D.C. Tips / 4
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Gearing
It’s difficult to make hard-and-fast gearing
recommendations for Desert Camp because so many factors are involved. You and
the next rider may need different high and low gears because you differ in
strength, fitness, preferred cadence and climbing style, among other things.
So while you may do fine on the Arizona climbs
with a low gear of 39x23-teeth, an equally strong, fit and experienced cyclist
who likes to climb at a higher cadence might want a 39x27. Those who
have a triple crankset might shift to the 30-tooth ring and spin happily.
It's similar for high gears. A 53x12 is
standard. Most riders will never use it on the flat when it’s calm, but with a
substantial tailwind they may be fanning the 12 and wishing for an 11. Others
may prefer to use a 13 and spin a high cadence.
We usually ride our
Bike Fridays at Camp.
The 20-inch wheels require much bigger chainrings to achieve the same gearing
that's on conventional bikes with 700C wheels.
The first Bike Friday that Fred owned had a
high of only 89 gear inches (58x13). That’s equivalent to a 53x16 on a
standard bike. Fred was spun out on the downhills, spun out in tailwinds and
spun out in pacelines. Trying to keep up, his legs blurred like a
hummingbird’s wings.
Fred’s new Bike Friday, a Pocket Rocket Pro,
has a high gear of 60x11 (109 gear inches), equivalent to a 53x13 on a 700C
bike. Much better!
With this as a background, here are some
gearing recommendations for a mythical "standard" rider, defined as a person
who can ride a century in about 6-6:30 and climbs steadily but not fast.
Extrapolate from this to find your own best gearing.
Low gear: Double chainrings with a
39-tooth inner ring coupled with a cassette of 12-25 or 27 will probably be
sufficient for everything but the Mount Graham option on the Week 3 Mountain
Tour. For that 21-mile climb to over 10,000 feet, you’ll do best with a triple
and a low gear of 30x27-teeth.
High gear: A standard 53x12 will be fine
for descents and strong tailwinds. If you do spin out occasionally, coast and enjoy
the ride!
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Climbing
Desert Camp puts you on an assortment of great climbs.
If you're coming to Arizona from the flatlands,
you'll love the long, curving ascents (and their accompanying downhills). If
you've spent the winter riding the flat and endless indoor road to nowhere,
vertical Sonoran Desert scenery can't be topped.
Long climbs include the stair-stepped ascent between Tucson and Sonoita, the
ever-steepening rise to Coronado National Monument, historic Mule Pass that's
completely different from each side and, in Week 3, the climb over and back to
the prison at Bonita, fondly called "The Hammer to the Slammer."
And if you're so inclined (sorry) on Week 3, there's the long and steep
21-mile grind up Mt. Graham, an optional challenge on the way to Safford.
The Arizona desert abounds in short, steep grunts, too, notably the
quadbusters going through Fort Huachuca near Sierra Vista and the roller
coasters in Tucson's Saguaro National Monument.
Here are some tips to help you have fun when the road tilts up:
On short, steep climbs, it's tempting to
leave it in the big ring, take advantage of your momentum, and power over
the crest. Don't do it. Repeated redline efforts like that will strain your
knees and load your muscles with lactate. (Well, a couple of times probably
won't hurt, but remember that Camp is a long haul. Learn to love the small
ring.)
On longer climbs, gear down, keep your cadence at 80-90 rpm and spin.
There's no rush. Pushing hard, especially early in the week, may lead to
knee problems or premature fatigue.
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Pace yourself. It's a long week,
especially if you're doing Week 3's Mountain Tour or joining us for the
centuries in Week 4. Climbing has a cumulative effect. The snap you drain
from your legs on Day 1 isn't likely to come back during repeated days of
hard efforts. Think in terms of a week's climbing, not just one day's.
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Don't go anaerobic. Pros like to say
they "only have so many matches to burn." By this they mean that they can go
hard a fairly finite number of times in a race -- making or following
attacks, jamming hills or sprinting. If the last flame flickers out, they're
smoked. So keep your efforts below self-immolation. Use a heart monitor or
your sense of perceived exertion to hold a few matches in reserve.
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Alternate sitting and standing. You
probably have a preferred climbing style, and it's most likely seated. But
standing occasionally works different muscles and loosens your back. It
gives your butt an important break from saddle pressure, too.
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Move on the saddle. When you're
climbing seated, ride for 20-30 strokes in your normal position in the
middle of the saddle. Then slide to the rear for another 30 strokes. Then
slide to the nose for 30 more. Alternating positions works muscles in
different ways and increases long-haul comfort.
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Find shelter in headwinds. Drafting
can help a lot when the wind is pouring down an Arizona hillside. Don't
fight gravity and the gale by yourself.
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Designated Weenie Days
When we rode the PAC Tour
Northern Transcontinental Route in 1993, we hammered hard for at
least part of every day, averaging 19.5 mph for the 24-day, 3,400-mile
crossing. We were fried by the end of that epic.
But other guys on the tour
did it differently and finished fresher. They would ride at our pace for
several days, then they’d disappear abruptly from the front group.
They were taking what they
called a “designated weenie day.” They agreed before rolling out in the
morning that they’d
ride easily and not rush through rest stops. Like a rest day during a hard
training week, a DWD allowed them to recover even on a tour that averaged 140
miles a day with no days off.
That was a good lesson.
Now, we always have at least one self-imposed DWD at Desert Camp. You might
want to include one, too.
A DWD helps because Camp
mileage is nearly always much greater than your average weekly mileage at
home. Fred, for example, usually rides about 150 miles a week leading up to
Camp. But this year at Week 4’s Century Week, he’ll do around 700 miles.
That’s a tough jump, and a DWD helps the body adapt.
Last year our DWD was on the
68-mile ride from Douglas to Sierra Vista via Bisbee, an old mining town
reborn with quaint stores and art galleries. But Bisbee’s biggest attraction
for Campers is a coffee shop with killer pastries. So we noodled up from
Douglas, enjoyed muffins and a cuppa joe, then climbed slowly out of town over
Mule Pass. Actually, slowly was the only choice we had -- those muffins are
big!
We rolled into Tombstone for
lunch, then strolled around the OK Corral and browsed in shops that sell
rubber tomahawks, various relics of the gunfight and real tarantulas preserved
in plastic paperweights. The final 20 miles to Sierra Vista took us almost 90
minutes -- a perfect DWD pace. Average speed for the day: 17 mph. Dead
tarantulas might have beaten us.
Here are four DWD guidelines:
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Go slow. Average
about 2 mph slower than you could. If you do most camp days at an average of
17 mph, shoot for 14 or 15. That doesn’t sound like it’s appreciably slower,
but you’ll be astounded at the difference.
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Spin. Never, ever
use a big gear and low cadence. Use the small chainring and keep that
cadence around 90 rpm to save your legs. If you feel much pedal pressure,
shift lower.
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Resist temptation. A
DWD is easy to schedule but tough to pull off. You start with good
intentions but end up in a group that’s going just a bit harder than you
want. Find a couple of like-minded companions and make a pact to go slow and
smell the cactus flowers. When the paceline rolls by, bid it adieu and know
you’ll be fresh to hammer again tomorrow.
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Eat and drink. It’s
impossible to eat enough to
replenish each day’s consumed glycogen (muscle fuel) when you’re going hard.
But an easy day allows your fuel tank to fill up -- if you eat enough. So
keep munching even though you’re riding slower. The same goes for the
ongoing battle to remain hydrated
in the desert. (Allow yourself a cup of the house blend in Bisbee --
diuretic effects notwithstanding -- for a treat.)
Remember, at Desert Camp you
always need to eat and drink for tomorrow.
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