You know you are old when you say, "Gee, I don't feel old!".
Does age make a difference in how to ride a bike, or how to train for bike racing? Heck, should an 'old guy/gal' be training in the first place?
My first bike was a family shared 'English Racer', as we called the three speed wonder. Fresh in my mind are images of me at age seven, carefully balancing on the too large bike at the edge of the cement house steps, and pushing away for the first time on a wondrous bike journey that has lasted 59 years. Fresh too is the image of me crashing into the back of a parked car on that wobbly ride! Not the last of my "Watch me!" moments.
The first bike that was all mine was a red Schwinn single speed, with bright white handlebar grips, and shiny chrome wheels. Although the neighborhood kids didn't know it then, we rode what is now called singletrack in the forests every day, sometimes showing up at home for lunch, only to re launch for the afternoon ride.
Many years and several bikes later, here I am retired, having all the bike time I want. The odd thing is I am in the best shape of my life, bike wise. Years are like any other numbers - only scary if you have never been there before. Remember the first long ride you ever did? Mine was at age 21. An eighty seven mile ride on a Huffy ten speed beckoned, from the Sunrise Lodge on Mount Rainier (elevation 6,000') to Tacoma Washington at sea level. Eighty seven miles! Wow, I had never gone past twenty miles then. Lots of downhill. I ended up walking the last thirty miles, a beat and sore puppy. Fast forward through the years, and now some of my training rides are longer than that. So what's the difference?
Basically that is a major reason for blogging. Finding much detail about long distance bike racing/riding ('ultra endurance') is difficult, and most information for older riders is the anecdotal subjective experience of a few, ahem, 'Mature' riders. Most bike training books focus on road racing, often for younger riders. While I have a lot of respect for road racers, their races and rides are relatively fast, on paved surfaces, and emphasize bursts of speed. Endurance rides focus on long periods of saddle time, staying below the lactate threshold, and grinding out long miles at a moderate pace. Don't misunderstand, much can be learned from road racing and translated to ultra riding.
Watcha mean by 'long distance' chatty man? Well, I consider rides or races of at least several days, over varied terrain, with a goal of riding a lot of miles per day as 'long'. How many miles are a lot? To me, 70+ miles per day makes the minimum cut for a lot of miles. Barely. A hundred miles per day is definitely long distance. Two hundred is really, really a lot! Remember, these are back-to-back days. Hey, these are my ideas for distance, your mileage may vary!
Better clarify my orbital parameters - I became obsessed with the Great Tour Divide Mountain Bike Race (GTDMBR, whew!), or Tour Divide (TD)as is often called, several years ago. For those who don't know, the TD is an unsupported race, with no entry fee, no sponsoring organization, that starts at either Banff Canada heading south, or Antelope Wells New Mexico (on the Mexican border) heading north - rider's choice - and ends at the opposite end of roughly 2,700 miles of mostly gravel and dirt roads which cross the Continental Divide 26 times. Total elevation gain is the topic of much discussion over a few beers, but clocks in between 165,000 feet and 200,000 feet. The race prize? Nothing but bragging rights. Minimum distance per day to avoid being relegated to the 'Touring Class' is ninety miles. Winning time: a bit less than fourteen days for men, fifteen days for women.
Oh yeah, you must carry all your camping gear, tools, water, and food on your bike - no sag wagons or chase cars allowed!
Time to take a deep breath here. Remember the comment about scary numbers? If you are thinking anything like, "Crap - no way can I do that!!", relax. Perfectly common reaction, yet not at all as scary as first appears. Besides, you don't have to do the TD for your first ultra.
Better also clarify my experience and (lack of) athletic ability. Up until the TD, my bike races consisted of a few charity rides. That's about it. While I've enjoyed backpacking, mountain climbing, walking, bike riding, jogging, and skiing in my past, I was never what you would call an athlete. Far from it, other than a few foot races, I did not compete in any sports past high school. What I am getting at is that if I can do what I call an ultra ride, you can too. Nothing but scary numbers in between.
Five years ago I dusted of my mountain bike, neglected for several years, and started riding again. I was fat, sluggish, and getting on in years. My goal was to lose weight and get into shape. I thought that ten miles was a long ride. Fifty pounds and five years later I still am a bit over-weight (OK, more than a bit!), but I am in good shape.
Twice I have tried the TD race; the first time the course was washed out so I fast toured half of it, and the second time I raced it 1,700 miles before I quit due to injuries. On the first TD ride we (a group of four) averaged 63 miles per day. The second time I averaged 103 miles per day, with several rides greater than 120 miles per day. All told I've done about twenty+ rides over 100 miles, with several back to back days.
I'm already planning my training and ride for the TD next year. I know what has worked, and what hasn't, for me so far. Yet it all seems seat-of-the-pants style training. This time I've got some changes in mind - call it a biology experiment, hah! - and will comment on the progress as I go. My sources for training ideas come from books, Internet lore - especially that on Bikepacking.net - and personal experience.
As a fitting summary, my goals are to talk about what I find important, perhaps helping other older riders train and race, while learning from others what works for them. Will also chat a bit about my 'pit crew', mental preparation, gear, and bikes. Any way you look at it, we're all on the ride of our life!
