Last weekend was busy for me. An old friend from out of town came to visit. So on Friday evening we went out for a dinner together. On Saturday morning I snuck in a 28.3km run. In the afternoon, I went to see The Dark Knight Rises with my friend. Then we were up until one in the morning playing board games.
And the next day I got up at five o’clock to go for a 175km bike ride.
Most people will train a long time for an event of physical endurance. Apparently I just do them on impulse.
The Tour d’Alberta. Three days before, I signed up because a friend suggested it. And of course, I’m not going to do anything less than epic, so I chose the full 175km course.
The longest I had ever cycled before was about 56km. My bicycle is about three months old. Two weeks ago I was on the Sinister 7. The day before, the run of 28.3km. At five o’clock I was up, functioning on four hours of sleep, and we drove up north for the start at seven.
It was a well run event, and it left me free from worry. There were lots of aid stations, so I didn’t need to worry about food. Mechanics on motorcycles were always going by, so I didn’t need to worry about breakdowns.
I did need to worry about the pain in my seat. At about the halfway point, it was becoming clear I hadn’t sat in a bicycle seat for long enough to get used to it. Shifting and standing was necessary. The other problem was my hands were aching from pressing against the handlebars. Maybe I should have worn gloves? Would they have helped?
I did approach the whole event from the perspective of a runner. There were four ways this was apparent.
First, I tracked the distance remaining by comparing to ultramarathons. After the first aid station, I only had a Sinister 7 to do. The second left me with only a Death Race. Third was a Blackfoot. It did feel strange when I had to compare to only a marathon.
Second, I announced intentions to pass. I find that runners seem to be more friendly and vocal than cyclists. As a runner, I say good morning and let people know I’m about to pass. When the 100km group (of 700 people) met up with the 175km group (of 240 people) the roads got very crowded. I let people know I needed to pass, and then thanked them when I did. Not many other people did that.
Third, I learned about physics. There was a gentleman I passed, who I noticed was right behind me immediately afterwards. My first thought was, that he was faster than he had seemed, so I tried to pull to the side and insist that he go ahead. I found out that he didn’t want to pass, as he was using me to tow him along. This is called drafting. He didn’t ask for permission to do this. Is this normal behaviour for cyclists? It felt really creepy.
Finally, there are more cute girl cyclists than there are cute girl runners. I don’t know what to do with this information, but I feel I should do something.
In the end, I crossed the finish line at about seven hours and seventeen minutes. And there I was presented the award for finishing.
Last year, there was a medal. But they had polled the participants to see if they would prefer something more practical. However, they instead decided to give something more IMPRACTICAL. When you are at the level that would do this kind of event, the last thing you need is another plastic water bottle.
There was a supposed pasta dinner afterwards. I took one look at it and felt sick. I know I should have eaten, but I just did not feel like I could. I ate a bit of fruit, then we went home where I slept and suffered through the sunburn. In my defence, I did put on sunscreen, but I missed the edges of my clothes. And really, when you are out for over seven hours in hot weather, there is only so much sunscreen can do.
Erik's Blog
Convenient object lessons for the majority
Oh, Erik, you never cease to amaze and bewilder me. I’ve been riding for 5 years, and could barely do the 100km if I trained all season. You, after 3 months, decide to go whole hog, is not the surprising part. The surprising part is that you didn’t learn up all about bike culture before doing so.
Yes, drafting is normal. Also, roadies aren’t known for being the friendliest, politest people. They are considered nuts and hardcore amongst those cyclists that don’t consider themselves roadies. And by roadies, I don’t mean people who ride road bikes, I mean people who cruise the highways, ride on the white line to stay straight (and too close to traffic), who wear clothes that make them look like a human race car, and like to ride FAST. They cycle in packs, and they draft – a pack is called a peloton.
Please don’t become a roadie. I like you the way you are. 🙂
Also, you should reapply sunscreen every once in a while – it washes off when you sweat.
To answer your question regarding drafting etiquette, in a race you do not need to ask permission to draft, however if you are drafting it is good etiquette to do some of the work at the front. Working together with fellow cyclist is a great way to improve your average speed.
In regards to passing, when passing for safety it is a good idea to let the other riders know that you are passing, especially if the road is on the narrow side or if the other rider is in the middle of the lane, normally I would say something like “on your right” to let the other rider know I am passing on the right, if there is plenty of room and the rider is staying left (in Australia we ride on the left) I think it is polite to give the person a friendly greeting or a few words of encouragement.
Not being a roadie, just a tourist (tour-er?) I probably have a different perspective from some cyclists, but I think it is incredibly rude to draft without permission. Drafting is not without risk — if you brake suddenly or if the drafter is not paying sufficient attention, it’s quite possible to run into each other and have a rather nasty collision. I think it’s fine to ask a stranger to please go draft someone else if you’re not keen on it.
As for the gloves… yes, you need them. Ones with really good padding in the places normally at rest on your handlebars. I discovered on this tour that mine aren’t terrific and need to go get some new ones – my hands were unhappy with me by the end of things.
As for the seat, first, if you haven’t, get padded bike shorts and see if that helps. If it’s not sufficient, we recommend a Brooks saddle. It won’t be cheap — think $100 — and at first you’ll think this was the worst idea ever — but for long rides, Brooks are the best by a long shot!!