Hell Week Wrap

The morning rain and amazingly powerful winds kept me off the bike on the final official day of Hell Week 2010. The winds are steady at 20-30 mph with gusts above 40 mph making it to unsafe in my mind to go out and attempt a ride.

All in all I'm very pleased with Hell Week. I set a very lofty goal for myself coming into the week (850 miles) and while I did not reach the goal I did complete an amazing amount of mileage in a single week. I felt a lot better than I expected and had strength for climbs and attacks that I never anticipated. Even in the closing miles of our longest days I still had the energy to sprint and snap up the steep hills coming into town, which showed a great improvement throughout the week. Also of note, my heart rate improved dramatically throughout the week and I found myself able to summit long ascents without sky rocketing my heart rate. This proved very useful and also let me know my fitness was improving by the day.

Finally, the Ridley Damocles frame set was amazing over the full week. The geometry was sharp without being nervous and it responded very well on all of the climbs. The carbon also provided enough damping to keep me fresh throughout the week, but never felt flexible or weak when I needed to put down power. The roads here are primarily chip & seal and would normally prove tough on hands and arms, but instead I came off the bike feeling good each day. The Bontrager wheels and Tufo S33 tires also worked great and held up perfectly over rough roads, cattle guards and every variety of road hazard you can imagine.

I am looking forward to the rest of my 2010 cycling year and hope to have a strong season on the bike.

Totals:
Mileage: 638.61 miles
Elevation Gain: 36,469 feet
Saddle Time: 36 hours, 53 minutes
Calories: 34,876 (according to Garmin)

Hell Week Day 6 - Windows on Doss

Distance: 108.67 miles
Time: 6:16:16
Elevation Gain: 6,459 ft

For the day's ride we joined back up with the main group and completed the longest ride of Hell Week short of the self supported Brevets taking place on Tuesday (200k) and Friday (300k). Windows on Doss also happened to take in the most elevation gain of the week at just shy of 6,500 feet of climbing.

We started with the pack and enjoyed letting them split the wind for a good while until, as usual, fewer and fewer folks were willing to assist. Before long you could almost hear them chanting: "Don't pass the tandem, don't pass the tandem". Since the tandem can carry so much speed on a descent or flat, people simply pile in behind them, never offer to pull and slog up hills in their draft waiting for the drop on the other side. Instead, we plowed past and picked up a few cling-ons in the process. After stopping to pee and regroup we slowly caught more groups of people on the tough climbs (Welgehausen Rd) before overtaking the lead pack.

As always, once we'd caught them they let us do all the work... Tom put in a big effort on a winding road and came upon the perfect storm: Narrow road, cattle guard, one lane water crossing and a slow rider and a dualie towing a trailer coming in the opposite direction. Tom, Gary and a cling-on attacked and made the gap, I grabbed brakes with everyone else and parked behind the slower rider while the truck passed us as we crossed the narrow cattle guard... the break launched and I had to put in an effort to close the gap. The timing was great and made for great stories later.

Going down 648 we hit a massive climb and I tempo'd to the top with Tom and another guy. Down the descent on the other side I checked my six and saw no one cresting behind us, so I worked with Tom for the duration of Lange's Mill & 783 (~6 miles) to build a massive lead and leave the cling-ons well in the dust. That was the first of three major efforts for the day, and when we pulled into the store in Doss it felt as though I had bee stings in my calves!

Effort number two came a bit later in the ride as we made a run down Bear Creek Rd (mile 73) and sustained a major effort for ~2.5 miles, keeping my heart rate above 180 bpm and dropping my main protagonist in the process. Tom, Chuck and Gary hung back just enough to leave said protagonist (a guy we found on the road who more or less never pulled) hanging in the void. It was a nice touch.

Late in the ride, in the final 5 miles, I put in my final effort on Goehman Street leading back into Fredericksburg. I cranked it up and maintained 180bpm plus in an attempt to drop a cling-on. I did most of the road in the small chain ring because of the sharp ascents, but eventually went to the big ring and opened up a gap. Again, it was a lot of fun and a great way to end a long ride.

Hell Week Day 7 -->

Hell Week Day 5 - Comfort Zone 2.0

Distance: 91.63 mi
Elevation Gain: 5,912 ft
Speed: 16.8 mph

After a good night's sleep and a rest day as a result of thunderstorms it was good to get back on the bike for some long miles on tough roads. The day started easy and Gary and I sat upfront for awhile chatting and pedaling along some beautiful rolling hills. The farm country out here is just beautiful and makes the miles that much more enjoyable. IT also makes the heinous climbs more bearable when you have a view of several gorgeous valleys after slogging up an ascent and nearly blacking out...

Truth be told, while today's climbs were tough they were not quite as hard as Tour das Hugel back in November. Some tough hills lead up to Skyline, and Skyline itself had a nice steady ascent (12%) followed by some undulations, then a bottomless descent followed by another horrifically steep climb (17%). The whole road was covered in loose gravel, a bit like they'd tried to do chip & seal without the seal.

Gary's Independent Fabrication tried to eat its chain just before the second climb so Tom and I stopped to assist. A quick fix but we all doubled back for a little momentum before we attempted the climb. Following was another steep descent... I dragged the brakes for fear of loose gravel and still nearly hit 50mph. Gary went gonzo and hit 52 or 53mph.

The rest of the ride was just as memorable. We stopped for fluids in a convenience store and dance hall in Welfare, TX then dealt with some more fun climbs heading toward a bat cave. Horse farms, rolling hills, a few steep ascents and a headwind marked the miles. It truly is beautiful in this area of Texas, and nothing like the rest of this flat, lame state. Well, I should ride in East Texas before I pass judgment, and we can ride 11 months out of the year so I really need to not complain.

I feel pretty good following the ride and look forward to tomorrow's route.

Hell Week Day 6 -->

Hell Week Day 3 - Mountain Home & Away

Distance: 105.43 miles
Time: 6:16.26
Speed: 16.8

Wow, what a day! We had a great ride today but only after suffering through some oddly cold temperatures, wind, very little sun and plenty of wind. Weather Channel says 9 mph but the flags were whipped up into a frenzy so I don't buy it.

I slept great last night and woke up this morning feeling very fresh. It took some trial and error to figure out my layers but ended up wearing my jacket and being glad that I had as the wind and cold were biting deep. Tom and Dave left early to grab some knee warmers next door so Gary and I lead the group out of the Sunset Inn, then pulled off with Alan and Chuck at Upper Live Oak to muster the troops. As we waited I enjoyed watching what seemed like an endless stream of cyclists come down the hill from Live Oak and make the turn. Eventually, at the rear of the field, Tom & Dave rolled through and we joined for what would be an excellent ride.

Six of us (Tom, Dave, Gary, Alan, Chuck & me) rolled together for the entire ride. Chuck fell back a few times but only because he set a temp for himself that he held on not only the flats and descents, but also the steep climbs. Sitting behind him on the steep climbs, and watching him roll into the horizon, was a clinic on how to ascend. A smooth tempo, steady upper body and fluid pedal circles saw Chuck fly up some very difficult climbs. I was impressed, learned what I could from watching, then spoke with him after the toughest climbs of the day.

By and large I tried to stay steady and not burn myself out. I did get sucked into a couple hard efforts but enjoyed sitting back and taking in the miles. Route 27 was a terrific road with plenty of rollers and some nice climbs as well as descents. In Ingram we met Bryce and (?) from Austin and our party became eight riders. They were good company as well and helped push the pace a little on the tough climbs. Outside of Ingram we got on Freedom Trail and Bear Creek for intense climbing. I dropped back a bit from the group here as I was conserving strength for later in the ride. In the end, I'm glad I did. Coming out of Kerrville we had to ascend the wall that was McCullough Drive (15%) and reminded me of Hugel back in November.

After McCullough we rolled easy for some miles pulling everyone back together before, as usual, the hostilities started. It was probably my fault more than anything else, but we started hitting it hard into the head wind. We encountered some steep climbs and I depended on my power and high cadence to rip to the top of the hill and recover before continuing a good pull into the wind, or giving way and taking a rest. This continued for about 8 to 10 miles before we settled and gave in to resting a bit on the way in to Fredericksburg.

Gary and I did sprint for the sign at Fredericksburg but he beat me handily on the uphill, into the wind sprint. I should have drafted a bit longer...

What a day. I felt great at the end of the day and really had a blast. I'm sore, I'm tired but I'm also really excited and still on an endorphin rush. With luck I'll wind down tonight and get another great night's sleep. We're expecting rain (thunderstorms) tonight and tomorrow morning so we may not ride until close to noon tomorrow, which would also mean a shorter route. A little extra rest will be very nice after today's effort.

Hell Week Day 4 -->

Hell Week Day 1 - Going to Camp (Verde)

Distance: 93 miles
Time: 5:01:01
Speed: 18.8 mph

Today was the opening day of Texas Hell Week 2010. We had beautiful weather, great roads, excellent company and a very good day on the road. You can find map and route data at Garmin Connect.

I felt great today and had an excellent ride. This morning I met up with Tom, Allen, Dave and Gary at the EconoLodge and then headed over to the Sunset Inn for the official start. We rolled everyone out as a single group and then split the ride later on depending on what route folks wanted to travel.

Today's A Route headed south to Camp Verde and Center Point with rollers on the way down and some very difficult Tour das Hugel -esque roads on the way back to Fredericksburg. We kept a good pace the entire ride and Tom spent a lot of time pushing hard to try and drop many riders and break up the pack. It worked. While a few riders did get away ahead of us we are pretty sure they will not be around all week... there were a lot of riders here for only opening weekend so picking the right wheel to follow was critical on opening day.

I felt very good all ride and only towards the end started to get a slight headache. I may need to hydrate more in the days ahead but I felt as though my hydration and eating schedule were working well for me. Still, it may help to pull in some additional electrolytes and carbohydrates. To do so I may supplement my normal ride diet of Fig Newtons with additional Clif Blocks. While I had the Clif Blocks with me today I did not start eating those until the end, when I was out of Newtons.

Not much else to report aside from beautiful weather, excellent roads and great company. I'm looking forward to the week ahead! Based on the ride schedule for this week I will need to adjust my goal mileage down a little bit. I will not have access to the 200k route(s) I thought I would (no maps provided) so I'm shooting now for around 800 miles. Many of this week's ride fall just shy of a full century. No worries, the elevation gain and steep climbs more than make up for the extra miles!

Hell Week Day 2 -->

Tour das Hugel

100 Miles of Austin’s Most Painful Hills




A little over 400 cyclists started Tour das Hugel 2009 from Zilker Park, but less than half of them would finish the entire 110 mile event. Those that did manage to finish could go home feeling proud of their accomplishment, as TdH took in the steepest and tallest hills in Austin, TX. Here is a short list of some of the steeper roads and grades of each ascent...


Westlake Dr. to Top of 360 3-4%
360 Bridge Base up to Westlake Dr. 5-6%
Bee Caves Hills (2244) 5-6%
Oasis Bluff Dr. 7-10%
360 Hill going up to 2244 Exit 6-7%
McNeil Drive (Backside near Old Spicewood) 10%
Comanche Trail (First leg) 3-15%
Comanche Trail (Second leg) 3-15%
Toro Canyon Dr. 7-12%
Westlake Dr. 7-10%
2222 Hill to 620 10%
Red Bud Trail 10-17%
Far West Blvd. (Backside) 13%
Bluegrass Dr. 10-15%
Lost Creek Blvd. 10-15%
Courtyard Drive 10-19%
15% first leg, 10% second leg, 19% last leg
Bullick Hollow from Oasis Bluff to 620 15%
Jester Blvd. 15%
Beauford Dr. 15-19%

The beautiful scenery and weather definitely helped get us through the event; there were many times the climbs lead to gorgeous overlooks that were spoiled only by the now sprawling neighborhoods that are taking over the central Texas hill country.




The first portion of TdH was a 38 mile loop that took in the first few difficult climbs…
Loop 360 - 6 miles
Westlake - 8
Toro Canyon - 10
The High Rd - 12
Terrace Mtn - 16
River Hills - 26
Barton Creek - 29
Lost Creek - 34
Zilker Park - 38 miles

…before returning to Zilker Park for a resupply before starting lap two. Many of the riders who went out on a fast pace for the first lap were finished and did not even attempt to start the second lap. Going out on lap two we were faced with the following climbs:



Mt. Bonnell - 5 miles
Mesa - 7
Smokey Valley - 11
Blue Grass - 15
Beauford - 22
Courtyard - 24
River Place - 30
Bullick Hollow - 36
Mansfield Dam - 40
620 - 43
Big View - 52
Jester - 56
Loop 360 - 65
Finish at Zilker Park - 71 miles (110 total)

This was, easily, the most pain and suffering I have ever experience on a bicycle. While I would have loved to have spun my way up many of the climbs, my cadence fell below 65rpm on numerous climbs and it required all of my strength to keep pulling through. Add to that a heart rate spiking to 200bpm and many of the climbs that leveled briefly from 15% to a 10% grade felt like rests. In the end I completed the entire ride without ever having to walk the bike or stop in the middle of a climb. Given the number of people that did have to walk up many of the steepest ascents, I feel proud to have completed Hugel in the clips! It hurt, I felt pain in muscles I didn’t know existed, but the sense of accomplishment at the finish was phenomenal.