2011 Breathless Agony training rides

I rode up both sides of Oak Glen yesterday and then of the 38 to Forest falls. 62 miles with 8k feet of climbing. Going to get a new cassette today as the 11-25 is just a little too much. Great weather yesterday, but a little windy going up the 38. Looks to be perfect temps for next weekend. I'm looking forward to this one.

 

I planned to do a big climb to Wrightwood yesterday but the 20-30 mph headwind on the ride out kicked my butt so I just did Big Rock Creek and first part of Punchbowl climb before heading home.

Gotta work late Friday so will have to drive out from Palmdale the morning of BA and try for a 7AM start. Hope to see some of ya there.

 

There is never a tailwind up Damnation Alley...either way.

There is SAG from the volunteers, but over Jackrabbit Trail, I don't think there's any rolling support over it.

Since its basically one giant hillclimb, there's a lot of mutual aid out there. Also, because its not a giant loop, there's bailouts back to the start after each of the four passes. And if you need the bailout after the 1st pass over Jackrabbit Trail, you can turn left from the second checkpoint at Beaumont to get home, and also after Oak Glen climb, and at any point on the way up, you can turn around and coast all the way back to the start.

See ya'll there at 7am so I can conserve energy on the "flat" run to Jackrabbit Trail by hiding in the group.

 

Question for you all. I rode on Saturday with my new kit, first time riding in a bid. It felt great and all but one of my (to be frank) nipples was sore from the rubbing, any remendies? Tape?

 

Band aid or just get used to it, it'll stop after a few rides or not.

 

Bibs don't normally do that to me. You may want to try a thin shirt like an under armour underneath your bib. Acts as kind of a rash guard.

 

The juniper hills loop 106 st. or longview off of fort tejon nice five mile climb when the winds are up cross winds a bit easier than the head winds.

 

For those that did the last MC and are familar with BA...is Jack Rabbit as nasty as Little Sycamore/Yerba Buena? I effed up my rim and saw several flats and want to know what to expect for Jack rabbit.

thanks!

 

Yeah i saw a guy on rock store with his jersey open and round bandaids.

 

That's part of my fav local road ride - Sierra Hwy to Ang Forest Hwy to Mt Emma rd to Tejon rd then up Cima Mesa down Longview, then Big Rock Creek, and finally up to Wrightwood. Just didn't have the legs for it with the strong wind and quite a bit of climbing on the mtb the day before.

@lesper4 - there's nothing looks sillier than a rider sporting round bandaids on the nips with an open jersey. I've had to do it a couple times where I got extreme chafing after doubles and it looked like I was wearing paisties - just needed some tassles to complete the look

 

Jack Rabbit vs Yerba Buena

Jack Rabbit is much, much worse. This isn't a ride for race wheels. There are a lot of pot holes and bad patches - more dirt than ancient asphalt in several places. You will do some serious weaving looking for the best part of the road. It is a much slower descent because of the road conditions.

I hate Yerba Buena enough to keep me from ever descending it again; it is not a bad climb, though.

 

Dave, I'll never be able to look you in the face again without bustin up!

 

Jack Rabbit is worse then Yerba Buena. I found the best way to ride Jack Rabbit is to aim for the shallower holes versus trying to avoid them all. If you try to hammer up it you'll run the risk of ruining a rim. I find going slow and picking a better line works for me. I've seen folks pulled over fixing flats on both rides but Jack Rabbit has many more holes/broken asphalt

 

Mike is it worse than the last upper part of hwy 39? I'm putting on my Speshy Armadillos which will hopefully do the trick. And I may just have to wear where nipple protection for your amusement <8

 

The worst parts of Jack Rabbit are mostly uphill to flat. I ride my Dura-Ace Wheels with normal tubes and 23cm GP4000's (newer for thicker rubber) with no issues. Just pick your line, stay out of the sharp areas and go forward. Plenty of smoothish lines as long as you don't try to charge at 20+ mph on some of the flatter sections. You don't have to worry about glass, nails, road debris. If you think it might be an issue, Armadillo's should be more than enough, or if you're worried about the bumps, roll the 28cm tire at 90 psi...Roubaix-Style. Another option is to go ghetto and tape a toothbrush head to the back of the seat tube that you flip down to brush the rear wheel.

Yerba Buena is much worse on the bike, wheels, and tires....higher speeds hitting significantly larger (although less frequent) bumps.

I'll edit the post with a pic of that solution later.

 

LOL

i just received my hutchinson atom tubless tires...gonna pair them up with my Ksyrium wheels and see how they hold up.

 

So below is a list of what they are providing at the rest stops. So it sound like unless you have a preference there is no need to take your own powdered mix. Also what is a gel flask? Second for someone who drinks a lot of liquid will i need more then 2 bottles between restrops, i dont want to run out but i would like to cut down on weight? Lastly how many tubes is everyone carrying?

NUTRITION
We will have Hammer Gel available at the Rest Stops so bring your Gel Flask.
We will have “Elevation Fuel” available at the Rest Stops to mix into your Water Bottles. This is a new product from a small startup company that we have tested extensively in our cycling and we believe it will take your endurance to the next level. There are 3 flavors: Orange, Black Cherry, and Berry. This is packaged in 3 ounce serving sizes that you can easily add them to your water bottle giving you 150 calories of long chain good burning carbohydrates.
We will also have Gatorade powder in Lemon Lime, Orange, Glacier Freeze, and Fruit Punch flavors to mix into your Water Bottles.

 

it's just a small reusable squirt bottle

 

Gel flask....
Old style (These suck, don't get one of them)

New style, haven't used one yet, but the idea is much better. I bought one last week and will take it out on a ride and let you know how it is if you are curious.


The old style ones are a pain to get the gel out, but the new style ones (soft sides), you can squeeze like regular gel packets.


As far as requiring more than 2 bottles between rest stops, I'd say no. I did it last year and they would do water stops between rest stops. Also, the distance between the rest stops isn't very far. I think there are 3 official rest stops between the start and the summit (the summit is the 4th rest stop).

 

http://www.hammernutrition.com/images/product/assets/detail/gb.jpg

These are the you know what...each bottle has a built in 3oz flask. Squeeze it with the valve closed and you get gel....valve open and you get water. No muss...no fuss...easy to clean and refill.