TDR 2012

[Christopher R. Bennett]

I'm planning on trying again with the GD from Antelope Wells - depending on forest fires. Don't want another visit to Gila hospital with an asthma attack.

Is it going to be on June 8th or the 14th? Thought it was the second Thursday in June? I'm racing Ironman Brazil on May 27th so wouldn't mind a bit longer to recover.

[Georg66]

I'm planning on trying again with the GD from Antelope Wells - depending on forest fires. Don't want another visit to Gila hospital with an asthma attack.

Is it going to be on June 8th or the 14th? Thought it was the second Thursday in June? I'm racing Ironman Brazil on May 27th so wouldn't mind a bit longer to recover.

During the last years, GD always started on Fridays (as far as I know), 2nd Friday in June. There might have been some change in the regulations, now it does not seem to be on a friday necessarily, but the 2nd weekend in June (which might be confusing in other years, when the 1st of June is a Sunday)
You can consult the website here:
http://tourdivide.org/about

[...] Time-trial season on the Great Divide Route begins annually with Grand Départs, occurring approximately 2nd weekend in June from both termini of the Route.[...]

[BigPoppa]

I think it is the second Friday of June....

[mmeiser]

I'm going to keep dreaming.

[phil_rad]

I'm in ; just booked my flight to Calgary.   

[pedalhead]

I cracked my previous intended TD frame during a race this summer, which was a sad moment indeed!  On the bright side, circumstances then allowed me to design my perfect (for me) custom ultra racing frame.  I just got a few pictures from the frame builder today & it should be in my hands next week.  http://www.twitpic.com/7cczx9  Good times!  

[phil_rad]

Sweet looking frame; who's building it? The Swift is also nice. I've got an order for a Gryphon myself.

[pedalhead]

Matthias at Mawis Bike in Germany is building it.  Sam @ Singular sorted it out for me as a warranty replacement for my broken Pegasus.  In the meantime, Sam loaned me a Swift to ride (since July).  That's some pretty good service right there!  I've also ridden a Gryphon a couple of times...I guarantee you'll love it.  Sam knows how to design sweet-riding 29ers, no doubt there.

[phil_rad]

I think so too, It's going to be my TDR ride. New bags are also in the works, my old ones are kind of beat.

Are you in next year Mark?

Phil

[pedalhead]

Yes, on target to be there in June 2012 for the grand depart.  Holding off on booking flights at the moment while I sort out a knee problem, but I think it'll be ok.

[mcmurv]

In case anyone is interested, I will be riding NOBO next summer. I will most likely be starting around the last week in May.  We have a baby on the way, which is due around the middle of June.

Anyone want to join? 

[sheilar]

And I have to find out on the internet?  You are in trouble!
Mazel Tov!
sr

In case anyone is interested, I will be riding NOBO next summer. I will most likely be starting around the last week in May.  We have a baby on the way, which is due around the middle of June.

Anyone want to join? 

[ImAFred]

I'm going to keep dreaming.

As will I

[phil_rad]

How are you all training through the winter? I'm in a downward spiral at the moment; lots of work and by the time I get home I'm beat. But I'll try and get something going here from now until Christmas; damage control. Afterwards I'll have more time on my hands. Anyway, just curious if anybody else is having motivation problems. Also some bike and kit list would be cool to see, when my new rig is done I'll post it; for now though here is a tentative bike and gear list for those who are interested.

Bike: Singular Gryphon with a Rohloff

Bags: Phantom Pack Systems, frame bag, handlebar harness, top tube bag & seat bag. CDW fuel cell & Epic ride research feed bag.

No back pack.

Other items I'll list later.

Happy trails!

[Payton MacDonald]

Trainer + ipod + structured workout equals tolerable.  Trainer without tunes or structure equals misery for me.  Pool for variety and building cardiovascular base.  Strength training to mix it up.

[THE LONG RANGER]

Re: Training -

Now that I've done something like this,

I think one of the pillars for training is make sure that you're on your bike almost every day, even for an hour. This does not mean you're doing centuries every day, but get on your bike and ride it. Take rests when it's required and keep the fast days fast and the slow days slow and recover with recovery rides. If you're at race-pace on the GDMBR, you're not going to have a day off. Your body needs to adjust. Doing the TD is not extremely healthy to do and your body will pay the price, but get it prepared. I think splitting up the workout and doing half the time in the morning and half, like after work is an interesting idea. Train yourself psychologically as well. Get it used to be on the bike all the time.

Try out some theories on training, like periodization. There's a lot of resources out there on things like training for something like the Paris-Brest-Paris, or the RAAM that work well with the TD. The TD, although it's on dirt, is really differentiated by the amount of climbing done (not saying anything about the self-supported part of it). Fit a ton of training on hills - no amount is too much, really. If you can work up to 10k of climbing in a day, you're in good shape for the TD.

NOT THAT I'M SAYING I'M GOING TO, but if I did the TD again, I'd be a little more disciplined with my wakeup times, especially to fit training in and be somewhat of a sane human being afterwards. 5:00am every day to get a good ride in. Trying for 300 miles/week would be nice, but keep those miles "useful" - fast on fast days, slow on slow days. More important than amount of miles. Don't waste your own time! Keep a diary of your training, what you did, how you felt, what goals you have and remember to keep it somewhat structured. Work around important things in your life and adapt your training to your life, and not the other way around. If there's something in your life that you need to devote 4 days off to, that's a grand time to end a major chunk of periodization, allow your body to get an incredible rest and allow you to be stronger when you start ramping up again.

* I would put in more fast, short days than I did.
* I would do some actual 24hr races
* I would certainly keep the fluid trainer around, as it's a great helper with working with real-world schedules. As I wrote, try to ride (or work up to try to ride) almost every day. There are many stretches of the TD that are nothing but pounding out miles and the fluid trainer is perfect for that.
* I would keep going to the gym, especially when the weather is bad, the roads are bad and there's not much daylight, but taper that off to almost nothing, once race time nears - it's good advice to train specific to your event and if your event is riding your bike (and, uh, pushing your bike, sometimes), keep that end goal in mind. I worked on a lot of core strengthening stuff, which I would do again, and maybe more neck strengthening exercises. It's amazing how heavy a helmet can get with a few lights attached to it. Sprinting/Plyometric work as well. Make sure you're not gaining TOO much muscle weight, it's not going to be useful, so look for advice on athlete specific training programs and not programs for body sculpting (working towards complete exhaustion of your muscle groups in heavily isolated exercises will help little with ultra events).
* Other than the gym and riding bikes, I'd mix it up as before with hikes and snowshoeing and running, working muscles a different way than normal to prevent overuse injuries and keep things supple.
* Work with what you've got in terms of terrain. I'm pretty lucky to live 10 miles from the front range of the Colorado Rockies, but it's still 10 miles there and 10 miles back if I want to ride any type of singletrack. I used those long fairly flat times to get used to pounding out miles, working on cadence and smooth pedaling.

Learn about your equipment and endlessly tinker with everything until it's to the point of a natural extension of your own body. Simplicity of gear I think is pretty paramount in importance. Dropping weight really does help matters out. Get comfortable sleeping on the ground. Really. Learn about your body and food. Maybe try different types of diets with varying %'s of macro-nutrients, but understand it's going to be less than ideal on the route. I'd almost side on upping the % of fat, as you're going to get some greasy sides on the route, but there's also a theory that one can train your body to use what it's used to using and if you eat a fat-rich diet, your body will use its own fat stores more efficiency. Again, "theory" though, YMMV, and all our bodies are different. Research, research. Experiment.

And keep it fun.

[Dumpster Juice]

I live on the east coast, flat as a pancake. Any ideas on how to train for altitude and climbing? It is almost 6 hours to the nearest mountians.

[annoying crack]

I live on the east coast, flat as a pancake. Any ideas on how to train for altitude and climbing? It is almost 6 hours to the nearest mountians.

headwinds, my friend, strong headwinds!

no joke!

[Foster]

Hahaha, I was just gonna say that.

[Dumpster Juice]

I know you never get to the top of a headwind, but what about altitude?