Sotonia Summer (chopper's first road race report)

How can I be so arrogant? Signed up for the race, my first road race and my first race as 3rd cat, without knowing anything about it, just thought 96km, yeah, that should be fine.

I arrived to the HQ with only time to ride half of the circuit lap, not a big deal, but the very first humps got me to the conclusion the race was going to be hard but manageable.

In the briefing the BC commissar defined the circuit as "testing" and I didn't even blink.

Well arrogance in cycling  is something you end up paying if you don't have the legs to back it up and I certainly did (I mean paid for it, not that I had the legs to back my arrogance).

The race started neutralized until we reached the circuit. It started with a hump and there I was surprised with at the pace we attacked it. You know this idea of being a box of matches and each time you hit certain power you burn a match? That hump was my first match.

There were more surprises for me. A road lane is not that wide and 60 riders trying to get to the front of the bunch fills every gap. Suddenly someone shouted "car" and I realized cars would be coming in the other lane as everyone got closer, the bunch got longer and I found myself at the back and braking, only to sprint all out five seconds later because the first hump was immediately followed by a second one; and there it went another match. Descending that nipple I hit 70km/h and at the same time I heard a crash behind me. Looked back briefly in time to see a guy hitting the tarmac really hard.

Didn't even had time to assimilate all that was happening when a third hump came only to be followed by a forth one and a left turn, all riding at sprint.

As we turned left the climb that would take us to the finish line started and the bunch slowed down! A lot!!

Great, that's what I needed a moment to catch my breath. 6 minutes into the race and I was already exhausted. I'm sure I have hit half a dozen power PB's by now.

The slow down in the climb was a mirage, it lasted only one minute, and finished with a sprint that didn't have any point in my opinion but took us to cross the finish line for the first time at 35km/h. I found a match in my back pocket to cover that sprint.

Second climb came and surprisingly this time we attacked it full speed and half way through it everyone slowed down. I took the opportunity to move up; as I was making myself room around the tenth position I realized there was already a four men break away.

It is great to know that you should be in the front of the group, if only so when they sprint without notice you can be passed by everyone and be back to the tail of the peloton. This is the moment I started to think this whole idea of road racing was a bit too crazy.

This was only the first lap. The second lap started and we hit the first hump again, in the descend my saddle moves and I'm grateful I have found an honourable excuse to finish this nonsense. Surprisingly when I sit again in the saddle, after the second hump, it seems stable so the excuse vanishes.

Second, third and fourth hump; left turn and here we are again in the climb to the finish line. I'm afraid that I don't have any matches left to cover this last sprint and I lose contact with the peloton. It moves away painfully slow, like asking me to not give up.

Nah, that would have been a fairy tale! I give up and now the peloton moves away much faster. The commissar car passes me and I'm out of "the bubble" as he defined it during the briefing.

I easy it a bit and to my surprise so does the peloton. Maybe I can catch them again. Should I try?

Of course I should try! I pushed it a bit (it can't even count as a match), passed the commissar car and joined at the back of the peloton. Five seconds later someone decided to sprint and there I was in trouble again.

Hopefully this time was fast. The peloton flew away, the car passed me again and I was left on my own in no time. Crossed the line for the second time, got the cheers for the people that was there, turn left, got a gel. I was 20km into the race, I had only crossed the finish line twice, I still had six laps to go. What am I doing here?

I consider myself a positive person, always trying to see the positive side of everything. Well, I have to admit that I failed for a couple of minutes during this race. I regretted not have started with something "easier" (if such thing exists in road racing), I regretted not have had a proper rest for the race, I regretted the lack of preparation and all the improvisation. I regretted not have done more anaerobic intervals. I regretted I had entered the race and the whole idea of racing. I wanted to stop, but stopping was nonsense because I was in the middle of nowhere so I would have to ride to the HQ anyway. It was only a couple of minutes but I felt bad.

The good thing about being alone is that after a couple of minutes you get your breath back, you find your own pace and the positive feelings come again. Going home with 30km in the legs is wasting a lovely Sunday morning, lets finish the race and get the kilometres in your legs.

And to that task I set myself. Luckily a rider passed me and I jumped on his wheel for a while. Then I passed him and took a turn in the front. He followed suit. Great, riding together we will push each other.

I had to wait for him in the humps but he was a great wheel to sit in the flats. We kept a reasonable pace overall, given the circumstances. It only lasted about two laps though. As we had in sight a Sotonia rider and we were turning left to start the climb to the finish line he said something and stopped. I think it was something related with a pain at his back but couldn't understanding him clearly.

There I was alone again. Well not really alone, I knew the Sotonia rider was about 30 seconds ahead of me so I set myself to catch him.

It took me a whole lap, but as we crossed the finish line with 3 to go I was on his wheel. Took the first part of the descend to get another gel and drink a bit and as the road started to climb passed him shouting words of encouragement hoping he would jump on my wheel and we could work together.

He jumped on my wheel but he didn't show intention of taking any turn. A whole lap went with him sitting on my wheel. It didn't bother me really, just kept my own pace aiming to finish the ride.

During the briefing the commissar had said that if with two to go we were more than seven minutes behind the bunch the bell would be rang for us and we would finish one lap earlier. That was exactly what happened.

So there I found myself riding the last lap with a rider on my wheel and I couldn't help but starting to question myself about what would happen at the time of crossing the finish line. Was he going to outsprint me? did I care?

Well I decided I didn't care and kept my own pace.

With 3/4 of lap to go the motorbikes and the car passed us. Very soon we were passed by four riders, not sure if they were the four riders I saw in the break, not that I did care to be honest. I remember myself thinking they were not riding that fast. Still very soon they were away.

With 1/2 lap to go the Sotonia rider passed my. I, obviously, jumped on his wheel.

Now it is the peloton passing us. Again the thought that they were not riding that fast crossed my mind but, again, very soon they were away.

Two humps before the left turn to the final climb the Sotonia rider slowed down quite a bit. That kind of movement that makes you think "this guy can ride a bit faster but wants to sit on my wheel". I didn't care, I passed him trying to keep the pace, which, believe me, by this time was a rather pathetic pace.

Left turn and we were in the final climb. You know when you are going uphill but the gradient is not that steep but you keep going slower and slower as you are moving to a bigger and bigger cog? That was me in the final climb.

At least until I heard the Sotonia rider playing with his gears. As soon as I heard him changing gears I started to care about him outsprinting me in the line. It was an instinctive reaction, I didn't even thought about it, I just changed gears as well and stood on the bike and sprinted.

We were too far away for me to be able to sustain this sprint so when I felt I was losing steam I looked back to see where he was. I felt relieved when I saw he was like three bikes back. I knew I was going to "win" the sprint for the fifty something position. I wouldn't be honest if I wouldn't confess that, internally, I celebrated this "victory". We shook hands, he thanked me for the work and I congratulated him. The sun was shining.

My sprint

After a few minutes sitting in the grass to rest I jumped on the bicycle again to ride back to the HQ. It was then when I realized the saddle was not in its position. I didn't notice it during the race but it was way too back.

Racing with a saddle bag like a proper chopper (I don't about "the rules")

Got to the HQ, ate a piece of cake, drank a bit of water and what I was thinking? "I should find a race for next weekend". I'm sick.

The race in Strava http://www.strava.com/activities/162441360/

It turns out that after looking at my power numbers during the race they were not all that great, even for my standards. That's good and bad. Bad because it means I did a terrible race good because it means I can do better.

By the way I forgot to mention the Sotonians did a great work organizing the event, all going well I'll be back next year.

Update 7/7/2014. It turns out the Sotonia rider is Paul Ransom. Somehow he found this blog and left a comment.

Update 9/7/2014. I found the results in the Sotonia website. It turns out I show up as last in the classification (38th out of 60 that were signed for the race). I don't know why but Paul Ransom, the Sotonia rider, was given 37th. I almost prefer it that way so I can say that I was officially last in one race (so far).

Take care
Javier Arias González

About hair and legs for cyclists

Should a cyclist get rid of the hair in his legs?
If you attend to the tests presented in this video you should. If only because hairless legs are worth an average of 70 seconds over 40km.

Shave or wax?

It seems most pros prefer to shave their legs according to this other video.

How to shave your legs?
Well, there is another video for that...

Good luck


Take care
Javier Arias González

You should ride a bicycle... / Deberías montar en bicicleta

“You should ride a bicycle for twenty minutes every day, unless you’re too busy; then you should ride for an hour”

Seen at this twit https://twitter.com/Beetit_sport/status/484675818007068672

"Deberías montar en bicicleta veinte minutos al día, a no ser que estés demasiado ocupado; si estás demasiado ocupado deberías montar una hora al día"

Visto en este twit https://twitter.com/Beetit_sport/status/484675818007068672

Quebrantahuesos 2014, what went wrong (and what went well)

My objective for this year's Quebrantahuesos was to improve my last year's time, 6:44:56. Since I finished this year in 6:48:21, 3 minutes and 25 seconds more than last year, it is clear that I missed my target. In this post I'm going to try to determine what went wrong this year.

It is not my intention to use this post to justify myself for a disappointing result, I'll try also to determine what went well this year. At the end of the day, the point of this post is to help me to decide the changes I need to make to make sure I don't miss my objective again next year (oh yes, if I get a place in the ballot I'll be there again next year).

To avoid the [strong] temptation of pointing out first all the things I think I have done right and then all the injustices in the universe that conspired to make me fail, I'm going to cover the topics in chronological order. This post is going to be rather long, if you are not that interested in all the details, and believe me, I can understand it, feel free to jump to the button of the post where you'll find a paragraph with my conclusions or even feel free to stop reading just now and use your time to something more productive. 

The preparation

This is the period from the first day of the year to the 1st of June, the first five months of the year.

I would say this went quite well. I built my form month after month and, at the same time, I was losing weight consistently.

By 31st of May I had ridden more hours than last year, about 12% more kilometers. I weighted 2 kg less than last year and my CTL was way higher (93.2 vs 68.2).

In June 2nd I answered a fellow wheeler about my objective for the Quebrantahuesos with "Aiming to ride it in less than 6:30 but just improving last year's 6:44 we'll make me happy." I was feeling optimistic.

The new bicycle
The plan was to receive the new bicycle by May 15th. That would give me enough time to book a bike fit and start riding it from May 19th, a month before the Quebrantahuesos. Plenty of time to get use to it.

Unfortunately a mistake (50% Canyon's, 50% my mistake) meant I received a bicycle a size too big so I had to return it and wait for the new one. That meant I received the new one June 6th and, due to multiple reasons, I had no time to get a bike fit before the Quebrantahuesos.

The question was, should I ride the new bicycle, which is "better" and 2kg lighter, or should I ride the, not that good but really fit to me, Cannondale?

In June 8th I rode the Ditching Devil 200 and it was the first ride I did with the Canyon. The feeling with the new bicycle was so good that I had no doubt. I was going to ride the Canyon at the Quebrantahuesos.

The tapering
After the Ditching Devil, exactly two weeks before the Quebrantahuesos, I sort of declared myself in the form of my life.

Just to give an example. At the Ditching Devil, with 170km in the legs, I had set a PR climbing the strava segment  Combe Bottom Climb Hell. That climb was 24 seconds faster (from 4:54 to 4:30) and I put 10% more power (from 293w to 324w) than my previous PR and that was a few weeks after the LEL, my lasts year's top form.

The problem with the tapering was the traveling. The Monday after the Ditching Devil, two weeks before the Quebrantahuesos, I had to flight to San Francisco and I would fly back on Friday, and then, the next Monday, the Monday in the Quebrantahuesos' week, I had to fly to Barcelona were I had to work Tuesday and Wednesday.

I thought a lot how to approach those two weeks. I was at 98.6 CTL and -26.5 TSB after the Ditchig Devil. I still managed to ride three laps at Richmond Park before my flight on Monday so I decided not to ride in the US. I though I was better off just trying to manage jet lag properly and to try to rest on those days than trying to squeeze a ride at hours that would feel weird to my body.

I landed in London on Saturday and joined a club run on Sunday. It was a disaster. I was last in every single climb, legs felt empty and numbers were terrible. I blamed the jet lag.

To make things worst the two kilograms that I have lost in the first half of the year were back on my body. I was going to ride the Quebrantahuesos at the same weight as last year after all.

Luckily got time to go for another ride at Richmond Park on Monday before flying to Barcelona. Two laps at a decent pace but the third one had to take it easy because I felt really tired.

In Barcelona I was fairly busy but the worry of not riding that much made me consider the option of squeezing a ride on Wednesday. I finally discarded the idea, it was going to be only a two hours ride. Mounting and dismounting the bicycle seemed like a lot of work and a bikeshop asked me 40€ for a 24hours bike rent. I gave it a pass.

The wheelers at the entry of the exposition

The days before the Quebrantahuesos
These were two perfect days. On Thursday I picked up TY and Richard at Barcelona's airport and we drove up to Sabiñánigo where we met Rafa.

Friday we went for a 42km easy ride. In the las kilometer of Hoz de Jaca's climb I pushed it a bit and legs responded brilliantly.

The views before Hoz de Jaca's climb

TY, myself and Richard near the top of Hoz de Jaca

A siesta in the afternoon, an early dinner and going to bed early meant I was rested for the D day despite a 5am wake up call.

Yes, I was taking all those gels and energy bars with me. Around 60g per hour of carbohydrates

The ride
I have divided the whole route in 14 segments. Yes, I know, it is a bit geek, but that is the best way to understand where the time went.

From the start to Canfranc village (2013, 2014)

These are very fast 34km. The main worry is to make sure your are not involved in a crash and you are sitting in a group that is riding fast and safely.

This year I rode this section in 53:15, 3:15 faster than last year.

There is not much you can do to improve your time in this segment, it all pretty much depends on the group you find.

Somport's climb (From Canfranc village to the French frontier) (2013,2014)

12km climb at 5% average.

This is the first climb of the route. And this is typically where I forget about following anyones wheel and concentrate in my own pace.

I felt great in this climb and, as always, tried to pace myself. The climb took me 38:25, 2:01 faster than last year, and I averaged 238watts well into my sustainable effort.

Somport descend (2013, 2014)

The first surprise of the day. In all my previous four participations this side of the mountain was always cold. Not this year. Temperature averaged 16.2ºC this year and last year it was 7ººC

The Canyon feels more secure than the Cannondale and while I was descending I knew I was going faster (despite being a terrible descender). In fact numbers come to confirm the feeling. I did this descend in 8:56, 46 seconds faster than last year.

Descend to Escot (2013, 2014)

In this part all I always do is to wait for a group to be formed and hide in the middle. I always take this opportunity to eat, drink and get some rest.

This year the group I was in was very bit, about two hundred riders at least. There is not much you can do to improve your time in this section. The descend is not technical and there is no point of trying to make such big group to go faster.

This is a very fast descend but it took me 42:17 to ride it this year, 6 seconds more than last year.

Le Marie-Blanque (2013, 2014)

Le Marie-Blanque is a 1st cat climb that is a bit tricky. It is 10km at an average of 7% but when you look the profile in detail you realize the first part of the climb is very very easy but the last 4km are quite hard as they average more than 11%.

You also have to factor the weather conditions at Le Marie-Blanque. Hidden in a deep valley, the atmosphere feels particularly hot and humid. Specially this year. Average temperature was 21.7ºC while last year it was 14.7ºC. 7ºC hotter this year!!! It was a sauna.

If in last year's report I wrote Le Marie-Blanque is not that hard, this year it felt hard. I was sweeting a lot and climbing with all in (that is a 34/28). My pace was not that bad compared with the riders around me, I was passing a lot of riders, but this year it felt hard, I was at my limit.

The numbers say it took me 41:12 to climb Le Marie-Blanque, that is 37 seconds less than last year. I had put an average of 245watts in the climb.

Le Marie-Blanque descend (2013, 2014)

I love this descend. At the beginning it is not really a descend but a flat that forces you to keep pedaling and putting power, but when you pass the feed station and the road looks to the valley at the other side the view is magnificent (although I don't spend that much time admiring it).

Again the feeling that the Canyon was allowing me to descend faster is confirmed by the numbers. It took me exactly 15 minutes to descend Le Marie-Blanque, 37 seconds less than last year.

Up to this point I was improving my time in pretty much each segment. At this point I was 6:33 ahead of last year's ride.

I don't ride with an eye on the clock to see if I'll meet my objective, I prefer to ride at my best and see were that is. This means that during the ride I was not aware that I was 6:33 ahead of my objective. Still I had the feeling that I was doing well and I could finish in less than 6 hours 30.


Flat before Portalet (2013, 2014)

It is not really all flat but you barely notice the climb. Again in this section my strategy is to join a group and take the opportunity to eat, drink and get some rest.

At some point I remember thinking the group was not riding that fast. Still not even for a second I considered the option of moving to the front to do some work. The way I saw it was: I don't mind if they are riding a bit slower than last year, I'll take the time to rest.

Now the numbers confirm that feeling. It took me 18:41 to complete this segment, and that is 1:58 longer than last year. I lost almost 2 minutes in 10 kilometers!!!!! This time was even one second worst than my time in 2012 when I finished in 7:02:40.

As said while I ride I don't check times in the segments so at that time I was not aware of the amount of time I had lost. I knew we were being slower than in 2013 but I was not expecting to be that much slower.Not that I think there is anything I should have done do about it. In my opinion how fast you ride in the three "flat" segments (pre-Somport, pre-Marie-Blanque and re-portalet) depends on how fast the group your are in rides; gaining or losing time is all about the climbs, specially the Portalet.

Portalet's first half (2013, 2014)

At this point I felt tired. I think I always have this feeling in this section. This year I thought it was because I was following a wheel that was taking me to my limit. I remember feeling happy for this because I thought I was improving my time from last year.

If you had put a gun in my head I would have bet my life on definitively I'm riding faster this segment than last year.

But the number say otherwise. It took me 1:01:47 to ride this segment (188 average watts). 3:11 more than last year. This is a surprise for me, I wasn't expecting such terrible time in this segment.

It is true that I had to stop twice in this segment. The first time at feed station that is half way through the segment to fill my bottles and to make a quick pee. The second time was at the feed station at the end of the segment to, again, fill my bottle with water (I had drank a full bottle in just 8km). But I only was stopped 2:50 and last year I also stopped at the feed station at the end of the segment.

It is now clear that I was not riding as fast as I thought and if it was feeling hard it was not because the wheel I was following was fast but because I was already tired.

Portalet's second half (2013, 2014)

Last year I road this segment on my own, passing riders as I had found my pace and strength. This year though we had head wind so I hide behind a small group of riders that were climbing at what felt a challenging pace.

It was so challenging that I was playing games with my brain all the time. "One kilometer, hold them for one kilometer and then you can let them go". The kilometer would past and I would challenge myself again for another kilometer. I did that for 8 kilometers, when we were 2 kilometers from the top I knew I was going to be able to hold their wheel for the whole climb.

I was still feeling optimistic about my time. My first estimation was we would reach the top at 5 hours 30 within the ride and we ended up getting there at 5 hours 23. Somehow I thought it would be possible to ride the the 40km to the finish in less than an hour and seven minutes and finish below 6:30.

Looking at the numbers now I see I have invested 44:12 in climbing this segment (187 avg. wats) which is 3:52 more than last year.

In total it took me 6:29 more to climb the Portalet this year part of it was due to harder conditions this year. We not only had head wind in the second half of the climb but also this year was 7.8ºC hotter on average (28 vs 20.2).

Portalet's descend (2013, 2014)

I love this descend. Close roads, great visibility and not technical. There is no excuse to not descend as fast as the bicycle can go.

I couldn't tell any difference with last year's descend but when I looked at the times I found that it took me 18:58 to ride this descend, that is 2:04 more than last year.

The explanation has to be the head wind. At the time I didn't notice it but a report in a Spanish magazine confirms there was head wind in that descend.

Again, still at this point I was thinking I had a chance to finish in less than 6:30. What a fool!


The flat before Hoz de Jaca (2013, 2014)

This is just 5.5km before the last climb in the route. I rode it as part of the group that climbed together the second half of Portalet, I even sometimes lead the way for them.

This segment took me 10:22 which is 24 seconds faster than last year.Legs were feeling great and I was looking forward to attack Hoz de Jaca.

Hoz de Jaca (2013, 2014)

I suddenly felt a funny feeling in one of my right leg's muscles, the vastus medialis according to the picture below.

At that time I didn't relate it but trying to find the muscle that was feeling funny I recalled that exactly the same feeling, in the same muscle, I had the third time I rode a road bike in my live, a 164km sportive on a hired road bike, when I was climbing the last climb, La Covatilla, in its 12% ramps (report, in Spanish), the only time I said out loud "I quit cycling". It's been 776 times I have ridden a road bike since them until I had the same feeling.

It was not painful but it felt like the signal that it could be very painful. Funny enough I applied the same recipe I applied back then. Stand on the bicycle and pedal slowly for a few seconds.

It worked. The group I was riding with was now out of my sight and I climbing trying not to force the right leg, but I was doing well. Passing a lot of riders still had time to get a plastic glass of coke that a spectator offered me and drink it while I was climbing.

It took me 11:50 to get to the top (220 avg watts) which is 8 seconds more than last year. Not bad considering I had to easy a bit.

Hoz de Jaca's descend (2013, 2014)

At the top of Hoz de Jaca there is a feed station. A volunteer was offering bottles of water. I grabbed one on the go and drank it before the descend really started.

This is a tricky descend, it has two complicated bends at the very beginning, a tunnel when it gets flat and a short but noticeable climb at the end, you better be in the small chainring for it.

The Canyon proved again to be a safer bike to ride in descends as I did it in 4:55, 21 seconds faster than last year.

The flat to Sabiñanigo (2013, 2014)

This segment was different this year. Instead the 24 all descend or flat kilometers we had in 2013

The flat to Sabiñánigo 2013

In 2014 we had a small climb towards the end of the segment

The flat to Sabiñánigo 2014

At the beginning of this segment I realized I was not going to be able to finish in less than 6:30. 

It didn't matter. I took turns with two other riders leading a group of about 40 all the way to Sabiñánigo. To be completely honest I have to confess the other two were taking more turns than me but I was working as hard as I was able to.

Half way through the segment I realized that I could miss my objective.

When we turn right and I saw the "climb" we had in front of us I knew it was over. 

It was not a hard climb, in any other ride I wouldn't even mention it. It didn't hurt me that bad either. I managed to keep up with all the riders that were sitting in our wheel as they passed us in the climb. At the top of the hill I got again to the front of the group and lead it to the descend. I knew it was over and I was furious.

This segment took me 38:40 and that is 1:49 more than last year.

When I crossed the line I saw 6:50 something in the watch so I thought I had done 6 or 7 minutes worst than last year. Then, when I saw my oficial time I saw it was "only" 3:25, I had to consider the time it took me to cross the start line.

Not that made me any happier in ay case.

Rafa, Edu, TY, Javier and Richard with our medal and certificates

Conclusion, why I missed my objective for this year's Quebrantahuesos

A bad tapering after my best form ever meant I put on the weight I had lost in the first half of the year and I didn't have the endurace to do well at the Portalet which, the traditions says, is the judge of the Quebrantahuesos. 

Weather conditions were tougher this year, on average temperature was 7.8ºC hotter. That means Le Marie-Blanque was a sauna and Portalet was really challenging, more considering we had head wind in the second half. 

Head wind in the descend of the Portalet, a slow group in the flat before the Portalet and a "climb" introduced in the last segment of the route were other factors out of my control that made me slower this year.

What makes the result a bit more disappointed is how well the bike performed. It not only is 2kg lighter but descending with it felt way more secure than with the Cannondale (I gained time pretty much in each descend).

The only thing that mitigates the disaster is my position in the final ranking. Last year, finishing in 6:44:56 I was in position 1100. This year, finishing in 6:48:21 I was in position 884. Despite of taking 3:25 more to finish I have moved 216 positions up, which, I guess, confirms general conditions were harder for everyone and is aligned with a Spanish magazine that reported:

"Many of the participants suffered from the overwhelming and uncomfortable feeling reigning at Le Marie-Blanque where heat and humidity added an extra point of suffering to the already hard course of QH. To this circumstance it was added the head wind that appeared at the ascend and specially in the descend of the Portalet what has caused that many of the participants qualified the twenty-fourth edition as one of the toughest in the last decade"

A bit of an overstatement in my opinion (2010 conditions were toughest) but still slightly comforting.

What about next year?

Here is the thing. I'm still convinced that in "normal" circumstances I would have finished in less than 6:30 this year. So my target for next year can't be that one. Instead I'm going to target Ed's time 6:18:29, to my knowledge the best Kingston Wheeler time.

A stretch goal would be targeting the 6:13:03 that took Miguel Indurain to finish this year's Quebrantahuesos. Being able to say "I rode faster than Indurain" is quite a thing but he is 49 so I'll have to wait four years to make that a fair assertion.

In any case I want, sometime, to be able to finish the Quebrantahuesos in less than 6 hours. Lots of pedals to turn until then.

I leave you a few videos that reflect the atmosphere at the Quebrantahuesos this year.

Take care

Javier Arias González

Brian Chapman Memorial 600 (lots of silly mistakes)

Brian Chapman Memorial 600 was going to be my 20th Audax ride, in my baggage I have six 200km events, five 300, four 400, two 600 a PBP (1200km) and a LEL (1500). Funny enough this was the Audax ride I have made more mistakes.

The first one was what I decided to carry on the bike. They had forecasted sunny days for the whole weekend but cautious as I am I decided to carry my full all weather equipment. The bike weighted 16kg (I actually weighted the bike), but hey, I was ready for sudden snow storms...

This mistake is even bigger if you consider that the organizers offer a bag drop service. This is sending a bag with whatever you want to fill to a control that we would visit twice, in the kilometer 200 and again in the 400. This is very helpful. I was planning to stop for a sleep in the 400km mark so I packed in my bag a clean set of clothes, some energy bars and gels and everything I needed for a breakfast.

Why I decided to carry on the bike the lights and the clothes I was going to use during the night instead of putting then in the bag and getting them at the 200km mark is beyond me. Maybe is because I wanted to get a better training out of this ride...

Which leads me to another mistake, the pace I decided to take. My main objective of the year is the Quebrantahuesos, a 200km sportive in Spain, so I decided I wanted to rehearse the effort. What better way that riding all out for the first six and a half hours? which is about the time that will take me the Quebrantahuesos.

I rode all out for the first 180km. It took me exactly 6 hours, and that includes a quick stop in the first control. I was the third in that control. The first two were leaving when I was arriving and they were riding a light bike with tri-bars, probably with the intention of riding non-stop.

Training wise, it was fantastic. Not only was a good effort but also the numbers confirmed I was in good form. The problem was I still had ride 440km with about 6000m of climbing and I was tired, spent, empty.

Struggling was the name of the game now, it took me two hours to ride 47km, although 14 of them were uphill. Struggling I arrived to the control at the control at the 227km mark. Still that was my fastest Audax 200km to date, 227km in 8 hours 6 minutes.

Now this was a great stop. It was 14:00 and it is easy to image how hungry I was. This control is well catered so I ate enough to make my mother proud; including some of the food I had put in my bag. The thought of leaving the rain clothes didn't cross my mind so I departed with all the load in my bike. A shame I forgot to start the garmin...

To my discharge I'll say the garmin re-started itself when I plugged it to the charger, still I failed to realize it was not recording and what is most important it was not navigating.

You have to put yourself in my position. Tired, with your stomach full and still digesting, in a road that was not up, down or flat but a combination of everything, a route that I barely remember from last year and that I was following the route sheet...

And suddenly I was lost. It was at this point I realized the garmin was not recoding, it was off for about 90km!!!!! A quick look to the route sheet confirmed I had missed a right turn. In an Audax event you can take any route you want between controls so I faced the dilema of riding back something like 5 or 10 km to try to find the turn I have missed or trying to find an alternative route. I was riding north, generally speaking in the right direction, so got the mobile out and started Google Maps. Unfortunately there was no data reception in this spot. Luckily I'm a man full of resources, I saw a gas station, walked in, got one of those maps printed in papers, asked the shopgirl where we were and found a route to the next control. Easy, just have to follow the A487 to Menai Bridge, not as peaceful and beauty as the original route, but not longer either, good enough compromise considering the circumstances. I took the opportunity to buy a refreshment but I didn't bought the map...

Maybe it was the anger of getting lost, maybe I managed to recover a bit riding slowly for the last few hours or, most likely, it was the tail wind but I got some good speed riding to the 300km mark. Half way of the route and the numbers were still looking good. It was 18:45, I had ridden 327km in 12 hours 45 minutes. One hour twenty faster than my fastest Audax 300.

But now I was really, really tired again. The control at Menai Bridge is also managed and they offered baked potatoes with beans and cheese and rice pudding for dessert. I ate everything and added a ham sandwich and a few cookies. When I was about to leave I saw at the control table a cable. One of those cables that is used to power the garmin with the e-werk, one of those cables that it is important in these rides. And that was my cable. I had forgotten it there where I was checking in, I felt fortunate I saw it when I was leaving...

With my stomach full again I started to ride slowly. About 15-20 km/h slow, I was heading south now and what was a tail wind earlier it was now a head wind. That was one of those moments were you just have to relax and take it easy, there is no point in trying to push it.

I was riding at that pace for about an hour when two riders passed me. They were not riding that fast, but very soon they were well away. It was at that moment when I realized I had made just another mistake. I should have jumped on their wheel, I never miss an opportunity to suck a good wheel. What was I thinking?? This mistake costed me a 3 minutes effort at 289 watts to catch up with them. 3 minutes at 289 watts is not a huge effort but when done after 14 hours riding let me well empty again. When I got to the riders I used the little breath I had to ask if I could sit on their wheel and, of course, they said yes. I took the third spot in the convoy and enjoyed the free ride.

And I say free ride correctly. Riding solo before they passed me I was doing an average of 190 watts. Again, by all means not a huge effort, but plenty considering the circumstances. Sitting on their wheels I was doing 133 watts and riding faster. A huge improvement!!! A big mistake not to have jumped on their wheel earlier!!!

I couldn't take a single turn in the front. One of the riders was riding a fixie (yes, 600km with 8000m climb in a fixie, think twice before considering me crazy) and that meant whenever a climb came the pace put me to the limit again. This was more challenging than it looks at first sight. When I was sitting on their wheel I was riding very easily, with my heart rate dropping to 70-80ppm, and because was already dark and I was tired my body started to shut down. I was feeling really sleepy. And then a climb would appear and the rider in the fixie will keep his pace and I had to wake up and sprint to keep their wheel. On top of that my neck was hurting. When we made it to the control I had have enough for the day.

It was 22:45, I had ridden 419km in 16 hours and 45 minutes, an hour and five minutes faster than my fastest 400k Audax.

Had soup, pasta, rice pudding and chocolate milk in my second dinner of the day and went to had a shower before heading bed. It would have been nice not have made the mistake of failing to put in my bag a towel...

Sleeping and bed management is tricky. Around 150 riders and not that many beds means you can only get a bed for three hours. I was among the first in the control but getting to bed at 23:30 meant waking up at 2:30 which meant riding at 3:00 with still some night riding to do, which meant carrying extra load. So I figured an alternative plan. I was going to lay in a sofa and sleep for one hour and a half. At one I would ask for a bed, I was not going to have any problem to get one because it would be still early for most of the riders. That would mean to wake up at 4, start riding in day light at 4:30 and being able to leave some of the stuff in my bag.

I was not the only one with that idea. In the room there were about five or six riders already sleeping so I put my mobile in airplane mode so the alarm would not wake anyone (there was not reception anyway), set the alarm to 1:00 and fitted it between my bib short and my leg so the vibration would wake me up.

At 1:00 the alarm went off, I woke up, asked for a bed and was taken to a bed room. An still unused bed was there for me, lucky me. Got in bed and in less than a minute I was deep sleep again.

At 4:00 someone came and woke me up. My three hours were over and a rider was waiting for the bed. I woke up, got my things and realized I didn't have my mobile.

I didn't panic. It had to be in the sofa where I was sleeping.

I asked at the control and no one had returned a mobile. Went to the room where the sofa was but it was dark and there were riders sleeping all over the place. Couldn't find it.

Still didn't panic. Had my breakfast with the stuff I had put in my bug (they were not serving breakfast yet at the control, it was 4 am and they were still serving dinner to the riders that were arriving). Made some time to see if the room cleared a bit and I could give it another go.

Gave it another go and couldn't find it. Now I was starting to panic a bit. Emptied my bag, checked every corner and nothing. No sign of my mobile. Of course calling it would help, there was not signal in the control, but even if the rider had taken inadvertently the mobile with him and were in an area with signal, it wouldn't help, I had turn it in airplane mode!!!

5:30, I have been up for an hour and a half looking for my mobile. An hour and a half not sleeping, not resting, not riding, just looking for my mobile. I was really angry at myself. It was when I had the idea of writing this post.

But hey, they started to serve breakfast and the bacon smelled really well so I had my second breakfast, beans on toast with bacon, trying to reproduce my steps and what I did with the mobile.

No help, those minutes between sleeps were mainly black for me.

Got back to the bed room to check if the mobile was there. No help.

Waited until the rider that took the bed after me woke up to see if the mobile was in the bed. No help.

Went back to the room with the sofas and the sofa were I was sleeping was now empty so sat there and tried to remember what I have done with the f*** mobile.

And there I was thinking when a rider says "here is a mobile".

Couldn't believe it. It was my mobile, there in a shelve. Someone should have found it and leave it there.

I had found the mobile but I was not happy. It was 6:30, I had lost two hours. Time to move on.

It was well into the day light and already warm so took off the leg and arm warmers, reflective gillet, long gloves and shoe covers. And instead of leaving them in the bag so they would be returned to the headquarters in a van I put them on the bike and I had to carried them for another 200km. Just another silly mistake...

And you know what, I forgot again to start the garmin!!!! A nightmare for a data geek like me!

When I realized I was shouting like crazy. Luckily there was no one around to hear me and in any case my swearing was in Spanish (which, by the way, is much better language for swearing).

First stage of the morning was only 65km long, it had two climbs but it was not a problem. I knew the route and I was "rested". I was riding a decent pace and passing lots of riders.

Unfortunately pain in the neck that I was feeling at the end of the previous day it was hurting again. That was unexpected, it took me a bit for surprise. I never had any of these pains in these rides. No pain in the knees, ankles, tendons, nothing.

Well if I'm completely honest, in the Severn Across 400 two weeks ago I finished with a just a bit of pain in the neck. Nothing serious but I remember relevant enough to worth a comment to Gavin.

By the time I arrived at the control I was hungry again so I took my third breakfast of the day; just couldn't resist the temptation of just another bacon sandwich.

When I got back to the bicycle I saw it. My handlebar was too low. It was in its normal/racing position, not in its audax position. That made sense. I had move the bicycle from audax setup to racing setup after the 200 and I had ridden with the handle bar in that position the 300, the 400 and almost 500km of this ride. No wonder my neck hurt. Funny enough in my list of advices for long distance rides [in Spanish] my advice number 9 is "make sure the geometry of your bike has not changed".

The only good thing about this mistake is that is easy to correct it. Put the handle bar in its audax positon (two separators up) and the pain in the neck mitigated almost immediately.

Not much happened for the rest of the ride. I was tired so I rode the last 160km in maintenance mode. Limiting the efforts to the bare minimum to keep me going. Still I made it to the final control at 18:10, which means 36 hours and 10 minutes for a ride of 642km. 50 minutes less than last year (and this year the ride was 17km longer than last year's). Not bad numbers.

As always I took a picture of my brevet when I finished. But this time I did the mistake of taking the picture before they put the final time on it. I even think the controller was telling me about it but my mind was already stimulated by the smell of fried bacon so the picture of the brevet goes without the final time on it.

And when I got to the car I saw this note on my car:

In my defense I have to say that even with the note in my hands I could not see the car was parked "in what is very clearly someone's garden" but after two days of mistakes I'm really happy they didn't call the police and had towed my car away. If that had happened I'm sure I have cried in desperation. There is a limit to the mistakes one can handle...

Take care
Javier Arias González

Oasts and Coast 300 2014

The second we started to ride, it started to rain. It was Gavin, a fellow Kingston Wheeler and me. Starting towards the end of the field, forty odd riders. We rode a good pace so we very quickly passed most of them.

The first café stop was at km 67.4 By that time we had been on the bike for around two hours and a half, we had climbed two decent hills and a bunch of tiny climbs all that in heavy rain and wind in the exposed areas. Normally I wouldn't stop so early in the ride but we were soaked and the idea of a hot chocolate was simply too tempting.

At this café is where finally I met Alex in person. He was arriving when we were about to leave and he was of the idea that it was too early to stop so decided to join us. Not for long though; in the first climb he pushed too hard for us so we let him go a bit later we caught him but very soon we drop him. That was the last time we saw him in the route.

It was still raining at times, we still had to climb two decent hills and another bunch of small climbs and we were still facing wind in the exposed sections until we made it to the point 120k where the flat section started.

A flat section, all exposed, all with head wind so I did the silly thing to do. I pushed and pushed trying to keep the same pace. The problem was I only had gasoline until km 140, around that point I blew up. I had nothing in the tank. My pace dropped so rapidly that Gavin knew I was struggling so he moved to the front and set the pace for me. It was hard to keep up with his pace, but he rescued me. I downed a gel and tried to ride as close to him as possible.

We made it to the control (154km) and there we met Chris, the rider that was in the front. We had lunch with him and another rider in blue jersey (I have seen him in several rides, but never got his name). I devoured my pasta salad and a piece of cake I got at the café. By the time I was ready to go Chris and the blue jersey rider were gone. "They are a puncture away" said Gavin.

We rode slowly. Not only we were digesting our food but also we had to cross Flokestone and Dover, cycle lines shared with pedestrians didn't contribute to speed things up. Not to mention two step climbs that waken our lets.

By the time we were descenting onto Deal we saw Chris repairing a puncture on the left. We asked him if he needed help and as he said he was ok we carried on. Anyway the next control was very close and when we were about to leave he showed up.

From that moment we were three riding together. Still riding easy, chatting and enjoying the sun and the tail wind. It was difficult to believe how grim the conditions were in the morning and how nice the afternoon was. In fact when we made it to Macaris Ice Cream Parlour café (km 227) I ordered a white chocolate ice cream. I think I could afford the extra calories.

Around 10 minutes after us arrived another rider (I don't know his name but he was wearing a yellow jacket so he will be the yellow rider). He was ready to go when we were about to leave so the group of three became a group of four.

Fresh we were and started to pedal. Very soon, after 11 hours working my garmin said it was running low in battery. I stopped to plug it to my dynamo and told the others to carry on, I'd catch them up.

Plugged the GPS and started to pedal full speed without pressing the ok button in the GPS. The problem was I made it to a T intersection and that didn't make sense with the route sheet. Pressed ok in the GPS, looked at the map and figured I had to ride back. By the time I was on route I couldn't see them so I pressed on. And pushed, and pushed, and pushed. In one crossroad Gavin was waiting for me and said the other two were about 30 seconds ahead. He jumped on my wheel and I tried to close the gap. You know when you have a group that is so close that you are almost there but they are still so far away that you can't even shout at them and you push and you push and it seems the gap never closes and you are about to give up and you only keep pushing because you hate giving up. That was me.

Looking at the numbers it took me around 16km and 35 minutes to catch them, the last 13 minutes, the bit that did with Gavin in my wheel, I did an average of 250w Not bad for a chopper like me with 240km in the legs. Now, if I had recovered from the first part of the ride all was gone now. Got a wheel, downed a second gel and took it easy from there.

Luckily there were not surges. We were riding very well together, helping each other with the navigation and with the info controls. A bit of a chat here and there and the kilometers were passing

Still there was another point where I was about to crack. Gavin had stopped for some reason so I told the other two I would stop to wait for him. They kept going.

By the time Gavin appeared they were about a minute ahead of us and we were climbing. Gavin passed me, I tried to jump on his wheel but I couldn't make it. He was in the distance and I shouted "they are too far away we won't bridge the gap" but I think he didn't hear me so we kept pushing it a bit. It was the desire to not riding alone at this point what kept me going.

Chris and the rider in yellow should have eased quite a bit because despite all my struggling we eventually caught them. And that was nice, it gave us the opportunity to keep the group together.

And that was all. The ride finishes with a climb and have way through it the rider in yellow increased the pace with Chris on his wheel. I couldn't bother we were about 5k from the finish and was wasted.

We made it to the hq around 20:00 which means a 14 hours ride, including stops (12:13 riding). Not bad considering the weather in the first half.

The ride in Strava

Notes for future editions:

• You don't need to carry your own food in this event, the controls are set that way that you would stop at a café around 8 (km 67.4) for breakfast, around 12:30 (km 154.5) in another café for lunch and around 16:00 (km 227) for a afternoon snack to make it back to the HQ around 20:00. 
• Take your lunch at the café at km 154.5. You can get hot food and they were fast serving. It is pointless to delay lunch because the following two sections are too slow and the next control is in a small shop. You won't get another café until km 227 and those 72 km will take you more than three hours.
• Because after the café at km 154.5 the sections are slow (cycle lines, crossing Flokestone and Dover, riding the sea front, sharing part of the ride with pedestrians) take it easy to the next café (km 227) it'll give you the opportunity to digest your launch and recover your legs. From this point you will be able to push it again if your want.
• If you want to take this ride as a training ride all out from the start to the control at km 154.5. Have launch there. Take it easy until control 227 and all out again until the end. It will be plenty.

Mi entrevista en Bicisport

 

El amigo Agustín O. colabora con la revista BiciSport lleva la sección de ciclismo de larga distancia. Hace unas semanas se puso en contacto conmigo proponiéndome que le contestara a unas preguntas para incluir la entrevista en esa sección. Con todo el gusto del mundo le contesté lo mejor que pude a sus preguntas.

El resultado ha sido publicado en el número 5 de la revista (Abril 2014). Por cuestiones de espacio la entrevista no se publicó entera por lo que copio y pego aquí las preguntas y respuestas completas.

Conocemos a Javier Arias desde hace muchos años. Este ciclista, aficionado al ultrafondo,  que es metódico, calculador y sobre todo buena persona en el amplio sentido de la palabra, poco a poco va incorporando en su currículum pequeños-grandes logros que llaman la atención del cualquier observador.

Javier, cuéntanos, ¿en qué pruebas has participado en los últimos años? ¿cómo han sido los resultados desde el punto de vista deportivo y también desde el punto de vista humano?

Dos son los tipos de pruebas en las que he participado en los últimos años. La Quebrantahuesos y los eventos de larga distancia. De estos últimos destacaría los 1.200 kilómetros de la Paris-Brest-Paris de 2011 y los 1.400 kilómetros de la Londres-Edimburgo-Londres en Agosto de 2013. 

Desde el punto de vista deportivo los resultados no han estado mal. En la Quebrantahuesos me planteo mejorar mi tiempo año a año; hasta ahora siempre he podido hacerlo, razón más que suficiente para estar contento. En los eventos de larga distancia no me planteo resultados desde el punto de vista deportivo, para mi se trata de vivir experiencias maravillosas sobre la bicicleta. Atravesar un país de norte a sur acompañado de amigos, conocer gente con tu misma pasión, compartir camino con ellos (casi siempre chupando rueda) es algo que une, que se queda grabado.

En este año he probado a competir en carreras ciclistas. En Inglaterra son muy populares. En un radio de una hora desde yo vivo hay cuatro circuitos que todos los fines de semana organizan carreras ciclistas. Son circuitos cerrados al tráfico y las carreras están organizadas por categorías. De momento los resultados no son muy buenos que se diga (dos quintos en trece carreras) pero estoy aprendiendo con rapidez.

¿Vas a volver a participar en esas mismas pruebas? Si tu respuesta es afirmativa ¿qué objetivos te planteas en las mismas?

Si, sin duda. Ya tengo plaza para la Quebrantahuesos de 2014 y mi objetivo será bajar el tiempo del año pasado (6:44:56). No será fácil, pero por ganas de intentarlo no se va a quedar.

En larga distancia haré una serie Super Randoneur (una prueba de 200km, otra de 300, otra de 400 y una de 600) y participaré en la Ronde Aliénor d'Aquitaine, una prueba de 1.200 kilómetros que se celebrará en Francia en el mes de Julio.

Me gustaría seguir corriendo a lo largo de este año; tengo como objetivo ganar una carrera y subir a tercera categoría.

¿Hay otros retos en lo que aún no hayas participado pero que llamen tu atención en la actualidad?

Muchísimos. Soy un glotón de los eventos ciclistas. Cuando me entero de un evento ciclista siempre me dan ganas de participar. En Enero, cuando planifico el año, siempre tengo una lista enorme de eventos en los que quiero participar. Luego, con todo el dolor de mi corazón, empiezo a tachar eventos. Este no puedo por trabajo, este por familia, este se me escapa del presupuesto, para este no me quedan vacaciones, etc, etc. Aun así la lista final es una carta a los reyes magos ciclistas que a final de año no siempre se cumple completamente.

De entre los eventos que tengo en la lista de espera están las cicloturistas europeas. La Marmotte, la Etape del Tour, la Maratona y las que replican las clásicas de primavera (Lieja-Bastonge-Lieja, Tour de Flandes, etc). También le tengo el ojo echado a la Cape Argus en sudafrica, pero estando tan lejos no se yo... 

En larga distancia me gustaría ir probando otros países; los 1.600 km de la Mille Miglia en Italia, por ejemplo. Distancias más largas como la Race Across America o contrarelojes del tipo las 24 horas de Le Mans. 

Sabemos que eres ingeniero y que trabajas en una de las principales empresas del planeta relacionada con el mundo de Internet, de hecho en los últimos años vives en Inglaterra ¿es fácil compatibilizar un trabajo como el tuyo con el ciclismo de larga distancia?  o ,dicho de otra forma, ¿tu actividad profesional influye en la manera de plantearte  tu afición?, ¿la condiciona?, ¿la beneficia o sencillamente buscas la forma de hacerlo todo compatible...?

En ese sentido tengo mucha suerte. Yo voy a trabajar en bici casi todos los días, 26 kilómetros de ida y otros tantos de vuelta. En el edificio de la empresa tenemos un parking vigilado para las bicicletas, taquillas para dejar la ropa y duchas; lo cual viene muy bien si tenemos en cuenta lo mucho que llueve en Londres.

También tengo la suerte de que mi trabajo es relativamente fácil de compatibilizar con la bicicleta, me paso muchas horas delante del ordenador y yo me lo tomo como un descanso a nivel físico. Es más yo creo que la bicicleta me beneficia en mi trabajo. Yo no tomo cafeína, pero cuando por las mañanas me siento delante del ordenador después de una hora de bici tengo la mente fresca y despejada. 

Luego, al salir de trabajar, la hora de bici hasta casa me sirve para desconectar. Multitud de veces me he puesto a pedalear con la cabeza llena de pensamientos relacionados con el trabajo y cuando he llegado a casa había desconectado completamente. Por no mencionar la de veces que he resuelto un problema del trabajo a partir de una idea que se me ha cruzado mientras pedaleaba. Definitivamente montar en bici me es beneficioso en mi trabajo.

¿Qué nos podrías decir del mundo randonneur de las islas británicas?¿Qué te llama la atención?

Lo grande, variado y bien organizado que es el mundo randonneur en el Reino Unido. Audax UK, tiene más de 5.000 miembros, organiza más de 200 eventos de larga distancia al año y edita su propia revista, Arrivee, dedicada exclusivamente al ciclismo de larga distancia. En el calendario te puedes encontrar desde eventos de iniciación de 100 kilómetros a la joya de la corona que es la London-Edimburgo-London distribuidos a lo largo y ancho del país.

También me llamó la atención lo aficionados que son al registro de resultados, clasificaciones y rankings. En la página de Audax UK están registrados todos los eventos completados por sus miembros y existen rankings para todo tipo de variables, número de kilómetros rodados, número de eventos participados, metros de desnivel subidos, etc. 

Por último la fidelidad casi religiosa a determinadas marcas. Brooks para los sillines, Carradice para las bolsas, SON para los dinamos de buje, etc. Las marcas clásicas de larga distancia tienen un gran mercado en el Reino Unido.

Tu blog (www.unbiciorejon.com) cuenta de forma detallada tu quehacer ciclista; Javier ¿por qué escribes?,¿para quién?, ¿acaso tus estupendas crónicas forman parte de algo? ¿de qué?

Empecé a escribir porque cuando iba en bici se me ocurría que lo que acababa de pasar era digno de ser contado. Que Jorge me había ganado un spint en la señal de no se que pueblo, que el abuelito me llevó a rueda toda la mañana, que había subido al Angliru, etc. Escribir la crónica de la salida en bici se convirtió en una forma de contarles a los amigos como había vivido yo la salida.

Por otro lado el ejercicio de escribir me sirve tanto para reflexionar sobre la salida como para revivirla y fijarla en la memoria. Curiosamente me gusta leer de vez en cuando crónicas de salidas de hace años. Me asombra lo mucho que he evolucionado como ciclista y como escritor en poco tiempo.

Si tuvieras que recomendarle a un lector una de tus magníficas crónicas, ¿cuál le recomendarías?

A mi la que más me gusta es en la que cuento mi pedigree ciclista (http://www.unbiciorejon.com/2013/03/mi-pedigree-como-ciclista.html) porque es una confesión sincera de la poca relación que he tenido a lo largo de mi vida con el ciclismo. Me parece gracioso que con esa falta de pedigree ahora sea tan aficionado a la bicicleta.

También me gusta mucho mi crónica de mi primera Quebrantahuesos (http://www.unbiciorejon.com/2010/06/quebrantahuesos-mi-primera-experienca.html) porque fue una aventura épica, seguramente mi mejor día en la bicicleta.

Que me meo (http://www.unbiciorejon.com/2008/04/que-me-meo-o-el-caf-en-tielmes-no-saba.html) me parece graciosa por lo absurdo de la situación. 

Por último mi crónica de la Paris-Brest-Paris (http://www.unbiciorejon.com/2011/12/paris-brest-paris-1200-kilometros-en.html) por lo mucho que me costó escribirla y lo impresionante de la experiencia.

¿Cómo entrenas? ¿Tienes algún plan o metodología? ¿Cómo es? Cuéntanos...

Empecé a “entrenar” en el año 2011. La revista Ciclismo a Fondo publicó un artículo de Chema Argueas sobre entrenamiento con rodillo. Me compre un Tacx I-magic y entrené ese año siguiendo el plan de Chema. 

En el año 2012 me compré el libro de Chema Arguedas, Planifica tus pedaladas, me lo leí y decidí ponerlo en práctica.

A principios de 2013 me compré un medidor de potencia y el libro Training and Racing with a Power Meter (Entrenando y compitieno con un medidor de potencia). Desde entonces planifico todos mis entrenamientos en base a potencia. 

Me encanta analizar los datos de cada salida en bici, tengo registradas en un documento todas las salidas en bicicleta de mi vida. Para analizar las salidas en bici y los entrenamientos uso el WKO+ de TrainingPekas y GoldenCheetah.

Yo soy muy metódico y disciplinado con los entrenamientos. Rara vez la pereza me vence a la hora de hacer una sesión de entrenamiento y no me cuesta nada mantenerme en las zonas de trabajo que tengo planificadas. No se la de veces que me podría haber picado con otro ciclista, siempre de buen rollo, y no caí en la tentación por no salirme de las zonas de entrenamiento.

¿Qué bicicleta usas? ¿Cómo es? 

Tengo una única bici de carretera, una Cannondale Synapse del año 2009. Es una gran bicicleta, ligera y cómoda, lo cual es importante para las largas distancias. 

La bicicleta la uso en dos configuraciones. La primera es la bici tal cual la compré, la segunda es la que yo llamo la Brevetera (http://www.unbiciorejon.com/2011/06/la-brevetera.html) que es la configuración de la bicicleta para larga distancia. En esta configuración le monto a la bici los guardabarros, un portabultos y le pongo la rueda delantera con un dinamo de buje para alimentar la luz de la bicicleta. Se trata de adecuar la bicicleta a las necesidades de los eventos de larga distancia.

Javier , ¿por qué larga distancia?

Porque me gusta mucho montar en bici. La larga distancia es el tipo de prueba que me permite estar más horas montando en bici.

A cuidarse
Javier Arias González