Qualifying ride write-up Dan Hansen Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
November 10, 2007 –* Day 1*
Stock Coker, Viscount saddle, Dingman handle, 89 mm crankarms, 45 psi
Despite looming rain/snow clouds, blustery conditions and cold
temperatures (hovering just above freezing), this morning I drove to a
19 - 19.5 km bike/ped path loop that is a part of the Cedar Lake –
Kenilworth Trail. This trail is characterized by mainly flat terrain
with several gentle rolling bits, curves and long straight-aways. It
passes through the cities of Minneapolis, St. Louis Park and Hopkins.
The bulk of the trail is within St. Louis Park so I will heretofore
refer to it as the SLP loop.
I chose this path for several reasons but mainly so that I could get
some baseline information about the decay my average speed, over a
repeatable distance, over the course of several hours of exertion. I
wanted each lap to be separated by only about 10 minutes (+/- 2 min.)
of rest/refueling.
Only yesterday I installed a cyclometer (Cat Eye) on my Coker for the
first time. I also purchased a stop-watch in order to provide back-up
data in case the cyclometer set-up failed. It didn’t. Since I am
basically a ‘flat-lander’, I chose not to carry (purchase) a device for
marking elevational gain and loss. So I have disregarded elevation as a
factor over this trial.
FIRST LAP
I parked on the SE corner of Cedar Lake and departed on my first lap at
10:31 am. There was a very fine rain falling which stopped about half
way around the SLP loop. Trail conditions were good and there were
relatively few other cyclists and pedestrians. The pathway is mostly
uninterrupted though it passes across about 10 roads – a few of them
typically busy. For the sake of this ride, this morning I increased my
tire pressure from 30 psi to 45 psi and I chose not to carry the
messenger bag that I normally carry. These two differences contributed
to an unsettling first lap.
My first lap time was 48:35 (stop-watch) and my odometer reading was
19.0 km. This odo reading was surprising because my road bike
cyclometer (Sigma) reads about 19.5 km. for the same distance. When
programming the Coker cyclometer, I used the common roll-out value 2800
mm. For the sake of simplicity, I will assume the value of 19 km for
the distance of the SLP loop.
48.583 minutes/19 km = 23.465 kph average = 14.58 mph average
SECOND LAP
After ten minutes of fueling and drinking by car-side, I donned my
messenger bag (which felt just right despite the weight!) and set out
again, same counter-clockwise direction, at about 11:30. On this lap I
noticed the disagreeableness of the winds. Owing to the shape of the
SLP loop (not round), each leg was at some odd angle to the relatively
strong winds (15–20 mph - AOL Weather) – hence there were no
significant stretches with a direct tail or head-wind. Otherwise it was
an uneventful loop. I did not need to dismount for traffic at all.
47:55 (stop-watch )
47.917 minutes/19 km = 23.79 kph average = 14.78 mph average
THIRD LAP
Departure was at 12:30 pm after fueling. This was another uneventful
circuit without needing to dismount. On this lap I reached my highest
Maximum speed of the day – 29.9 kph (18.58 mph).
48:05
48.083 minutes/19 km = 23.71 kph average = 14.73 mph average
FOURTH LAP
My 17 y.o. cousin-in-law from Des Moines (Nate) was visiting
Minneapolis and had brought his Coker so that he could ride a bit with
me (I got him started with unicycling and provided him with a Coker).
His timing was perfect because I was ready for a soft circuit! Despite
my strong recommendation that he swap the stock cranks with 127’s, he
had not done so. The contrast between my 89’s and his 150’s was
comical. Nate’s previous longest ride was seven miles, so one circuit
with me was a challenge for him. We conversed, rode slowly and walked
a couple short stretches. Nate was very cold but happy with his 11.8
mile ride. It was at this point that I tried to take some digital
images only to find the camera battery too weak due to the cold and a
low charge condition (it’s on the charger now!).
1:25:20
80.333 minutes/19 km = 14.19 kph average = 8.82 mph average
FIFTH LAP
After Nate headed home, I departed again at about 3:10 pm. Over the
course of this lap, I felt sluggish but forced myself to keep a pace
about the same as the first three circuits. The slow lap 4 did not have
a rejuvenating effect. I could tell that I wasn’t at my former pace. At
a randomly chosen split point, which was at the 30ish minute point, I
was about one minute off pace.
50:25
50.417 minutes/19 km = 22.61 kph average = 14.05 mph average
COOL DOWN
When I arrived at my car at 4:03 pm, I had a total mileage reading of
94.9 km. I couldn’t bring myself to make another round of the SLP loop
but wanted to make a ‘metric century’. So at 4:10 pm, I headed off on a
different trail (Midtown Greenway), into a headwind for another 4.7 km
(when I’d had enough!), whereupon I turned and took a fast tail-wind
right back to the car at 4:30 pm.
9.4 km in 26:20
26.333 minutes/9.4 km = 21.42 kph average = 13.31 mph average
Total day mileage – 104.31 km = 64.82 miles
Total elapsed time – 6 hours
Total riding time – 5 hours, 6.5 minutes
So far, so good. It was gratifying to record the second two averages
greater than the first. It was also nice that lap four, after the
out-lier (lap three) was as fast as it was.
Tomorrow is a new day!
Still needing teammate/s!!
--
genbirch
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