Help Larry get to the World Championships and represent Cruzbike

[LarryOz]

Hi all,
I suddenly have the opportunity to compete in the World Human Power Vehicle Association's (WHPVA) - World Championship races on July 19-21 in Nandax, France. Due to the high cost of getting there and back with my bike, I could really use some help to cover my expenses.

As of this writing there are 88 participants registered, but I am the only one from the USA and the only one riding a Cruzbike. What a chance to rub shoulders with so many other cyclists that I would not normally get see here in the US - and also represent the US and Cruzbike too!

If you are interested in reading about the event - here is a link to it
https://www.afvelocouche.fr/world-championships-2019/

I have been training pretty hard lately and just finished riding the entire Blue Ridge Parkway with 5 other friends. I feel this a great time of the year for me and should be able to peak my fitness for this event and make a great showing.

Here is a link to my GoFundMe account to help me cover my expenses for this event:
https://www.gofundme.com/help-larry-go-to-the-world-championships-in-france

You can also just pay-pal me directly to larryoslund@gmail.com - which would avoid the GoFundMe charge of about 3%. Either way if fine with me.

Thanks in advance - The Cruzbike Tribe is the best!

 

[benphyr]

@LarryOz

I'm in. I am quite sure the costs are going to be well above the 3000 that you set as your goal on GoFundMe. For those of us who it will help (us tight wads) can you share a little of what you anticipate the total costs to be (so that it is blatantly obvious that you are not just taking a vacation on us).

@Lucia, Does Cruzbike as a company do this kind of sponsorship? Does Cruzbike have a practice/policy?

 

[benphyr]

Day 3 looks like an @RojoRacing setup. Here's the description from their website "The race program is as follows:

• 19/07/2019: Hill race in Jarnosse starting at 5:30pm: 5km at an average 5% grade

• 20/07/2019: Sprints in Vougy starting at 9:30am: 1.2km flat, wide and straight line for the 200m flying start and km standing start.

• 21/07/2019: Road race in Nandax starting at 10am : 12km loop on a twisty, hilly, challenging and beautifully road for a 3 hour long climax of the week-end.

 

[3bs]

Probably will beat the crap out of doing those laps you’ve been doing

 

[LarryOz]

I'm in. I am quite sure the costs are going to be well above the 3000 that you set as your goal on GoFundMe. For those of us who it will help (us tight wads) can you share a little of what you anticipate the total costs to be (so that it is blatantly obvious that you are not just taking a vacation on us).

No Problem Ben, (and others who are interested)
Here is my "estimated" expenses - trying to be as cost effective as possible - by staying in a school dormitory - to save lodging $.

 

[benphyr]

..
"estimated" expenses - trying to be as cost effective as possible - by staying in a school dormitory - to save lodging $.

Thanks Larry, that helps understand what the costs will be for you and what they would be for me if I were to ever do something similar. My estimates always turn out to be lower than reality and the actual costs end up being higher. I hope that yours are more accurate for your budget.

 

[LarryOz]

Day 3 looks like an @RojoRacing setup. Here's the description from their website "The race program is as follows:

• 19/07/2019: Hill race in Jarnosse starting at 5:30pm: 5km at an average 5% grade

• 20/07/2019: Sprints in Vougy starting at 9:30am: 1.2km flat, wide and straight line for the 200m flying start and km standing start.

• 21/07/2019: Road race in Nandax starting at 10am : 12km loop on a twisty, hilly, challenging and beautifully road for a 3 hour long climax of the week-end.

Based on their profile below:
This little route doesn't look too bad. I can eat up anything in 3% range with pretty high speed. The total elevation gain in 12.3Km is only 184M, so not too bad really
First "climb" is 2.9Km with rise of only 86M (which is only 2.9% avg grade).
The V20 will not have problem with the little "rollers" in the center.
The second climb is only 1.7Km long with only 58M rise (so avg grade 3.4%) - with only couple little kicks up to 10%
The final climb is so short at 0.7Km with only 20M climb and comes at the end of pretty speedy flat/downhill section that the Vendetta should be able to power right up and over it.
Road conditions are unknown at this time, but hopefully will be there early enough to ride the route several times for recon.

Since I live in the mountains of NC, I have the perfect place to train for this. I actually have some terrain that is quite similar to this nearby and will setup a training regime on it.
Also, having just completed riding the Blue Ridge Parkway last week, I have more confidence climbing than I used to, although this is pretty tame compared to the Blue Ridge.

 

[DavidCH]

It looks very interesting doesnt it and spain is next door to france...

 

[trplay]

Larry you might consider turning this route into a custom Zwift workout. You cannot simulate the visual experience but you can simulate the power requirements to complete the route. A GPX file, which includes elevation of your route is all you need. The most important thing is that the file includes elevation because Zwift will need that in order to create the correct power requirements. Here's a link that might help. https://www.sportivecycling.uk/training/create-zwift-workout-gpx-file

 

[benphyr]

Larry you might consider turning this route into a custom Zwift workout. You cannot simulate the visual experience but you can simulate the power requirements to complete the route. A GPX file, which includes elevation of your route is all you need. The most important thing is that the file includes elevation because Zwift will need that in order to create the correct power requirements. Here's a link that might help. https://www.sportivecycling.uk/training/create-zwift-workout-gpx-file

Then we can race with/against Larry when he does the race just like Zwifters did for the Stage 1 time trial for Giro d'Italia! Three hours feeling Larry et al.s' pain.

 

[LarryOz]

It looks very interesting doesnt it and spain is next door to france...

Come on over David - you certainly are closer. Then we can have 2 Vendettas!

 

[DavidCH]

A cleat out of the book of life ... Larry style

(I am trying to up the power to weight ratio... if anyone else tries with these... use zero float otherwise you will be all over the road trying to get out of the pedal).

I can see great improvements so i will register in the next day or two

 

[LarryOz]

I can see great improvements so i will register in the next day or two

Fantastic - I will be great to have you there too!

 

[ed72]

Hi Larry......just in case you did not see this in the rules (I considered going but the chain guard and a medical certificate......)

Chain guards: The chain ring must be covered by either a fixed shield or by a strong rotating chain guard. Any homemade guarding must be free from sharp edges. The only exceptions to this rule are where the chain ring is inside a fairing or protected by the frame.

 

[McWheels]

http://www.bhpc.org.uk/chainguards.aspx

 

[DavidCH]

http://www.bhpc.org.uk/chainguards.aspx

Emmm it suddenly lost its appeal. I enjoy my rotor rings too much

 

[LarryOz]

Emmm it suddenly lost its appeal. I enjoy my rotor rings too much

David - don't let this little thing stop you from going! It should not be too hard to just build a side guard that matches the Q-rings shape. I will be working on it myself soon. Even if you went totally round and it was a little large that it needed to be, seems like it should work. I guess they are trying to protect injury to others from a frontal hit. I wonder if the Magic would be OK, since the front nose sticks out way past the rings?

 

[super slim]

I think the one in slide 6, looks the lightest and best aero shape!
Who is good at CF??

 

[ed72]

The one consideration for those with e-Tap and Rotor rings is to space the chainring guard far enough outbound so that when the FD initially overshifts, it will not hit the chainring guard since the Rotor rings are non-round, there will be places where any off the shelf guard will hit the FD. I couldn't see a way to make one for a completely non-standard Rotor RS4x crank or to make anything structurally sound off the boom. Maybe a few washers and somehow procured long chainring bolts should do the trick in terms of e-Tap users. The hardware might be the biggest challenge.

Does anyone with any kind of an engineering background think any of the guards in the photo listing would last a millisecond in a crash. The cardboard one ziptied and duct tape on it might not make a good gale.

Their race and their rules but has history ever shown injury to another bent rider from a chainring. Don't the feet extend beyond the chainring. In my various misdoings on a bent, I have stayed clipped in and on the bike unlike crashes in upright criterium races where the riders and bikes are flying thru the air. I wouldn;t worry about that race, it is hilly and technical enough for a selection to be made pretty quickly.

One of these might work, the 56 tooth 130 mm BCD 5 hole would probably work on a 52 or 53 Q ring.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/SHUN-Crank...hash=item3f6290bac6:m:mnKnf3HI5hlBrtlD-zj34Yg

https://www.ebay.com/itm/litepro-Fo...=222661423748486a5a20fab84257a3a7288e4f8dbdc0

 

[ed72]

The ICE guard clamps to the BB shell, looks like it would work on the V20 but not Magic

https://hostelshoppe.com/ICE-Chainring-Guard-39983/