Digital Gee

Compare and contrast. Extra credit for good pics!

And no haiku.

Wildwood 

Centuries generally have to be trained for, but not too hard if they are relatively flat and heat/humidity/wind are moderate. Riding at altitude is a MAJOR problem for sea levelers, even with a couple days to acclimate. Example: I can always get a century or two in every year even when my mileage is below 100/wk, but with harder training (200+ mi/wk) when I go to Yosemite Natl Park or to visit inlaws in Colorado, I die above 6000 ft. It's just impossible to get enough air, on any decent climb my heartrate races to max even with MTB gearing on a light touring bike. On the Tioga Pass road from Mono Lake (6400 ft) to Tioga Entrance (9800 ft) I had to stop nearly every 1/4 mi for the last 5 miles just to let the heart slow down. From Mesa CO (5800 ft) to the top of the Grand Mesa (about 10K ft) I have to stop to enjoy the scenery frequently.

The views at altitude are usually majestic

CB HI

So you are planning on riding a century around Denver? Lots of pie there.

BluesDawg

I'd rather train for the Mile High Club.

jibi

It was an unplanned century ( 100miles plus)
Started of with a 30 mile uphill struggle, I had the loaded trailer behind me, into the Andes, and this took over 6 hours. The temperatures started off in the 80's but went down to about 50 at the summit of the climb. Lots of water straight from the mountain streams ( glacier melt).
At about 4500mtrs ( nearly 3 miles) I started to get headaches, apart from the body screaming for me to stop. My heart was pounding and then I saw the wall.
The road began to switchback , Los Caracoles, up a vertical wall, 6 miles of road ,to go up about 2000 feet and about 1 mile as the crow flies. But at least the slope wasn't too bad. and after a couple of hours of hell, the hotel at the top was a pleasant refreshment stop.
The descent was over 70 miles and this was done in about 3 hours, but it seemed like only a few minutes, I hit 49mph a one stage before I remembered I had the trailer behind me, very , very gently the brakes were applied, as I didn't want to jackknife the rig.
The views were beyond belief, the highest mountain outside the Himalaya, Aconcagua (over 6900mtrs)
Then there was just about 15 miles to the next town, lots of food, Pisco sours and sleep.

The next day was spent resting and trying to get rid of the headaches, don't know whether it was the altitude or the Pisco :lol

george

tlc20010

Okay, I'll say it. Ya don't need a willing partner to do a century.

Dellphinus

Compare and Contrast
1 1 1 1 1 5
Extra Credit for good pics
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 7
And no Haiku
1 1 1 1 4?

add "please" to last phrase and you're there...

Tom Bombadil

Technically, to be a member of the Mile High Club, the "act" must be performed with a minimum of 5280' of air between you and the ground. The ground's altitude is irrelevant.

I must say that spending 5-6 hours at either would be a good workout.

Jet Travis

And no more wisecracks from me about practicing by myself.

tlc20010

Wouldn't think of it.

Digital Gee

Practice, they say, makes perfect.

Tom Bombadil

JT could attempt a double - in the plane's bathroom, by himself, on a unicycle (of course).

Hermes

Centuries v mile high club…hmmm. I am pleased to see some testosterone appearing in some of the posts. Seriously, a century is a tough ride. There are two components to the training. One is the ability to sit on the bike for the required time and the other is to have the stamina to power the bike for 100 miles. For Velodiva and me, it is about sitting on the bike for X hours probably around 6 hours plus or minus. The smaller X is the better. On Saturday, we did a metric century and at the end we both felt we could have easily done another 40 miles but we were very happy to get off the bike while our butts, back and neck still felt great. Besides your butt, you have to be able to support yourself with your arms and shoulders and hold up your head. So it is relatively easy to train for and complete a century. It is another matter to ENJOY a century and feel good at the end. To enjoy a century takes a lot of training and stamina.

Altitude is interesting and certainly easier to manage than a century. We competed in the 40K District TT Championship which was at 5000 feet. There is good news and bad news…the air is thinner and you go faster and the air is thinner and there is less to breathe. The fastest TT course is in New Mexico at 5000 feet plus where all the records are set. At 5000 feet, I am sure we had a lower VO2 max and LT but we did not feel it per se. We are skiers and log a number of ski days per year in Utah. At 6000 feet and above the altitude affects our sleeping and hydration more than performance. Although, I am sure our aerobic capacity is compromised. Since it takes a couple of weeks to acclimate, we are always faced with the same problem every time we ski.

Here is a pic of Velodiva going off the Olympic men's downhill in Snow Basin, Utah. You take the special lift (on the right) to the top of the avalanche chute 10,500 feet. Going to the edge at the start is like jumping off a cliff. Swallow hard and go. The olympians reached 70 mph in 3 seconds down this chute. We took it a little easier. The course is straight ahead over the top and then left - 3000 vertical feet of black diamond skiing all the way. This is our favorite run at Snow Basin and is usually not crowded.



Pic of Sattley TT at 5000 feet...Farms with moutains in the background. A very spartan parking and staging area.

stapfam

Only time I have been over a mile high on a bike and the view wasn't much. Then the Finish of the offroad 100 miler in 2004.

BluesDawg

I'm amazed at the number of people replying to this thread who don't get it.

Very interesting posts about riding at altitude, but a little off the mark I think.

Digital Gee

Thanks, BD...I didn't quite know how to point that out as tactfully as you have...

Beverly

Maybe they've never flown

Tom Bombadil

I tried to get it off to a good start.

The Weak Link

Perverts.

Digital Gee

Wazzamatter, you couldn't squeeze into the lavatory?

cgallagh

I have done numerous centuries on the tandem and on a hang glider. I have soared up to 16,500 ft in my hang glider. You should have supplemental oxygen over 12,500 because of hypoxia. I have not flown with oxygen yet but have not had a problem with hypoxia either because I was not at that altitude for a very long time. I would thermal up then go on extended glide, losing altitude down to 10K then soaring back up.

Tom Bombadil

Were you ... alone?

cgallagh

Yes

This is me sharing a thermal with a sailplane over Mt Diablo.

Soaring is fun.

Wildwood 

Sorry, just thought this was a cycling forum not a wise-ask? forum.

Let's compare riding single track trails to pounding meat.

cgallagh

Ouch! He said as the two by four bounced off his forehead.

I just got it.