Raw Speed

Daveh and Dicky asked if I thought the MTB aerobars would be useful. If you are looking for some raw speed then yes they are. I've used aerobars on an MTB before in two different cases.

In the first, I used to have regular looking aerobars on my full rigid Kona MTB that I used to use as a commuter and for century rides, even did one double century on it. With the aerobars I was only about 5 minutes off the lead pack after 100 miles and about 8000 vertical on one ride. I'd catch up on the climbs then get passed on the downhill and I didn't lose much time on the flats, but I was spinning the big chainring like a madman!

In the second, I had some aerobars similar to the ones in the previous post on my MTB. It was way back in '02 when I was getting ready for my first La Ruta. I had read that there was very long flat section on the last day. I wanted to be prepared for anything and everything because there was no way that I was going down there and being one of the folks that DNFed. I found them at Performance. The arms were more curved, looked a little like horseshoes. They were lighter than regular aerobars so I got 'em before heading out to New Mexico to get in some final training before leaving for Costa Rica. I grew up in NM. There's a volcano, Mt Taylor, with a summit at 11,000 feet and I though it would be similar to the Irazul volcano we'd have to climb on day two. There was also a 40 mile relatively flat loop that I used to time myself on. I absolutely SMASHED my previous time with the aerobars on. Fast forward to La Ruta day 3 in 2002. That year and in 2003 there was a long 10 mile flat section (veterans: not the first one after CP2, the one right before the first set of train tracks. I'm talking about the second one that was pretty much taken out in '04). When I got there I got in my Chris Boardman tuck position and started reeling in the tiny dots in the distance. When I'd catch up I'd ask if they wanted a pull. Of course they could only hang on for a couple of minutes. It was insane. Those were the only two times I ever used the MTB aerobars. They weren't useful at all on the first two days and I shouldn't have even had them on.

The main reason I didn't use them after that was because in '03 almost every race I did was new to me so I didn't really know much about the course and I didn't want to have any extra weight. In '04 I got into the 24-hour solo thing and there's no use for them there. Now that I know more courses, know alot of racers that have raced all over and can use web forums where a rider can get good information on a race course, I might actually use them again. Any course that has at least a 10 mile flat section is a good candidate so Brianhead would be good. It would be awesome for the Soul Ride course. They wouldn't have helped me last year at the Soul Ride though...having 7 freaking flats tends to slow a rider down, but that's a different story.

FLYING BOARDMAN!

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

I've heard that God don't like ulgy, but that probably doesn't apply to these things. So what the heck am I going to do with a pair of these dorky looking aerobars that were left on my doorstep today?
I'm gonna use them at my next 24-hour solo race of course. Actually, I'm going to use them at the Cape Epic for two reasons. First, there's a lot dirt road riding and my partner, Blair, and I are probably going to want to break away or bridge at some point. Second and more importantly, Blair was a time trialist, he's got some aerobars on his MTB and he's very fast. I'll be needing these little babies so I can hang on to his wheel. I'm going to break them in this weekend. Speaking of the CE, I've got to find the todo list that Lou made for me so I can get on with marking off items...

SuperTravessia, La Ruta and Cal's Website

Recently got a few email messages related to a couple of multi-day races.

The first one was from Peak Life Adventures. They offer training tailored to a specific race, La Ruta de Los Conquistadores. For a few small fees you too can kick ass at La Ruta like Jeremiah Bishop:

• Assessment and Preparation: $500
• Training Camps: $1,500 per four-day training event.
• Competing in La Ruta: $3,950

Note that there's probably fine print that ya don't get your money back if you don't dish out the pain to the Ticos like you thought you would. I think both Manny & Lou kicked butt for only a fraction of that (the regular entry fee through the race organizers is only $700 for La Ruta veterans.) It's a novel idea but it $eem$ to be a little $teep. Using a coach is great and Hunter Allen is well, Hunter Allen, but if you're motivated to do well at La Ruta work on your climbing and mud riding on very very long rides. Can ya buy motivation?

The other email was a heads-up on the SuperTravessia or TransPortugal race. Eight days of racing across the country navigating via a GPS receiver. The race is June 11-18 and the deadline for registration is May 10. The most useful piece of the email was a link to Cal Burgart's website. I met Cal at La Ruta back in '02, great guy. Cal has done many of the big races (Transalps, Transrockies, Cape Epic, La Ruta, Transcreta, Transportugal) and the news section of his site has A LOT of good reading on those races. Check it out.

Not exactly singing in the rain

Lou and I showed up at the 7:30 start in Solvang with about 30 other cyclists; the other 440 or so opted to start early. Unfortunately, Lou's friend Jill couldn't make it. We did run into Mike Hileman and some of the NuVision Cyclery Team that I met last year at the 12 hours of Bootleg. We had a pretty good paceline going for the first two hours then the wind kicked up and it started to rain. That was my first time riding the road bike in foul weather conditions for over three hours. I was a little unprepared for the ride. Besides my flask, I forgot to take a jacket. I couldn't complain even if I was soaked and freezing as all Lou had on was her La Ruta jersey, arm warmers and fingerless gloves--no leg warmers either. She's used to the cold, growing up in Sweden will do that. I got a kick out of watching Lou pass by riders that were prepared for the perfect storm.

Anyway, we were having a good time until I was on the verge of a bonk and Lou had to give me some food, one of her bottles and pull my sorry butt to the last checkpoint. With plenty of warm fluids and some Cup-O-Noodles in my belly I was ready to go again. We finished in 10:09 so it wasn't too bad. I still can't believe Lou only used two bottles of plain water and one with powder for the ENTIRE ride. No wonder I've never seen her stop at the Transrockies race. I've got to find out her secret!

So I had some decent time in the saddle this week but not as much as this guy.

More time in the saddle

While part of the endurance crowd is in AZ ready to start a marathon in less than an hour, I'll be headed out to Solvang to do a long ride with Lou and one of her road racing friends, Jill. It was an easy choice, a nobrainer. Hang out with a bunch of guys or a couple of cycling ladies? Anyway, I'll get to try out the new Garmin Edge 305 that Gabriela picked up for me at Switchback Cyclery.

Multiday race or Multiple races?

I briefly read this article yesterday and mention of a multi-day race that I hadn't heard of before, a Trans-Himalayan race, caught my eye. I followed the link at the end of the article but it seemed like a mistake as the site the link took me to didn't have any race data. I was a bit disappointed when I looked at the article again today and found that the blurb about the race was removed. Nevertheless, a quick search on google lead me to the race site. I also found this site that has some info on the stages from a previous race. Although it sounds like fun to be racing on "top" of the world, I don't think I'll be signing up for this race next year, if there is one.

Hopefully this wasn't the entire field.

Maybe I could trade one Trans race, say the Transalps, for the new 100 mile endurance series that was also mentioned in the same cyclingnews.com article. The cost would probably end up being about the same as would the required time off. What to do? What to do?

Tuesday night fun

My Tuesday rides this month are fun rides so I’ve been riding the Fullerton Loop after work. The “loop” is my favorite 12/24-hour training loop. It’s about 11.5 miles with approximately 1200 vertical and it has several little variants. It’s not something you’d actually plan a weekend ride or trip around as it’s not technical and it doesn’t have much single track, but it’s close. It only takes me 10-15 minutes to leave my desk and be out on the loop for a noontime ride. A couple of summers ago I’d do up to five laps after work. There’s an unofficial 24 Hours of the Fullerton Loop that’s been held on Thanksgiving weekend the past two years. I’ve always wanted to try riding the loop for 24 hours so I may do it this year. I must have ridden at least 450+ laps over the past five years.

The past two times I’ve ridden with Bernice, my adventure-racing friend. Last week Bernice had just returned from an 11-day adventure race in Patagonia. Now that's hardcore!

Low Key Keyesville

Met up with the Coates Cyclery gang (Dustin, Dean & Mark) in Keyesville this weekend to do the Keyesville Classic 8-hour race. Dustin and I were going solo while Dean and Mark were duo SS. It was a small field, about 20 solos; the main draws are the XC and downhill events. I thought it was a bit silly to have age group categories for the solos, but it didn't really matter as both Dustin and I were there for quality time in the saddle.

The course had a fair amout of fun singletrack although one of the locals didn't like the course at all, said there were much better trails to ride. I definitely have to make another trip out to Lake Isabella to find those trails.

Anyway, it boiled down to three guys chasing each other around the 8 mile loop; Dustin, Ryan (another fella from LA), and myself. We all had 9 laps while Dean & Mark had 10. Not a bad way to spend a Saturday!

Coates Cyclery gang: Dustin, Dustin's family, Mark & Dean

The post race beer was courtesy of Mark

Dean prepping for a blistering first lap

A little go-go juice never hurts

VQ 2006...A Different POV

Pete is my death-march adventure buddy. We’ve done a number of rides that looked good on a map but they turned into “memorable experiences.” Here’s his Vision Quest write up. I always like to read other accounts of the same event. Note that I made some edits to Pete’s original pre-race section. Kam is our 29SS “Biker from Bollywood” friend.

Pre-race training and prep

It’s been a good year of riding overall since last year’s Counting Coup leading up to my one event of the year. In May, I was riding at a local park and tore my left hamstring, still feel tightness and it’s been 10 months.

Since the hammy healed, I have been doing a combination of mountain rides, plus a lot of riding on the San Gabriel River bike path. This is right near my house so I can maximize ride time and minimize driving time and gas expense. My most common training ride is a four-hour ride including two hours of bike path and two hours of dirt riding at Turnbull Canyon in Whittier.

The Race!

I decided to get up at 3:40 instead of 3:30. I felt I was ready to go- just needed to eat breakfast and go. Got to Black Star Canyon with about 30 minutes to spare and there was an impressive early start crowd- at least 50 folks maybe as many as 100. As we were grouping up for the start, they handed out small garbage bags to put on your shoes during one muddy spot. Turned out we didn’t need it, but it was definitely muddy. Maybe not quite as bad as last year but pretty close. Hung with Kam (SingleSSpeedster) a little at the beginning, but before too long he started pulling ahead. Settled in with a pack of about six riders keeping a pace I liked up to Beek’s Place (where Black Star Cyn Rd meets Main Divide Truck Trail at the top of the Santa Mountain ridge).

Up on the Main Divide there was less mud, but there were a few large puddles- some nearly frozen at higher elevations. In fact, the frozen road surface made for good riding. I kept a good pace to the top of Motorway, but was slow descending due to new tires and brakes I hadn’t gotten used to yet and the muddy, loose surface. Got passed by about 5 people going down. Made the bottom at about 8:15 a.m. Took a little break for bananas and such and to mix up some Gatorade. Kam was there but left ahead of me, I think.

Climbing Maple Springs went pretty well. A little back pain, but nothing too bad. Time went faster on some of it when I got talking to a guy named Hal from Yorba Linda riding a Stumpjumper. At the top I stopped for a drink and a breather. A girl riding a single speed bike was having bad back pain and was asking for pain reliever, which I had. So maybe that helped my karma.

On the Motorway

Descending Upper Holy Jim, the most technical section, went pretty well. Only one person passed me. I had a minor spill- no damage, but got a bad cramp in my calf- ouch! Lower Holy Jim was in awesome shape and I flew down it, passing several people. I am a lot more comfortable on that than Upper HJ, having done it many times. I made the second Aid Station with about an hour to go before the cutoff time and what I thought was about a 35 minute climb up Trabuco Trail to make it. That time estimate was based on a trial run I did a few weeks ago, but that was when I was relatively fresh and this time it was after 40 miles and 8000 feet of climbing. Nonetheless, I spent 5 or ten minutes at the aid station, and then headed up.

A guy named Owen was right behind me the whole climb and we pedaled and hiked a little up to the Horsethief turnoff. It was a wicked pace for me. As you might guess, it was a lot tougher this time than when I did the practice run. We got to the cutoff with only about 15 minutes to spare. But I did make the cutoff! Now I could take a few minutes to take a drink, take off my jacket and get ready for the “death march” up Horsethief. There was a group of about four of us heading up at the same time. It was pretty grueling, I must say, pushing my bike two miles up that steep trail with a lot of switchbacks after over 9000 feet of climbing. Just had to keep lifting the legs…

At the top of Horsethief, there was another aid station with some guys making burgers! I had to have a half of one. It was risky, stomach-wise, but I figured most of the climbing was over and it smelled so good! After that, there were a couple of descents and short climbs on the Main Divide over to Trabuco Trail.

Descending Trabuco Trail is really fun, but after 11,000 feet of climbing it felt a little more technical than I remembered. I think I only had done it once before about 5 years ago. Got in a pretty nice rhythm toward the bottom, though. As I passed Aid Station 2 for the second time, they were almost done tearing it down. So I kept going. Just 5 miles of downhill/flat (and muddy) fire road left! Got into a pretty nice groove and finished strong. I passed a guy a few seconds from the finish. Felt like an ass, but hey at least I knew I didn’t finish last. A blistering 9:33! (Found out later that I finished 85th out of 141 starters. Only 106 finished.)

Armando, my riding buddy from the SocalTrailRiders website was at the finish line with his girlfriend, greeting the STR riders. Nice to see a friendly face after a long day. I was handed my ceremonial feather. It figured to be the toughest physical challenge of my life and it was. A long, hard, but satisfying day.

At the finish

6 Degrees of Teamdicky?

I was checking out the blogsphere this past rainy weekend and I kept bumping into links to Dicky's blog. Then I read this blurb on friendship networks and recalled the six degrees of Kevin Bacon. That led me to the following conjecture:

There's only six degrees of separation between any cyclist (in US or Canada) and Teamdicky.

The proof is left as an exercise for the reader.

Dan's La Ruta Experiences (3 of 3)

M: What does it take to put together 3 good days?
Dan: Wish I knew. I am still having trouble with that one. I did manage to put together a good day 1 and day 2 for the first time in 2005, but I ran into trouble with about 20 miles to go on day 3. I ended up skipping a water station because I was told that the course was going to be a bit quicker (rerouted off railroad tracks because of a damaged bridge). I ended up running out of water in my camelbak and lost my spare backup water bottle at the beginning of the stage. I got completely dehydrated and ended up having about 20-25 people pass me in the last 20 miles moving my back about 10 places overall. Oh well, I will try again in 2006.

M: What's your favorite thing about La Ruta & Costa Rica?
Dan: I just really love the people including the locals and the racers. I enjoy it more and more every year.

M: Do you think multi-days are more fun that 100 milers, 12-hour and 24-hour races?
Dan: Although I do enjoy a good 24-hour race, I find the multi-day races are more fun. Although it is very competitive, it still has quite a social aspect to it and it is fun to be racing in a different country. I don’t think there are any multi-day races in the US. Wish there was.

M: What races are you doing this year?
Dan: The multi-day races I will be doing for sure are Cape Epic and La Ruta. I may also do Transrocky Challenge as well.

M: Any tips for racers? Dos and dont's?
Dan: Don’t underestimate the amount of training that needs to be done for the multi-day races. Saying that, you also have to realize that it can be a fine line between training just right and over doing it. Making sure that your resting heart rate does not go up in the morning is a reasonable way to watch to make sure that you are not training too much. Also make sure that you get plenty of rest in the week(s) prior to a multi-day race. I usually start winding down around 3 weeks from start date. I also usually do a few back-to-back long rides 4-6 weeks prior to the race to get used to riding long distance multiple days in a row.

Training, Racing & Babes

Training and babes = good.
Racing and babes = good.

I was on a rode ride Saturday when it started to hail. It's not often that SoCal gets hail so rather than starting to head home I kept on with the training ride albeit at a slower pace. Going too fast is like being in the middle of an airsoft ambush. Unfortunately, the hail was followed by a downpour and I was stranded, first in a park then at a gas station. Fortunately, I was "rescued" by a babe with a truck. Thanks Monica!

Pez has a must read Babes Shots 101 article for anyone heading to Europe this summer to race or catch part of one of the big tours. I'm going to try an swing by and catch a TDF stage, Alpe d'Huez , right before the Ironbike. In my opinion, the European races have the best podium girls. Now there's some extra motivation to hammer during a race. Maybe that's why races across the pond are at a whole different level!!

Speaking of motivation and racing, Dave has a nice series on 24 hour solo racing. I don't think he has covered motivation yet, perhaps it's too much of an individual thing. Without motivation all the other good information is just that, information. So how do babes fit into this? Having a babe in transition area can shave at least 5 minutes off nighttime laps. I know my night laps where faster when Jenn Sheardown was in the transition area cheering on the solos at the Adrenaline events a couple years back! :-)

Vision Quest 2006

The plan for this race was to try and ride at a pace that I could keep if I had to do the Vision Quest for eight straight days. The 8-day Ironbike race in Italy this summer will be similar to eight VQs in a row but the hike-a-bike in Europe is a little different from that of Horsethief. Louise was down from Northern Cal again to participate in her first VQ. We arrived shortly before the start, enough time to get ready and head to the start line. It’s so tempting to go with the lead group at the start that I used my mp3 player to help me think of this as more of a training ride rather than a race; was just going to do my own thing like Lynda and I planned.

It was good to see many familiar faces lined up, too many to name. Once we started I was following along watching Monique lead out the entire group—she’s faster than the last time we rode together in the same race, the 12 hours of OC almost a year ago. A short while later Manny came flying by dancing on the pedals a little like lance flying up Mt. Ventoux. I rode with Monique to Motorway and said "hi" to WS club members and friends that we passed along the way. We didn’t talk much as she had the tunes going as did I. Part way down the Motorway, after the big double track washout, I realized she was no longer right behind me. Calvin, one of my teammates, was waiting with a couple of bottles and a gel flask at aid one. A quick stop and I was on my way again.

Riding down Motorway still half asleep (photo courtesy of Hollywood)

I was hoping Monique would catch up to me so I’d have some company on the climb, but that never happened. I learned later that she had the first of three flats right after we hit the Motorway. Caught George and John Mylne on the way to the peak. Almost crashed several times on Upper Holy Jim and I had a blast on LHJ. I caught up to 3rd, Austin Carroll, but just then my headphone was ripped from my ear so I had to stop. After the last stream crossing in this section I caught up to him again. I had to stop to grab a couple more bottles and take off the arm & leg warmers so I lost a couple minutes. I made my way to the hike-a-bike and found that I had to walk more than I had to the previous two years. I was loosing time and 5th, Guy Sutton, had caught up to me by the top. He passed me and got to the final singletrack decent about a minute before I did. So I was trying to catch up all the way back down to aid 2. Right before the aid station I saw Austin a couple hundred yards ahead, now 4th. I put the hammer down to catch him and in the heat of the chase I forgot to "stay right & slow it down" on all of the stream crossings to the finish. Last year I almost crashed when I hit the stream crossing so fast that it slowed me down...went halfway over the bar. Anyway, at the second stream crossing I went fast and to the left; there was a big pothole. I crashed hard at full speed. I lay there for a while in pain tangled in my bike before I could get up and look at the damage. My elbows were scraped, my right thigh hurt, my new right bar end was ground down pretty good. When I tried to put a tube in my tire I saw that my front rim was trashed, bent and the sidewall was ripped. I tried to borrow a front wheel from a guy that wasn’t more than 20 feet from where I crashed but no luck, “Maybe if this was a world cup race but this is just the Vision Quest.” I had no choice but to ride the flat to the finish. That was the longest 3-4 miles I've ever ridden. Many riders passed and in the end, I finished 7th. Apparently, only two VQ riders passed me (George and John) and the rest were Counting Coup riders. Though I'm disappointed with crashing I think I found a good pace for the Ironbike and I’m very happy with the new S-works. Now it’s time to get some new parts for the bike.

Thanks to all the volunteers and the organizers for a well run event!

Special thanks to:
Teammate Calvin Mulder who was support for both Louise & I at both aid stations and who drove my truck from the start to the finish.
Teammate Jeroen Bosboom who helped me out at the finish; I was in a lot of pain and started to stiffen up. He kept the pizza and diet coke coming.
Teammate Andy Lightle for giving me a Newcastle when I needed it. Several VQs have made this man wise beyond his years. Wise enough to know that a nice cold one does far more than ibuprofen after a good ride.
Tim from Switchback Cyclery for building up the S-works the Thursday before the race so I had something to ride. Frankensteina, the bike I had been using since the 12 Hours of Bootleg, was no longer fit for racing.

My teammates' reports

Preliminary results and writeup

Noon

a cool wind, cloudy skies
light rain and rustling leaves

fresh tracks absent on the first lap
click click click
the pursuit begins as bpm rises

alarm goes off, two hours gone
back to work
a different type of fun

Customer service

Had to swing by the drug store after work last night to pick up some Tecnu since I got a little poison oak from the weekend. Seems like there’s a new effort to improve the customer service at Rite Aid or else the new guy was still a little rough around the edges with the whole customer interaction thing.

AAAAA! AAAAA! I can help you over here dude.
Cool.
Sup dawg?
Not much.
This all for ya brah?
Yeah that’s it.
Debit or credit brah?
Debit.
Cash back?
Nah.
Take it easy man.
Thanks [Hmmm...should I or shouldn’t I? What would Tupac do?] later G. let’s roll. no good pimpin’ here playa. audi.

The day after

Both my elbows were very sore the day after the VQ (race report to be posted soon) and my right leg was as stiff as a board; right quad was about 2 inches bigger than the left one. Even so, how could I pass up a ride with Lou in the state park behind my house?

I think the smile is because she was having fun kicking my butt on the singletrack climb.

Crashing sucks

It sucks even more when you crash at full speed a few miles from the VQ finish line, rip the sidewall and bend the rim so much that there's no point trying to put a tube in as it'll pop as soon as you get back on the bike. The only positive thing is the attention from the lady MTBers. =)

Caroline was the first woman to finish the Counting Coup:

Dan's La Ruta Experiences (2 of 3)

M: How do you deal with cramps down in CR?
Dan: The only successful way I was able to prevent leg cramps in CR was by using e-load along with e-load tablets that work in conjunction with the drink (use the tablets if you are a heavy, salty sweater like I am)

M: What tires do you like for CR & TR?
Dan: I have been using IRC Mythos for the most part for both races

M: Hardtail or Suspension?
Dan: I used to use a hard tail, v-brakes and thought it was fine. Most racers started using suspension and disk brakes so I went out and bought an Airborne Paka Wallup with disk brakes. I did not like it at all and ended up getting an Epic S-works with V-brakes and really love this bike. It is light and acts like a hard tail when need be, but also helps you on the technical descents just a great bike.

M: How do you deal with the mud down there?
Dan: Since the mud can be really nasty and I have yet to find a good tire that will shed the mud, I came up with a pretty good routine this past year. I guess the mud was just the right texture, but I managed to ride down the hills keeping just enough control to stay on the bike and not crash and keep the wheels rolling. Once at the bottom of the hill, I would immediately dismount, than put the bike on my shoulder before it got all clogged up. This seemed to work pretty well.

M: The finish rate at CR is about 2/3 to 3/4. What do you think is the most important determinant for a first timer finishing? No mechanicals, a little luck, fitness, no crashes, etc...?
Dan:
1) Be very fit capable of riding 8+ hours at a reasonable pace in very hot humid weather
2) Have a descent bike that can withstand lots of mud
3) Ride within yourself on the technical part of the course to avoid crashes, which can injure you or crash your bike. I tend to be somewhat conservative and then try to make up time on the climbs
4) Have lots of luck. I kind of can’t believe that I finished 6 times now with minimum damage to my bike, or myself but I do spend hundreds of dollars before and after race to get it ready.

Dan's La Ruta Experiences (1 of 3)

I introduced Dan in this post. The first time I met Dan was back in 2002 in a jam packed hotel lobby in downtown San Jose, Costa Rica. Dozens of racers were anxiously awaiting the arrival of the bike trucks, trying to figure out where to leave the bike boxes and wondering when the buses to Jaco would be leaving for the Pacific Coast. Amid all the chaos, I saw Dan sitting quitely on one of the lobby couches watching all of us first timers stressing out--he was definitely amused.

M: Why do you keep going back to La Ruta? Was it your first multi-day race, is that part of it?
Dan: La Ruta was my first multi-day race and I really enjoyed it due to the country, the people and because it was very rewarding just to finish a race like that. The main reason why I was going back was to try to put together 3 good race days back to back, but for one reason or another, I never have been able to. My wife and I did most of the racecourse on our honeymoon with the founder of the race, Roman. We then brought two of her children to watch the race a few months later. Since the whole family really enjoys the experience, I think we will be back to Costa Rica, either for racing or just vacation many more times.

M: What years did you do La Ruta? Did you finish all of them? Does it get any easier?
Dan: I raced and completed La Ruta the following years: 1998-99 & 2002-05. I also rode about 70-80% of the course on my honeymoon in 2005. Since I also raced in TRC and several 24-hour races since 1998, my base is getting pretty significant. This just makes it a bit easier to get the mileage in.

M: Which year was the hardest?
Dan: The years all kind of blend in together, but each year usually has some portion of the race that is just very difficult for me. For the most part, day 1 is usually the hardest for me. The biggest difference has been in 1998, day 1 was actually pretty easy it did not go through the park like it has these last few years. Unfortunately, I did not realize that it was easy since it was my first year.

M: How did you train differently this year as opposed to last year?
Dan: My training the last few years has been pretty much the same. I try to put in some long road rides (100 plus miles) along with 30-50 miles with some fast intervals in there, either a crit or just chasing down stronger road racers. I also managed to get a higher quantity of miles in 2005 because I was a bit healthier than 2004. I am currently training for Cape Epic this spring. Since I live in Central New York and have to do most of the training indoors, I am utilizing a training coach and a heart rate monitor and am concentrating on doing two days of intervals/week (getting my heart rate up to 85-95% of max for short time intervals). I am also doing a bit more upper bodywork and stretching so it should be interesting to see the results in April.

M: What 5 items are the most important to take with you to the race in general & each day?
Dan:
1) Nourishment to replace electrolytes. Especially important in hot climates like La Ruta (Personal favorite is E-load)
2) A good cream to prevent rashes and so on
3) Dry clean clothes for each race day
4) Good sunscreen that will work after getting wet
5) A comfortable camelback -- If you are competitive, it is important to make sure your food and water are in easy reach