Everesting & VEveresting - Discussion, Planning, Training, Tips, Etc

As with a real E, you want LOW gearing with a vE.

I may try one this winter too, as I have considered a rE as well. I have a Wahoo Climb that would also help with realism along the way.

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I train with a mountain bike so have low gearing already… 32 on front 42-10 on rear… (one of the reasons I have my realism down in the 30% region, else I find I spin out easily on flats and descents) but imagine I’d be grinding in the 42 most of the time on that climb at 100%…

Maybe stick several bricks under the front wheel for a poor mans Wahoo climb realism :wink:

I’ll keep a look out for another Zwift mass vEvesting event… see how long I can last, something to look out for after the WWDD event :slight_smile:

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So would that be 50% intensity for the entire ride, including the down hills? Or did you do 50% ftp up? I’m still unsure what intensity I should aim for. I have approximately 1 1/2h up and then 30min back down again 8x. That’s quick a bit of recovery between efforts.

Here are the rides:

https://www.trainerroad.com/career/leejonathan/rides/7046031--huntvi-hunting-everest
image

https://www.strava.com/activities/761161297

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I’m referring to .5 IF being the end result. I tried my best to ride as close to 50% when climbing, but that is almost impossible while climbing. When descending, I coasted as much as possible. In other words, I pedaled as easy as I could except during flat sections (very rare), in which case I would try to ride at 50%. However, if you are doing a proper Everesting attempt and have a decent hill selected for the task, I doubt you’ll have any flat sections. :slight_smile:

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50%? My FTP is 300w, there is noway I could climb a hill at 150 watts. I’d say 65 to 70%.

I have one failed Everesting attempt behind me and this is the mistake I made - in the end it was knee pain that made me stop.

If I did it again I’d do some low-cadence training and some squats to built strength and stability, then get an 11-32 for the event and keep my spin high.

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Sure, probably an auto-correct, but it works! :grin:

For those who cannot face hill repeats there is another way of earning the grey stripe. Check out High Rouleurs http://highrouleur.cc/the-rules/
Climb 10000 metres on a single ride with a minimum of 400km in 36 hours, rest allowed or a single ride with 10000m climbed.
After 3 failed Everest attempts due to idiocy, mechanicals and injury (n that order), I am going to attempt to be a High Rouleurs this year.

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An even bigger bumache, logistically at least for sure! I think if you live somewhere nice this would be epic. I’d hate to try that where I am currently, would be miserable for most of it, riding along dodgy roads praying you don’t get taken out in the dark :hot_face:

Would you consider trying it on Zwift as a group if the TR forum guys got it organised?

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Would you consider trying it on Zwift as a group if the TR forum guys got it organised?

Man, that sounds really dumb… count me in! :smiley::+1:t3:

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On the topic of food, I had quite an assortment for my everesting. I had a lot left over, but I didn’t lack variety.


My favorite food for the day was apple fritters:) It was very nice to have lots of choice for the 33 hours I was out there. I would recommend going overboard on the food if you can.

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Just been reading about this in tne web and lost my appetite for it immediately after seeing the stats on the official site. People doing over 300kms in 4 or 5h with over 8.000m climb… Bulshit! Even on a car or motorcycle it’s practically impossible to maintain an average speed over 60kms/h with all the curves etc.

It does seem that there are some suspicious rides - the fastest one is 4 hours, with 10 ascents. The KOM on strava for that segment is 45 minutes, and this person did 10 in a row in that time, so 24 minutes per ascent. It’s too bad that people are going out of their way to submit phony rides - it’s not like this can happen automatically when a head unit is left on after you get in the care.
I think most people are doing this to challenge themselves, not set record times. Since I’m not ‘competing’ with people like this, I’m not too concerned with the made-up rides they submit.

There seems to be errors in the Hall of Fame data for some of the entries. The entry you mention (10 ascents in 4 hours) appears on the guy’s Strava entry for the same ride as 10 ascents in 20h 44m (riding time), which is much more credible. Not sure how that or others have been entered incorrectly, as each submission is verified against the data from a rider’s head unit before it is accepted into the Hall of Fame.

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An acquaintance has done a couple. He’s well used to long days in the saddle, indeed multiple consecutive long days in the saddle:

Everesting the Devil’s Elbow

Everesting Bwlch y Groes (Bwlch y Groes is Welsh for “Pass of the Cross”) video - climbing Bwlch y Groes

He’s also had an attempt at the High Rouleurs - https://ianbarrington.com/2016/10/25/so-near-yet-so-far/

The Devil’s Elbow post goes in to the mental aspect of things: dividing the task into sub-tasks, etc.

I’m torn about doing one. Perhaps not helped by the fact that there’s half a dozen suitable hills within 5km of my house!

I’m the developer/creator of the Everesting Calculator at https://everesting.io and I’ve given Everesting a try 3 times so far. This thread is chock full of advice, but I can’t resist adding my experiences to the pile.

First try ended due to my Garmin freezing up. Everything else was going great, I was within a few laps of finishing. But when the computer died, I realized how much I was relying on that number to keep me going. I didn’t know if any data could be recovered, it was early in the morning, dark, I was in the middle of nowhere, alone, and I just couldn’t bring myself to go on.

Second try ended due to my knees hurting badly. I had picked a new hill closer to home, but it was much steeper and many times shorter, requiring many, many more reps. My knees started to ache very badly, I was hot, and a bit over 20k feet I decided it wasn’t worth it. Knees still hurt for days and days after.

Third try ended due to high temperatures. I tried again on the first hill, which wasn’t as steep. After climbing for 13 hours I entered the hottest part of the day and couldn’t continue. I sat with ice bags on me for an hour and then could only get one more lap out. The Garmin data says it was 100+ degrees F on the sunny portions of road.

To distill the essentials of what I’ve learned:

  • Bring backup equipment. Now I use 2 computers simultaneously when attempting.
  • Pick a hill with lap number you can wrap your head around, it helps to stay motivated.
  • If possible, pick a northern facing road, to minimize the sun on your back all day. Or, consider starting at the hottest point in the day, when you’re the most hydrated and fresh (trying this next time).
  • Gear down/don’t go too steep: I used a 34 cog most laps on my recent try, and I was amazed as my legs felt FINE the next day, after 18k ft of climbing… the rest of my body… not so much!
  • Bring friends. I’ve tried completely solo, and I’ve tried with friends taking shifts. There’s something about knowing you have someone waiting at the bottom of the hill for you just in case.
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Love this tool. Thanks for sharing!

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I have completed two everestings , one HRS (10k climbing metres over 300 km), failed one everesting attempt, and done a fair share of rides over 12-16 hours. Based on this, I have some experience and advice for anyone considering an everesting attempt:

  • 8-9% is probably the ideal steepness; any steeper and you risk grinding the entire ride, and any less steep and you’ll have too long a ride. 9% gives you a total of 200 km (100 km up, 100 km down), 8% equals 220 km, 7% equals 250 km, 6% equals close to 300 km. Striking the right balance is key; consider what suits your abilities best.

  • Swtichbacks and turns may make for an interesting and/or scenic climb, but they will cost you time. Same with traffic. The ideal would be a straight line, which would allow you to take in food, keep a high speed, and not have to concentrate on navigation. As such the Galibier may be better than Alpe d’Huez, for instance.

  • The climb should have a certain length, perhaps 5 km or more, so you can get into a rythm and also not feel overwhelmed by the number of reps you need to do. I’ve done 8x Alpe d’Huez and 73x Grefsenkollen in Oslo; the former is a lot easier mentally.

  • Shelter from the weather. Headwind, even 2-3 m/s, will cost you time and power. E.g. Mortirolo is up a forest, while Stelvio has large sections of open mountain.

  • Access to a base camp or some infrastructure (food, drinks, extra clothes, other supplies). I’ve had good experience with both having a car parked at the top of a climb and having a restaurant close by. Stock up with a variety of food and drinks; it is hard to predict your cravings, but you’ll probably want sweet, salt and netural stuff at different points in time.

  • Intensity factor: Aim for an IF somewhere between 0.65 and 0.72. The first few hours should feel extremely easy, but don’t underestimate how tough it will be towards the end. No point in starting hard if you can’t finish it off. You’ll probably end up with a TSS of 5-600.

  • Be prepared to hit the wall mentally. I’ve repeatedly found that it is around the 70% to finish-mark that things get very tough (typically around 4,500-6,000 metres of climbing or 8-10 hours into the ride). Keep a positive attitude and work through it.

  • Eat a lot of carb-centric food the last 48 hours prior to the ride. 12-14 grams/kg body weight works well for me. The bloated feeling and excess will be gone by the end of the ride, guaranteed! And get a lot of quality sleep the week beforehand!

  • Plan mentally, physically and logistically. Ensure all your equipment is in order, and have a backup computer/GPS too.

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Don’t understand this. Can you explain?