WalksOn2Wheels

Almost forgot: @Heathpack is %1000 correct about RWGPS premium being worth it if you're doing a lot of unfamiliar routes. For the previous ride, I ended up using bike route toaster to get an export with turn by turn. It was really hit or miss and I mostly attributed it to the fact that the 510 was only designed to do so much. The organizer actually has it set up where you can access premium features for the routes they post up for the event. I was able to do a .tcx download with early turn warnings and it was pretty much flawless. Drastic difference between the two files on the same device with the same firmware version.

WalksOn2Wheels

Glad to hear you finally found a place to buy. Hope all the rest goes as smoothly as possible. We also had to live with my in-laws between the apartment and our house, but they actually have a good sized place, so it wasn't all bad.

The 27.5+ is super attractive. I don't know if I want that much tire, but I do think I'm going to target stuff I can at least get a 29x2.4 on.

LesterOfPuppets

I'd be tempted to pick 27.5 over 29. I'm really loving the 27.5+ action, but dunno about + tire availability; seems like not-too-heavy and not-too-expensive 2.8-3.0" would require some hunting.

So close!

LesterOfPuppets

I've been tempted to spring for one of the pay packages with RWGPS. I make all my routes in it, but typically don't do cue sheets. I just ride til I come to a Y or T and check the RWGPS route (selecting the "Show My Location" option on the upper right hamburger menu).

Sometimes I have to break out the compass if the roads themselves aren't on the map.

jtaylor996

I ride with more women than men in groups (being the slowest guy around on a bike), and I can happily say I've never witnessed any of that crap. I'm sure it happens, but I'm just glad that it's not something present in the groups I ride with.

Heathpack 

I have to say that 80% of the time I ride with men and I rarely get stuff like this. Maybe I can count the number of times on one hand. But some of the stuff is quite memorable.

The day I crashed the Magic Bike for example. We were out on a pretty advanced ride for my beginner cycling group- 75ish miles, probably 6000 ft climbing. The route was appealing enough that the regular shop ride joined us. The beginner group is maybe 50% women and the regular shop ride is faster, stops less and is maybe 98.9% men. But still a pretty middle of the road group of mostly middle aged men, they'd do a route like that at 15mph.

We're riding out of town to get to the climbing part and this guy from the shop named Will is running his mouth- basically called me fat (I was dry-running my nutritional strategy for a double century I was prepping for, so eating quite regularly). Then one of my friends was trying to get her jacket off quick when we were stopped at a light, so I was helping her get it off and he jumped in with comments about how he'd like to take her clothes off. Crap like that.

So far, I've found that men who run their mouths like that are usually mediocre riders, it seems like men who are strong cyclists feel less need to give people they assume to be weaker $hit. So I am looking forward to making this guy hurt around 60 miles in. He'll hate being chicked, and I knew at that point Id probably be pretty strong whereas lots of these weekend warrior types get pretty tired right around the 60 mile mark.

Then just before the first climb I get distracted, crash into a gate, break my frame, but am remarkably uninjured. Tell everyone to go ahead, I call Mr H and express sadness that I can't finish the ride.

He says to me, "Do you want me to bring you the other bike?"

Hell yeah! We swap out bikes, he drives me to the top of the first climb and then I proceed to toy with Will the rest of the day. Passing him on hills but not just riding past, slowing down so that he burns some energy passing me back, then charging past him when we get to the top. Riding hard down hills, making him expend energy when he'd normally coast. Just whatever I can do to wear him down, all day long he's working to not get chicked.

Finally we have an eight mile descent and then a 10 mile gradual uphill into town, typically into a head wind. I totally went full out on that descent and he did beat me down it. But totally cooked himself. Then he had the headwinds to contend with, I catch him maybe 1/4 mile into that, get ahead to take a pull. Every time I come off the front, he takes a pull and our speed drops 2mph. After two pulls, I tell him it's ok, he doesn't need to take any more pulls.

Then I purposely drop him a few times. "Oh sorry. Do you need me to slow down?"

Five miles to the regroup, it's just him trying to hold my wheel. Awkward when we get to the regroup, waiting for everyone else to show up. He's not running his mouth any more. But he does finally say to me, "You're a pretty strong rider".

Haha, I said just said thanks and left it at that.

WalksOn2Wheels

I have the same reservations regarding tire availability. It's going to be really difficult to make a tubeless compatible tire that big without it being heavy. I'm thinking 29x2.4 would probably be enough. I might look at some steel frame options, but my inner weight weenie says to look at aluminum and carbon XC bikes. However, my inner weight weenie is also kind of an idiot with misplaced priorities.

jtaylor996

You need to get a 650B plus bike. You can always put 29er wheels/tires on it, but the 27.5+ tires are faster in most of the tests I've seen so far. It's the future, man.

There's a ton of buzz about this one (rigid, steel frame): Hayduke. Frame is only $750. The frame is compatible with just about everything imaginable.

A friend of mine did the 100 miles last night on a Salsa Cutthroat 29er (a super light Tour Divide bike).

Kudos on the ride, though.

jtaylor996

Most bikes from 2016 are coming with the heavier WTB 3.0" right now which are too much tire for sure. The schwalbe rocket ron and nobby nick in 2.8 are really popular, but they aren't too stout.

All of the new 2017 bikes I've seen have been spec'd with the now just barely available Maxxis 2.8 rekon tires. Those are what I want. Light, fast, durable, and not too much.

WalksOn2Wheels

That cutthroat is very tempting. But it's also $4k for the build I would want. I could possibly swing a discount with my shop connection, but I don't want to push my luck.

Who was your friend? A BP employee? I saw a few of them out there and one of them was on the cutthroat. I got to hang out with my Dallas shop people as well. You should definitely try and make the event next year. It's quite a party.

jtaylor996

Friend runs the local group I ride with. Ken. I'd point him out, but he's a caveman that doesn't use Strava. I don't know how he did last night, but knowing him pretty dang good.

jtaylor996

I heard a rumor that the 2017 cutthroat is going to be a plus bike with boost spacing. That's a bike that should *really* get your attention.

They did the same thing with the horse theif/pony rustler. Exact same frame, just different wheels. I can't see how many manufaturers aren't going to just put out the boost plus bikes instead of 29ers.

RPK79

Despite my warning @WhyFi failed to flip his bib number 13 upside down. So, he got TWO pinch flats on our little metric century ride.

LesterOfPuppets

Oops.

WhyFi

Hey now - it was one legitimate flat and one pinch flat.

PepeM

Hey, so I'm not the only one!

Got a double flat today. One of those places where they're repaving, hit one of those nasty corners going pretty fast. Boom! both tires flat. My front rim got a bit damaged too, unfortunately. Guess it's time to look for some BOMB-PROOF wheels.

My career so far: First year and a half - one flat
Last two weeks - three flats

patentcad

This will be the Pcad bar version, so I'm looking for something with a groove that can come over on a single acoustic guitar. It's not so easy. No rhythm section, the rhythm section is your guitar playing.

LesterOfPuppets

Never heard of 'em. These are nice, tho

Heathpack 

@walksontwowheels,

RideWithGPS rocks.

Currently photo less on account of my iPhone taking a swim this weekend! But you do see some beauty out on the water. Mostly you just notice different things- less distraction, less noise, less bustle.

Nutrition: here's what I do on a long event. I try to consume 200-250 cal per hour the entire time, starting 15 min in. That's about the max anybody can absorb. As the day goes on, you are less able to digest/absorb what you ingest, so you really don't want to get behind, sometimes it's too late to make up for the deficit later on (unless you stop).

I get kind of a queasy stomach if I consume electrolytes all day. But I want some calories in my bottles. I usually go with honey (around 80-100 cal/bottle) when I'm not sweating. I can carry extra honey in a Hammer gel flask if necessary, mixing it witha good amt of lemon juice to make it less sticky & to flow better. Otherwise when I'm sweating, I go with Skratch mixed at 100 cal/bottle.

Then beyond drinking one bottle per hour, I try to take in 200 cal/hr of food. Eventually I'll fall behind so I try to get more calories in early in, while my gi tract is still digesting just fine. There's real logistics to eating on the bike. I use a bento box on my top tube and start with a 3 hour supply of homemade foods- usually rice cubes sweetened/flavored with coconut, coconut milk, sea salt and sugar- blended in food processor. Then stuffed with a piece of dark chocolate and dusted in ground dried coconut, coarse sugar and sea salt so they are not sticky on your fingers. These freeze perfectly and you can eat them frozen. You don't need to make them too frequently because of their frees ability.

The second three hours, I load up my bento box with Clif Shot Bloks, some with caffeine.

Often I'll throw a Clif Bar in a jersey pocket just in case. I nibble some stuff at the rest stops on the event ride, just for variety sake.

I set a timer on my Garmin to go off every 15 min. Then I eat 1/4 of my hourly allotment witha few sips from my bottle every time the timer goes off, as long as I'm logistically able.

The rice cubes are predominantly carb calories with some fat and a tiny bit of protein. That works for me early in the day. But fat & pro are harder to digest and later in the event I can't do that, I need to be all carb by then (which is what the Shot Bloks are). My trouble is, late in the day, I'm sick of sugar. Pretzels are better at that point but they don't pack as well. I'm really glad to see them at stops though.

In training, I do the opposite- try to eat as little as possible to become better at burning fat.

Nutrition is pretty variable from individual to individual and what you can/should do varies very much with intensity. When you're working really hard vs riding casually or at a conversational pace, you need to really figure out what you can ingest and how it works for you.

PepeM

Oh yes. Take all my monies!

rpenmanparker 

Au contraire, mon frere. What you need are Pepe-proof wheels, not bomb proof.

WalksOn2Wheels

Thanks for all those tips @Heathpack. I definitely need to start experimenting with it. You mentioned that you prefer to not eat on training rides. I can definitely relate because most of my solo efforts of medium intensity are usually between 30 and 50 miles on a good day and I typically start those rides on an empty stomach. Eating on the bike is totally foreign to me, so I have a lot to learn.

In retrospect, I'm actually pleased with my performance in both of these events when you factor in the part where I have no idea how to take care of myself. This ride was most notable in that I cramped up off and on throughout the whole ride. It first happened at around 15 miles. It probably happened again 3 or 4 times. I didn't count. And I truly was just on the edge of bonking between mile 50 and 66. Then things were mostly downhill after mile 66 and I was able to find that last little bit.

It's a bummer I didn't perform better, but I don't feel like I did terrible time-wise, so it's also a good sign that I could be doing much better once I actually figure out these endurance events in terms of pacing and nutrition.

Doug28450

I'm going with the two pinch flats story.

Doug28450

Another swim meet is in the books.

Next up, the State Championship next weekend.

Heathpack 

@WalksOn2Wheels, I actually had to learn how to eat on the bike. It seems like a simple thing but chewing & swallowing when you're working hard is an issue. And what is easy to eat on the bike vs difficult to eat. What you can carry that will still be palatable after 50 miles and also not disintegrated later in the day, etc.

I treat a lot of these events like races, in that I try to get the best possible time and if they record times, I try to get the best possible placement. If you don't ride like that, sometimes it's easiest to just nibble on the bike & eat more when you're stopped. Digesting isn't too hard when you're stopped or not riding intensely.

But I was figuring that you were trying to ride these things hard. If so, learning how to eat while moving is a huge advantage. You can be in/out of the rest stops in 5-7 min. Saves you huge amounts of time, turning three 15 min stops into three 7 minute stops lets you finish 20 min ahead of the guy who rides exactly like you do but stops longer.

I like the challenge of doing it all as quickly as I can. But just riding & not worrying about stopped time is fun too.