Monday, August 11, 2014
Sunday, August 10, 2014
Ulitmate Challenge 2014 Recap
Here is a recap of the Ultimate Challenge, the now officially "ride not a race" evolution of the Thousand Warriors race which follows the same course as the queen stage of the Tour of Utah. This ride had been a favorite of several of the locals, and the year's prior ride was detailed by Dave in his post last August.
I think when most of us saw that they were making this year's course even harder we chose to opt [wimp] out, but a few of the hardcore went ahead and gutted it out. Many thanks to my cousin Dan Mills, PT for this excellent write-up that makes me wish I'd been there instead of riding up Fish Creek with Dave, Ryan, and Brian. (Well almost wish I'd been there).
I think when most of us saw that they were making this year's course even harder we chose to opt [wimp] out, but a few of the hardcore went ahead and gutted it out. Many thanks to my cousin Dan Mills, PT for this excellent write-up that makes me wish I'd been there instead of riding up Fish Creek with Dave, Ryan, and Brian. (Well almost wish I'd been there).
The 2014 Ultimate Challenge, aka the Queen Stage of the Tour of Utah, did not disappoint. Billed as the hardest single stage on American soil by some previous pro participants, the atmosphere is unique in American cycling. It may not be Alpe d’Huez, but the Queen Stage has become a showcase for the beauty of the Wasatch Front and had the world’s attention this weekend.
The amateur-filled Ultimate Challenge has been described by some as over-priced and a bit under-supported. The early registration was a great option in theory, however, for those concerned about the significant amount of climbing, the final reveal on the route didn’t come until less than 60 days before the race. That criticism aside, it was a great ride this year. Piggy-backing on the tour means street cleaners had hit a lot of the route, police presence was adequate, and most importantly, small town locals were expecting to see lots of bikes.
As a disclaimer I’m a Utah native, and reside less than a mile from mouth of Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons. This means I’m painfully familiar with each switchback, pothole, and climb. Hopefully this review will reflect the good with the bad.
The route deviated somewhat from last year. In a sadistic twist, the gentle descent, followed by rollers, was replaced with a climb up Emigration Canyon over Little Mountain and Big Mountain. With large numbers of cyclists riding these climbs daily, it’s not unusual to see more bikes than cars. Emigration (to Little Mountain) is generally perceived as the easiest of the Salt Lake Canyons (considering Mill Creek, Big Cottonwood, Little Cottonwood, and Suncrest). However, Big Mountain does require a little time in the “pain cave.” The decent into East Canyon and on to Henefer involves a small climb but otherwise begins gentle rollers for nearly 50 miles. The elements were not a significant factor, however, because of the early climb and subsequent separation, the peleton wasn’t nearly the size as 2013 (I’d guess over 60 riders at one point in 2013).
The route takes you past 3 of Utah’s reservoirs (East Canyon, Echo, and Rockport) and near to Jordanelle reservoir.
The Browns Canyon climb had dramatically less wind this year and outside of not recalling the exact location of the false summit, it was uneventful.
The aide station in Park City was an area to transact all last minute business before the last two peaks of the day. Every aide station was stocked with water dispensing and EFS electrolyte in 3 flavors (EFS was more available this year) and an assortment of ergogenic comfort foods, including oranges, bananas, pretzels, and granola bars (sounds like a youth soccer game at halftime right?) Most were happy for the EFS, water, a banana, and a last trip to the loo.
The climbing out of Park City to Deer Valley and the Empire Pass are some of the most beautiful, and steep, and painful that I know. Follow this with the last 5 km to Guardsman Pass and you have a recipe for a special kind of pain. Empire Pass is well-paved and takes you through some of Deer Valley’s prime real estate. Guardsman hails at just under 10 k elevation but worse, involves a pocked patch of ill-repaired chip seal pavement with a max grade of 16%. It is the type of ride where stopping may leave you unable to clip back in without a risky downhill loop. What a beautiful thing! Onlookers gather at the last 200 m in preparation for the pros and eye you as an amateur with a combination of disbelief, awe, and respect. The conditions on this day were beautiful: a slight breeze, occasional cloud cover (depending on your timing), and a cleaner than normal road on what we dubbed “Utah’s version of European cobblestone.”
The recovery coming down Big Cottonwood is enjoyable, occasionally technical, but a wonderful chance to recover. Of note, Cadel Evans took full advantage of the contours to spare more energy than the other 3 in the lead, resulting in fractionally more power in Little Cottonwood and a stage win.
The festive atmosphere in Little Cottonwood is the closest to what I have only experienced second hand with the Tour de France. Fan numbers continue to expand. The offers this year included: a saddle push (highly recommended); cool water over your head; hot dogs with condiments of your choice (I would have enjoyed watching the execution of that one if the thought of a hotdog at the moment didn’t make me throw up in my mouth); cold cans of coke (recommended), ice pops (recommended); cold beer (your call on that one); and donuts offered from the end of a stick (didn’t try it—wouldn’t recommend it). The costumers and general rabid cycling fans outdid themselves this year, in fact, I think cosplay isn’t just at Salt Lake Comic-Con anymore.
The take home message is, yes it hurts, but watching the pros from the comfort of the big top tent on a giant screen, with your feet propped, a cold beverage in hand with fellow pain cavers just might be worth it. I chatted with one of the United Health Care pros afterward and asked how it went. He saw my finisher’s medal and asked me the same thing. I pointed out that our experiences definitely wouldn’t be the same. He said, “The pain is the same, we are just going faster.” Ah, true that from a fellow masochist. In the words of Princess Bride, “To the pain!”
[Editors note: If you're ever in need of a world-class physical therapist and in the Wasatch metro area, Dan is your man.]
The Best Multimedia in Cycling
I just finished watching the 7th and final stage of the Tour of Utah. It was a great race this year from start to finish. I feel a pretty strong connection to the event for a couple of reasons. I have attended many stages in person going back to the early years of the Tour of Utah and I have ridden a lot of the roads, particularly the ones that have been utilized for the Queen Stage to Snowbird/Ultimate Challenge. Over its ten year history, the Tour of Utah has grown from a fairly provincial affair to an event of international stature. As the race has grown and matured, the quality of its coverage has improved as well.
I have followed every day of this year’s Tour of Utah using the live video feature of the Tour Tracker, including watching the video of Stage 2 which we saw finish in Torrey. The quality of the commentary and the video is very good and here is a big bonus: you can watch stage replays.
If you have not watched any of this year’s Tour of Utah, I will recommend what I consider the three highlights:
- Finish of Stage 2 in Torrey
- Finish of Stage 6 at Snowbird
- Finish of Stage 7 in Park City
Go to the Tour Tracker and select “replays”.
Bart Flies at Leadville
Congratulations to Bart Miller on an outstanding 8:32 finish at Leadville yesterday. I believe he will be posting a full report on his blog. http://cyclingstrong.com/blog-2/ I asked Bart for a comment for this blog: "I couldn't have done it without all my friends and cycling buddies. It was the hardest ride I have ever done and I am so grateful for all the support everyone gave me to make it happen! Thank you so much to everyone who called or texted me-it really meant a lot to me."
Friday, August 8, 2014
A First Hand Look at patchnride
Patchnride had a booth at the finish line expo in Torrey. I had a chance to look at the device and talk to the sales representatives. The meeting seemed pretty fortuitous since I had written a post about the device only a few days earlier. Overall, I came away with a pretty favorable impression.
There were a couple of things that I probably got wrong in my earlier comments. I made the assumption that the device was designed for clinchers only, not for tubulars. It turns out that the company believes that the repair of tubulars may be one of the strongest points of the device. The potential value in tubulars is elevated by the high cost of tubulars and difficulty in replacing them.
I also speculated that the process of inserting a patch might damage the tire. At the patchnride booth, they had some examples of high mileage tires which had undergone multiple repairs with patchnride. The reps contend that the thin rubber stem that protrudes from the hole in the tire after the insertion of the patch actually helps to provide a permanent repair to the tire as well as the tube.
The device utilizes a small disposable cartridge which contains a two step repair of adhesive and a patch. It looks line a smaller printer cartridge. They plan to market kits specific to various types of tires such as road, mountain, and I believe tubular.
Long time readers of the blog know that I own an American Classic Road Tubeless wheelset which I tested at the Ultimate Challenge last year by hitting a porcupine. I have never had a flat with the Road Tubeless and I believe that it is a potentially valuable and underutilized technology. Even though these tires are amazingly resistant to flatting, they still depend on fairly fresh sealant and punctures small enough to reseal. The current patchnride would not be able to fix a tubeless tire, but apparently they are developing a flat repair system for tubeless which reverses the order of the current system inserting the patch first and the adhesive second.
The biggest limitation of the patchnride system is that in its current configuration, it will never fix a pinch flat. The reps told me they are even working on that. The cost of each cartridge will be more than a replacement tube and you will still need a CO2 to inflate the tire, so it is not the most economical way to fix a flat. However, in circumstances that match up perfectly with the strengths of the device (typical penetrating puncture) it may well be the fastest repair method as well as a very viable option for people who lack the skills or just do not want to change a tire.
The patchnride booth was offering a promotion to visitors willing to preorder and pay by credit card. It included the device, some leak detectors, and a couple of replacement cartridges. All of this retails for $35, but they were promoting it at $20. I purchased one kit. The device itself is probably a little too big for most seat packs and I do not really intend to carry it on all my rides, but I will definitely stick it in a jersey pocket for the Tuesday Night Rides. The devices will not ship out for about 6 weeks. Hopefully, it will arrive in time to fix some TNR flats before the end of the season.
If someone else wants to try this out, the patchnride reps indicated they would be willing to send me a couple of additional units to demo with some strings attached. You would need to be willing to do a real evaluation of the device including a little write up on the blog maybe a picture or two. Let me know if you are interested in doing the demo.
Thursday, August 7, 2014
The Fish Lake Loop
As I mentioned earlier, Brian and I rode the Fish Lake Loop Monday. Dawn rode with us as far as Fremont but opted out of the big climb to Fish Lake. Starting from Torrey, the loop around Fish Lake is 85 miles. It meets every single criterion for an epic hard ride: abundant climbing, high altitude, spectacular scenery, and minimal traffic. On Tuesday, we had to deal with a ridiculous amount of wind. Most of the sparse traffic on the loop comes from the south. We rode from north to south, climbing on open roadways.
Heart of Idaho Century This Saturday
If you are looking for something to do on Saturday, don't forget to check out the Heart of Idaho Century Ride. Details and registration can be found here: http://www.theartmuseum.org/Century.htm
Wednesday, August 6, 2014
Tour of Utah Stage 2
Dawn and I returned home about midnight last night from our trip to Torrey to watch Stage 2 of the 2014 Tour of Utah. It was such a great trip and exciting Tour stage, that it is going to be really hard to write this post without the end result sounding like gloating.
Brian's mom Charlotte hooked us up with a hotel room. Someone, I don't know if it was Kelson or Brian's dad Rob who is a county commissioner in Torrey, put some VIP passes in our hands. We watched the stage unfold on the Jumbotron from the comfort of the VIP tent surrounded by food and cold drinks. I am very grateful for the generosity of the entire family.
I will backtrack a little bit to repeat something I have said in the past when writing about the Capital Reef Classic. Torrey is one of the best places I have ever been. It is an idyllic little town with a long cottonwood shaded Main Street on the edge of Capital Reef National Park. It is surrounded by stunning scenery and outstanding cycling.
On Monday morning, Brian and I rode the Fish Lake loop. (I will try to post a couple of pictures and write a short commentary on Fish Lake tomorrow). Yesterday morning, Dawn and I rode the Torrey to Teasdale circuit, riding into town over the final kilometers of the stage finish.
If you have been following the Tour of Utah in Velonews or elsewhere, you know that yesterday's stage has been praised as one of the greatest stages in the ten year history of the race.
Rather than retelling the details of the entire stage, I have included a link to the VeloNews story. Here is how the stage unfolded in a nutshell. BMC rider Michael Schar, former Swiss National Champion and recent Tour de France finisher, was off the front most of the day including the massive climb from Boulder to Torrey. Schar was cramping and in obvious pain ahead of a fast charging peleton on the descent into Torrey and the long finishing straight. The announcers commented that he looked like a man passing kidney stones. At one kilometer, he had a gap of ten seconds over a rapidly closing field which was being driven by the sprinters' teams. The spectators at the finish were desperate for him to stay away. At 1000 meters, I would have bet my life savings against him holding on for the win. He came in at a full sprint right along the barriers on the right side of the street where we were watching. Dawn snapped a photo of his face as he passed. Michael Schar managed to hold a gap of two seconds all the way to the finish.
Monday, August 4, 2014
Saturday, August 2, 2014
A New Gizmo for Your Flat Tires
This is a story that also comes to us from skinnyg214. I am always fascinated by gadgets and the PatchNride is a pretty cool idea. You fix a flat by pinching a section of the tire and injecting a patch utilizing what we would call in medicine an autoinjector. I would be pretty reluctant to do this with a road tire because in my experience even the smallest penetrating damage to a road tire leaves a spot that wears out pretty quickly. Plus most people that have repaired a thousand flat tires don’t have a big problem fixing flats the old fashioned way. On the other hand, think of the people who hate to change flats. Think of the times like Lotoja (assuming you are not running tubulars or tubeless) when you might be a long way from support and time is of the essence in making a repair. If this thing works as advertized, it could come in pretty handy.
I had one more thought about this which kind of puts it in perspective. Most of the flats I have dealt with lately have been things like pinch flats on railroad crossings and torn valve stems. The only repair in that situation is to replace the tube. As clever as PatchNride is, it is specific to one type of a very wide variety of possible causes of a flat tire.
I had one more thought about this which kind of puts it in perspective. Most of the flats I have dealt with lately have been things like pinch flats on railroad crossings and torn valve stems. The only repair in that situation is to replace the tube. As clever as PatchNride is, it is specific to one type of a very wide variety of possible causes of a flat tire.
Friday, August 1, 2014
Tubeless Tire Failure
You have to watch this to believe it. Thanks to Garrett (skinnyg214) for this link.
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