Meeting the Challenge in 2020

Strava put up a nice piece on how athletes adapted to the constraints of COVID-19 in 2020, and it's an interesting read. The thing is, somewhere in my early 30s (I'm in my mid-60s now) it hit me that it's no one else's job to keep you fit and healthy. If you want that for yourself you better learn to be selfish and make that time, because nobody else is going to make it for you. 

I upped my game a LOT in 2020, setting a ton of new PBs since retiring in SoCal, more than doubling my mileage in 2020. A big part of that was being able to do much longer rides after buying new wheels and finding the truly wonderful Conti GP5K TL tubeless tires, which do an excellent job of shaking off all the cactus needles and goat-heads here in the high desert that used to ruin my rides all the time. 

Part of it was buying better bib shorts, and now tights, so I can ride those miles, and part of it was going back to a solid seat from one with the center cut out (YMMV, but for me the extra surface area combined with better chamois did the trick). 

I also found new, remote routes, found ways and places to relieve my bladder without going into enclosed places, minimizing the time inside closed places, carrying a mask with me for when I was inside a bathroom or stopped getting water inside, and finally, just finding hydration that didn't require going into enclosed spaces. 

The political horror show that was POTUS Trump and the gut-wrenching, grim toll of COVID were also motivation to get out there and burn off some angst. Finally, as friends and loved ones were slowed due to age and disease my gratitude for being  healthy enough to do lots of long rides got me out the door on days I might have otherwise stayed home. 

For 2021 I think I'm going to up my climbing a bit, and maybe even ride fewer miles. I'd like to spend more time with my wife and our dogs, one of which is a working dog and needs a LOT of exercise to stay happy and healthy. At a certain age you stop taking loved ones for granted, because in a 55+ community people keep disappearing every week, and it drives home the point that tomorrow is promised to no one. 

Get Some!

How to Evaluate Winter Clothing

Have you ever gotten a recommendation for cold weather riding gear and found yourself frozen stiff or steaming hot, despite that recommendation being from a usually reliable source or friend? Me too. It's been over 10yrs now since I posted this, but my metric has held up very with experience, so I'm going to repeat it in plenty of time for Christmas shopping. 

Here's my RX: 

Multiply your average ride wattage by your BMI (body mass index) and use that number to compare with others when they recommend winter clothing.

It turns out this is an excellent way to estimate how much core you have to retain the heat you generate in making whatever power you do.

For example, after working out in the gym for 20+ years I have a LOT of core, and am also somewhat barrel chested. I also have short legs, so I have a high BMI of 28. I also make pretty good power (for my age), 225 RWGPS or 115 Strava watts, so not surprisingly I don't need much clothing to keep warm when riding. As long as you both use the same reference watts the fact that RWGPS and Strava differ doesn't matter. For me the challenge is to keep from over-dressing and sweating profusely, which can actually become quite dangerous when riding near dark, or if you have a mechanical and need to wait for a ride. Hypothermia kills. 

On the other hand I used to ride with a woman who was 5'2" and 105lbs (BMI=19), making 55-60 Strava watts and 100-110 RWGPS watts, she would freeze to death trying to get by with the clothing appropriate for me (drafting off someone can be a big help if you're getting cold as they break the wind and pass heat back to you - it works). However, one of our older ride leaders was 6'4" and weighed about 150lbs, with a BMI of 18, making about 150 RWGPS and 65 Strava watts, so his recommendations were pretty helpful for her. The closer the product of BMI x Watts is, the better the recommendations will be.

Worth mentioning here that your head is the one extremity you can't completely cover, so what you can cover, cover with the best stuff money can buy. I have 4 Balaclavas, and find them priceless in keeping warm. It's also worth considering buying a winter helmet that isn't so aggressively vented, which is just the opposite of what you want in summer.

Of course, there are always subtleties to be aware of. For example, while it is slightly uncomfortable, especially at the start of rides, I've found having my arms cold doesn't really affect my performance, while having my hands cold seriously impairs my ability to shift and brake. Also, my size 11 feet tend to get cold easily, and that leads to a lot of discomfort and eventually, calf cramping. Finally, my quads just above my knees tend to cramp easily in the cold.

If you want to dress for comfort in winter, start keeping a log of temps before, during and after rides and the clothing you selected. In a month or two you will almost NEVER get surprised and be inappropriately dressed. 

One bit of hard-earned wisdom. If riding with a group, especially at night, carry an extra layer of clothing in way it stays DRY, because when riding in winter with a group you're almost always going to have to wait for someone to fix a flat or mechanical, because some idiots just don't get that winter is the worst time of all to compromise on tires, lights & other gear, so you'll be somewhat wet with sweat, and then have to wait for 10-20 minutes in the cold while making zero heat. 

Adding more layers, which will also get soaked with sweat, only makes things worse. You'll be more sweat-soaked and much quicker. You need a layer you've kept dry that you can quickly don without losing much body heat. For me this is a jacket over my vest or a convertible jacket I can zip the arms onto. Whatever you do, time is of the essence. Save all that beautiful heat ASAP. You'll be thanking yourself in < 10 minutes.

Hope you have a long, fun winter of riding, and don't ride alone after dark. Fun at times, and beautiful beyond belief at others, but very unforgiving.

Breaking All The Rules

When I was a boy people drawing social security checks weren't supposed to be breaking their personal performance records, and for the most part, be involved in sports at all. They were supposed to be laying back in their Lazy Boy recliners waiting for the Grim Reaper to find them, so happy to report I am breaking all those rules.

In 2010 the riders in the Sacramento area, which I called home for well over a decade, rode over 3 MILLION miles in the month of May. When the Great Recession started to fade, and more of us had jobs to go back to, that mileage dropped a bit, but in 2012 I made a concerted effort, between bouts of allergies and saddle sores and managed to log a PB of 575 miles.

A few months earlier I put in 214 miles in a single week (I looked this stat up in a post on this blog, as I had remembered it as 235 miles, but 214 it was) in response to a personal challenge from an online friend who was tragically killed by a motorist on a ride shortly after that.

As you can see, I easily beat both of those totals, as well as riding my longest ride, twice actually, since moving down to SoCal in 2015, first on Monday with 73 miles, and then besting that on Sunday with 80 miles. I also passed 3 people I follow on Strava for total mileage in 2020 and bested their longest rides.

As crazy as everything is out there right now, and as much as our nation is enduring, I am thrilled that this small corner of my life, the bit I have some control over, is going great, and I hope I can do a little leading by example in this regard.

Success ALWAYS feels great, and you can't have that unless you set goals that are attainable, and then do your damnedest to meet them.

Cheers!


PS:
If you care about sports at all, and especially basketball, you MUST watch "The Last Dance". I can't think of anyone more than Michel Jordon to embody the ideals in this post. He, like Kobe and Magic Johnson have always been a huge inspiration, and that's getting harder to find these days.