Ride Reports from HRCC Members are Posted Here

Boulder Center for Sports Medicine Education SeriesPresented by Mountain Fitness Training Center and BikeSource

October 9, 2003 

Anatomical Bike Fit/Prevention of Injury & Improved Performance

Andrew Pruitt, Ed. D., Director, Boulder Center for Sports Medicine

 Dr. Pruitt is an internationally known Athletic Trainer, Physician Assistant and educator with 30 years of sports medicine experience. He is best known for his expertise in cycling and running. His previous appointments have included Medical Director for USA Cycling ‘92-‘96 including the Atlanta Olympics and Tour Dupont. He is the author of Andy Pruitt’s Medical Advice for Cyclists, which can be obtained from RoadBikeRider.com (see URL at end of notes).

Notes by Janet Slate of HRCC

Ankling – Elite cyclists lift their heels on the upstroke. “Tourist” cyclists keep their feet flat throughout the rotation.

Pedal Force Vectors – For most of us, the pedal is parallel to the ground (3 o’clock) in the neutral position.

Muscle Firing Pattern – Ideally, no force is applied during backstroke.  Most of us apply negative force on the backstroke.

Forefoot Varus – Causes the knee to move to the top tube during a pedal stroke.  Collapse of the longitudinal arch causes loss of power.  The foot functions like a leaf spring during walking—storing and returning energy.  Not so during cycling—with a resulting loss of power.  Specialized makes the “biowedge” shoe to help the knee behave like a piston—from hipbone through knee to second toe.

Neutral Position

Key Considerations for Bike Fit

Relation of Ball of Foot to Pedal – The neutral position is such that the ball of the foot is over the axle of the pedal. If shoe size if greater than 42, the ball of the foot will likely be forward of the axle. If shoe size is less than 40, the ball of the foot will likely be aft (or behind) the axle.

Toe In/Toe Out Considerations – Float is good; less than 10º is best. Pedals that fit these criteria are:  Look, DuraAce Lance, SpeedPlay Zero, and Campy 30.

Calorie Needs – during training: 600 cal/hr; during racing 1000 cal/hr.

Hydration – importance cannot be overstated.

Training Parameters – volume (time and/or distance), intensity, frequency, recovery, and life stress. 

Exercise, Metabolism, and Endurance Sports Performance

A discussion of basic metabolic pathways and energy expenditure, effects of diet and exercise, and using that information to improve endurance performance

Neal Henderson, M.S. CSCS (Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist), Coordinator of Sports Science, Boulder Center for Sports Medicine  

Neal is an exercise physiologist, USA Triathlon-certified expert coach, and professional triathlete. He coached the CU Triathlon team to record 4th and 5th consecutive USAT National championships, and coached the junior and collegiate national teams at the USOC in Colorado Springs in 1999. Neal’s education in exercise science, coaching experience, and background as a professional triathlete give him a unique understanding of the physiology of exercise and its application to performance. Neal has recently been selected to USA Triathlon’s National Coaching Committee. 

Notes by Janet Slate of HRCC

Exercise Physiology 101 – The more oxygen you can take in, the more energy you can produce, and therefore the more work you can do. Response to exercise can be measured by heart rate, O2 consumption, blood lactate, and respiration.

Basics of Metabolism – aerobic vs. anaerobic pathways. Lactate threshold is the point where production of lactic acid exceeds removal and recycling.

Metabolism and Energy Production – During aerobic exercise, burning carbohydrates in the presence of oxygen (i.e., breathing) results in energy (ATP) produced (along with carbon dioxide and water). The fat-burning metabolic pathway produces four times more energy! Anaerobic (non-oxidative) metabolism is an inefficient means of energy production. The pathway taken depends on the exercise intensity and energy available—how hard you’re going. Exercising longer and at lower intensities enhances the aerobic capacity of the muscles and results in reduced recovery times.

Training Zones

Periodization – refers to cyclic training in order to optimize training schedules for maximum performance. Base period: to improve aerobic fitness; Build period: to increase muscle strength and LT power; and Peak/Taper/Racing: the period of maximal performance. 

Websites            Boulder Center for Sports Medicine: http://www.bch.org/sportsmedicine/

Mountain Fitness Training Center: http://www.mftrainingcenter.com/

RoadBikeRider.com (which sells Andy’s book): http://www.roadbikerider.com/

 

The 2002 MS150 the day began by being picked up by Tad and Wolf at 4:30AM.  Just imagine what you need to have done to be ready at that time.  We arrived in Louisville at the Storage Tech facility and it took a while to find parking because in the dark we didn’t realize that we had a reserved spot.  We got going and enjoyed some cool weather until lunch which was at the traditional start of the TourdeCure.  Nothing much occurred before lunch except one guy who flipped himself off his bike right at the turn off to Carter Lake.  He was uninjured, but it was interesting to watch.  After lunch Tad went on the Century loop and Bernie and Wolf continued on up Big Thompson Canyon.  Climbing Big Thompson was a kick since we had a major tail wind.  If you haven’t climbed a mountain canyon in your big chain ring, you are really missing something.  We were flying and only a Euro pro from Domo Farm Frites and the motorcycle patrol could get by us, what a rush.  We flew through Drake and Glen Haven, topping up our water bottles at a water stop at the Post Office to begin Devil’s Gulch.

Devil’s Gulch is a nice little climb approx. 1 mile in length and with grades up to 16%--its wicked steep.  We passed a poor woman who made the really bad decision to get off of her bike in cleats.  As she was walking, she would take one step and her foot (in cleated shoes) would then slide back the same distance.  She was really upset.  Devil’s Gulch is one of the few things steeper than Lee Hill Road which we rode at the A Rock.  At the top, they handed out medals for those who rode up and then we had a nice little 40mph+ ride down into Estes Park.  Not a bad day at all with over 31 miles of climbing.

The overnight was uneventful, with a little rain and some cool breezes.  One fun thing was watching all of the people jammed into the beer tent.  We decided that those folks were sagging on Sunday except for Tad who needed the beer for recovery.

Sunday dawned cool and sunny in Estes Park, but the amazing thing was all of the riders who decided not to ride.  They actually got stuffed into buses and taken to the second rest stop (our breakfast stop) where the bus actually disgorged (no kidding) them.  Anyway, we skipped breakfast due to the long lines.  What a mistake if you normally eat breakfast.  Bernie spent the rest of the day eating anything he could get his hands on.  The ride was great, just a five mile climb out of Estes to the Peak-to-Peak Highway.  A very fun descent down S. St. Vrain canyon took us to Sunday’s lunch in Lyons.  Now it was getting hot.  Bernie did a funny interview with the V3S film crew, funny because as they asked questions, he had no idea what he was saying, but they said the answers were perfect.  When the commercials come out, we will see.

Tad went to the front after lunch and rode tempo that was fantastic and brutal.  As soon as riders would join us, they got spit out the back.  One set of women racer types tried to attack repeatedly, but as soon as they got out of the train, the wind just hammered them.  You have to give them credit for trying to attack the Tad train, but man they were just frying their brains out and by the time we made the turn for Louisville, they were hammered to smithereens.  That wasn’t so bad, but so was Bernie who limped home a few minutes after Tad and Wolf and immediately began looking for some more food.

By the finish, the temp’s were approaching 101 and Tad’s camp shower was very warm but it felt great.  All those walking by Tad’s car got a show, but hey, it was time to take the kits off and get into some shorts and sandals and eat some more food.  The 2002 MS150 was one of our fastest ever due to favorable wind conditions and by going into the mountains instead of another ride into summer hell, was one of the best ones ever.

  • 2003 MS 150 High Rollers Ride: HRCC hosts the 2002 High Rollers Ride.  Open only to qualifying riders, this ride is a honor ride for the top performers from the 2001 MS 150.  The 2002 High Rollers Ride takes starts at Bike Source where the fun and festivities will occur.  Prizes, food and a catered lunch are only part of the benefits of being an MS 150 High Roller.  The HRCC is proud to have many high rollers in its ranks and honored to be the host team for this great event.  On June 9th, our ride started hot and promised to get much hotter.  Instead it just got weird due to the approaching Hayman fire and an absolutely incredible smoke plume that covered the entire front range.  Len, Wolf and Bernie finished 1-2-3 and got in just as the ash started to come down.  Riders finishing later looked just devastated by soot and ash from the Hayman fire.  Our route was a familiar HRCC ride as we rode through Chatfield to Titan to Roxborough Park Road to Wadsworth to Deer Creek with a full loop of Ken Caryl and then back to Bike Source.  We were greeted by the wonderful staff of V3S handing out some much needed EForce and the great buffet provided to the riders by the National MS Society.  This ride is wonderful event and a great way to honor the big producers in the MS 150.

  • 2003 Triple ByPass:  From Ed Wolph: We had a good Triple; we started at dawn and beat the early heat.  No rainthis year but it did get hot from Keystone to Avon.  The highlight of myride was 55.7 mph down Loveland pass.  It made up for all the 6-8 mph lowgear grinding.  I sure could have used Tad's wheel to follow.  Our total"ride time" was 7:45 for 120 miles. From Fran Summerhill:  Daniel and I had agreat time and he finished with energy to spare - all the encouragement he got from folks at the rest stops really spurred him on!  From Chris Sandalcidi: This was my 1st  Triple and I must say it was wonderful. Good support and incredible good weather – sunny and very little wind – most of it being a tailwind! It was great to see Ed Wolph during the ride. The fact that I had no flats or mechanicals certainly added to this great experience!

  • 2003 Ride the Rockies: People have asked me what I like about Ride The Rockies—why I do it.  I like to ride my bicycle—a lot.  I like to think I’m suited to such endurance events.  I enjoy the camaraderie of the other cyclists and support staff.  The scenery is spectacular and makes me feel lucky to live in Colorado.A group of us from the U.S. Geological Survey (where I work) ride and present information about the geology along the ride route.  (This is the “busman’s holiday” aspect of the ride, but if you are acquainted with any geologists you know that’s just how we are.)  Our Regional Director gave a talk complete with slides during the Cycle Seminar at the end of our 102-mi day.  We distributed brochures that described day-by-day highlights of the geology and featured a simplified geologic map with the ride route superimposed.  This year we were fortunate to have a support person who set up a canopy in virtually every town where we displayed posters of the simplified geologic map and a Landsat 7 satellite image on a shaded-relief base as well as CDOT’s Colorado Bicycling Map.  CDOT provided 2000 of these maps for distribution and they were a hit.  All of the information we presented can be viewed and downloaded from http://www.cr.usgs.gov/rtr.htm  We got some press coverage this year as well; if you want to read the article, it’s online at http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36%257E53%257E1461480,00.html 

    I wore my HRCC jersey on Day 1 and the long day (Day 4), but I didn’t meet any other HRCC riders.  If you were out there, I’m sorry I missed you.  If you didn’t ride this year but you think you might like to give Ride The Rockies a try, I highly encourage you.  I plan to go again next year!I mostly rode with a colleague from California; we determined ahead of time that we probably rode about the same speed.  Not only did we ride at about the same speed, we also had a similar riding style.  Made for a ton of fun and a lot easier ride.  I’ll recap the days below.

    Day 1 – Cortez to Telluride (Lizard Head Pass – 10,222 ft)A beautiful day.  I rode this leg on my first RTR in 1999 when it rained/hailed/snowed at the top of Lizard Head Pass.  I remembered the “extra” uphill after the pass and I was ready for it.4:58:19 76.19 mi (77 mi)    15.3 mph   44.1 maxmy time            my mileage (RTR’s)            my average            my maxDay 2 – Telluride to Montrose (Dallas Divide – 8,970 ft)Couldn’t have been better.  From Ridgway to Montrose, we had the “USGS train”; three of us pulling (we don’t know how many) at a blistering pace up to 33 mph.  Don’t think I’ve ever had a faster average speed for a ride ofthatlength.3:03:2464.29mi(65mi)21.0 mph      46.8 maxDay 3 – Montrose to DeltaFun—takin’ it easy before the long day.  I thought this day’s ride would be boring, but I was wrong.  We had several hills and wound in an out of the river valley, up and down terraces.  I was surprised at my average speed when we reached Delta, because we were conscientiously trying to conserve for the next day’s ride.1:35:13 32.19 mi (32 mi)            20.3 mph      39.2 max Day 4 – Delta to Gunnison (featuring 7,000 ft of elevation gain)Much easier than I thought it would be.  We rode so conservatively that once we reached the highest point of the ride (at about the halfway point) with the majority of the climbing behind us, we were all smiles and high-fives.  We came across wet pavement at about mile 80 where there had clearly been a cloudburst, but I wouldn’t say we rode through rain.6:29:46 101.33 mi (102 mi)            15.5 mph      40.9 maxDay 5 – Rest Day in Gunnison

    First time in my five years of participating in RTR that we’ve had a rest day, and I believe only the second time in the history of RTR that they’ve had one.  Earlier I had suggested that we all ride to Crested Butte for the day—only 27 miles up the valley.  But we heard from a local that the road above Almont was in terrible shape and there was a lot of construction; so we gratefully opted out of that.  We had a lot of fun nevertheless.Day 6 – Gunnison to Buena Vista (Cottonwood Pass – 12,126 ft)One of the most beautiful passes in Colorado.  I rode most of this leg two years ago when the ride started in Crested Butte and went over Cottonwood Pass to end in Buena Vista.  Then, the weather was unimaginably perfect.  Not the case this year.  We saw the dark clouds building early.  When we saw the first crack of lightning at Aid 3 (34 mi), we hightailed it out of there.  In 2 mi, we hit the dirt (oh yeah, the western side of Cottonwood is unpaved for 14 mi) and it began to rain.  It was 9:30am!  The rain subsided by the time we reached Aid 4 (43 mi), but were we ever muddy!  Wiped off our little USGS pins affixed to our bike bags and we were on our way.  Clouds were building again when we were at the pass.  A long line of people waited to get their bikes power-washed, until one of the staff people shut it off and told us all to head down.  Using our water bottles, we squirted off our rims and brakes quickly and tried to leave before we got into a mass-descent situation.  All went well (maybe we got ahead of the crowd).  Entirely under my own power (no drafting), I set a new max speed record for myself.4:48:38 68.65 mi (69 mi)            14.2 mph      56.1 maxDay 7 – Buena Vista to Copper Mountain (Fremont Pass – 11,318 ft)Perfect finish to an excellent tour.  After quite a bit of rain overnight in Buena Vista—unusual for the “Banana Belt”—the morning dawned clear.  Three of us rode together most of the way and had a blast.  The ride down Fremont Pass is a straightaway made for high speeds.  The finish in Copper Mountain wrapped through the village and was filled with well-wishers—made you feel as though you’d finished some big race in Europe.  Alas, I did not win the Serotta, but there’s always next year!3:35:30 58.67 mi (59 mi)            16.3 mph      52.6 maxTour statistics24:30:50  401.32mi(404 mi)   16.3 mph      56.1 new personal max speed!If you have questionsorcomments,please feel free to get in touch with me.

  • Santa Fe Century 2003: We arrived in Santa Fe on May 17th, Friday and had a great dinner at the Blue Corn Brew Pub.  When you go to Santa Fe be ready to eat SW style for the duration.  Its great fuel for cycling and beer has good carbs so I’m told.

    Saturday morning we met at the Fairfield for the HRCC group ride as we scouted the start of Sunday’s Santa Fe Century and part of the out and back loop that most were riding.  We had a group of about 12 and all those HRCC jerseys were a great site riding up Zia road to the Capshaw School.  Melody was graced with two flats and promptly committed to sliming her tires.  Everyone went back to their hotels and then some touristy stuff at the Plaza, Jackalope and the outlet mall.  As an example of SW style dining, at lunch on Saturday, a simple turkey and swiss was SW’ized with a green chili glaze. It was actually very good.

    Saturday evening was the HRCC dinner at the world famous Garduno’s, who claims to have the best margaritas in Santa Fe.  Several of those attending tested this thesis and seemed to agree.  This restaurant overlooks the famous Santa Fe Plaza.  It is an interesting spot, but don’t think “piazza”, you’d be disappointed.

    Sunday brought the traditional opening of the recreational cycling season, the Santa Fe Century.  Dave, Mike, Ed, Jack and Melody set out on the 100 mile route.  Wolf, Dave, Chenille, Cathy, Bernie, Neil and Jane did the out and back.  Dave, Chenille and Jane rode 60 miles and the rest rode the traditional 82.  For some wonderful reason, this was the first Santa Fe ride in many years where we enjoyed some great tail winds for most of the ride.  Those experienced Santa Fe riders were wonderfully and pleasantly surprised.  We cruised to Galisteo and the only mishap to that point was Bernie’s flat tire 5 miles into the ride.  Now the ride from Galisteo to Stanley is a grind, uphill the whole way and this year into a headwind.  But the last section run in to Stanley was a gas as Neil took the bit in his teeth and pulled us in to Stanley.  Now here is the fun part: from Stanley all the way back to Santa Fe, 41 miles was with a major tail wind.  Major sections of the course just disappeared as we were spun out in our biggest gears.  Mike, Dave and Ed absolutely hammered the 100 mile course.  Jack and Melody completed their first ever century and were gushing.  We hated to tell them the tail winds were the exception and not the rule.  Wolf and Bernie both rode their fastest ever rides in Santa Fe.  Neil was flying the whole day, just tearing everyone’s legs off.  Unfortunately, less than a mile from the finish, Neil suffered a terrible accident.  He caught his front wheel in a lip in the pavement and crashed at over 30 mph.  He suffered a broken left hip, covered himself with an interesting red road rash and had emergency surgery that evening.

    After making sure Neil was settled and appropriately drugged, we had our Santa Fe closing dinner at the Blue Corn.  Except for Neil’s crash, this was a great Santa Fe and well attended by the HRCC.   We have some changes in mind for next years ride, so stay tuned.  Thanks to the HRCC members who made Santa Fe possible and a speedy recovery to Neil.