Dan's Macabre Comparison 2008

I won't do them all, but when I do I'll post stats:

SS MTB Gearing

I decided to take on the 17 mile Snake MTB TT next weekend and have been ruminating over gearing options. My cranks are 110 BDR which limits them to the smallest chain ring size of 34 teeth. Here are the options with what I have...

The best option I think will be the 34x20 which I had to special order. That gives me a 1:1.7 ratio and will have to get me up those hills. I use a 36x18 most of the time but not on those hills.


I am up for the challenge but I think it is supposed to rain so that will be interesting.

SS at Ft. Yargo--Winder, GA

Yesterday when I rode for an hour it was 22 degrees, windchill 11. Today when I woke up and waited to leave, the temperatures had gotten to the 30 degree mark. At Yargo the trails were frozen on the first lap and then all muddy the second. The Maxxis Larsen Mimo tires I have do not like the mud and they slide around a lot. The effort was nice but pretty hard in the cold. By the second lap I was warm but tired and when I was finished I felt like I actually had done something.

Some dip-shit left a puppy in the bathroom at the nature center overnight. It escaped and parked itself right by my car. I had no other option but to pet it awhile and then call the rangers to take it to a shelter. It was a great dog and I wish we could have one right now.

I hit a big tree with my shoulder from a mud induced slide but no real damage. I love the singlespeed and I know that in the mud on my old geared bike, the shifting would have been shit on the second lap.

FTP Test

I decided I was bored and did a FTP test because i have been putting it off. I did the standard 20 minute and 5 minute all out tests. I scored an average power of 316W for the 20 and 368w for the 5 minute test. When i put this into the metric, I get a FTP score of 303w, which is about what I had during my summer test. Predictably it has dropped from 316w since October and the end of race season.

One goal is to try and keep this as high as possible through riding and racing this spring. I am going to try and test every 6 weeks this spring to see what happens. One of the reasons I did this was to get an accurate measure of the "sweet spot" of 85-100% FTP so when I am crunched for time I can work out in that zone.

Dan's Macabre Ride Comparison 2007-2008

Dan Coy does a nice Sunday hard ride called "Dan's Macabre". It is around 56 miles long and incorporates flats, hills, and even a nice long dirt road. I like to do it but the ride resembles a race as the year goes on and early in the year I often overextend in trying to keep up.

Here is a comparison of most of the statistical factors:

In my notebook from last year I mention that the ride was way too hard for me for a January ride. Most of the statistics are similar but two things stand out a bit. First, I pedaled around 4% more last year and second, my CTL in February was less than it is now and on January 13 of last year I was at 42 and I had raised it to 53 by February 11. My TSB was -2.5 and this year was 4.8 so i was a bit fresher this year because I started out the year with a higher CTL and have not rushed to do longer rides like last year.

Here is a comparison of time spent in Coggan power training levels for each date:

(Left 2007, Right 2008)

Last year I rested less on the ride and had to dip into my anaerobic system a lot more. This year I was able to use less anaerobic power and instead use the less taxing VO2 max power which I had trained specifically all last fall. My threshold coming into the ride this year was also about 20 watts higher than last year and the effects of this are easy to see.

Although I am tired, I definitely feel better than last year and maybe I can keep a reasonable level of fitness so i can keep doing it without getting dropped.

Next to cyclocross, the most enjoyable type of riding for me is riding the single speed mountain bike. I really like the freedom only one speed provides and the strength challenge I have to overcome. I mostly ride it at Big Creek Mountain Bike Trails in Roswell, GA because it is a mile from my work, but I also enjoy riding it at Ft. Yargo, the International Horse Park, and Blankets Creek trails as well.

It is a really great way to get a lot out of an hour if that is all you have. It's fun, hard, and a great workout. I am still learning with gear choices and I hope to try it out in the Georgia mountains this spring.

Races/Rides I'd Like to Do This Year (without serious training!):

February 16th: Tundra TT
March ??: GA SS Championship, Conyers?
March 29th: Two Ways in One Day MTB TT
April 13th: Flat Rock Park, Columbus SS MTB or April 19th: Cohutta 35 (on SS)
April 27th: Ft. Yargo SS MTB
May 3: Dirty Spokes 12 Hour (as a team)
May 25th: Heritage SS MTB
July??: GTC Century
August 3rd: Covington Century
September 28th: 6-Gap Century
October 28th: Tumbling Creek MTB Rumble SS
October-December: GA Cross Series

One Last Racing Goal

My only racing goal left is to break an hour for a 40km TT using a regular bike. My coach suggested 8-12 weeks of level 2, 3 and 4 workouts (easy, tempo, threshold), then 6 weeks of focusing on L4, L5 and a little more L3 (threshold, VO2 max, tempo). So that's 18 weeks before the target.

He also suggested that I gradually get used to a 60 minute effort in the drops saying, "As someone who did a few 40k TTs before aerobars existed, I can tell you that is not necessarily easy. At 40kph and over though, the aero position you can hold is perhaps the most important thing. When folks start to suffer, they typically straighten their arms and sit up higher (which can cost you 20-30W!). So being able to get and stay low when you're really suffering is a critical skill."

He also suggested picking the target day wisely in terms of wind, warmth, and air density conditions.

I am not sure when I will try to tackle this remaining goal, but I am sure it will be challenging and I may not be able to do it on my first try. I have the course already selected so all that is left is motivation and time to spend.