Saratoga 12-Hour

I headed to Saratoga with M__ last weekend for the 2014 edition of the Saratoga 12/24, put on by Adirondack Ultra Cycling and its leader and race director John Ceceri.  We met Damon and A__ there, with D__ considering a reprise of his record-breaking ride in 2012.

Damon and I rode this in 2012.  I had no idea what to expect that year and thought 200 miles would be a pretty good effort.  The race went better than planned in 2012 and I rolled in at 227 miles and 6th place overall.  (Three of those ahead of me were record breakers -- including John Nobile, who after last weekend holds course records at both the 12- and 24-hour distances for this event, as well as Damon.  The fifth was in the "had I kept my head down in the last two hours I might have beaten him" category.)  But I was coming off a completed Super Randonneur series, including personal best rides at the 400K and 600K distances, and probably 3000 miles under my belt in the first half of the year.  It was also a uniquely perfect weather year.

2012 Results:

1.	Matt Roy **	39	Arlington	MA	259.50
2.	Damon Taaffe	36	Arlington	VA	255.50	ALSO BROKE OLD RECORD!
3.	John Nobile	49	Guilford	CT	253.50	ALSO BROKE OLD RECORD!
4.	Victor Urvantsev	33	Riverside	CT	238.50
5.	Donald Kjelleren	47	Charlotte	VT	227.50
6.	Max Huffman	39	Washington	DC	227.00

In contrast, this year I was coming off of knee surgery in March, which followed a heavy winter of no cycling, and precisely 0 randonneuring rides.  I had a long "ride" of 171.9 miles in the National 24-Hour Challenge on June 14 (does it count as a single ride if the mileage was broken up by three naps in the sun?)  (Picture here.)

National 24-Hour Challenge Results:

243

171.9

MAX HUFFMAN

WASHINGTON

DC

US

(I'd include the ones above me, but the list is a tad long.)

What to expect on July 12, then?  Absolutely nothing!

The course is new as of 2013 -- John moved it into Saratoga Springs proper, from the original home in bustling Schuylerville, NY.  A few advantages of the move:  (1) Saratoga has more accommodation options, which helped largely because I doubt M__ would have enjoyed tenting in John's backyard; (2) the course was 40.5 miles instead of 32.5 miles, which makes for a natural (and in theory achievable) goal of 6 laps or 243 miles; and (3) course records were once again up for grabs.  (There were downsides, too, including two stoplights that created meaningful delays for anybody observing rules of the road.)

The 8 am start was warm and sunny, but not yet uncomfortable.  (Discomfort would come soon enough.)  One aww-shucks, which the below photo shows, is that the Saratoga 12/24 is drawing maybe 1/2 of its field from two years ago.

For reasons I do not know, understand, or care to dig into, the UMCA and RAAM are not including the Adirondack Ultra Cycling events in their calendars.  That leaves two of the storied ultra races (also the Adirondack 540) out of the mix for many big-time contenders.  (Query:  can't we all just get along?)

Having seen the success of riders like Damon and Matt Roy in 2012, I thought "why not ride the tri bike"?  Answer:  because it is uncomfortable.  (But you knew that, didn't you?)

It was a hot day on a course with significant exposure.  According to Garmin, the temps reached 102.2F.  A better guesstimate might be 95, but either way it was unpleasantly warm and humid to boot.

Ride data here.  I am amused to see as the day wore on that my peak speeds stayed about the same -- not a surprise, I suppose, as they came while coasting downhill -- but the valleys got dramatically deeper.  Thus, for the first 60 miles and most of the first century, every five-mile average was above 20 mph.  Only once after that point did a five-mile average (barely) eclipse that number.  Then, amusingly, the final kilometer registered a wicked 23 mph, in a desperate sprint to earn the final mile.

Per Garmin:

Summary

Distance:	205.65 mi
Time:	10:38:41
Avg Speed:	19.3 mph
Elevation Gain:	4,843 ft
Calories:	13,701 C
Avg Temperature:	83.5 °F

Just after the start I blew a turn and found myself playing catch-up to John Nobile.  John was third to Matt Roy and Damon on the old course in 2012, set the new course record here in 2013 at 255 miles, won the Adirondack 540 last year, and this year had entered the 24-hour race.  He was plenty willing to chat with a piker at the lights, and we swapped leads for most of the first century.  (John continued to hold that pace through the day and most of the night, finishing with an astounding 468.5 total miles in 24 hours.)

It was early in that first lap that three-time RAAM finisher Rob Morlock passed me.  Thanks to the lengthy out-and-back portion of the loop, I saw Rob going the other way twice on every subsequent lap; considering that the guy rode 243 miles on a hot day, he nonetheless managed a cheery wave every time.

Rob Morlock toward the end of the day.  Picture from the Saratoga 12/24 site.

An aside about these ultra events:  the bigger races may not be this way -- I frankly don't know -- but in a smaller field like this year's 12/24, you really are mixed in with the a handful of elite athletes.  Nobile and Morlock may not analogize to Alexander and McCormick (of Ironman fame), but they are fair analogies to I-AA triathlon pros.  And while nobody will ever accuse me of racing in their class, neither do they turn up their nose when passing me -- or even when I occasionally pass them.

I was a piece of jerky by the end of lap 3 and considered quitting at the end of lap 4, but a nap under the cold stream from a hose revived me.  M__, Damon, and John Ceceri were quite encouraging, in a "you drove all the way here -- why not ride?" sort of way.

Others fared similarly or worse.  The remaining ridership was decidedly lean when I pedaled my fifth lap.  But one racer, a triathlete from Bel Air, Maryland, rolled through the turn while I lay in the shade slurping a Coca-Cola, deciding whether to get back on the bike.  With encouragement I gave chase, but not in time to catch him.

A sprint at the end got me to the 5-mile mark, just past 207.5 race miles total -- which rounds up to 208.5 (you always get the next fractional mile).  Our Maryland triathlete earned second place, and the age group course record, by finishing one mile ahead of me.

Last Weekend's Results:

1.	Rob Morlock *	50	Danbury	CT	245.00
2.	Mike LaFiandra	43	Bel Air	MD	209.50	NEW AGE RECORD!
3.	Max Huffman	41	Washington	DC	208.50

Surprising first place in the customer service category

I spend my summers sitting in front of my computer at home, which means I spend lots of time on the internet looking at bike equipment deals -- and pestering vendors with questions like "can you match such and such a price?" or "will that take 28mm tires?"

Lots of vendors have real-time customer service -- chat windows and the like -- but rarely are they populated with knowledgeable help.  I recall once asking backcountry.com, one of the online gear megastores, whether a particular telemark boot would work with my setup.  The chat window response?  "We can offer that at 10% off for you today."  I learned from that exchange never to buy online without expressing some sort of concern first.  So it's "good service" but not "helpful service."

Backcountry.com, by the way, now owns Competitive Cyclist.  Competitive Cyclist has knowledgeable staff, but they can be jerks.  I asked about warranty replacement on my Cervelo frame, which I bought there and recently cracked when (not) installing a headset.  "Contact Cervelo," I was told, although I had bought the frame at CC and CC makes a big deal of covering its customers.  (I gather CC is peeved to have lost that dealership, presumably when Cervelo stopped allowing any shipping of orders.)

Merlincycles does pretty well, considering the time zone differential. I usually get a response in 24-48 hours.  But I'm peeved at Merlin.  Why?  Currently I am fighting a debt collector over a customs charge UPS tried to foist on me for a Merlin Cycles order.

Manufacturers are in the normal case dead last.  I'm still waiting to hear from Hed about bearing replacement on an older wheel.  Felt never responded to my question about the Z3.  Too frequently I am told to "call the dealer."

One clear exception is John Neugent and his firm Neuvation -- now Neugent Cycling -- who can be very helpful, and is unfailingly gracious, by e-mail.  Sam e-mailed for advice on brake pads before we left Portland on our eastern Sierras road trip in 2013.  By Redding, California, we knew what to buy for our ride into the mountains west of Redding.  Same with advice on squeak and bearing replacement for my C50 wheelset.  On the other hand, John is a one-man customer service department and can get behind on his e-mails, and on a few occasions I've felt as if I offended him by asking for a discount.  (To be fair, I was probably being a jerk.  "How about <$3000 for a Red build on that sweet carbon rig?")

My surprising first choice for customer service?  Pricepoint.com.  Kevin Pak sends responses to my e-mails in hours, not days (yesterday it was minutes); the responses are topical; I even get follow-ups when I send my "thanks" e-mail ("No problem!" or the like); and all this from an enterprise that serves as the true bottom-price clearinghouse for industry overstock.  And I'm unqualifiedly being a jerk in my requests to Pricepoint. "Can you go sub $2K for a Litespeed with Di2?"  (Answer:  not on the one I asked about, but the 2013 Ci2 is now $1999.)

Neugent Cycling

As he promised, John Neugent has returned to the black-label component market six months after he shuttered Neuvation.  Enter Neugent Cycling.

John's business this time is limited to wheels.  He appears to be making what were his top alloy and carbon wheels, having jettisoned the builder spec versions.  Pricing has stayed about the same as before -- in the range of $500 for a sub-1500gm alloy wheelset; $900 for a sub-1500gm carbon wheelset; with substantial savings if you are prepared to go tubular and a slight up-charge for a "big and tall men's" (my phrase) build.  He is also offering a Powertap wheelset for approximately $1000 built and, keeping up with the current fad, is offering wheels built with disc hubs.  ($549 for a set of 1420gm tubulars with disc hubs is a hugely competitive price point.)

I like the level of detail in John's description of the wheel-building process.  The insider know-how and gossip has always been half the fun of following John's business.  Shopping his web-site makes you feel like you are sitting on the counter in the shop chatting with the wheel-builder while he is putting the finishing touches on your new hoops.

At HBC we had good but not perfect success with Neuvation wheels.  P__'s wheelset on the FC600 I bought her last fall have held up perfectly and both ride beautifully and look beautiful.  My C50 carbon clinchers worked fine for a race wheel, although they needed occasional truing.  They have now become eye candy on a wall-mount build.  And the custom-made Powertap rear/White Indus. front with Hed Belgium rims I ordered from Neuvation have been great training wheels. Sam has had at least three pair of Neuvation wheels through his garage over the years.

Commenters on prior posts have been uniformly appreciative of the quality of Neuvation products.

My summary assessment is that for the price and weight Neuvation was the best deal in wheels with the very occasional exception of a true fire-sale on a top-end Mavic.  Were I in the market I may shop around for a short while, but I would finish any search at Neugent Cycling.

A side note:  Neuvation used to advertise all its wares at discounts -- it was one of those pricing strategies that suggested everything was constantly on fire-sale.  Neugent Cycling is not (so far) doing that.  I wonder if that had something to do with the abrupt close.  Consumer protection regulators have sometimes seized on false discounting behavior as a basis for deceptive advertising claims, and California (where Neuvation was located) is known for aggressive consumer protection regulation.  If so, that's too bad.  Say what you will about pricing practices, nobody ever got taken advantage of buying from Neuvation.

Things to like in this summer's American Randonneur

With all the racing excitement, randonneuring seems to fade into a memory during the summer.  Probably not for those who are riding the GRs, but I'm not one of them.

I've been enjoying the summer American Randonneur (recent editions not yet available online) over the last 24 hours. A few highlights:

1.  Burnley Willis on the Park Road 300K (called the "Denali 300K") permanent.  I had thought this was run as a brevet, but I have not been able to find it on the Alaska Randonneurs website recently.  (Note:  I can't find anything on the Alaska Randonneurs website currently.  I am getting a "suspended page" notation.)  It makes sense given permitting restrictions that the ride would be best done as a permanent.  Burnley rode it on a 29-er.  Great write-up.

Picture of the Denali Park Road, from tripadvisor.com via Google images.

2.  Pete Dusel on the LOL 1000K.  Pete (Western NY Randonneurs) runs this together with the Ontario randonneurs.  If I understand him right, the clubs use the same controls but start and finish in their respective home bases, so they are sort of chasing each other around the lake.  This has always looked to be an incredibly appealing event, held each year in early July.  Among other excellent reasons to ride it, the weather up there mid-summer is about 15 degrees cooler than it is where I live. I've twice ridden with Pete and his club; there is no friendlier or more casual bunch; and I can't believe I haven't yet fit this event in to the schedule.

Picture of a bridge in 1000 Islands State Park, New York, from backcountrywiththekids.com via Google images.

3.  Bill Watts on his Super Brevet Summer.  In 2013 Bill rode LEL; loaded his bike with touring gear and rode/ferried to Denmark; and then rode SBS -- Super Brevet Scandinavia.  He reports 2800 miles by bike in a one-month period.

 

4.  The SLO 300K.  We did some casual riding in SLO last Thanksgiving.  A brevet on those roads, organized by one who knew them well, would be a real treat.

5.  The RUSA awards.  Dan Driscoll from Texas shows that you don't have to be the Million Mile Man to be a distance cycling regular, with 10 consecutive years of R-12 awards. 

A Good Week For Cycling Fans

Well, it's hard to believe that a whole week has gone by here on the HBC blog with nary a mention of the not one, not two, but three notable bike races going on.

Note: Calling any of these 'races' is a bit like calling a local 10K a 'race'. Most of the participants are not racing, they are just desperately trying to finish.

Of course the one everyone automatically thinks of is the Trans Am Bike Race. Just kidding, nobody thinks about it and it is utterly insane. It's half RAAM, half Tour Divide, and all crazy. Put on by a bike shop owner in Portland, basically a bunch of riders left Astoria on June 7, and they ride unsupported the 4,233 miles to the finish line in Virginia.

Live tracking is a new and cool phenomenon over the last couple years; so of course Trans Am has it. And not surprisingly the riders are spread all across the US.

The current leader is Mike Hall, a well known endurance rider who set an unofficial record on Tour Divide last year. But the race is hotly contested. Second place at only 120 miles behind is Jason Lane. I don't know anything about him except that he has inexplicably chosen to highlight his bicep in his profile picture.

Worth noting: both of these gentlemen are on pace for a time that would qualify as an official RAAM finish. Except they're riding without the benefit of a follow-car feeding them energy gels and giving them massages.

Interestingly fourth place is currently occupied by Juliana Buhring, a woman who apparently a few years ago decided to bike around the world, having not previously been a cyclist. That seems like a sure recipe for failure, except then she didn't fail and apparently in the process became the first woman to complete the feat. Her time isn't quite RAAM-worthy, but it's still impressive.

It will be interesting to see how this event pans out. I imagine that anyone who hasn't yet gotten through Idaho may not finish

Then of course there's the Tour Divide. Kind of like Trans Am but along the Continental Divide route, 2745 miles from Canada to Mexico. This race has been going on long enough to have a at least one bikumentary made about it. This year the organizers decided to mix it up a bit by offering a South to North route in addition to the North to South route.

It also has a live leaderboard, with a bunch of markers on it. In fact there are so many markers going every which way that I can't tell who's in the lead, which makes the leaderboard pretty useless.

Both the Trans Am and the Tour Divide routes go through the small town of Rawlins, Wyoming, a two-horse town that must be amused to be the center of the endurance cycling world for a brief while. Imagine if you will being beset upon by cyclists, converging at the same time from the North, the South, and the West.

Finally of course there is the least of the three major events, RAAM. RAAM's decline deserves a post of its own, so that will no doubt be forthcoming soon. However it is still a remarkable spectacle, with Christoph Strasser blowing away the old record with an average pace of 16.42 MPH for 3,020 miles. That's 30 6-hour centuries, back-to-back, with 20 miles tacked on for good measure.

He finished nearly 1 1/2 days ahead of his nearest competitor. It wasn't even a race.

The gals on the other hand are managing to keep it close to the very end, with about 120 miles separating them at this point. Until recently it has been even closer. It appears though that the American Janice Sheufelt will pull out the win.

There was further drama in the relays, but to be honest I have a tough time getting particularly excited about those divisions. While merely finishing RAAM solo is a remarkable accomplishment, finishing as a relay just doesn't strike me as the same caliber of achievement.

So anyway it was a good week for endurance cycling, and a lousy week for getting work done. It's worth continuing to watch the Tour Divide

Cycling Mackenzie Pass

If there was ever any doubt that Oregon is a biking mecca, let them now be put to rest.

McKenzie Highway, AKA Highway 242

The McKenzie Highway is a lightly traveled route that connects Belknap Springs to Sisters. As it's largely redundant (there are several other highways that cover more or less the same ground), it's closed in the winter months and re-opened in mid-June.

But between the snow melt and the official re-opening for cars, a magical thing happens:

No cars!

Still no cars...

The road is opened for bikes only. Yesterday a couple friends and I let Portland at around 6:30 AM, arriving at the junction of 126 and 242 at around 9:00. The parking area was mostly empty, but quickly started to fill up, so we hit the road as quickly as possible.

The early part of the ride is actually not closed to cars, but traffic is minimal. After a short 11 mile jaunt you reach the gate, which is where the real magic begins.

Beyond this gate, the lane is yours.

We started from the West side of the pass, which in Oregon means that we climbed in the shade of large trees. The temperature was cool, perhaps high 50s, but with the climbing and the shade it was quite comfortable.

As you approach the top of the climb, the landscape changes dramatically, with open views of The Three Sisters, along with a bunch of other mountains I don't know the names of.

At the summit of the pass you are greeted with lava fields as far as you can see

There's an observatory of sorts as well, built into the rock

View from inside the observatory

The final elevation of 5325' represents a ~3500 foot gain over ~20 miles.

It's a nice steady grade, never exceeding 6%, so nothing to write home about. But of course a 3500 foot climb means a 3500 foot descent.

A funny thing happened on the way back. I was hammering along a long flat section at about 24MPH, feeling pretty good. Nobody's going to pass me here! And then a guy passes me. On a mountain bike. On knobby tires. Pulling a few fit young road-racers behind him. Once the road turned downward, I retook the lead.

Now I'm not going to brag about my descending, but it's generally pretty good. (wait, did I just brag?) However after the ~10 minute winding 2000 foot drop back down to the gate, mountain-bike-man was only about 45 seconds back, still pulling his posse. Remarkable. I don't know my pro-mountain-bikers from my pro-lacrosse-players, but given the close proximity to Bend I'm willing to bet that this guy was a pro.

Back to the gate

Anyway the ride back to the car was pleasant, and a good time was had by all. This route had all the elements of a perfect ride. Good company, perfect weather, beautiful scenery, pleasant climb and awesome descent, and no cars.

Ridiculous marketing pitches

Thought I'd compile the list of the most ridiculous bike gear marketing pitches I could find online while catching up on "Alcatraz" on Hulu.

1.  $17K+ for a bike.  And don't give me that "but you can rebuild Campy components" BS.

2.  A wheel that "literally climbs on its own."  Maybe HED wants us to take its promotional literature figuratively.

3.  "For every rider, every discipline, and every ability level, aero wheels make a difference."   Seems to me the difference the wheels are making (photo below) is not one Zipp wants to be talking about!

4.  "Defense-grade carbon" if you buy a top-end Trek.  Because the US defense industry is the leader in bike frame materials design?

5.  "The shoes are the first to use Yak leather . . . ," and you can have them for a mere $450.  Or maybe the price is justified by the reflective Rapha logo or "timeless Rapha styling."

6.  Could make the whole list just from the Rapha website.  Because these gloves from African Hair Sheep Leather run a modest $195.  Funniest part is the website has the following pic. of a model blowing his nose into the palm of his $195 gloves.

7.  The Wilier Cento1 Air is made with 60t carbon fiber, meaning "it can withstand 60 tons of pressure per square millimeter."  There may be 500,000 square millimeters in this frame -- that's 30 million tons of pressure!  (Or does the calculation not work that way?)

8.  This Litespeed aero frame set "reduces average aero wattage by almost 30 watts."  That's good enough to make 8 mph without even pedaling!  (Maybe that's how the Hed Stinger 3s "literally climb on [their] own.")

9.  Mavic's 125th anniversary limited edition pack.  You too can have (1) helmet, (2) gloves, (3) shoes, (4) pedals, and (5) kit, to match your limited edition Ksyriums.

10.  Campagnolo's quick release lever "has been designed for maximum aerodynamic penetration."

11.  This bad boy was "designed specifically for the city of Berlin."  I assume they mean Berlin, Pennsylvania?

12.  This company, named for the shop dog, created my own first-choice ride.  But why name the company after the shop dog?  "[A] lot of the things we wanted out of the bikes are what we already got from our friend Gunnar.  Reliability.  Discipline. Speed.  Strength.  Friendliness.  Simplicity."

13.  Bespoke.  No, nothing specific in mind, but any marketing slogan using the word is stupid.