Tour De Palm Springs 2022


After a couple of years of hiatus because you know … COVID, the event was back on! It is a nice season opener. By most accounts there are nearly 5,000 cyclists riding various distances. I typically ride the 100 mile version. The climbing is minimal, front-loaded but only 3,000 feet all in. It’s a fast century with lots of pacelines to join or bring your own. Ride time was 5 hours 7 minutes Total Time was 5 hours 30 minutes.

The Ride

The weather forecast promised to be a warm one, mid 80’s the high. We know it’s the desert and it’s supposed to be warm oh and windy. But living on the coast it is still in the 40’s in the morning and the highs are not more than 60’s for the day. This weekend in all of Southern California, and more importantly this event, was at least 20F warmer than we have been riding in all “winter”.

Typically a ride like this we can do without support and even do it as a NO NO Ride … no stops for any reason. No stops for refueling, No stops for potty breaks and No stops for regrouping. Based on the forecast I went into this event thinking a stop mid-ride and maybe one near the end if it got too hot. I joke to my friends that I am a delicate flower. After many years of racing in the coldest, wettest, windiest or hottest weather I no longer feel the need to suffer like that anymore. Now I like a pleasant 70-75F temperature range to ride and race my bike.

As it turned out, we maintained a good pace throughout the ride and finished before the heat of the day. We made the one stop mid-way about mile 53. We did not have to stop again until the finish. Many riders around me were suffering the last 10-15 miles. I had to share my electrolyte capsules, my fuel and my water with Lori. Lack of fluids was the most common complaint with some experiencing cramping and one rider vomiting sevral times in the home stretch.

The Data

You can skip ahead if you are not into data 🙂

I have taken my 5 hour file and split it in two sections. The first section combines Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the ride. The second section is for Phase 3

Phase 1 – is getting though the hundreds upon hundreds of cyclists of varying skill levels. Fitness and speed levels aside, there are sketchy riders who are not experienced at riding in such a large groups. Heck, this is a great first century for riders. You have to be on your toes and your head must be on a swivel. You are passing lots of riders but you have to be aware that you will also be overtaken by much faster riders than yourself. It is wise to yield to the right. Keeping our crew together became too difficult on the first few rollers. Those that could stay-on were lucky enough to do so because it was nearly impossible for me to turn around and look for them. It’s just not safe.

Phase 2 – this is the time we ended up in no man’s land. We have ridden hard enough to be in front of riders. We have been dropped by the really fast groups. Now we are just sitting exposed to the wind with no riders in sight. I mean there were a few here and there but no pacelines. I told the other two riders, Lori and Ray, to ease up and just keep the pedals turning but without putting in too much effort. This would be the Glass Cranks phase. You know if you pedal too hard with cranks made of glass they will shatter lol! The key now is to wait for a good paceline compatible with your abilities coming up behind you. A paceline faster than you are going alone but not too fast. You want to be able to contribute and not be a wheel sucker lol! You want to be able to share in the work and the pacing but not get blown out the back. Eventually we were passed by a good solid paceline and we jumped in.

Phase 3 – just prior to entering the SAG stop we were passed by an even faster paceline and we jumped in. We pulled in to the SAG stop with them. We got to chit chat with our mutual friends that were in this group. We were at the SAG for a little over 10 minutes. We rolled out with them and finished the event with them.

Let’s take a look at the numbers shall we

First 2 hours 43 minutes – 53 miles 189 watts Normalized power (2.8 w/kg)

Heart Rate Avg 149 Max 174

Speed Avg 19.8 mph

Elevation Gain – ~ 2000 feet

Second 50 miles

2 hours 24 minutes 49 miles 161 Watts Normalized Power (2.4 w/kg)

Heart Rate Avg 141 Max 160

Speed Avg 20.5 mph

Elevation Gain – ~ 700 feet

The Key Takeaways

In the first 50 miles there is A LOT of fighting for position, accelerating to pass large groups, accelerating to stay within your group or join other trains that are coming by faster than your group and yes there is some climbing not much but enough to raise your Normalized Power.

On the second half the pace was more sustained without the need for power surges. The riding was steady, smooth and safe. I finished the last 50 breathing through my nose. There were a few pickups here and there and the stopping and starting from traffic lights was a little taxing but we always went back to a steady pace.

All my numbers were lower on the second 50 and yet average speed was higher 20.5 mph vs 19.8 mph. I only look at power while riding. I have no idea what my current speed is at any one time. I also don’t know my average speed until I download. It is not a metric I follow since all my rides have so much climbing that the speed is so slow it’s nothing to write home about 🙂 But since I know a lot of people still don’t ride with power meters I thought I would use a metric well known to all riders.

Final Thoughts

If you are ever in Southern California in February give this century a go. Escape the cold, rain or even snowbound climates for our deserts. The event is well supported. There are police officers stationed at all the major intersections and you get the right of way. It’s as flat as any Southern California century can ever be.

The secret to riding this event is to go easy at the beginning when everyone is fighting for position. They are fresh and they may be inexperienced with pacing so let those riders go and don’t chase them. Stay within yourself and if you think you are going too hard… YOU ARE slow down. As the first few climbs transition to downhill sections grab a wheel of heavier, wider riders and hang-on for the descent. Then you will have a few sections with tailwinds enjoy those too! Once everything settles down and you are far enough in front of the yahoos find a good compatible paceline to work with and finish the event strong.

My pacing for the event was spot on. I had plenty of power at will on the last 40km. My nutrition was also spot on. I had 1400 calories in my bottles and a few treats in my pockets.

PRO TIP: put the nutrition in your bottles it is very hard to pull food out of your pockets and tear open packages while riding in a 30 person paceline over 25 mph.

You might recall at the beginning of the post I mentioned I was sharing my fuel, water and electrolytes with another rider to ensure they would finish in our selected pack. By the end it was only 5 of us left. We had dropped off passengers especially in the last 20 miles. I did not fade throughout the event and it was my choice to ride at a lower power setting, ride more efficiently and yet ultimately maintain a higher average speed on the back half vs the front half. The rider setting tempo upfront was very strong. He took short breaks and then would resume pulling at the front. I felt safe and kept Lori in this group rather than chase anything faster. My PR for the course is a 4:43 so this pace was much easier than usual.

More graphs just for fun

I am including my peak 20, 30 and 60 minute numbers. Lastly, I thought it would be interesting to section out Phase 2 for those that want a deeper dive into the No Man’s Land data – the Glass Cranks phase lol!

20 mins 230 w NP (3.4 w/kg) HR 164 bpm avg 173 bpm max 17.6 mph avg
30 mins 225 w NP (3.3 w/kg) HR 164 bpm avg 174 bpm max 16 mph avg
60 mins 211 w NP (3.1 w/kg) HR 159 bpm avg 174 bpm max 17.1 mph avg
35 minutes of easy pedaling 165 watts NP HR 140 bpm avg 155 bpm max 17 mph avg

Thanks for reading! Please check out my YouTube channel

The REV Gang
Georgeta and Lori at mile 53 SAG Stop
Bill’s Pizza I highly recommend it!

What is the difference between the Wahoo Kickr and Wahoo Core Smart Trainers


April 2, 2020 and REV Endurance Sports is selling more smart trainers than we have ever sold before!  One of the most common questions I get asked is “what is the difference between the Kickr and the Core?”  the immediate follow-up question is usually “Is the Kickr worth $300 more?” So I thought I would put together a blog post to answer those two basic questions. I also would like to share it as ready reference with my customers in the hopes that together we can make an informed decision and the appropriate choice.

 

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WHAT IS A SMART TRAINER?

Let’s begin with simple things first.  Why a smart trainer?  A smart trainer will allow for 3rd party apps (Zwift, TrainerRoad, Sufferfest and FulGaz just to name a few) to control the resistance of your trainer as you ride in a virtual world.  It makes indoor training much more fun and the resistance makes for an incredible workout.  You can ride with your friends in this virtual world or make new friends worldwide.  Below are images of the two trainers we will discuss in this post, the Kickr and the Core

WHAT IS A DIRECT DRIVE TRAINER?

Both trainers feature direct drive technology and don’t need a training wheel. Direct drive means you take the rear wheel off of your personal bike and attach your bike to the trainer.  The trainer will have a cassette attached to it. More on that later… A few benefits of a direct drive trainer include but are not limited to:

  1. No need for a separated dedicated trainer wheel
  2. No need for a dedicated trainer tire
  3. No rear tire slippage on the resistance drum under hard efforts
  4. In my opinion a much more secure and stable platform
  5. Much better real world feeling

Smart trainers are much more expensive than traditional wheel on trainers.

The Kickr is Wahoo’s top end trainer $1,199

The Core is the mid-range trainer $899

FLYWHEEL

Wahoo has increased the flywheel of the Kickr 2018 to 16 lb or 7.25kg. Why would this increase be important?  The bigger the flywheel the more inertia and more realistic the road feel.

In comparison, the Kickr Core has a flywheel weight of 12 lb or 5.4kg.  If you have been following the Wahoo Kickr product for a while you might recall it had a similar size back in 2016 and 2017.

The Kickr 2018 can provide 2,200 watts of resistance. That is a HUGE amount of watts which is more compatible with professional cyclists than us mere mortals.  This 2,200 watts capacity is enabled by the larger flywheel.   Many of us will never need that maximum wattage on our trainers but it’s nice to know it’s there for you when you achieve that level. By the way, track sprinters are known for massive wattage a Kickr might be more appropriate for them.

By comparison, the Kickr Core offers 1,800 watts of resistance.  How does that compare with trainers from other brands? It is more max wattage than the Elite Directo (1,400 watts) and Tacx Flux 1 (1,500 watts).

ACCESSORIES

You’re in luck when it comes to the Wahoo ecosystem.  The Climb, which simulates a climbing grade and the Headwind, Wahoo’s fan are both compatible with either unit.  The only difference to consider is the Core will only allow the rider to climb up to 16% grade while the Kickr will allow you to climb a 20% grade. All of us have watched world tours. There are many iconic climbs that do not reach 16% grades.  There are very few 16% plus grades like during the Giro d’Italia such as Monte Zoncolan and Passo di Mortirolo.  If you aspire to climb those then the Kickr is more suitable.  I do need to tell you that a 10% grade with 100% reality setting on your Zwift app will feel VERY VERY difficult … in my humble opinion it feels much steeper than reality.

As mentioned above, both units are optimised to work with the Wahoo Headwind and Wahoo Climb. Connection via Bluetooth or ANT+ is easy, and the units allow you to do both at the same time. External apps like Zwift and TrainerRoad work seamlessly.

LIVING WITH A KICKR OR CORE

The bigger flywheel will make the Kickr a heavier unit at 47 lbs or  22kg.  The Kickr is well designed, in fact, the handle is well placed and makes the 47 lb unit fairly easy to move around.  Most users will dedicate a room, euphemistically, pain cave, where the trainer will reside.   If you do have to transport it in your vehicle or store it daily the legs fold flush against the body of the unit.

Kickr Core is lighter by about 7 lbs at 40 lbs.  A little assembly is required when you unbox it such as bolting on the legs (one time).  The back legs don’t fold on the Core only the front legs fold in.   Core does not have a handle for transport. I don’t know about you but a 40 lb object without a handle will take some careful handling.

The biggest selling point of the Wahoo updated range is the new drive belt, which is pretty much silent, thanks to a new ribbed belt design. The noise level is important if you are an apartment dweller or maybe your pain cave is next to your child’s room.

 

 

 

CONCLUSION

The Wahoo Kickr 2018 remains one of the best trainers on the market and pretty much created this space. It is the industry leader and is often used as a benchmark by which other trainers are measured. The Kickr Core represents great value, with a decent flywheel but without the practical extras of the Kickr. Are you still asking yourself but what is the $300 difference well let’s see if I can make it more succinct for us.

$300 more for the Kickr buys you —

The Kickr is more stable

Doesn’t need assembly out of the box

Folds up for better storage

Easier to transport because it has a handle

Comes with a cassette included

Comes with Cadence sensor included

Heavier Flywheel

More Max Wattage

More Max Grade

 

You can purchase your Wahoo Kickr and Core through our website!

 

 

Back to Palomar Mountain


I rode Palomar Mountain South Grade (14.5 mile 5,000+ ft) today.  I hadn’t been on the mountain since October 12, 2019.  I had one goal and that was to ride the climb at 3 w/kg.  I ended up with 2.93 w/kg for the 2 hour climb. I am happy not only with accomplishing my training goal but also with how I felt.

PALOMAR MOUNTAIN

Palomar Mountain has three notable ascents. There is a fourth but it is really difficult on a road bike more on that later.  The most common ascent would be South Grade.  The other two would be East Grade and Nate Harrison Grade, the latter is mixed terrain.

I mentioned earlier there was a fourth ascent that would be Palomar Truck Trail/Divide.  It is really rocky and sandy.  Going up you can pick your line but descending it will really test your bike handling skills and your tires if you are on a road bike.  I speak from experience. I have climbed and descended it on 25mm tires.  I don’t recommend the truck trail for the novice cyclist.  If you decide to ride a Hardtail MTB you will have the appropriate equipment to climb and descend.

Here is a great resource if you wish to dig down into the details of the 100 hardest climbs in California.  South Grade ranks as 18th  based on FIETS.  Some of you may have your pet climb and may not agree with the list.  FIETS is a mathematical calculation so it removes any subjective or personal bias.

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South Grade and I have a long history and it’s been love/hate from our very first date. My beautillion should be a case study on how not to climb Palomar Mountain.  I nearly passed out from a very serious bonk! I literally fell over just passed the 4,000 ft elevation sign.  I look at the boulder-sized rock that I sat down and rested nearly every time I climb South Grade.  I  give it the finger, mentally of course.  I was 80 plus miles and over 10,000 feet of climbing into the ride when I crested the mountain.  Great, good job you reached the summit but now I still needed to ride home. It was the day after Christmas and no one was on the road.  Additionally, no stores were open.   I called my neighbor to come pick me up.  He had just become a licensed driver and was all too eager to drive his dad’s pick-up truck and come get me.  I was not an endurance cyclist, not even a century rider, at the time.  What was I thinking?  There is a blog post in there just need to find more time in my days to document that first climb.

Many years later, I was fit enough to climb Palomar without stopping.  The challenge then became doing repeats on it because climbing it once wasn’t enough anymore. As the years went by I was doing multiple repeats on it.  Eventually, I Everested the climb — 7 plus repeats for 29,029 feet in one ride.  I wish I had a link for my blog post documenting my first Everest, Everesting Palomar Mountain, but sadly I never finished it.  I will get it done I promise.

TODAY’S TRAINING RIDE

I parked at Harrah’s Casino in Rincon.  Harrah’s Casino likes to call their little complex Funner.  Silly name I know and there is signage guiding you towards it from six miles away.  I like to park at the base of the mountain so that I can be on the climb within a few hundred meters.  As I mentioned in the introduction the goal was to pace my ride at 3 w/kg which for me is about 200 watts.  Yes, you can now scoff at my paltry wattage but hey I am just an average Joe that loves riding his bike.  I have never been a pro cyclist nor anything even remotely close.

When I climb Palomar I take one detour to add an additional small climb and then I add another small climb at the end.  For years I rode by Red Gate Road until one day I asked the best question a cyclist should ask themselves routinely, “I wonder where that goes?”  I was pleasantly surprised to discover a .8 mile 250 ft climb with steep ramps that led to a dead end road.   The bonus climb I tack on at the end, Crestline, adds another 350 feet.  So with a few little tweaks I now have a 14.5 mile 5,000 ft climb in my backyard.  Below you will see my TrainingPeaks screenshot.  As the season progresses the goal will be higher intensity along with a few pick-ups (intervals) on the climb.

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FYI – it was cold AF on the descent. I nearly froze on the first 2,000 feet of the descent and never warmed up on the lower 3,000 feet.  I pulled the pin on doing an additional repeat today.  All good the primary mission had been accomplished.

Ok that is all for now so that I can actually publish a post on the same day I start writing it!

POST SCRIPT – I came away with a little prize for my proper pacing, a KOM. All’s well that ends well.

#Everesting #PalomarMountian #TrainingWithPower #EnduranceRides #WinterBaseTraining #RimBrakesForLife

NO NO Rides


Thank you for taking the time to read my blog.  You can find me onStrava Instagram Twitter youtube 

You may also want to read about 8.5 hour fasted ride.

On January 4, George Vargas and Lori Hoechlin embarked on a NO NO Ride.  What is a NO NO ride?  It’s shorthand for NO Stops for NO Reasons. I know that’s not proper English, the use of a double negative, but you get the idea.  Fleshing out the NO NO Ride – it includes but is not limited to NO refueling stops, NO potty breaks, NO regrouping, NO resting, NO picture taking, NO selfies, NO means NO.  We are law abiding citizens and fancy ourselves as great ambassadors for the sport of cycling so we did stop at stop signs and traffic signals.  However, I should point out that priority 1 when creating the route was to avoid as many traffic controls as possible, then 10,000 feet of climbing, and lastly that it be at least 100 miles.  We rode the entire loop  in North County, a rural area of San Diego County.

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A NO NO Ride really isn’t that difficult for endurance athletes to achieve.  Especially two experienced and fat adapted endurance cyclists like Lori and I.  The training objective was to keep the wheels rolling as long as possible at endurance/tempo range for the day.

But you may ask what if I’m not fat-adapted? Please don’t confuse a NO NO Ride with a fasted ride.  If you are not fat-adapted then just pack all the goodies and treats you think you will need in your pockets.  My tip would be fuel is far more important than fluids on a ride of this nature.  SIS Isotonic gels is a cheat — liquid and gel 😉 or as I prefer, all my calories in my bottles – liquid fuel concentrate. Since you are not stopping to refill your bottles you need to decide how much fluids you plan to take.  On my ride I was only carrying one bottle on my bike and it was only 3/4 full bottle of coffee.

What did I do for this ride? For this ride there were no calories in my bottle just a few treats in my jersey pockets.  For the entire 7 hour ride I consumed 440 calories.  Three aforementioned SIS gel of 80 calories each, and one fig bar packet of the Costco variety, 200 calories.  Far below my requisite calories of 250-300 calories per hour (1,750 or 2,100 calories) According to the typically unreliable Heart Rate (HR) data I burned 5,837 calories (799 cal/hr) more on the dubious nature of HR data later.  For endurance rides I like to think my calorie burn is more in the 500-550 range.  According to power data I put out 3,575 kjs divided by 7 hours that puts me at 510 kjs per hour or roughly the equivalent 510 calories per hour. I rely, and I’ll admit quite heavily, on power data.

A quick aside on one of the differences between HR data (calories) and Power data (kjs) .  HR computes your calories burned based on your inputs into your software of height, weight, resting HR, Max HR, fitness level and even your age.  While kjs is computed by the pressure you apply to the pedals – more force more kjs. Let’s take for example a hilly ride, you climb your HR is elevated you descend your heart is still beating, albeit at a reduced rate.  Conversely, kjs would be accumulated while pedaling up the hill but once you crest and roll over the top you are no longer pedaling, at least not with any significant force, so you will not accumulate kjs.  By the end of long ride your continues HR data has been factoring into your calorie burn while your kjs were only accumulating during your climbs and not your descents.  There will be a disparity you can not avoid it.

Ok enough about that now back to NO NO Rides.  I suggest you start with something you think you can handle — a 2 hour NO NO Ride.  This is easily accomplished with just a little planning.  It’s possible you can or already have done this in the past.  Next milestone should be 3 hours, and continue on your way to 4 and 5 hour NO NO Rides.  Ideally, I think 4 hours is the sweet spot.  Depending on the topography in your local area that can be as much as 72 miles @18 mph or 52 miles @13 mph with a lot of steep climbing or somewhere in between of 60 miles @15 mph. A 4 hour NO NO ride should encompass most group ride activities.  Challenge your mates or gal pals to ride the entire group ride loop without stopping.

 

MY NO NO RIDE

 

Let’s take a few minutes to breakdown my ride with graphs from Training Peaks. If your eyes begin to glaze over from the data don’t worry you can skip to the end for the conclusion.  Keep in mind my readership spans the gamut from people that like when I spin a good yarn and yet some come to the blog for the hard data. This post is more hard data as it is going to be used as reference material for me for further experimentation of longer and longer NO NO Rides. Many of my posts are really just for me in the end.  My blog is a repository of my epic adventures, trials and tribulations, they span the time as a nascent ultra cyclist to the “old and frail” and in my current iteration as semi-retired hack.

I would like to preface the data that follows with a clear and discernible metric — this was an ENDURANCE ride.  High wattage output on climbs, surges or sprints were NOT priorities and in fact were discouraged.  When we ride double centuries we ride at endurance and tempo pace for hours and hours. This ride was intended to simulate the demands and mimic the same pacing, fueling and stopping strategies we use at our 200 milers or 500 milers.  Never mind the fact that I am not a human wattage cottage anyway!

DATA BREAKDOWN

Here are two basic metrics for you.  The first is my Heart Rate and the second will be Power for the day.  Zone 2 is generally considered Endurance Zone and Zone 3 is Tempo.  I spent roughly 2.5 hours in Zone 2 (120-145 bpm) and roughly 3.5 hours in Zone 3 (146-164 bpm).  The math is interesting because for the entire 7 hours my average HR was 143 bpm which is the top range of Zone 2 but the graph shows 1 hour more at Zone 3. FYI max HR for this 54 year old is still upwards of 185 bpm.

So what can we glean from this data?  Well in my humble opinion – nothing.  I have never had much faith in HR rate numbers.  Generally I all but ignore my HR while I am riding.  I don’t even have it on my data screens on my cycling computer.  I focus on my power.  But I also understand most cyclists don’t have power meters so I include it in my writings.  However, power meters have become so affordable that there is no reason why more riders don’t have power meters installed on their bikes.  Riders spend money on aerodynamic equipment such as high-end carbon wheels when they should prioritize a power meter purchase FIRST. HR data is relatable and transferable to other sports like running, swimming, rowing, cross country skiing  etc and for those reasons you will see it here.

One of my theories regarding my HR is that I was rested. My last ride was a New Year’s Day Century.  I believe my HR was elevated compared to my effort.  Based on the data it looks like I spent more time in Zone 3 Tempo when the goal for this ride was for it to be a strong Zone 2 Endurance ride. Again it isn’t alarming and perceived effort goes a long way in comparing and contrasting HR data with Power Meter data.

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POWER DATA

Let’s now look at power data as a check and balance to HR data.  I have always put more value in power data.  It is less susceptible to the vagaries of HR such as fatigue, weather, dehydration, cardiac drift, bonking and other things.

I should give a quick class on w/kg.  W/kg is an essential metric and universal.  To calculate w/kg First you take your weight in pounds convert it to kg then take the power you sustained and divide it by your weight in kg.  For example, my weight is 148 lbs, or 67.51 kg therefor 170 watts divided by 67.51 kg = 2.5 w/kg.  I say it is universal because a 125 lb female and a 165 lb male can climb a hill and we can distinguish who is the faster stronger rider by looking at their w/kg even if they are in different states or different parts of the world.  You know it this relationship as power to weight ratio.  You have heard it for years. Now we have the equipment, power meters, to evaluate human performance as we have evaluated motorsports vehicles in the past.

Normalized Power (NP) for the ride was 170 watts.     170 watts is also 2.5 w/kg you  can also see that IF .71  that means I was 71% of my Functional Threshold Power (FTP) FTP is the highest average power a rider can sustain for a 1 hour period.

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Zone 2 Endurance – for me is between 136-182 watts. I spent roughly 2 hours at Zone 2.

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To keep things interesting Lori and I pushed the pace a little on some of the climbs to Zone 3, 183-218 watts.  You can see from the chart above that I spent roughly 2 hours in Zone 3.

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Let’s address the elephant in the room or the chart shall we?  Zone 1, 0-134 watts it is a large bin and towers over all other zones, approximately 160 minutes.  At first glance it may appear that, “geez this guy was not doing ANY work out there” If you clean up the chart by excluding Zeros and change the bin size to 50 watts.  You will then see that 0-100 watts is barely 40 minutes of the ride and when climbing 10,000 plus feet on a ride guess what? – there is also 10,000 feet of descending as well which actually was more than 40 minutes total.  Not to mention that there is no need to pedal when descending over 35mph.  Here is a tidier version.

Power of 150-200 watts 38% of the time between 2.2 w/kg and 3.0 w/kg

Power of 200-250 watts 25% of the time between 3.0 w/kg and 3.7 w/kg

38+25 = 63% of the ride in the target power zones.  

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What are the key takeaways from this power data?

  1.  Pacing with a power meter kept me from riding harder than the self-prescribed goal of the day.
  2. I spent roughly 4 hours of a 7 hour training ride in the ideal zones that I need to train at to sustain and perform well at the double centuries coming next month  – Zone 2 and Zone 3

HOUR BY HOUR CUMULATIVE POWER DATA 

Having looked at my power numbers for the entire ride let’s now analyze as the ride progressed how well I stuck to my training objective for the day..  What follows is an hour by hour data dump.  You ready? Let’s go!

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First hour 1 minute stopped time.  NP 175 – 2.59 w/kg 11.8 miles with 1,556 feet of climbing

 

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Two hours – NP 178 watts 2.63 w/kg 28.4 miles and 2,586 feet of climbing with only 1:32 stopped time.

 

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Three hours – NP 176 watts 2.60 w/kg 41.5 miles and 4,000 feet of climbing with only 1:32 stopped time.

 

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Four hours – NP 175 watts 2.59 w/kg 54.2 miles and 5,638 feet of climbing with only 2:11 stopped time.

 

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Five hours – NP 172 watts 2.54 w/kg 72.0 miles and 6,409 feet of climbing with only 2:11 stopped time. This is remarkable considering San Diego is one of the top ten urban cities in the US I was able to ride for 5 hours and have only had Two minutes of stopped time to traffic controls. 

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Six hours – NP 172 watts 2.54 w/kg 87.5 miles and 7,715 feet of climbing with only 7:37 stopped time. At this point in the ride we were heading back in to town and the lights that were green early in the morning when traffic was light were now not in our favor they were more red than green.  Consider the fact that 2pm is busier than 8am and more motorists are out.

SOME INTERESTING DATA OF CLIMBS

Going from hour 5 to hour 6 there are two climbs of note, Sheers Grade (1.5 miles) and Champagne (2 miles) approximately mile 73.5 and mile 81, respectively.

Let’s look at those two hills in more detail. First images will show where they fall in the overall route and then they will be analyzed separately. Sheers grade comes first about mile 73.5 and then on the second image you can see Champagne at mile 81.

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Champagne Climb

 

Sheers grade is a little steeper (~7% grade) and easy to ride it at a higher wattage.  Champagne is not as steep (4.5% grade after a long approach) nor as steady of a grade.

THE LAST CLIMB IS ALL THAT MATTERS

I have always told my clients that the last climb is the only one that matters.  It’s a REVism << things that I think that I came up with and live by on the bike.

Last climb of the day with over 9,000 feet on our legs and 6 plus hours on the bike,  Twin Oaks and Double Peak.  By the way, I have Everested these two climbs in the past.  Everesting is 29,029 feet of climbing on one ride on one hill.  You may want to make note of the minimal stopped time during a 29,000 foot climbing day less than one hour in both of these efforts. You may also want to take note of one more thing my average power for the 14 hours of riding was also in the 171 and 175 watts.  Are you starting to see a pattern yet? I am a master at pacing my endurance rides or is it that using a power meter helps me to pace properly what do you think?  Yeah you’re right it’s the power meter.  GET ONE! I think I know a guy that owns a bike shop and get help you get sorted out hint hint.

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I digress here is the last climb err 2 climbs of the day.

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I climbed Twin Oaks and Double Peak at NP 175 2.6 w/kg (I know I was much lighter 7 hours into the ride but…) Take a look at the first hour of my ride with all these graphs it might have gotten lost in translation but here is the data “First hour 1 minute stopped time.  NP 175 – 2.59 w/kg 11.8 miles with 1,556 feet of climbing” here is the takeaway I rode as strong in the last 30 minutes of the ride as I rode in the first 30 minutes of the ride 7 hours later with 10,000 feet of climbing on my legs without having stopped for refueling, more liquids or anything.  All I had to drink on the entire ride was 16 oz of coffee.

 

SUMMARY OF THE DATA

First hour 1 minute stopped time.  NP 175 – 2.59 w/kg 11.8 miles with 1,556 feet of climbing

Two hours – NP 178 watts 2.63 w/kg 28.4 miles and 2,586 feet of climbing with only 1:32 stopped time.

Three hours – NP 176 watts 2.60 w/kg 41.5 miles and 4,000 feet of climbing with only 1:32 stopped time.

Four hours – NP 175 watts 2.59 w/kg 54.2 miles and 5,638 feet of climbing with only 2:11 stopped time.

Five hours – NP 172 watts 2.54 w/kg 72.0 miles and 6,409 feet of climbing with only 2:11 stopped time.

Six hours – NP 172 watts 2.54 w/kg 87.5 miles and 7,715 feet of climbing with only 7:37 stopped time.

Seven hours – the data for the total ride as indicated earlier in this post.  “Normalized Power (NP) for the ride was 170 watts.     170 watts is also 2.5 w/kg”

WHY DID I DO A NO NO RIDE?

When doing double centuries on a tandem there a few key strategies Lori and I employ and they are as follows:

  1. We minimized stopped time – because time off the bike is time you never get back
  2. We carry all our own nutrition so all we need is water from the aid stations – refer to #1
  3. We do not tarry at aid stations – we are cordial, always thank the volunteers but we grab it and go! Refer to #1
  4. We ride at a sustained effort for 10-14 hours for 10,000-17,000 feet of climbing with very little spikes in our efforts unless absolutely necessary.
  5. Stops for potty breaks or refueling are also held to a minimum.  Refer to strategy #1

WHY DID I CREATE THIS POST

It always amazes me how people who know nothing about my cycling history make a mockery of my cycling exploits and experiments. I’ve been doing hard rides for years. I have been doing epic shit for years. I have been doing NO NO Rides for years. I used to call them depletion rides.  These training rides were intended to drain me and then allow my body to heal itself through a theory of super compensation.

Way before social media existed and way before the “typewriter raider” was created.  The guy or gal that knows it all and knows what is good for you and how your training methods are foolish and/or ill conceived.  I have been testing the limits of my body, my endurance and my mental strength for going on 2 decades.  Here is another REVism -train the brain it is the most important and powerful muscle in your body.  But yes the typewriter raider the omniscient and often anonymous critic is a real thing. They’re out there just waiting to rain on your parade.   It’s ok and in fact I have pity for them because I see them and have known them in real life to be people who when you say, “Wow what a beautiful day” they respond with,  “Yeah but …” Many of the people who poo poo my efforts don’t know or take the time to discover who I am and what I have accomplished in my short but all in, no holds barred, Ultra Cycling career.  It is for that small segment of naysayers that sometimes I need to spend a few minutes to educate them, as well as the public at large, about how amazing our bodies are and how they can achieve superhuman feats of endurance … if you just HTFU!

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog.  You can find me onStrava Instagram Twitter youtube 

You may also want to read about 8.5 hour fasted ride.

1,000,000 feet for 2019


It’s done!  George Vargas climbs 1,000,000 feet once again for 2019.  He has climbed 1M feet four out of the last five years.

A more thorough year in review post is coming soon.  It was a huge challenge to accomplish my goal this year.  It rained so often this spring I thought San Diego was going to float away. It was still raining into May.  Any other challenges?  I crashed twice!  In my first crash, in June, I dislocated my left elbow. My second crash in October I broke a bunch of bones.  I spent over 6 weeks off the bike rehabbing from my crashes and subsequent injuries.  Once back on the bike in November I had to bare down until today.  Here are a couple of screenshots.  If you are interested in reading about my 2019 year in review please click to follow the blog.  You can also follow me on Strava

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2019 1,000,000 feet Update


Last ride of September 2019 708,301 feet only 291,699 feet to go with 93 calendar days left.

I thought it would be interesting to put together a few stats for myself and well now I am sharing them with you.

I have done the following climbing days:

29 days of 10,000 feet or more

3 days of 15K or more

7 weekends of back to back 10,000 days,

and 1 Everest Challenge (29,236 ft in one ride)

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BREAKDOWN OF 2019 STATS SO FAR

7,457 miles in 125 rides =  59.6 miles per ride

708,301 feet in 125 rides = 5,666 feet per ride

708,301 feet in 7,457 miles = 94.98 feet per mile

 

BREAKDOWN OF THE REMAINING 291,699 feet

I could do

OPTION 1: — 3,136 ft a day for the rest of the year

or

OPTION:2 — 22,000 ft every weekend.

I ride 4 days a week.  Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday.  Let’s just see how it works out.  You can follow me on Strava here 

Fasted Endurance Ride – Rincon to Julian


In my continuing effort to find the limits of my new nutrition strategy, I rode 8.5 hours in the mountains of Southern California in a fasted state.  Here is the headline, I rode in a fasted state (previous meal 13 hours prior) I rode the entire 8.5 hours on water (Crystal light flavoring) no exogenous calories, 13,200 feet of climbing in the first 90 miles with negligible loss of performance to wit, a Personal Record (PR) on the last 12 mile climb of the day.  I should point out I have been riding that 12 mile climb for years! Cold temperatures in the 30’s, rain, sleet, winds and black ice … wait are we still in talking about riding in Southern California? You can follow me on Strava

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Tommasini X-Fire Stainless Steel Custom

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It is January and that can mean a wide range of weather.  Some days it can be in the mid 70’s and short sleeves and some days it can mean winter clothing.  We have had a cold spell for almost a week now.  Before you think “oh you Californians are spoiled you don’t know what cold really is like” Let me tell you that this kid is a New Jersey transplant and he knows cold.  He was also stationed, as a US Marine, in many parts of this country to include the great state of Washington where the winters were not pleasant when working outdoors on airplanes.

Often times after an epic ride I think to myself “Man what a difference a day makes”.  Today, Sunday, it is mild and sunny and 58F.  But yesterday, Saturday, oh yesterday was a different day entirely. As mentioned in the introduction, it was cold and raining and there was black ice lurking around many corners.

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Why am I emphasizing the weather so much?  Because cold temperatures put higher demands on your metabolism to keep your body warm and functioning properly.  So what keeps the body warm?  CALORIES! 8.5 hours of exposure to an average temperature of 44F is taxing on the body.  So where did the increased amount of calories come from if there were no exogenous calories consumed during this ride?  My fat stores!   Being on a Ketogenic diet has afforded me the ability to tap into my fat stores while riding these long endurance training rides.  The Ketogenic diet is high in healthy fats, moderate protein and very low carbohydrates.

My dear friends in the Midwest and other places like to give me grief because I complain about the cold when it’s only 65F lol!  I know it’s all in good fun, but yes I am a delicate flower that doesn’t like to ride in cold temperatures.  But here’s the thing -even when those friends of mine brag about riding in 40F or 30F they never have to deal with 30 minutes of descending at 40+ mph in 30F.  The wind-chill factor makes the temperatures feel like you are riding in the low teens.  It’s horrible to be wet, descending a mountain in the cold with black ice hiding around any corner.  You have to be alert and react quickly but not abruptly.  Your hands are frozen and you have lost dexterity and that touch.   You know that special touch on the brakes … the gentle squeeze, the skill you have honed over the years and that you are very proud of as a free fall descender.   Meanwhile you are wet and shivering and fighting to keep your machine under control the entire way down.  It takes enormous skill level and a high degree of confidence to get it done.  You HAVE to get it done … you’re not going to call for a ride. YOU have to get yourself down the mountain.

Look at the graph below you will notice the lowest temperatures of the day were on my final descent.  After being on the bike 8 hours temps in the low 30’s and now begin a 15 mile descent.  I should have been completely depleted of glucose and had poor muscle function and brain fog.  So how was I sharp as a tack with such elevated mental acuity this late in the day after such a long effort?  My body was creating Ketones and the brain loves to run on Ketones! Where did the Ketones come from? My fat stores!

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Here is what I find most interesting about my entire ride yesterday.  I PR’d the final climb of the day.  Wouldn’t you think that I would be completely depleted not having taken in any calories on such a long ride?  6 hours and 20 minutes into the ride I hit the final 12 mile climb of 3,000 feet of gain with no calories consumed since when … 7pm Friday night!  At this point we are talking 19.5 hours since the last time I consumed any calories!!   Oh did I tell you that I had done a 72 hour fast just 2 days before this effort?  Did I tell you that I am eating only One Meal A Day (OMAD)? Where did the calories come from to make this PR effort possible?  My fat stores!

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The training objective for the day was to ride at 3 w/kg.  Yesterday morning my weight was 64.2 kg or 141.5 lbs.  3 w/kg for me is the top of Zone 2 Endurance zone from 140-189 watts.  3 x 64.2 kg = 192 watts I was very close to achieving my goal with zero averaging  at 2.71 w/kg with a NP of 174 watts.  Now let’s look at the final climb after 6 plus hours in the saddle I held 183 w NP for 2.85 w/kg right on target for up to 8 hours or riding.  If you track Heart Rate data — I climbed it at 150 bpm max is 188 bpm.  I am really excited about this result!  The burning question is where did this energy come from?  My fat stores!

FYI – this climb has a few drops so keeping a high power output for the entire climb is difficult to begin with and heck I’m an endurance guy so 200 watts over a long day on the bike is a good day 🙂

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So what I am looking to achieve with the Ketogenic diet?  What is the purpose of these no calorie endurance rides?  I am searching for metobolic flexibility.  This is the ability to use not only carbohydrates but my fat stores as well.  If you are a “sugar burner” you will not successfully tap into your fat stores because you have not reset your metabolism to prefer fat burning.  When you are a “fat burner”  you can tap into your fat stores and use Ketones to fuel yourself.  I am working on being able to use my Ketones for long steady state endurance events and when I need that burst of high intensity power use the glucose stored in my muscles.  Being a Ketogenic athlete allows for glucose sparing for when you really need it.

How can this help me as endurance athlete?  Think back to any race, event or training session when you have bonked.  That was a horrible feeling wasn’t it?  What if you can make yourself “Bonk Proof”? Many athletes fail to realize their full potential because of metabolic failures. That’s right they fail not because they weren’t trained properly with regards to their cardiovascular fitness or muscle strength, stamina or endurance.  They fail because metabolically they are not using the most abundant and almost never-ending fuel source they have onboard … their fat stores!  Bonk Proof consider the possibilities…

They say a picture is worth a thousand words.  How about a thousands thoughts?  A thousand possibilities?  Have you ever seen a tanker truck driving down the freeway or at your local gas station?  Did you know that massive rig is using a diesel engine up front and towing gasoline in its trailer?  The tractor is carrying 150-300 gallons of diesel to power itself but it is towing approximately 90,000 gallons of gasoline.  What if the diesel is the stored glucose in your muscles and your liver and then gasoline is your fat stores?  Consider the possibilities of tapping into the huge amount of stored energy you are lugging around with you everyday.  If you are a “sugar burning” athlete when your 150 or 300 gallons of diesel fuel runs out you are either going to bonk or you need to keep replenishing during your event, race or training workout.  But that means stopping to refuel and what if you can’t find something or you are running neck and neck with a competitor during a race? Do you take the risk and stopping to refuel or go until you bonk or hope that you don’t.  Those fat stores are just sitting there… USE THEM!

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By the way, I have also dispensed with the customary almost obligatory ingesting of protein/carbohydrate recovery drink within the 30 minute magic window.  I mean who created this magic window?  The nutrition companies?  What did I have instead? I had coffee, mostly black lol I threw in a little Stevia.

 

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One final note.  I am very impressed with the Wahoo Elemnt Bolt.  It indicated a max elevation of 5,654 ft while the posted elevation sign was 5,665!  Amazing under normal weather conditions but as mentioned throughout this post the weather was less than ideal! Well done Wahoo!

 

Some terms used in this post …. #sugarburner #fatburner #ketolifestyle #ketogenicdiet #fasting #intermittentfasting #omad

2018 Year in Review — 1,000,000 feet of climbing!


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On December 23, 2018 George Vargas completed the REV Cycling Million Feet of Climbing Challenge.  2018 marks the third year in the last four years he has achieved 1,000,000 feet of climbing in one calendar year. The previous years were 2015, 2016 and now 2018. That is the headline if you would like to learn more please read on.

Let’s turn the clock back a few years.  Initially, I had intended to climb 1M in 2014.  I set the challenge to my REV Cycling team/club members in December 2013.  But on my first ride of 2014, January 2, I crashed and broke my right femur.  You can find the posts here that expound on my injury and recovery.  I finished out the year with some fairly strong numbers considering I was off the bike for four months.

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Now 2015 comes around and I’m raring to go.  I would have a full calendar year to do it but in fact I completed the REV Cycling Million Foot Challenge in only 10 months.  Additionally, I was proud of doing it in less than 10,000 miles. The last two months of the year should have been a bunch of “coffee rides” but I still accumulated another 106,422 feet and 1,079 miles on top of my 1M and 8,889 miles at the end of October. When you do the math you can see a few fantastic numbers — in my opinion of course.   Ironically, I’m proud of completing the 1M in fewer than 10,000 miles and yet I am the founder of the 10K/1M club on Strava!  10K/1M is 10,000 miles and 1,000,000 feet of climbing club.

1,000,000 feet in only 8,889 miles = 112 feet per mile

1,000,000 feet in 242 rides = 4,132 feet per ride

8,889 miles in 242 rides = 36.7 miles per ride

The breakdown of the additional feet and miles AFTER I completed the challenge are found below.

November 2015 (13 rides)

  • 556.1mi
  • 38h 7m
  • 45,226ft

December 2015 (18 rides)

  • 523.1mi
  • 41h 59m
  • 61,196ft

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2016 I was determined to remove as many “junk miles” as I could in getting to 1M feet. I had climbed 112 feet per mile in 2015, so how much more juice could I squeeze out of the lemon? LOL!  Regardless, I was on a mission to accomplish 1M in fewer than 8,889 miles.  Keep in mind I am still doing centuries and Double Centuries (DC) throughout the year that wreck my average since there is only two DC’s on the calendar that have 20,000 feet of climbing. In my opinion, they are too far to drive and do them but once every few years.  Most hard DC’s have about 13,000-15,000 feet.  The most difficult ones are 15,000 and above.

I digress, with my mission in mind throughout the year I did accomplish my goal of getting 1M in fewer than 8,889 feet but just barely!  I completed the challenge in just the nick of time on December 22, 2016!  It was getting so close to the end of the year that actually had my biggest month of climbing for the entire year was in December, nearly 129,000 feet.

December 2016 was a crazy month!  With all that was going on with my business and my life I needed 125,994 feet to get to 1M.   I amassed the requisite feet in a scant 809 miles that’s 154.7 feet per mile!!  The biggest bang for my buck in December was an Everest of 29,203 feet in only 78 miles.  At the time it was the shortest Everest in North and South America!  And as I stated earlier, there was one of those low elevation Double Centuries mixed in there of only 7,448 feet which completely wrecked my average feet per mile.

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  • 202.24 mi
  • 7,448 ft

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I only did one more ride in 2016 after completing the 1M challenge of 27.5 miles and 2,923 feet.  The final stats for 2016 look like this:

1,000,000 feet in only 8,384 miles = 119 feet per mile

1,000,000 feet in 245 rides = 4,081 feet per ride

8,384 miles in 245 rides = 34.2 miles per ride

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2017 was a busy year for my business and so I didn’t get out and ride as much.  I think I had decent numbers and a year most people would be proud of … I was anyway!

2018 YEAR IN REVIEW

 

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Thank you for indulging me to bring you from 2014 until today.  I realized I hadn’t posted a blog post for any of my previous 1M completions.

2018 is more of a tale of two seasons.  We can easily split it up by everything that happened before I got sick and everything that happened after I got sick.  Looking over my ride files it’s specifically, everything thing that happened from January until March and everything that happened from April 7- December 23!

Here is a synopsis of what I accomplished in January and February.  Not much to talk about just 2 notable rides.

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Now let’s talk about my illness. For the entire month of March I was sick and I didn’t ride. But not only was I too sick to ride, which may be shocking to many of you that know me well,  I was too sick to work! A minimum of two days a week I lacked the energy to get out of bed and get to my store. I tried to work from home but I didn’t have the mental focus to read emails or process internet orders. I had never ever felt this sick before!

I had Influenza B, pneumonia and Strep throat.  I had sores in my mouth and throat.  There were blocks of time 12-24-36 hours when I didn’t eat or consume fluids.  I dropped weight dramatically.  I weighed over 150 lbs in February.  During my month-long battle with the flu I reached an all-time low was 134 lbs by late March.  When I remounted April 7th I  was up to 137 lbs but I felt completely out of shape – no leg strength no cardiovascular fitness – nothing.  My journal entries point out a very elevated Heart Rate (over 185 bpm) for very minimal effort.

 

I need to emphasize something before we begin digging into the 2018 season.  I had no intention in climbing 1M this year.  The only reason I went after it was BECAUSE I was got sick and wanted a goal that seemed out of reach to do something epic for 2018.

April 7th I got back on the bike and I was on a tear.  I had a lot of time to make up and a lot of feet to gain.  I was routinely did the math of how many feet I was behind the million foot pace. Every time I would start to make some progress I either had work commitments, a Double Century or just life.

So that the math below makes sense to achieve 1,000,000 in 365 calendar days you need to climb 2,740 feet per day EVERY DAY.  If you take a rest day or skip a day then well that is 5,480 feet – skip two days and that is 8,220 feet just to break-even! With that basic calculation let’s now extrapolate what being off the bike for over a month looks like.  31 days in March and 7 days in April — that’s over 104,000 feet behind schedule.

JUST 33 RIDES

How did I close this huge gap? From April to December I set out to do some pretty epic shit. Many of my rides were big rides!  How big?  Take a look at this statistic — 33 rides produced 454,842 feet!  Nearly HALF of the million feet came from JUST 33 rides!! Let’s break this down.

454,842 feet in 3,755 miles = 121 feet per mile

454,842 feet in 33 rides =  13,783 feet per ride

3,755 miles in 33 rides = 113.7 miles per ride

Here are some more stats for just these 33 rides

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It’s important to mention that of the seven Double Centuries I completed in 2018, six of them were on the tandem with the indefatigable Lori Hoechlin. She is as true as the North Star. Her steady, fluid and rhythmic cadence is as constant, predictable and reliable as the pulse of a quasar. As a stoker, and better yet as an athlete she has no equal. Oh yeah and she is a heck of a good human being too.

The months of September – December were especially busy with epic rides, career achievements and Hall of Fame inductions.  Let’s review this four month timeframe.

Before beginning there is an honorable mention August 25, I visited the Eastern Sierras and climbed three monster climbs: Onion Valley Road, Horseshoe Meadows and Whitney Portal Rd.  17,000 feet in 127 miles.

SEPTEMBER

Mon, 9/3/2018

49.28 mi 10,108

Sat, 9/8/2018 EVERESTING San Elijo/Twin Oaks #5

166.87 mi 29,104

Sat, 9/15/2018

Career Achievement Furnace Creek/Silver State 508 – 10 Finishes Award and working the race

Sat, 9/22/2018 Beach Cities Double Century #51

190.37 mi 9,931 ft

Sat, 9/29/2018 Knoxville Double Century #52

197.73 mi 14,619 ft

Sat, 9/30/2018

Career Achievement California Triple Crown Hall of Fame Induction for completing 50 Double Centuries

OCTOBER

Sat, 10/6/2018 – EVERESTING San Elijo Road #6

175.35 mi 29,301 ft

Sat, 10/14/2018 Mt Laguna Recce

93.76 mi 11,010 ft

Sat, 10/20/2018 Solvang Double Century #53

191.14 mi 11,930 ft

Sat, 10/27/2018 Oceanside Double Century #54

193.29 mi 14,032 ft

NOVEMBER

Sat, 11/3/2018 Mike Nosco Ride

80.71 mi 8,114 ft

Sat, 11/10/2018 EVERESTING Twin Oaks Valley Road #7

132.60 mi 29,088 ft

Sat, 11/17/2018 REV Laps #1

86.15 mi 13,235 ft

Thurs, 11/22/2018 Thanksgiving Climbfest

45.83 mi 10,049 ft

Sat, 11/24/2018 Local Steep Climbing Day

49.06 mi 10,016 ft

DECEMBER

Sat, 12/1/2018 Fun Climbing Day

87.73 mi 12,034 ft

Sat, 12/15/2018 REV Winter Century Series #1

104.33 mi 11,253 ft

Sat, 12/22/2018 The Eleventh Hour Ride

43.01 mi 8,389 ft

Sat, 12/23/2018 The Coup de Grâce 1,000,000 ride

54.70 mi 10,568 ft

 

Some other things…

How about some other fun facts?  In 2018, I saw a couple new power number PR’s.

My 5 second power number increased to 995 watts.  Nothing to write home about I know but for me it’s fun to “sprint” every now and then.  Actually my top two all time 5 second efforts were in 2018.  995 watts 15 w/kg while weighing 66.33 or 146.2 lbs

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What about 1 minute power numbers? 608 watts for 1 minute 9.09 w/kg 66.88 kg 147.4 lbs.  These increases came after repeated efforts at sprinting up local hills of over 8% grades.  It is interesting to note that not only did I increase my absolute power number from 600 watts in 2015 by 8 watts but I also weighed less in 2018 which means I increased my w/kg as well!  The numbers for 2015 1 min PR were 600 watts at 8.82 w/kg at 68.02 kg or 149.95 lbs

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EDIT: 1/1/19 Finished off the year with 10,000 miles the last 3 days of the year I did two centuries and a 40 miler to tackle the last 250 miles.  Last minute goal not even in the plans during the year but I got so close I just figured I should go for it.  

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There you have it a year of climbing 1,000,000 feet summarized in 1,000 words!  What is next for George Red Eyed Vireo Vargas?  I’m not sure.   I haven’t made my goals for 2019.  I guess I better get cracking on that eh?

#everesting #everestchallenge

Everesting Twin Oaks – “South Village to School Entrance”


On November 10, 2018 George Vargas Everested Twin Oaks Valley Road in San Marcos, Ca.  More specifically he Everested an existing segment named “South Village to School Entrance”.  The effort took a total time of 14:06 for 132.6 miles (213.3 km) 29,088 feet (8866 m).  If you track ride time it was 13:09.  Regarding total time this was his third  fastest Everest at 14:06.  His fastest Everest was #4 Everest13:30 total time. His second fastest Everest was #2 Everest 14:05 total time. He had a flat and mechanical free day! This ride marks his seventh completed Everest Challenge. You can follow him on Strava here. #everesting #everestchallenge 

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PREPARATION 

This is a local hill where I have done many repeats over the last 4 years.  I am very familiar with this hill.  The grade is consistent 9-11% once you ride through the “shallow” run in of about 7% in the first 50-75 meters.  I had dreamed of Everesting this hill for the past two years but I just hadn’t summoned the courage to get it done.  The crazy thing is that I have done much steeper hills in the past.  For example, Everesting the top 1/2 mile of Double Peak (Everesting #2) which averages 11% but actually has two distinct ramps of 15-19% with a relief in the middle of that lowers the average grade down to 11% .  I had also Everested Coronado Hills (Everesting #4) which averaged 15%!  At the time I Everested Coronado Hills it was the shortest distance Everest in North and South America at only 77.8 miles (125.2 km) for 29,203 ft (8901 m).

So then why the trepidation on this climb?  There were a few glaring concerns allow me to list them.

  1.  SAFETY – When doing a recce of your climb one of the first things you need to consider is “Will this be a safe place to Everest? Ok it seems safe during the day but what about at night?” This climb has a lot of traffic flow during the day.  The bike lane is narrow.  At night the traffic is much lighter compared to the day but it’s not like it drops to zero.  There are only two lamp posts on the climb, at the bottom and at the top.  At night you are trusting your rear red blinky to provide an invisible force field around you as you climb at 6-8 mph while the traffic in the lane next to you is doing 50-60 mph.
  2. HEAT – During the day this climb can be very hot. During the summer when you have the most daylight it can be over 95F.  There is a slight tailwind every afternoon.  The trifecta now exists the tailwind, the ambient heat and the heat coming off the tarmac.
  3. GRADE – I climbed steeper grades on my previous Everests but for some reason this one I respected, admittedly probably too much, because of the all the times I have done this climb at full gas while chasing or being chased during a group ride.  During the group rides I would make the selection of the lead group and then suffer my way up trying to stay on the wheels of stronger riders until I would POP! That mental trauma of all the times I had suffered at full gas, all the times I POPPED, all those times were in my mind thinking that I had to climb it at least 75 times, albeit at a much lower intensity.

 

I wish to give some props to the smart people who created the logic behind Everesting Calculator which can be found here.  Take a look at my total time in the screenshot provided above of 14:06 the calculator predicted 14:04!  Unbelievable how close the calculator was to reality.  This is one of those situations when I believe I did better than the calculations.

  1.  The actual distance ended up being 132. 6 miles vs 126 miles for the calculator
  2.  The gain I was getting each ascent was more like 370 ish ft not 387 ft
  3.  The actual repeats were 76 vs 75 predicted
  4.  Using 185w avg in the calculator I ended up with an actual 175 np
  5.  The actual kj were 7,116 calculator predicted 6,959 kj again very close

In summary, I rode further, climbed more and still made the time cutoff!  

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GEARING —

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I chose to ride a 53/39 and an 11-28 cassette.  It was also my first Everest using AbsoluteBlack oval chainrings.  There are quite a few studies out there to the effectiveness of oval chainrings.  But here is what AbsoluteBlack states from their study “Up to 9% increase of Force effectiveness, up to 7% less oxygen consumption, up to 15% less Ventilation (breathing) and up to 10% heart rate decrease when using oval chainrings versus round. What does that mean? In short, it means that you will consume less energy at the same power output using Oval chainrings so you can ride for longer and/or faster.”  I have been riding really strong so who knows if they are helping or not but all I know is I’m kicking ass lately! 

As I mentioned earlier I have done many repeats on this hill in the past.  My current total is 519 subtract the 76 from my Everest it leaves you with 443 previous efforts.  I knew that the 11-28 cassette would be fine as I am not a spinner.  I also didn’t want to change out my crankset as I prefer to ride/climb with my 53/39 chainring setup for most of my climbing and everyday riding.  Having said all of that, my spare set of wheels had an 11-34 cassette installed on them.  Just in case everything went wrong I had a large cassette for the 10% grade. 

 

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ORGANIZATION

I decided after my last Everest that I would be better organized for all subsequent attempts.  As a former mechanical engineer, I believe in continuous process improvement.  If you standardize a process the end result is predictable and expected.  Then you take the process and seek ways to continue to improve it.  In the case of Everesting, you need to establish what supplies, clothing, nutrition and equipment you will need for each attempt.  Now that you have “your must haves” you should have them organized perfectly.  Once you are fatigued you may not be thinking clearly and not be able to find what you are looking for or you might doubt you even packed it.  

To wrap up my preparation I had intimate familiarity with the climb – to include day and night riding on it.  I had consulted the Everesting Calculator for a prediction prior to riding it and used it as a pacing tool while I was on my Everest.   I was much better organized this time by treating it like one of my long endurance events. 

See video below on how I set up my van for my Everesting attempt. 

 

 

THE RIDE

I got a late start but I wasn’t frazzled by that at all.  I like to sleep in until my body wakes up naturally.  I don’t use an alarm as part of my normal life.  On race days I use alarms as a back up but I am usually up before the alarm goes off.   I’m an odd duck… I like to take a shower, have a cup or two of coffee relaxing before heading out for my Everest.  Notice I did not mention having breakfast as part of my morning or pre-race routine.  I don’t eat breakfast before centuries, double centuries or even my 500 mile ultras so why would I have breakfast before an Everest attempt?  There are several reasons why having breakfast before an event is a poor decision.  First and foremost you don’t want an insulin spike which takes hours to settle back down.  Secondly, who likes to climb a hill/mountain on a full stomach? Not this guy! Once on the bike slowly begin fueling and continue through the ride/event/race or Everesting attempt.

The sun was up but most of the climb was still shaded by the higher hills surrounding my segment.  It was in the mid 40’s at the start.  The first few descents were quite chilly for this soft Southern California rider 🙂 You have to consider wind chill factor with 45-50 mph descents.  

Right from the start I could tell I was on a good day!  My legs felt great and I had to temper my enthusiasm so as not to go out too hard on my first few repeats and pay for it later.  I like to divide my ride into three distinct blocks of time/effort.

A Block – Early morning and early part of the ride.  Fresh legs cool temperatures… it’s time to make hay! The A Block sets the tone for the rest of the ride for me.  I like to set a good pace for which the rest of the ride is measured against.  I have done enough endurance events (centuries, double centuries, 500 mile ultras) to know exactly how hard I can push without wrecking myself and not being able to finish strong.

B Block – Slow down as the heat of the day comes on strong.  Keep a steady pace reduce stop time stay on the bike but keep the pace steady.  

C Block – Late afternoon and early evening.  In many cases you have a lot more stopped time for gear and nutrition and riding slower because of reduced visibility think increased safety considerations.

D Block- If we ever get to D Block things have not gone very well and we are into extra innings!  This block would be the very definition of pain cave.  Doubts and concerns about finishing go through my mind.  Something either physically, mentally or equipment-wise has gone awry.  This block is situation critical!

I have to remind people I am not a natural athlete and these things don’t come easy to me.  I suffer and I suffer a lot.  What I believe I am properly equipped with is a powerful mental edge over other athletes.  I say this to my friends and the athletes I coach… “most people don’t like to suffer” I also think about one of my sports heroes Steve Prefontaine — “It’s not who’s the best – it’s who can take the most pain.”

I digress D Block … I have been in D Block at two previous Everest attempts.  I had to do a lot of negotiating with my mind to make my body get back on the bike.  I experienced the dreaded time in D Block during my very first Everesting — Palomar Mountain South Grade – a monster of a climb nearly 12 miles with 4,200 feet on each ascent.  It is an ICONIC climb known the world over so it of course had to be my first Everest. It was the 25th of July 2015 and over 100F climbing the bottom 5.5 miles of this climb.  The second time was on my #5 Everesting September 2018, when it was also very hot with a tailwind.  On Everest #1 I spent over 4 hours off the bike trying to manage my overheated brain and body by pulling over and taking advantage of shade when I could find it.  On Everesting #5 There wasn’t any shade to be had anywhere on the climb so I just had to take the pace down several notches just enough to keep moving but nothing else.  I had to wait for the sun set before I could climb at my true potential.  On Everesting #5 I spent over 4.5 hours off the bike again dealing with overheating and dehydration.

BREAKDOWN OF EACH OF THE BLOCKS

Below is my A Block – My Normalized Power (NP) was 189 watts or 2.93 w/kg which is the very top of my endurance range of 140w-189w. That is a fairly fast start but I felt great so I went with it.  Additionally, it is important to reiterate that the climb is mostly double digit grades which demands a moderate to high power output just to climb it.  Usually during my A Block there are wheels to chase or pace yourself with or against since that is primetime for “normal” people to be riding.  It was during the A Block when an Instagram follower, Jason, came out to do a few repeats with me.  I was so happy to have someone endure a little suffering with me.  We chatted a bit which was nice since I had been talking to myself for a couple of hours before Jason showed up.  My apologies sir if our paces were not compatible at that time of the day but my legs were fresh and the weather was still cool so I pressed on.  Thank you so much for coming out Jason! 

 

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It might be a good time to say that I do my Everests alone… mostly.  I don’t advertise when I am going to do them or where I’m going to be.  I also don’t invite other riders because I don’t want any uncomfortable moments between us if they or I am feeling better that day and the other rider is suffering.  Worst case scenario I won’t pace myself to the slower rider and I don’t ever expect another rider to slow down for me.  Hence, I do my Everesting alone.  But there’s more, I like the pain and suffering (refer above that I am not a natural athlete) that comes from the physical and mental challenge of completing an Everest.  I like what I think about during an Everest and I like how I transcend I like the way like a caterpillar I come through as a butterfly on the other end.  

Just for fun the largest butterfly in the world is the female of the Alexandra Birdwing reaching wingspans slightly in excess of 25 cm (9.8 inches).[2] This birdwing is restricted to the forests of the Oro Province in eastern Papua New Guinea.

 

I am proud of the discipline I exhibited by only having 8 minutes of stopped time in the first 4.5 hours.  My first stop for additional nutrition was 3:51 into my ride.  As mentioned earlier it is important to make as much time before the heat of the day takes hold.

 

 

My B Block

NP was 175 watts well within my endurance zone of 140w-189w or 2.71 w/kg . The weather never got hot.  The forecast was for 76F.  It was comfortable and pleasant.  I reduced the intensity of my pace so as to conserve energy for later in the effort.  Additionally, I reduced the pace so as to preclude having to stop more often for nutrition.  It is amazing how a short stop to refill your bottles can turn into much longer than you think. In your mind you think you have only been stopped for a 2-3 minutes and when you remount your bike it’s been nearly 8-10 minutes.  

 

It was during B Block when my friend Michelle came out to join me.  It was an awesome surprise!  She has been dealing with a few chronic injuries and is recovering/rehabbing from them.  This is not exactly the climb you would want to do while you are rebuilding your strength but there she was putting in the work! 

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B Block

 

 

My C Block

NP was 155 watts well within my endurance zone of 140w-189w or 2.4 w/kg. The weather never got hot.  The forecast was for 76F.  It was comfortable and pleasant.  I reduced the intensity of my pace so as to conserve energy for later in the effort.  Additionally, I reduced the pace so as not have to stop  as often.  The transition to night mode still took too long but I just can’t see how to reduce the time.  

  1.  This time I had all light mounts on the bike all I had to do was clip in the lights
  2. This time I had everything organized in drawers
  3. This time I prepared two bottles so that I would make one less stop than I did last time.
  4. This time like last time I had to remove my top clothing to don a wool base layer which I prefer to put directly to my skin. 
  5.  This time I actually put on a second base layer that has a wind shell on the chest so that I would not have to stop in a couple of hours to don another wool base layer. I ended up being too warm for the next hour though.  
  6. This time the Mother Ship was not located at the U-turn at the top of the climb.  It was a block away up further on the climb and I had to ferry stuff down to the turnaround point and stash them behind bushes.  There was a little time wasted there BUT… I wanted to keep the elevation gain to stay pure – just the climb only.

 

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C Block

 

CONCLUSION 

People ask me often “What do you think about when you’re on the bike for so many hours?” Well it depends.  I can tell you that this time I thought about all my Marine brothers and sisters out there.  Some are currently stationed in hostile environments, combat environments and some are even stationed at cushy posts around the world and stateside.  I thought about how the US Marine Corps is so steeped in customs and traditions.  How every year, while I was on active duty, on November 10th the world seemed to stop so that we could observe the Marine Corps Birthday, either with a small formation out in the field or a large formation and a band main side with all the pomp and circumstance.  I also thought of all the veterans that have been committing suicide in alarming rates … on average 22 veterans commit suicide a day.  Most recently a Marine veteran opened fire in a nightclub and killed 12 people then turned the gun on himself and ended his life.  It’s deplorable!  But those families were in my thoughts as well.  

This will probably be my last Everest this year.  Everest #7 allow me the opportunity to close the gap to 1,000,000 feet of climbing for 2018.  The weather is also going to continue to get colder and wetter and daylight hours fewer and fewer.  I am happy with my performance on this Everest.  It was my second fasted Everest at 14:06 and my fastest at 13:30.  My time off the bike was excellent at under 1 hour – being self-SAGed.  As an avid climber Everesting offers the rider a unique opportunity to challenge oneself to an extreme. I fancy myself a climber, an extreme climber, not fast but just someone that likes to take on the challenge of Everesting and conquer it!  

 

 

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