RojoRacing
Donut Powered Wise-guy
So I just entered the Devil Mountain Double Century and some of you may remember back in 2016 this was the next race I did following my debut on the V20 out at the 24hr worlds. It's a 206 mile 20,000' of accent route with 8 noteworthy climbs and some of the most technical descents California has to offer. It's the kind of event a bent rider looks at and thinks one of two things 1. NOPE! or 2. Maybe I can finish before the official cutoff of like 20 hours. I looked at it thinking if I pace myself well enough maybe I won't have to walk up Sierra road at mile 150 because of loss of legs and traction and anything in the top 30 riders would be fantastic. This was also the first of 3 stages of the triple crown where I eventually I went onto win before being stripped of that honor via some dubious rule changes and then have the rules changed again to give me back the overall win.
So what do I have in store for this event now 3 years later? Well how about trying to set a new course record on the V20 this time now that I know I can in fact climb pretty well on it. Last time I only finished 5th and a fair ways off the course record(70 mins slower) so what makes me think I'll have a better shot this time? How about some stats from 2016. https://www.strava.com/activities/561526321 In 2016 I was really afraid of loosing strength and pedal smoothness on the later very steep climbs and needing to walk as a result so I held back a ton for the first 150 miles. Overall I averaged 161 watts when compared to some of my better 200 mile events of a little over 200 watts so a difference of 20% for those weak in math. So if I were to push the pedals 20% harder could I go over an hour faster? Well there's only one way to find out which is the goal this year. Trying to say I'm going to average 200 watts in the DMD isn't same as doing so at one of those flat races where bents are common. No no no, you have to consider on a route like this you have several 10-20 min sections where you wont turn the pedals a single time and as a result your avg wattage will fall quickly. So you need to climb at wattage higher then 200 to end up at that overall goal but how high over 200 can you or should you go to end up at your goal and not risk bonking. Well lets start by saying you don't set out to break a record without risking going too hard, anything worth achieved will be achieved through risk. If I had to guess it would be about 250 watts but I'll being going by feel over anything else.
So what about the competition?
So this event has two official start times, 5am for normal people who don't mind starting in the dark with a light which is 80% of the riders and then the really fast guys at 6am who want to make it a race. 3 years ago I rolled up to the 6am start and was greeted with confused expressions from the staff and other riders. What was a recumbent doing starting at 6am? Did he miss the 5am start? or maybe no one told him there was two options. Ether way I was welcomed awkwardly and praised for my bravery to attempting such an tough event with such a handicap as a non standard bike. Yeah back before anyone knew who I was even the fast guys who eventually would go onto protest me were welcoming to this oddball they thought had little chance of finishing. At this point I'm well known enough to have quite the target on my back as was seen at my last double last weekend where I ended up pulling for most the event on my DF bike. So when I roll up to the 6am start this time how will the other riders react? Well I think some will look on curiously to see what I can do, some will hope a fail thus proving I can't win a true mountain race, and others will welcome the challenge I present. I believe Derek who I battled with for the overall back in 2016 said he'd be there so at the very least I know a win won't be easy by any means. Derek still does normal road races and of the few strava rides I've seen for him, he's still a fair bit stronger then me, damn kids there days. The fastest DF riders I hear will ride in a pack for the first 80 miles before breaking it apart on the third hard climb but I can't say from experience. I expect I'll open a small lead going into the first mountain and then loose 20 positions up that first hour long climb. I'll probably catch some of those rider leading into the next climb but the real test will be to see how close I can get to the leaders before the 3rd climb because there's a lot of favorable ground between the 2nd a 3rd climb. After the 3rd climb most groups will be blow apart with most riders riding alone and it'll be a cat and mouse battle between the fastest DF riders out climbing me and me doing my best to make up time on all other parts of the course. It should be noted descending the first mountain which is a state park their very touchy about the speed limit and many of the other descents are all very technical and extremely dangerous so the time I gain on the descents will be minuscule compared to what I loose on the climbs. It'll all come down to several relatively small flatter sections of course, my shear ability to push the pedals and how much metal pressure can I apply to the other riders with them knowing I lurk in the shadows that follow.
So what do I have in store for this event now 3 years later? Well how about trying to set a new course record on the V20 this time now that I know I can in fact climb pretty well on it. Last time I only finished 5th and a fair ways off the course record(70 mins slower) so what makes me think I'll have a better shot this time? How about some stats from 2016. https://www.strava.com/activities/561526321 In 2016 I was really afraid of loosing strength and pedal smoothness on the later very steep climbs and needing to walk as a result so I held back a ton for the first 150 miles. Overall I averaged 161 watts when compared to some of my better 200 mile events of a little over 200 watts so a difference of 20% for those weak in math. So if I were to push the pedals 20% harder could I go over an hour faster? Well there's only one way to find out which is the goal this year. Trying to say I'm going to average 200 watts in the DMD isn't same as doing so at one of those flat races where bents are common. No no no, you have to consider on a route like this you have several 10-20 min sections where you wont turn the pedals a single time and as a result your avg wattage will fall quickly. So you need to climb at wattage higher then 200 to end up at that overall goal but how high over 200 can you or should you go to end up at your goal and not risk bonking. Well lets start by saying you don't set out to break a record without risking going too hard, anything worth achieved will be achieved through risk. If I had to guess it would be about 250 watts but I'll being going by feel over anything else.
So what about the competition?
So this event has two official start times, 5am for normal people who don't mind starting in the dark with a light which is 80% of the riders and then the really fast guys at 6am who want to make it a race. 3 years ago I rolled up to the 6am start and was greeted with confused expressions from the staff and other riders. What was a recumbent doing starting at 6am? Did he miss the 5am start? or maybe no one told him there was two options. Ether way I was welcomed awkwardly and praised for my bravery to attempting such an tough event with such a handicap as a non standard bike. Yeah back before anyone knew who I was even the fast guys who eventually would go onto protest me were welcoming to this oddball they thought had little chance of finishing. At this point I'm well known enough to have quite the target on my back as was seen at my last double last weekend where I ended up pulling for most the event on my DF bike. So when I roll up to the 6am start this time how will the other riders react? Well I think some will look on curiously to see what I can do, some will hope a fail thus proving I can't win a true mountain race, and others will welcome the challenge I present. I believe Derek who I battled with for the overall back in 2016 said he'd be there so at the very least I know a win won't be easy by any means. Derek still does normal road races and of the few strava rides I've seen for him, he's still a fair bit stronger then me, damn kids there days. The fastest DF riders I hear will ride in a pack for the first 80 miles before breaking it apart on the third hard climb but I can't say from experience. I expect I'll open a small lead going into the first mountain and then loose 20 positions up that first hour long climb. I'll probably catch some of those rider leading into the next climb but the real test will be to see how close I can get to the leaders before the 3rd climb because there's a lot of favorable ground between the 2nd a 3rd climb. After the 3rd climb most groups will be blow apart with most riders riding alone and it'll be a cat and mouse battle between the fastest DF riders out climbing me and me doing my best to make up time on all other parts of the course. It should be noted descending the first mountain which is a state park their very touchy about the speed limit and many of the other descents are all very technical and extremely dangerous so the time I gain on the descents will be minuscule compared to what I loose on the climbs. It'll all come down to several relatively small flatter sections of course, my shear ability to push the pedals and how much metal pressure can I apply to the other riders with them knowing I lurk in the shadows that follow.
