Well - here goes! Best wishes to ALL competitors this weekend - be it Ring of Fire or Hoodoo or something else. I've been hearing a lot of chatter about ROF this year - a lot of new folks - and a lot of folks who are challenging themselves to go further or faster than they've gone before. Hopefully just the right amount of pressure to keep everyone on their toes and at their best!
Folks I'm looking forward to seeing - gosh, EVERYONE! - but especially some folks who are traveling quite a ways to get here and race for their first time - Lew, Chris, and Brian.
Brian already stopped by Bike Friday on his way up to Eugene. He's looking great - the summer of training has put him in a really good place, I'd say! - and he seems relaxed and ready. He's doing a 2-person team with Mark B., who's done more crazy things already this summer than one can count - and that's just the ones I know about.
Everyone else, I'll see tomorrow - unless I get to Maupin after you're in bed, which will be the case if you're smart (hint!).
I'm feeling pretty calm. I know that I've got a big job to do - 168 miles is going to be a tough one, but I'm putting that number up on the wall and shooting at or above it. I'm looking at this race as a good indicator of how far I've come on a racing recumbent since Lewis and Clark, waaaaaaay back in May, and how far I have to go to get ready for RAAM, a mere 9 months from now (aaaack!)
I've talked to some folks who are way more nervous than I am - but in some ways probably far better prepared. Chalk it up to experience? Or maybe the Race Across Oregon endorphins haven't quite faded, yet? Or maybe because it's "just" a 12-hour race I'm not as mentally daunted...but on the other hand most of my problems in RAO came in the first 12 hours. Suffice it to say that Robert will have his hands full, crewing.
The weather looks good - as close to perfect as one could imagine. We might even get a mile or two of tailwind!
After my 12 hours is up, look for me at the start/finish. I'll be the tired-looking woman handing out York Peppermint Patties...and quite possibly sipping sake (but you can't have any of that 'till you're done racing).
In the end, Ring of fire is a "sink or swim" race - hopefully no one ends up as shark bait:
Here's to a safe passage through the Ring of Fire.....
Tailwinds,
Sandy
Showing posts with label Ring of Fire. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ring of Fire. Show all posts
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Maupin ho!
I conquered Maupin this weekend. I've been trying to contain the "bents cant climb" hysteria. Really, truly, last weekend's ride SHOULD have been plenty for me to go with on this - but I decided that I had to see for myself that I'd not be facing the Worst Case Scenario of recumbent self-pity - a cold start from a dead stop, heading up a steep hill that gets quite a bit steeper just before you get out of sight of the start line - and having to get off and walk the last 50 feet of it.
Long story short, I made it around the Maupin loop TWICE without even remotely approaching the Walk of Shame. The town was buzzin' with the rafting crowd, big buses and vans pulling trailers, etc - good reminder that these folks will also be out during the latter part of the race.
The weather was pleasantly hot (ok, it was hot) - another good reason for a race simulation - so I was able to make good use of the new race bag on my bike - it holds the water bottles where they're easy to get to.
Climbing speed was adequate. Not quite as fast as the Fuji, but overall I'd say not enough slower that repeated bike changes would work out as an advantage, at least over the distances I was climbing last weekend.
For those who must know - i.e. anyone who's signed up for Ring of Fire, you'll be gratified to know that we'll not have to suffer the indignity of a Race Across Oregon event without the benefit of fresh chipseal. Highway 216 (at least the eastbound portion) has all been freshly "sealed" - so no worries about excessive speed (okay, maybe in the corner before the guardrail...) - the road surface will absorb all that energy for you.
My out-there goal is 168 miles in 12 hours. That's a day loop, 2 short loops, and 4 "bonus" miles. That would be 14 mph, and about 13000' of climbing. Energy output estimate: 7200 kcal, or 600 kcal/hour. That compares to roughly 550 kcal/hour output during the 47:43 effort at Race Across Oregon this year.
The difference? I'll be ALL BENT, which is more efficient on level or downhill grades, so I'll not expend as many kcal/mile. And there ARE some level and downhill grades in Ring of Fire. Hopefully not all of them will have wicked headwinds - though I noted with amusement that during my trial I was riding into the wind for 20 of the 26 miles on the loop.
Long story short, I made it around the Maupin loop TWICE without even remotely approaching the Walk of Shame. The town was buzzin' with the rafting crowd, big buses and vans pulling trailers, etc - good reminder that these folks will also be out during the latter part of the race.
The weather was pleasantly hot (ok, it was hot) - another good reason for a race simulation - so I was able to make good use of the new race bag on my bike - it holds the water bottles where they're easy to get to.
Climbing speed was adequate. Not quite as fast as the Fuji, but overall I'd say not enough slower that repeated bike changes would work out as an advantage, at least over the distances I was climbing last weekend.
For those who must know - i.e. anyone who's signed up for Ring of Fire, you'll be gratified to know that we'll not have to suffer the indignity of a Race Across Oregon event without the benefit of fresh chipseal. Highway 216 (at least the eastbound portion) has all been freshly "sealed" - so no worries about excessive speed (okay, maybe in the corner before the guardrail...) - the road surface will absorb all that energy for you.
My out-there goal is 168 miles in 12 hours. That's a day loop, 2 short loops, and 4 "bonus" miles. That would be 14 mph, and about 13000' of climbing. Energy output estimate: 7200 kcal, or 600 kcal/hour. That compares to roughly 550 kcal/hour output during the 47:43 effort at Race Across Oregon this year.
The difference? I'll be ALL BENT, which is more efficient on level or downhill grades, so I'll not expend as many kcal/mile. And there ARE some level and downhill grades in Ring of Fire. Hopefully not all of them will have wicked headwinds - though I noted with amusement that during my trial I was riding into the wind for 20 of the 26 miles on the loop.
Publish Post
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Excelsior!
This weekend, I got over the "recumbent climbing thing". I may not be quite as fast as I am on the upright - yet - but it's not bad. I survived 50 miles in the West Hills with Dr. Chris "The Face Of Death is Pink" Young - we climbed everything that presented itself. He'd advertised it as a 1/10th-scale Race Across Oregon - 50 miles, 4600' of climb. It bore a certain resemblance - I never once got to an intersection and had to question which way we were turning - it was the way that went...up. Thanks, Chris!
Sunday, I went to Hood River and faced down the RAO finish line - rode from Hood River up to Parkdale, then up to Cooper Spur and up Cloudcap road to the RAO finish. Crept around the "Road Closed" sign, kept going. The pavement was even more broken and weird than I remembered it - and I remember the last few hours of RAO as being plenty broken and weird.
When I got there, I just kinda stopped. Looked around. Nothing to see here, really, but it was quiet and I stayed a minute or two anyway. Got chilled, a little, coming down. Had dinner at the Elliot Glacier Public House - a burrito, a glass of stout, and a half a piece of really good apple pie.
This weekend I'll head out to Maupin and double-check my gearing against a couple of the bigger hills in the Ring of Fire timetrial. With a finish at the 12-hour there, I'll be the first woman to complete the Northwest UltraCup - an official finish at all four local ultracycling events in the same year.
Sunday, I went to Hood River and faced down the RAO finish line - rode from Hood River up to Parkdale, then up to Cooper Spur and up Cloudcap road to the RAO finish. Crept around the "Road Closed" sign, kept going. The pavement was even more broken and weird than I remembered it - and I remember the last few hours of RAO as being plenty broken and weird.
When I got there, I just kinda stopped. Looked around. Nothing to see here, really, but it was quiet and I stayed a minute or two anyway. Got chilled, a little, coming down. Had dinner at the Elliot Glacier Public House - a burrito, a glass of stout, and a half a piece of really good apple pie.
This weekend I'll head out to Maupin and double-check my gearing against a couple of the bigger hills in the Ring of Fire timetrial. With a finish at the 12-hour there, I'll be the first woman to complete the Northwest UltraCup - an official finish at all four local ultracycling events in the same year.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
