Donald’s Daily Draft

Tonight… join cyclists worldwide in the Ride of Silence.  It is a silent slow-paced ride (max. 12 mph/20 kph) in honor of those who have been injured or killed while cycling on public roadways. 
Although cyclists have a legal right to share the road with motorists, the motoring public often isn’t aware of these rights, and sometimes not aware of the cyclists themselves.  This ride is held every year during Bike Safety Month.  You can link here to a US or International map and find organized Ride of Silence events in your area. 

Just as we all expected… Fantastic news as Fatty’s new jerseys sold out FAST.  He told us all they were on the way… when Twin Six would post them for sale… he even provided us with a link and updates.  Still… I’m sorry and a bit embarrassed that I missed out.  I work an early shift… at work by 3am.  So, I checked the Twin Six website around 3:15 & 4am just for the heck of it.  But I missed out on the accidental early release of a few jerseys overnight.  For other crazy reasons, I couldn’t order one in time before the sellout.  So, I’m asking around.  Did anybody happen to buy an extra Medium?  If so, here’s my offer.  I will pay you the $70.00 for the jersey.  I will then send another $70.00 to Susan’s Win Fund.  Any takers?  

My thought was… “What the heck, I’ll enter.”  Well, I’m glad I did… because I won.  I’m not sure I’ve ever won anything over the internet or in a  drawing. 

But I will soon be the proud owner of a Muscletrac. 
I entered the drawing on the cycling blog… Ride-Strong. 

I’m hoping I receive it sometime this week because it just so happens my legs have felt pretty tight and a bit sore lately.  I was actually considering a massage but first I’m going to see just how well the Muscletrac works.   I’ll share my experience once I’ve tried it. 

Now… if my great fortune will only continue and I win this Colnago Carbon CLX that will be given away. 

I mentioned in my post last week that I was headed back to the mountains for the weekend and a good training ride packed with climbing.  I pedaled the roads around Banner Elk.  The very roads on which Lance decided to make his comeback to cycling after cancer.  If you read his first book, “It’s Not About The Bike,”  you may remember he was climbing Beech Mountain when he decided not to hang up the bike.  It was part of the course in the old “Tour DuPont” … which Lance won in its last two years… ‘95 & ‘96.
I have never climbed Beech, which peaks at 5,500 feet.  I don’t know why.  So, this weekend I had it set in my mind I would head there first thing. 

As I pedaled that way, I looked up from the town below, Banner Elk.  This picture on the left is what I saw. 
Nothing but really dark clouds.  I always check the very trustworthy Ray’s Weather internet site for the NC Mountains and knew this horrible looking weather would be moving out.  I was determined to make the climb.  I felt good.  It was about 7am and no one else was on the road.

I started hitting very steep switchbacks like the one pictured here on the right. 

Still, I felt strong.  Maybe it was the history of the road.  I just kept turning over the pedals.
When I rounded another turn closer to the top, I hit the clouds. 
I had to snap this picture (tricky while climbing). But as you can see… I was literally in the clouds. 

A short time later, I crested the Beech!  It felt so great to be up there.  I had to jump off and snap a shot in front of the sign.  I called my wife, shared my excitement and headed back down for some more climbing.  At the end of my  4 hour ride, I had climbed a total of 6,800 feet… clocked 56 miles… and burned about 2,800 calories.   I feel like my climbing legs are developing well.  It has left me craving more!

I also need to mention the success of the Lees-McRae College cycling team at the Road Cycling National Championships in Fort Collins, Colorado.  I talked about this small college in Banner Elk and it’s successful cycling team in my last post.  Well, they won the Division I Men’s & Women’s Road Race.  They also did well in the Team Time Trial… 3rd & 5th.  Congrats Bobcats! 
Maybe next time, I will see them training on Beech Mountain.  But I’ll feel just fine as they fly past me because I know… I CAN make it to the top.

I wrote about my climbing in the Appalachian Mountains and The Blue Ridge Parkway a couple of posts back.  It’s the same area around Banner Elk, NC where Lance Armstrong made his comeback from cancer ten years ago.  He trained there rebuilding his body for the Tour de France.  Good news is, I’m headed back to the area for some more climbing this weekend.  I, of course, am in no way comparing my ability to that of Lance… AND… I hope I don’t run into any of the cyclists from Lees-McRae.  Oh wait… there’s that name again I mentioned in the title of this post. 
Lees-McRae is a small private school with a really GOOD cycling team.  The good news is I won’t run into any of their cyclists this weekend because they will all be out of town at a big race. The Lees-McRae Bobcats are a Divsion 1 favorite going into this weekend’s Road Cycling National Championships in Fort Collins, Colorado.  How much of a favorite?  Judging by the large article about the team in USA TODAY… they should do pretty well.   Allez Bobcats… Allez!    

So we’ve talked about what our favorite food is on the bike.  But… Is there something to be said for the organic ingredients in Clif products (like organic brown rice syrup instead of corn syrup)?

I thought this would be a good question for Dr. Chris Eschbach, Director of The Human Performance Lab at Meredith College.  Here’s the doc’s advice:     My favorite is gels for sure.  I like the “pure” carbohydrate source.  Pure, meaning I know there are no fats, fiber, or protein (for the most part) to slow gastric emptying.  The key to fueling on the bike is to get the fuel (carbohydrate) to the muscle and I do not want anything to slow that process down.  As for the organic stuff, I would put it into the same category as the difference between pure glucose or maltodextrin.  Generally, but not always, the organic stuff will have a little slower time in the processing much like maltodextrin.  The best would be a combination of the simple (glucose) and more complex (maltodextrin) because that combo would provide both “fast acting” and slightly slower delivery of carbohydrates.  
The biggest concern should be what seems to sit best with your digestive system. What ever works for you is best.  Again, I will say that my suggestion for events or training sessions that are greater than 1.5 hours to use 240 Calories per hour in combination with between .75 to 1 liter of water.  If individually, you can handle more,  that is great… but the more calories you add the greater the chance of gastric upset. 

Ahhhh… the feeling is back.  Climbing… sure it can hurt… but I love it.  I’m training for a century in the mountains at the end of June.  It’s called Blood, Sweat & Gears.  This was my first ever mountain century last year and I loved it.   So, I’m back for more this year and my training in the mountains got a good jump start this weekend.  I’ve been on mostly rolling roads around my home so I needed to get in some true ascents.  My mountain ride was 56 miles with 5,600 feet of climbing.  The gradient ranged from 8% to 16%.  The Blood, Sweat & Gears climbing total is 13,000+ feet, with one climb up Snake Mountain reaching an 18-20% grade near the top.  This picture on the right is one of the climbs I pedaled this weekend.  Shull’s Mill Road is 10 miles long and takes you up to the Blue Ridge Parkway.  It’s a good road to get the climbing legs going.  Once up to the Blue Ridge Parkway the gradient average is 8%.  One of my favorite points is crossing the Lynn Cove Viaduct.  It’s beautiful and you can look across the mountains on a clear day.  You can see by the picture on the left where the road climbs up to the viaduct.  Look closely and you’ll see where the road winds around the mountain in the top left of the picture.  This particular picture was taken in the fall.  Here’s another one with a closer view of the viaduct.  It’s an awesome ride.  To finish, I had to climb back up a mountain to our condo. 

Truly satisfying!
 
Calories Burned: 2,700  
Feeling: Pretty Good 
Reward: An ice cold IPA

So, I’m thinking about a new saddle.  The one I have is sufficient.  But I’m wondering… “Is there something better out there?”  I think I get a little uncomfortable in the saddle a little too frequently.  Sure, I know it’s recommended to shift around a lot but I’m wondering if there’s something better for me.  Right now I sit on a Terry Fly.  I do like the cutaway and it weighs in at 240g with Titanium rails.  Is it bad that I have to be too shifty?  There are so many seats to choose from… it’s hard to know where to start.  I clicked on a banner for Selle Italia while reading Cycling News and saw this.

It’s the Selle Italia Optima… I’m not interested in this seat.  I just thought it’s on eof the very interesting options out there.  It’s expensive and I wonder how comfy could it be?  I also wonder what Ron at Cozy Beehive would think of the engineering on this particular design.  Yes, that’s an integrated bottle holder on the back of the seat.  Would your bottle stay in on a very bumpy road?  How about when you take off on a hard sprint?  

Anyway, staying on the subject of Selle Italia… a fellow cyclist swears by them and that’s all he’s ever ridden.  I know that it comes down to personal preference and your bum’s particular fit.  But… each brand has several models to choose from. 
 What company and model do you saddle up with and why?

I guess they do.  This past weekend, I was invited to a grape “stomp-off’ against other media representatives from around town.  It was a huge wine festival, “Great Grapes,” showcasing North Carolina’s growing wine industry.  So, for our efforts, we were told the person who stomped out the most grape juice after 5 minutes straight of stomping would win $100 for their charity of choice.  My charity, 24 Hours of Booty, the official 24 hour cycling event of the Lance Armstrong Foundation.  You may have read one of my earlier posts about both of my parents being diagnosed with cancer last year.  Well, I was determined to stomp my ass off and add the prize money to my fundraising effort.  I guess I used the right technique because I filled the pitcher.  Even better, the event organizers gave everyone’s charity $100 and since I won… I got $200!  I was so excited I picked up the pitcher and took a gulp…  two gulps.  Yes, my feet were clean.  Check out the short video below and if you have time, please visit Donald’s 24 Hours of Booty fundraising page.  Cheers! 
 

I’m determined to get to the bottom of this.  OK… no wise cracks about how many buns… I mean puns… I can fit into this post.
But really… I have never used a chamois cream (creme) and I’m not sure I’ve ever really had a true saddle sore.  Don’t get me wrong… my bottom side has felt pretty cheeky after those long rides.  Last year, I trained and rode in three century events in the North Carolina mountains.  They all had a lot of altitude, one as much as 13,000 plus feet of combined climbing.  I’ve been thinking… as I increase my training for the same rides again this year… Would it help to lube up before the long mileage?  
Some things I’ve read on the internet suggest chamois cream (creme) is only needed on real chamois… but other articles, including product descriptions suggest using it on synthetic chamois as well.  

Like Assos… I believe this was Lance’s preferred product. 
Assos is described like this:  

I’m sure we all prefer soft and supple… but I’m left wondering do I need this?  
Will it make my ride more comfortable? 
If so… what kind do you think I should try first?