I wrote this to my fellow Board members who were all impressed by the number of rides that I've done. I wanted to dispel some of that notion and probably got carried away with detail.
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Further to our conversation at the Board meeting a couple of days ago ...
First, let me apologize for being a bit groggy. I was better before I had a couple of hours sleep. Getting up and then sitting in a darkened hotel lobby wasn't conducive to having a clear head :). I needed either some coffee or calisthenics !
I'd like to dispel any notion of a superhuman physical achievement ! It really isn't !
When I really started randonneuring in 2009 and signed up for two 1200's, I thought that I must be out of my mind. Prior to that, in 2007, I had done a handful of Perms that Geoff Swarts had set up for our ride around Lake Superior. I had heard about longer rides but figured that they were well nigh impossible.
Part way through the third day on the first 1200k in June 2009, I realized that "yes, I guess that I can do this, get up day after day, have a 5 hour night stop with 3 hours sleep". That was the Shenandoah 1200k. Then, in August, I did the Granite Anvil in Ontario. They are both tough rides.
In 2014, with a little more than a week in between, I did the Mile Failte in Ireland and then the HCH in Belgium. They were done in the right order, as the MF was much more difficult. Recovery didn't seem to be a problem and there was ample time to catch up on sleep.
Coming into 2018, now on Medicare ... :) ... I figured that if there was any year that I might crowd a number of these rides into one year, it was now or never. I had done 4 well spaced out rides in some years. With so many rides being offered around the world, there were many options. They were also in interesting places -- as much as I like doing these rides, I also don't want to leave Sandy behind. The rides are in places where she is interested in doing things while I ride and then we do some things together in between.
It's worth mentioning my riding style, because for me, that's the key. I'm very conservative. Always, within a couple of miles of the start, I'm the lanterne rouge. Always. I don't push myself to keep up to someone else. My job is to steer; my legs set an easy pace, and that pace varies. My stops are frequent and short. In the heat, I'll stop every few miles if I can to guzzle down a cold drink, pour water over my head and keep my core temperature down. I climb steadily. I don't take long meal stops ... in fact, if I can find the source, I'll ride mostly on liquids (think chocolate milk in North America). I often start to pass riders as that first day wears on, no longer the lanterne rouge.
Heading into the rides that I scheduled in Europe, I wasn't sure if it would work. The character of the rides varies hugely -- Bulgaria with lots of climbing; Spain with rolling hills; France a little more typical other than the 1500 meter Col on the third day. The ride in Spain was totally unsupported and only cost 15 Euros. For that you get a zip loc, a brevet card and a cue sheet. If you complete, the ride pays RM for your homologation. I figured that if I was in tough shape after Bulgaria, I could simply skip that ride, perhaps walk the Camino Santiago with Sandy :).
What could go wrong ? Where could problems develop, with such short turnaround (4 days between rides) ?
Butt. I'd run into some saddle sore problems in some earlier rides. Wet, a lot of sitting, who knows. This year I tried something new. I bought a Rivet saddle from Deb. Breaking me into that Rivet saddle is a whole different story. It's extremely stiff leather and at first, because I have back issues, I found myself sitting only on one cheek. I had shooting pains and numbness ... I persisted and it has helped me. I still find myself leaning to one side by the end of a 1200k but my weight is more balanced.
Legs. Would recovery be a problem. Because of my conservative riding style, I don't kill myself. I have done a number of these rides with Hamid and if there are groups to join, he can cover a lot of ground, often getting a couple of hours ahead of me on the first day. After that, I often find myself waiting, but it varies. I am capable of drafting but find that my knees object to the small accelerations, the un-natural (for me) cadence. I constantly change cadence but in a group, I tend to match cadence with whoever is in front of me. Would I have problems with stiffness with the short turnaround ? Soreness ? More than ever, I was aware of the fact that there were more days to come and I shouldn't press hard.
Sleep. Between Bulgaria and Spain, we had 24 hours of driving - three days - and I didn't catch up on sleep. I'm usually pretty good with being short on sleep but found during the Spanish ride that I was soooo sleepy. A few times I stopped at what looked like a bus shelter with a bench and had a 15 minute power nap. I'm good at those. Between Spain and France, there was only a six hour drive and I gave myself lots of down time. That helped immensely. I didn't have to fight sleep deprivation any more than normal :).
Mental. John Lee mentioned Mental. Did I want to ride ? Well, yes. Three different countries, landscape, food ... these all contribute to keeping the interest up.
Fueling. A huge difference. Bulgaria - supported with good comfort food at many key controls. Some snacks in between. Interestingly enough, self serve coffee machines everywhere. Spain - 24 hour gas station / convenience stores available in many places along the route. I kept one water bottle full of juice, substantial, real juice - like pulpy peach juice, for energy, interest and hydration. The other water bottle was partly for head-wetting in the heat and drinking. Natural Springs abounded in the towns and I could refill the water bottle even when everything else in Spain is shut down between 1:30 pm and 5+ pm. On the last day it was hot as hell and I carried my usual two water bottles and a 2 liter bottle of water in my middle jersey pocket. 3/4 of that went on my head, shoulders etc. to keep my core temp down. France - supported at most controls with food for purchase, enough to get by, much different than either Bulgaria or Spain.
Some of this is probably worth an AR article. Most people would consider that a long recovery time is necessary. Most people ride hard the first day staying with groups, not wanting to get dropped, and find themselves sore and slow as the ride goes on. I finish a ride about the same speed as I start. Comparing the rides, talking about the riding style necessary to make it work, any of that could form the basis for an article. I just want to make it interesting. I don't want to tout any particular achievement as I don't think that it's as much of an achievement as others might think.
So ... this is more than you cared to know !
... and now, I'm in Bormio for the 1530k Italian ride in the Alps. That starts on the 22nd. Heck, there's a full week in between. This will be as much of a challenge, I think, as the other three put together. 22,000 meters of climbing (1,000 more than Brazil), immense climbs (e.g. the Stelvio), six days of riding vs four (the Stelvio on the last day). The Stelvio climb is a gradual incline from <300 meters to 900 meters and then you get into the "real" climb from 900 to 2780+- with grades averaging 8-9% by the looks of things. When we climbed the Col in France, about a 1300 meter climb, it took 2-2.5 hours. The Stelvio will probably take me 4.5-5 hours. The Giro d'Italia riders do it more quickly :).
In comparison, Brazil was about 21,000 meters; DCR BRB 13,000 meters; Sofia 15,000; Leida 8,300 meters; Aquitaine 11,000. These numbers all come from RideWithGps, so they're comparable if not totally accurate.
... and yes, the important thing is that I'm still having fun !
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