Tour Divide on the Trainer

Ride The Divide Movie Trailer from Ride The Divide on Vimeo.

This week, I rode the famed Tour Divide (TD) mountain bike race. Well, at least I watched the film "Ride the Divide" that commemorates the 2008 edition of this remarkable 2700-mile mountain bike race while working out on my trainer in the studio.

The film is quite enjoyable and captures some of the magnificent beauty along this incredible route from Canada to Mexico. It focuses on three riders, Mike Dion - a rookie rider and filmmaker, Matthew Lee, six-time finisher and current yellow jersey holder and Mary Collier - the first woman to successfully complete the Tour Divide.

I was surprised by how much time riders spent alone on this race. In some ways, TD is more similar to randonneuring than it is to ultramarathon racing. For instance, racers must be totally self-sufficient. Unlike in RAAM, there are no support crews and riders must carry everything they need on their bike, forage along the way for provisions or have things mailed to post offices on route ahead of time. TD racers also wear SPOT trackers and call in at regular intervals to report their location and condition.

The field has grown exponentially on this "underground" race over the past few years. In 2008, there were 16 starters, in 2009 - 42 and in 2010 there were 48. With two weeks to go, there are 95 starters currently preregistered! Some will ride the race as an individual TT, not starting on the same date as the others and some will race from Mexico to Banff rather than the customary north-south route. Be sure to follow the race on the TD website starting on June 10.

The Tour Divide has become a bit of a fixation of mine in recent weeks as the 2011 edition looms large. I've been reading Paul Howard's enjoyable new book Eat, Sleep, Ride in which he recounts his own experiences as a 2009 TD racer. While I don't much like mountain biking and can't imagine ever racing the TD, I did get a big kick out of the strength and courage of the TD racers profiled in the film and it fuels my own determination to get back out there to complete endurance feats such as this.

Up next: a review of Paul Howard's Eat, Sleep, Ride.

Race Around Ireland Update

It's been a rough few days in the Race Around Ireland. Only five of the original eleven solo riders are still in the race. Several riders, including the great Fabio Biasiolo pulled out due to illness. USA's Stephen Bugbee bailed due to a case of Shermer's Neck. Irish racer Joe Barr is out in front and Mark Pattinson remains competitive in second place. The team racers are already coming in. Check out the action on the race website.

The Race Around Ireland is Underway!

Joe Barr's Race Around Ireland: Tuesday = Start It Up! from moxyfilms on Vimeo.

The first annual 1350 mile, single stage Race Around Ireland is underway with ten of the original eleven solo racers still in the action. Some big names in ultra cycling have shown up. At this point, Italian Fabio Biasiolo is out in front with hometown favorite Joe Barr not too far behind. Joe Barr, an ex-pro Irish cyclist, is racing not only to win, but also to raise funds and awareness for the Northern Ireland Cancer Fund for Children. His principal sponsor is Chain Reaction Cycles. Veteran RAAM racer Mark Pattinson is also on hand as is Caroline Van Den Bulk. The only US rider in the solo field, Stephen Bugbee, is out there too and doing a respectable job after some early navigation errors.

Follow the action at the Race Around Ireland website.

The Saratoga 12-hr Race: A Podium Finish (Almost)

It had been a full year since I last rode in Saratoga at the 24-hour race last July, but the roads were still fresh in my mind. With L-E-L two weeks away, though, I decided that the 12-hour race was more in line with my general training plan. It would provide me with a final long ride, some speed work and a great day of fun out on the road. The other truly exciting part of the plan was that I brought along my first ever crew for support. I may not be cycling in the Tour de France, but with Eli, Izzy and Jessie mixing my drinks and passing me bottles, I felt like a rider on the ProTour (minus the EPO). What a difference a support crew can make. In this case, I was able to stop only twice for a total of maybe 7 minutes off the bike in 12 hours. I also feel like I showed up to the race in good form, having followed UMCA Director John Hughes' advice on tapering to the letter by really keeping the miles down over the past week with a few intense days of intervals to sharpen my speed and keep my legs fresh.

The Saratoga 12/24 is held on a lovely 32-mile course with gentle rolling hills, smooth, well-paved, low-traffic roads, and only one little nasty climb and a few miles of open fields and river which seem to naturally generate headwind. This year, the weather forecast wasn't too promising. It looked pretty definite that rain and thunderstorms would hit by late afternoon. As it turned out, the rain held off until around 6:30, so I only faced a downpour on the final lap. The nasty lightning even held off until the drive home. The headwinds were vicious, though, thoughout the day on the "back 9" side of the course with gusts up to 30 mph.

In all, this was a very successful race for me. I got out in front early and held onto third position for most of the day. Throughout three or four laps, RAAM veteran Rob Morlock and I rode at an acceptable distance away from one another in this non-drafting race, leapfrogging each other from time to time and chatting a little bit as we passed. Rob is an awfully nice guy who rode with the support of a crew that leapfrogged him at various spots along the route. It was a pleasure to watch their well-oiled machine in progress and I definitely learned a few things about racing from the experience. Later in the day, when the rider in first position dropped out, it seemed like I had third place sewn up. It wasn't until the final lap that I was passed in earnest by a rider on his fixed gear bike who went on to take third place overall and first in the fixed gear category.

I always learn something about training and racing with every event. What I learned from this race was:

1. Tapering is very good.

2. Regular speed and hill work are good.

3. Long base miles ridden during the winter seem to pay dividends.

4. Carrying more than two bottles on board the bike should be considered if and when I race without a crew.

5. Racing with a crew that leapfrogs and passes off nutrition and such through pedestrian hand-offs is the next horozon.

6. The race isn't over until its over.

It was such an honor and a pleasure to have my family along for the adventure. I'm sure I enjoyed it much more than they did, but I'm so glad that they have this little window into why I love being an endurance cyclist. I hope to include them in more interesting ways in the future. More immediately, though, I look forward to adding this result to my UMCA UltraCup standings, which have been languishing a bit since my last ultra race in April. With luck, I will finish strong in London and hope to ride at least two of the four laps at the ADK540 in September.

Next year's goal: to qualify for RAAM at one of the 500-mile races with a full crew.

Following RAAM: Let Me Count the Ways

Who thought following RAAM would be like watching paint dry? This is one exciting race and there are many ways to keep track of the action! The intrepid RAAM media crew is posting frequent updates to the blogs hosted on the RAAM web site. These updates include short video clips as well as blog posts and photos. In addition, endurance cycling fans with shorter attention spans can follow the frequent tweets from the official "RAAMrace" Twitter feed. Individual riders and teams are also posting updates on their personal web sites and blogs and sending out email blasts through Google groups set up for the occasion.

Just after the halfway point in the race, four-time RAAM winner Jure Robic continues to ride strong and maintains a healthy lead over second place rider and 2006 RAAM winner Dani Wyss. It is not a very big lead, though and with Wyss is riding stronger than predicted, he continues to give Robic a run for his money. An upset victory for Wyss is not out of the question. Austrian Gerhard Gulewics, who crashed out last year, is riding very well in third position. Slovenian Marko Baloh is currently in fourth. Rookie Christoph Strasser from Austria, who was riding in the top group for most of the first 1000 miles, took a DNF at mile 1471 for medical reasons. These amazing riders have maintained a high level of competition in the front of the pack.

There has also been serious movement in the "back" of the field. With nine male racers having DNFed, solo rookie Kevin Kaiser has been climbing his way up from last position (where he was breifly due to several DNFs) to 6th. His pace has increased and he seams to be getting stronger with each mile. Kevin is currently the top US rider and it is not out of the question for him to finish in the top 5. Kevin rode RAAM 2008 on the two-person team Gran Fondo Fixie team with Jeff Bauer who is now a member of Kaiser's crew. You can learn more about Kevin (and make donations to his RAAM fund) at http://www.kaisercycling.com/.

The other amazing story of RAAM 2009 is the Great Grand PAC Masters, a four person team with an average age of 75! Riders Lew Meyer, Lee Mitchell, Robert Kash and Chris Stauffer have maintained an unbelieveable average speed of 15.6 up to mile 2105. UMCA Director John Hughes is serving as Crew Chief.

I rode with Lew Meyer on my first 400K in 2007. He is an wonderful guy and an amazing cyclist. Over the course of the day, he shared a wealth of information about training and equipment and I listened in awe to his stories of PBP and the Fireweed 400. More memorable, though, is what a strong cyclist Lew is. I remember fading a bit, having never ridden a 400K before, and having Lew lean over to say, "just get behind me and I'll pull for a while." I mean this guy was 73 years old and he was pulling me all over creation. Respect!

So there is no excuse. With plenty of ways to follow the action, dial in an update today and see what these superhuman cyclists are up to. The first finishers will pull into Annapolis some time on Thursday.

Rapha's Take on the Gentlemen's Race

Rapha Gentlemen's Race - New Paltz, NY from RAPHA on Vimeo.

Here's Rapha's take on the fabulous Gentlemen's Race they put on in New Paltz last month. The five minute film is a hoot and the images on their website make the world look just a bit more beautiful and weird than it ususally does in only the way an expert photographer (or photo editor) can. Keep your eye's peeled for our signature green Bicycle Depot jerseys. It was truly a day to remember and it will probably be some time before I race in an event that sports its own film and camera crews. It was an honor to participate, a thrill to take second place and a hell of a lot of fun to ride.

Each of the teams was asked to send in a ride report. You can read them all at this link. Here's ours:

It all began on one of our regular Saturday morning rides in mid-April. When Mike shared the news that Rapha planned to stage a Gentlemen’s Race in New Paltz, it sounded too good to be true. A 200K race in our backyard with strong riders from across the East Coast? As the local boys (ex-locals for some), we knew these roads like the backs of our hands, but it was the first time that this team of six would ride together.

The climb up 44/55 went by fairly painlessly, and so too the rollers up to the base of Sugarloaf (some locals have dubbed it Pinch-a-loaf). Up until this point we were having a good time sitting on Danny’s wheel; chatting and screwing around a bit, but for better or worse we all knew what was in store. The hardest climb of the day broke a couple of us more than the others but the food and water at the summit was a big bonus.

The top of the Frost Valley climb prompted the now famous, “wounded animal” quote about the sounds one of our riders was making, but the descent off the backside was just dessert. In hindsight, stopping at the deli was probably a bit of a waste of time since the next good chunk went by very quickly as did just about everything until the base of Mohonk.

The final climb showed us for what we were: A mismatched bunch of locals who thought this race sounded like fun…almost six hours earlier. The 90 degree heat wore on us and though some of us climbed with no signs of fatigue, others fought back tossing Hostess Fruit Pie (apple) all over the road. Still, we all made it with some semblance of grace and were inspired to get this thing over with. We half expected one of the stronger teams to come rushing past us in the final trudge up Route 299, but it was not to be.

As the horses started to smell the barn, the skies opened up and we got some well-earned relief from the heat. With the rain, headaches disappeared, sore backs and legs felt new again - riding was truly fun for the first time in a while and with only Empire Cycling in front of us, it looked like the beer was staying in New Paltz this year.

Rapha Gentlemen’s Race: A Podium Finish!

Cars lined the sides of the wooded country road on the edge of the Shawangunk Ridge as riders wearing matching team kits pulled expensive road bikes down from rental car roof racks. The inaugural East Coast Rapha Gentlemen’s Race was about to begin. The rules were simple. Each six-person team had to follow a prescribed route, start together, hit three checkpoints together and finish together. Crews and drop-bags were forbidden. Entry to this invitation-only race was $60 per team and a case of beer. The winning team would win a Rapha jersey for each rider and the second place finishers would take home all the beer.

The field was comprised of eleven teams from as far away Boston and Pennsylvania. Bicycling Magazine, Empire Cycling, Embrocation Cycling, Rapha Racing, Rapha Continental, and others would be in attendance. When I looked at the roster I realized that Selene Yeager (The Fit Chick) would even be racing. It was an eclectic mix of teams with riders of various categories. Some teams, like the Empire pro-development team based in NYC, were assembled of twenty-something CAT-1 racers, while others had a splattering of riders in CAT-5 through CAT-1. The race was “handicapped” with teams heading out in small groups over a span of 45 minutes. First team across the line would win. We were seeded in the middle of the pack.

Rapha, the British cycling apparel company which has wedded a retro wool aesthetic with urban bike messenger chic and a stylish technical fit was coming to town. I have been a huge Rapha fan for several years and would own only Rapha gear if my salary allowed. As it is, I can afford only one or two Rapha purchases each year, yet I follow the Rapha-sponsored riders with awe and anticipation. Rapha sponsors elite teams such as Rapha Condor team in England as well as two US “Continental” squads that fit more easily into the randonneuring ethos of long, self-supported epic rides. Continental riders wear Rapha gear and their ride reports covering some of the most beautiful sections of North America are featured with eye-popping photos on the Rapha web site.

When I heard in mid-April that Rapha was planning to sponsor this race in our backyard, I knew that we had to assemble a local team. I felt like Dave Stoller in Breaking Away with the Italians coming to town. The locals were going to get a chance to race with the big boys (and girls). Mike Newman, who co-owns the Bicycle Depot in New Paltz, assembled a strong team and we were in. Knowing the local roads and specifically the hills we had in store for us was helpful. Danny Brennan, the former Bicycle Depot owner who now lives in Pennsylvania, was our strongest rider and did more than his share of pulling us over hill and dale throughout the day. We also had super strong road riders and triathletes Alex Sherwood and Travis Turner on board along with CAT-3 racer Patrick Clifford who recently finished third at Battenkill, Mike and me.

The race covered a challenging 200K course with 8500 feet of climbing. We began with a 1000-foot climb up route 44/55 over the Shawangunk ridge. On the climb we passed the HUP United team that had started 5 minutes before us. The next section contained rollers with a general ascent to the foot of the fable Sugerloaf climb. A several mile-long climb with a grade of up to 18%, Sugarloaf is a killer. The Rapha crew set up the first check point in a hair-pin turn just before the last bit of climbing. They refilled our water bottles and handed out bananas, gels and energy bars for those in need. There was a sweet descent that followed and then about 20 miles of “alpine” riding along a quiet stream in beautiful Frost Valley. After our disciplined paceline rolled through this valley, we enjoyed another screaming descent down Slide Mountain, a hill I normally do in reverse. It felt like sweet revenge on that bloody hill to ride down it for a change. Downhill riding is a major limiter as far as my racing goes, so I expended the slight gain I was able to muster on climbs by heading out in front of my team on the big descents. While they love a good 50 mph descent, I am happier at 40 mph. Looking at the computer, though, I realize that I topped out at 42 mph which is a PB for me.

At the bottom of the hill, several of our riders needed to refill their bottles so we stopped at the small deli and then hammered out the stretch of Route 28 down to the town of Phoenicia were we hit checkpoint 2. Around mile 85 as we neared the Ashokan Reservoir, we saw the first (and only) team to gain ground on us. Empire Cycling, whose Mike Magritte recently took second place in a recent Philadelphia criterium race would drop us like a bad habit. They caught us as we waited at the only red light on the course. I felt like a fish looking back at a pack of sharks. We held their wheels for a mile of so until we realized that just wasn’t going to work. We rolled on at a good pace and prepared for the last major climb of the day at mile 105. It was the climb over Mohonk mountain that all of us knew so well.

After a day of hard riding, I finally cracked a bit on the back climb of Mohonk. It was close to 90 degrees at this point; I should have poured some cold water over my head to cool down, but all I had in my bottles was warm Perpetuem. We regrouped as I crested the hill and enjoyed a fast and pleasant descent into New Paltz. We didn’t know how far back the next team was so we kept the pace high on the climb back up Route 299. Before Mohonk our pace averaged 21 mph which is not too shabby with about 8000 feet of climbing. After it, our average dropped down to 19.2 which was still pretty respectable over a hilly 200K. On the final few miles, we learned from one of the photographers that the next team was quite far back so we relaxed a bit just as the skies opened up to cool us off. It looked like that beer was staying in New Paltz.

Racers from each of the eleven teams gathered on the porch of the house that Rapha rented as a base to enjoy some pizza and share epic tales from the ride. It occurred to me, as I ate my fourth slice, that the Rapha Gentlemen’s Race wasn’t like Breaking Away after all. The local team took second place rather than first, and those “Italians” sure were nice.

RAAM 2009: Right around the corner

In just over 50 days, the solo racers will leave Oceanside, CA in their epic attempt to cross America the hard way arriving in Annapolis, MD some 8-9 days later. With “the world’s toughest bike race” just around the corner, I took a peek at the race’s website to get the juices flowing and to see what lies ahead. Like the Tour de France in July, RAAM provides plenty of spectacle and inspiration. I mean this race is 800 miles longer than the TDF and completed in less than half as many days! I KNOW I will never ride in Le Tour, but RAAM? Who knows, that might actually be possible.

RAAM mystifies me. 3000 miles, two epic mountain passes, days battling brutal prairie headwinds and searing desert heat, not to mention living for a week on a liquid diet and a few hours of sleep. Financing the ride, assembling a nine-person crew and mastering the logistics necessary to participate, though, makes riding the bike look like the easy part! The total cost for a solo racer is about $20,000 when you factor in entry and all of the transportation and crew costs! One of my favorite racers (whom I’ve never met, by the way) is Kevin Kaiser. I like following Kevin because he strikes me as a normal guy doing absolutely incredible things. Kevin is a racer with plenty of randonneuring experience who raced RAAM last year for the first time in the 2-person team division with his teammate Jeff Bauer. Riding as Team Gran Fondo Fixies, Kevin and Jeff finished in fourth position in 8 days, 4 hours and 21 minutes on FIXED-gear bikes! It was great to follow their blog as they crossed the country. My favorite post involved one of their bikes flying off the roof because one of the crew members forgot to secure a quick release. I mean that sounds like something I would do! Here’s a group of guys I can relate to! Learn more about Kevin and his first solo RAAM attempt on his website. You can also donate a few bucks to help off-set his cost.

As you can imagine, RAAM is filled with characters. The four-time reigning champion is the Slovenian cyclist Jure Robic. Robic is alleged to hallucinate and become motivated by chasing demons. He has been known to turn on his crew and hurl incoherent insults at them along the way. Robic, a family man with a young son who is also an active member of the Slovenian military, finished the race last year in 8 days, 23 hours, 33 minutes. Since his principal competitor, Austrian Gerhardt Gulewicz DNF-ed after a crash at mile 562 the field was wide open for Jure to win again. The second solo racer, Mark Pattinson, came in 23 hours behind Robic. This year, Robic and Gulewicz will be joined by Marko Baloh, also from Slovenia (what do they have in the water over there?) who currently holds the world 24-hour outdoor track record with a result of 553 miles!!! Baloh also won the 2-person team division in RAAM 2008.

RAAM is one hell of a race and increasingly easy to follow in real time. Many of the riders have blogs and Twitter accounts that will post updates in real time. The central RAAM office also maintains a blog and now a Facebook and Twitter presence, so it should be easier this year than ever to follow rider progress over the 8-9 days of the race. RAAM certainly won’t be covered on the major networks, ESPN or even Versus, except as one of those “psycho-human-interest” stories that punctuate slow news days, so the internet will be the place to look for updates as you spend a week in mid-June thinking “yup, they’re still racing . . .”

RESPECT! This race is EPIC and only in my wildest fantasies could I complete such a massive undertaking. I mentioned to my wife today that I’d like to hold this out as a lifetime goal for say, when I turn 50. She quickly reminded me that I would have two kids in college at that point and, by the way, where the hell did I expect to get $20,000?!? Well, with two college-aged kids and a wife, I think I just found 3 crew members . . .

RAAM 2015?!? We’ll see; it’s only 6 years off . . . Before that maybe it will be the Race Across the West (RAW) at 1044 miles or the Race Around Ireland at 1350 miles, both of which would be great preparation for RAAM and incredible achievements on their own.

CRDC - The First Race of the Season

After a long winter of base training and several weeks of more intense speed and hill work, it was finally time for the rubber to hit the road. The Connecticut River Double Century race, hosted by Wayne Cernak, was all I had hoped it would be and more. The weather couldn’t have been better with clear blue skies and temperatures ranging from the mid-forties to the upper fifties. The race began at 6:00 a.m. with roads still a bit damp from overnight showers, but within a short while, as the sun climbed in the sky, they dried out completely.

With the early morning start, I decided to drive up to Brattleboro on Saturday night and share a room at the conveniently located AND economical (a steal at $45/room, folks) Motel 6 with my friend Don Nolte. We even got the benefit of a personalized wake-up call from none other than the jolly Tom Bodette at 4:45 a.m. Although coming off a week-long vacation with my family on Block Island, I was a bit tired from all of the driving (RI to NY to VT within 24 hours) yet as usual, I tossed and turned during the night and didn’t get a very good rest.

There were only nine racers in the CRDC this year, which is a great mystery to me based on the event’s wonderful route and excellent organization. It may come a bit early in the season, but it’s certainly more than worth the cost of gas to get there! I highly recommend it for ultra racers and randonneurs in search of a good early season effort to get things going. In fact, it makes me realize that we should have more double century races here on the East Coast. THERE ARE 22 DOUBLE CENTURIES THIS YEAR IN THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA, ALONE PEOPLE!!! What’s wrong with this picture?!?

In all, I have not yet mastered a complete liquid nutrition strategy. I had hoped to fuel using only Hammer Perpetuem and Hammer Gel. I chose to use two one-hour Perpetuem bottles since I didn’t have a crew and didn’t want to bring a hydration pack along for the ride. Since the course was designed as a figure-eight loop that circled back to the hotel, I was able to leave an ice chest in my car with a few bottles of premixed Perpetuem to pick up at the mid-point. Aside from that, I sent a drop bag along with Wayne to the two check points (north and south) with powder to mix with water. In the future, I’ll think about mixing a multi-hour bottle of Perpetuem and taking in H2O from a second source. I also carried a flask of chocolate Hammer Gel and left one in the drop bag to pick up along the way. This came in very handy as my energy started to flag around mile 170.

I was very fortunate to fall into the company of two outstanding cyclists on Sunday. Soon after the start, I formed a lead group with John and Brad, both strong and experienced ultra racers, with great stories to share about past events. We stopped only to check in, refill water and eat a few fig bars at the three check points. John and Brad and I hung together throughout the full race and finished in 11 hours, 35 minutes which worked out to a 17.5 mph average on and off the bike. I really had no clear idea how long this race was going to take, but had set a goal of 12 hours and wasn’t sure this was possible so early in the season. With the help and motivation of two very strong riders, though, I was able to do even better. Wayne posted the results up on the website within 24 hours and I enthusiastically entered my time into the UMCA database as part of the 2009 UltraCup challenge.

In all, I was very pleased with the day and feel that the race bodes well for the season ahead. I still have no idea what 1400K is going to feel like this summer, but at least I know I’m off to a good start.

I realized a few things about my training past and future:

1. Early season base training is critical. Even though none of my rides this season was longer than 140 miles, it helped that I completed six rides above 100 miles since January.


2. I need more speed work, especially as it relates to sustained efforts along flat to rolling terrain.


3. Climbing hills is a relative strength of mine, so I should probably pull back on hill training if it means more time for speed intervals.


4. I need to train with the aerobars on flat to rolling terrain for upcoming races such as the Saratoga 12-hour race in July.


5. I need to contiue to fine tune the nutrition.

The next organized event on my calendar is the sold-out NYC Five Boro Bike Tour on May 3. I SWORE I would never ride in this event again after the last time. Sure it’s fun to ride on NYC streets that have been closed to traffic, but with all the swerving and sudden stops from the 30,000 or so other riders, it feels more dangerous than skating with drunks. But this time will be different. This time I’m riding with my nine-year old son, Eli and we won’t be trying to ride in a pace line. Now I can’t wait!

(R)est and (R)ecovery: The discipline of (not)riding.

If you’re like me, there never seems to be enough time to train and ride as much as you’d like. Paradoxically, though, the best strategy in the week before a big event is to pull back on both distance and intensity. It’s shocking how hard this can be. Justifications for a last minute hammer fest abound:

• “The other riders will all be stronger, faster and better trained.”


• “If I just ride more miles I’ll be in better shape.”


• “Maybe more hill repeats will strengthen my legs.”

As many wiser and more experienced cyclists and trainers have written: very little gain is possible in the final week before a big event. The best we can hope for at this point is to enter the ride as well-prepared and well-rested as possible. Any intensity at this point will be counterproductive. It's time to taper. While I can grasp this on an intellectual level, it’s very hard not to get up on that bike and hammer away. This is why R & R right before a big event requires so much discipline.

Tapering has been especially hard this week because the weather is fabulous and I have so much extra time on my hands due to vacation. So I’ve spent some time as a tourist on this lovely island, ridden with my son and father-in-law at “family pace” and focused on OFF bike planning and preparation as much as possible. I’ve reviewed the race cue sheet, planned liquid resupply, scoped out the weather forecast and fine-tuned my nutritional strategy through research on the Hammer website.

I may not be the strongest rider in the field on Sunday; my focus now is to be the strongest rider I can be. So far, it seems like things are falling into place nicely.

Training at the Block Island Velodrome

No, there is no REAL velodrome on Block Island, but cycling the island’s 16-mile loop of smooth, gently undulating roads can feel a bit like riding on one. Block Island is one of New England’s true treasures. An exceptionally beautiful and peaceful 21-square mile spit of sand off the coast of Rhode Island, the Nature Conservancy has deemed it to be one of the “12 last great places in the Western Hemisphere." It’s also a wonderful place to ride a road bike. I’m fortunate to be a frequent visitor to the island since my wife’s family lives here year-round. This week, I’m spending spring break resting and catching up with family as I top off my training for the upcoming Connecticut River Double Century race this Sunday.

Steady 25-mile per hour winds have been ripping off the ocean for several days which makes sections of the island simply awful. At times like these, I am reminded of something I read by Dr. Bob Breedlove. Breedlove, the late RAAM record holder and endurance cycling god who was cut down in the prime of his life on a desolate road in the Midwest by two yahoos in a pick-up truck while competing in RAAM, referred to headwinds as “Quaker winds” because they are “friends” of the training cyclist. I like to remember, as I scream nasty epithets into each giant wall of wind, that at least there may be some gain from the pain.

In the off-season, Block Island is a cycling paradise. The roads are generally car-free with dramatic vistas in every direction. The island bears a strong resemblance to sections of the British Isles so it is not too hard to squint my eyes and imagine my upcoming L-E-L odyssey through the countryside of England and Scotland as I spin past lovely stone walls. During the high season, the roads can be jammed with day trippers, cars, scooters and bikes and it is HIGHLY recommended that the serious road rider get out before 9:00 a.m. or after 5:00 p.m. to avoid the knuckleheads. There’s more fresh ice cream available in the summer months, too, so it’s a trade off.

The paved roads on the island peak at 108 feet so the “BIKE ON CHEESE” signs are a bit of an overstatement. Installed for the faint of heart who may not have ridden a bike in over 30 years (a common species here in the summer months) these signs clearly identify the island’s three main hills. Don’t expect too much from these hills; with the prevailing headwinds, it was hard for me to surpass 30 miles an hour on descent so far this week. The roads are currently devoid of traffic and have only a minimal sprinkling of sand around the edges to slow a body down. I brought my Bianchi out this week with the compact 34/50 and 9-speed rear cassette, yet I would be perfectly happy with my single-speed or with a fixed gear track bike.

With Sunday's race in mind, I've shifted my training into a lower gear this week. Last Sunday, I rode 4x5 intervals into a 25-mile an hour headwind. On Monday, I decided to focus on “distance” and rode three laps at tempo pace which added up to 50 miles if you count the cool-down at the end. Today, I took a yoga class with my wife AND rode a gentle lap at recovery pace AND updated my blog. Ain't vacation grand?!? I really need to be sure to work yoga into my regular training routine when I get back home. It increases flexibility, focusses the mind and builds core strength, all of which are tremendously valuable on the bike.

While I have a great place to stay on the island, daily and weekly rentals are plentiful and ferries from several locations transport bikes and riders for a nominal fee. During the summer high season, boats run frequently from Pt Judith, RI, New London, CT and less frequently from Montauk, NY. Come for the day or spend a week. You won’t be disappointed. You can even leave your geared bike behind and ride the velodrome on your single speed and remember: the winds are good for you.

Family Mitzvah Day and a Quick Century or Some Days You Can Have it All

In Hebrew, the word “mitzvah” means commandment or blessing. It is a gift or responsibility that we share to make the world a better place. This past Sunday, my son’s Hebrew school organized a “family mitzvah day” for the community on the weekend before Passover. The day included options for spring cleaning, singing at an elder center and delivering food to a local food bank. It was hard to mobilize the troops to get up to Woodstock at the required hour, since we were out late at a family party in New York the night before, but we felt it was an important family responsibility, so we soldiered on. Jessie and Izzy and I chose to deliver and organize food while Eli raked and mulched.

One of the most difficult challenges for the endurance rider, in my opinion, is squeezing it all in. Sure I do everything I can to plot and scheme to get the rides in to keep my legs fresh and my lungs in top shape. I commute to school several days a week, get up before dawn most weekends, ride at night when necessary and arrange to cycle to meet the family at various destinations when traveling. The trouble is, these strategies often pull me away from the people I want to be spending my time with and sometimes don't even enable me to achieve the desired training goals. With my first race of the season, the Connecticut River Double Century, fast approaching on April 19, my need for a long training ride this weekend was unavoidable. How to do it? After speaking with my wife about the options, we decided on the following plan.

After completing our work in Woodstock, I suited up and jumped on my bike and rode off into the beautiful spring-like day for a quick and hilly century. It was a truly blessed day both off and on the bike. It reached 60° and the birds were out and there was barely a cloud in the sky. I wore sunscreen for the first time this season and needed not a single “warmer.” Not toe, nor arm, nor leg, nor knee. The direct route would have had me home in about 30 miles, so I added a large loop and reached the house in 100.6 miles instead. It was a quick ride. I’m trying my best to increase my average riding speed as well as my endurance for long miles. My on-bike time was 5:45 and my total time out was 6:02. Cutting out time spent in controls and rolling at a higher speed are both increasingly important as the season heats up.

The mitzvah my family gave to me, of course, was the time and freedom to ride on this most beautiful spring day. While it is often a struggle to fit it all in, some days you can have it all!

Making the Commitment

Today was a good day. I registered for two spring rides and bought a round-trip ticket to London. As I dropped the two envelopes in the mail and clicked the “make this payment” button on the airline’s website, I felt a noticeable level of clarity and focus; things were really falling into place.

Guys have a bad rap for avoiding commitment but this has never been the case for me. I’ve been happily married since I was 29 years old, have two wonderful kids and I love to get cycling events nailed down on the calendar. It’s a relief, in fact. No more “well maybe this one, maybe that one” or “if this one, then that one” thinking. Now I have some specific goals with firm dates that the family and I can plan around. While I registered for LEL in 2009, shelling out the cash for the airline ticket made it much more real.

So at this point, I have my first brevet (the Saratoga 200K on March 29), my first race (the Connecticut River Double Century on April 19) and my largest event (LEL – July 26-30) all lined up and ready to go. My training is becoming more focused and specific as I end the base and enter the build phase. Spring is officially two weeks away, Daylight Savings begins on Sunday and the weekend forecast calls for temps in the upper fifties. Maybe this winter will end after all.