PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

As an aging, decrepit, crusty old geezer, I take solace from helping cyclists find their inner performance.  Regardless of whether it's a new racer, or a seasoned elite competitor, it's always a joy to help a new athlete reach a level of fitness never before imagined.


This past year, I was very fortunate to work with an extremely hard working individual that was taking on the Haute Route - Alps, a seven day timed race up and over the Alps.  After 8 months of hard training and quantifiable fitness improvements, it was off to Europe.  Senior Living Magazine even wrote an article on this exceptionally talented man!

I've pasted an email below that put a big smile on my grizzled old face!

Sent: Sunday, August 31, 2014 10:22 AM
To: Allan P
Subject: Week of Aug 23

Al

I've had a semi relaxing day with my wife wondering the streets and water front of Nice. When I

packed up my bike and stuffed all the bits and pieces of the past week into the spaces around the frame, the bike ride had officially ended. 

I want to thank you for your time and expertise in making what turned out to be a over the top dream of mine come true. One year ago when I decided this was to be the year to take on this adventure I had no idea of what a multi-day stage race would be like. I had only done small local day rides and few races which gave me limited skills and insight into what lay beyond. If it had not been for your professional knowledge and your friendship I know I would have cracked more than a few times, and that was on the first day.            

I kept thinking of the work we did on Westport when the grade was more than 15%. It kept ringing through my head as I pushed myself up Ventoux. I was worried that I hadn't done a lot of climbing in preparation for the Alps and didn't know if the threshold work had done anything to keep me from blowing up after a few long hard kms. But just as you had planned I was strong and most of the time able to come back and go hard and stronger time and time again. I grew to have faith in my fitness and ability to go the distance as I did on a tough climb over col de Madeleine and the Glandon. The letter you sent us about mental toughness was huge, day after day, it allowed me to focus on the support I had back home and not allow me to let anyone down, more importantly I didn't let myself down.

 I started out  thinking I would be just riding along with the pack while the other GS guys were racing far ahead, it turned out that once I got over the first timing mat I was going as hard as I could and as long as I could, always wanting to move up in the GC as well as my age class. It was a real race for me and that will always be one of the highlights of the week.

On the morning of the last day I was 54 sec behind 4th place ( in my age class), I had been down over 5 min the day before and didn't feel good about my dropping in the standings. At breakfast the TNA boys talked up the potential for a 4th place finish and that I needed some domestiques to shepherd me to the line. I was entertained by their support and joking around. On the third hill of the day I had gone way too hard and was floundering on the flats just before the top. I was loosing time and needed to get over the top to recover, I was dying.  Up comes the 4 lads behind me and Wilf starts to push me along several times till I have enough gas to reach the top, get a running bottle change and drive down into the next valley. Those guys were life savers and I really appreciated their help. That was a pivotal point in the day.

Now it's holiday time and later time to start thinking what we can do next year with my new fitness and experience. 

A lot of people helped me but I want to let you know that I may have done the pedalling but you contributed in an immeasurable way help me reach my goal.

Thanks,

7 LAYER CAKE (OR, HOW TO PREPARE FOR YOUR FIRST CYCLING EVENT)

You’ve been swept up into the hoopla of the Tour De France back in July, bought your first road bike earlier in the year, and even have a fancy, colorful, form fitting (yikes) cycling kit that screams ‘I’m a Racer!’  But wait, you’ve never ridden in a peloton, haven’t cycled more than double digit mileage, and really don’t know where to start or what to do, short of diving into one of the many Fondo’s throughout the province.

Luckily, our good friends over at MEC host all kinds of events; trail running, triathlons, stand up paddling, and yes, you guess it, cycling events!  These low-key, inexpensive events are ideal for athletes at any level looking to have a fun time stretching their fitness and meeting new faces.

On August 24^th, MEC’s Vancouver Summer Century offers a choice between a 50km or 100km ride that takes cyclists through the scenic countryside of Pitt Meadows and Maple Ridge – think flat, fast and scenic.  Starting and ending at the Pinetree Community Center in Coquitlam, the $35 entry fee includes refreshments before and after the ride, as well as offering many amazing draw prizes!

Whether you opt to ride the 50km or go whole hog and ride the full 100km course, one thing’s for sure – you need to train, and train in the right way. What are a few standout essentials for a successful ride?   Glad you asked!

GOAL SETTING

First, choose your distance. Be realistic; if you bought a shiny new road bike last week, don’t enter the 100km ride unless you have plenty of previous aerobic conditioning. From here, consider your goals. Are you completing, competing or conquering? Be reasonable. Once you’ve identified your objective, write it down, and work backwards from your there.  What do you need to be successful in your journey?

LONG RIDES

Long rides are at the heart of a cyclist’s aerobic conditioning.  They are the foundation to your tower. A cyclist with a weak aerobic base soon develops limiters in further fitness building.  Get out there, and start cracking off long, controlled rides.  Using a heart rate monitor?  Keep a narrow operating window: 65 – 72%MHR for these rides.  Try to keep constant pressure on the pedals and try to minimize stops.  Aim for an extended duration of activity, fueling and hydrating as you go.  As you develop fitness, start to stretch the duration of your rides out, from an initial 90 minutes, try for 2 hours.  Once you feel comfortable rolling for 2 hours, push your limits, can you finish 3 or even 4 hours of cycling without stopping?  I bet you can!

INTERVALS

Becoming a good cyclist is much like baking a cake; it’s easy if you have the right recipe!  As you’ve learned, long rides are essential, they are the flour and the eggs in your cake. From there, we need to add the special ‘go fast’ ingredients.  Think of intervals as the chocolate and jam between the layers.

LONG SETS

Find a long, constant grade hill; a favorite is the road up to the First Lookout on Cypress.  From the 2km marker, just passed the Works Yard, settle into a reasonably hard rhythm, perhaps an 8 on a scale of 10; hard but repeatable. Time yourself to the first lookout.  Ride back and….yep, you guessed it, ride back up again!  Your time should be consistent, aim for a variance of less than 2minutes.  Once you’ve crushed two repeats, add an additional climb, until you can do 4 climbs back to back to back.

SHORT SETS

Your recipe is growing!  Aerobic foundation, check!  Long, threshold sets, check!  Next up, short, high intensity sets – OUCH!  Find a quiet, flat piece of road, Iona Island is great for this workout. From a pre-selected landmark, ride as hard as you can for 90 seconds.  Now, you might be thinking, “C’maaan, 90s?  That’s so short!”  Trust me on this one, if you go as hard as you can for 90 seconds, your eyeballs will be screaming mercy.  Because these efforts are so hard, you’ll need a longer recovery.  Triple your ‘work’ time (3 x 90s = 4minutes, 30s) for your recovery.  Now, blast these 90s maximal efforts and call it a night! Initially, aim for 3 sets – yep, that’s all!  Grow your numbers from there, until you can comfortably complete 3 sets of 3!  You'll be screaming for mercy.

RECOVERY

You don’t get fitter when you are riding, you get fitter when you sleep and recover!  Gone are the days when cyclists needed to ride six days a week. With the advent of power meters and heart rate monitors, quantifiable benefits can be had with a fraction of training time of years past.  Rest up!

PACING

Pacing is crucial in training and on the big day. The trick is to ride at an intensity that won’t shatter your legs and leave you gasping for air. This comes with experience, but if you’ve trained using heart rate or power, you will have a good idea of what output you can sustain. If you don’t know how hard you should be working, don’t exceed 85% of your max heart rate.  If you’re oldschool and ride by feel – keep a cap of 8/10 on any hard efforts, reducing intensity to a 6/5 or 7 (out of 10) for the duration of the ride.

Pace yourself, feed regularly and enjoy the ride!

(Proviso: Allan is not a cake baker, but a certified road coach.)

30 MINUTES

It's always fun climbing Cypress.  Regardless of whether you choose to noodle the mountain at a sedate pace, slowing to enjoy the vistas from each switchback, or ride the mountain angry, looking for a time to beat up on, Cypress is a magical place.  

The near constant 5% to 6% pitch allows you to lock into a trance-like, cathartic rhythm.  Depending on the nature and speed of the climb, mental focus can be broad, or pin-point narrow.  Last Thursday's climb was a little more narrow in scope than other rides - to beat the 30minute mark from the 2km sign.  FUN!  (Not really).

What does it take to ride sub-30 on Cypress?  A bit of determination and a heckuva lot of focus. More than anything though, it requires a constant power output, with little to no yo-yo'ing in pace.  I don't typically like to share ride data, but the graph below, indicating speed, power, heart rate and cadence, shows the complete story, from the start at the 2km marker all the way to the mountain-top finish, just underneath the powerlines.

A screen capture from Strava, the first line of data shows speed, averaging just over 20km/h, with a peak of 36.7km/h on the exit of the 2nd Lookout switchback. You can see the speed increases as the grade of the road levels, yet the power remains constant, evident in each of the three switchbacks.  On the next line, you can see power, expressed in watts.  I was looking to hold 360w for the climb, but fell just short of my objective - 359w avg - that just means another angry visit to the mountain is imminent.   The small spikes and valleys in the power output are indicative of shifts, as I momentarily lift off the gas, shift to a different gear, then stand to accelerate back up to the target load (360w).  In the first half of the climb, my aerobic fitness allows for fewer shifts and a higher cadence, as fatigue slowly creeps in, just past the 2nd Lookout, shifts increase in frequency, moving from a higher cadence to a lower cadence, recruiting more muscle groups in an effort to maintain power output.  Heart rate, as expected, is a smooth, linear line, increasing to 97% MHR as I cross the timing line.  An important note about HR is the narrow window, averaging 170, and peaking at 180bpm.  The frantic cadence data couples well with power output, reasonably smooth at first, then half way up the mountain, I start to struggle to keep pace, shifting more often, trying to find a quick rhythm. 

Strava shows an elapsed time of 30:17, measured from the Shed or Works Yard.  I typically (actually, I ALWAYS) time my efforts from the 2km marker, about 24 seconds past the Works Yard. By my rudimentary calculations, I think I cracked the elusive 30minute barrier, which at my advanced, decrepit old age, I'm very happy with!

LEAVING THE STATION

Quick post today.  After several months trying to explain the fine details of a leadout to a few of the guys I'm coaching, I think it's finally starting to click!  Tuesday Night's example was close to text book.  

Watch Geoff bring up the speed in a smooth, linear fashion, negotiate the corner carefully, but keeping a high speed through the apex, then snaps open the throttle and starts moving us up the peloton.  I'm on his wheel, while our sprinter (Colin) is sitting on, looking pretty, glued to my wheel, ready to unleash his explosive power in the final 50 meters.

Unfortunately, our group came up on a slower category in the final stretch, and we were asked to do several more 'final laps.'  In doing so, chaos ensued.  Is this the final lap?  No, this one.  This one?  NO.

Regardless, stoked on the power these guys laid down.

WELL, HELLO THERE, RIDLEY HELIUM SL

Having spent most of 2013 training and racing aboard the fantastic Ghost Race Lector, a carbon steed draped with SRAM’s top-shelf Red group and rolling on high-end Easton EC90 carbon wheels, I was really eager to jump on the Ridley Helium SL to see how it would fare against the German Ghost.  How would this flyweight compare to the Ghost, a bike that up until now, managed to do very little wrong, and so many things, so, so right!


With its oversize tubing and massive chainstays, the Ghost was sure-footed, reasonably light and felt as if it were attached to the pavement; planted, stable, very predictable, an incredible joy to ride.  The Helium SL, Ridley’s flagship light weight race bike, would need to be very special indeed to run up against the Bavarian-sourced Ghost.

A quick walk around shows Shimano’s venerable Ultegra 6800 11 speed groupset.  Not

quite the top drawer, hardcore race-oriented Dura-Ace group, but the next best thing.  Being a Shimano pilot since forever, I felt right at home with this mechanical group; light, good looking, crisp-shifting and simple to adjust and maintain.  Click-Click-Click, nothing but smooth, trouble-free shifting up and down the cogs.  Touch points on the Helium included housebrand 4ZA bars, stem, post and saddle, high quality carbon goodies designed in the heart of the cycling country, Belgium.  Wheels are Fulcrum Racing 5’s, mid-depth, great for varying conditions, though if you spend an inordinate amount of time in the mountains, you might consider a special climbing wheelset.

The carbon frame is touted to be one of the lightest on the market, at just over 700g, throw in the fork and the scale tips a feathery 1,000g, thanks to a special carbon layup and new resin.  That’s really light folks. 

The immediate difference from the Ghost is the size of the tubing.  Svelte! Where the panzer-like Ghost has a massive bottom bracket area and equally large chainstays and

downtube, the Ridley is blessed with small diameter tubes, particularly the gossamer-like seatstays; very contemporary design features. The Helium also sports asymmetrical chainstays - beefier on the right side with the left being thinner and lighter due to the reduced forces on non-drive side of the bike. Cable routing is internal, making for a cleaner looking bike, and perfect for any riders contemplating an electronic upgrade in the future.

So, swing and leg over the machine from Belgium, give it some stick, and….how does it ride? As you would expect from a bike with a Tour de France pedigree; light and lively, with tremendous feedback.  The weight (or more appropriately, lack of) provides instant response, jump out of the saddle, stomp on the pedals and feel immediate response.  Attack a corner, lean the bike over, and the sure-footed nature provides pin-point accuracy, without any nervousness, inspiring riders to push harder and harder.  The slim seatsays offer a surprisingly smooth ride from such a stiff race bike.  Climbing out of the saddle was a joy, with little to no apparent flex out of the bottombracket. Wow, the evolution of frame design and material is amazing.  Could the Helium SL be the new standard in the stable? 

Hands down, a superb bike.  Light, lively, predictable and comfortable. I am really looking forward spending quality saddle time on board the Ridley Helium SL!

LIKE CHRISTMAS IN APRIL

There's nothing quite like swinging a leg over a brand new steed, particularly when said steed is steeped in history, originating out of Belgium, the home of the infamous pavé and the cobbled classics. Draped in Shimano's finest mechanical groupset, the venerable Dura-Ace 11 speed, the Ridley Helium SL sits quietly in the corner, awaiting it's first angry ride!

Watch for a full review of this incredibly light (and good looking) bike in the very near future (as soon as I can get home and suited up)!

TESTING, TESTING, 1, 2, 3

So it's been, oh I don't know, at least 15 years since I actually tested as an athlete.  I'd need to go way back to my Trek-Volkswagen glory days to see the last MAP I did, and even then, the results were less than spectacular.  But since I mounted a pair of Garmin Vector Pedals on the bike, I've been edging closer and closer to performing a 20 minute FTP test, mostly out of pure curiosity, just to see, as a geezer, how far off I am (read: how much I've lost) from the good ole days.

With riding limited by work this week (life's always getting in the way of becoming a pro rider it seems), I figure, what the hell, the legs are reasonably fresh, let's go out and crush 20 minutes and see how we do. 

Step one, build a Computrainer file that mimics an FTP test. Easy, done.  Step two, get suited up, connect the laptop to the Computrainer, and away we go.  How hard can a 20 minute max effort be (done twice)?  Easy-peasy.  Here we go...

As it turns out, 20 minutes is long.  Far longer than I expected.  You actually need to focus.  Now I remember why I don't test, because it hurts.  So, after imagining just about every scenario (mostly chasing my mate, Bob, up a mountain), the test is done.  GOOD RIDDANCE, no need for that silliness anytime soon. 

The result?  A best of 361w over 20 minutes. About as much fun as chewing glass while stabbing yourself in the eyeball.  A considerable way off the glory days, but as a geezer with a 2 year old, I suppose I'll take it, with the knowledge (and expectancy) that the number can be (better be) improved upon over the course of the next few months.

So, what do you do with that precious number?  Why, I'm glad you asked.  Plug it in to your magical training plan and hurt yourself on a regular basis, at varying durations and differing intensities. Simple, right?

Thanks to a couple of guys that are much smarter than I will ever be (Coggan & Allen, I'm looking at you), cyclists can create training zones based on the following breakdown (note LT, or Lactate Threshold, reflects power at FTP, expressed as a percent).

• Level 1 Active Recovery = < 55% of LT
• Level 2 Endurance = 56-75% of LT
• Level 3 Tempo = 76-90% of LT
• Level 4 Lactate Threshold = 91-105% of LT
• Level 5 VO2 Max = 106-120% of LT
• Level 6 Anaerobic Capacity = 121-150% of LT
• Level 7 Neuromuscular Power = maximum effort

What's that?  You don't have a Computrainer, but you're a masochist and want to suffer through your very own FTP test?  That's easy too.  Step one, make sure you are well rested - this will be like a short race effort - then just follow the protocol below.

1.) Warm up adequately (at least 20 minutes), and include several spin ups, where cadence increases over 100rpm momentarily.
2.) Open your legs up with a 5 minute burst (hard, but not so hard that you can't complete the full effort).
4.) Another 10 minute active recovery.
5.) Then, CRUSH a 20-minute time trial. Make sure you pace yourself, the last thing you want is to expire early, coming up shy of the full 20 minutes.  Keep the effort hard but steady.  If you find gas in the tank in minutes 17, 18 and 19, increase your output, always remembering how much time is left in the test.

Fairly straight forward stuff.  The harder part is figuring how and when to train in each

zone - when to do 2 minute efforts, 10 minutes pieces or the much dreaded HOP or for those not in the know, Hour 
of Power - to maximize fitness and meet your specific objectives; be it a Fondo, a multi-day stage race, a 
Criterium, or whatever else floats your cycling boat.  

Get out there, have some fun, and remember, make it hurt!
 

GO TO MAUI.

GO TO MAUI.

Do it, just go.  Take your family, take your bike, and go to Maui.  I did just that a few weeks ago, at the height of Vancouver’s cold snap (if you can call -10 a cold snap).   Being lucky enough to visit Maui on a number of occasions, I knew just how easy of a trip it is.  Once the family and the bike is packed, it’s clear sailing from the moment the plane hits the tarmac, figuratively speaking of course.

For those unfamiliar, Maui is a small, hour-glass shaped Island, defined by the mountains of the Ioa Valley on the west, and the infamous Haleakala Volcano to the east.  Routes are somewhat limited by Vancouver standards; go around the mountains, a la West Loop, or go around the mountains, a la East Loop, or hit the mountains proper.  Having checked off Haleakala on my last visit, I chose to forgo the 50km climb and enjoy the more rolling terrain the Island has to offer.  

With a little help from my two year old son, the Ghost Race Lector was built up and ready to hit the roads of Maui.  I’m antsy and can’t wait to slap on the sunscreen and feel the tropical heat on my pale skin.  But first, a quick FaceBook check.  Mmm-hmmmm, I see half of Vancouver’s riding community is also in Maui.  After working the phone, texting everyone that’s on the Island, a ride is planned.  We’ll head out of Kula, around the East Loop in a counterclockwise direction along the Piilani Highway.  We roll out in dark weather, rain pounding the rental car.  Everyone jokes that it’s like driving to the Spring Series races in Vancouver – not fun, this is supposed to be Hawaii!  The saving grace for us is that the temperature is an acceptable 20 degrees – kinda like riding in a warm shower.  Off we go.

Rolling out from Kula, the road takes us down about 1,000m to the ocean, passing some of the most  breathtaking scenery I’ve ever encountered, in a twisty, roll-coaster ride. Once we hit sea level, the road is less ‘maintained,’ potholes and stutter-bumps are the norm, rather than the exception. The driving rain, together with the hurricane-like head wind is making this ride…..memorable, for lack of a better word. Being pummeled by the wind and rain, we seek shelter at a local church (built in the late 1800s!). 


IT. AIN’T. STOPPING. The desire to ride another 40km (and back) to Hana is quickly evaporating among us. We decide to regroup and call it a day. We’re tough, but not dumb. Conditions were brutal to say the least. Home, jeeves. Pronto.

More texting. Let’s do the West Loop once the weather improves.  For those that have never done the West Loop of Maui, it just might be THE most scenic ride I have ever done – and I’ve done a LOT of riding.  Starting in Wailea, the 130km route runs clockwise, through Kihei, Lahaina, Kanapali, Napili and beyond.  Initially flat and fast – and if you time it well, a tailwind assists you all the way to Lahaina –from where the roads starts to pitch and roll, twist and turn like a rowboat in the ocean.  Ride it hard, or ride it at a sedate pace, challenges abound.  Such an amazing ride.  Look left and see an endless number of whales breaching!   Please, if you go to Maui, promise yourself 4 hours of absolute pleasure.  You’ll rediscover the love of riding and remember the route forever, I promise you.

East Loop, check.  Kind of.

West Loop, yep. Check.  Definitely, check.

One of the local Bike Shops in Kihei organizes a weekly Wednesday morning ride; pace can be sedate or more often, brisk.  Last year, I had the good fortune to roll with Axel Merckx on this ride. On arriving at 7am, I say hello to an inordinate number of familiar Vancouverites.  Of the 25 riders, 23 were from Canada, 22 of the 23 Canadians were from Vancouver or Whistler.  Of the 22, I probably have raced with 20.  Sheesh, I thought this was a getaway!  Off we go, destination, Ioa Valley State Park, a gorgeous route up the spine of the Island, then into the Mountains proper.  Pace was hot going out, and only heated up as we hit the climbs.  ZING.  Right, now I remember these little whipper-snapper Cat 1 racers.  Billygoats.  We regroup, I catch my breath, and head to the far end of the Island, through the surf town of Piaia, then start climbing again, up to Willy Nelson’s adopted hometown of Makawao.  Somewhere along the line, a racer from Italy joins our paceline.  Unfortunately, every time he gets to the front, he needs to assert his strength, and the pace jumps to 50km/h (no exaggeration).  Yargh, go have a cappuccino my friend.  Stopping for refreshments in Makawao momentarily, we hit the road back home, and enjoy a fantastic coffee among friends at the end.

Iao Valley, Piaia, Makawao. Check.  Dang nice ride!

A few more local rides, lots of beach time digging and filling buckets with my son and we’re off, back to the soggy reality of winter in Vancouver.

Got 51 seconds?  Here's a quick recap of Maui courtesy of Flipagram.

Go. Don’t wait. Book your airfare today.