Machka 

Is anyone here thinking of doing the VanIsle "Eau de Hell Week" in early April?

https://www.randonneurs.bc.ca/newslet...en-bonner.html


It's a whole SR series in a week!!
(that's a 200K, 300K, 400K, and 600K ...... 1500 kms in a week)


I've booked the time off, and I intend to give it my best shot. If I can get all or most of the brevets I need to qualify for the PBP out of the way in one go, that would be great ... it would take the pressure off!

Plus it's a new challenge.

spokenword

Boston's doing a similar regimen in early June. I was tempted briefly, but taking the time off from work would be dicey, especially with two weeks already dedicated to time off for France. All the same, I'm keeping it in the back of my mind in case I can't ride any of the earlier qualifiers due to work conflicts or the like.

With that said, the notion strikes me as pretty much ideal 1200K prep, since you're riding a 1500K over the course of 7 days with barely more than 10 hours to a day of recovery in between.

bmike

I have the same work / play time commitment issues with the Boston series. It would be a tall challenge, and I think if I had a bit more experience / training under my belt I would take it on with no qualms.

My main concerns are mental. I know that during a brevet, no matter how bad it might get, it will end and I would have 2-3 weeks to recover - but with the weeklong qualifier I think I would be staring at the total mileage far too often, and right now, in the middle of winter, it seems a tall order to mentally wrap my brain around. Perhaps as spring nears and I'm out on the road more I'll feel better about it... but its cold and icy out there for cycling.

Machka 

The way I'm looking at it is as a 1200K ... with sleep!

I should have about 12 hours between the 200K and 300K, then about 30 hours between the 300K and 400K, then about 24 hours (maybe more depending on how the 400K goes) between the 400K and 600K.

bmike

When you put it that way it makes so much more sense...

(checking calendar now...)

Stallionforce

I've talked to a couple of the local guys that are doing it. Randonee really interests me, but it's going to conflict with some of the local road races, so I'll probably skip it. Should be a great event -- you'll get to meet our local legend Ken Bonner who just set the distance record of >50,000 in one year.

Machka 

You don't have to do all the rides if you don't want ... you can come out and do one or two.

And I've met Ken. He and I have participated in a number of events together and have had the opportunity to chat several times. Not only is he an incredible cyclist ... he's a really nice guy too.

Machka 

Because it is cold and snowy here, without much hope of improvement before the VanIsle event(s), I've signed up for an intense-sounding spinning class in March. Most of the rest of my training will be (and has been) on my trainer at home. I'm hoping to be able to get outside a few times, but I'm not holding my breath. A look at the 2-week forecast tells me it is going to just keep snowing for almost 2 weeks straight ... and the road crews in this city don't seem to know how to clear roads.

vik 

Does anyone worry about the possibility of getting injured coming from a (most likely) low mileage winter season to a week totaling 1500k?

Machka 

Not if your bicycle is set up correctly and you don't plan to "race" the 1500K.

One of the things I'm doing with my bicycle right now (as I have it on the trainer) is fussing with minute adjustments. I'm much more inclined to do that when my bicycle is on a trainer, rather than when I'm riding outside, so I figure this is a perfect opportunity to get it exactly right.

And I'm planning to go easy out there. I won't be setting any record times ... I'll probably be coming in pretty close to the cut-off times for most of the rides. But that's OK. I'm mainly doing this for enjoyment. I've never been to Vancouver Island ... I've always wanted to go and I've wanted to cycle it for YEARS. I think it will be beautiful, and will likely be a lot warmer and greener than Alberta at that time. It'll be a nice break from work and winter.

spokenword

You'll get beautiful, warmer and greener. Though, I don't know how much of a break from winter it'll be. If Ken routes you all up into the interior, you're still likely to see a decent amount of frost and ice in the higher elevations. I used to camp in Strathcona when I was a teenager and there was no lack of snow around there.

All the same, like you, I'd love a chance to ride the island, as well. Sounds like it would be a fun week.

Machka 

Right now I've got a foot more snow than the photos below, the current temp is -26C with a windchill factor of -39C.

Almost anything nicer than that will be a break from winter!! And this little cycling adventure takes place in early April, so I'm hoping it is sort of spring-like there.
.

teamcompi

I too live in the great white north...and spend about 5 hours a week doing spinervals, seems like its not near enough to do a rando series ....right off the bat. How do you do your winter training?

Machka 

You should see my post in the training forum!

Usually I do at least one century each month (often more), and I did that last year, so late December was my last century. I ride my trainer regularly and try to ride outside whenever I can. In addition to that I cross train - run, walk, swim, weightlift ... and I used to do winter sports before I moved to Alberta.

This January I didn't ride a century, but I am aiming to do a trainer metric this coming weekend, and a couple trainer centuries (or outside if the weather ever clears up) next month. I've signed up for spinning classes for March too ... to work on my speed.

It helps a bit that I've done ultra distance cycling for nearly 7 years. You don't lose your endurance as fast as you lose speed and strength.

And when I get there, I'll take it as it comes. Just one ride at a time. If it happens I don't finish one, that's OK ... I'm aiming to have fun doing them.

Jellyroll

I think itīs bit too early of the season to do sutch a long ride. Unless you have a super basic fitness and lot of miles in your legs. It can take weeks to recover, and the time of recovery is off from the most important time of the year to get miles in your legs.
In think one should build a fitness by bit by bit and be carefull not to over do it. Especially if you have a special goal like PBP later of the season. About three week before you main goal that would be a good preparation. A few week rest after that and you are flying.
I do not know much about long distance riding but my experience from the racing cycling says that rushing in the spring can ruin your later season.

Some other year maybe, but not the year of PBP

Machka 

Your post shows that you don't know much about long distance riding.

Randonneuring events aren't races ... most of us don't ride them all out, we relax and ride, much like anyone would do while getting base miles. Plus most long distance riders do have super basic fitness and lots of miles in our legs ... and we maintain that throughout the year. Also, if we built up really gradually, we'd never do the brevet series at all.

Here in Canada, especially in the PBP year, our brevet series starts in mid-April with our 200K, and the full series (200K, 300K, 400K, and 600K) has to be finished by mid-June in order to qualify for the PBP. Most of us will ride a brevet on just about every weekend in that time. There's nothing really gradual, or bit-by-bit, about riding a 200K on April 21st, a 200K on May 5th, a 300K on May 12, a 400K on June 2nd, and a 600K on June 9th ... which is my other option, and which I may do as well.

It has never taken me weeks to recover from a 1200K ... just a few days or maybe a week usually, and I'm often riding again within a day or two. For example, two days after the 2003 PBP I did a hilly 130 km ride in England ... and I'm definitely not unique in doing things like that. Another Canadian couple rode the PBP, and then headed off to do a 400K brevet a week or 10 days later. Friends of mine have completed 1200Ks and 1000Ks, and then hopped on their bicycles the next day and cycled a couple hundred kms home, or across the country, or wherever. I can't imagine that 1500K spread out over a week would be much different. My plan is to do the "Eau de Hell" week which ends on April 13th, and then my next ride will either be the 200K on April 21st, if I feel ready for it ... or the 200K on May 5th. I'm not planning to take a lot of time off.

And I'm not sure why, "Some other year maybe, but not the year of PBP". Is there something "special" about the PBP year? I do a 1200K every year. The PBP is just one of many.


Evidently Marathon running takes a lot out of a person. I've heard they can take months to recover ... but long distance cycling isn't all that taxing.

spokenword

Marathon running can be like long distance cycling. Get fit enough and get a good baseline and you can do things like run 48 marathons in 47 days. The human body is an amazing machine and it's quite adaptable.

Machka 

That's true ... good point.

And you are absolutely right that the human body is an amazing machine and quite adaptable. More so than most people think. I remember working up toward my first century and thinking that a century was close to the human limit ... and then I heard about double centuries and figured that the rider must be practically dead by the end of them. But after I did my first double, and felt fine when I finished it, my eyes were opened and I realized that I, and most other cyclists, could conceivably do so much more!! That's one of the reasons I love randonneuring ... it's my chance to push the limits a little.


Even so, the people who run marathons, and especially 48 marathons in 47 days, are amazing to me!! I run half an hour and I'm pretty much finished!!

Jellyroll

I undersand that event like that is not a problem for the people who have a background like you, but think Average Joe like me.

I just meant that year of PBP is not best time to do an experiment. For my opinion there is a risk to jump straight from the skies to the bicycle and ride 1200k. I have read lot of stories about swollen knees and ankles after PBP. On the august people should be in best shape and that still happens. I think the risk of injury is bigger on April when your body is not used for long rides. Any other year, the knee trouble or any other strain injury, witch keep you away from the bike several weeks, would not worrying.


I know itīs not a race and you relax and ride, but there is allways risk to do too much too soon even if pace is slow. With strong willpower pepole can push theyself too much and pay the price later on. No one wants to quit a brevet.
I also try to keep myself in a good shape during the winter. But the weather conditions keep me away from long rides. Most of my training sessions takes 1-3 hours. Mountain biking, indoor rowing, and gym. When Iīm back on the road I think I need least three week to adapt my body for longer rides. I think we have very similar weather conditions here in Finland like you have there in Canada. I usually be back on the road on late of the March. So for me early of April is too early.
But I am planning to do somekind of "hell week" about 3-4 weeks before PBP. The plan is to do 300-200-300-200 km in four days. On that time of the year my body should be ready for that. After that a few week (active)rest and I should be ready for PBP.

Sorry my limited english. Itīs difficult to express myself clear in a foreign language. Hope you understand what i mean.

danimal123

Actually, you're kind of lucky....our series is done by April 14, which means we need to find rides and stay in shape for four months after that last 600K. It's nice to get them out of the way, definitely, but I imagine it'll be a long four months trying to stay "in tune." That, and it gets pretty darn hot/humid by June, so that throws another wrench in the works. Ain't this fun?

TruckerMike

All offseason issues aside Machka, I can say that the rides will be purrrdy. I grew up in that area and folks live just a few km's from the start line. Lots of rolling country roads. I did some of my shakedown testing of my Ciclo on those Cowichan Valley roads over xmas break, and it was sublime. So, you'll have something to look around at while in the saddle. I may do the first day event depending on my schedule.

Machka 

Well, the Eau de Hell week isn't for the Average Joe. The link I posted in my first post says this: "--> It is recommended that only experienced randonneurs attempt to complete the full compact brevet series."


First, I don't see the PBP as any different than any of the other 1200Ks I do in the years between the PBPs. In fact, it is probably easier than some of them. When I rode the Great Southern Randonnee (1200K) in Australia in 2004, I rode a 1000K randonnee a couple months before. I'd never ridden both a 1000K and a 1200K in the same year before, so I guess you could say that was an experiment too. There's nothing wrong with experimenting with rides.

Second, I'm not jumping straight from skis to the bicycle to ride a 1200K. I keep riding year round, and long distances year round ... I haven't touched my skis in 3 years. And the "Eau de Hell" week isn't a 1200K ... it's a very relaxed 1500K.

Third, yes lots of people have swollen knees and ankles after the PBP ... that's normal. It's normal for any ultra distance ride. However it isn't a bad thing or an indication that there has been an injury ... it's a hydration thing. What happens is that most of us ride slightly dehydrated, so the body is triggered to store any excess liquid in the tissues just in case it might need it. While we're riding there isn't much in the way of excess liquid, but as soon as we finish the ride, we usually drink quite a bit and so the body stores it ... and we end up with swollen ankles. Usually about 3 days later we pee like crazy all day, and everything returns to normal.


We probably do have similar weather conditions, but maybe mine are somewhat better. I try to ride year round, and in 2003, 2005, and 2006 I rode a century a month, no matter what the weather conditions. I've decided not to do that this year because I might not have regular access to my bicycles starting in September, but I'm still riding long distances. I'll be doing a metric century this weekend ... either inside or outside or a combination of the two depending on the road conditions. I've got two centuries planned in March with the same conditions - inside or outside or a combination of the two depending on road conditions.

Personally I wouldn't do a 1500 km hell week, like the "Eau de Hell" week, 3-4 weeks before the PBP. To me that would be risky. However, I am planning to do a hell week (or part of one) similar to the one you describe about a month before the PBP.

And I've been doing these things long enough to know when to pull the plug on a ride if necessary. I've DNF'd several Randonneuring events when I've come to the decision that it would be unwise to continue ... usually it has had to do with dramatically horrible weather conditions (see the story of the 600K in 2005 on my website), or when I've been very sick, like I was on the BMB. Believe me, if I start experiencing trouble out there, I'll assess the situation and make a decision of what would be in my best interest.


No problem ... your English is actually very good.

Machka 

In 2003, after I finished my series in early-June, there were no more rides on the schedule until the PBP in late August, so I had a similar (although shorter) dilemma as you have. I did several things which might be ideas for you too, and I am actually going to post them in a separate thread because we might all be able to exchange ideas.

Machka 

THAT is the main thing I'm looking forward too ... the scenery!!! And if a few green leaves and flowers get thrown into the mix, all the better!!

Let me know if you'll be there for the 200K ... it would be nice to meet another forumite.

claire

Machka, if I were living closer to Canada, I think I would consider doing it... Looks awesome...