Hello, has anyone signed up for this race? I am looking to do it in Aug 21. I am in AZ, so have a local mountain with 6500 elevation gain in ~20 miles. With 100+ miles and 10K elevation gain; looking for training recommendations. I was considering doing my 2 hr Saturday training block rides climbing the mountain.
Also happy to hear of others signed up; it looks like a solo for me at current!
I just registered for this today. I’m assuming following the climbing road race plan in plan builder will put me on the right track for this fitness wise…but is there any way to prepare myself for the altitude? Its pretty darn flat and low elevation where I live and the altitude is the part of this I’m most worried about.
Hey, have you considered arriving early? If you could arrive a bit earlier (like a week) it could help allow time to acclimate.
And consider iron supplements (if you are low in iron)
https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/japplphysiol.00115.2018
Unfortunately that won’t be an option with work schedules etc… I think the earliest I could get there is 3 days prior to the event
Might want to read around for some info on arrival time for an altitude race. Pretty sure 3-7 days is not a good scenario if I recall correctly. I believe if you want to arrive early, you need to do so like 10 days early - if that can’t work, then arrive as close to the start time as possible. You’ll perform less than ideal and feel less than ideal arriving in that 3-8ish day window - someone smarter than me can quote the science stuff
Unfortunately there’s no shortcut to altitude acclimatization. Need to spend time at altitude. The simple answer if you can’t get to altitude beforehand is be as fit as you can prior to getting to altitude.
And on the day, adjust your pacing / expectations to compensate for the altitude.
Various studies I’ve read say to expect ~6% reduction in power for every 1000m of gain.
I’ve done this two years ago and last year a few of us did the double-triple in one day.
It’s not really a race, though you can treat it as such. There will be hundreds of people doing it ranging from Cat 1-5s doing it as a fun ride to people literally just trying to finish. It’s more of a fondo/charity vibe to be quite honest. You don’t need a license.
We all live in CO ranging from Denver to the mountains. I live at 10K’, so altitude really doesn’t bother me. It’s mostly about pacing and getting in the food/calories, to be honest. They have amazing rest stops along the way and I’m not sure how they will do it for '21, but honestly, stop for a bit at each stop, get the calories in, recharge if needed and get going.
Happy to assist with any type of questions you may have.
Oh that’s good to know. I honestly haven’t even looked at the '21 website to see what’s new with it. I do know they are shortening the route to avoid going to Avon.
Not specific to the Triple Bypass, but we trained for the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic while living in Tucson. We went up Mt Lemmon each weekend (that was my first time doing Lemmon!), and I felt pretty good doing the big ride. We arrived only the day before the ride, so maybe that helped. We weren’t going for race times; I wanted to do ok (not be last, feel decent) and finish. It was a great day.
Just wanted to share my experience in case it might help with your planning.
This is great to hear - I am in Tucson and train on Lemmon currently. Need to get to the point where I can do it 2x to prepare for the Triple Bypass… one day!
Thanks for the thoughts, this is helpful! I was curious of what to expect; sounds like a friendly event overall. Looking very forward to it!
I used plan builder to spit 17 weeks of training out for me. I used rolling road race as the race I was preparing for, although I won’t be racing just participating. PB did SSB 1 and 2, 3 weeks of Sustained Power Build and 1 week of Rolling Road Race (I think). What do you guys think? The Saturday indoor ride for the most part I will stick to, but Sunday I ride outside do my own thing, sometimes hard sometimes easy. What do you guys think? Seems like a decent enough plan.
I put it in as climbing road race even though i wont be racing it either. I think anything that puts you through sustained power build should do the trick as I’ve got to imagine that will be what you need the most for the 3 big climbs.
I put in Climbing Road Race and plan builder spit out the same plan. I was concerned there was too much base, but I am sure it will be fine.
Anyone who has ridden this in the past, or is familiar with the area. What is the terrain like in between the large mountian climbs? Is it as flat as it looks in the profile, or are there a bunch of rolling hills that just look flat in comparison on the profile sheet?
Haven’t ridden the bypass, but live in Denver. It’s rolling in between, so yeah, it just looks flat in comparison to the passes, but not crazy.
I think as much as people feeling the altitude, they feel the sun. I think people really underestimate how much more intense it feels when you’re two + miles closer to it than from sea level.
Suggestions on modifying plan for Triple Bypass. Plan Builder has me doing base 1 & 2, couple of weeks of SPB and 1 week of Rolling Road Race. Next week I start Base 2, but I am going out of town from June 23rd - 28th and July 15th - July 25th, both are vacations with the family. I come from a running background so I plan on running during the vacations as I won’t be able to bring my bike. Also, I am traveling to Tennessee for 4-5 days in July but am bringing my bike will ride everyday. My first thought is not to do any FTP tests, since I am going to miss quite a few weeks. Here is what I was thinking my option for modifying are.
Currently I am doing TR low volume with an additional 2 rides outside per week and I am running 40-45 miles per week. Yes, I could drop the running and add more cycling which would help, but I enjoy it (even in the Texas sweltering heat). I am not going for time at Triple Bypass this is enjoyment.
1 - continue as is, miss whatever is prescribed
2 - scrap the plan and do a bunch of sweet spot with a few VO2 sessions here and there
3 - do sweet spot work until 8 weeks out and swttch to climbing road race
I am tagging along for the Triple Bypass training training ride this weekend to get some sustained climbing work in. Hoping to get around 12-14 miles in before my other half comes blazing back on the downhill to meet me for the ride back.
Looking at the route for the Loveland Pass ride, it seems to be a lot on a roadside trail next to the road, and not on the road (?) which surprises me. But happily, I guess? I’ll probably be solo after the first 5 miles anyway.
I cannot tell if it’s paved, dirt, or not paved but maybe that walking trail pebble-y gravel - probably a mixture? I only have a gravel bike so it doesn’t change things but curious about the surface.
It’s all paved. Parts are on road, parts are on a feeder road next to the interstate, and other parts are on bike paths. The bike path part sounds like it would congested but it hasn’t been a problem in my experience. That said, the previous years I did it I would say there definitely was not a race atmosphere. There hasn’t even been a fixed start time in the past, there’s a window you can show up and just roll through. There’s a lunch stop in the middle and some people stop for over an hour. That is all to say that it gets really spread out over the course.
What is the terrain like in between the large mountian climbs? Is it as flat as it looks in the profile, or are there a bunch of rolling hills that just look flat in comparison on the profile sheet?
This is old, but had a chuckle. It’s definitely not flat in-between. While there’s a section that I would describe as rolling, the majority of the in-between is long but gradual climbs. Clearest example is between Idaho Springs and Loveland pass. You don’t realize it at first, but you’re gradually climbing for upwards of 30 miles straight and your legs will feel it eventually.