Weigh in day today, 184.6 down 2.6 this week. Down 4.4 overall, 19 weeks.

So this is more my "real" weight than last week, but these last 5 pounds have been really tough.
Santa Fe Century this coming weekend. I was very close to not going, family stuff that makes it hard to get away for 3 or 4 days. On the other hand, it may be nice to get out of town for a few days and get away from the noise. Also, despite my best intentions the longest ride I have had this year is 60 miles, this past weekend. So the prospect of jumping to 100 is not fun. On the other hand, it will be a real test of what I think I've learned as far as pacing and fueling, as well as my fitness level.
According to the Strava fitness /freshness indicator, my fitness is as high as it was last September, when I almost completed the ECC. I weigh a little less, and the altitude is about 2000 feet less, on average. So it looks like I'm going to give it a go.

Weigh in day today, 186.2 up 1.6 this week. Down 2.8 overall, 19 weeks

So, I made the trip to Santa Fe and rode the Santa Fe Century. Yea me, I finished it and in pretty good time, for me. Moving time was 7:16 and total time was 8:38. The best part was while I was tired at the end, I still had a little left in the tank.
Factors in my favor to have a good ride:
1. The ride starts out to the south and west and finishes to the north east. There was virtually no wind for the first 3.5 hours, but at 10:30 AM it was like someone turned on the fan, and we have a pretty good 15 MPH wind. Luckily, by that point I only had another 10 miles before heading north east, so the wind helped more than it hurt.
2. I ate at least double the calories I had in past century rides. I took in 1300 to 1500 calories. Strava says I expended 3000. In the past I was probably only taking in about 800 calories.
3. Temp was great.

Best part:
The green chili cheeseburger at Santa Fe Bites restaurant.
Worst part:
Heartbreak hill broke my heart. So, heartbreak hill is .5 mile @ 14%. I thought I would be able to get up it, albeit slowly, without stopping, but I couldn't. First, I was following a guy and he literally forced me into the ditch by grinding to a stop and falling into me. Luckily I unclipped fast enough and did not fall. I got restarted(not easy at 14% grade) but ran out of power a little further up the hill. I walked maybe 500 feet past the steepest part and then was able to restart and finish it on my bike.
This strava segment includes heart break hill plus the lead up. Look at the grades from 1.2 to 1.7 miles, that is actually the hill.
https://www.strava.com/segments/3706...ll&gender=both

Hopefully there aren't sections of 14% on the Triple By Pass.

Looking at my 3 centuries. Surprised my moving time was not shorter for the SFC than the HH.

Data	HH 2013	SFC	HH 2014
Move Time	7:15:24	7:16:17	7:24:12
Total time	9:07:43	8:38:59	9:47:34
Avg Temp	97	77	99

I can't help myself, I'm a data junky. My 50.5 mile splits:
4:16
4:17.

Really happy with that. Helped it didn't get up to 100º like it does during the HNH.

HH is totally flat, right? It should have decent times even with the heat, if the wind isn't *too* bad. I might to HH this year, although I say that a lot and rarely do it.

HH is pretty flat. I measure ~ 1400 foot on my garmin for the 101 miles. My problem with the HH is I just don't have the speed to finish in < 6 hours, so I can't avoid the heat.
If you and some friends can go up there and average 18 or 19 MPH you can miss the worst of the heat.

I wasn't planning on the HH this year, after 2014 I said never again. However, there is a piece of me that is thinking about giving it a go since I feel like I'm in much better shape than I was in 2014.

If I go with friends they'll probably try to average 22-23. It'll almost surely be a suffer fest. Well, I guess it depends who I go with.

A lot of people like to try to get a sub 5 hour century at HH. They even have pace group for $200 bucks.
"HHH Endurance Ride Pace Group: Want something more? How about the fully supported, VIP Hotter’N Hell experience with the Official Pace Group? You’ll start at the front of the field, enjoy bottle hand ups and wheel support, and of course the air conditioned Pace Group Finish Line Lounge. To register for the HHH Endurance Ride Pace Group go to: Hotter’N Hell Hundred Pace Group Online Registration .The regular registration fee for the 5-hour group is $249 with an August 1, 2016 deadline. "

If I thought I could hang with them I would consider it, but I don't think it matters how much I pay or how close I drafted, I would fall out sooner or later. Most likely sooner, lol.

Weigh in day today, 185 down 1.2 this week. Down 4 overall, 20 weeks.

TBP in 37 days. I feel more optimistic about being able to complete it after the Santa Fe Century. I won't set any speed records but I think if I ride my pace I can do a decent ride.

I would still like to trim that last 5 pounds, but I didn't have a great weekend to accomplish that. 6 beers and BBQ ribs are not a weight loss recipe, lol.

Weigh in day today, 185 down 0 this week. Down 4 overall, 20 weeks.

TBP in 30 days. Collin Classic this weekend. This is a ride in the area that I've done 4 of the last 5 years, but it has a different route this year. I mentioned last year that I was riding with a couple who have a much better fitness history than I do, and I was disappointed to not do better in hanging with them past 30 miles. Well, it seems like this is the only event of the season we can agree to do together, so I'm going to try again. I am really going to push myself as hard as I can and see if I can hang with them the whole ride, 63 miles.

I've been a little bit in a quandary of the best way to prepare for the TBP given the terrain limitations in my area. I think doing a shorter ride at a higher intensity is probably better than trying to do a 10 hour ride every weekend.

What is the total climb and distance of the TBP, did a quick search, but was linked to heart surgery. lol

120 miles, 10,000 feet at elevation up to 12,000 feet. Will definitely be an aerobic event, pushing too hard and blowing up is not an option.
https://triplebypass.org/home.php

Well that is a serious total climb! Like a mountain stage of the Tdf. Is your goal to complete it, or do you have any time goals?

I also see from your link, that the high altitude will make it a lot harder, I have been at that altitude once and it was very noticeable.

What!!?!??!?

Holy **** dude

I've been at 9,000 feet and was quite tired, so it was hard to tell what was altitude and what was fatigue. My goal is to simply finish. I fished on Strava for some people who have done the ride in what I think is possible for me, and they were in the 11.5 to 12 hour elapsed range, maybe 10 to 10.5 moving. I would be happy with that. I believe I have my pacing and fueling strategy down.

I know, I'm crazy. The reason I picked this ride is one thing Marn mentioned, it is as close as I'll ever get to experience a pretty tough stage of a major pro race like the TDF. Plus it was something to shoot for to try to get in the best shape of my life. For some reason I enjoy the challenge of going uphill. I have a friend who is about my age and in as good if not better shape than me who will avoid some of the area rides if they have more than 2000 feet elevation gain in 60 miles. He hates going uphill, lol.

Friend is correct. Hills are terrible.

Well, going down hills isn't so bad.

Looking at the ride, this seems clearly more challenging than Vätternrundan, 68 miles shorter, but at altitude and like twice the elevation change. I am impressed at the undertaking and will be even more impressed if you complete it.

Hilly terrain in nice landscapes is one of the appeals of cycling, a straight flat ride is just a grind. I wish we had some mountains around here.

After you drop some of the weight you are trying to lose hills won't be so bad. I ride over some of the "hills" I used to groan at around here and barely notice them now.


Thanks. 186 miles at 5000 feet of elevation change is nothing to sneeze at. I keep telling myself the TBP is only 60 miles of riding, and 60 miles of coasting!

+11111

a flat ride in a solid group can be fun, but going over an alpine pass is just on a whole different level for me.



but even smaller stuff. battling friends or going for strava PRs, hills ftw!

You are so lucky to live close to such fantastic roads.

Yeah, like, good chance I may never see something like this

Weigh in day today, 186.5 up 1.5 this week. Down 2.5 overall, 22 weeks.

I seem destined to do the TBP at 183. So be it.

My friends bailed on the Collin Classic, so I didn't get to compare to them. Based on my time for the ride, I believe I would have stayed with them the whole ride. I did a very good ride for me, 3:51 moving and 4:15 elapsed time (60 miles). My previous best for rides close to that distance was a 4:03 moving and 4:27 elapsed in 2014.
I pushed myself a lot more than I did on the Santa Fe century. I figured if I over cooked myself I would be able to slow down as needed and still finish, but I didn't get to that point. Still felt good at the end of the ride. My endurance is the best it has ever been.

Just noticed the Saturday Triple Bypass ride is sold out. Not sure when it did, but glad I didn't wait until last minute to register.

Is TPB one of those ones that goes "both ways", i.e. you can do it east to west or west to east? I seem to recall some people doing it both ways.

My boss' boss is going to do it with a friend of his, it turns out.

Saturday is east to west, Sunday is west to east. The Sunday ride is considered to be a little harder, from what I can tell, due to the climbs being a little steeper in that direction. The double triple is doing both the Saturday and Sunday ride.