jsigone

i guess you can be the purple umpa lumpa if you suck wheels the entire day

TrojanHorse

I wouldn't be able to keep up to suck the wheels in the first place.

jsigone

joined the "BWR" strava club....um I don't think I can keep up either and some of those peps are putting in MEGA miles HOLY COW!!! 426miles/ 43k vertical in ONE week (wonder is that guy has a job or riding is his job)

SPY BWR | Strava Club

TrojanHorse

462 miles a week? Good grief!

What did you get yourself into.

jsigone

Apparently something harder then the Rapha race I did 6 months ago.....

TrojanHorse

Pshaw, that was a (cake) walk in the park, you said so yourself.

Bring home the purple jersey and take pictures - I assure you we'll all be proud.

jsigone

the blogger didn't follow his previous rule #12 and was sucked into the practice ride that happened last saturday. Now he seems a bit more serious after reality struck

1) Bring real food. Keep a couple of Harmony Bars for quick energy boosts, but make your main food arsenal solid food that will stick to your ribs. You will need substantive food throughout the ride. I brought three PB&J sandwiches on wheat bread that was denser than an imploding star, and even though Cobley ate one of them, it was the other two that got me through what ended up as morale-and-leg-shattering 85 miles that covered only three of the numerous dirt sections. As I learned in 2013, it’s a very bad idea to fall for the “yummy waffles” trap prior to riding. Do not eat 24 waffles beforehand, no matter how tempting.

2) Run 25mm tires that are the beefiest you can find. Trying to descend the Lake Hodges Rock Garden on regular tires will leave you punctured at best, crashed out at worst. It’s not like last year, where we only came up the Lake Hodges trail; this year we do it both ways and the descent is hairy and fast. I had 38 mm tires and floated over the rocks, but suffered like a dog on the pavement. Phil, Jeff, and Jens were running ‘cross tires and that seemed like the ideal compromise between skinny road tires and super wide ones. Some riders will even be swapping bikes during the ride as it transitions from the first phase of heavy dirt to asphalt.

3) Go out easy. I was panting hard before we hit the first dirt section. Every bullet you shoot early on will equate to twenty missing bullets as the ride progresses. Resist the temptation to keep up if your group is going faster than you are, especially on the first dirt sections. A hard effort here will leave you with nothing. This is so important in the beginning because you’re hit with three dirt sections right off the bat, one of which is brutal, the second of which is fast and technical, and the third of which is long and flat. This third section ends and you go immediately up the backside of Bandy Canyon, a super steep, twisting climb about a mile or so in length. Your legs won’t have recovered from the dirt when you hit the climb, and at the top you’ll be gassed only to now be faced with the incredibly long, steep, and arduous 5-mile, endless climb up Hiddn Valley. In other words, even if you take it easy you’re going to be cracked very early on. If you go out hot you’ll be whatever is worse than cracked, with most of the climbing and most of the really hard dirt riding in front of you.

4) Whatever gearing you have, it isn’t enough. The first dirt section is a 3-mile climb very early in the ride. It is steep, endless, and will utterly wreck you without the right gearing. The final little kick is so steep that you can’t even think about getting out of the saddle, so if you lack the gears you are in trouble. I had a 36 in the front and a 25 on the rear, and will likely go up to a 28 or a 30 on game day.

5) Underinflate your tires rather than overinflate them. The long horse track that we rode last year was firm yesterday due to the rain, but on the day of the ride it will be very sandy and very deep in places. Worse, on the return route we’ll be in a sandpit that goes along for more than five miles. Even after rain it was so soft that it looked like the sandbox on a playground. I didn’t ride it, but could see that there were countless areas where riders are going to get stuck and fall over.

6) Shoes — I went with ‘cross shoes and Eggbeater pedals, but everyone else ran road cleats. If you have any questions about how you’ll do in soft, sandy, hilly conditions, go with the MTB configuration rather than road, as your cleats and pedals and shorts will fill with sand if you have to dismount.

7) Don’t stop except for water and to pee. The course is so long (136 miles) and so arduous that you’ve got to keep pedaling. There will be endless temptations to get off and rest or catch your breath or buy another box of Puffy Luvvies for your sniffles or even kill yourself, but except for that last one, don’t give in.

8) Remember that this isn’t a race except for a handful of riders. For the rest of us mere mortals it’s a hard day on the bike that you hope to finish in enough condition to be able to lay prostrate in the parking lot at the finish, choking on your own vomit.

9) Many people have told me that they’ll just “find out what it’s like on the day of the ride” or “no sense knowing too much beforehand.” I think this is a grave mistake. Even if you just do a couple of the dirt sections, you’ll be much better prepared, especially in terms of deciding what equipment to use. And with regard to equipment, make sure it’s all in top running order. Do a trial run to get the kinks out and to find out what parts need adjustment or replacement.

10) This combination of road-and-dirt, with the distance and hilly topography, make it unique. If you finish it, you’ll feel an incredible sense of accomplishment. If you don’t finish it, you’ll be impressed with yourself after the fact for even having tried.

11) Getting a tow home

Belgian Waffle Ride | Cycling in the South Bay

TrojanHorse

Which bike are you going to ride? This seems tailor made for your cross bike, although the lack of a top end might be the end of you.

jsigone

I will be on the cross bike for sure, WAY too much abuse for the supersix when I have a better tool for the job parked right next to it (reason I bought the Fuji in the 1st place)

Right now with the CX i have some 35c sammy slicks, really high roller center w/ knobby sides. Great for mixed riding but slow on pavement when air down. Air to 65psi I can cruise around 21-23mph no problem, breaking 25 is an effort even in the draft. But the fat tire drag over time is a killer on the legs.

I'm thinking of getting some 28 or 32c continental touring plus tires, pretty cheap $28, 200ish gram heavier then a hardshell gatorskin32 but better flat tire protection to run over the poor souls lost and tipped over along the course . Hardshell 32s would probably be ideal but double the cost (trying to save $$ since my water heater crapped out last weekend)

The Fuji is geared 44/36 and 12-28 cassette. I might have to get a 34t front ring to make life easier

IBOHUNT

Sweet!

TrojanHorse

"I will be on the cross bike for sure"

Does that mean you got into this sufferfest? Or are you still speculating. You should probably be going for a ride right now.

jsigone

I will find out 11PM tomorrow night......

I should order those tires today from Amazon though so they can be here on Friday. Friend's want to drag me up Palomar saturday.....but I also need a century in this week so it might be a LONG day.

Plans to ride after my kiddo's doc appointment. Hopefully 30+ miles Then fast group ride at sunrise My legs hate me this week

TrojanHorse

man, I struggle to find that much time to ride. I need to go faster, I think that's the solution.

IBOHUNT

IF(!) I were allowed to ride I couldn't get in 462 miles a week. There's only 168 hours in a stinking week.

jsigone

You only need 26 or so hours to hit that number at a modest 18mph ave. Much less at your blazing 20mph speeds

IBOHUNT

That's funnier than watchin' a monkey try to make love to a football. I doubt I could get to 20 mph down a 4% grade.

TrojanHorse

jsigone

^^ well put!!

IBOHUNT

You kids are killin this old man!
Down a 1 mile 1% grade today... 6.5 mph avg
Posted to Strava so there ya go...

TrojanHorse

That was RUNNING you lying liar!

And plenty faster than I would be running... I'd have to stop every 100 yards or so to say "Ow ow ow ow"

IBOHUNT

I said...

In my currently stated status, which if off the bike, I can't get there from here...
If I get on a bike I'll have to put a dag gum 28t deal on the back to turn them ginormous chain rings you sent me

TrojanHorse

I gave up and put a 32 tooth cog back there, and I have a compact crank too.

IBOHUNT

Supersix with Red will take 28 max.
I could put the X9 and a 36 on it come mid May

jsigone

is it cheating if I put a 34/36 on my cross for this event bike I have both an old X9 rear D and new 12-36 cassette on my work bench

TrojanHorse

And yet I have Red and a 32 tooth cog... WiFli is the $300 answer.

I would say probably not. You get extra purple jersey points though.