Sunday, August 19, 2012

8/19 sub5 course ride

WOW - great ride... great weather, great legs, great teamwork. It's coming together. We rode great today and completed a sub4 80. Craigs Garmin had us at 3:52:22 for 80.

3 shortened laps was the plan, and we hit our marks and exceeded our pacing. Finished with all 10 riders. Mark, Mike, Craig, Paul, Sean, Scott, Tony, Dave, Rick and John.

Only one minor incident that I heard about. Mike hit a stick in a turn that kicked his rear wheel out at the apex. Quick reflexes kept him rolling. One bit of stupidity... on the first lap somewhere on Melms, I reached down for my water... no bottles! Still ice cold in the cooler. Thanks Scott for giving me one of yours!

We parked vehicles on Ketchum and quickened up our pit stops. 8:30 total, down from 13 minutes last week. Consensus for pit stops is to have coolers with pre-filled bottles at the ready. That should be faster than refilling bottles.

I learned that the 'take the lane' call from the back is useful when approaching a turn on the front. We did get a  bit quiet on the second lap. Let's make an effort to communicate, and when we're single file, repeat the signals/commands up and down the line. 10+ riders the line is too long to hear front to back and back to front.

On the sub5 day we can ease the pace up the hills. We were about 1 mph faster up the climbs than we needed (see summary data below). On the final Big Timber climb, Mike had the lead and we had a struggling rider, so we were calling up to him to control the pace for the struggling rider. To finish as a team, it's good for everyone to learn to ride someone elses pace. 

Rick will be next weeks domestique water boy for jumping the group on the last climb.
Mark is this weeks Captains favorite for pacing me up the last bit of Big Timber after Mike jumped onto Ricks wheel.
Mike gets the big wheels award for pulling up Big Timber and still having the legs to catch Ricks wheel.
Paul gets the Lantern Rouge - I was the struggling rider up Big Timber on lap 3

Great ride today. I was having an off day, and the team covered me. I had a blast.

Here's the lap stats. My odometer showed 81.6 miles total.

Lap Dist Lap Lap Ave Total Ave
27.2 1:16:12 21.42 1:16:12 21.42
 stop 1
4:12   1:20:24 20.30
27.2 1:16:36 21.31 2:37:00 20.79
 stop 2
4:20   2:41:20 20.23
27.2 1:17:30 21.06 3:58:50 20.50

Todays ride pace broken down by the first flat miles, and the last hillier miles. The Flats are the first 16 miles, Hills are the last 11 miles (i.e. starting at the turn unto Beck road). Planned sub5 pace is in parenthesis.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lap 1 Flats  21.8 (21.5)  Hills  21.3 (20.0)
Lap 2 Flats  21.5 (21.0)  Hills  21.3 (19.8)
Lap 3 Flats  21.2 (20.7)  Hills  20.9 (19.0)

Craigs Garmin data:  http://connect.garmin.com/player/212564101

Next team/course ride Saturday 8/25 7:30, Hampshire HS

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

459 Express 8/12 course ride

About 30 sub5 riders from various teams showed up to do 2-3 laps. 459 express had Steve, Larry, Mike, John, Ron, and myself. This was Ron's first ride with the group and his first recon ride on the course. The plan was to ride 3 shortened laps and solidify the pacing plan, get to know each other better, and have some fun.




We started with the main group, but turned off the course at Payne and Harmony road and the six of us completed 3 laps. We cut off 6 miles of flatness on each lap. No garmin, no watt-o-meter, and we nailed the pace plan. Each lap time was within a minute of each other. We did the hills 32 times and finished with 82 miles with a rolling average or 20.7mph. We did 2 leisurely stops for a total of 13 minutes. Our total average was 19.6. We were only 4 minutes over a sub4 80. Just tidy up the pit stops, and we're sub4.



Roughtly we averaged 21.8 on the flat portion (first 16 miles), and 19.5 on the hilly section (last 11 miles) of each lap. The kicker was that Steve and I both noticed that we RECOVERED on the hill portion of the course! I think the pace plan is going to work well.


With just the 6 of us we did a single pace line, learned to swing wide approaching the turns, communicate the pace up the hills, and that all the turns have gravel in them. After the first lap everybody figured out not to yell gravel at every turn. It just wasn't fun without Rene' there to annoy.


The team has solid legs, great teamwork, and a plan that will keep up together for 100 miles. We are going to rock the sub5!



459 Express Hill n Kill


Our group of 6 is 80 miles into the ride and all we need to finish is the Big Timber climb. Mike has just pulled off the front after a monster long pull, and I take over cruising us to the start of the climb. The group is lined up nicely behind me and Larry 'billy goat' climber is my wheel man. I get us onto the initial ramp of the climb, and set into our pace. I ask expectantly if Larry wants to lead this climb. Larry is in my ear doling out the compliments...

    "you're doing great Paul, keep us going"... ( oops, not the answer I was hoping for )
          --- my pulse is 165 and I'm looking at 4 minutes of work ----

         "you're looking good Paul"... ( nobody looks better than Larry in his kit-de-jour )
                --- I'm holding the effort even, shifting gears to match the changing gradient ---

                "wow Paul, you should be in the Tour!" ( larry REALLY doesn't want to lead this one )
                     --- pulse is flicking over 170, gotta ease back just a wee bit ---

            "wiggens could have used you in the mountains" ( larry is a sick bastard that likes to watch people suffer on climbs )


          --- pulse came down to 168, this is surviable. . . . .. jeez I'm pouring out sweat like a soaker hose ---

        "hey, how ya doing up there paul? ( oh the compassion... he's just worried about explaining my demise to my wife )
    --- I got this, just another minute and I'll have this climb knocked off ---

"alright, I'm coming up to help"


What? He's pulling the plug on ME? the nerve! But, I don't have a brain cell or leg synapse to argue. There goes Larry.... there goes Mike... there goes Ron... no way I'm catching those wheels.

John pulls alongside, offers to pace me the last bit. JOHN! the new captains favorite. He matches my pace, and he gets me to the top.

John is now the captains pet.
Larry the climber, is now Larry the domestique water boy. And I am REALLY thirsty.


Good fun!





Saturday, July 21, 2012

7/15 Sub5 Course Ride


------------------- 7/15 RIDE STATS from sub5 course ride ----------

We had 9 riders, and did one lap together, took a long refuel break, and the group fell apart a bit on the second lap. We learned the course, and practiced clockwise and counter-clockwise double rotating pacelines. Here's some data:

Basic stats from Craigs garmin
Lap1
20.2 miles in first hour
Harmony hill 1.09 miles @ 3:40 17.9 mph ~265watts ave
  ** should be less than 250 watts ~4:00 16mph **
Big Timber 2.0 @ 5:30 20.9 mph ~255 watts (wind aided)
 ** should be less than 240watts ~ 7:00 17mph **
 
Lap1 34.1 miles @ 1:40:30 20.3 mph 165watts ave
  ** should be 1:36:00 20.8mph 175watts ave **
 
We did the flat section at 20.2 and the hill section at 20.6. Even with the tailwind, that is bass-ackwards. We need to take it easier up the hills.
 
Lap2 – 20.2 miles in first hour
  At the base of Harmony Hill, the group fell apart due to heat and dehydration. I think everybody ate properly, but the heat made keeping hydrated a problem.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/199635346

Monday, May 21, 2012

rotate those pace lines

We had warm weather and a 8-10mph South winds for a double pace line training ride. With a bit of coaching and strategy talk, the group got so we could ride a fairly tight pace line rotating both clock-and-counter clock depending on the wind direction.We did a great job pacing up the hill, only popping off some riders on the last 'warrenville road' climb. On the downhills the riders in the back were using brakes (wasting energy), so we need remind ourselves to pedal the 'normal' effort when on the front going downhill. Until we got a bit fatigued near the end, we didn't have much trouble with accordion pacing. I was impressed with how we kept the two lines rotating smoothly. It took us a while to get the two lines close to each other, but that takes practice and confidence in the others riders. We were pretty tight on the way home.

In the future, we'll need some more training rides to work on maintaining an echelon while rotating the paceline. We also need to work on turns next time we are out in Hampshire on the course. The suburban roads don't give us much opportunity to make turns at speed. There's 16 turns per lap on the course, so any energy/time savings we do on a turn will be multiplied by 48 for the 100 miles.

I didn't get a Garmin ride summary from anyone, but I think we averaged somewhere in the 17mph range for 50 miles. This wasn't a speed run, just working on an efficient double line. Everybody seemed to have a great time. I know I did... it was very rewarding to see us keep a tight rotating paceline going.

Gary, Larry, Mike J, Mike E, Loni, Dave M., Scott T., Tony, Craig, Phil, Brad, and Paul rode this ride.

Saturday, April 14, 2012

Team Roster

Here is the 459 Express Roster as of 6/28/2012.

The 2012 Sub5 is limited to 16 teams of 16 riders each. There are currently 10 teams. The Evanston Bike Club already has 16 riders registered.

You can register here: http://www.sub5century.org/registration/


Name
Status
Date



1Paul MeierCaptain3/17/12



2Mike JeffriesRegistered3/27/12

3Mark AckermanRegistered4/8/12

4Larry GrubartRegistered5/10/12



5Scott ThompsonRegistered5/20/12



6Steve ChambersRegistered

6/12/12



7Tony CoulsonRegistered
6/20/12



8Brad CarterRegistered
6/14/12



9
Craig McKenszie
Registered6/20/12



10Al Alphin5:00-5:156/20/12



11Bobby D2012 goal




12Scott Collisinterest




13Mark LucasYes4/14/12



14Loni Weidemaninterest




15Carlos SintesYes4/2/12



16Dave MatherYes5/20/12



17Gary Boltoninterest




18Mark LucasYes4/14/12



19Dave Martinfence




20Mike EatonNo Thanks5/20/12



21






22Phil Pfeifer?




22Sean Wilsoninterest




Friday, April 6, 2012

Chilly Miles

A group of hardy riders did 45 miles or so of base miles... mostly behind Mark 'WattsOn' Ackerman's pacing. It was 35-45F during the ride with a fresh ENE wind. We (Mark) averaged mid 20s with a tailwind on the centennial trail and low 20s into the wind. Then then group scattered a bit on Bluff road. We regrouped and forced our way into the wind back to the Lemon Tree. A few of us refreshed ourselves with hot beverage or a draft pint. ahhhh

Today's riders: Mark A., Larry, Mark, Dave, Rene', Loni, Bobby D, and myself

Route Stats: Mark's Garmin

Sunday, April 1, 2012

459 Pacing Plan


2013 Sub5 Course and Pacing Plan
459 Express


In 2011/2012 we learned that the key to keeping a group intact on the sub5 course will be proper pacing and avoiding any unneeded accelerations. This is particularly important on the back half of the course where there are hills. None of the hills are difficult, but when riding at our limit, it doesn't take much to push one over the limit and off the back of the pack. For 2013 there are less turns, 12, and maintaining speed through the turn and gently re-establishing our pace is needed to keep the group together.

Sub5 Course Lap: Marks Garmin

Overall Pace Plan

The following table highlights the pacing lap by lap. Note exact distances and lap time may change with new 2013 course. These are based on the 2012 course distances.
459 Pace Plan
Lap Time/Speed
Total Time
Total Ave

1st Hour
Back Half
Lap 1 – 33.6 mile
1:36@21.0mph
1:36
21.0

21.5
20.0
Pit Stop
0:04
1:40
20.2



Lap 2 – 33.6 mile
1:38@20.6mph
3:18
20.4

21.0
19.8
Pit Stop
0:03
3:21
20.0



Lap 3 – 32.8 mile
1:38@20.1 mph
4:59
20.07

20.7
19.0

Also note that there are 12 turns and several intersections that we will slow down and/or stop for. Figure losing 15 seconds per turn, that’s 3 minutes lost each lap. So to average 21mph the first hour, our moving pace needs to be 22mph.

The Course

The course is on lightly traveled rural roads. In the past, course workers were at all the turns and intersections. While they may give us the ‘all clear to proceed’, the course workers will not be stopping traffic. We must be vigilant at all intersections. In years past, my group had to stop at least once for traffic in the 100 miles.
The course isn’t particularly hilly, however it drops 200 feet in the first 21 miles, and gains it back in the last 13 miles. (Note that the first 2 laps are 33.6 miles and the finish is short of a complete lap at 32.8 miles). The basic strategy is to make time on the downhill section and carefully pace up the back half the course. Most of the elevation drop is in the first 3 miles, and then then next 18 miles are flat to gently downhill. Expect a cruising speed of 22mph. The back half of the course gradually gains the elevation back, with one 'sleeper' hill on Harmony road. And the only major climb, Big Timber. Roughly, each lap we hope to average 21mph in the first (downhill) hour, and then average 20mph on the uphill section. Harmony road needs to be taken at 18mph, and Big Timber at 15-17 mph.
Harmony is a sleeper because it looks flat, but it goes up in an annoying way. This requires an 18-19 mph pace to keep the group together. I’ve seen it over and over again where the lead riders go too hard and separate the group. Next, we turn onto Hampshire road which has fresh pavement, is exposed (no trees/houses) and rolls up and down. The last uphill has a steep kicker (3-4% or so) just as it hits the crest at Higgins Road. We should crest (Higgins Hump)  at 13 mph. Then take a collective deep breath and some water on the short downhill lead to left turn unto Big Timber road.

Finally, the 3nd significant climb is Big Timber road. At first there is a downhill section to gain speed, but then it's a long uphill to finish the lap. We have 1.5 miles of up... with the steepest section at the top. Basically, this is a longer version of the DG Warrenville hill road. On Big Timber we need to pace mostly 16-17mph and scrub speed to 12-13mph on the last, steeper section. Once we conquer Big Timber, it's a mile (with an annoying rise) to the pit stop. On the last lap, the finish is at the crest right at the Big Timber/Gast intersection.

Ride Plan

The course will be ridden using both single and double pace lines. To minimize time in the turns, we’ll double up on sections where there are several turns in a short distance. We will ride single file to maximize group efficiency and to allow riders to self-regulate their pull times.  In addition, certain areas on the course will be 459 Express designated feed zones. See the map “459 Express Ride Plan” at the end of this document for where we intend to ride single, double, and feed.

Efficiency

Effective drafting is paramount to saving energy and making our goal. Roughly, with no wind/hills, a 200lb rider needs 240watts to ride 22 mph. The same rider drafting needs only 170watts. The more riders drafting and less riders ‘in the air’, the less energy the group as a whole needs.

We will use a combination of these techniques. We’ll use single paceline for long straights allowing riders to select how long he/she pulls. We’ll use double lines when there are turns and hills to keep the group tight. See “459 Express Ride Plan” map diagram at the end of this document.

Single Paceline

A single paceline has only one rider ‘in the wind’, except when the lead rider pulls off and drifts back then there are 2 in the wind.
Pros – most efficient with long pulls (keeping only one rider in the wind), stronger riders can take longer pulls and riders in difficulty can take short pulls.
Cons – cross winds will cause echelon to exceed lane width and results in multiple riders ‘in the wind’, long line makes it hard to communicate front to back to front, long line makes turns slower waiting for tail to complete turn before re-establishing normal pacing.

Double Rotating

We’ve been practicing this quite a bit this summer.,. partly because it’s fun, but  mainly because we needed to improve our technique.
Pros – great team effort/camaraderie, shorter tail helps in turns, communication possible in short bursts
Cons – requires high level of concentration, regular accelerations needed, limited time to drink/refuel, requires entire group to be matched in strength.

Double Pull Off

aka – thread the needle. Two lines with the front riders pulling off together towards each edge of the lane and the main group passes in between them.
Pros – people can self-regulate length of pulls, shorter  tail helps communication and turns.
Cons – can be tricky when an echelon forms in a cross wind, two riders in the wind (but if they ride close it’s more efficient than 2 lines far apart), rider pairs need to somewhat matched in strength

Turns

Each turn we slow down and speed up. Based on the garmin stats, on a normal turn we’ll go from 22 mph down to 16-18 mph, and then accelerate back to 22mph. This wastes 15-20 seconds per turn compared to straight 22mph. Also, each acceleration is roughly equivalent to a 0.2mile hill at 0.5%. That doesn’t seem like much, but with 12 turns per lap, that’s a ‘hidden’ 7 mile hill at 0.5%. It’s important to safely execute each turn without slowing down too much.
If you are on the front approaching a turn call out ‘hold your line’ and stop the pace line rotation. Before the turn, gently move to the left side of the lane for a right turn, and move to right side of the lane for a left turn. Maintain speed and coast into the turn. Note that in most cases, simply  turning and leaning your bike will slow your speed down for the turn. As you straighten up note your speed and (if you can safely) glance back to see any obvious gaps in the line behind.
To keep the group together it is CRITICALLY important that the lead riders do not accelerate until the ENTIRE group is through the turn. If you are on the lead during a turn, maintain whatever your minimum turn speed was until the last rider exits the turn.  E.g. if you come out of the turn at 17mph (everybody else will go at least that slow), then maintain 17mph until you hear the ‘all aboard’ signal. Then gradually begin accelerating to normal pace and restart the needed rotation for the new situation.  If you are on the tail of the group, call up ‘all aboard’ as soon as the tail has completed the turn.

Feed Zones

We will be burning major calories for just under 5 hours, roughly 700-1000 calories/hour depending on the individual. We need to eat, and more than just at the pit stop. Better yet, we can eat while moving, so we’ll restock food pockets while stopped, and eat while moving. Here are the designated 459 Express feed zones. These are when we are going downhill and can coast or soft pedal maintaining 20+ mph and concentrate on eating some calories. Whoever is on the front in our feed zones needs to establish 20mph and then soft pedal or coast. We need to relax our spacing and give each other some wiggle room while we dig in our pockets for food. Some of the energy bars are hard to unwrap and you may consider pre-opening them before the ride. Here are the 459 Express “Feed Zones”:
1.       Kelly road between Ketchum and Widmayer road. This is the first downhill of each lap, right after the pit stop.
2.      A short feed zone after we make the left on Harmony road (coasting the down I90 overpass hill)

In both previous sub5 events I haven’t consumed enough calories. This year I plan on 3 clif bars (300cal each), and 3 Gus (100cal each) each lap. That’s 1200 calories per lap and I may still run a negative calorie deficit. At the start, I will stock my three jersey pockets each with a lap supply of food. I will make sure to empty another pocket by the end of each lap. With this technique all I need at the pit stop is water and could comfortably do the pit stops under 2 minutes each.

Pit Stops

This is not a rest stop, but a pit stop. We’ll replenish food pockets, water bottles, chug some fluids, possibly visit the porta-john, and get moving again. We’ll eat and drink the new supplies on the Kelly road downhill… while we are moving 20-25mph. Last year, our group stopped for 3:45 and 2:30 for the two pit stops. Keep in mind, the less we are stopped, the slower the ride pace will be. I want us to be under 4 and 3 minutes respectively for the two stops.  Just those 7 stopped minutes increases our needed moving ride pace from 20 to 20.5 mph.

The quickest pit stops are to simply have your cooler with full water bottles. Just switch them out. I chug on a gallon of water to top myself off as well. Although I carry with me enough GUs and bars for the whole ride, I also have some additional snacks in the cooler to grab in case I have a craving for something.

Hills

The following chart shows the major hills, and the pace equivalents of a 200lb rider producing 240watts not drafting. This gives an idea of an effort equivalent to a 22mph flat cruising speed. I created a Computrainer course for the sub5 lap and found that holding a 240watt average (no drafting) produces the 1:37ish (20.8 mph) goal lap time. The chart gives us a goal pace for the hills shown below. We will need to adjust based on tail/head winds.

200 lbs at 240 watts
 Overall Climb
Overall Pace
Kicker
Cresting Pace
Flat windless road
0%
22.4 mph


Beck Road removed 2013
1.2 at 1.3%
17.7 mph
1.6%
15.5mph
Harmony Hill removed 2013
0.8 at 1.6%
16.7 mph
3%
12.7 mph
Harmony Road
0.8 at 1.0%
18.7 mph
NA

Higgins Hump
0.3 at 2.3%
 -
2.3%
14.5 mph
Big Timber Road
1.2 @ 1.7%
16.3 mph
3%
12.7 mph

Communication

All aboard – tail calls this when group is back together after a turn, hill or other disruption
Easy or Soft pedal – anyone calls this when one or more riders is either separated or in difficulty ie.
down/up 1 or ½ cog – decrease/increase the equivalent of shifting one or a half cog.
One line (one finger)– single pace line
Two/double line (two fingers) – double rotating line
Thread the needle (four fingers) – double pull off line



Sub5 LTF Ride

Post rain, the roads were wet and the temps were 50-55F and overcast. Not a banner weather day, but Rob's LTF ride had 13 riders show up. A flat or two along the way, too. Regardless, we had a good time on this mostly frontage road ride with Bluff road for the entertainment value. Mike J. led out Bluff road and Larry marked him. I didn't have the legs to keep them in sight, but I heard eventually Larry took to the front. No surprise there.

Larry, Mike J., Mark, Bobby D., Phil, Carlos and myself rode today.

Route stats: Marks Garmin

Saturday, March 31, 2012

Sub5 Oswego Ride

Today's ride was a display of power by Mark 'WattsOn' Ackerman. It was a chilly (low 40s), overcast morning and we started with a tailwind. It was easy going out to Oswego. A hot beverage, and an extended chat indoors at the Village Grind got us almost re-warmed. On the way back home we had a quartering headwind and WattsOn powered us through that wind. We voted WattsOn as 'most improved cyclist'. It was an amazing display of early season power and endurance.

Group was: Mark, Larry, Mike J., Mike E., Steve, Loni, and myself.

Click for Route Stats

Ride on!

Friday, March 30, 2012

Spin cycling coach danger to bicycle nut

Excerpt from Internet exercise advice column. Tongue in cheek comments in bold

Some instructors will ask students to load on the resistance so much so that cadence drops to 50, 40 or even 30 rpm. Let's take a look at whether this is beneficial for you as a cyclist, or even for the non-cyclists that make up a large part of the indoor cycling population.
Most indoor ‘cycling’ instructors bikes are hanging in their garages. When they do ride their bike, the only time they shift gears is when the misadjusted chains skips unto another cog. And they don’t even know what a cog is.
The term "specificity of exercise" is a tenet in exercise science that applies to all fitness and sport training. It means that as much as possible, your training should mimic the specific movement of your sport or goal activity. Specificity applies not only to the muscle groups used, but also to the speed of movement, the joint angle, the muscle fiber types recruited and even to the metabolic system employed to generate energy.
Face it, biking is watts. There are no watts on a spin bike. If you aren’t training watts you ain’t training for biking. You are wasting your time on a spin bike. ‘Specificity of exercise’ on a spin bike? It’s called a Bicycle. Ever seen a spin ‘bike’ with two wheels? I don’t think this guy even owns a bike.
In a periodized training program, training starts off fairly general to enhance basic fitness elements such as muscular endurance, aerobic endurance and leg speed (in the case of cycling), but the closer you get to your event the more specific your training needs to be.
A periodized bicycle program is watts, a lotta watts, and then crushingly painful watts. Leg speed is how long it takes to shave ‘em. Watts is all that matter.
More: How Cyclists Should Approach Indoor Classes
Climbing for Cyclists
Climbing is an essential part of cycling, especially for those who live in hilly areas. What cadences are generally desirable for climbing?
Climbing the best way to create watts. Lottsa watts. And pain. Cadence should maximize watts and pain.
When faced with a hill, your cadence is dependent on the grade of the hill, your available gears, your fitness level, your previous training, and whether you are racing up that hill or just sauntering up it, among other things. If you live in a hilly area like I do, in the Rocky Mountains where climbs are rarely shorter than 20 minutes and often exceed one hour, your gearing becomes very important. You think long and hard about whether to invest in compact gearing or even a triple chain ring, in order to save your knees and back (especially if you are on the north side of 40 years old!)
First off, ‘hills’ are NOT graded. They are called climbs and they are categorized. Has this guy ever ridden a bike? Hilly area? It’s called the Rocky MTNS… not Rocky hills. And don’t waste your time thinking about gearing or chain rings… get out there and produce watts.
If your cadence consistently falls below 60 rpm for longer than a few minutes when climbing, and you are already in your lowest gear, your logical next stop should be to go to your local bike shop to purchase new gears. Cadence that slow is less efficient, causes much greater muscular fatigue, depletes your glycogen stores much more quickly, and places a tremendous risk on the knees, hips and back.
Look pal, if 60 rpm is too slow… pedal faster. It’s a hellava lot cheaper than purchasing new ‘gears’. Gears? Cars have gears… bicycles have cogs and chain rings. I think this guy fell off his spin bike without a helmet.
Many riders in the pro peleton can be seen pedaling up the famous climbs of France, Italy and Spain at cadences in the high 80s and 90s. Alberto Contador and Juan Jose Cobo apparently used a gearing of 34x32 in their quests to win the 2011 Giro and Vuelta, respectively. This allowed them to keep their pedaling frequency from dropping too low on the monster climbs of those races. It would also save their legs for the subsequent stages.
A FEW riders can be seen with high mtn cadences. Those 120lb freaks of nature that are on the front. MOST of the peloton is suffering off the back wrenching their bikes back and forth at 32rpm, with their tongues hanging close to their chain ring… muttering to themselves that the guy who selected the course is an assassin in disguise.
So cyclists, take a tip from the pros: do whatever it takes to pedal faster on hills and to save your knees. Realistically, pedaling slower than 55 or 60ish rpm is not going to do you any favors.
Do what the pros do. First go on a starvation diet. Then shoot up. Or eat some tainted beef. You will pedal faster and won’t even feel the damage to your knees.

459 Express Training Outline

*** 459 Express - SUB5 Training Plan Outline *

DG rides start 7am at  Lemon Tree Grocer
sub5 course rides start at 7:30am
"Short" sub5 course laps will skip 7 miles of the flat roads. ~26miles ~1:15

Sat Jul 27 - Open (paul is working)
Sun Jul 28 - 2 Full sub5 course laps ~3:45

Sat 8/3 - 2 Full sub5 course Laps ~3:45
Sun 8/4 - DG-Oswego 60 miles

Sat 8/10 -
Sun 8/11- 3 short sub5 course laps ~4hrs

Sat 8/17 - 3 short sub5 course laps ~4hrs
Sun 8/18 - open (paul has family commitment)

Sat 8/24 - open (paul taking son back to college) Recommend a course or long ride
Sat 8/25 - open (paul doing chicago triathlon) Recommend a hilly ride

Sat 8/31 - DG-Batavia 40 mile speed run - give us your best pull!
Sun 9/1 - open (paul has family commitment)
Mon 9/2 - DG - Easy small chain ring ride

Sun 9/8 - 100 miles in 4:59 

Endurance, Speed, Teamwork, Pacing

1. Endurance - Key: comfortably ride 5 hours, build endurance in spring
2. Speed - Key: 20mph needs to feel 'moderate', focus speed work in summer
3. Teamwork - Key: know each other’s strengths, weaknesses and limits. Get group comfortable with single, double, and double rotating pacelines

4. Pacing - Key: keep group together on the turns and hills. Practice, practice, practice the group pace for the turns and hill portion of the course.

---------------------------------

 2012 Schedule

Cornfield rides start Kaneville Middle School

 Sat Aug 4 - DG-Oswego 60 miles
Sun Aug 5 - 7am-Noon CornField Ride

Sat Aug 11 - open
Sun Aug 12 - 3 short sub5 course laps ~4 hours

Sat Aug 18 - Mark leads mellow (not another hammerfest) ride
Sun Aug 19 - 3 short sub5 course laps ~4 hours

Sat Aug 25 - 1 std, 2 short sub5 course laps ~4:20
Sun Aug 26 - DG-Tinley Park loop 60 miles with rollers (we should be tired after this wkend!)

Sat Sep 1 - DG-Batavia 40 mile speed run - give us your best pull!
Sun Sep 2 - easy, small chain ring ride
Mon Sep 3 - open

Sat Sep 8 - recover from Fridays sub5 pre-party
Sun Sep 9 - 100 mile course ride in 4:59