Intro to the 2015 Assault on the Carolinas
Training Update
2015 AOTC Recap
For those who have been with me for a while, you will probably remember this ride from when I rode it in 2013. I had a lot of training to do because all I knew about this ride was that there was going to be a lot of climbing in it, and quite frankly that kind of scared me. Since the ride happened at the beginning of Spring, I knew that I wouldn't have a lot of time to prepare after a winter of not riding. I decided to make use of the trainer that Toni had gotten me in the late Fall of 2012 to keep my legs in shape over the winter. As it turned out, the trainer did the trick, and when I was able to ride outside again in March, I was able to do a little bit of hill work. When it was all said and done, I was ready for the AOTC and conquered the cat 1 climb known as Caesar's Head which is 2000 ft of climbing in only seven miles.
That was then....this is now. Why do I need to do this ride again after completing it in 2013? Well, its kind of a litmus test for me to see how my training is coming along after 10 months off of the bike. Unfortunately, my entry back into the cycling world comes at a time when the weather is getting colder and the days shorter. I have a lot of rides planned for 2015 which will tax my endurance and abilities, and I now know from 2013 that the AOTC is a great way to open up the season and build confidence in myself and my machine. I'm not looking for a repeat of 2013 though. In fact, I am looking to do better in 2015 across the board. I learned a lot from my first go at Caesar's head and the rest of the 100K route of the day, and I plan on using that knowledge to have a stronger showing this time around.
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| This is "Flo" which I will be riding in the 2015 AOTC |
So, what kind of things am I planning on changing this year. Well, the first change was the bike. That was less by design, and more due to circumstances. The bike that I chose to ride just happens to be one of the top tier Specialized Tarmacs, although I would have been happy with a lesser ride. The only glitch was the drivetrain options. The only way to get a Tarmac with a SRAM groupset was to spec it out with the Red 22 groupset which only came on an S-Works level bike. The bad part of that was the price of admission. Lets just say for what I paid for this bike, I could have paid for many...MANY sessions of therapy to determine why I paid so much for a plastic bicycle!
The good, however, outweighed the bad for a ride like AOTC. For starters, this is the stiffest carbon fiber frame that Specialized makes and is a world class climber. It is also very light at approximately 14lbs. While I am not a weight weenie, I do respect the part that weight plays in cycling, especially when it comes to hills. This bike is also outfitted stock with near bulletproof carbon fiber wheels which are quite light as well. The wheel hubs, along with the drivetrain bearings are all ceramic which make for much less friction in the moving parts. In short, this is a race bike designed for climbing quickly.
The rider plays a huge part in the climbing as well, and that is where my training comes in. Much like in 2013, I find myself needing to drop some weight to get down to what I consider a decent power to weight ratio. The difference is I was at about 187 lbs at this point in my training before. When I started cycling again this past September, I was tipping the scales at 205 lbs!!!! To make matters worse, there is a term for a cyclist that weighs over 200 lbs.....A CLYDESDALE!! That doesn't sound like I will be able to do much climbing, so the weight was going to have to drop off. I set a goal for myself of 180 lbs which was about where I was when I stopped riding at the end of 2013. Twenty-five pounds I was going to need to lose before I had a chance at riding the AOTC with legs that were not used to turning the pedals anymore. To make matters worse, I was going to be doing this training in the winter months with a bike that should never be put on a trainer.
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| This is "Snoopy", which is only trusted on the trainer |
The answer to my biggest problem happened in a very unlikely way, in the form of a crash. I now had a bike to put on the trainer. I started to do intervals six days a week. After about two months of doing intervals, I had dropped a huge chunk of that weight and as of this entry was down to 186 lbs. This gives me a fighting chance to get below 180 for the AOTC, and while the weight is dropping, my performance is increasing thanks to the intervals. Having finally received my replacement bike, I have completed both a 62 mile ride and a 100 mile ride, both of them as fast or faster than I was riding them at the peak of my fitness before. Of course, part of that is due to the new bike, but it will always be my legs turning the cranks, powered by my lungs and heart.
So, I'm addressing both the bike and its engine to get the most performance out of both that I can muster. I also know that there will be a lot of tactics involved in this ride thanks to my experience before. Having never rode this ride before, I listened to what I had been told about the importance of riding in a pack with the others to share the energy. I thought I was going to be in a bad way when I was dropped from the group I was riding with. However, what I found was that I was able to ride my own ride, which resulted in a very strong climb up Caesar's Head. I will take this personal knowledge with me in 2015 and will not get caught up in needing to be with a group. Sure, I would love to conserve as much energy as I can by hiding out in a peloton, but I think riding at my comfort pace will serve me much better in the long run. Since most of my rides are solo, I view riding in groups as a luxury for the most part. I'm much more comfortable relying on myself over the course of a ride.
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| Elevation profile from my 2013 experience |
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| My trusty steed atop the category 1 climb |
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| Totally worn out, but exhilarated from climbing the cat 1 |
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| My triumphant finish in 2013 with a 16.9 mph avg speed |
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