Lotoja - Lessons Learned

SYJ said:

A few months ago, I had posted requesting information/suggestions for
my planned ride in the Lotoja Classic bike race
(http://www.lotojaclassic.com). I would first like to thank everyone
who responded. Below are some of the things that I learned in the
ride, both good and bad

1) 25mm tires are a must. The roads varied from great to horrible,
with most somewhere in the middle. The softer ride of 25mm tires
(Michelin Krylion) at 90ish psi was a godsend

2) Preride the course. Although I live only a few hours away, my
schedule kept me from previewing the climbs. According to the course
map and Google Earth, the first climb (~20 miles, 2500 feet to
Strawberry Summit) looked pretty tame. Some of the rollers and small,
steeper pitches came as a surprise.

3) Get to the start EARLY. After 15 minutes of meeting
friends/warming up, I decided to make my way to the porta-pottie for a
quick drain. Unfortunately, my group was called up quicker than I
thought. A little more time would have helped a lot...

4) Hydrate, even when you don't want to. I started off in a group of
6, each doing 1/2 - 1 mile pulls at about 19.5 mph. Eventually, we
hooked up with a pack doing 25 or so for the remainder first 35 miles.
HR was around 75%, and the weather was cold and misty. I still had to
pee (see 3), and as such, drank about 1/4 of my cytomax & water in the
first hour and forty minutes. After the first feed, the road started
uphill, and I cramped VERY badly...for 30 miles. I eventually got my
hydration under control, but the damage had been done (I dropped out at
mile 106 due to what I thought was the upcoming sag time - see 5).

5) They don't *really* enforce the 8:30 or dark finish time. Had I
known this, I probably would have suffered on for awhile, and perhaps
even finished.

6) Arm/leg warmers should be removed as soon as practical. I left
mine on after the first stop, fearing the (56 mph) descent off the
first climb would be too cold. I think they contributed to additional
water/electrolyte losses during the climb, leading to additional
cramping.

7) Pace matters. If you're starting in the slower classes, it's not
enough to slog through. You pretty much have to ride hard/fast just to
make the finish line before dark/the sag line. One thing that may help
(I'm doing this next year) is to race with the cat 5s. Even if you're
not gunning for a podium, this will ensure that you start earlier, and
that you have at least a couple more groups behind you that you could
latch on to.

8) Pace matters pt. II. Don't go out too hard. I met up with a lot
of people who went out hard in the first 50 miles & burned out by the
second 50. Likewise, after hauling ass on the first leg, I went out
too hard after the preston rest stop, trying to hang with some fast
guys. My heartrate was above 90% for about a half hour, and I felt the
first twinges of the cramping that was to ruin my day.

9) Learn to ride in a group. There were some ugly wrecks due to
touched tires. Hopefully, everyone is ok.

10) Weight matters. Not gram counting, but pound counting. I'm not
even going to register for next year unless I'm 10 lbs lighter when I
send in my 100 bones.

11) Choose your gearing wisely. During my cramping, I kept wishing
that I had a lower gear, thinking that if I could only spin a bit
faster, I wouldn't be in as much pain. While a 36/25 was more than low
enough on my training rides, I didn't have a bailout when things went
bad. I'm thinking a 34 up front, or a 27 in back for next year.

12) Train w/Intensity. Kind of a continuation of the theme from 7
above. It's one thing to ride 100+ miles. It's quite another to do so
with a moving sag line chasing you. Do your training (some of it,
anyway) like you intend to do the ride/race. It makes a big
difference.

13) Meet people. I had some great conversations, and met some truly
wonderful people:

Joe Seydell - thank you for not wanting to ride on when I started
cramping...I really did appreciate it. Congrats on the finish!

Team East meets West - Way to hit your goal...hope y'all make the trip
from Beantown next year

Cindy Nigro - I cannot make clear enough my gratitude for the tow into
Montpellier. You are the only reason I went on as long as I did.
Hopefully, next year we both get a finish!

The two guys from Jackson whose names I can't recall - I never did find
out how you did. Thanks for pulling me when I could barely turn the
cranks. Hopefully, you had a bit more tenacity than I. See you next
year!

SYJ

Sounds like you had fun! Next year you'll finish, no problem.

On long rides it is good to have a plan beforehand about what to do in
case of various things happening, such as approaching cut-off times
etc. During an event like this it is virtually impossible to think
clearly and to make rational decisions. If you have a
cue-sheet/flow-chart/list/whatever that you have worked on earlier it
is much easier to just follow it's recipie. Like you say, you probably
could have finished, but your brain was consumed by thoughts about the
cut-off time. This brain activity was a waste of valuable energy and
focus. Having a script to follow helps avoid this type of uneccesary
and often damaging thinking.

Nutrition and keeping an even easy pace is also critical. If you
over-do it you end up in a world of hurt that goes really really
slowly. Don't be afarid to let a group go if it is going too fast. If
you over extend yourself to stay with a group longer than you should
because you think you are getting a free ride, you're not. Any gains
made by going faster in a group will be lost big time if you bonk and
end up pladding along on empty. Tortoise and the Hare.

Joseph

Quoted message said:

Sounds like you had fun! Next year you'll finish, no problem.

I hope so. It's a great ride, and this year (unlike '05) the weather
was perfect.

Quoted message said:

On long rides it is good to have a plan beforehand about what to do in
case of various things happening, such as approaching cut-off times
etc. During an event like this it is virtually impossible to think
clearly and to make rational decisions. If you have a
cue-sheet/flow-chart/list/whatever that you have worked on earlier it
is much easier to just follow it's recipie.

My wife and I did this the night before the race. I told her that
unless I was bleeding, I wouldn't stop before 1/2 way. I almost backed
out of this while I was still cramping, but the two of us convince me
to go on ;-)

Like you say, you probably

Quoted message said:

could have finished, but your brain was consumed by thoughts about the
cut-off time.

The race organizers made it *very* clear that the future of the race
would be endangered if people kept racing after dark. Apparently last
year, numerous people came into Jackson with support cars in tow hours
after the sun set (with no lights), setting off a popular uprising in
the city of Jackson. Indeed, after I posted the line about the lax
enforcement of the cutoff time (and while I was looking for some
friends' results), I noted that some of the finish times for the slower
riders had been replaced with DNFs. Thus, the fear of the cut-off time
were somewhat founded. Also ranking as a concern was the fact that
failure to hit the midway sag lines would result in no neutra support
stations...a few legs between full support stations were in excess of
60 miles...not a nice thought when you only have a small bottle and a
large bottle on the bike.

This brain activity was a waste of valuable energy and

Quoted message said:

focus. Having a script to follow helps avoid this type of uneccesary
and often damaging thinking.

True...I didn't start to dwell on the time thing untill I had crested
the summit of the 2nd climb, and was approaching the salt flats neutral
support station.

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Nutrition and keeping an even easy pace is also critical. If you
over-do it you end up in a world of hurt that goes really really
slowly

Ask me how I know.

.. Don't be afarid to let a group go if it is going too fast. If

Quoted message said:

you over extend yourself to stay with a group longer than you should
because you think you are getting a free ride, you're not.

On the flats, you really can conserve if you're in a group...value of a
HRM.

Any gains

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made by going faster in a group will be lost big time if you bonk and
end up pladding along on empty. Tortoise and the Hare.

Joseph

SYJ

Quoted message said:

. Don't be afarid to let a group go if it is going too fast. If

Quoted message said:

you over extend yourself to stay with a group longer than you should
because you think you are getting a free ride, you're not.

On the flats, you really can conserve if you're in a group...value of a
HRM.

To me this is one of the most critical aspects of long rides. Riding in
a group and getting the added speed is only worth it if you are able to
keep yourself under your "long ride threshold". If you go over this
threshold for any length of time, the benefits of the group are lost
because you will become fried later on and end up going very slowly.
This is indeed where a HRM can help. But remember HR has drift, so the
values you use as guidelines will sink as the ride progresses.

It comes down to do you want to ride at 25mph with a group for 1/3 the
race then alone at 12mph the rest when you are cooked, or would you
rather maintain 19mph alone the whole way? That is an
oversimplification, but the idea is the same. For me my "long ride
threshold" is about 80% of max HR. If I go much above that, my pace
will suffer later on.

The ride you went on has the added dimension of heat which I have never
really had to deal with on a long ride. I wonder how that would affect
me. Maybe I'll see you there next time!

Joseph