 2 hot rides this year: the Texas 1000K at the end of April had temperatures in the low to mid 90's but it wasn't terribly windy (by Texas standards). I also did the Florida Sunshine 1200K in mid May and it was both hot (mid 90's) and very humid.

I was able to complete both rides with judicious use of fluids, electrolyte replacement (Enduralytes Extreme) and ice socks. Actually, on the latter, I use a sun sleeve that's too big. I tie a knot in one end, fill it with ice then loop it around my neck and tie another knot. The ice lasts about 30 minutes or so with the only downside being it drips down my torso and heads toward my crotch resulting in a perpetually wet seat. Heat, pressure and moisture are the E-ticket to saddle sore land so it's a tough choice between getting sick from the heat or suffering with saddle sores. I opted for the latter on the Texas and Florida ride and finished both albeit with a good deal of pain from saddle sores.

So back to the Hound Dog.

As the date approached and the forecast didn't improve (it actually got worse) I seriously thought about just cancelling. I had purchased non-refundable air fare so I decided I would go and try to be extra careful with fluids/electrolytes.

Because I was worried about the heat and maintaining hydration, I decided to wear a 50 oz CamelBak. On the positive side, I drink more when I wear it. On the negative side, the pressure on my shoulders generally gives me a blinding headache after about 100 miles that I've mitigated in the past with ibuprofen. As anyone experienced with riding in the heat knows, taking ibuprofen when dehydrated puts extreme pressure on the kidneys and renal failure is a very real possibility. Tough choice that...

I also decided to put aerobars on the Hampsten. I've ridden the Hampsten on a number of 1200K's and usually get a bit of numbness in my ring and pinkie finger on both hands but nothing serious and it goes away after several days. For some reason after PBP my hands were just a mess. Those two fingers literally felt like they'd been crushed and this persisted for more than 2 weeks. This was very worrying and I don't want to risk making them worse.

I've used aerobars to reasonable effect in the past, the big concern for the Hound Dog was that I didn't have a lot of time to adjust to riding with them. I'm fairly flexible through my lower back, glutes and hamstrings (I can easily put my palms on the floor with my legs straight) but being in the lower position on the aerobars takes some getting used to which I didn't have time to do. I decided to put them on anyway and vary my riding position on the bike as much as I could to give my lower back a break.

Day One

The route on day one had us going up to Tishomingo OK. The forecast winds were out of the SE so we'd have a screaming tailwind until Caddo at about 90 miles then a mostly crosswind with a bit of a push on the 30 mile stretch out to Tishomingo. After that, a cross headwind on the return to Caddo then a screaming headwind for the remaining 82 miles. The forecast also showed that the winds would build rather than decrease as night fell with the strongest winds at midnight.

Here's the day one route:

Hound Dog Day 1

We left promptly at 07:00 and with the tailwind made great time out to the first store stop at 40 miles in Ector. I bought some Oreo's and ate them as I rode. We continued to have a good tailwind as the heat rose and we rode toward the second store stop at Durant at about 80 miles. I bought a c-store hotdog and drank a Coke there in addition to topping off bottles. I also filled my ice sleeve and put it around my neck.

It was really getting hot now as we rode toward Caddo at 90 miles. I stopped at the c-store in Caddo, refilled my water bottles and did a Skratch Hyper-Hydration in a bottle of water. I left the store by myself for the stretch to Tishomingo. The skies were cloud free and the wind was blowing pretty hard, cross-headwind as forecast and the heat index was close to 100. I arrived in Tishomingo pretty well cooked, did the info control and then went up the road to a Subway where I ate a wrap, bag of chips and drank 3 medium size cups of Coke. I refilled my sun sleeve with ice before I left.

I felt pretty good when I left. Just before I got out of Tishomingo one of the knots on my sun sleeve came untied and I lost about half my ice before I could catch it. I continued on toward Caddo and now it was really hot and more of a headwind. I stopped about every 5 miles or so and dumped water on my head (this was one upside of the CamelBak: I could use one of my water bottles to dump on my head).

I got to Caddo feeling really bad. Up to this point, I'd been taking an Enduralyte Extreme an hour and with benefit of hindsight I don't think that was enough. At any rate, I went to the Dairy Queen and got a large chocolate shake and drank it along with a large cup of water.

After that, I felt pretty good. I was joined by Amy R., Byron W., Jeff L., and Rob T., and we came upon Hamid A., after a few miles. We rode as a group for a good long while but eventually lost Rob and Hamid. 

We stopped at the stores in Bokchito and Bonham. Looking back, I didn't really eat much on that stretch and started to feel it after we left Bonham so I made a brief stop and ate a banana and some Oreos. 

The last store stop was a Kwik-Chek about 23 miles from the overnight and I made it a goal to empty the CamelBak before I got to the overnight to make sure I was fully hydrated. I've found in the past that if I go to bed dehydrated I wake up cramping in the middle of the night. I realize as I write this that I didn't take any Enduralytes from the last store stop on and in fact had reduced my intake of electrolytes considerably - that was a mistake. It was quite warm and humid all the way to the finish. This would come back to haunt me on day 2. Amy, Byron, Jeff and I rode together to the overnight and got there about 1.

I made a microwave TV dinner while I showered (meat loaf and mashed potatoes) and drank a bottle of Coke. I got into bed at about 2 AM with the alarm set for 05:45. I didn't sleep particularly well but did get up a couple of times to pee which said at least I was reasonably well hydrated.

Day 2

The day 2 route went SE for 58 miles then E to the turnaround at 98 miles. The wind was once again SE and gusting to the mid-20's and it was once again forecast to be near 100 degrees. It was also forecast to be overcast for a good part of the day but this would prove false as the sun came out fully at about 08:30. Here's the day 2 route:

Day 2 Hound Dog 1200K

We'd agreed we were going to leave at 07:00. I hadn't really eaten that much on the ride the previous day from Tishomingo all the way to the finish and was really feeling hungry. I had two make it yourself waffles, 2 danish, some eggs, 3 cups of OJ and 2 cups of coffee for breakfast so I left the hotel feeling OK. When I went outside the cars were all covered with water like it had rained but it hadn't - it was just so humid.

Rob, Amy, Byron, Mark M. and I left and headed out into the heat and wind. I started to feel kind of bad right off the bat so I tried to make sure I was drinking a lot and upped the electrolytes to one every half hour. We stopped at the store in Lone Oak and I was feeling increasingly bad. I decided that I should eat more while I still could and had a breakfast taco and chocolate milk.

Leaving Lone Oak there were several long stretches straight into the wind and I was feeling worse by the minute. I knew we'd be going straight into the wind out to the turnaround and that the 70 mile stretch from Mineola to the turnaround and back had the most climbing on that days route. We were on about an 8 mile treeless stretch on FM 2324 and I was feeling pretty bad. I saw a road/driveway to the right with some overhanging trees and called out that I was going to stop and told the others to go on. 

I sat there for a while pouring water over my head and drinking but it wasn't helping. I knew that the stretch out to the turnaround would all be into the wind with temperatures near 100 and would be hilly. I considered the possibility of my getting increasingly sick and quitting - how would I get back to Greenville (besides an ambulance)?

So I decided to call it while I could still get back on my own power. Even now as I write this, I think it was a good decision. It wasn't likely that I was going to recover given the conditions. I'll also add that the idea of riding along sick for extended periods of time wasn't all that appealing (BTDT) so the fun factor had pretty much gone to zero.

As an aside, I mentioned at the outset that I'd put aerobars on the Hampsten. As I was approaching the driveway where I decided to quit my back muscles were really tightening up - to the point of "I've got to stop RIGHT NOW and stretch". This also happened several times on the way back to Greenville so it's possible that even without the heat I'd have had trouble - hard to know for sure.

So bottom line: a DNF. As I write this, a final tally isn't available but I believe half the field on the 1200K quit with two riders going to the hospital for severe dehydration/heat exhaustion (they're both OK). (Update: 41 starters, 13 DNF). Although I'm always disappointed when I fail to finish a ride and will try hard to analyze what I did wrong (first thoughts: didn't take enough electrolytes and didn't take them regularly enough, didn't drink enough on day 2, didn't eat enough at the end of day 1, probably spent too much time on the aerobars and/or wasn't sufficiently acclimated to them) I'm content with the decision and feel like it was the right one all things considered.

I admire those with long strings of 1200K's with no DNF's but at the end of the day I do these to challenge myself and have fun. I've finished a number of very tough rides so I know I have the ability to push myself under trying conditions but I don't want to risk my health or ruin my enjoyment of the sport by doing "death rides".

Kudos to those who continued and are finishing. They obviously did a better job of managing their ride than I did (and in many cases are more experienced at riding in extreme heat than I) and I applaud their ability to finish under such difficult conditions.