Race Across America 2010, Chapter 2

"Good morning from Salome, AZ!" That was my Facebook post after my first pull of the morning. And a glorious morning it was! It was the only sunrise I got to see as I stumbled out of the RV trying to figure out (a) where are we? (b) which way are we supposed to point our bikes? and (c) where are we? It was a cool morning, but not too cold. Race time was 8am (eastern time), but it was really 5am and felt like it. The upcoming stretch was going to be slightly uphill...not too difficult, so I ran my full aero wheelset again. I also realized that setting up the power meter was going to be difficult as I was too close to other bikes running power meters, and my Edge 705 couldn't decide which one to read! Oh well, the first five minutes were by feel until the other power meters on the roof of the van turned off!

Yesterday, I was running without music...we couldn't have a follow vehicle on the first stage and the second stage was too exciting and we forgot... This morning, I showed my van crew, Bill Cook, Ken Z., and Ron Bobb, how my iphone worked, and they cranked it up for me during my pulls. Nothing like classic 80's rock to keep you going!

This road was straight...I mean really straight. RAAM teams had received a notice from AZ police that they were enforcing strict pullouts completely off the road as some drivers had complained that the racers were blocking the road. Whatever...I was too high on endorphins to really care. I enjoyed the sunrise as we headed east 60 miles towards Congress, AZ. Our course would take us from 1600 feet to a bit over 3000 feet - a gradual, consistent grade up. I can't say the scenery was all that spectacular...flat prairie with hills in the distance...rather dull. But still, we were racing RAAM, and the excitement was high!

Sunrise outside of Salome

Moving on down the desert road

More desert road

Race Across America 2010, Chapter 1

RAAM is huge. The logistical preparations begin almost a year in advance - this preparation is a complete story by itself! This narration is going to focus on the race itself, walking through different sections of the race. I'm also going to be pretty honest, without getting personal, about the highlights and low moments of the race. I hope you find it worthwhile!

To start, I think I ran the most conservative race of the team members. While we all trained hard and came into the race well prepared, I definitely felt a bit like the slow guy, and wanted to make sure that I had the energy to get through the race successfully without any issues. There were too many other issues to deal with, nutrition, lights, unfamiliar roads, 3000 MILES!!!, I didn't want bonking to be one of them.

I took the first pull of the race out of Oceanside. This first 20 miles is completely unsupported, so you bring everything you need for an hour of riding and tools for an emergency. They launched us at one-minute intervals, and this time would then be subtracted from our final total. The only rule was that on the first 7 miles on the bike path, you were not allowed to pass anyone. Given this, I was hoping to be the last person out...instead I was about the sixth. Needless to say, we bottle-necked on the bike path and I lost a fair amount of time there (hey 5 minutes here and 5 minutes there starts to add up).

Once we got out onto the open road, I could finally open it up to 190w and cruise through the flat to slightly rolling terrain. I started passing other teams, all the while staying well within my limits, but then would get caught at another traffic light! Yep, the race was starting a bit on the frustrating side for me! After the 20 miles, I had effectively increased my lead by one spot, and the climbing was about to begin!

JV got the first real climb, and we continued taking 20-30 minute pulls up the first half of the climb to Mt. Palomar. We were passed by many teams...they all seemed to be in a rush to get to the top and were working quite hard to get there. JV and I just stuck to our game plan, keeping it smooth and consistent, regardless of the grade (this was a basic theme with us throughout the whole race - stick to the plan...). Racing across the plateau after Lake Henshaw was breath-taking, and I ended my shift just prior to the descent down the glass elevator (a steep, very technical, windy descent from 4K ft. to sea level). We re-grouped with the RV at Christmas Circle and Willie and Kent were off to race! At the top of the plateau it was about 75 degrees, in the valley it was close to 100!

On a side note...I've heard from numerous sources that the first night of team RAAM is rather...uh...challenging. The teams are very close to each other so there is a lot of excitement. That, coupled with the fact that crew are still getting the hang of exchanges and other things, can make it a bit...uh...challenging. Knowing this, I really tried to keep my cool and be mellow. No point in getting upset about anything this early in the game.

For some reason, Willie and Kent were pulled from their shift a bit early. We were about 30 miles outside of TS2. I remember this pull out because it was dark and we were parked about 100 yards from a RR crossing. Of course, as soon as I took off, I had to stop for a train! Okay...patience Grasshopper...back on the road, it's nighttime, it's warm, the road is smooth and traffic-free and there are a number of teams ahead of us! If you look at the profile, you can see that my pull started with the climb up 900 feet over the first 10 miles. JV got the rollers at the top, and then most of the descent down the other side. That's a long pull, you might think...we had a very difficult time catching JV, who was passing teams left and right! We finally made an exchange and then I got an extra long pull into TS3 in Blythe. I found out later that our radios weren't working...thus the extra long pull... Remember the word challenging? You will notice that by TS2, we were up to 15th place amongst all of the teams (as opposed to 2nd to last at Lake Henshaw). By TS3, we were in 7th place.

Another note about the first night... I've been quite spoiled over the years by the likes of Robert Johnson of Terracycle who is an amazing night driver. He understands that he needs to be 20 feet behind me, regardless of the speed, so that I have lights for the road. It's imperative that the driver not rely on "brights" as a rider can go from light to darkness very quickly if the driver has to dim the brights for an oncoming car. We had fantastic lights from Surefire that had a remote handlebar switch, so we could instantly fire up the uber-bright lights, as needed. However, knowing that we were going to be in the Rockies at night, I needed to be completely confident in my driver's ability to stay with me.

The biggest concern that new drivers have is "well, if you go down, I will run you over." Nonsense. If I am traveling at 40mph and go down, I will continue sliding on the road for quite a distance before coming to a stop...you will have plenty of time to stop. The bigger concern is if the rider does something unexpected, like hard braking, then the rider could be hit. We riders know this (or should know this) and try to ride as consistently as possible while in front of a car.

So, after my first night shift, I requested a new driver. Nothing personal...but I needed to be confident. My crew chief obliged and I didn't have any more issues with this the entire race.

First pull out of Oceanside

Climbing up to Lake Henshaw

More Climbing

Racing Across the Plateau

First Night Shift!

First Really Long Shift - No Radios!

Touring the Alps

We recently heard back from a customer who purchased Ti Virginia bikes for him and his wife. They recently completed a tour of the Alps, and this is what they had to say:

We finished our tour of the alps (Grand Route de Alps) http://www.grande-traversee-alpes.com/en/my-journey/by-road/the-great-alps-trail.html back in July. The trip was amazing and so were the bikes. We flew into Geneva, loaded the bikes with two panniers each and our seat bag containing water. It was incredible that two fully loaded panniers had no noticeable impact to the handling of the bike, they were rock solid and nimble. We probably had about 30-40 pounds of gear each in the bags.

We cycled 850 km and climbed 15-16 passes including the highest pass in Europe (50 km up) and several passes over 2000m. It was an unbelievable adventure and are already planning next years mountain trip (the Dolomites in italy). Have enclosed a few pictures:

Thanks for all the help, was a pleasure dealing with you.

Race Across America starts now!

Team Bent Up Cycles heads down to Oceanside this Thursday for the adventure of a lifetime! There are a number of ways to follow us as we speed across the country:

1. I'm sure there will be a very active, blow-by-blow discussion on BROL. Our alternate rider, Chris Young, will be in contact with us throughout the race and posting to that discussion.

2. Dana will be posting to the Bent Up Cycles Facebook page, and those posts are automatically sent to his Twitter account (benthead1968). The most recent five Twitter posts will also appear here to your right.

3. JV will be posting to Twitter (jverheul4) and to his blog.

4. One of our crew, Kat, will be posting to her Twitter account (katerpillar) and to the Team's Twitter account (TeamBentUpCycle).

Please do not call the shop for updates, as they will not have any news other than what is posted elsewhere. :)

Thanks for all of your support. We are looking forward to an exciting race!

Team Bent Up Cycles Ride-n-Greet

Bent Up Cycles will be hosting a Ride-n-Greet for our RAAM Team on Saturday, June 5th. This is a great opportunity to come out and meet the team, do a social ride around the San Fernando Valley, and enjoy coffee and snacks at the shop afterwards. We look forward to seeing you there!

RAAM training and bikes unveiled

It's been awhile since I posted a training update. Overall, training has been going very well. I'm feeling stronger, the workouts continue to get harder...I am really pushing the envelope of personal fitness! This month, the workouts focus on increasing intensity for longer periods of time and maximizing the amount of time spent on the bike at the level of power that we will be using on RAAM (tempo pace). Willie has been doing some RAAM simulation training (30 minutes on, 30 minutes off, throughout the night for four hours, etc.) and we are all participating in the PCH Randos 200k brevet next Saturday.

We just had a fantastic team meeting where we went over menu items. You can't imagine how long it takes to decide what you are going to eat for six days, keeping the menu varied, satisfying and appropriate for long distance cycling. Our list was two pages long, and I'm sure we forgot something!

On another note, I frequently get asked "so, what are you riding on RAAM?" Over the next week or so, I will post a couple videos highlighting some of the bikes we will be riding. Here's the first one:



And the second on one:

Custom Musashi - better than Sushi?

We just finished building up our Musashi framekit with a full SRAM XX/Red drivetrain, American Classic wheels and a custom handlebar set up. We hope you enjoy!

Some fun new videos

We've just added some fun videos to our YouTube collection. Take a brief tour of the Catrike Musashi:



You can also check out the new Carbent HPV Raven Team:



And finally, we just built up this beautiful HP Velotechnik Scorpion FS for a customer who plans on doing some serious touring:

Walking and Bicycling to School - a National Epidemic is Ending?

As a member of the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition, I receive a weekly update on all things cycling and advocacy related in the LA County. The editor recently posted a link to an article on bicycling and walking to school. Apparently, walking and cycling to school have stabilized at an all time low of about 12%. This is absolutely amazing to me! In Los Angeles, most children live within a mile of school...why wouldn't they walk or ride their bikes? My daughter and I love walking/bicycling/scootering to school! But where are the other 88%? Oh yeah...I forgot...it's too dangerous...

Hear me out here. This morning, a group of walking parents congregated at the school gate to chat (as we usually do...one of the things you can't do in a car). We watched three cars blow right through the crosswalk as the crossing guard was standing in the middle of the street with children crossing to school! As if a crossing guard wearing a a reflective vest holding a STOP sign wasn't enough, there are three signs in each direction leading up to the cross walk signaling drivers that they are approaching a school zone and the speed limit is 25mph. And yet, they still just blow right through (and no, they were not on the cell phone). No wonder many parents don't feel safe walking/riding with their children.

LACBC hopes to address this type of concern by launching a Bicycle Ad Awareness Campaign. Their goal is "to help make drivers more aware of the growing number of bicyclists on our streets in order to create safer streets for all." Great! Are they the ones posting the white signs all over the city saying "Watch for cyclists" and "Share the road"? No, they will be posting ads in bus depot and public kiosks. So, how many drivers do you think are hanging out at the bus depot? Hmmmm.... While I can certainly get behind a cycling ad campaign to promote safety, I think they have mis-identified their audience. Unless I am missing some of the details here, I think they need to go back to the drawing board on this one... Me, I called the local police department and asked them to please station a police officer out in front of the school from 7:30 to 8am. Think of it as public safety and a great way of generating revenue for a cash-strapped city!

More RAAM coverage - introducing our Crew Chief!

In the world of staying fit and active, a lot of folks talk the talk, a few walk the walk and yet others - like 74-year old local resident Lee Mitchell - pedal the, uh, pedal.

Mitchell, an instructor in geology, geography and oceanography at Woodland Community College, has been cycling for nearly three decades but unlike most folks who pull a bicycle out of their garage or storage shed for a leisurely five-mile ride once a week, Mitchell has logged more than 100,000 miles on his bike and chalks much of his passion for distance up to his first Davis Double Century event in 1975.

Since that one event, Mitchell has participated in hundreds of rides including racing in three Race Across America (RAAM) events - an annual 3,000-mile, coast-to-coast race that draws endurance riders from around the globe - and crewing another twenty.

Alternating between racing on a team (setting records in each for age-category race times) and acting as a crew chief to other teams, Mitchell has become a well-known face to the RAAM athletes who compete each year and 2010 will be no different. Beginning June 12, Mitchell will be crew chief for Team Bent Up Cycles, an all-male, all recumbent bicycle team as the four-man team leaves Oceanside, CA.

Sponsored by Bent Up Cycles, the premier retailer and manufacturer of recumbent bicycles in the States, the team consists of three Californians - Dana Lieberman, owner of Bent Up Cycles, Willie Hunt and Jim Verheul - and Texan Kent Polk.

Few riders or crew chiefs know the Race Across America route, high points or challenges the way that Mitchell - nicknamed "Fuzzy" for his Santa Claus-like beard - does and he's got great stories to share. In fact, Mitchell is a fun, lively character who treats the idea of 3,000 miles in non-stop cycling the way he treats life - with a great, great sense of humor.

In the last three months, Lee has pulled the team together by providing much needed insight, cinched the logistics of building a 14-person crew, making sure racers have the appropriate equipment for the race, and ensuring that all of the little things, those things that many forget about until the day of the race, get done! For that reason, we felt it appropriate to feature him first in our series of crew and racers for Team Bent Up Cycles.

For more information about sponsoring our team, email us at bentupcycles@gmail.com, or purchase a supporter T-shirt at the Bent Up Cycles website.

Photos by Chuck Bramwell, James Burger

Cool idlers for our RAAM bikes from Terracycle!

Terracycles recently sent us pictures of custom idlers they are doing for our RAAM Carbent HPV bikes. Nothing like a little bling to make you faster! (note the external cabling was done special for Sandy's bike...normally we route the cables internally)

Training for RAAM - Nutrition

In the ultra-cycling community, there are endless conversations about nutrition. What works best varies from person to person and from situation to situation. But I want to take a different tack. I want to talk about nutrition off the bike.

For the last couple weeks, I haven't felt good on the bike. I've mentioned it to JV (my coach), citing difficulty completing workouts and difficulty staying in the higher power zones. About a week ago, JV suggested more protein. It didn't solve any problems. On the way back from my ride last Saturday, JV calls and confirms that my intuition was correct...my data shows that I am not making any progress.

Often, good training is about finding your limiters, and working around them. During that conversation, we found another limiter. Pure and simple, I'm not eating enough. As we came to this revelation, my first thought was "of course, I'm trying to lose weight." But, in addition to feeling awful on the bike, I wasn't really losing much weight! Basically, I was "starving" myself, and my body had shut down. I wasn't able to produce any power and my body was conserving everything it had to stay functional.

So, the solution was simple...go eat! I've doubled my caloric intake and feel MUCH better on and off the bike. I'm also nailing the workouts better. We will check out the numbers in another week to see if they back up my intuition.

So, why am I bringing this up? Sometimes the limiters to your training can be so obvious and in-your-face, that you completely miss them! How could I possibly think that consuming 2500 calories per day would be effective while training at a high intensity? It's obvious now, but for some reason, I just didn't see it!

So, as you continue to pursue your goals, athletic or otherwise, make sure to take the time to examine the obvious limiters. What's holding you back could be right in front of your nose!

Ride safe!

More Carbent frame pictures

Last week, you all saw the roll wrapped tube on the main frame of a Carbent HPV Raven. This week, I've taken some detailed pictures of a filament wound frameset. Enjoy!

Training for RAAM in more detail

I get quite a few queries on RAAM training, so I thought I would post a series on the training that I am doing, why I am doing it, and how we measure progress.

First, I use a Powertap hub. A Powertap hub has eight strain gauges inside to measure torque being applied to the hub from the cranks. The resulting output is displayed in watts. Similar to training with heart rate, I have a variety of wattage zones, and my training is geared to keep me in specific zones for various amounts of time. One key difference between heart rate and power, though, is that power is displayed immediately, in real time (1s delay), so you get immediate feedback regarding your performance. Heartrate tends to be a bit slow in responding to changes in your workout.

At the beginning of training, I did a power test to determine my "threshold" level of power. It came to about 230w. This is a level of power that I can hold for 30 minutes, up to even an hour, if necessary. All of my training levels are based on this number. When I am training at "threshold", I try to keep the wattage between 210 and 240. "Tempo" is between 175 and 210, and can be held for several hours at a time (with the correct fueling).

This week, I am doing two intense, shorter workouts during the week. These entail 40 minutes at threshold and 30 minutes at easy (just below tempo). The best way to do threshold workouts is on a hill - I use Sepulveda Blvd. Since it is almost 11 minutes to the top, I do the climb four times. I then scurry over to work, keeping the wattage between 130 and 170.

Between these workouts, I commute at easy level. This does not imply that I am taking it easy. I still need to maintain 130-170w.

On Saturday, I will do a longer, three hour tempo ride (two hours at tempo, one hour easy). Tempo gets really hard if you aren't managing your nutrition well. I've found that I don't get enough protein, so this week I am consuming more and observing the effects.

Stay tuned for more...

Cross Country and beyond for a great cause!

A good friend of ours forwarded the link for this Crazy Guy on a Bike journal. Ken and Jen are doing a 7000 mile tour on their trikes to increase awareness of organ donation, among other things. Enjoy their journey!

More Carbent pics

Detail Pictures of the Carbent HPV Raven

We frequently get requests for detailed pictures of the Carbent HPV framesets. We finally had one in that I was able to attack with the camera prior to being built. This bike is being built for Tim Woudenberg, and will be ridden in solo RAAM this year!

New videos on our YouTube channel

We were having trouble uploading some of our larger videos onto this site, so we created a YouTube channel for your enjoyment!

So, how do you train for RAAM?

I get asked this question a lot...how do you train for 4-person Race Across America? Here is a brief glimpse into a week of training. Note, this schedule allows me to balance family and work with training while giving me some good, intense workouts:

Jim (JV), one of our racers, has me and Willie on training programs using Powertaps. My current threshold level is about 230w, and all of my training is based around this number. To give you an idea of what a typical week looks like, I will do threshold training on Monday...warm up and then spend 30-35 minutes at threshold, usually climbing Trash Truck Hill over by Griffith Park. This road climbs about 900 feet over 4ish miles, and is good for about a 25 minute run at threshold. Warm up and cool down make for a 1.5 hour workout with some good intensity. Tuesday is easy riding to and from work.

Wednesday is a tempo day - a bit lower intensity than threshold, but longer duration. I have a great 30 mile commute into work along Foothill that gives me up to an hour of tempo work on rolling terrain with minimal traffic and lights. Thursday and Friday are more light, recovery days.

Saturday is my 2-3 hour ride, generally doing an hour or more at tempo plus some threshold work. If I'm riding with a group, I don't spend a lot of time watching the exact numbers. If riding solo, I will try to do the workout in one stretch....this Saturday is two hours of tempo, so I will probably do 8-9 loops around Balboa Park. While not very interesting, there are few lights and the terrain doesn't vary much - perfect for tempo work!

Sunday I am off the bike.

Next week is a rest week, and then who know what JV has in store for me! Basically, I assume it will get more intense and no distance riding, per se. 3-4 hours tops.

Catrike video - How it all began!

I remember the first Catrike I rode. I was still working out of the garage and a customer wanted to trade in his Speed for something else. I thought, "Great! This will give me an opportunity to test ride one!" I remember bombing down La Tuna Canyon at about 40 mph...the trike was stable and fast! Given my only other trike experience was with a Terratrike 3.3, this experience was a revelation. I immediately got in touch with Paulo (at that time, it was just Paulo) and started selling Catrikes. Now, as one of the largest Catrike dealers in the country, we are continually amazed at the innovation, spirit and enthusiasm we see every time we call the Catrike factory. Paulo, Lynn, Mark, Chaim, and the rest of the gang...thank you for some wonderful trikes!





And speaking of innovation, Catrike is now moving into the two-wheeled recumbent world. Check out this teaser video...we are expecting our first Musashi on February 22nd.