08.6.2012 | 5:40 am
I have just a few minutes to post, because I’ve got to get the twins in the car and get on the road. We’ve got a four-hour drive ahead of us. They don’t mind, though; the day they’ve been marking on the calendar for about three months is finally here: they’re off to Camp Kesem.
If you don’t know — or don’t remember — what Camp Kesem is, it’s an awesome organization that puts on camps across the U.S., for kids who have parents who’ve had (or currently have) cancer. These kids generally have missed out on some of the fun things other kids get to do, because cancer has a way of pushing everything else off center stage.
Camp Kesem evens the score a bit.
And I’m really, really proud that, through LiveStrong, the 100 Miles of Nowhere this year raised $34,000 for Camp Kesem. That money helped launch the Southern Utah Camp Kesem — which is where the twins are heading to, and it will help pay for many, many more kids across the US as they get a chance to have a fantastic weekend.
I’ll be excited to have them guest-post their experiences when they get back.
In Other News, I am Aging Very Rapidly
A couple of years ago, I did a post called, “I Consider Myself to be Very Young Looking,” in which I reported on the fact that I had been to an amusement park and paid $3.00 to have a teenager in a booth guess my age.
At the time, I was 44. She guessed 45, which was just a year off, so I got no prize.
Well, I’m pleased to report that — as a scientist with insatiable curiosity — I did a follow-up on this experiment yesterday, when I happened to be with the family at the same amusement park and went to the same booth, and paid a teenager (a different one, I think) to guess my age.
she guessed 54.
But at least I got to pick out a prize this time.
(The prize was the hat.)
Oooooh, a Guessing Game
Today, a large box should be arriving in the mail. The box likely has a large red “S” on it, and has something to do with this post.
Anyone want to guess what it is?
Comments (22)
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)
07.30.2012 | 8:55 am
I often think about how lucky I am to live where I live. “As a guy who loves riding both road and mountain bikes, and loves riding them in the mountains, I could not have picked a better place to live,” I tell myself.
For example, a couple weekends ago, I rode what I call “The Gauntlet Deluxe,” a 97-mile ride with 11,497 feet of climbing. Here’s the elevation profile for that ride:
And a few weeks earlier than that, I rode over Suncrest and then up a couple of canyons to a couple of ski resorts and back. That was a 95-mile ride with 11,318 feet of climbing. The elevation profile looks like this:
These are totally different rides, but they have a few things in common:
- They’re right around 100 miles
- They start and end at home
- They’re really, really hard
As I do rides like this, I often think to myself, “Wow, this is really stupid of me, and I am way over my head.”
But when I’m not thinking that, I think to myself that I live in a pretty amazing place for this kind of cycling.
But is it the most amazing place for this kind of riding? Maybe. Maybe not. I really don’t know.
Show Me Whatcha Got
But I’d be interested in finding out what kind of mountainous riding other people have available to them, right out their front door.
So why don’t you show me (or tell me, because I am a very trusting person) what your awesomest out-the-door climbing ride is? And I‘ll give a new FatCyclist jersey to the person with the climbiest ride of all.
Just a few rules.
- The ride must start and end at your home. It can be a loop or an out-and-back.
- The ride must be no more than 100 miles long.
- The ride cannot climb any road or trail more than once.
If you’re the winner, you’ve got to be prepared to prove the ride exists and satisfies the rules. That’s fair, right?
And bonus points if you’ve actually done the ride, have pictures and a story.
This contest ends end of day Tuesday.
PS: “Flatlander Boobie Prize” prize will be given to first person who can demonstrate that there’s no possible way for them to climb more than 100 feet if they satisfy all the satisfy the rules above. What is the “Flatlander Boobie Prize?” I don’t know yet, but I bet it’s cool enough to warrant submitting the entry.
Comments (94)
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)
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