On Bicycles, and.... what else is there?

My original plan was to run the Soda Springs Road Low-Key Hillclimb : a steady 5.3 mile slog at 8.5%. But Cara suggested I should do a long, flat run in preparation for the California International Marathon, which I'm running, in three weeks. Specificity suggests running up steep hills isn't the best preparation for that. So I registered instead as a rider. Never before had I done a Low-Key with such poor preparation. I'd been focusing on running since August, and as my running recovery and distance grew, my riding numbers diminished in proportion until even my short rides to and from the train I take to work were gone: replaced with runs or walks. I knew from past years the effect running can have on my riding. I'd do a Low-Key Hillclimb on Saturday, run Sunday and Tuesday, then ride Old La Honda with the noon ride on Wednesday before easy rides Thursday and Friday in preparation for the next Low-Key. On my Wednesday climb I'd be dreadfully uncompetitive, u...

Last time I showed the most-popular Low-Key climbs as determined by number of finishers were Hamilton, Montebello, then Soda Springs a surprising third. Soda was used in three of our very popular years: 1997, 1998, and 2009. We had some issues this year with a local resident who thought we represented a lot of traffic, which we were. But I hope we can work things out with him and return there in the future. Another popular climb I haven't posted results here for yet is the combination of Highway 84 and west Old La Honda Road. This is a route rarely if ever timed by solo riders: it's somewhat artificial. But it gives people a chance to show off their flatland time trialing before the serious climbing begins in La Honda. And west Old La Honda is one of the prettiest climbs anywhere, without a doubt. It was used in 1996, 1997, and 2006. On Soda, Tracy Colwell's 2007 time is the best, one second faster than Chris Phipps' result from this year. On the women's s...

Last post I made an estimate of my power up Soda Springs road on Saturday. It's worth doing an estimate of possible errors with this: body mass : around 1 lb equipment mass : let's say 1 lb rolling resistance coefficient : 20% seems reasonable. This was really seat-of-the-pants. wind drag coefficient : 10% seems about right distance 0.1 miles. Exact starting location, the placement of the finish, and line through the corners are all factors altitude gained : 15 feet sees consistent with individual reports wind speed : Zero was assumed. Given variable winds reported at Redwood Estates , a conservative estimate of error of this estimate is probably 1 mph transmission coefficient : based on differences in chainline, I'll say 1%. This doesn't affect the derived Powertap-equivalend power, but it does affect the significance of comparisons in power from one ride to the next. time : 2 seconds seems good: 1 second with recording the finish time, and 1 second for a delay i...

The Soda Springs Low-Key went rather well in most regards. As a participant,I was pleased with my finishing place. I usually train with a PowerTap , but for most races (especially hillclimbs!) I leave the powertap wheel home and instead use a carbon race-only tubular (either my Reynolds MV-32T or my Mt Washington). On hillclimbs, though, I can generally estimate the power. The key parameters are total weight, rolling resistance coefficient, wind drag coefficient, and air density. For PowerTap-equivalent power I do not need drivetrain efficiency, since drivetrain losses aren't measured by the PowerTap, anyway. Given these, it's simple enough to calculate power from speed. So, some numbers: weight : I was 125 lb in the morning upon wakening. Given input - output, I was probably close to this at the start. Curiously, I'd been almost 3 lb lighter the last time I weighed myself two days before. A lot depends on what I've been eating and how hydrated I am. Additiona...