One Last Spin...

I did my final ride preparation for the trip tonight -- 8 hill repeats on Harlem Hill. I had a great ride Sunday, which was really my first long distance ride since my meltdown a week and a half ago. Between Sunday and tonight, my confidence is rising and I feel ready for the trip. I could be in better shape, but I'm fairly happy with where I am. The meltdown I had recently was very real...it wasn't made up or imagined. It scared me a lot but I realize we can't be "on" every day in life and beat myself up too much over it (the fact is, there were definitely a few mitigating factors).

As far as the overall training goes, I was able to get in the 15 rides I had hoped; although they varied somewhat from what I outlined originally. I ended up doing 531 miles, which is just shy of the 575 I had planned. I didn't get as many hill repeats in as I was hoping for. But overall, I think I did pretty well considering that it was slightly aggressive and things always come up in "real life" that create conflicts. Here's the final report:


As you can tell, I stopped posting the mountain pass overviews. To be honest, I feel like I was tempting fate a bit too much. These mountain passes are pretty serious stuff. I don't want to diminish the challenge or mock them in any way and piss of the cycling gods. I want to respect the challenge. If I finish the passes, I'll write about them afterward.

I realized today that it's likely to be colder than I was expecting on parts of the trip. I need to be prepared for cold weather riding. Better safe than sorry in this respect. The good news is I don't think it will add much weight to my load.
I was planning on doing some pre-packing tonight but I came up with a better idea that will actually benefit me on the trip. I'm going to wake up at 6am tomorrow morning to start packing. I'll finish tomorrow night, go to bed early and wake up on Thursday at 5am. This will ease me into acclimating to European time and give me a better chance of sleeping on my flight Thursday evening.

I may post one more time before I leave, but more likely not.

Ciao.

Tale of the Tape #2: Pass dal Fuorn (Ofen Pass)

Pass #2: Pass del Fuorn (Ofen Pass)
Date: 9/28/08, Day 3
Distance: 21.6km (13.4 miles)
Vertical climb: 676m (2,218 feet)
Average grade: 3.1%
Difficulty rating: 78.75



From Wikipedia:

"Fuorn Pass or Ofen Pass (el. 2149 m.) is a high alpine mountain pass in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. It connects Zernez in the Engadin valley with Val Müstair. It was here that a brown bear was seen and photographed in July 2005 - the first sighting of a wild bear in Switzerland since 1923."

Fuorn pass is the easiest of the mountain passes we'll be doing as it ranks 4th in terms of difficulty. But it's also harder than it appears on the surface. While it's only a 3.1% average grade, that statistic is skewed by a long steady downhill dip in the middle of the pass. Essentially, this pass is two relatively steep climbs interupted by a downhill. The first climb is 4 miles at a 6.3% average grade; the downhill is 3.5 miles with a 3.3% grade; and the final ascent is six miles at a 4.7% average grade. The good news is it's all downhill from the pass to our desination of Santa Maria. The bad news is this pass is a lot more difficult than I was expecting before I did this analysis. The trip is going to be brutal.

Trouble Brewing

I could be in trouble for my upcoming trip. I've been keeping to my training program for the most part. Yet, my fitness and stamina are horrible. Yesterday, I did a 55 mile ride and bonked halfway through. It was one of the first legitimate times in my life I didn't want to be on a bicycle. I made it home fine but the psychological impact is lingering. I felt like it was my first ride of the season and I'm concerned right now. There are a few potential reasons why I had a rough day but regardless, I need to build my confidence back. Dr. Ed was with me on the ride -- I wonder how much he's concerned about me being ready for the trip? I know I am.

Tale of the Tape: Passo del Maloja

I'm going to periodically profile each of the big mountain passes we will be climbing on my upcoming Italy trip. There are four in total and I'll tackle each one in chronological order.


Pass #1: Passo del Maloja
Date: 9/27/08, Day 2
Distance: 32.0km (19.9 miles)
Vertical climb: 1490m (4,888 feet)
Average grade: 4.7%
Difficulty rating: 113.47

Maloja pass is in the Swiss Alps near the Italy/Switzerland border. Of the four mountain passes we'll be doing, it ranks 3rd in terms of difficulty but we will be climbing the pass on our longest riding day (80 miles) so it may end up being our most difficult ride. Maloja is really two separate climbs. Starting in Chiavenna, Italy (alt. 325m), we'll slowly ascend 29km (18 miles) to just past Lobbia, Switzerland (1,436m) at an average 4.3% grade. Then, the final 1.9 miles are at an average 9% grade til we reach the pass at 1,815m (x feet). This will be brutal but the views should be worth the work. Then it's a nice easy cruise to the ritzy mountain town of St. Moritz, Switzerland.

A Wasted Trip Worthwhile

Last night I rode my bike to Dr. Ed's apartment in Brooklyn to install my new crankset. Turns out he didn't have the right tools. While it was a waste of a trip as far as fixing the bike went, the experience was worthwhile for several reasons.

1) I got to "commute" by bike for the first time. I was cruising the streets of NYC at rush hour. You not only have to watch out for cars and pedestrians, but other bikes as well. In a word, it's insane. But exhilarating as well. I got to ride the 9th Ave dedicated bike lane for the first time. It's separated from the rest of the street by a median (similar to Amsterdam). It's pretty cool but only lasts for like 20 blocks.

2) Brooklyn rocks. It's a cycling paradise. Spacious bike lanes, lots of other bikers, and respect from cars. It was the total anti-Manhattan. Brooklyn has jumped up to #1 on my list of places to move.

3) Riding over the Brooklyn Bridge is awe inspiring. I was unsure whether I was going to take the subway home but brought my head and taillights just in case. I decided to give riding back a whirl. I crossed the BB at 9pm and was blown away by the lights of the Manhattan skyline. Oh, and apparently it's romantic as well. I spotted about 20 couples making out on the bridge.

4) It confirmed my belief that Manhattan is way too crowded. I know I live right next to one of the most crowded areas (Times Square), but it's crowded all over the place. Brooklyn has a great neighborhood feel in comparison. The biggest drawback to moving to Brooklyn is that it puts me very far away from my traditional rides up into NJ, etc... But there a tons of positives.

Chasing Stelvio

I did a lot of training this weekend. While I deviated a bit from my schedule in terms of destinations, I did longer and harder rides than I had scheduled. While riding I had a lot of time to contemplate my trip. In short, it’s going to be a beast.

Riding Maloja, Stelvio and Gavia passes in a five day span is going to be comparable to running a few marathons. I can’t ride anything here remotely close to these passes for training purposes, nor would I want to because of the physical toll it would take. I’ve never climbed anything close to any of these passes but having done a few difficult mountain passes last year I know what it’s going to require. Most important (and obvious) is leg strength. You need them to feel like pistons firing in an engine. I’m not quite there yet but I can feel them starting to gel. I need to keep the momentum going. One less obvious consideration is hand strength. Applying brake pressure while coming down the backside of a mountain pass can cramp your hands pretty quickly. Once your hands cramp they are toast. I’m going to get some of those hand exercisers to use during the day at work. Finally, every pound counts. I brought way too much gear on my trip last yea r and need to be more efficient this time around; however, it will be easier now that I have some experience. I also need to lose weight on my body. My goal is 205-210 lbs, down from 220 lbs. I’ve gotten down to the 215 lb range already but each incremental lb is going to be a challenge because I will be adding muscle mass during training.