I hosted a Ladies Night at Bike Religion on May 23. One of my presenters was Laurie Mellot co-owner with Jena Schuster of Reflect Sports. Laurie spoke about Hoo Ha Ride Glide and how different their cream was to the all the other chamois creams on the market. My curiosity was piqued. I have done a couple of two hour rides and all is well. Over the next two days I will do two long rides (6+ hours) and I’ll report back.
This past weekend is going to be the highlight of the year for me. I was invited to spend a little bit of time with the Cannondale folks up at Big Bear. The Amgen Tour of California was coming to Big Bear for Stage 6. We stayed at Edgewood Mansion the place you might remember from my Cannondale CAAD 10 review back in October of 2010. As always I enjoy hanging out with the Cannondale reps and their supporting cast of traveling demo truck and personnel. They are really fun people who I have become friends with and not just business partners.
But the highlight highlight (yes twice) was riding with two professional cyclists from the Liquigas pro cycling team. The riders were Alan Maragoni (Left) and Stefano Agostini (Right). Of course we were all riding our Cannondale EVO bikes. Here are a few pictures.
George “Red Eyed Vireo” Vargas with Stefano Agostini and Alan Maragoni
George “Red Eyed Vireo” with Peter Sagan
2012 Cannondale Super Six EVO with Di2, Dura-Ace SRM and Zipp 808’s
Official Results for the 2012 Hell’s Gate Hundred here
George “Red Eyed Vireo” Vargas places first at 2012 Hell’s Gate Hundred
an excerpt from the Chief Adventure Officer’s report
“But Mother Nature can be cruel, and as we have said a million times, “any kind of weather is possible any time of the year in Death Valley.” Still, the riders in the Hell’s Gate Hundred handled the situation with aplomb and good cheer. Most turned around ahead of schedule, because as the wind was picking up speed to 30, 40, 50 mph or more, it was coming from the south, making for a nearly impossible human-powered return to Furnace Creek. Also, many riders, once they got off the course, hopped in their cars and mini-vans to go out and scoop up riders who needed a lift. We thank all the Good Samaritans who helped out!
One hundred and twenty-nine riders participated in the event, with just eight riders completing the full 100 miles, while at least ten riders completed the 65-mile “Metric Century” route”
Hell’s Gate Hundred Grade Analysis
Ride With GPS terrain map and playback here
Speed analysis
source: National Weather Service
First of all I wish to thank you for taking the time to visit my blog. I also wish to thank Cannondale Bicycles, SRM and my anonymous sponsor who makes it possible for me to race my bike— one of the true and pure pleasures in my life. I wish to thank AdventureCORPS for putting on a fantastic event on rarely traveled roads. And of course, no thank yous would be complete without thanking the tireless and unfortunately usually unappreciated efforts of the volunteers. Thank you for putting up with the weather and allowing me to ride.
I will attempt to describe for you my experience of the 2012 Hell’s Gate Hundred, a 100 mile 8,600 feet of climbing, event. I say “attempt” because the words sometimes escape me as I try to convey to those that weren’t there how difficult the state of affairs were this past Saturday in Death Valley.
Many of the things I will say about the arduous conditions of March 31, 2012 need to be taken in perspective. While there were very high winds and a high DNF rate for the Hell’s Gate Hundred, Death Valley is still an amazing place to visit and ride a bike. Death Valley is one of the most beautiful places I have ever had the pleasure to ride in. The scenery never ceases to amaze me no matter how many times I have ridden there. I’ve been racing and riding in Death Valley since 2003. I’ve done Centuries, seven Double Centuries, Six consecutive SOLO Furnace Creek 508‘s and many training rides. Sure I have had a couple windy days here and there but as a whole the weather has been spectacular. Extrapolate that out for the 50 some odd events AdventureCORPS has put on in Death Valley and what it really comes down to is this… windy event day = anomaly! More to the point, the previous four days before the Hell’s Gate Hundred the weather had been moderate and pleasant for the participants of CORPScamp.
We lined up for our pre-race safety brief from Race Director, Chris Kostman, at 6:20 ish for a 6:30 launch. Chris did mention to ride at your own risk and pedal yourself in. I wish more riders would have heeded his words of caution and exercised self-reliance.
I digress, at the start, I saw two familiar faces, Terry Lentz and Jim Whitford. I knew I was in the correct wave for the event. There were three waves but the prudent thing to do was leave on the earliest wave since the winds only pick up later in the afternoon. Terry in my opinion is one of the strongest riders I know and launching out with him in the first wave was essential to getting a good start on the day.
Terry Lentz and I before the start of the 2007 Furnace Creek 508 (Fixed Gear) we both rode our Fixed Gear bikes for 508 miles non-stop and 35,000 feet of climbing
Furnace Creek start to Artist Drive
From the outset Terry, Jim and I formed a hasty and necessary alliance into the 20 mph headwinds as we headed towards the first real climb of the day, Artist Drive. Almost immediately after making the left turn onto Artist Drive Jim fell off the pace. I too struggled to stay with Terry. But I was determined to finish the Artist Drive loop with him and then let him go on the Daylight Pass climb. Artist Drive is short and steep Daylight Pass climb is a LOONG 16 mile grind… ahem climb. I managed to stay with Terry until the checkpoint. But once we left the checkpoint I was summarily dropped on one of the rollers by Terry and off he went. By the time I made the junction back to Badwater Road/Hwy 178 Terry was long gone… long gone!
Artist Drive Loop
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Terry and I working the 10-12% grades on Artist Drive
While sucking Terry’s wheel I had the realization that he represented the purity of cycling. He was riding a steel frame that he fabricated himself. As far as I could tell his chain rings were 52/42 maybe 44 coupled to an 11-21 cassette controlled by downtube shifters. His box section low-profile alloy rims and his single bottle cage and bottle seemed more at home on a Sunday recovery ride and out of place in one of earth’s most inhospitable places – Death Valley. His thin short sleeved wool jersey, unshaven legs and helmet mirror would be scoffed at during the local club ride. But make no mistake his appearance IS deceiving. You will be hard-pressed to find a more talented endurance cyclist anywhere! To wit, no amount of high-tech carbon über light weight machine I had was going to help me keep up with Mr. Lentz. I admit I love riding a steel bike as well. However, I am also very fortunate to have a Cannondale sponsorship. Thank you Cannondale!
Artist Drive to Beatty Cut-off
Now back on Badwater Road the once 20 mph headwind felt like a nice gentle push on my back by Mother Nature’s hand. As if to say, “scurry along young man…” I took the helping hand from Mother Nature knowing that later I would have to repay the favor. I sailed along not overly exerting myself because I was headed towards a 16 mile climb at the end of the easy cruise from Artist Drive through Furnace Creek to the Beatty Cut-off. At this time, I was running in second place, with Terry ahead of me and Jim presumably behind me. As I pulled into the aid station at bottom of the long climb to Daylight Pass, I was alone with no one behind me. I was quite surprised to see two riders pull in just as I was leaving the aid station. So where was Jim then?
Beatty Cut-off Volunteer
Daylight Pass Climb
I started the long climb up to Daylight Pass with the intermediary checkpoint at Hell’s Gate. I settled in for the 16 mile climb knowing it should take me at least 1:30 hours (1:45 actual). I guess I was a little too optimistic lol! Shortly after beginning the climb I saw a rider rapidly closing ground on me. I didn’t recognize him as he went past nor did I try to pace off of him. I was in my own little world and I was quite content. Now I was running third. I knew his pace would be too fast for me.
A few minutes later here comes another rider who passes me. Now I’m running fourth. I usually take it hard when people pass me especially on a climb. I fancy myself a climber, which is to say I like to climb not that I’m a good climber. But today was not the day for letting your ego get in the way of accomplishing the mission or as I like to say “getting it done”. I let the second rider pass me without a worry in the world. I was pacing myself off my power meter. I knew what I needed to do to complete the 100 miles with plenty left in the tank on the last 25 miles.
Why don’t I have a worry in the world? First and foremost because the two riders that have passed me are unknown to me. I have not seen them on the century and double century circuit. And while I may be taking a risk my experience in this sport and my instinct tells me to let them go. Also I have not been training much and I didn’t expect a good result. I have averaged less than 100 miles a week for the last thee months.
What you need to understand about endurance cycling is that it’s not how fast you climb, or how fast you descend, or how fast you ride on the flats. Rarely has the KOM won the Tour de France. I remember one of my cycling heros, Eddie Merckx, won all the jerseys (overall, mountains and points) in the Tour 1969 and the Giro in 1968. But that was the Cannibal – the likes of which we may never see again. So then what is endurance cycling about if not how fast you can do this or that? It’s how little time you spend off the bike — resting, nature breaks, eating, chatting with others, telling war stories of battles that you haven’t finished yet. Endurance cycling is about pacing, perseverance, patience, being good at climbing, descending, riding flat terrain AND staying the bike. Endurance cycling is about conservation of energy and proper timing in expending your energy. Endurance cycling is about not chasing rabbits who are unknowns and don’t have the racing pedigree in what you consider your niche. Endurance cycling is knowing how to work all adversities in your favor including your arch nemisis Mother Nature. Endurance cycling is about the childhood stories of the tortoise and the hare. Endurance cycling is about a good nutrition plan and most of all, and pay attention and take notes because this IS important …. HAVING A STRONGER MIND THAN BODY.
Now back to the climb…there was an occasional tailwind as the road curved left curved right and again as you headed in a Northerly direction. Thank you Mother, thank you for your gentle hand… the gentle push.
I reached Hell’s Gate 11 miles later. No sign of Terry, no sign of the 2nd place rider, but just as I’m pulling in the third place rider is leaving. By my calculation I haven’t lost too much ground or time to this rider and I am riding well within my limits. I am conserving for what I know is going to be a very difficult return leg. The forecast called for 40-60mph gusts. I’ve done this before. You take what Mother Nature gives you — smiling like a child given a bowl of ice cream and then at some point you argue with her like an angry teenager told to turn is music down when you battle the headwinds on the return leg.
Hell’s Gate Volunteers
Time to get a little more focused as the grade from Hell’s Gate to Daylight Pass is a little more persistent at preventing you from defying gravity. It’s only about 6% but It’s been a long climb already of 11 miles. A check of my “instruments” numbers are good — legs? good. nutrition? good. overall fatigue? good. Onward and upward …steady as she goes…I see the third placed rider up ahead every now and then as the road snakes it’s way up to the 4300 foot summit. I count off my gap to the him and I feel I’m close enough to not feel “dropped”
Daylight Pass to Rhyolite
I crest Daylight Pass and the third place rider is just leaving again. I’m guessing a couple of minutes is all I’ve lost to him on this 16 mile climb. At Daylight Pass I see my good friend Steve Barnes. It’s great to see him out here volunteering with his son. I descend off of Daylight Pass. I remembered feeling like it was a long way to Rhyolite. But for some reason it didn’t feel that far at all today. I’m expecting to see Terry heading back already. I know I have lost lots of time to him he’s been “off the front” of the race for many miles. I start to wonder if I’ve gambled and taken it too easy up the climb and allowed too much of a gap to the top three riders on the course. I see Terry a couple of miles from my turn to Rhyolite. He looks good. He looks strong. I then see the second place rider about a mile from the Rhyolite turn. Ok that’s one and two now let’s see where the third place rider is. Once again I reach the aid station and the third place rider has just exited. A quick refueling stop and I’m back on the road.
Volunteers at the furthest checkpoint – Rhyolite
I roll out of the stop on a gentle downhill back to the main road and I see one rider coming in. Now on the main road I see solo riders and an occasional pair working together. I count five or six and then I lose interest. The wind is strong but my energy level up to the task..still. It had been two years since the last time I did the climb up to Daylight Pass from Rhyolite. I couldn’t remember if the last combination of turns was a right first then a left or left and then a right to the clearing at the top.
Rhyolite to Daylight Pass
Dan Crain’s spirit was really strong today as I crested Daylight Pass for the second time today, It was there that I saw the Race Director, who was now turning people around and not allowing riders to continue through Daylight Pass and on to Rhyolite. From the top of Daylight Pass it is essentially a 20 mile out and back in and out of Nevada. The reason for his decision? The winds had continued to pick up on the valley floor and it was going to be very difficult for riders to finish the event under their own power. In my opinion, if you were still climbing up to Daylight Pass at this hour you really didn’t need to endure an additional 20 mile loop. I believe some riders were disappointed with having their ride shortened but I am quite certain Chris’s controversial yet sapient advice became more than apparent to them shortly thereafter. Once those riders hit the valley floor it should have been more than obvious that Chris had their safety in mind.
Descending from Daylight Pass down into the valley was, in a word, treacherous. As mentioned before, I was riding Zipp 808’s front and rear. So far during the day the wheels weren’t an issue. But in this canyon-like descent the winds were agley. They didn’t have a pattern from which I could predict which way to lean or where to put my body weight. It’s funny the things that go through your mind when descending a mountain with circling winds. I thought of Ayrton Senna (please watch the video). Senna was a Formula 1 driver for the ages. One of his many talents was his ability to drive in the rain. And there is a quote by one of the commentators “….Senna is a wet weather master!” That echoed in my head over and over again as I envisioned having a commentator assess my windy weather riding prowess. Yes in my mind I had become the “…windy weather master!”
What advice do I have for riding in the wind? Stay loose, stay relaxed be ready and vigilant for anything. Look at the vegetation– which way it is blowing and how far is it leaning over. Keep driving that rear wheel if even mentally YOU need to be in control of your machine. Keep pedalling as the gust comes and hunker down on your bike. Sitting up and not pedaling only creates a higher profile and essentially you are acting as a sail. Keep driving that rear wheel and keep power putting that power to the ground.
Daylight Pass to Beatty Cutoff
There were times when the wind would hit me so ferociously that it would take my current 30 mph speed and literally stop me. Once through the canyon-like section I approached Hell’s Gate. There was no need to stop for refueling. I sped ahead only to be greeted with significant head-on gusts that had me pedaling and yet barely doing double digit speeds. I saw plenty of riders standing alongside the road and passed many others fighting their way to go downhill. It’s sounds incredulous but yes we had to pedal to go downhill. Even with all this effort of pedaling I am barely doing 10 mph. It’s tough going for everyone today. I’m proud of those riders for pushing themselves and pedaling themselves in to the finish.
Descent from Hell’s Gate – note the sandstorm on the valley floor
I reach the bottom and see the third place rider sitting on an ice chest with his head in his hands. I have enormous respect for his efforts thus far but now it seems he’s bitten off more than he can chew. He doesn’t look like he can be roused up from his languor. It is now that my patience and experience in riding in these conditions that things start to pay off. You know this isn’t my first rodeo 😉 Don’t chase rabbits, don’t over exert, pace properly stay on the bike and stay fueled and a race takes on a whole different dimension on the latter stages just like when the two minute warning is given in a football game.
I roll on. I’m down to the last 11 miles to the finish. I am running in third place again and while there won’t be a podium I like to think that I have a podium finish as long as I stay the course and finish. You see my mantra while riding these events plays over and over in my head….It’s about suffering and getting it done. The thing is many people do these events. But only a few suffer, even fewer LIKE to suffer consequently even fewer get it done. These two components go together they go hand in hand like peanut butter and jelly, Abbott and Costello and Tom and Jerry. You must always know, be aware, and more importantly, embrace the suffering that comes with endurance cycling and then GET IT DONE! Because in my opinion, doing only the suffering is like a dancer not performing because she has blisters on her feet….the show must go on! I say this to most of my friends and newcomers to endurance cycling and fledgling ultra cyclist — MOST PEOPLE DON’T LIKE TO SUFFER. They don’t want to do the requisite work i.e. training that it takes to become a good endurance cyclist.
My last 11 miles were purely a mental exercise. It was a test of my mind, will power, against the steadfast resolve of Mother Nature’s adroit ability to change wind direction and speed. She made it interesting, I’ll give her that. Her ability to change the wind speed continuously as adept as an iPod can randomly shuffle your 10,000 song music library from Metallica to Liberace. I imagined her sitting at the finish line saying “Ok try this one… not bad. Ok try this one, ahh I got you on that one didn’t I? Alright now try this!” She was intent on testing me but I was resolute in finishing. I did the math in my head many times….”the course closes at 5pm…I’ve got four hours….I’ve got three hours….” GETTING IT DONE was tantamount to that “podium” finish.
Numerous volunteers drove up next to me and offered me a ride in. I understood their good nature but I couldn’t understand why they would think with 10 and then 8, then 5 and then 2 miles from the finish I would quit. That’s right … getting a ride in was akin to quitting. I’m not a quitter. I am 5 time Furnace Creek 508 finisher — 508 miles non-stop and 35,000 feet of climbing. I’ve completed RAAM 2 person when my partner DNF’d and I finished the 3,000 mile race on my own. I appreciate all of you that asked me if I needed to SAG in but today was not the day. I was going to finish this under my own power even if I walked in. It took me an hour and 48 minutes to finish those last 11 miles into 50 mph + gusts! That’s right that is barely 6 mph average speed for a so-called accomplished ultra cyclist …but I DID finish! I GOT IT DONE! While 100’s didn’t finish!
Four photos from my fabulous day in Death Valley. I arrived late Thursday evening. Friday I got an opportunity to ride in Death Valley under glorious weather conditions while being fully supported in a non-racing environment. Riding is Death Valley is simply c’est magnifique!!
101 miles 8,600 feet of climbing.
Just a quick note until my race report is ready to be published. The forecast called for high winds and the weather man got it right. When we started the event we had 20mph headwinds. Eight hours later when I finished, what should have been a 6 hour century, they were at least 50 mph. Unofficially, I believe I came in 3rd. More to come…
Official results for the 2012 Hell’s Gate Hundred should be posted here
Do you remember a previous post when I mentioned that my body must have been telling me something? Well it definitely was telling me something. I had been working so hard that week and not sleeping well. I rode Wednesday about 45 miles at tempo. Thursday I had a crappy ride and turned around. Friday I had a better ride. But by late Friday afternoon I wasn’t feeling well at all. By Saturday morning I had a full-on cold. I spent the week going to bed early, sleeping in and not riding. I kicked it in a week! But more importantly I strongly believe I beat the common cold by increasing my L-Glutamine doses from Aminopure.
It was my first cold of the season. I didn’t catch a cold after the Furnace Creek 508 in October. I didn’t catch a cold or flu when all my shop mates were sick through November, December, January and February but finally in March I got something. Again I strongly believe I owe my immune system’s strength to Aminopure!
ANYway I got a chance to do two hours on Saturday 3/24 and so I went to Torrey Pines in San Diego and did 5 repeats. A short ride but I wanted to see if I could ride at intensity since I am heading out to Death Valley for the Hell’s Gate Hundred. Hell’s Gate Hundred is a century in Death Valley with about 10,000 feet. It is a great event put on by the best organizers in the business AdventureCORPS.
I felt ok, actually much better than expected. I did the repeats at different intensities and different gear ratios. I think I will be in decent shape to complete the event but not too compete for the “win”. I guess I was just checking how much I was going to suffer knowing I wasn’t going to place well. 😉
Here is a summary of the repeats
| Repeat | Time | Normalized Power | w/kg | |
| 1 | 6:21 | 321 | 4.72 | |
| 2 | 5:43 | 304 | 4.47 | Inside |
| 3 | 8:01 | 239 | 3.51 | |
| 4 | 6:58 | 286 | 4.21 | |
| 5 | 7:19 | 262 | 3.85 |
Torrey Pines Outside 6:21 Normalized Power 321 4.7 w/kg
For more Climb Analysis Data visit my page dedicated to climbs.
What a nice treat during my day…Bill Walton came to visit me. I met Bill a few years back. He is a huge cycling fan and avid rider himself. He likes the long rides. It’s not unusual to see him on a century ride here and there. He is close friends with Chris Kostman, Chief Adventure Officer of AdventureCORPS. He comes out to the AdventureCORPS events and that how I got to know him.
I remember at the Furnace Creek 508, Bill Walton was crewing for a team (a huge selfless act) and he came alongside me in the crew vehicle and starting talking to me. I was over 300 miles and over 20 hours into the race (508 miles). I was feeling one of the lulls during the long event and just having a conversation with him lifted my spirits.
I am fortunate to have Bill Walton as friend and I look forward to many more years of his friendship. He is such and easy-going guy it’s easy to like him. I hope to see him at the Mount Laguna Bicycle Classic April 21 (registration closes April 16)
After many months of waiting I finally received my Cannondale Super Six EVO Di2 bicycle. I first rode this marvelous machine while attending Dealer Camp held in Deer Valley, UT in late July of 2011. From my first few pedal strokes I was pleasantly surprised and impressed by it’s stiffness and great ride quality. But alas, I had to finish out the 2011 race season with my Felt F1 Di2.
Fast forward six months and I am now the proud and oh so excited owner of the Cannondale SuperSix EVO! From a previous post you will see that the frame weight is below 800 grams. This is quite astonishing as we once considered the benchmark for frame weight to be sub-1kg. My 54cm Cannondale Super Six EVO frame actual weight was a remarkable 772 grams! How much lighter will carbon fiber frames get?
But this isn’t a product review about the bantam weight of the new Cannondale SuperSix EVO frame. No, ladies and gentlemen, this is much more than just lightweight. Not only is the EVO frame the lightest production frame available today but it also has very good road manners. One of the things I found lacking in my 2011 Felt F1 frame was ride quality. The Felt F1 had plenty of stiffness and an incredibly stable front end. But it was, shall we say… a little rough around the edges. It was a little harsh for my taste. The Felt F1 is like taking your first few sips of a Slurpee, it’s sweet tasty, refreshing on a hot summer’s day, but take one too many sips and you get brain freeze! It is a fantastic bike and it is perfect for a large segment of the high-end road market and professional racing circuit. However, for my personal application there wasn’t a love connection. The Felt still needs a remedial session in finishing school. A fondness that began with an infatuation but didn’t progress into a 100% committed relationship and my eye wandered. The EVO caught my attention straight away with its beguiling matte finish, its tried and tested racing heritage, and its wonderfully compliant and supple ride. It truly was love at first ride!
A little background about myself might put my product reviews in perspective for those of you discovering my blog and reading it for first time. I am an Ultra Cyclist. My typical training rides are about 50 miles, my long days are about 100 miles and my really long days are measured in hours, no longer in miles. My goal event for the last six years has been the Furnace Creek 508. It is a 508 mile non-stop bicycle race with 35,000 feet of climbing. “The 508” has 10 mountain sections, traverses the Mojave and Death Valley deserts. It is a true test of a rider and his machine’s ability to endure heat, cold, the unrelenting sun beating on you through ever-clear skies. riding through the night, mountain climbs, mountain descents, 5000 foot summits, the lowest point in the Western Hemisphere, Badwater (-282 feet below sea level) and some of the worst roads you can ride on a bike (latter part of the course). My singular focus in pursuit of endurance cycling excellence has earned me induction into the Furnace Creek 508 Hall of Fame, class of 2011. I have completed the Furnace Creek 508 six consecutive years in the solo category. A feat unmatched by any solo rider that has gone before me in over 25 years and nearly 40 editions of the race. In its early years the race was run twice year. My best time is 37 hours and 34 minutes set in 2008. I owe my success purely through the patience, persistence and perseverance of my crews, they are the only reason I have been able to finish 6 consecutive solos. Thank you to all my previous crews!!!!
And so it stands to reason that my product review of the Cannondale SuperSix EVO emanates from a century ride and not from a 10 mile ride “around the block” or just re-writing the specs from their glossy catalog. After a few shakedown rides to confirm the build quality and proper fit I headed out on a 95 mile 10,000 feet of climbing training ride. What better place to test a super light weight frame than to take it climbing and descending right? The perfect venue then would be the mountains of San Diego County. One of my favorite climbing routes is Palomar Mountain. It is considered one of the 10 toughest climbs in California.
1) Onion Valley
2) Horseshoe Meadows
3) White Mountain
4) Sherman Pass
5) Whitney Portal
6) Mount Baldy
7) Shirley Meadows
8) South Lake
9) Mount Palomar
10) Mosquito Flat
The graphs above are map views, including terrain, of my route from San Marcos, CA to Lake Henshaw via Palomar Mountain. The elevation profiles show my ascent up South Grade Rd, descent of East Grade, ascent of East Grade Rd and descent of South Grade Rd and finally the ascent of Cole Grade Rd.
The graphs above are screen grabs from two different web-based GPS analysis sites. Garmin Connect and the other is Ride with GPS (RWGPS). Interestingly, RWGPS has just recently adopted a new ranking system for users akin to Strava.
Right turn at Lake Wohlford
The first real climb of the day was Lake Wohlford Rd, a stout 2 mile climb. I was about 10 miles into my ride, warmed up and ready to climb. I “attacked” the lower part of the climb (7-9% grade). Immediately, I could feel the frame respond to my power input. It felt light, responsive and lively. My thoughts instantly were “why don’t all frames feel like this?”
I’m not a powerful rider , but I can hit 1000 to 1100 watts routinely. My max sprint of 1251 watts I only did once under perfect circumstances. I don’t typically feel frame flex unless I attack on a roller over-geared.
One of my training goals for the day was to hold 300 watts for 2 minutes at the base of the climb and then finish off the climb at perceived effort. Over the next weeks my intervals will increase in duration and intensity.
The bike felt amazing. I felt I was getting every watt transmitted from the bottom bracket, through to the SRM 7900 wireless power meter crankset, through the Dura-Ace chain and to the Dura-Ace C24 carbon-clincher rear wheel. The road is tore up and this is where you can really feel the compliance of the rear end. The SAVE anti-vibration systems let’s you put power down on the road while letting you roll over the bumps, cracks and expansion joints on the road in relative comfort. Yes that stuff really works!
UPDATE: On March 15th my goal was 300 watts for 4 minutes and on March 16th 300 watts for 5 minutes (312 watts actual).
The top of the Lake Wohlford Rd climb is 2.1 miles from your right turn off of Valley Center Rd. The climb has a few reliefs which is to say it drops below 6%. But stay on the power because those reliefs are short-lived. Look left and you will see a paint ball arena. Every time I climb Lake Wohlford Rd I think, “wow that looks like it would be A LOT more fun than this!” Of course, this is at the end of my 12 minutes of pain and suffering up the Lake Wohlford climb 😉
Right turn at the T- intersection of Valley Center Road and Lake Wohlford Rd. This is a down hill section of approximately 2 miles as you head towards Harrah’s Casino in Rincon and the T- Intersection of Hwy 76. This section of road is tore-up and the shoulder, what little there is, is not safe for riding. I usually take the lane since my speed is about 40 mph. The closer you ride to the fog-line the harsher the road conditions.
Above you see the intersection of Hwy 76 and Valley Center Rd. Right turn onto Hwy 76 East bound and climb, climb, and climb some more.
About 5 miles into the Palomar Mountain climb you will reach a “plateau”. It’s flat and slightly downhill for about 3/4 of a mile. You then turn left on to South Grade Rd. to begin the upper portion of Palomar Mountain.
Once you turn left you will finish the last portion of the Palomar Mountain climb 6.7 miles up towards 5,200 feet elevation.
The top of the climb is mile marker 47.8. It’s good to know these little details so you can pace yourself up the long 11.7 mile climb.
The descent is very twisty and FUN!! Even though this was the first time I was descending on the Cannondale SuperSix EVO, I felt very comfortable pushing the limits… a little. Little known fact I was the “KOD” King of Descent on Palomar Mountain on Strava. I’m not a heavy rider, at 150lbs, what I am is a skilled descender.
Notice the 2012 Mavic Huez yellow cycling shoes. I will have a review in the coming weeks on the lightest cycling shoe I have ever had the pleasure of riding.
In the two pictures above I am posing with my friend Jon. He was out riding his motorcycle on Palomar Mountain while I was using good ol’ pedal power to climb one of California’s TenToughest climbs. When I reached the summit and went into Mother’s restaurant he called out my name. At first, it didn’t click plus I was still in a daze from my extended “hard effort”. But then when I recognized him it was such pleasant surprise to see him there. We talked for a few minutes then posed for a couple of pictures. What a coincidence and nice treat to run into my friend Jon. The picture just above is at the finish of 2010 Tour De Francis Winter Edition in which I came in first and he was right on my wheel for second. It was a great day on the bike. One of my favorite pictures came out of that event (see below). What is an even more coincidental is I am wearing the same Skins C400 Compression Cycling kit. I hadn’t worn that kit in many months.
The T-Intersection of Hwy 76 and East Grade Road. The descent on East Grade road isn’t nearly as much fun as South Grade. And the climb is quite boring as well. You will note below that the grade is only 4.4% average for the 11.3 miles. As a matter of fact the local knee-draggers call it the “fast side”. It does feel much steeper when you are tired and have already climbed South Grade though.
Refueling at “the store” at the bottom of the Palomar Mountain climb. Ron the proprietor is such a nice man. On days when I want to do repeats on Palomar Mountain or if I’m short on time, I have driven to the store and parked in his parking lot. I always ask his permission to leave my car in his small parking lot and he always insists it’s no problem at all.
Westbound on Hwy 76 Left Turn on Cole Grade Rd.
Cole Grade Rd is a bit of a shocker after you have been descending what seems to be forever but is really only a half hour. Your legs are not ready for the trauma of 8-10% grades. But once again the Cannondale Super Six EVO shows it’s merit in being stiff enough to handle the wall of a climb before you. The bike just feels so nimble, so responsive when standing out of the saddle.
I rode two days in the Palomar Mountain area. Both days were lackluster but today was slightly better. Yesterday was such a shitty day I turned around and went home. I started in Escondido and climbed the lower portion of Palomar Mountain on Hwy 76 (approx 4.4 miles 1,500 gain) I couldn’t get myself motivated to climb the second half of the mountain. I was tired from the work week and I hadn’t had a good night’s rest. So I turned around yep, I DNF’d on a training ride 😉 It was still a 50 mile ride with almost 4,000 feet of gain which is a good enough ride for most people.
Today I started in a different part of Escondido and climbed all the way to the top of Palomar Mountain, albeit slowly. I felt so much better today. In fact, I even descended a couple of times to pick up my straggler.
Epic Training Tip: When the day isn’t going well go home, eat and rest. Your body is telling you something. Take care of it and go back the next day and try again. It’s ok to miss or quit on a training day to have a better training result on another day.
Living up in Orange County I haven’t been going to Palomar Mountain as frequently I used to when I lived in San Diego County, On a regular basis, typically once a week, I would make the 100 mile 10,000 feet of climbing round trip from Encinitas to the top of Palomar Mountain. Palomar is a great climb beginning in Pauma Valley about 1000 feet elevation topping out at 5,200 feet.
There is much debate as to how long and how much gain is attained on the climb. Most people time themselves from “store to store”. Which means from the Stage Stop and Liquor at the bottom to the Mother’s Market at the top. That distance is about 11.7 miles with about 4,200 feet of gain. Some like to time themselves from Harrah’s Casino which is understandable because it is the very bottom of the valley. The store is on the left hand side of Hwy 76 when you make the right turn onto Hwy 76 from Valley Center Rd. You can see it in the Google Satellite image I have included below.
March 15 not a good day (notice low normalized power)
March 16 a little better (notice much higher normalized power)
March 16 just the major climbs — 40 miles with 7400 feet gained
Alright and now for some good things to take away from these two uninspiring days. On Thursday when I made the right turn onto Hwy 76 I saw a rider alongside the road, just across the road from the Stage Stop store, wearing a Furnace Creek 508 jersey. I had to pull over and ask who he was. I asked “What’s your totem?” He knew who I was but I didn’t know him. He was David Nash a two-man finisher from 2011 with my friend Steve “Desert Duck” Teal.
Later when I was about 3 miles from finishing my ride back in Escondido, I see someone flagging me down. I pull over and start chatting with the gentleman pictured above. Apparently, Roland has been reading my blog for about a year. He recounted his progression from racing as a young man, coming to the states, having a family and now riding again. He had just completed his first double century in Death Valley put on by AdventureCORPS. Good work Roland I hope to see you at an event sometime and thank you for reading my blog. You brightened up my day which was otherwise a total wash.
UPDATE 3/17/12
A question came in from one of my readers. He asked if my Performance Management Chart reflected the lack of motivation or over-training that I felt on Thursday March 15th. Well the graph above is from November 14 through March 15. You can see the pink line is the stress I put on my body and yellow line is how much rest or recovery I give my body– in layman’s terms. I don’t see anything unusual when compared to other times I have stressed my body more and still been able to put in a good training workout.
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