Fi Spotswood in action at Bristol BikeFest (with bloody knee) Photo thanks to www.photo-it.com
|
Keeping the rhythm going...
Endurance mountain biking is all about finding a sustainable rhythmic pattern to slip inside and wait, safely, patiently and comfortably. During an endurance event there are small patterns like breathing or pedalling and these spiral inside bigger patterns like eating and drinking, hill climbing, descending and even night and day.
In my view, preparation for endurance events is all about maintenance of this rhythm; keeping the pattern alive so it can protect you. That is how I'm planning my trip to approach the Trans Rockies in August. My training is gruelling but needs to be so I can keep those legs pumping, heart beating, breath flowing in and out, up and down those mountains in rhythm for 7 days. My bike and components need to fit into the pattern too. Same goes for food and clothing, hydration and evening routine. No nasty disruptions.
My mountain bike is a 6 month old Giant Anthem 2. It has been described as “an agile ultralight race bike…” “infectiously fast” and a “high velocity race weapon”. You get the picture. But will it stand up to the rocky Rockies? I ride my bikes hard. I ride a lot. But even so, 10 weeks after buying the Giant, shiney and new and smelling of factories and eau de GT85, I was surprised to learn that I had bust the bottom bracket, rear hub and needed the gear cables changed for the third time. This is predominantly from riding around Bristol, the Mendips and Quantocks. How on earth, I thought, will my Giant survive the Rockies?
My local bike shop pondered this with me then said; “That's life”. Aghast, I appealed to one of their mechanics who I knew has ridden the Himalayas. He suggested I replace my broken parts with an upgraded Hope hub, DT Swiss rear wheel and a different bottom bracket with sealed cartridge bearings, far superior to the bike's original ISIS version. (Apparently this system lends itself to easier servicing and is harder wearing). I also plan to upgrade my front hub when that (inevitably) dies a death after some more riding over the' gruelling' Somerset hills - and the odd 12 and 24 hour race I have planned in the next few months.
So I feel pretty confident that my bike, with its new satisfyingly loud-clicking rear wheel, will last the distance. I will carry various lubes, chain links, a spare rear hanger and as many cables and disk pads as I can so that the obvious problems don't interrupt my flow. Punctures are an obvious disruption to the flow. Nevertheless I'm not planning to run tubeless; I don't have the right rims. However I know that with a body weight of just over 10 stone, I can resist snake-bite punctures pretty well at 45psi with medium-weight tubes and a well-loved combination of a Schwalbe Nobbly Nick on the front and Smart Sam on the back. I have also developed a sharp eye for thorns and slivers of flint which grip in between the tyre's nobbles and can pierce and pierce replacement tubes if not tweezed out straight away. Very girly I know, but I keep tweezers in my saddle bag.
In terms of bike comfort I have a tried and tested survival strategy. My first ever race was a 12 hour and I couldn't sit down for a week afterwards, and couldn't hold a pen because my fingers were uncontrollably splayed from nerve damage. (I had a job interview 2 days after the race at a very posh office and when I entered the building the receptionist said “Please sign your name here and take a seat”. To my dismay I had to admit I could do neither!) Now I use flat Ergon bar grips and have a rather fancy Fizik Vitesse ladies specific saddle which is like sitting on air. I also have Assos shorts; extravagant I know but they are essential in this game and far superior to any other shorts I've owned. Sore bits can seriously disrupt anyone's rhythm.
I hate being too hot or cold on a ride and have drawers and drawers full of jerseys and base layers of different thicknesses, materials, makes and colours. I'm fairly restricted in terms of what I can take to the Trans Rockies but don't want to be worrying about my temperature when I should be snuggled deep inside my riding pattern. So I'll be taking my good old short sleeved smelly Helly base layers, Pearl Izumi jerseys and a variety of arm and knee warmers. Whoever invented arm warmers deserves a medal (and I have to say my Minx ones with hearts on are just the business).
Food and hydration?
So I can visualise myself comfortable, steady, pumping my Assos-clad thighs up the hills, leaning on my comfortably flat Ergon grips, knees fleece-covered and torso perfectly temperature-regulated. But what about food and hydration? We all know that feeling of sluggishness with leaden-legs when we've cut corners with our food. Or worse still the tunnel-vision that comes on so quickly when you get dehydrated. It is hard enough to know what your body is doing during a 12 hour race but what about over the course of 7 days?
I'm no expert on nutrition but I have planned my Trans Rockies strategy based on the Trans Wales last summer. As much as I detest the sticky, sweet teeth-rotting aftertaste of some energy drinks, they do the trick. I tend to dilute the powder a little more than is recommended so it doesn't turn me off too much and I'll keep sipping. Camelbaks are the business when it comes to endurance riding and on a long steady ascent I'll stick the tube in between my teeth and just sip steadily to the top, taking a slurp every 5th pedal stroke. Keeping that rhythm going, plus a spare bottle for extra long stages has been a life saver in the past.
Food in the field!
|
I have 2 more nutrition tactics up my sleeve. The first is cheese sandwiches, well any sandwich really. Inevitably I will be necking energy gels a lot. But taking food you really enjoy in addition to these necessary but gloopy snacks is such a treat. I will never forget feeding an exhausted team mate cheese and pickle sandwiches just after dawn on a 26 hour adventure race at the end of the 30 mile over night run. After 8 hours of muesli bars, soreen and energy gels, the salty and savoury flavour was heaven.
My second tactic is protein recovery drink. Having been traditionally unscientific about nutrition I have become a convert. A bottle of Rego or similar made up and drunk very soon after the finish of each day of the Trans Wales meant quick recovery and remarkably little muscle fatigue despite the long days and thigh-screaming climbs. If it worked in Wales I am guessing it will work in Canada!
So after the day-long ride across the beautiful Rocky Mountains, keeping my rhythm going with the right shorts, right nutrition and right bike components I will make sure I have the right home comforts for the evening camp. Having downed my bottle of recovery drink I will stretch and massage my muscles with Natures Kiss: Recovery potion (from www.minx-girl.com) before showing and snuggling into my favourite sweats and chilling out with endless cups of tea and a good old natter. You can take the girl out of England…
Fi will be keeping us updated with her blogs from the Trans Rockies event, in the meantime you can read about the event at www.transrockies.com
TransRockies Challenge
A maximum of 350 amateur and pro teams are expected to grind their way back and forth over the Continental Divide while bouncing, grunting and pedaling through over 550 kilometres of wilderness trails, all part of the TransRockies Challenge. It will be a test of physical endurance and mental determination for mountain bike enthusiasts from all over the planet.
The TransRockies Challenge offers 6 categories: Open Men, Open Women, Open Mixed, 80+ Men (combined age of team over 80), 80+ Mixed, and 100 + Open Gender. The minimum age for participation is 18. The riders of each team must remain together at all times during the race. If at any point, riders separate by more than two minutes, the team will receive a penalty.
Ruth M
