Update: I think I love climbing? I've been getting stronger every day and more confident in both climbing/descending. I've thoroughly enjoyed this trip, I've preformed way better than I ever would have imagined; I'm enjoying the majority of our group; and the rides are amazing. I've set various 20min, 30min, and 60min power records while climbing, granted some of those were on the end of Marie Blanque where the last 5km averaged over 10% and it was necessary to keep moving forward. Tourmalet almost broke me because of how long it stretched on for and how hot it was getting; every time I looked down a river of sweat came out of my helmet.

Day 0: Hondarribia - 18 miles / 2008 feet - Jaizkibel (2)
Day 1 - Hondarribia -> Saint-Palais - 59 miles / 4551 feet - Cote de Saint Ignace (4); Col de Baigura (4)
Day 2: Saint-Palais -> Oloron-Sainte-Marie - 65 miles / 6732 feet - Cote de Pagolle (2); Col du Soudet (1)
Day 3 - Oloron-Sainte-Marie -> Lourdes - 65 miles / 7858 feet - Col de Marie Blanque (1); Col d' Aubisque (HC); Col de Soulor (4)
Day 4: Lourdes -> Bagneres-de-Luchon - 78 miles / 11217 feet - Col du Tourmalet (HC); Col d'Aspin (2); Col de Peyresourde (1)
Day 5: Bagneres-de-Luchon -> Sort - 66 miles / 6942 feet - Col du Portillion (1); Puerto de la Bonaigua (1)

Currently on day 6... the rest day. Got some laundry taken care of. Did some yoga out in the hotel's courtyard. Massage in a little bit. Just recovering and eating.


Random ass pictures that I felt like uploading:


Starting to climb Soudet...


Not much visibility at the top of Soudet...




Heading towards Aubisque


Preclimb espresso before Aubisque




The top of Aubisque



The top of Tourmalet




Riding the 1km warm up before Portillion


Heading towards Bonaigua



On top of Boniagua. Had a traditional Catalan lunch of sausage and eggs with french fries mixed in somehow.


Relaxing in a mountain river after the end of yesterday's ride and starting the rest day.

FIDO95 said:

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Can't believe this thread has been so quiet this Summer! Hopefully people still riding. I'm still hoping to get my "trifecta" done. I did Tour of Boerne in June (62 miles). I'm signed up for the HHH later this month, 75 mile and the Conquer the Coast, 66 mile, in September. Hopefully everyone is getting some time in the saddle.

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A teammate and I are doing Conquer the Coast this weekend as well. I've always wanted to ride over the causeway

Anyone doing Big Dam Bridge 100 in Little Rock this weekend? I'm debating on it right now.

What did you think of Conquer the Coast? I loved the ride this year although the rain made for some increase nerves in the pack of riders at the start on those first turns. The wind also seemed brutal this year... or maybe I'm just getting old. I was in a good peloton all the way to the Aransas Pass... we were running 18-20mph. I stopped to get water figuring I'd catch up at the ferry. I didn't realize how bad the wind had picked up and from there to the ferry I was running 15-16mph and burning 30% more watts! Similar story going down the island. Nonetheless, great ride. I'm suprised the ride doesn't get more love.

My final thoughts having done all three rides: Tour of Boerne, beautiful country and scenic views; The hills were no joke. Definately will do again next year. HHH, historic ride, great crowd, and great support/snacks along the route. However, by far, the "ugliest" ride. Probably won't be back anytime soon. Everything was brown and countryside looked barren. Conquer, still my favorite ride but I'm worried how the course will change with the new bridge next year. Will definately do it again if it is a similar route around the bay.

Congrats on recovering and getting healthy! Thanks for sharing. That looks like it was an awesome experience.

FIDO95 said:

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What did you think of Conquer the Coast? I loved the ride this year although the rain made for some increase nerves in the pack of riders at the start on those first turns. The wind also seemed brutal this year... or maybe I'm just getting old. I was in a good peloton all the way to the Aransas Pass... we were running 18-20mph. I stopped to get water figuring I'd catch up at the ferry. I didn't realize how bad the wind had picked up and from there to the ferry I was running 15-16mph and burning 30% more watts! Similar story going down the island. Nonetheless, great ride. I'm suprised the ride doesn't get more love.

My final thoughts having done all three rides: Tour of Boerne, beautiful country and scenic views; The hills were no joke. Definately will do again next year. HHH, historic ride, great crowd, and great support/snacks along the route. However, by far, the "ugliest" ride. Probably won't be back anytime soon. Everything was brown and countryside looked barren. Conquer, still my favorite ride but I'm worried how the course will change with the new bridge next year. Will definately do it again if it is a similar route around the bay.

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Well, it was something...

My teammate (Joe) and I had aspirations of trying to be top 5 overall and maybe winning. Our plan was to stay in the lead group, and not do any more work than necessary in the early part, make the first ferry, then stay with the leaders down the island, knowing a big attack would come on the final causeway crossing. From there, it would be a tailwind and tactics would play out based on the attrition of who was left.

As you know, the ride started with a little bit of rain. The organizers started putting up ropes to mark off waves of when riders could start. So we moved in front of those ropes and went with the first wave. It was a little chaotic because there wasn't a lead vehicle, the turns weren't marked well, and in several instances there were cones and barricades across the lane we were supposed to be in. Whomever was in charge of that is definitely not a cyclist. There was one instance where the police officer that was supposed to be marshalling the intersection was still in his truck, and didn't come out until we stopped at the light. He pointed left, so a couple guys started to go that way, and several others (that knew the route) told them we were supposed to go straight. Since I didn't know the course, I just stayed in the top 10 without driving the pace and followed the few that seemed to know the way.

Then, 20 miles in, I hit a piece of metal and flatted. Our contingency plan was that if that happened to either of us, the other would continue on, and hopefully the victim would get it fixed and catch up before the ferry filled up. However, the tire was ruined and there was no way to boot or plug it. Additionally, they launched the ferry with only the riders from the first group. That lead group was down to 21. And this is where the story splits.

I tried to get an Uber back, but none were available so I stood in someone's yard for about 20 minutes while Uber tried to find a driver. Finally a very sweet woman in a pickup asked if I wanted a ride back to Whataburger Field. So I did that, knowing I had other wheels in my truck and I could at least ride backwards on the course to ride back with my buddy. I just had to make sure that when I got back in with them, I didn't do anything to affect the "outcome" for those treating it like a race. Plus, I still wanted to ride more, but I was now about 2 hours behind Joe and didn't want to do the entire loop.

Joe said it played out exactly as expected. The crosswinds on the island whittled the lead group down a little. When they got to the JFK Causeway, one guy attacked REALLY hard. Joe said he was trying to decide if the rider was very strong, or just wanted to get to the top and wasn't a good climber. Two other guys went with him. Joe didn't see the urgency and figured it was too soon to be making such a move and that there were still plenty of people willing to work and would bring that back. He was wrong. It shattered what was left of the lead group into groups of 3 and 4 riders each and by that point he couldn't bridge across alone.

I found them on Ocean Drive, coming out of the Naval Air Station. As the 3 leaders went the other way, I hit the lap on my Garmin. 15 seconds, later (so 30 second gap), I found Joe and 2 other riders (a man and a woman, who appeared to be at least friends). I turned around and caught up to them and let Joe know the leaders were 30 seconds ahead. With less than 10 miles to go and a tailwind, we knew they weren't going to catch. So I asked the other two if it was alright if I took some pulls. Naturally, the were more than happy to let me pull. We averaged a little over 27 from there. As we got close to Whataburger, I moved to the back of the group and let them play out the sprint. Joe ended up "winning" that sprint, so he was the 4th finisher overall.

I'd like to do it again, but it always seems to conflict with something else. The new bridge won't change the course too much, except that it's a bigger bridge. Should only add a mile or two to a fairly short course. They need some instruction on how to place barricades and cones such that they aren't interfering with the riders (especially big / fast groups).

HHH is a boring and ugly course. The only thing I really liked about it was that it was 3.75ish hours all to come down to a field sprint. I like that kind of pressure. But now they don't even have the USAC road races. Maybe they'll bring them back at some point.

Wow, sounds like you had an adventure; Or maybe mis-adventure would be a better description. I think I might have seen you? I recall riding by a guy, black bike I think, in Ingleside in front of house. I asked if everything was "ok" but he/you was/were busy typing away on the phone and didn't respond? I guess that would make sense if you were trying to track down an Uber.

Yes, I wouldn't be worried about any additional length to the ride with the new bridge. I've just heard some rumors about whether or not they would allow the route to go over the bridge next year. I think a lot of the character of that ride is getting to go over the bridges and ferries and ride along the coastlines. Better luck with your next ride.

FIDO95 said:

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Wow, sounds like you had an adventure; Or maybe mis-adventure would be a better description. I think I might have seen you? I recall riding by a guy, black bike I think, in Ingleside in front of house. I asked if everything was "ok" but he/you was/were busy typing away on the phone and didn't respond? I guess that would make sense if you were trying to track down an Uber.

Yes, I wouldn't be worried about any additional length to the ride with the new bridge. I've just heard some rumors about whether or not they would allow the route to go over the bridge next year. I think a lot of the character of that ride is getting to go over the bridges and ferries and ride along the coastlines. Better luck with your next ride.

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Yup! That was me. And yes, there wasn't anything anyone could do, so I was trying to figure out a ride back. Thanks for asking. Many people did, and I usually gave a weak wave and a "thanks, but no". Mostly just bummed my ride ended that way.

With as much support from the City and the other cities, I can't imagine they wouldn't be able to use the new bridge. I think more than anything, they were trying to "sell" this year as some last chance opportunity for an established course, even though the course has changed over the years.

I thought I had posted this the other day, but apparently I hadn't.

I just got the email from the Corpus Christi Chamber of Commerce. They will be going over the new bridge next year.

Bringing this back to the front... In an act of self hatred, I signed up to race LaToJa (men's 35+ Master B) in September. I'm a little behind where I'd like to be right now due to taking most of April and part of May off to make sure I could pace up to 25 miles of Cocodona.

Kicked off my 12 week training plan on Systm (sufferfest) this morning. Mostly just an all around plan, but over the next few weeks I'm going to build in endurance sessions, hopefully working my way up to some 6 hour trainer sessions and an outdoor 100miler every 2 or 3 weeks. Also planning on riding Copper Triangle in August as a tune up ride and to get a feel for the mountains again.

Here goes nothing...

You will love LoToJa. I've done it 3 times in that same race group, but decided to skip this year. My buddy will be riding his 6th time this year with a hope to be on the podium. Its the most awesome experience and crazy race. Training in the heating Texas will help you a lot. We try to ride on the trainer 3 times each week and get in as many century rides as possible. Last year we did about 12 between May - August.

There is so much i could give you advice on. Learning your nutrition (it becomes hard to chew after about 75 miles...), helping your crew know what to expect (limited cell coverage) and speed, knowing how the peleton will play out the course, and then make a ton of friends to draft. Enjoy!!

agcivengineer said:

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You will love LoToJa. I've done it 3 times in that same race group, but decided to skip this year. My buddy will be riding his 6th time this year with a hope to be on the podium. Its the most awesome experience and crazy race. Training in the heating Texas will help you a lot. We try to ride on the trainer 3 times each week and get in as many century rides as possible. Last year we did about 12 between May - August.

There is so much i could give you advice on. Learning your nutrition (it becomes hard to chew after about 75 miles...), helping your crew know what to expect (limited cell coverage) and speed, knowing how the peleton will play out the course, and then make a ton of friends to draft. Enjoy!!

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Please tell me more about helping the crew.

aggiespartan said:

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agcivengineer said:

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You will love LoToJa. I've done it 3 times in that same race group, but decided to skip this year. My buddy will be riding his 6th time this year with a hope to be on the podium. Its the most awesome experience and crazy race. Training in the heating Texas will help you a lot. We try to ride on the trainer 3 times each week and get in as many century rides as possible. Last year we did about 12 between May - August.

There is so much i could give you advice on. Learning your nutrition (it becomes hard to chew after about 75 miles...), helping your crew know what to expect (limited cell coverage) and speed, knowing how the peleton will play out the course, and then make a ton of friends to draft. Enjoy!!

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Please tell me more about helping the crew.

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Begin by reading the cyclist Bible and printing out everything your crew will need to know such as their route.

1. Make sure your crew knows the route they will take. They will not follow you, but will take a different route.

2. Most of the first 120 miles you won't have cell coverage, and the course tracking can get delayed, so they won't know where you are. You will want to give them a good idea as to how long it will take you to get to the crew stops. They will need to move pretty fast between the 1st and 2nd and 2nd and 3rd stops.

3. Have a clear plan for what will happen during the crew stop. If your competing, you'll want to move very fast. I put all my nutrition in gallon ziplocks for eqch stop, and gave specific written instructions for my bottles.

4. I had them completely remove everything from my pockets and replace everything irregardless of how much I had consumed. Same for bottles. I then had a few options for me to drink / eat while eating (quickly).

5. I found eating things like cliff bars became hard to do after 75 miles or so. So using things that "flow" make it much easier to consume.

6. Have them plan to position themselves at the same # station for each crew stop. Its much easier to find them that way. If your riding with friends, it's best that each of you have your own crew, unless you aren't planning to move quickly and your ok if the crew misses you at a stop.

Never having done a race this long... did you find that the group worked together and/or generally stopped together, or were there riders who thought they were Pogacar and attempting 90 mile solo breakaways?

I'm tentatively considering getting a hydration pack given that the first crewed stop won't be until 75 miles in (and after the first and biggest) climb and I imagine I'd probably try not to stop at any of the neutral stops prior. WOuld probably refill that and then take it with over the next two climbs until the aid station at ~120, and probably ditch it at that point.

Assuming I don't get a new bike (I'd say it's unlikely right now, but still would be nice to have disc brakes...), I need to get a new cassette and chain rings. Currently running 53/39:11-25. Looking at either 50/34 or 52/36 and 11-30 or 11-32.

So here is how the race will play out:

It is usually cold to start, so plan to use sleeves and possibly full finger gloves. Youll have to remove stuff fast in Montpelier. Don't freeze and waste energy.

Your race group will be fast and stay together up until Preston ( 22 - 25 mph avg), with avg 160 - 180 watts, but intermittent surges. Spend time riding in a peloton as the surges take more out of you than you realize, so minimizing those helps.

You will want to carry a 3rd bottle in your race jersey pocket throw it away in Preston without stopping, no one who is racing carries a camelback.

After leaving Preston after descending a nice hill, everyone will stop for a pee break (2 of 3 years this happened).

The group will stay together until Mink Creek when the Strawberry climb begins. This is when the race really begins. You will need to hold > 240 watts to avoid getting dropped up this climb (depending on your weight). Usually 20 ish riders make the front group. Racers at LoToJa are very strong. My buddies FTP is around 310 ish and best he has done is 6th. Strawberry is a long climb, but reasonable incline.

Once the peloton splits, everyone is always willing to work together, even the front group, so find as many drafting friends as possible.

There is a rest stop near the top of strawberry that I have filled a bottle if I got dropped. Make this a quick stop. Descending strawberry is a blast and crusing into Montpelier is fast, especially if you have a group. If you get dropped from your race group, you will likely get passed by leaders of the race group behind you...catch onto them if you can.

After Montpelier crew stops, you have 2 more climbs that are shorter, but steeper. If your in the front group, they won't stop until the next crew stop. By the 3rd climb, the front group will be 8 or less. Youll need to negotiate pee stops as well....maybe get 1 more. I carry 2 bottles after Montpelier, I might stop at 1 neutral stop after the climb, depending on how hot it is.

After that, it's very fast until Alpine. I stop at both crew stops, and completely fill up, taking no risks. In alpine, I may not change out food, but leave there with full bottles.

Thr last 50 miles is amazing!! Its beautiful. But that is also where trouble can happen. Last year I cramped going into Hoback and had to stop to take in some electrolytes even though I had done really well. My friend has been in the lead group past few years and cramped in that section as well.

Its an amazing accomplishment and you will know exactly who you are when you finish. It exposes everything!
The reward is hanging out in Jackson the next day. Love it!

This is making me wish I was doing it again!! My buddy might be in your group, when the groups get announced, look for.a guy from Texas.


You will definitely want the 11-32, or 12 - 32 is better. I also have the 52/36 up front. You will use all those gears.

Long story and a bit of a derail, but I am at the point to where either I join my biking friends and get a gravel E-bike or I won't be able to join them on our usual rides. I am in the somewhat unfortunate situation of riding with friends who are much wealthier than I am and who bike more than I do, and there is a bit of an "arms race" between them. They are now pretty much 100% going to gravel E-bikes, and one of them is offering to sell me a bike he has only ridden twice:
Pinarello Nytro E7 Gravel
I rode the bike on Saturday, and have to say it was mighty nice and the bike fits. Asking price is $6,500 - way more than I have ever spent on a bike, but probably not too bad of an asking price for a bike ridden 3 times. Most of the time we will ride approximately half road and half gravel. The area is very hilly, most of the rides we do have an average of 1,000 vertical feet per 10 miles. There are two hills in particular that we normally ride that are absolutely at the limit of what my body can do on my gravel bike, and I keep going around the sun.
Anyway, I know this is more than the price of most E gravel bikes, but I would like to get input from anyone who knows this arena and could chime in. Gracias por su ayuda in advance.

Quote:

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You will want to carry a 3rd bottle in your race jersey pocket throw it away in Preston without stopping, no one who is racing carries a camelback.

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I'm just a gravel/XC boi, but starting two years ago hydration packs are the meta for a lot of my races. They are more aero, hold a lot of fluid and can limit stops. They even have skinsuits with bladders built into them now. Common for folks to pack it with ice at aid and help with cooling. I guarantee you'll see them at any longer race this year.

I love my USWE Race 2.0. Run carbs in the bottles, water in the pack.

Also agree about limiting solids. Sure, do the interval work and dial your bike. But long races mean you need to train your stomach. Carbs: 100g/hr for training and 125g/hr during a race are my numbers. My tummy handles Skratch well, but whatever works for your system will be the same. After liquid carbs it's gels. No solids. You'll brick your stomach.

Finally, the other new metas now, lol: hot wax is in, drip wax is out; 30mm is the new road standard, tubeless of course - easier to plug a tire than swap a tube; electric mini-pumps over CO2 (that trend is just starting).

Don't get an E-Bike, Kool. Hold the line!

I agree there are a lot of benefits to hydration packs. However, for this particular race you won't see them amongst the more serious racers. A few reasons why:

1. The first section logan - Preston is in a peloton and flat, Its also cold, so having a hydration pack to keep cold hurts more than helps. This is the time when taking in nutrition is easy.

2. The stop in Preston is right before a major 40 - 50 minute climb begins. So carrying any extra weight up that climb is a bad idea. This is where you can easily toss that third bottle and drop the weight. A hydration back means your carrying water for 45 miles when it's isn't needed, most of which is uphill.

3. The descents are fast. The hydration pack will likely not be as aero in this situation.

After the first section, you can make it to the rest of the crew stops without filling up if you had to. If you get dropped from the lead group, stopping to fill a bottle quickly isn't a big deal. I'd rather do that than carry any more extr weight up that strawberry climb....

RangerRick9211 said:

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Quote:

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You will want to carry a 3rd bottle in your race jersey pocket throw it away in Preston without stopping, no one who is racing carries a camelback.

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I'm just a gravel/XC boi, but starting two years ago hydration packs are the meta for a lot of my races. They are more aero, hold a lot of fluid and can limit stops. They even have skinsuits with bladders built into them now. Common for folks to pack it with ice at aid and help with cooling. I guarantee you'll see them at any longer race this year.

I love my USWE Race 2.0. Run carbs in the bottles, water in the pack.

Also agree about limiting solids. Sure, do the interval work and dial your bike. But long races mean you need to train your stomach. Carbs: 100g/hr for training and 125g/hr during a race are my numbers. My tummy handles Skratch well, but whatever works for your system will be the same. After liquid carbs it's gels. No solids. You'll brick your stomach.

Finally, the other new metas now, lol: hot wax is in, drip wax is out; 30mm is the new road standard, tubeless of course - easier to plug a tire than swap a tube; electric mini-pumps over CO2 (that trend is just starting).

Don't get an E-Bike, Kool. Hold the line!

---

skratch high carb is the bomb.com

I have no delusions of grandeur and will be happy if I can just finish with whatever semblance of a peloton there is, so I appreciate everyone's input and experience. It will help me shape what will hopefully be a "successful" race.

Hydration pack is more aero! Link!

Also, don't chunk that third bottle until the bottom of a descent. Pro peloton this year has adopted the tri bottle hack (stuff a bottle in our jersey) and now stuffs their gilets in the front jersey instead of rear pockets. You know, for all the CdA gainzzz.

USWE pack also has a tendency to heat you. It's hard to ventilate your back with mine on. But at aid if you dip the entire pack in water and have a new bladder full of ice it will keep you chill for an hour on a hot day!

If you've got a solid SAG and enough stops (sounds like [url=https://lotoja.com/][/url]LoToJa does), yeah, probably not necessary. But, it is a solid strategy for a few minutes by rolling through a few aids.

No Jersey bottles in pro triathlon this year. Limited to a single bottle in cockpit too.

I know.

Talking a roadie race, though.

I mean, just look at Remco today on the Dauphine. Dude ran what looked like a ham radio taped to his chest.

UCI also says no bottles in front bibs. But radio size and placement, whatever I guess.

That article was interesting to read....but the fastest option was the bottle in the back pocket.

For this particular race, the suggestion is to get rid of the bottle before a long climb begins. And because the peloton stays together the first 30 ish miles, the aero impact / benefit/ etc is negligible whether good or bad as it won't change anything either way. Keeping the hydration pack would mostly hurt because of having to carry it up the long climb.

But your point is well taken, i think those hydration packs are underutilized and I plan to get one because they are convenient

I knew you'd catch that.

I don't understand the fluid dynamics on that result. But results are results. I think it's still uncomfortable to run a bottle in your bib, but appears to be faster!

I completed my first gravel race over the weekend. According to garmin, it was 85% gravel roads, 70 miles, and ~8k' of climbing. No one climb was bigger than 400' so it was just endless 0.5-1 mile cat 4 punchy climbs in loose dirt. Finished in just under 6 hours by about 15 seconds. Fun experience for sure, and saw a whole bunch of back country Ohio that I'd never have visited otherwise, so that was pretty cool.

This was my first real sustained endurance push for that long a period. My time was just okay, finishing 42 out of ~85, but other than a five minute stop to let someone else borrow an air pump when they were in the boonies with a flat, there's no one place where I'm like yeah I could have done this better and it would have saved me X amount of time. End to end pace just needs to go up. Maybe carrying more speed through the descents would help some, probably 10-15 minutes I could shave off that way across the entire ride, but that's not going to bridge the gap between 6 hours and something like a sub 5 hour finish. The competitive racers feel miles ahead of me literally and figuratively. And I have no idea how to pace those super punchy (15-20% grade) climbs and not redline too hard.

This is my first year logging significant miles (100+ / week) vs previous 5-6 years riding much less, 40-50/week but exclusively single track on my mountain bike so I guess that's to be expected to some degree, but dang seeing your fitness stack up against others on what was in reality a pretty good day for me is humbling for sure.

Awesome. What race?

And more importantly, what tire did you run?

I'm pedaling around the Three Sisters today.

Funk bottom gravel in central Ohio

https://www.strava.com/routes/3349752890785908870

I ran wtb vulpine 40s but honestly I think I would've been better off on 45s. Or even 2"ers. Loose gravel on the descents was pretty nerve wracking at 25 miles an hour.

that picture is awesome. I'm heading out to Salt Lake City this summer with my family and I can't decide whether or not I wanna bring my gravel bike or mountain bike. Might just bring them both and leave my wife's at home.

40 is smaaaal these days.

Can you fit a 2.2? If so, that's your answer for Utah!

I just got a Lauf. Waiting on XPLR and 2.2 Peyotes. So stoked to go beyond 45mm.

I just bought a Polygon Siskiu T7 XL 29in. Haven't biked since I was a teenager. I need a new hobby and want to use this one as a workout. Am I in for a rude awakening at 37 years old with my Dad bod? Haha.

Nope it's a good bike with good components, and a great hobby! I biked all the time as a kid, then didn't pick it up again until I was 30 and it's been awesome. You will definitely get your workouts in from it. Have fun!

Just dive in. Bikes are the best and it keeps the dad bod away from this 37 yr old. Still eat like I'm 14.

We've been puttering all around the Sawtooths this week. I rode the Tunnel Creek pass from Ketchum:


Bliss.

https://www.strava.com/routes/3247884121541303804

Training is going as good as it can for latoja.

Today was a ~40 mile recovery ride with the last ~20 miles being a "community" ride celebrating a guy who has been involved in the cycling community for a while and was diagnosed with ALS in late October. It was a bittersweet ride, but was good to see the joy he had getting back on the road with everyone. Hopefully we'll be able to organize some more rides in the near future.