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
