It's killing me but..........

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there is an expression "young legs".There is (or should be) another expression, "power trumps youth."

There is (or should be) another expression, "power trumps youth."
And there's no fool like an old fool.:D

Well everything is looking good for the century on Sunday. The weather is fine, and for the first time since the 70s, this morning I weighed in at 71 kilos!:eek:

The last time I did a century, albeit mostly flat, I weighed close to 85 kilos and had an FT of somewhere in the region of 120Watts. Sunday's course is an entirely different ball game, but at 71 kilos and an FT at around 250/260Watts I should be able to stagger round it. Being very mountainous and finishing with a long, long climb, I think pacing myself will be of the greatest importance.

Til Monday then - cheers! TYSON:)

Well everything is looking good for the century on Sunday. The weather is fine, and for the first time since the 70s, this morning I weighed in at 71 kilos!:eek:

The last time I did a century, albeit mostly flat, I weighed close to 85 kilos and had an FT of somewhere in the region of 120Watts. Sunday's course is an entirely different ball game, but at 71 kilos and an FT at around 250/260Watts I should be able to stagger round it. Being very mountainous and finishing with a long, long climb, I think pacing myself will be of the greatest importance.

Til Monday then - cheers! TYSON:)I'm jealous. Wish I could be there to ride alongside (assuming I could keep up). You're ready. Have a great ride!:cool:

Apollo. This is Houston. Do you read me?

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Apollo. This is Houston. Do you read me?I imagine we'll hear from Tyson within 24 hours. I expect his ride went well. I, OTOH, am suffering. I led a 60 mile group ride yesterday with ~2K' of climbing. Even though we started at 6AM, it was 100 degrees by the time we got to the long climb (5 miles at 6%). I was almost dizzy from the heat when we finished. Today, I led a 50 mile TTT practice ride and the temp was 90 degrees by 7AM. I've had it with heat for a few days. I think I'll fill my tub up with water and ice cubes and watch a long movie (Dr. Zhivago?).

Good morning ladies and gentlemen. It is approaching 9am here in the Land of the Rising Sun. At the keyboard is one fatigued, injured old man. I'm definitely taking up croquet next year!

Yes, I completed the century but not without event. Whoever designed the course was without doubt a sadistic joker.



We all assembled on a large field at the bottom of the ski slope with the chairlift rising up into the clouds. Then the announcer said, "will the people doing 160k please assemble at the start of the chairlift." I thought, no they are not going to ask us to climb up the little windy road following the chairlift. Surely not - not at the start. You've guessed it; the answer was. YES.

A bloody 2 km 12% to start 160ks!



As I told you, we started off in groups of 20 (but not downhill -that was the 70km course start) I started off in about the 10th group and we all just stood there agape as the riders snaked their way up the climb becoming dots in the distance.



Still, managed that without much difficulty, then there was a ferocious snaking downhill with streams of thin wet mud crossing the road in places. I just closed my eyes and hoped for the best.



Then the pace really hotted up and I was drafting on the flat at 46/48 kph.

A new experience for me. Actually took the lead 2 or 3 times.

Groups of course broke up as people drifted off the back and the climbs started. I found myself drafting someone then finding him too slow accelerated to catch someone faster. For me, it was an awesome experience as I started to play with my new toy - POWER.



Last October when I did the 150km round LakeBiwa, I latched onto people but just couldn't hold it for long (no basic power )



At about 100km disaster struck! We were hareing through a long well lit tunnel on a raised pedestrian path (one foot drop to the roadway) Halfway through the tunnel there is an exit into an escape tunnel where the path curves inward then back out again - a sort of a half U. I was cycling behind my cycling buddy and because I was wearing dark sunglasses didn't see the bend and went straight on - CRASH, BANG, WALLOP!! I wondered what had hit me.

Luckily both feet came out of clips as I landed half in the road and half on the path. I had a badly scraped elbow, thigh and knee but luckily no serious damage.



While I was picking myself up and dusting myself off, there was another loud crashing sound, another cyclist had done the same thing. However, he fared somewhat worse than I did, he banged his head and was unconscious for 30 secs or so. There was blood streaming from a cut above his left eye.

I'm not sure how much that affected the final 60km, but it certainly knocked the wind out of my sails. 5km later at the feed station, in the first aid tent there were other guys with blood streaming from wounds. I dread to think how people did the same silly thing that day



Then later on the joker had his final laugh. After the last feed station we had a 13km climb back to the ski resort. No, I tell a lie, that was his penultimate laugh. The final laugh was a 1km 15-17% snaking road back up to the resort. You've never seen so many people suffer including me. People were snaking across the road as well as snaking vertically. Sheer and utter purgatory! If it hadn't been Japan, I would have sworn the course was designed by RD!

This 1 km of course was the 1km downhill start for the guys doing the 70km course where because of the danger, no overtaking was allowed till the bottom.



For those who are interested, my cycling buddy and I were playing cat and mouse throughout the ride; sometimes he was ahead of me and sometimes vice-versa. Sometimes I won a climb, sometimes he pipped me. But in the end he actually finished a few minutes in front of me - young legs RD on the last climb. But revenge shall be mine next year, unless of course he latches on to power training.



On our way home, people were still snaking up the above - riding walking, crawling - people who really shouldn't have been doing 160km.

In fact for the next 10km there were guys still struggling along with the above mentioned climb to go. Heehe! Gives sarcastic laugh.


One final note for all those who talk about good definition cycling legs, good muscular calves, 5,000 dollar bikes etc. I burned up no end of them.

So cycling isn't about looking good, it's about DOING good.



That is, POWER, POWER and more POWER!

I'm starving - give me more POWER, I have to have more POWER!

PS. Temperatures reached 30C (86F) degrees in places!

Hell of a ride, Tyson. I think I can picture the smile on your face as you smoked some of the guys with all the right equipment but no power. A buddy in my cycling club bought an $8K bike a couple of months ago, complete with a PT SL. When he took delivery, I told him, "Lucky for you, you've got some power to go with that fancy bike."

That's a rough ride. Sort of reminds me of my hardest race. The race started just a few miles south of the Canadian border in Maine at 6:00AM and I was freezing in my summer riding clothes. 120 miles and ~10K feet of climbing later we crossed the finish line in 90 degree temps. I wasn't very smart -- I went on every break attempt for the first 100 miles, then was just too trashed for a strong finish. Was recovering for ~5 days. But, what the hell? I'm still riding.

Savor the moment, then I'll tell you how to continue increasing your power and add a little anaerobic work capacity to your arsenal (you can use it to smoke your riding companion on short climbs).:D

Hell of a ride, Tyson. I think I can picture the smile on your face as you smoked some of the guys with all the right equipment but no power. A buddy in my cycling club bought an $8K bike a couple of months ago, complete with a PT SL. When he took delivery, I told him, "Lucky for you, you've got some power to go with that fancy bike."

That's a rough ride. Sort of reminds me of my hardest race. The race started just a few miles south of the Canadian border in Maine at 6:00AM and I was freezing in my summer riding clothes. 120 miles and ~10K feet of climbing later we crossed the finish line in 90 degree temps. I wasn't very smart -- I went on every break attempt for the first 100 miles, then was just too trashed for a strong finish. Was recovering for ~5 days. But, what the hell? I'm still riding.

Savor the moment, then I'll tell you how to continue increasing your power and add a little anaerobic work capacity to your arsenal (you can use it to smoke your riding companion on short climbs).:D
Can't wait RD - give it to me now!:)

If you want a good laugh, try reading the link http://www.cyclingforums.com/t-154850-15-2.html
This was a thread in 2004 which started off friendly enough then became more venomous with one post from the OP that went like this.

Look, my definition of a hill is something I can't cycle up without
putting in a fair bit of effort.

I live on the north downs, I've been to Scotland, Yorkshire, Lakes/Peaks
- I appreciate what hills can be like, but that doesn't mean Cambridge
doesn't have any.

Fit cyclists that go hareing up mountainsides and call them hills, and
dismiss anything else as being undulations or equally of no substance
can (put politely) go crank themselves.

I post here with a very positive experience with cycling, and then you
lot (not all of you, I know) pick it apart and tell me they're not
hills, inferring a real cyclist would call it a flat ride, well
sprockets to the lot of you - I had a good time, I enjoyed myself, and I
did better than I thought I would, and improved over what I've managed
before.

Maybe if there were fewer snobs in cycling trying to belittle the
achievements of others there might be a few more of us willing to give
it a go.

Yahoo! Glad you made it. There's more energy than tiredness in your words so its clear that you did really well on an epic course.

Tyson, does anybody test ride these routes while these rides are still in the planning stages? The tunnel situation sounds like a real rider trap. Just the thought of heading through a dark tunnel and not being able to detect the route shifting activates a real primordial fear in me...kind of like Indiana Jones being in a dark pit with a bunch of snakes. I'd be dreaming about that trip through the tunnel long after the bruises healed!!


I'm starving - give me more POWER, I have to have more POWER!

RD, what have you created? :)

Yahoo! Glad you made it. There's more energy than tiredness in your words so its clear that you did really well on an epic course.

Tyson, does anybody test ride these routes while these rides are still in the planning stages? The tunnel situation sounds like a real rider trap. Just the thought of heading through a dark tunnel and not being able to detect the route shifting activates a real primordial fear in me...kind of like Indiana Jones being in a dark pit with a bunch of snakes. I'd be dreaming about that trip through the tunnel long after the bruises healed!!




RD, what have you created? :)Nice to hear from you Curlew. In answer to your question above to RD.

I think he's created a crankenstein!;)

Funny you should mention tiredness. I neglected to mention that there were other climbs that seemed to go on forever though probably only about 7/9% climbs. Despite all the climbing and high speed on the flat bits, I only had a 10 minute nap in the car and I was then ready to drive 2 hours home. Then after a bath went to the in-laws for dinner, and it wasn't till 10pm after a can of beer that I started to feel sleepy. Ususally after my 100km Sunday rides I need 2 hours sleep to recover. Can't explain that.:(

Anyway, this week I'm going to force myself to take 3 days off for my injuries to heal, then hare off to the gym on Thursday avariciously looking for more power. Hopefully I shall be able to do 2x20 @ ??? Watts.:D

PS The tunnel wasn't dark - I was wearing dark sunglasses.

RD, what have you created? :)A monster, it would appear.:D

I imagine we'll hear from Tyson within 24 hours. I expect his ride went well. I, OTOH, am suffering. I led a 60 mile group ride yesterday with ~2K' of climbing. Even though we started at 6AM, it was 100 degrees by the time we got to the long climb (5 miles at 6%). I was almost dizzy from the heat when we finished. Today, I led a 50 mile TTT practice ride and the temp was 90 degrees by 7AM. I've had it with heat for a few days. I think I'll fill my tub up with water and ice cubes and watch a long movie (Dr. Zhivago?).
2 days with testing rides. RD, you should take it easier, you'll damage your heart you know.;)

2 days with testing rides. RD, you should take it easier, you'll damage your heart you know.;)Oh, right, I nearly forgot.:D Actually, I think I'll just move up my ride time to ~4AM from now until September. But, I'm not sure my PM is backlit. Maybe I'll start riding a trainer or find a gym and do spinning classes with some of those fine young ladies you're always talking about. Now, that would be a turning of the tables. In the northeast, they ride the trainer in the winter and here I ride the trainer in the summer. Pretty wild. Do they make A/Cs for bikes?:D

...with ~2K' of climbing.
2k of climbing? Is that even worth mentioning? You can probably find that much in Kansas.:D

One final note for all those who talk about good definition cycling legs, good muscular calves, 5,000 dollar bikes etc. I burned up no end of them.

To quote an old friend, it's not the bike, it's the motor....

Glad you had a good ride.

L

2k of climbing? Is that even worth mentioning? You can probably find that much in Kansas.:DGood point, but the 5 mile 6% climb after 40 miles in 100 degree heat sure didn't feel like Kansas.

Hey Tyson.

Congrats. Keep it going. My back is still hurting and my chiro says I cant think about riding for another 2 weeks. :(
And keep those updates coming.

Hey Tyson.

Congrats. Keep it going. My back is still hurting and my chiro says I cant think about riding for another 2 weeks. :(
And keep those updates coming.
Thanks for the congrats but it was no big deal really, being only another 40km on top of what I was doing on Sundays.

Sorry to hear about your back, but not for being unable to get on your bike. I was thinking more along the lines of another pleasurable pursuit where the back is of the utmost importance. That is assuming you're not the passive type of course!:D

Seriously though, get better quickly - you are falling behind you know.;)

Thanks for the congrats but it was no big deal really, being only another 40km on top of what I was doing on Sundays.


Don't be too modest now-a brutal century route like that is no easy feat. More impressively, you were able to truly ride it, mix it up some, etc, not just survive.

So, what's masters racing in japan like?:cool: