08.2.2012 | 12:18 pm
In just over a week, The Hammer and I will start seven consecutive days of racing: On Saturday we’ll race the Leadville 100, and then on Sunday – Friday, we’ll be racing the Breck Epic.
There are going to be lots of stories to tell. And, with any luck, there will be lots of video to share.
Because I am all equipped to do some serious videographing (“videographing” is a technical term that means “using a videograph”).
And right now I’m starting to learn how to use all this gear and set it up properly and stuff. I’m going to go into all that in just a minute, but in the interest of not burying the headline too deeply, I’ve created a video using footage from the ride The Hammer, The IT Guy, and I went on last Saturday, and I’m going to show it to you in just a second.
As you watch, note the main thing that’s different from other videos I’ve made: I now am set up to film both what’s in front of me, and what’s behind me.
Also, as you watch, allow me to recommend you expand the video to fill your whole screen by clicking that Expandifying gadget in the video (it’s between the “HD” and “Vimeo”). It looks better big, and the text isn’t quite so microscopic. Or just go to the Vimeo page for this video, which shows the video nice and big.
OK, here’s the video, finally.
So, before I say anything else, I probably ought to apologize or something for using My Chemical Romance in two consecutive videos I’ve created. I can’t help myself; I love that wacky band. Plus, this is an awesome climbing song. And not half bad for dancing (I am an excellent dancer, by the way).
And now I want to show you what I’m using to do my videos.
GoPro
First of all, I’m using the GoPro HD Hero2 I talked about first when I was racing the Crusher in the Tushar. Instead of mounting it below the handlebars this time, though, I’ve got it facing backward, showing what’s happening behind me. The camera’s mounted right under the saddle, like this:
The good folks at K-Edge were kind enough to provide me with this saddle-rail mount, which went on really easily (loosen, then tighten, two bolts) and then held the camera in a rock-steady position for the entire ride.
As before, I set up the GoPro so that it’s filming upside-down (since the camera is hanging upside-down with this kind of mount), and have it set for one-button filming, so that when I press the plunger on the front of the camera, it both turns the camera on and begins filming. Pressing and holding it down again stops filming and turns the camera off.
I really liked the camera set up this way. I had no problem reaching around back and starting / stopping the camera, though the beeps — which let you know the camera’s starting up or shutting down — are quiet enough that I often couldn’t hear them when I was rolling.
That may just be a “deaf old man” problem, though.
The other thing I liked about this setup is how good the video came out. Really smooth and interesting to watch. And now that I’m confident I won’t fill up the memory card before the battery runs out I’ve swapped the camera to its highest resolution, resulting in better-looking video in general.
I’m becoming a big fan of the GoPro camera, not to mention the K-Edge mounts.
Replay 1080XD
After carrying the original VIO POV camera mounted to my head (a lipstick lens attached to a heavy semi-flexible cable that goes to a big ol’ brick of a recording unit that goes in your jersey pocket or Camelbak), I knew that the next helmetcam to go on my . . . um . . . helmet would have to be very light, or I just wouldn’t use it. A heavy helmet makes for an unhappy head.
And that’s where the Replay XD1080 comes in. Check it out:
yup, that’s the whole thing. The lens, battery, memory card, buttons, everything, fit into this little tube. Mounted on a helmet, it’s about the least obtrusive camera you could have.
And you still get high-def video out of it.
It’s a relatively-easy two-step process to start filming: Press the power button (the red one at the front) to turn it on, then press the record button (the red one at the back) to start recording. The ReplayXD uses a buzzer to give you feedback, which is awesome, because you can feel it right through your helmet regardless of the noise level around you — much more noticeable than beeps.
The Replay XD1080 does have a couple of shortcomings I’ve noticed. First, the battery doesn’t last very long. Even though I was conscientious about powering down when not recording, the camera still didn’t make it through the ride (meanwhile the GoPro kept recording). And — judge for yourself here — the video quality (ReplayXD is pointing forward; GoPro is pointing backward) doesn’t seem as clear, even though both were set to record at the same resolution (1080 lines, 30 frames per second).
And I’ve still got some work to do to get the mounting position right; I’m often capturing a lot of sky when filming. That’ll come with a little bit of tweaking.
When Will I Film?
Am I going to use both cameras at Leadville and the Breck Epic? Well, probably not for Leadville. I’ve got a serious plan to race like a serious person and see if I can get myself across the finish line on a singlespeed in under nine hours. So I probably won’t be wanting the extra weight (yes, I’m that much of a weight weenie when I race!), and won’t be in the mindset of recording video anyway.
But for the Breck Epic, well, yeah. The Hammer and I just want to get ourselves across the finish line for that race, and it’s an unknown quantity anyway. We’re going there to have an adventure and bring back stories.
And, I guarantee, no small amount of video.
Comments (39)
08.1.2012 | 2:33 pm
I have made my life’s work the study of grades. Not the kind of grades you get in school, because how weird would it be if you got a grade in the class you’re taking on grades? Real weird, that’s how weird.
The kind of grades I study are inclines. Specifically, I study the effects of various climbing grades on the average cyclist (which is to say: me).
I believe that what I have discovered will be of some value to you.
Background
In order to understand the rest of this very scholarly article (yes, I know it looks like a blog post, but trust me: this is far too intellectual of a topic to warrant a mere blog post), you will first need to have a grasp of some basic mathematic principles. Specifically, you will need to understand what it means to express a grade as a percentage.
Also, you will need to be able to understand complex quantum mechanics, and may even be required to do some long division.
So let’s get to it.
When you’re riding, you’re either going up, or down. Or flat, I guess (I am not really familiar with that kind of riding and am unconvinced that it exists outside the imagination). For every 100 feet you go forward (or sideways, on very windy days), you will also travel vertically a certain number of feet.
if you put a percentage sign after that vertical distance, you’ve got your grade.
For example, suppose you go up two feet as you go forward 100 feet. That’s a 2% grade. Suppose you climb eight feet as you go forward 100 feet. That’s an 8% gradient. Or suppose you go up 100 feet as you go forward 100 feet. That’s a 100% gradient, and is also going to be pretty hard to get your tires to not slip a little bit.
Or you can just look at your GPS when you ride. That’s what I do, although I think the number my Garmin picks is actually a number between one and twenty and is based on some brownian motion detector or something. Yes, it’s that accurate.
What You Should Be Feeling At Certain Common Gradients.
With the very thorough understanding you now have of climbing grades, you are now ready to learn what those grades mean in practical terms. What do common climbing grades look like? How do they feel when you ride them? What are interesting and useful facts about these grades?
I shall answer these very excellent questions forthwith.
1% – 2% Grade
This grade is noticeable because you are aware that you’re climbing, yet still feel like you’re going quickly enough that it may as well be flat.
At this grade, you wonder what the big deal is about climbing. You don’ even have to shift down to a lower gear; you just pedal a little harder. Maybe stand up once in a while and accelerate
When you’re on a 1 – 2% grade, you like climbing, and wonder why anyone else might not like climbing.
Unless, of course, you’ve been climbing a 2% grade for half an hour or more, in which case you might start to get an inkling of why someone might not climbing.
Among those in the know, the 1 – 2% grade is commongly called “The grade of deception,” because it leads you to forget the hard realities that steeper grades will remind you of. Forcefully.
4 – 5% Grade
The 4 – 5% grades are what I like to call “The Best Climbing Grades.” As you plug along, you’re absolutely aware that you’re working, good and hard. However, you’re not absolutely positively cooked. You can go on at this grade for hours.
OK, minutes. But those minutes kinda drag on, you know?
When climbing at this grade, you may find it useful to stand up, shift into one higher gear, and pedal that way. This gives you a fantastic boost of power . . . until it doesn’t anymore. At which point you have to sit back down and shift down two gears.
Or three. Or possibly four.
It is while climbing at this grade that most cyclists imagine themselves as one of the great cycling climbers of yore. Or — if you’re more inclined to make grotesque faces as you ride — as Voeckler.
6 – 8% Grade
This is what I like to call the “Last Good Grade.” At 6 – 8%, it’s still possible to feel strong. Sure, you’re going slow, but — you tell yourself — you could still stand up and attack if you really wanted to.
Interesting fact: If you try to stand up and attack on a 6 – 8% grade, you will think the following over the course of the next five seconds:
- 1 second: “I’m doing great!”
- 2 seconds: “Wow, who’d have thought my legs would start hurting so quickly?”
- 3 seconds: “This was a bad idea.”
- 4 seconds: “I’m pretty sure I’m going slower than before I started this attack.”
- 5 seconds: “Why is the darkness closing around me?”
9 – 10% Grade
When you are riding a 9 – 10% grade, you gain a new perspective on life. Mainly, you stop thinking about your normal Maslowvian needs — food, shelter, love, etc. Those silly little things are replaced with a few much more important and relevant questions:
“How much longer does this grade go on?”
and
“Would anyone think less of me if I were to make up an excuse for turning around now?
The answers to these questions are as follows: “Much, much longer than you want,” and “Not if you make up a very interesting and dramatic story that has you coming off as a hero in the end.”
Not that I would know anything about that second strategy, because I always finish the climbs and never ever ever give up and make up a story about why I would have finished if I hadn’t had to rescue an overturned schoolbus full of adorable puppies.
Interesting fact: It is perfectly acceptable to serpentine up any road that is 9% or steeper. 8% is probably fine too.
12 – 14% Grade
Have you ever heard that myth about how bees shouldn’t be able to fly? Well, climbing a 14% grade is kind of like that. According to top physicists, it really should not be possible for pavement to stick to an inclune of greater than 11.9%; at 12% all the asphalt should eventually slump down to the bottom of the hill.
Also, tires should not be able to stick to a road surface at an angle of 12. 6% or greater. Instead your wheels should just spin, futilely.
The fact that you are able, even for a moment, to nevertheless make your bike stick to the road, just goes to show that you are an amazing person with tenacity and strength that approaches — then surpasses — superhumanness.
And you should feel to comfort yourself with those thoughts when you pull over and throw up.
15% + Grade
Riding anything above a 15% grade means you’re showing off. You’re not climbing because you are going somewhere; you’re climbing because you want to tell people about how you did this impossibly steep climb.
Thus, even as you’re doing the climb, you’re no doubt gathering details about how your legs burned (I recommend the simile “as if they were in a fiery furnace”), how your lungs burned (“as if I were breathing in the very fumes of hell”), and how you wanted to barf, but you had already done that and so there was no point.
Honestly, climbing a 15%+ grade is the most awesome thing in the world.
Comments (42)
07.27.2012 | 12:38 pm
A Note from Fatty: It’s interesting how you wind up making new friends. For example, back in my “I Have Created a Monster” post, I mentioned that The Hammer couldn’t quite surpass Erica Tingey’s QOM on Clark’s Trail (she has since rectified that issue, by the way).
And then a commenter pointed out that Erica Tingey was recovering from a serious bike crash. So I linked to her site and wished her a speedy recovery. After which she posted a nice blog post of her own, wishing The Hammer success in her riding.
And now we’re friends. Cool!
So a few days ago, Erica (now recovered) emailed me, saying she was putting on a mountain bike skills clinic, and she’d love to have The Hammer attend (and also, could I give the clinic a plug on my website?).
Now, you should know this about The Hammer: she’s blazing fast on the flats and climbs, but a little timid on the descents. So she was in fact stoked to have the opportunity to attend this class.
And the cool thing is, Erica’s going to give a free entry to this clinic to another of my readers. ‘Cuz in addition to being a wicked-fast pro MTB-er, she’s also really nice.
Erica will be putting on two clinics: a women’s-only clinic (that’s the one The Hammer will be attending) on August 6 at 5:30pm, and a Co-ed clinic August 22nd at 5:30pm.
For each of these clinics, you’ll get a two-hour skills camp, and then a home-cooked Paleo meal, courtesy of Whole9life.com.
So how do you either register for the clinics or for a shot at attending one of these clinics for free? Easy: head on over to EricaTingey.com.
- To register for the clinic, Click on the “Clinics” tab from the home page, or just click here to go to the registration page.
- To register for the drawing for the free clinic, just register for her newsletter (the signup is right on her home page). Make sure you sign up before the end of Monday (July 30) to be eligible for the drawing, OK?
I’m looking forward to finding out what The Hammer learns, although I’m a little uneasy at the prospect of her cleaning my clock on the descents.
And now, let’s get on with Free Verse Friday, shall we?
Soulmates
I believe
With all my heart
And head
That for each person in the world
Somewhere there is someone
Who fits you perfectly
Your soulmate
Am I a romantic?
A fool for love?
Perhaps, perhaps
But I have found that someone
So who’s the fool now?
Huh? Who’s the fool now, tough guy?
I am so sorry
I am emotional
I get this way
When I talk about my soulmate
Which is, of course The
Specialized
Stumpjumper
Carbon 29
Singlespeed
Oh how I love
Even saying her name
At seventeen pounds
She compensates
For my largeness
I climb
With alacrity
In spite of myself
But lightness
Is only one of
Her many virtues
For she is beautiful
She has everything she needs
And nothing she does not
She is the paragon of sufficiency
XTR brakes and cranks
A Niner carbon fork
Hubs by Chris King
Rims by Stan’s
A red Salsa chainring
(a surprise from Racer when he built her)
If this does not sound like poetry to you
You have no heart
And when we are together
Oh!
Rapture
This bike fits me like no other
When I sit I am at ease
When I stand I can fly
Together we descend
Faster than you
Might expect
I have bikes not a few
And I love them one and all
But this is the bike I choose
More than any other
I make no excuse
I love this bike
I love this bike
I love her
And when we are together
I am happy
This bike feels right
To me
It is so simple
As that
I have wondered
What bike I should ride
in the Leadville 100
This year
How could I wonder?
How?
Am I not fit?
Have I not finished sub-nine With gears?
Have I not one last challenge to face?
A sub-nine on a singlespeed
Could there be a better bike for this
Than her?
No, of course not.
Singlespeed it is
On this bike
With this gearing:
34 x 19
There I’ve said it
I know that others
Will read this poem
And find lust in their hearts
For who would not envy her?
But that’s too bad
Because this Stumpy SS
Is super-limited in production
And there’s no way
You’re getting one
Sorry.
Talk to Specialized;
They should make thousands of these
Instead you must find
Your own soulmate bicycle
It is out there
And you cannot
Have mine.
Thank you.
Comments (21)
07.26.2012 | 11:23 am
A “Fight Cancer, Win Cool Stuff” Note from Fatty: My friend — and hotshot producer of TNT’s Leverage — Paul Guyot is fundraising for Pedal The Cause. This is a pretty awesome event with 100% of donations being divided between Siteman Cancer Center and St. Louis Children’s Hospital.
Paul’s got a great reason to hate cancer and raise money toward the fight against it: both his wife’s parents were killed by cancer last year.
And his son, “Bucky” (he’s the one on the right in the picture here) is joining him in this ride. Which I think is pretty amazing.
Paul’s got some nice incentives you should take a look at, too. And since I’m far too lazy to write about them myself, I’m just going to cut and paste from Paul’s donation page:
Not only will your donation help children and assist in finding a cure for cancer, but you could win some very cool prizes!
For every $10 you donate, you will receive 1 entry into a drawing to win one of the following:
- An actual script from the hit TNT series LEVERAGE autographed by Timothy Hutton and the entire cast!
- ARRIVA LEO Bluetooth Sport wireless headphones! If you don’t know, Arriva Leo’s are AWESOME and endorsed by Fatcyclist.com [Note from Fatty: It’s true — my Leos are at least partially responsible for what is widely regarded as freakishly fast time on a popular MTB climbing TT) as well as thousands of others. Thank you to ARRIVA for donating TWO of these amazing prizes!!!
- A $40 gift card to the restaurant of your choice. ANYWHERE in the United States!
Paul’s a great guy. Cancer sucks. These are awesome prizes. So I highly recommend you go find $10 bucks (or $20 or whatever) and donate now. Thanks!
Considering Options
Earlier this week, I posted about my frustration with Cigna as I’m trying to get the right level of treatment for my son’s depression.
I’ve been trying hard to not let the rage (yes, actual rage, which is weird for a person who is decidedly non-rage-y) dominate me. I even made myself sit down and write a fun post yesterday.
But yesterday afternoon I got a couple calls: one from Cigna, one from the doctor in charge of my son’s treatment. They both were saying essentially the same thing: We had escalated the appeals as high as they escalate, and the answer was the same: no.
So now I need to figure out what to do next. And honestly, I really will not be able to write anything fun or interesting ’til I get this sorted out in my own head, so bear with me.
Option 1: Do What Cigna Says
Cigna says they’ll pay for a reduced level of support — basically about 1/3 of what my son’s doing in the program he’s in now. But the thing is, my son’s really doing well in the program he’s in, and I’m not interested in pulling him out and seeing if he’ll continue to improve if we do less for him. Since this program has seen the first real improvement in his outlook in about five years, I want to stick with it — not swap out to something cheaper and assume that Cigna knows best for my son.
Option 2: Hope HR Pulls Through
The HR department at my company is negotiating with Cigna. I’m not really privy to what they’re doing or how it’s going (though I hope to hear something today).
Option 3: Go Nuclear With Legal
I could hire a lawyer and see whether that would get Cigna’s attention. But even if that resolves the problem for me eventually, it will mean considerable stress and time between now and then. And there’s no guarantee that it will resolve my way, in which case I am now on the hook not just for my son’s treatment but for attorney fees.
I’m not taking this option off the table, but I really hope to avoid it.
Option 4: Pay for Treatment Myself Plus Help from Family
I have a little money saved and a 401K I could raid, and my mom says she could pitch in. Between us, we could pay for my son’s treatment for up to six weeks or so. But I’m really reluctant to raid my mom’s savings (even though she’s been super generous in offering it).
Option 5: Fundraise
My readers have shown, time and time again, how generous they are through the various fundraisers I’ve done. My guess is that if I were to do a contest / fundraiser to cover my son’s treatment, my readers would help me out.
But I don’t like this idea much.
A while back when I decided I could and should use my blog as a soapbox to champion causes I care about, part of the bargain I made with myself was that I would use this to help other people, not to make money for me. And while it could be argued that if I did do such a fundraiser it would be for my son — not me — it’s a slippery slope. I’d rather not get near that slope.
Option 6: Sell Susan’s Novel
Once Susan’s cancer had metastasized and slowed her down so it was hard for her to do much outside, she directed her energy into writing a novel. She got about 95% of it written before the cancer got to her brain and made it so she couldn’t write anymore.
As she worked on writing the book, I promised Susan that if she got it written, I’d get it published. I had a plan on how and where I’d publish this, but maybe this would be a better use.
I am pretty sure that she’d be really pleased to know that the proceeds of her work were dedicated to helping her son.
I like this idea quite a bit. But I don’t know what people will think of reading a novel that ends without an ending.
Option 7: Pre-Sell Fight Like Susan
I’ve been planning to compile the posts about Susan’s fight with cancer, along with commentary and the parts I couldn’t / didn’t write because it was too hard at the time.
I’ve been hoping to have that book finished and ready by the end of the year, but I’ll need money for my son’s treatment before then. If I did pre-orders on the book now for a book that wouldn’t be arriving for several months, would that be a big problem? I don’t know.
I do think Susan would like that the story of her fight eventually helped her son.
I’m sure I haven’t considered all the options. I do know I want to keep my son in the program he’s in; I’m interested in your thoughts on things I’m considering, and ideas for what my next move ought to be.
Comments (114)
07.23.2012 | 1:54 pm
This is the time of year when I have the best ideas for blog entries. I’m on my bike a lot, and as I ride, funny and interesting thoughts seem to just occur to me, usually a couple of them per ride. The biggest challenge I have is remembering all the ideas long enough after the ride that I can jot them down to do the post on later.
I currently have a backlog of 18 post ideas; it makes sitting down and actually writing this blog so easy, because instead of the “what should I write about today?” question, I get to choose which idea I want to write about.
So this morning I sat down and started doing the Photoshop work for the post I wanted to write (illustrations were necessary for this idea).
And that’s when I got the call from Cigna, the insurance company my employer uses.
Cigna says that as of today, they will no longer cover the program my son is in to help with his severe depression.
And obviously I am no longer in a mood to write anything funny at all.
A Little About Depression
Depression comes hand in hand with cancer. One of the things I haven’t talked about in this blog (but will in my Fight Like Susan book) is the depression Susan had to battle after she finished treatment the first time she had cancer.
It was around that time that my son started showing signs of depression, too.
Now, many years — and doctor visits and therapists and psychiatrists — later, he’s still fighting depression, which has only become worse, to the point that it is essentially debilitating.
A Program That Works
But I recently found a program that was helping. A comprehensive program, with academic, therapeutic, and psychiatric aspects combined. For the past two weeks, he’s been there eight hours a day, five days a week.
His progress hasn’t been fast — you don’t overcome depression fast — but it has been progress, for the first time, ever.
And that’s where the phone call from Cigna comes in. They believe he doesn’t need this level of treatment. It isn’t medically necessary. Visits to a psychiatrist and maybe a counsellor should be sufficient.
Right, because that’s been so successful so far.
No Help
Today we did what is called an “expedited appeal,” which is where the doctor that’s working with my son talks with one of Cigna’s doctors and tries to convince the Cigna doctor that my son actually needs the help he’s getting — that it’s not just for entertainment or free babysitting or whatever.
The Cigna doctor turned down the doctor caring for my son immediately and easily, saying that since my son is not in “imminent danger” — he is not actively attempting to kill himself — this level of care is unnecessary. A weekly visit to his therapist should do the trick.
Right.
Please Help
So now we’re at the next level of appeal. The doctor caring for Brice isn’t particularly hopeful; Cigna seems to be pretty comfortable with the word “no.”
After that, I have to start looking at other options. Raiding my 401K. Asking parents for money. Telling my son I’m sorry, but he’ll just have to soldier on as best as he can. After all, it’s not like depression is a real disease, and it’s not like he has cause, right? Buck up, kid.
OK, that last sentence started letting the anger and bitterness out a little bit more than I wanted. I’m going to leave it in there just so you can see what I’m trying to hold back here.
So, maybe you can help. Maybe you work at Cigna, or know someone who does. Or maybe you might want to email them or tweet something to @Cigna and @Cignaquestions.
I don’t know if any of that will help. I really don’t. Maybe it will even make things worse for me.
But this is my son.
And this is what Cigna is supposed to do.
And they’re not doing it.
Comments (104)
« Previous Page — « Previous Entries Next Entries » — Next Page »
