Power Outage

Power OutageIn what has become an ongoing saga that is my attempt to train in the absence of any notable dietary carbohydrate, namely ketosis, there seems to be something of an underlying theme that’s becoming apparent.

During the latter part of the most recent Tour de Garage I started ketosis. The trainer workouts weren’t any problem whatsoever with regard to fueling or any sensations of power output, although I sensed that my heart rate was higher at any given speed/power output…

Some of the elevated heart rate could be down to my not having figured out my sodium supplementation properly, which also manifests itself in elevated resting heart rates as well…

Velocità Ascensionale Media

Rocket LaunchVAM, the direct translation of “velocità ascensionale media” from Italian is “mean ascent velocity” leading to an expansion of the acronym in English as Velocity, Ascent, Mean (average)…

So VAM is the numerical expression of how fast you can climb…

The term was invented by Dr. Ferrari, yes, that Dr. Ferrari, so probably best not to talk about it too much, especially around WADA type folks lest you find yourself associated with the infamous doctor in an unflattering manner…

Alto de Letras

Letras Info GraphicIt is true that the North Georgia Mountains have no shortage of climbs. It is also true that some of those climbs gained notoriety by virtue of their inclusion in the now defunct Tour de Georgia…

Some of those climbs I have described here

One’s reference when it comes to climbs is usually based on what’s familiar to them, what they themselves have actually climbed…

If you’ve only ever ridden your bike in Florida, then Sugar Loaf Mountain Road may define climbing for you…

Using your personal climbing reference point, it may be possible to imagine what the experience of climbing something unfamiliar would be like in comparison…

Lessons from Paris-Roubaix

Pave' du Paris-RoubaixMost of the cyclists you see in the North Georgia Mountains on any given weekend don’t live here, they drove up to ride in the Gaps, and it’s something of an ‘event’. As such, they tend to ride their ‘Sunday best’…

It’s completely understandable, if you’re going for a challenging ride, you want to use the ‘best’ equipment at your disposal, and a lot of the ‘kit’ rolling around up here would be perfectly at home in the Tour de France…

All that’s missing are the team cars…

I wonder if perhaps they’re emulating the wrong race…

Hog Pen Gap

Hog Pen GapAny way you measure this one, it’s a tough climb. When it was in the Tour de Georgia the UCI said Hogpen was a Cat 1 climb, so it’s got that going for it…

The pavement is a bit patchy, the road is in the national forest, and I don’t think they maintain it like regular roads. When it snows they just close the road rather than try to keep it clear…

Climbs

Swiss Mountain PassThere are many metrics used in cycling; distance, speed, cadence, heart rate, etc., but one measure that always stands out is climbing.

Just the very nature of a ride is altered by how much climbing is involved. A century ride is a cycling staple. Add 10,000 feet of climbing and the ride is completely transformed.

It’s easy to understand, the main resistance to overcome on level ground is air resistance, which increases with the square of speed. Slow down a little and the effort is markedly easier. By utilizing the draft off of other riders you can reduce your workload by an estimated 30%, and a group of cyclists can travel at speeds much higher than a single cyclist alone.