Livestrong Challenge - Austin

[beeballman]

Hello I am new to this site. Nice forum with lots of great information. I am riding in the Austin Livestrong challenge in Austin Texas to benefit the Lance Armstrong Foundation and all the great help iit provides Cancer patients and their families. I am also riding to remember both my parents who were claimied by Cancer. It is also to celebrate my Nephews victory over the terrible disease. He had a bone marrow transplant in September and as of now is 100 percent cancer free. If you would like to donate to my livestrong challenge please follow the link which I listed to my Livestrong web site. I am going to be riding the 70 mile course. Thank you for yourr time and support.

https://www.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=219584&lis=0&kntae219584=64E78BA0580243CA84FDDE85D43C3FE8&supId=77552504

[Grasschopper]

I just signed up for this year and have done this ride for the last couple of years. I ride with my mother's husband and do the 100 mile route. He rides in memory of his father who just died of cancer...my father is a survivor as are several of my wife's family.

[rule]

Sweet...I am signed up for the century ride down in Austin too. :)

[beeballman]

Great to hear from a couple of Austin riders! Where in Central PA are you from. I am originally from Johnstown PA, but have been in Florida since 1977. I am signed up for the 70 mile ride, but I am going to email them to change it to the 100 mile ride. I think I can do it. I am riding to remember my Parents and also my Nephew who is a cancer survivor.

[beeballman]

So have you rode in Austin at all. I am nervous about the hills. Not many hills to practice on here in Florida. Like one maybe, and luckily I live by it. Nice to hear from some Austin Riders. Even on the LAF forums the Philly riders out number theAustin riders.

[Grasschopper]

I am in State College...my mother moved to Austin about 8 years ago now with her then new husband who used to work for PSU but is now with UT.

As for the route it isn't bad. There are some climbs but not many that hurt...mostly rollers. 2 years ago there was a KILLER climb near the end...at like mile 98 so not only was it a tough hill, it was a tough hill after 98 miles of riding. But last year they rerouted around this...MUCH MUCH better. My Garmin data says the ride was 102.27 miles with 2985' of climbing in 2006...I didn't have the Garmin in 2005. I will see if I can figure out how to post an elevation profile tonight.

[nwduffer]

I'm riding in the Portland ride. 70 miles for me. Just my second week on a road bike, but I've got 4 months to prepare. Riding 12 mile loops every day, or every other day right now! Kind of scary!

My Portland LIVESTRONG Challenge Page (http://portland07.livestrong.org/nwduffer)

Paul

[beeballman]

2935 feet of climbing is about 2835 feet more than we have here in Florida :)
I'm not to worried I have been riding in Clermont FLorida and they have about the biggest hills in Florida with the biggest percent grades here in the state. I figure 4 and half months of climbing those and I should do allright. I am feeling pretty good. I am thinking of changing my ride to the 100 mile. I have never done a century so It has my interest peaked.

[beeballman]

Glad to see another cyclist take the plunge. Keep up the riding, you will gain more confidence and skills the longer your in the saddle. Don't forget to chek out the training information on your www.mylivestrong.org, it has training information for all distance riding with some good information. Good Luck with your ride.

[SoonerBent]

I rode last year. I was the one and only recumbent. I'm doing it again this year. Last year was mostly flat to rolling hills but even if re-routed from previous years there was one hill at about 85 miles that I saw more than one rider walk up.

[beeballman]

Well, I have to say my goal is to not walk up any hills, but never say never! According to the LAF web site this years is MOderate to difficult terrain with 6000 feet of climbs along the 100 mile route. How long did it take you to finish?

[Ginny]

Walking up hills is just 'cross training'. No shame in it!

[velocity]

I am in my third year in Portland. I did the ride in 2003 in Austin and that was one Hot MOTHA. I have had a sister, grandfather and aunt taken earily and I ride in their honor. HAve fun give someone a pedal stroke
V

[beeballman]

Cross Training , I like that! Do you get extra credit for walking up a hill in cleats :) Got my new ride yesterday too! It will be a bit easier on my new Trek 1500!

[pwherman512]

Hey all. This will be my second year riding in this event. I thought last years ride was great. This year will be different though. Dripping Springs is much hillier than where the ride has been before. Now by hills I do mean Texas hills (I grew up in Denver- those are hills). I will be riding a large portion of this ride next weekend and will let everyone know how it is. Keep training!

[rule]

Hey thanks PW. :)

[beeballman]

Any word yet on what the course is like (PW)? Also did everyone read on the LAF about the course length changes? 10 miles is now 90 and the 70 mile ride is now 60.

[pwherman512]

Hey, I did not get to ride it yet. We planned on it a few weeks ago, but the non-stop rain changed the plans. I have been in Cancun for the last week (no training for me!!!!). Hopefully we can get out there this weekend.

[slimvela]

Riding the Austin venue. Only been cycling for 8 months, and figured this would be a good way to honor my mother. Worst case scenario survivor, 8-12 months to live...that was 1990! Strongest, bravest person I will have ever known.

Nonetheless, I'll be showing up Friday morning for a surprise visit (San Antonio=Hometown) and then draggin the family to Austin for the event and all that it entails. It will be awesome! My sister and I are trying to come up with a custom jersey we can all sport even though I am the only one on two wheels that day.

Good to know some details on the route, I miss the rolling hills of the Texas Hill Country. Here in Phoenix, we have to hunt for the real hills.

Good luck to all...

subscribed

[beeballman]

The Elevations for the Austin Ride have been posted on the Livestrong web site. FYI

[pwherman512]

Thanks! My buddy and I rode out in the general area of the ride this past weekend. What a beautiful ride! Nice country roads, not too many cars, rolling hills. And of course one killer hill!!!! And I love hills. Looking at the elevation webpage I can tell you that this hill will NOT be a part of the route. Right now I am training for the Hotter Than Hell so I am riding in a different part of town. However, the week that we get back we plan on riding where we think the route is going to be. I will post details when I get them. Make sure you are training in the "hills"!

[beeballman]

Thanks pwherman512, Yes I have been training on the Hills here in Clermont Florida. Not many Hills here but at least I live near the ones that do exist. I was told by someone who rode in Austin's Hill Country that if we are training on these Hills regularly we should be fine, so hope thats the truth. Hotter than Hell ride..nice, I bet is just as Hot here in Floriida! I'm looking forward to the ride, Can't believe its only two months away.

[beeballman]

The routes have been posted on the Livestrong site..

[CardiacKid]

I just got through inspecting this years route. It is going to much harder than the previous rides and much more beautiful. I didn't have a GPS, but I would estimate there will be about 5000 feet of elevation change. If you are not experienced with hills, you might want to do a shorter ride than you think you can handle. This is especially true if it is hot and/or windy. There will be no shame in doing the metric century. Everyone needs to make sure they stop at the Fischer Store rest stop. Due to the constraints of the road, there will be a longer ride to the next rest stop, over the hilliest part of the ride.
It appears that the powers that be have decided to design the 90 mile route for serious cyclists. Over the last several years, they had been trying to go for a broader range of skill levels.
I assume, if you are a BFer, you will be up for the challenge. This promises to be the best Lance Armstrong Foundation ride in years.
Another word of caution to you out of towners. The weather in early October is totally unpredictable. The temperature will be somewhere between 45 and 98. The wind can kick up into the high 20's and rain is always a possibility. I am pretty sure it won't snow, but just about anything else is possible. Two years ago I was wearing my arm and leg warmers when I started. By the end, it was 95 degrees with a 30 mph wind.

[pwherman512]

I was going to suggest getting a group together to ride this route for training but it looks like 99.9% of the posters are not from Austin.

[beeballman]

Sounds like its going to be fun and challenging. I have been working the hills here in Clermont Florida. I spoke with some one from Austin at the LBS and he told me if we could manage these hills we should be okay. We wil see in October. My friend who is riding has been riding much longer than I and he is going for the 90 mile ride, I myself am going for the 60 miler. I feel pretty confident in completng the ride. I feel I could do the 90, but due to the hills I chose the 60 mile ride. We are getting there a couple days early and will most likely drive out to dripping sprngs and do some of the ride a day before or so. Were still deciding if we are driving or if we are going to fly instead. Thanks for the heads up Cardiac, about how far apart are the rest areas going to be, did not see them marked on the map.

[CardiacKid]

There are going to be 8 rest stops with the survivors rest stop being used twice for a total of 9. The locations haven't been finalized, but they promise to all be unique.

[beeballman]

Can't wait. I am excited about doing the ride. Hopefully Texas Dries up before October, your getting a ton of rain. Thanks for the information.

[pwherman512]

Hope everyone is doing well with training! Hills, hills, hills.

[slimvela]

Hope everyone is doing well with training! Hills, hills, hills.

Ughh, don't remind me...they hurt!

[beeballman]

Ah yes Hills you either love them or hate them. I don't particualrly like the hills but I have been doing them every weekend. I did 60 miles Saturday. Looking forward to the ride.....See you in Austin...

[pwherman512]

We are riding the 60 miler on Saturday. I will post on Saturday or Sunday how it was.

[beeballman]

Sounds good, cant wait to hear about it. I'm thinking of doing the 90 , I'll hedge it on what I hear from the route...

[pwherman512]

We will be riding the 90 in two weeks. I am doing to 90 for the Challenge as well. But I will let you know what to expect. Luckily the forecast looks clear for this weekend. Pedal on!

[pwherman512]

Hey everyone! Just wanted to give you an update and let you know how the 60 mile route is for the Livestrong Challenge. Right off the bat I have to say it is a beautiful ride! The scenery is so nice and unlike when we ride around Austin, not one single driver honked, flipped us off, or told us to “Get off the damn road” so that made for an even nicer ride. Hills? Yes, lots of them. However I do not mind hills so it was not too bad for me. There are some great flats and the backsides of the hills are always welcome. A lot of the hills are rolling and you don’t really realize how long the hill is until you are about half way up saying to yourself “This hill sure seems a lot longer than I thought!” I do have concerns about the roads themselves. Once you turn onto Creek Road (two miles in) there are tons, and I mean tons of potholes. This is probably going to be an issue for several reasons. The biggest reason is the amount of cyclists that will be flying down the road. People are going to need to be very aware of other cyclists around them so they do not swerve to miss the potholes and get in someone’s line. I lost count of the cattle guards but they should not be too big of any issue as you can just “roll” right over them. Only issue with them may be that someone slams on their brakes as they approach them so just be aware. There was one low water crossing that had water flowing over it and my buddy bit it in the middle of it when he hit the algae. Luckily he knows how to fall so he walked away from it fine. Last issue was several of the roads are missing the street signs, but I am sure the LAF will put out arrow signs. All in all this is going to be a great ride. Dripping Springs is a great town and the people are very friendly. We saw several other riders out there and they too seemed to be enjoying the Hill Country. I cannot stress enough that you need to do some hill rides before the Challenge. We will be riding the 90 mile route in two weeks and I will let “y’all” know about it.

Last thing in my long ramble. Make sure you read the Road Etiquette and Safety page. I know most everyone knows the rules of the roads, but it never hurts to brush up. And be biker aware. If you are a slower rider it is very important that you stay to the right! I rode in the Hotter ‘N Hell a few weeks ago and I cannot tell you how many slower riders were in the middle of the road forcing the faster riders to pass on the right (which is asking for trouble). I saw a horrific accident between a slower rider in the middle of the road and a fast rider that tried to pass him- one of them was taken to the hospital by a helicopter!

Can’t wait to see everyone there and hopefully you will have as nice of a time as we did!! Livestrong!

[beeballman]

Thanks for the great update, looking forward to the ride! Okay I give, what is a cattle gaurd?

[pwherman512]

Here is a cattle guard: http://www.gobobpipe.com/cattleGuards.htm

[shumacher]

I cannot stress enough that you need to do some hill rides before the Challenge. We will be riding the 90 mile route in two weeks and I will let “y’all” know about it. I live in a perfectly flat area, and can't see riding laps over interstate overpasses to get some hill training in. :) I think I'm going to drop my plans of doing the 40mi. I'll just do the 10mi. 40 was a stretch for me anyway, and I hadn't really thought about the hills. I just figured Austin was as flat as southeast Louisiana.

[pwherman512]

I would hate to see you not do the 40 miler! I can tell you one thing regarding the hills- the 60 and 90 have a lot more than the 40 and below! Also, they are rolling hills- not just straight up. Hopefully you will rethink not riding the 40- in the end I am sure you will be happier if you ride 40 miles. Good luck!

[beeballman]

Burzie,

Thanks for the regular updates! I am getting more excitd about the ride as it draws closer to the date. I am feeling pretty good about the ride and uped my ride from the 60 to the 90 miler. (feeling pretty good) Been doing 50-70 mile rides every weekend here in the rolling hills of Clermont. Including the 12 percent grade of Sugarloaf and a few 6-8 percent grades along the route as well. Pushed it a bit today so the legs are feeling it a little bit, but feel pretty good. Can't wait!

Bob (beeballman)

[pwherman512]

Hey beeballman,
That is awesome that you have uped your ride!!! Riding 50-70 mile rides on the weekend is a great idea! You will be more than ready. What mph do you ride at?

[beeballman]

This past Saturday I averaged 15.56 for the 51 mile ride I did. That was a personal best for me. I am hoping to complete the ride in under 6 hours. My wife just bought me an early Birthday present, a Garmin Edge 205. Pretty nice, its nice to get some elevations on the hills around here. I think it said my total elevations was like 3275 feet climbed. I am night an day better than when I started riding in February. Back then I was only averaging about 11-12 mph. I can hold a 20-23 mph on the flats for several miles now.

[pwherman512]

Your improvement is awesome!! I know several guys that have been riding for years and they have not even come close to your mph change. That's great. Keep doing what you are doing! And pass some of it my way :) My buddy has a Garmin Edge as well, and I had to beg him to bring it out. I love to analyze every aspect of life so having the Garmin has helped.

[regomatic]

We're are from FL too, on the East (flat) side of Orlando about 45 min. from beeballer. We will be doing the 63 mile route on a tandem.

We just made our fundraising goals last week. Here are our LAF pages;
https://www.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=219584&lis=1&kntae219584=F0280049CCF54474B13A9764AA90A276&supId=115554212

&

https://www.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=219584&lis=1&kntae219584=F0280049CCF54474B13A9764AA90A276&supId=115554212

It's tough to get out and ride over on beballer's side of town regularly and still get all of our weekend chores done. But we have done the loop that includes going up the steeper sides of "The Wall", "Buck Hills" and "Sugarloaf Mountain". We know a number of other tandem riders and a few singles that have never done this loop without walking some of it. Some others are too intimidated to even try.

We usually do flat 40 mile training rides on Sat/Sun, holding 19-22 most of the time, and sprinting up to 30, but the only way to get good at hills is to do hills.

We did back to back metrics in flat to small rollers on a very hot Labor Day W/E in Sebring a couple of weeks ago.

And we just got back from the Southern Tandem Rally held this past w/e in Chattanooga, TN.

Saturday's STR ride route profile forecast just under 4800 feet of climbing, but the not very accurate barometric reading on my Garmin 305 showed less than 4000 in 54 miles. Maximum grade measured was 20%, on the hill where we broke our drive side chain. We only had 40-50 feet to the crest and would have made it over if not for the mechanical. Luckily,the owner of the tandem dealership that built our bike was right behind us and got us back on the road in record time.

We had plenty of miles in the small ring at 4.5-6 MPH and a 43.1 max MPH on the longest descent.

I think we're in good enough shape not to get hurt too bad. We'll probably do "The Hills are Alive" route this w/e as our final strong training ride before going to Austin.

[monza]

I have done the previous rides to Elgin area (70 miles last two years, which was actually 75.) For someone who hasn't done much hill training, do you think I should do the 60? I had a triple before, but it got stolen, now I have a double...will I be in trouble?

[pwherman512]

Hey monza,
You bet you can do the 60 miler! I don't want to freak people out by saying "hills", I just wanted everyone to know if you only ride flats you better work in some hills. Again, I love hills, my riding partner hates them. When we rode the 60 miler he made several comments about the hills, but then again he makes comments about everything!!! It will probably take you longer to ride the 65 miles for the Livestong ride then it takes you to ride 70 miles out in Elgin.

[beeballman]

Grades,
Hey Monza, I know you rode the 60 mile route and were planning on riding the 90 before hand. You wouldn't have amy grade information on the hills? Like percentage grades or such? Just curious. Clermont's grades on Sugarloaf and the Buckhills punch out at about a 12 percent Max and another hill I ride in a development maxes at a 15 percent grade. There are also a few 4-6 percent grades that are longer than the short tall climbs.
Beeballman (Bob)

[beeballman]

Opps I meant that last post to Burzie, My bad.

[regomatic]

We'd be very interested in the grade percentages too.

We can do about 6-8% easily enough with our standard 30T small ring. When we know it's going to be steeper than that I put on a 26T "Granny Gear".

Largest cog in the back is a 27.

[beeballman]

I am running a 12-25 , I have heard from some folks that have riden out that way say that as long as we are doing the hills in Clermont we should be fine. Hope that is the case. I emailed the LAF to see if they have the grade percentages for the hills or not. I will post them if they have them.