Transcontinental Race
Discussion
Gruffy said:
My application is in. Hopefully I've made a compelling case for getting a place, but I'm told I'll know by the end of the year. For now I have to assume I'm in and continue with the planning, bike-building and training.
Fair play, you purchasing a frame/bike regardless or going to wait?
Choosing and building a bike takes enough time as it is. I waited until I knew what the race looked like before getting too involved but I won't wait for the official nod. I think it'll be more important to get lots of testing in on the equipment I'll be riding, including all the configurations of luggage and kit that I'm considering.
Besides, if I don't manage to get an entry I'll just end up shadowing the race and self-documenting the controls anyway. I'm riding to Turkey next July either way
Besides, if I don't manage to get an entry I'll just end up shadowing the race and self-documenting the controls anyway. I'm riding to Turkey next July either way
Mike Hall did say he want to kill off aerobars! On the plus side there will be less traffic. Personally I preferred the race in the days before the big name sponsors. IIRC on the first race someone turned up at the start line with his bike on the off chance and was allowed to enter. In many ways its become a victim of its own success. If you don't get in, which is a very real prospect if you haven't much experience, given the amount of interest this race is now commanding, then consider; http://www.aukweb.net/events/detail/16-708/. Or if work and home allow http://transambikerace.com/
Mike did make a point of saying (last year) that if someone was genuinely capable of finishing and persisted then they eventually got a place. They had 250 places last year and less than 200 actually made the start. That's to be expected given the nature of the race, but competition for those spots might be tougher this year now that the race is more well known. I've been following it for the last two races and, I agree, it had more romance about it in the earlier editions, but that's success for you. I think the next 1-2 editions will be pivotal in how the TCR develops. It's no easy thing to manage.
Yes persistence and dogging organisers does work, as it shows a level of determination. People will drop out for any number of reasons but there is always a lot of self selection in ultra events prior to the start- so don't take no for an answer. PBP wasn't over subscribed this year despite the predictions and there are also a lot of similar events occurring around the same time.
Have a look on LFGSS, there is a very decent Ultra Cycling section, 2 or 3 people from that forum took part in TC this year and the TT World Champion (500+miles in 24hrs!) is a regular contributor.
Have a look on LFGSS, there is a very decent Ultra Cycling section, 2 or 3 people from that forum took part in TC this year and the TT World Champion (500+miles in 24hrs!) is a regular contributor.
No worries. Think you have the basic strategy in relation to bike setup correct. With those descents you will need reliable and strong disc brakes, you lessen the risk of hand strain shifting using Di2 and tubeless allows for a more comfortable ride via lower tyre pressures as well as the puncture derisk.
For hub dynamo look at a Son 28 dynamo/ B&M Luxos front light combination. You can go lighter than the Son 28 but the hub gets weaker (Harry Rowland doesn't build wheels with the Son delux for this reason). The B&M Luxos light includes a handlebar switch as well as a USB charging point and an inbuilt cache battery which is essential for charging Garmins uphill.
Personally I find the alternatives (E-werks or Le Plug) inferior.
Start practising rough sleeping- hotels/ B&Bs are too comfortable and waste time. A good light goretex bivvy bag is the way forward, you will get away with a sleeping bag liner but a thermomat is essential- the little sleep you do take needs to be restfull.
Check out Alpkit for bike luggage its much cheaper and stronger than the Apidura equivalent IMO.
For hub dynamo look at a Son 28 dynamo/ B&M Luxos front light combination. You can go lighter than the Son 28 but the hub gets weaker (Harry Rowland doesn't build wheels with the Son delux for this reason). The B&M Luxos light includes a handlebar switch as well as a USB charging point and an inbuilt cache battery which is essential for charging Garmins uphill.
Personally I find the alternatives (E-werks or Le Plug) inferior.
Start practising rough sleeping- hotels/ B&Bs are too comfortable and waste time. A good light goretex bivvy bag is the way forward, you will get away with a sleeping bag liner but a thermomat is essential- the little sleep you do take needs to be restfull.
Check out Alpkit for bike luggage its much cheaper and stronger than the Apidura equivalent IMO.
It's proved quite popular amongst the TCR community.
That dynamo-light combo is my current front-runner. Seems well-liked by successful finishers. The deluxe was my first thought but I'd also read recently that it perhaps wasn't durable enough.
Sleeping rough is going to be tricky. Not much point in testing that during an English winter. I will practice that more in the spring or – to my wife's rolled eyes – if we get any winter sun. Fancy hotel and I'll be sleeping on the balcony in a bivvy.
I thought I was broadly decided on kit strategy before the controls where announced but the super lumpy route has forced a rethink. More chance of weather extremes but silly amounts of steep climbing, so even more impetus to reduce weight. More on this in a future blog entry but there are a few different strategies to choose from. At one extreme you may conclude that it's best to ditch sleeping kit altogether and stay in hotels (being disciplined about not hanging around though) and/or sleeping during the hottest part of the day and riding at night. Tortoise or hare? No easy answers.
That dynamo-light combo is my current front-runner. Seems well-liked by successful finishers. The deluxe was my first thought but I'd also read recently that it perhaps wasn't durable enough.
Sleeping rough is going to be tricky. Not much point in testing that during an English winter. I will practice that more in the spring or – to my wife's rolled eyes – if we get any winter sun. Fancy hotel and I'll be sleeping on the balcony in a bivvy.
I thought I was broadly decided on kit strategy before the controls where announced but the super lumpy route has forced a rethink. More chance of weather extremes but silly amounts of steep climbing, so even more impetus to reduce weight. More on this in a future blog entry but there are a few different strategies to choose from. At one extreme you may conclude that it's best to ditch sleeping kit altogether and stay in hotels (being disciplined about not hanging around though) and/or sleeping during the hottest part of the day and riding at night. Tortoise or hare? No easy answers.
Luckily I'd already made a personal commitment to keep my total mileage above 1% average climbing, but I will increase that further now. I'm going to do a long ride this weekend that'll be relatively flat, but that's only because these long rides aren't great for your physical training and throwing in too much climbing would just make my recovery time longer.
I need steady flat rides for my winter base but will add hill repeat sessions into the week.
I need steady flat rides for my winter base but will add hill repeat sessions into the week.
The pace you'll be riding the hills means actually riding uphill in training probably won't matter too much. You'll have the gearing to be able to spin up anything (presumably) so time in the saddle generally is going to be far more important than your ability up hill.
James attempted the Lovcen climb on his way back after he recovered, he was slower than me up there despite weighing less and having just done most of the route. I do very little hill training, FTP is FTP your body doesn't care if you got it by riding hard up hill or on the flat, or over rolling terrain really. I'm sure you know full well, but building a huge base / CTL (worth looking into that stuff) is going to be key to any event like this - being able to absorb that training load is key.
Good luck, I was hooked on it last year on that tracker thing!
James attempted the Lovcen climb on his way back after he recovered, he was slower than me up there despite weighing less and having just done most of the route. I do very little hill training, FTP is FTP your body doesn't care if you got it by riding hard up hill or on the flat, or over rolling terrain really. I'm sure you know full well, but building a huge base / CTL (worth looking into that stuff) is going to be key to any event like this - being able to absorb that training load is key.
Good luck, I was hooked on it last year on that tracker thing!
Yeah, I'm going to be a bit more disciplined with rides now, instead of just riding everything at 90%. I like low gearing so I can definitely spin up anything (no big ring heroics here!). I just need to avoid the temptation to push too hard up hills and keep the HR down even if it means a slow pace. It's hard to resist and I feel guilty if I go too slow.
What's CTL?
What's CTL?
A term for those with powermeters generally, but you can do it with a HRM - basically its the scientific way of tracking your 'base fitness' - if you have some time it might be interesting for you
http://ianbarrington.com/2007/03/02/atl-ctl-tsb-ex...
http://ianbarrington.com/2007/03/02/atl-ctl-tsb-ex...
You are right in saying long rides don't promote fitness but ultimately your biggest gain will not be in raising your level of fitness but in your ability to organise your food and water refill/not getting lost/ toilet/ comfort and sleep stops to the absolute minimum and this only comes with practise and experience. Its all about time in the saddle, learning to deal with the suffering and pain and overcome it with sheer bloody mindedness (my top tip is Ibuprofen and Redbull BTW).
I didn't mean fitness didn't matter, arguably he who has the biggest FTP from the highest highest CTL will be the winner of this race if they can keep it all together, but what I meant was that you need not worry about climbing as the only thing you do in training. I don't train on mountains yet still rode up the Lovcen climb on this years route quicker than James Hayden could manage despite him having twice the 'base' I do - this race isn't won on how quick you can climb, its clearly about how well you can absorb the load and manage sleep deprivation
I have a curiosity with it, I'd not want to do it but big respect to anyone giving it a 'proper' go - not so much those that were still in France when James and Josh were in Montenegro though
I have a curiosity with it, I'd not want to do it but big respect to anyone giving it a 'proper' go - not so much those that were still in France when James and Josh were in Montenegro though
For me personally (cant speak for others) it would be adapting my body for that much exercise and effort for the sustained period of time . For example, I rode 24 hours earlier (nothing major in the scheme of things) in the year and was surprised that come 3am I felt good, loads of miles left in me, but......My stomach had enough, it wasn't enjoying going 24 hours and the only places to get food were garages or takeaways, which made it worse!
Was quite surprised as my stomach is really good normally! It was screaming at me for a break though!So for me it would be ensuring parts of my body dint give way when riding for extended periods of time, especially those that you never notice.
Was quite surprised as my stomach is really good normally! It was screaming at me for a break though!So for me it would be ensuring parts of my body dint give way when riding for extended periods of time, especially those that you never notice.
The rule I'm working to is that anything beyond 5-6 hours is good for experience but detrimental to overall fitness. My plan is to try and limit those to one a month, with one or two back-to-back big rides.
I think the most important factor will be, as you say, staying on the bike and applying rule 5. Given the scale of the thing though, even marginal increases in fitness will become significant, especially when it comes to climbing.
Regarding CTL, I keep an interested eye on the Fitness & Freshness graph on Strava, though I don't imagine it's particularly accurate with just a HRM and no power data. By now I have a reasonable 'feel' for when I'm overtraining, but I'd love to get a power meter and start using more data. If only I wasn't already stretching to build a bike for it!
I think the most important factor will be, as you say, staying on the bike and applying rule 5. Given the scale of the thing though, even marginal increases in fitness will become significant, especially when it comes to climbing.
Regarding CTL, I keep an interested eye on the Fitness & Freshness graph on Strava, though I don't imagine it's particularly accurate with just a HRM and no power data. By now I have a reasonable 'feel' for when I'm overtraining, but I'd love to get a power meter and start using more data. If only I wasn't already stretching to build a bike for it!
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