The planning resumed this past April but there was a possible show stopper….while doing some landscaping and wheeling around some heavy loads of river rock, I tweaked my knee….I had arthroscopic in Dec 2012…. the surgery was for “Plica syndrome”….back in 1993 all the floating cartilage was removed, so maybe I’m good for another 20yrs….anyway, in May even though the recovery had gone well, I felt like I needed to give the knee a real test before going ahead with any further planning….
The Prelude
The perfect opportunity for a test ride was during our visit to Tucson, AZ for a week at the end of May….a ride out to climb Kitt Peak (6,880ft) would give me an idea of two things, where my fitness level was and the main reason, to see if my knee would be ok….Kitt Peak is 12 mile climb with an average grade of 8%....plus on the way you get to go over Gates Pass, which is a nice little 2-3 mile climb, ride past the Sonora Desert Museum and through Saguaro National Park West….I left the house around 5:30am with cool temps in the low 60’s….it was a total of 65 miles to the top of the peak….the winds didn’t pick up until on my way down the mountain and in some sections I actually had to pedal to keep up speed even though it was downhill…. the total distance was round trip was 125 miles as I came back using a slightly different route....all in all, it was really a perfect day with temps getting to only the mid 90’s…. the knee felt fine during the ride and the next morning too….so test complete, the ride to Washington, D.C. was on….
Kitt Peak entrance sign with telescopes seen up at the summit
The Route
Texas - Get on Hwy 79 E a few miles from the house to Marquez TX, Hwy 7 E to Lufkin TX, Hwy 103 to Milam TX, then cross the Sabine River into Louisiana….
Louisiana - Hwy 21 / 6 to Natchitoches LA, then Hwy 84 E and cross the Mississippi River into Natchez MS….
Mississippi – Alabama – Tennessee - in Natchez get on the Natchez Trace Parkway (NTP) for 444 miles, through Mississippi, Alabama and into Tennessee to just south of Nashville….at the end of the NTP it’s Hwy 100 to Franklin TN, then Hwy 96 through Murfreesboro TN to Hwy 70 E to Crossville TN….head south on Hwy 126 / 28 S to Hwy 68 S through Spring City TN….it gets a little tricky to follow here….Hwy 68 / 27 S to Hwy 68 / 304 E to Hwy 411 to Hwy 72 S to Hwy 129 / 115 S to the Foothills Pkwy to Hwy 73 / 321….into Smoky Mt National Park on Little River Rd to Hwy441 N to Gatlinburg TN…. back on to Hwy 441 S through Smoky Mt National Park…. in the park at Newfound Gap (5048ft) is the North Carolina state line….here there is a detour (self imposed) for a 14 mile roundtrip climb up Clingmans Dome (6643ft), the highest point in TN….
North Carolina – exit the National Park and begin the Blue Ridge Parkway (BRP) at mile mark 470 at the southern entrance (the mile markers on the BRP are 0 – 470 north to south)….just north of Asheville NC at BRP mile 355 is another 9.6 mile detour (self imposed) for a roundtrip climb up Mt Mitchell (6684ft), the highest peak on the east of the Mississippi….yes, it’s even higher than the infamous Mt Washington in NH….
Virginia – the state line is BRP mile 217….the BRP ends at mile 0 near Waynesboro VA and transitions to Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park for a total of 105 miles ….Skyline Drive exits the National Park in Front Royal, VA….from Front Royal it’s east another 45 miles or so to my sister’s house in Ashburn VA, which is 35 miles west of Washington DC….
This is a point to point ride, meaning there are motel reservations already made along the way…. I have done rides both ways, point to point and winging it….each method has pluses and minuses….this way, there is no worry about where I will be staying….on the other hand, failure to reach a destination causes things to fall down like a row of dominos….if something happens that causes a delay, whether its bike mechanical, injury, illness or the weather, getting back on track as fast as possible the key….hopefully the worst that happens is some motel deposit money is lost….
The totals are 15 days and approximately 1900+ miles….day 16 is an optional ride of the final 35 miles into downtown DC….while not meaning to trivialize the earlier days of the ride, from the last half of Day 9 to the first half of Day 15 there is ~700 miles with ~70,000ft of climbing....it could be argued that the Appalachians are not as difficult as climbing passes in the Rocky Mountains with the higher elevations….and the Pacific Coast Hwy climbing may not be considered very difficult as there are very few true mountains.…for me, the climbing on the coast day after day proved to be as difficult as the climbing I have done in the Rockies….up is up, no matter where you play….
Nutrition will be a very important the entire time….if things old true to form I will have to force myself to eat huge amounts of calories the first couple of days….after that, it will not be a problem, as there will constant hunger….any mistake that causes a “bonk” will make for a very long day….
Safety is always a concern when you are riding a bike….it doesn’t matter whether you ride solo or in a group and are 1 mile or 1000 miles from your house….I feel like it’s best to just try and blend in like I’m from the last town just past and only going as far as the next town up ahead….I also feel it’s safer to share as little personal information as possible with people you meet along the way….the key is to be aware of your surroundings and to keep your wits about you….Sandy and I are also going to use a phone tracking app, Life360….we have been testing for a few days and it works pretty well….
The Preparation
Over the last 8 years I have averaged between 8k–10k miles a year on the bike….roughly 95% of that mileage has been commuting to work averaging 200 miles a week.…that’s lays the foundation for jump starting an increase in fitness….the last 8-10 weeks “training camp” was started….the focus was on a good diet (not calorie reduction), an increase in resistance and intensity while increasing interval duration during my commutes and also trying to get adequate rest and recovery….
With a better diet you get three things, a gain in strength, faster recovery from workouts and reduced the risk of illness….a bonus is some weight loss, but that wasn’t an objective….my target weight for the start of ride was ~122lbs….I feel like my power to weight ratio is optimal there….this comes from my days of participating in triathlons and was my weight before starting the bike ride from Austin to Boulder back in 2005….I have been steady at ~122lbs for the last 3-4 weeks down from ~125lbs, so “bonus”….
Instead of “getting the lead out”, the lead has been going in….normally I ride everyday with 10lbs of lead shot in my backpack to increase the effort of my commute….to raise that effort even more, over the past 8 weeks 5lbs of additional lead was added every 2 weeks for a max of 25lbs….the last 4 weeks riding my backpack has weighed a total 32lbs combined with the lead and stuff that I normally carry like tubes, tools, rain gear, clothes etc ….with the additional weight it becomes very easy to elevate the heart rate (HR) when riding…. and to be honest, as dumb as this may sound, prior to my knee surgery in Dec I carried the full 25lbs of lead on every commute for over 6yrs ….post surgery I can no longer bring myself to bear the level of misery that all the extra weight adds….
The pack weight for the trip is ~15lbs….an additional decrease of weight is the bike….my Light Speed commuter bike is significantly heavier then the bike that will be used for the trip….the total weight decrease for the ride with everything combined, the backpack (12lbs), the bike (4lbs) and me (3lbs) is at least 19lbs….there is a calculation for determining the % of effort reduced for every Kg of weight eliminated and this should be close to 10%....
In summary, the approach has been to do short duration rides (20 miles) and frequent high HR intervals…. there were no 100+ mile training rides other than my “test ride” in May….I have easily done over 1000 100+ training rides….that is nothing exceptional for anyone who has trained for ½ and full Ironman triathlons over the years….for me now, with few exceptions, there is no desire to it….doing anything with feeling like you “have to” or “need to” when you don’t want to is no fun….it is difficult not to think about what I “could have” or “should have” done to prepare….there is always something more….but sooner or later you have to let it go and just trust your training…. finally, regardless of what’s done in preparation, when a ride is 5 or 10 or 15 days long and averages 120+ miles a day, you are going to suffer on some days….
The Equipment List
Everything on the list serves a purpose….the lights are for the tunnels on the BRP and Skyline Dr. (17 on Day 10 alone) but are obviously carried for early or late day riding….Gore-Tex is the best you can have for riding all day in the crappiest weather which I am prepared to do….there are enough tools to fix just about anything or at least be able to limp to a bike shop for a repair….to get the pack as light as possible, final decisions made whether an item was in or out was determined not just by the functionality, but also the weight in grams….
The Dedication
To my Dad, Albert W. Sawicki Sr., aka “Dear Old Dad”, “Big Al”, “Daddio”, “Popsicle”, “Grampa”….he passed away in Aug 2012 and rests now with the loving vigil of my sister Joyce at the beautiful VA Cemetery in Concord, NH….my Dad was a well respected Tooling Engineer….he could also fix and build anything…. whatever abilities I may have in that regard I learned from him…. he was a kind, sweet and charming person ….his “political correctness” was not quite up to today’s standards but certainly part of who he was …. some of my most wonderful memories are when we traveled to Ironman triathlons together…. this guy was a chick magnet and made friends everywhere we went….and he was always there for me in every way…. with regard to this ride there’s no doubt he would ask “who’s bright idea was this?”….yet at the same time, he would support the idea 100%....and sooner or later you knew this was coming: “you’re a pain in ass…no, you can’t be because a pain in the ass goes away and you’re still here”….yup, I’m still here Dad…. I love and miss you all the time….your spirit will be with me in my head and in my heart….
My Dad relaxing in Kona…. In loving memory of my Dad: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hUcImTDprM
The Acknowledgements
Mom
Speaking of safety, I always have Sandy’s mom, Genny Allen, working her hot line to the Lord for me….Sandy and I have talked about this several times and we have no doubt that she has a direct prayer line….I am absolutely convinced this has already protected me many times on the bike….so Mom, if you don’t mind, please keep the lines of communication extra wide open for the next couple weeks….maybe I can bribe you with plenty of the coffee you like….sorry to miss your visit but I am glad you will be here with Sandy while I am gone….
Sandy
There is no way this ride would be possible without the support and commitment from Sandy….everything falls on her while I’m gone and it’s not easy….especially meeting the demands of “the herd”….hope they let you sleep until at least 4am….
Nico, the elder, Kemp, the dad, Pilot, the son, Kona, the mom; aka “the herd”
Nothing is normal about riding and eating on a bike and living out of a backpack day after day…. Sandy is my lifeline and anchor to normalcy….when information is needed, i.e. weather, hotel, food, a bike shop, directions etc, Sandy does the research so I can keep the cranks turning….when I have moments of disappointment, discouragement or frustration, she provides love, encouragement and a positive focus….together we have done this several times before and so once again “sail away with me honey”….I love you….
Finally
The day that once seemed so far away and would never get here has finally arrived….the planning is done…. the training is over….my nervousness and excitement has that distinct feeling similar to the night before a big race….but this is just a bike ride….a long ride, but still, just a ride and so now the fun part starts….thanks in advance for following along….
WOOOOO
ReplyDeleteGood luck on your journey! I can't wait to read your updates along the way. Be safe!
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