jonathanirwin
02-02-2008, 06:31 PM
This is going to be a big cycling year, and specifically a big climbing year. The Stelvio, The Mortirolo, & Passo Gavia during the Giro. The Death Ride. Climbing Mt. Shasta (on foot). The Shasta Mountain Century...and at 225lbs, I have my work cut out, just to survive.
So while comparing our local rides to these epic climbs, I decided to use The Mt.Tam Hill Climb course as my benchmark for fitness. Ride it every couple weeks to see how my form improves. And race it in the fall to book end the season. So, never having done it, how would I hold up? Today was the day to find out.
I woke up this morning to a San Francisco overcast sky and temperatures in the 50ies. This would be great. The stomach bug I had last night has probably cleared up by now, and a medium Pete's coffee will do the trick in killing off any bugs left in the guts. I got to Stinson beach (driving) around 9:45, and what little breakfast I tried to eat hadn't gone down very well. A quick visit to the Stinson beach public toilet, and I'll be on my way. Oh, and now it's raining.
I'll spin around the parking lot and see how the legs feel. Pretty good! Stomach's not right but hey, the winners do this thing in 47 minutes, so I'll be back in no time. Just suck it up. With a couple issues of Rapha's Rouleur magazine, and "Road to Paris" fresh in my head I was looking for a suffer fest. And that's exactly what I got.
Hammering out of the parking lot, in the pouring rain, I made it to the foot of the Fairfax-Bolinas climb with a tailwind.
Minute 11, I am Magnus Bäckstedt.
The pace change from big ring to small ring hurt more than I was used to, and my stomach was touching my spine already (at 225lbs, this isn't a common occurrence!). My tank was empty and I (thought) had 36 minutes left to get to the top.
Minute 16, I am me...falling apart. In the rain.
Legs feeling great, but I still hadn't gotten to the top of Bo-Fax (the first climb), and the needle was banging off empty. Any effort above 90% of maxHR resulted in a little throw up in my mouth. Mmm, Pete's. My Rapha kit was soaked through. I was cold, and out of gas. But cycling is a battle against pain, and I wasn't going to lose.
Minute 52, top of BoFax.
The run up to the seven sisters tunnels through a dense redwood forest, and when I popped out into the clear, I was met with temps in the low 40ies, 25mph cross winds, and freezing rain. I couldn't see 100ft in front of me, and I was riding at an angle to stay upright.
Minute 56, Tam gods open can of whoop-***.
Minute 63, I'm a pineapple being blended into a frozen margarita. I can't see. I can't feel the right side of my face.
Minute 74, the run to the finish line is mostly downhill. I feel great. Mostly because it's over. But I have to slow down because the belting rain hurts too much. Did I mention I can't see?
1:16:22. I cross the finish line. Alone. In the freezing rain, in the midst of the stomach flu, and on empty. I barely beat the time of last years slowest finisher.
But I had my benchmark!
The descent back to the car was the coldest and most miserable I had ever been on a bike. My hands were so cold I couldn't shift...just enough dexterity to clamp down on the brakes. When I got to the car (my wife and son were waiting), I scared them a little with my undressing. I couldn't do it, and started fits of violent shaking. My wife had to take my shoes off. It took me 30 minutes to stop shaking, and my wife ran over my bike (which I couldn't put on top of the car) in her rush to get me out of there (the bike is fine!).
I'm done. Here are the stats...
- time on course: 1:16:22 - miserable :)
- time on bike: 1:35
- gain: 2,345ft
- avgHR: 175 / 89%
- maxHR: 188 / 96%
- breakfast calories: 400
- calories burnt: 1495
I can't wait to go back! :banana:
So while comparing our local rides to these epic climbs, I decided to use The Mt.Tam Hill Climb course as my benchmark for fitness. Ride it every couple weeks to see how my form improves. And race it in the fall to book end the season. So, never having done it, how would I hold up? Today was the day to find out.
I woke up this morning to a San Francisco overcast sky and temperatures in the 50ies. This would be great. The stomach bug I had last night has probably cleared up by now, and a medium Pete's coffee will do the trick in killing off any bugs left in the guts. I got to Stinson beach (driving) around 9:45, and what little breakfast I tried to eat hadn't gone down very well. A quick visit to the Stinson beach public toilet, and I'll be on my way. Oh, and now it's raining.
I'll spin around the parking lot and see how the legs feel. Pretty good! Stomach's not right but hey, the winners do this thing in 47 minutes, so I'll be back in no time. Just suck it up. With a couple issues of Rapha's Rouleur magazine, and "Road to Paris" fresh in my head I was looking for a suffer fest. And that's exactly what I got.
Hammering out of the parking lot, in the pouring rain, I made it to the foot of the Fairfax-Bolinas climb with a tailwind.
Minute 11, I am Magnus Bäckstedt.
The pace change from big ring to small ring hurt more than I was used to, and my stomach was touching my spine already (at 225lbs, this isn't a common occurrence!). My tank was empty and I (thought) had 36 minutes left to get to the top.
Minute 16, I am me...falling apart. In the rain.
Legs feeling great, but I still hadn't gotten to the top of Bo-Fax (the first climb), and the needle was banging off empty. Any effort above 90% of maxHR resulted in a little throw up in my mouth. Mmm, Pete's. My Rapha kit was soaked through. I was cold, and out of gas. But cycling is a battle against pain, and I wasn't going to lose.
Minute 52, top of BoFax.
The run up to the seven sisters tunnels through a dense redwood forest, and when I popped out into the clear, I was met with temps in the low 40ies, 25mph cross winds, and freezing rain. I couldn't see 100ft in front of me, and I was riding at an angle to stay upright.
Minute 56, Tam gods open can of whoop-***.
Minute 63, I'm a pineapple being blended into a frozen margarita. I can't see. I can't feel the right side of my face.
Minute 74, the run to the finish line is mostly downhill. I feel great. Mostly because it's over. But I have to slow down because the belting rain hurts too much. Did I mention I can't see?
1:16:22. I cross the finish line. Alone. In the freezing rain, in the midst of the stomach flu, and on empty. I barely beat the time of last years slowest finisher.
But I had my benchmark!
The descent back to the car was the coldest and most miserable I had ever been on a bike. My hands were so cold I couldn't shift...just enough dexterity to clamp down on the brakes. When I got to the car (my wife and son were waiting), I scared them a little with my undressing. I couldn't do it, and started fits of violent shaking. My wife had to take my shoes off. It took me 30 minutes to stop shaking, and my wife ran over my bike (which I couldn't put on top of the car) in her rush to get me out of there (the bike is fine!).
I'm done. Here are the stats...
- time on course: 1:16:22 - miserable :)
- time on bike: 1:35
- gain: 2,345ft
- avgHR: 175 / 89%
- maxHR: 188 / 96%
- breakfast calories: 400
- calories burnt: 1495
I can't wait to go back! :banana: