Fixed Gear Double Century STP Success--Ride Report
02-19-15, 02:06 PM
#26
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Im thinking of doing the STP on a fixed
Im thinking of doing the STP on a fg and im running a 50x17. Its a felt tk3 and its my first fg. Ive already done the STP (2 days there, 2 days back, 140 mi on the last day, self supported but on a schwinn le tour, 1975) and then in august of 2013 I did seattle to SD on a trek portland w/ a triple in 22 days so I am no stranger to doing centruries, however I am new to the fg game and was wondering if you had any tips for someone wanting to do the one day ride on my fg. Any kind of advice is always welcomed.
I can't find much online about fixed gear double centuries, so here goes.
Gear:
Surly Steamroller. 48 X 18 gearing. Soma Hwy One handlebars. Road and Cross brake levers. Specialized Romin saddle. MKS GR-9 pedals with MKS Clips and Toshi Straps. One under-saddle pack with tire tubes, CO2, wrenches, sunscreen. Two waterbottles with Vitalyte drink mixed with water. One waterbottle full of Vitalyte powder drink mix (to mix on the ride. I don't like Gatorade). One Timbuk2 'bento box' full of 7 homemade energy bars (approx 300 kcal, 500mg Sodium, 40g Carbs--I'm a dietitian, I can't help it!). New 25mm Gatorskin tires and tubes for the ride. One homemade bike jersey made by my wife.
Conditions:
Once the sun came up, it was 90+ degrees the whole way.
The ride:
I woke at 3:45am. Ate 4 slices of french toast with syrup and butter, plus 16oz of soy milk.
I left at 6:15am. Parking is a zoo at the start. It took an hour to park and drop off my finish line bag. I ate a banana at 6am.
I rode the first 100 miles in pacelines with another fixed gear rider (Sam from Portland, on 48 X 17 gearing) and other people I met along the way. The route is basically flat on the first 100, with the exception of one hill in Puyallup where I had to stand up to make it up. The only high-traffic road that was somewhat dangerous was between the towns of Spanaway and Roy, on Hwy 507. Otherwise I felt relatively safe from vehicles. This is also where the bicycle riders started to spread out, so that you didn't have to pass or be passed so often. I think the only accident I witnessed was on this stretch of road, where a rider rode off of the shoulder (not sure why).
With the temp starting to heat up, I was averaging about 500mL of water + Vitalyte (80 calories), 1 of my homemade bars, and occasional small Clif Bars per hour during the first 100 miles.
The first 100 miles took 6.5 total hours, and 5.75 hours of riding time.
In Centralia, which is 100 miles in, I had an ice cream bar, grapes, watermelon, and oranges. I added some sunscreen, and left.
Through the town of Centralia, many residents will aim their lawn sprinklers over the roadway to cool cyclists off. Riding through this felt great. However, I veered into one of these, and somehow didn't realize that the pavement would be wet. Down I went. Both knees were bloody, and my left hand had a deep bruise on the palm. The homeowner was nice enough to give me some Neosporin and bandaids. But, those bandaids don't stick well to sweaty skin. So, I had blood streaming down my legs for the rest of the ride, and nice red-brown bloody socks, a la Curt Schilling. Lovely.
The second 100 miles featured more rolling hills. I only had to stand up and pedal for about 4 hills during this part: The bridge in Longview, the bridge in Portland, and about 2 others. I did stand up a few times, just to give my butt a rest though.
It was heating up though, so I drank 750-1000mL of Vitalyte + water per hour, plus ~200 calories of Clif Shot Bloks, and occasional grapes and Clif Bars and homemade bars.
I wasn't able to ride in pacelines as much during this last half of the ride, maybe about 1/3 of the time. Many people declined my invitation to work together. Their loss, I guess. Maybe it was the bloody legs and socks? I just rode behind them, relaxed a bit, and let them do the work.
Final stats:
Total ride time: 15 hours. Left Seattle at 6:15am, Arrived in Portland at 9:15pm. I took much longer breaks during the second half of the ride.
Time on bike: 12.5 hours.
Average speed on bike: 16.2 mph
Knees: Still healing after 1.5 weeks. I'm down to one bandaid on each knee now.
Training:
4 day/week bike commuter on 48 X 17 gearing, Feb - October.
1 X 100 mile, 2 X 75, 4 X 50, 10 X 30 mile rides (all solo, aiming for 17+mph avg speed) in the 1.5 months leading up to the ride (48 X 17 gearing). I think the longer rides were all on early Saturday mornings (plus one day when I skipped work!), and I got home by noon. The 30 mile rides were commute rides, in which I rode all the way into work from Kent to Seattle, WA.
Physical therapy to make sure that I had enough back strength, since my poor posture was causing nerve pain in my knee during May.
I just wanted to let people know that it's achievable on a fixed gear bicycle. I'm not a burly cyclist, just a 5'7" 35-year old guy who mainly commutes.
Gear:
Surly Steamroller. 48 X 18 gearing. Soma Hwy One handlebars. Road and Cross brake levers. Specialized Romin saddle. MKS GR-9 pedals with MKS Clips and Toshi Straps. One under-saddle pack with tire tubes, CO2, wrenches, sunscreen. Two waterbottles with Vitalyte drink mixed with water. One waterbottle full of Vitalyte powder drink mix (to mix on the ride. I don't like Gatorade). One Timbuk2 'bento box' full of 7 homemade energy bars (approx 300 kcal, 500mg Sodium, 40g Carbs--I'm a dietitian, I can't help it!). New 25mm Gatorskin tires and tubes for the ride. One homemade bike jersey made by my wife.
Conditions:
Once the sun came up, it was 90+ degrees the whole way.
The ride:
I woke at 3:45am. Ate 4 slices of french toast with syrup and butter, plus 16oz of soy milk.
I left at 6:15am. Parking is a zoo at the start. It took an hour to park and drop off my finish line bag. I ate a banana at 6am.
I rode the first 100 miles in pacelines with another fixed gear rider (Sam from Portland, on 48 X 17 gearing) and other people I met along the way. The route is basically flat on the first 100, with the exception of one hill in Puyallup where I had to stand up to make it up. The only high-traffic road that was somewhat dangerous was between the towns of Spanaway and Roy, on Hwy 507. Otherwise I felt relatively safe from vehicles. This is also where the bicycle riders started to spread out, so that you didn't have to pass or be passed so often. I think the only accident I witnessed was on this stretch of road, where a rider rode off of the shoulder (not sure why).
With the temp starting to heat up, I was averaging about 500mL of water + Vitalyte (80 calories), 1 of my homemade bars, and occasional small Clif Bars per hour during the first 100 miles.
The first 100 miles took 6.5 total hours, and 5.75 hours of riding time.
In Centralia, which is 100 miles in, I had an ice cream bar, grapes, watermelon, and oranges. I added some sunscreen, and left.
Through the town of Centralia, many residents will aim their lawn sprinklers over the roadway to cool cyclists off. Riding through this felt great. However, I veered into one of these, and somehow didn't realize that the pavement would be wet. Down I went. Both knees were bloody, and my left hand had a deep bruise on the palm. The homeowner was nice enough to give me some Neosporin and bandaids. But, those bandaids don't stick well to sweaty skin. So, I had blood streaming down my legs for the rest of the ride, and nice red-brown bloody socks, a la Curt Schilling. Lovely.
The second 100 miles featured more rolling hills. I only had to stand up and pedal for about 4 hills during this part: The bridge in Longview, the bridge in Portland, and about 2 others. I did stand up a few times, just to give my butt a rest though.
It was heating up though, so I drank 750-1000mL of Vitalyte + water per hour, plus ~200 calories of Clif Shot Bloks, and occasional grapes and Clif Bars and homemade bars.
I wasn't able to ride in pacelines as much during this last half of the ride, maybe about 1/3 of the time. Many people declined my invitation to work together. Their loss, I guess. Maybe it was the bloody legs and socks? I just rode behind them, relaxed a bit, and let them do the work.
Final stats:
Total ride time: 15 hours. Left Seattle at 6:15am, Arrived in Portland at 9:15pm. I took much longer breaks during the second half of the ride.
Time on bike: 12.5 hours.
Average speed on bike: 16.2 mph
Knees: Still healing after 1.5 weeks. I'm down to one bandaid on each knee now.
Training:
4 day/week bike commuter on 48 X 17 gearing, Feb - October.
1 X 100 mile, 2 X 75, 4 X 50, 10 X 30 mile rides (all solo, aiming for 17+mph avg speed) in the 1.5 months leading up to the ride (48 X 17 gearing). I think the longer rides were all on early Saturday mornings (plus one day when I skipped work!), and I got home by noon. The 30 mile rides were commute rides, in which I rode all the way into work from Kent to Seattle, WA.
Physical therapy to make sure that I had enough back strength, since my poor posture was causing nerve pain in my knee during May.
I just wanted to let people know that it's achievable on a fixed gear bicycle. I'm not a burly cyclist, just a 5'7" 35-year old guy who mainly commutes.
02-22-15, 11:33 PM
#27
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Location: Kent, WA USofA
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Im thinking of doing the STP on a fg and im running a 50x17. Its a felt tk3 and its my first fg. Ive already done the STP (2 days there, 2 days back, 140 mi on the last day, self supported but on a schwinn le tour, 1975) and then in august of 2013 I did seattle to SD on a trek portland w/ a triple in 22 days so I am no stranger to doing centruries, however I am new to the fg game and was wondering if you had any tips for someone wanting to do the one day ride on my fg. Any kind of advice is always welcomed.
Let me know if you need anything else. I'm doing it this year also, at either 48x18 or 17.
02-23-15, 09:11 PM
#28
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Sounds great! Thank you for the tip, also I am definitely doing it this year, if you would like to ride together let me know! PM me and I can give you some contact info that way and we can coordinate.
