by Franz Kelsch with contributions by Steve Saeedi – last updated: May 12, 2010

Years ago, as runners and cyclists, we would sometimes keep a training log in a notebook, or maybe one of those free booklets that Runner’s World magazine gave free if you renewed. I started to keep my workouts in an Excel spreadsheet, which I keep up through today. Computer based programs were released and as manufactures starting to sell devices which provided for data upload, they usually included some program to work with their device.

There has been a recent explosion in the number of websites that allow you to track your workouts online. With the growing popularity of GPS enabled devices for cycling and running, most of these sites allow you to upload your workout directly from the device, making the process much simpler. Why would someone use a web based approach to a training log? There are a several of key advantages to using a web based program. First it is device independent. To this day, Polar still has not released a Mac version of their training program. Some programs have been released only on a Mac. None of these work on mobile devices, such as smart phones. All these limitations are solved by using a web based approach.

There is the additional advantage with the movement to social networks. If I put my workout in my own log, it is not visible to anyone else. With the web based options discussed here, you can share those with your friends who are using the same web based application, over social networks such as Facebook and Twitter, and embed code inside your own blogs and websites. The social aspect is enhanced with many of these sites offering a Leader board so you can compare your training with your friends or even all users of that site.

Just a couple of years ago web applications were very limited. That has changed significantly and some of the best web based applications, such as Strava, using Ajax features to give you the feel you are using a local based program. In addition, most all of the web applications are free to use, funded by advertising. So is there any downside to using a web based application? The answer is yes and it is common to the movement to the cloud for both data and applications. Your data is stored somewhere else. It is often impossible to export it out. If the site shuts down then you have lost all your data. So you may wish to keep a local copy of the data using the program that came with your device. My Excel spreadsheet has lasted for well over 10 years, as technology has come and gone.

We are looking at the following web based applications. This is not an all inclusive list, but does include many of the popular sites that allow tracking of workouts.

• Garmin Connect – A free only site geared to those using Garmin GPS devices but does allow manual input .  Also allows for GPX update of Garmin and non-Garmin workouts. Also provides elevation correction for devices that don’t have elevation or barometric altimeters. Can export activities in any number of formats.
• Strava – A subscription only site that allows GPS upload and manual that automatically shows how you are doing compared with other users climbing the same hills.  For devices that don’t have power meters, Strava will calculate and chart wattage for devices that have barometric altimeters. Cannot export activities.  They recently released an iPhone application.
• Plus 3 Network – A free site that allows both GPS upload and manual input.  It has a unique aspect that let’s you earn money for your selected cause, based on your miles.  Each of the optional causes has a sponsor who pays the money.  You earn money based on your miles and/or time depending on type of workout. Cannot export activities.  They have an iPhone application.
• Daily Mile – A free site that is more geared to runners. Allows both GPS upload and manual input.  A Facebook type social network approach to sharing your workouts.  Cannot export activities.
• Training Peaks – A free site, with premium option, that allows GPS upload and manual input.  Some very detailed analysis tools.  You can print workouts but not export the data.
• Ride With GPS – A free only site (provision for donations).  Excellent mapping tools.  Allows upload of GPS files for plotting courses and downloaded of courses to GPS devices.  For devices that don’t have power meters, the site will calculate and chart wattage for devices that have barometric altimeters. You can export individual workouts in a number of formats.
• Map My Ride and Map My Run – Free sites, with various premium options.  Geared toward those who wish to map out their running and cycling courses that can be downloaded to GPS devices.   They do support upload of workout information but do not support uploading from a Garmin Edge 500.   Heavy advertising on free sites is intentionally annoying to encourage you to pay for on of the premium options.  They provide iPhone applications (both free and paid) that allow you to use the iPhone’s GPS to track your route and upload it.

Below is a summary table followed by a detailed review for each site with many screen shots included.

Garmin Connect

If you connect a Garmin device to your computer (either Mac or PC), and click Upload, the workouts are automatically sent to Garmain Connect.  The map of the course and workout details are shown.  You can view the data by splits and also on some of the included graphs.

There is a player option that shows your workout parameters as the pointer moves along the course.  You can easily share your workout on Facebook and get some code to embed the workout in a website or blog.

You can search for other posted routes in your area and download the route to your Garmin device.  There is a nice calendar view that makes it easy to find a particular workout.  It shows the total miles per week, but it adds cycling and running miles together.  There is not tracking of miles on a year to date basis.

The data closely matches the input from the Garmin device, including your split times, calorie estimate and distances.

Strava

This is the only site being reviewed that has no free option, which will make it not an option for many users.  It accommodates other types of workouts but is best suited for cycling.  At this point, it is the only site, other than Garmin Connect,  that will upload Garmin Edge 500 files by simply clicking Upload.  Other sites require browsing to the FIT file or do not support the Garmin Edge 500, one of the newer Garmin devices.

If you drag the pointer along the elevation profile at the bottom, it will show you location on the map and some of your key data at that point in the workout below the map.   This site has a Leaderboard that ranks all users on a week to date based on such things as miles and climbing.  One of the unique features is it will use the uploaded GPS data to see that you climbed a particular hill and show how you compare with others who did the same climb, and provide for an automatic KOM listing.  Below shows the ranking in Strava for the Metcalf climb (in California).

There is also a map for the hill climb and if you run the pointer along the profile, it shows where you are at that point in time compared with the KOM leader.

It is easy to share your workout with Facebook. The site will estimate your power output along the course, unique amongst all the sites reviewed.  You can get graphs for the whole ride or for a particular split.

There is a unique calendar view, with a graph of  miles for each day, with a link to the workouts that day, making it easy to find a particular workout.  It shows your total miles, but adds running and cycling miles together.

You can track which bike you are riding, but beyond that there is no way to track equipment usage.  Strava users can join clubs and see how they are doing with other club members.  You can also have selected Friends.

A unique aspect of Strava is it’s estimate of average power output for the entire ride, or one segment, such as a climb.  Another nice feature is to find local routes, climbs and other athletes.  This could be of great value to someone cycling in an area they are not familiar with.

Plus 3 Network

This site is unique in that it now only allows you to upload your workout, but has a sponsor/cause system so you earn money for your selected clause, paid by the sponsor.

As you do any activity (run, cycle, walk, even volunteer time), you get earn “Kudos”, and therefore more money for your cause.  If you upload a GPS file instead of manually inputting your workout you get more Kudos per mile.  The site does have some graphs for your workout, but only for the entire workout and not by split.  It offers a calendar view of your workouts, but there is not a good way for you to see such things as your accumulated miles over the year or month.  It adds all miles together, regardless of the type of sport.

The site supports some social network features.  You can request another user to be your “friend”.  The site provides a leader board that starts each month and shows how many “Kudos” each person has earned.  You can compare yourself against your friends or everyone on the site.

The social network features are limited and it is not easy to post your network to Facebook.

Daily Mile

When you enter the site you feel you might have entered into Facebook by mistake.  The site is heavily oriented toward social networking.  Many people (including myself) post a lot of work out information on Facebook, but having a site dedicated to those who really might be interested could be useful.

The site offers good tools for showing your miles per week, month and for the year.  They have a calendar view to find your workouts.

There is a leaderboard where you can compare yourself with just your friends, or all users of the site.

The site provides for GPS upload but does not currently support the Garmin Edge 500, so I have been unable to test the mapping features.  You an attach gear, such as running shoes, or a particular bicycle to each workout and then track the mileage on that particular piece of gear.  There is no way to export your workouts.

Training Peaks

Training Peaks probably offers the most features of any of the sites, so many that you can get lost in the site.   It allows you upload GPS data (including browsing to Garmin Edge 500 FIT files) and manul input.   It also allows uploading of Polar HRM files, one of the few websites that supports this.  There are three main views of your workouts, Calendar, Spreadsheet and Dashboard.

The dashboard allows you to add “pods” and track nutrition.  The site allows you to view your data over many different data ranges, such as last 28 days, last 14 days, this week last year, last two years and many more.  For those who are interested in how their training is racking up, this is an excellent site.  It is also the only site that makes it easy to see how  much of your effort is between different sports, while most sites just add all miles together.

There is a very detailed map and graph view.  The graph is very detailed, almost too much so.

You can easily share your workout with others, such as Facebook.  It will even create a shortened URL to use.   You can attach gear, such as running shoes and bicycles to workouts and then track the mileage on that gear.  There is no way to export your data, other than to print it.  I did not evaluate the Premium options because the costs for premium seems to high for post users.

Ride with GPS

This is a free site with excellent mapping tools but none of the annoying advertising like Map My Ride/Map My Run.  It does ask for donations.  You can view your workouts in table or calendar view.

You can upload data directly from a GPS device, or use their excellent mapping tools to draw the course.  If you draw a course, it will create the turn by turn route sheet, although it has errors at times.  Unlike MayMyRide, everyone an print the route sheet.  It has good provisions for embedding the map in a website or blog.  It is also easy to share your workout on Facebook.  Although you can manually input a workout, it wants to know the route, so this site is not recommended for those who do not have a GPS and don’t want to draw out every route they use.  This is understandable because the site is more oriented to mapping than to tracking workouts.

For your workouts you can view the map, workout data, and some graphs.

It will show your activity totals by week, but combines miles from various sports.  There is no feature to see your miles over the course of a year.

MapMyRide and MapMyRun

This site allows you to draw a map of your course, or upload a Garmin GPS file or Polar HRM file.  It does not currently seem to support the Garmin Edge 500 so I had to export to a TCX file to upload.

The main screen has four sections, nestled in excessive advertising.

This screen capture shows how cluttered the screen can be.  The map of your workout is small compared with the excessive advertising.

If you click on the map from an uploaded GPS file, or one you draw, you get a good map view and a nice profile view at the bottom that shows you the percent grade along the route.

The MapMy series as several iPhone applications that allow you to use the GPS in the phone to track your ride/run/walk and upload via the 3G network to the MapMyRide website.  You can export routes, including the ones you draw, to various formats.  MayMyRide has strong mapping tools and allows you to draw maps even on bike trails, something most mapping websites do not support.  A new Leaderboard is being added.  There is strong support for sharing your information via social networks or embedding some code in a website or blog.

There are three paid options, $30, $60 and $99 a year.  Of all the sites, MapMyRide seems to be the most commercialized, which has some advantages in terms of features, but with the downside of the constant nagging to get you to pay something.

In another post I wrote about the many cycling power meters that are available to measure in real time the power a cyclists is applying to the pedals. This article provides some of the science behind cycling power and formulas that are being used on the Ultra Cycling website to estimate power for those riders who do not have a power meter. If you are one of the many cyclists who mistakenly say that the effort goes up the the square of the speed, you might want to read this article.

Work, Energy and Power

These terms all mean something different, but are indeed related.  A basic understanding is needed before we move on to discussing Power in cycling.

Work refers to an activity of a force being applied and movement over a distance in the direction of the force.  If you cycle up a hill you are doing Work. The typical unit of the force being applied is newtons.  One newton is equal to the amount of force required to accelerate a mass of one kilogram at a rate of one meter per second per second.

Energy is the capacity to do Work.   The source of energy came come from potential energy, as when descending, or energy produced by your body. The typical unit of measurement is the joule. One joule is the energy exerted by the force of one newton acting to move an object through a distance of one meter. The calorie is a pre-SI metric unit of energy. It is still used for food energy, referred to as Calorie (capital C).  This is called a kg calorie, or 1,000 gram calories. One gram calorie equals approximately 4.2 joules so one Calorie (as in food) equals 4,200 joules, or 4.2 kj.  The body is not that efficient in using the energy in food and only about only 18 to 26 percent of the energy available from respiration is converted into mechanical energy. Considering this efficiency, 1 Calorie of food consumed (4.2 kj energy) can produce 1 kj of energy to the pedals.

Power is the rate of using Energy.  If Energy were money in your pocket, then Power would be how fast you are spending the money and what you bought with your money would be the Work accomplished. The typical unit of Power is the watt.  One watt is equal to 1 joule of energy per second. When we are taking about Power output when cycling, as measured in watts, we are taking about the rate we are expending Energy to moving the bicycle and rider forward (Work).  If the cyclists is applying a power of 100 Watts to the pedals, that means 100 joules per second, or 360 kj per hour. To replace that energy, the cyclists would need to consume about 360 Calories of food per hour.

Forces in Cycling

There are certain forces opposing motion of the bicycle that the rider needs to provide energy to overcome. These forces are:

• Rolling Resistance. This  is friction from contact with the road. It is affected by the bike quality, tire, road surface, tire pressure and weight of of the ride and bicycle.  At very low speeds, on a flat surface, this is the main force.
• Air and Wind Resistance.  Air is a fluid (although one with low density) and any object moving through the air will encounter friction. It is a function of the speed of the bike plus the wind speed, the area and shape of the cyclists and bike, and the speed being traveled.
• Gravity. When climbing the rider needs to put in sufficient energy to “lift” their own body weight plus the weight of the bike. It is is a function of the grade and speed.  As the elevation increases, the potential energy increases.  This potential energy can provide energy back whenever the cyclists descends.

Power is the work required per unit of time to overcoming the net forces acting on the rider and bicycle. If you add each of the above forces and multiple by the speed, the result is the power required. The power is applied by the pedals and equals the force applied to the pedals times the velocity of the pedal movement.

Estimating Power Output

Those interested in the math can read further on how to estimate the power required to overcome each of the forces on the cyclists. These are simplified formulas dealing primarily with static forces and do not take into account all items that affect the forces such as wind, impact of turbulence, mechanical fiction in the drive train, etc.

Rolling Resistance

Terms

• Frl – Force, in newtons, caused by rolling resistance
• Prr – Power, in watts, to overcome Frl
• Crr -  coefficient of rolling resistance – typically 0.004 but can be as high as 0.008 for bad asphalt or as low as 0.001 for a wooden track.
• g – acceleration due to gravity – 9.8 m/s2
• Wkg – mass of the ride plus bicycle in kg
• Vmps – Veloicty in meters/sec

Formulas

• Frl = Wkg x  g x  Crr
• Prr = Frl x Vmps

Example

Take a rider and bike combined weight of 165 lbs (75 kg) traveling at traveling at 20  mph ( 8.92 meters per second), using Cff of 0.004 and with g being 9.8 meters/sec/sec.  The force would be:

• Frl = 75kg x 9.8 m/s2 x 0.004 = 2.94 newtons.
• Prl = 8.92 m/s x 2.94 newtons = 26 watts

Since the power is proportional to speed, the same rider traveling at 5 mph would require 6.5 watts to overcome rolling resistance.

Air and Wind Resistance:

Terms

• Fw – Force on rider and bicycle due to wind drag
• Cw – drag coefficient, typically 0.5
• Rho – air density in kg/m .  Depends on temperature and  barometric pressure. Some typical values are sea level: 1.226, 1500m: 1.056 and 3000m: 0.905
• Vmps – Speed in meters/sec
• A – effective frontal area of the rider and bicycle in m^2.  Typical value is 0.5.

Formulas

• Fw =  1/2 A Cw Rho Vmps^2
• Pw = Fw Vmps

Example

Take a rider and bike combined weight of 165 lbs (75 kg) traveling at traveling at 20  mph ( 8.92 meters per second), with no headwind, using Cw of 0.5, Rho of 1.226 and front area of 0.5. The force due to wind drag would be:

• Fw = 1/2 x 0.5 x 0.5 x 1.226 x 8.92 x 8.92 = 12.19 newtons
• Pw = 12.19 newtons  x 8.92 m/s  = 108 watts.

If you at traveling at 5 mph, instead of 20 mph then:

• Pw = (1/2 x 0.5 x 0.5 x 1.226 x 2.23 x 2.23) x 2.23 = 1.7 watts

Gravity:

Terms

• Fsl – Force in newtons due to the pull of the rider and bicycle down the slope
• Psl – Power in watts required to overcome the force of Fsl
• Wkg – Combined weight of the rider and bicycle in kg
• g – Acceleration due to gravity, 9.8 m/s^2
• GradHill – gradient of the hill, in decimal, the ratio of the rise to the horizontal run.

Formulas

• Fsl = Wkg x g x GradHill
• Psl = Fsl x Vmps

Example

Take a rider and bike combined weight of 165 lbs (75 kg) traveling at traveling at 5  mph ( 2.23 meters per second), climbing a hill with a grade of 12% (GradHill = 0.12).  The force due to gravity would be:

• Fsl = 75 x 9.8 x 0.12 = 88.2 newtons
• Psl = 88.2 x 2.23 = 196 watts.

Combined Forces

Formula

• Total Power = Prl + Pw + Psl   or Total Power = (Frl + Fw + Fsl) x Vmps

Examples

Using the values we already calculated in the above examples:

• Flat Road, 20 mph:  Total Power = 26 +108 = 134 watts.  Here most of the power is used to overcome air drag
• Flat Road, 5 mph: Total Power = 6.5 + 1.7 = 8.2 watts.  Here most of the power is used to overcome rolling resistance
• Climb, 5 mph, 12% grade: Total Power = 6.5 + 1.7 + 196 = 204 watts.  Here most of the power is used to overcome gravity.

Some cyclists mistakenly say the power needed goes up by the square of the speed. Although the force due to air drag goes up by the square of the speed, the power required due to air drag goes up by the cube the cube of the speed.  Speed has a linear impact on rolling resistance force and no impact on gravitational forces.  Remember to get power we multiple the force by the speed.  Air drag forces already have the square of the speed in the formula so to get power your multiple by speed once again.

Real World

The above calculations are based on a simplistic model and exclude the effect of wind and some other dynamic forces.   Wind is very seldom zero and even on a circular course there is net loss of power due to wind, assuming wind is constant. There are also factors influenced by aerodynamics of the type of clothing being worn, the type of helmet, the biking position, turbulence caused as the air flows past the rider.  Except in the case of a tail wind, all these other factors will increase the power required. For climbing significant grades these additional factors are small compared with gravity and can be ignored.  However for flatter terrain at high speeds, some additional watts or power output will usually be measured.

References:

• Analytical Cycling
• Saris CycleOps Website
• Bicycle Science, by David Gordon Wilson, April 2004.

It was only 5 days ago that we were in Utah and I rode up Alpine Loop to see the snow from a recent storm. I did not take a jacket and was very cold on the way down. Today’s long ride out to the junction was HOT HOT HOT. Kind of like out of the kettle into the fire.

I was leading a long ride for the bike club. The official start was in San Jose, but I figured starting from Morgan Hill would be the same distance, please riders said they were going to meet us along the way. To meet meet the timing I would have had to start biking from home at 6:30 am, but it was still dark so I asked Ann to drive me 6 miles towards Morgan Hill and I started there, at about 6:55 am. It was warm enough, despite the early hour, that I did not need any arm warmers. Ten minutes later I met Gary F and we rode together up Monterey to Bailey. We then made our way over and did the first climb of the day, Metcalf. I did the climb slower than usual because I had a long ride ahead. We had to wait at the top for any riders to show up and then only two did.

We then started down the backside and were met by Russ and Joe F. Not long after that Cindi S. was coming the other way and turned around to join the group. We made our way of to Quimby for the second climb. Quimby is a nasty climb of nearly 2,000 feet with some sections that approaches 20% grade. I had not really tried to time the climb up there for years so I did push a bit harder to see how I was doing compared with several years ago. Since those prior times were all set on a short ride, I felt good with my time which was less than a minute off my best time ever and better than I ever did in 2004.

Russ and Gary had gone ahead of me but the others were all behind. There was not waiting at the top of Quimby by the leaders so I headed down and to Mt. Hamilton road where I caught them getting water. We then had the long climb up to the top of Mt Hamilton. It was already getting hot. We passed Louise M. on the way up, she had started the climb earlier. Russ had reached the summit before anyone so Gary and I stopped just long enought to fill our water bottles then head down.

Due to the heat our plan was to turn around at the bottom and make the climb up Mt. Hamilton before it got too hot. Gary, Russ and I stopped at the Isabel Creek to wait for others. Then we started to talk about going to the junciton, per the orignal plan. No one else showed up so we headed out to the junction, not realizing how hot it was going to be.

I had a simple lunch, a turkey sandwich and some potato chips. Russ and Gary both had a big lunch with a lot of french fires. I thought I could never eat all those fires and climb up the backside.

We didn’t take too long to eat because we knew the temperatures would continue to rise. We each bought a Gatorade to stick in our back pocket because we knew that two water bottles would not be enough to make it back to the summit in this heat. I ended up drinking mine on the spot then filled the bottle with water to carry.

On the way back we saw a couple of cyclists headed in the same direction, pulled off the road resting in the shade. One yelled out that it was 112 degrees. I check my cyclometer and it was reading 112, although it tends to read high when in direct sunlight. But then my body was in direct sunlight!

The three of us were biking together until the last climb before we descending back to Isabel Creek for the start of the big climb. Then Russ started to move ahead and Gary started to fall behind. As we started to climb up the backside of Mt. Hamilton, I slowed was gaining on Russ but I could no longer see Gary. I caught Russ as we approached the spring at the 3 mile mark (3 miles from the top) so we stopped there to splash some water on ourselves and cool off. We waitd for awhile and still no Gary. I started to worry about him since he is a faster climber than I am.

A van was now coming up the hill so I flagged it down to see if they had seen a cyclists. As it was stopping I could see that Gary was in the van. I guess he had some issue so the driver offered to carry him to the top. Russ and I got back on our bikes and finished the climb to the summit. There we found Gary laying on the ground. He had become dehydrated, was cramping and even had the chills. I rush up to get him a cold drink and then he used some water to cool himself off. We knew we needed to wait for him to recover.

Eventually he wanted to go ahead and bike so we all started down the hill. Then it was a climb back over Quimby. After reaching the San Jose Valley we could really feel the heat again, after a bit of cooler temperatures at 4,000 feet summit of Mt. Hamilton. Russ headed his own wan and Gary and I headed back to Morgan Hill. Gary was not feeling well so we stopped at a McDonald’s to cool off and have some drinks. I wanted him to have more time to hyrate. We filled our water bottles with ice and water there and then headed back home.

I dropped Gary off in Morgan Hill and then biked home. It was past 6 pm when I finally finished. I had biked 135 miles and climbed nearly 13,000 feet. My HRM showed only 11,900 feet, but last time I did this same route it was 12,700 feet. We’ve been under a high pressure system resulting in a reduction of accumulated gain. I will use 12,800 since I did an additional climb up Santa Terresa to Miller this time. This was therefore the most climbing ever on a training ride.

If I had done all five passes on the Death Ride, I would have biked 6 miles less and climbed 2,000 feet more, so this was some training ride.

This is the profile of the ride.

Today was a long distance training ride. The route started at the normal location and headed down to Bailey and then up Metcalf. I biked from my home and met up with Gary F. in Morgan Hill, timing it so we would meet the other riders on Metcalf. Four of us were route rebels and went off the published route after going up Metcalf. The great weather beckoned us to go up Quimby West. Then it beckoned us to to up Mt. Hamilton to the summit. We decided, why not go out to the junction for lunch. Three of us then descended down the backside of Mt. Hamilton and biked the 19 miles out to the junction cafe.

This would make a great long distance training ride route for the future. I biked from my home in Gilroy but a start in San Jose at Redmond and Meridian would end up with a good distance with a lot of climbing.

This chart show the climbs for the entire route. They are plotted against time so the slope should be a constant if I am climbing at an even rate in terms of feet per minute. You can see my heart rate never went that high because I was holding back on the climbs due the long distance I had to go. Click the graph to enlarge.

When I finally made it home just before dark I had logged 141 miles and 12,700 feet of climbing. I believe of all the training rides I have done this was both the longest and had the most climbing. It made for very good training ride for Devil Mountain Double since we had to do the backside of Mt. Hamilton after about 90 miles and and considerable climbing already. For DMD it is usually not the early climbs up Mt. Diablo and Morgan Territory, but the backside of Mt. Hamilton that takes it’s toll.

With the varying weather I was wondering if anyone would show up for the Long Distance Training Ride scheduled for Saturday, February 2nd. I really didn’t want to miss doing a long ride on Saturday so decided to drive up to the ride start at Landess and Morril. I was a bit surprised that there were 16 riders who also showed up.

We all headed out at 8 am under cloudy, but dry, conditions. It was a good opportunity to do the new Old Calaveras Billy Goat. David took off in his normal fast fashion while I was struggling to keep up. The a new rider, by the name of Mike, came up by me. Later I found out he was the fellow who was taking pictures at the Pet the Goat spot on the Devil Mountain Double last year.

We then headed up Calaveras and it was David and myself. We were moving fast, up to 27 mph on the flatter sections. Mike caught us after we passed Welch Creek road and then we saw Craig. The four of us plowed on but I was feeling the pain of the fast pace. David them mentioned that he was cutting the ride short and was going to turn around at about 25 miles. I thought, gee I should have let him do ALL the pulling. After David turned back I tried to keep up with Mike and Craig for awhile but after another 5 miles I decided I needed to back off. I was then caught in no man’s land, riding by myself for the rest of the ride.

There was some rain, but nothing real heavy, as I was going over the Altamont Pass. Then it cleared while I went up Patterson Pass. On the way back I was biking into a strong headwind, which explained the fast pace on the way out. I kept thinking it would be nice to draft behind big Mike M. but I was not sure how far back the rest of the riders were and I was worried about getting caught in the rain, so I plugged on. It was all bringing back memories of the Devil Mountain Double, but the weather was much cooler this time.

On the way back over Calavares it seemed twice as long as on the way out. I finally made it back to the ride start at 3:30, not long before many other riders were returning. I should have waited longer for the train to catch me so I could have drafted with the headwind. Oh well, it was good training, I guess. I ended up with 98 miles and 6,000 feet of climbing.

Forerunner® 405 1st Quarter, 2008 Part Number: 010-00658-10 Suggested Retail Price: $ 318.74 USD

This unit is much smaller than previous Forerunner units and was finally down to the size you would expect for a runner’s watch. It had a most unique user interface. Instead of pushing buttons to move through the menu options, you just run your finger around the watch front, and tap it when you find what you want.

There is no mapping function but it does support heart rate, and has optional bike speed and cadence, and supports a footpod. It automatically transfers your data to a computer.

Edge® 605 1st Quarter, 2008 Part Number: 010-00555-00 Suggested Retail Price: $ 430.75 USD

This unit appears to be a much improved unit over the previous Edge 205, which it appears to be replacing. It now includes a true GPS mapping function in a package no larger that what I recall the 305 to be. Included is only the base map so that means buying mapping software to get other than major highways. It has support for a MicroSD card so you can add your own maps. This unit does not support a bike speed/cadence sensor heart rate and does not include a barometric altimeter, so you may want to opt for the Edge 705.

Edge® 705 1st Quarter, 2008 Part Number: 010-00555-20 Suggested Retail Price: $ 541.65 USD

This unit appears to be a much improved unit over the previous Edge 305, which it appears to be replacing. It now includes a true GPS mapping function. It adds support for heart rate and cadence and will also support Power with third party ANT+Sport-enabled power meters. You can also send your course wirelessly to another Edge 705. The battery life is suppose to be 15 hours, an improvement over the Edge 305, but still a bit on the short side. Even though the price of the 705 is more than $100 more than the Edge 605, I would recommend it because of the added features the serious cyclists would want and if you are not a serious cyclists why would you bother in the first place with one of these expensive units.

I asked about Mac computer support. All of the above units currently will only work with Windows, but Mac support will be coming later in 2008 (as Garmin has been saying).

Shortly myself, David H and Joe F were out in the front. David was particularly pushing the pace hard, so hard at the beginning I almost dropped off. But I thought I was training for the Everest Challenge and needed to hang on. We were moving so quickly up the hill I realized this might be a good chance to set a new PR going up Mt. Hamilton.

I looked over at David’s bike and noticed he was climbing in the Big Chainring!! I suppose I could make it up Mt. Hamilton in the Big Chainring but certainly not at this pace. After awhile Joe dropped off the back (later he told me had had skipped breakfast)! I kept with David for several miles and and as we were nearing the top of the lower Mt. Hamilton climb I did drop back for awhile. I kept pushing myself and eventually I caught back up (probably David slowed down to let me catch up). David was still in his big chainring. I guess he wanted to finsih the entire climb that way.

I went to get a drink and guess what, I had fogotten to put my water bottles on the bike. Fortunately it was cool, in the 60′s. I figured I could make it to the summit without any water. My old PR was 1 hour 40 minutes from the school. As we got within 5 miles from the top my quick calculations showed I could easily do better. The final time was 1 :34:09 from the school. From the base of the Mt. Hamilton road we did it in 1:28:54. I had finally made the climb under one and a half hours. It was kind of the perfect storm, cool weather, less weight due to no filled water bottles, and David pushing the pace so hard. You can see from the chart below my average heart rate during the climb was 158, peaking at 166. We averaged 12.4 mph.

Joe reached the Lick Observatory just as David and I were headed on to go down the back side of Mt. Hamilton. David was kind of enough to let me use one of his water bottles, which I drank down at Isabel Creek and handed back to him since he was turning around at that point. I then biked another 13 miles, with climbing, to reach the junction. There I bought a Gatorade and put that in my water bottle cage.

I waited for awhile for Joe and thought maybe he had headed down Del Puerto Canyon while I was buying some liquid at the Junction cafe. I did not see him on the way down and only saw him on the way back up. I told him I would meet him at the junction where we were going to eat lunch. I measure the grade over the steepest section of Del Puerto Canyon and got 9.5% over 0.4 miles. It was a steeper climb that I remembered it to be. Maybe it was because I had pushed so hard earlier in the ride.

After lunch, Joe and I headed back towards the back side of Mt. Hamilton.

I felt pretty good making the climb. I took several splits and found the steepest was 9.5% over 0.5 miles. Just about the same as Del Puerto Canyon.

After taking on some more water at the top, we headed back down the front side of Mt. Hamilton, getting to the cars around 4 pm. This graph shows the overall day. You can see my heart rate was much higher while climbing the front side to set the new PR. I backed off conisderably after that. (click graph to enlarge)

Final stats were:

Miles: 92.7
Total Climb: 10,279 feet
Average Speed: 14 mph
Total Moving Time: 7:25
Average Heart Rate: 134

Here are the stats for the ride:

114.5 miles
8,880 feet of climbing
16.6 mph average speed
Total Time: 7:44
Rolling Time: 6:53:39
Average HR: 140 (165 maximum)

Looking at the curve, I was not in the so called “red zone” that much, but I was sure pushing hard to keep up with Gary and Joe. The average speed of 16.6 mph shows we were really moving, considering that we climbed so much over the course of the ride. I guess my legs are the limiting factor at this point.

We kind of played a game also to see if we could come in under 7 hours for the first 100 miles. We reached that mileage with a total time (including stopping) of 6:58:55, and had climbed all but 400 feet of the total for the day. We almost missed this target because of the stoplights on Foothill.

After the ride I felt that I was in good enough shape to do the Everest Challenge so I signed up. This is the USCF California/Nevada State Climbing Championship that involves climbing 29,035 feet over a two day race, on 9/22-23. I still have some time for some intense training. See my prior blog entry on an attempt to estimate my performance for the Everest Challenge.

Cyclists can get caught up in the mileage trap, thinking that more is better. That may be true, but only to the point where you achieve your potential. After that the additional miles onlyl increase your risk of injury or burnout. Adapting the Runner’s World Six Rules to help find the right number, but for cycling:

Rule #1. The longer the event you are training for, the higher the mileage requirement. Obviously it is going to take more weekly miles to prepare for a double century than for a century.

Rule #2. Mileage requirments increase as performance goals increase. If your goal is to just finish you can cycle fewer miles than if your goal is to finish with a fast time.

Rule #3. Some miles count more than others (Part One). When your miles include tough workouts (such as hill climbs, hill repeats, tempo rides, intervals) they’re harder to recover from than if you do he same easy aerobic cycling. So when you add quality workouts, decrease your total mileage slightly to make up for the added stress.

Rule #4. Some miles count more than others (Part Two). The farther away your miles are from the pace you wish to do the event at, the less they will help your performance at the event. If you mostly do long miles cycling at a slow pace, you will become proficient at that but don’t expect to be able to ride the double century at a significantly faster pace.

Rule #5. Allow for adaptation when increasing mileage. To avoid injury when upping your mileage you need to take it slow and allow time for your body to adapt.

Rule #6. A healthy cyclist beats an injured cyclist every time. I am not speaking of injury due to falling, but injury to your muscles.