Hello TR family, I am doing the Park City P2P next month and I am looking for some help on bike set up and general advice.
I am about a 270 FTP, 190 lbs living at about 5000’. I am pretty used to doing some longer rides that are getting to 7-8000’. I generally run a 32 tooth with the 10x51 XT riding around the Tahoe area. Will that be good for the Park city trails or drop down to a 30? Riding a Ripley 4.
What is a good tire choice. I have some Recon Race, Recon and Ikon that I can throw on the bike for this ride.
Do most people wear a pack for water or just stick to a bottle in the frame and a bottle in a pocket?
Any other advice?
Thanks
I am doing PCP2P for the first time this year. So, my advice isn’t based on experience, but I’m trying to answer the same questions.
I have a similar but slightly lower w/kg ftp. For gearing, I am planning to drop from a 32T to a 28T. While most of the climbing isn’t too steep, it’s a long day in the saddle. Also, there is no place on the course where you are likely spin out your gearing so better to have more climbing gears.
For tires, I like Rekons when just riding around in PC, but am testing Ardent Race currently for less rolling resistance. Typically, we have a lot of dry and loose stuff, and the Ikon just doesn’t work for me in those conditions. (No experience with Rekon Race.) Aim for closer to 2.4 than 2.2 width for comfort and grip.
I don’t know how you could get enough carbs/electrolytes with 1-2 bottles. You are looking at 8-9 hours to complete. I’m bringing a 1.5L pack and a bottle. There are two main aid stations and two other water stations. I plan to refill the hydration pack at each main aid station with carb drink.
Be sure to download the course to your GPS. It should be well-marked, but there are a lot of intersections along the way.
Thanks Chris,
I didn’t think that there would be an opportunity to spin out much, either a lot of up or a lot of down looking at the profile. I just wasn’t sure if it got steep enough that I would need a 30 or a 28.
I was going to carry some SIS gels to supplement the Gu and Honey Stinger at the aid stations. I was going to fill the bottles at every station but not sure if they are spaced too far apart. 28 miles to the first station is a long haul without a refill but after that it looks to have good spacing. Would it be cool enough that morning to make it the 28 miles on two bottles? I only have a big bulky pack but don’t mind breaking down and getting something like the USWE Outlander.
There are a couple of spots that are a bit tough with a 32T even when riding fairly fresh. A 30T would probably be enough in normal circumstances, but I figure it’s more likely I’d regret choosing the 30T (hike-a-bike) vs the 28T. Steps is steep. Parts of Empire Link are steep. The short climb up from the second aid station is steep. The last bit of Armstrong isn’t that bad, but on Mile 57? On the descents, they are either slow (tech/switchbacks) or so fast you’ll be using brakes rather than smallest cog.
I wouldn’t dare guess the weather here on Labor Day weekend. It’s been bone dry all summer, but we’ve been pounded by rain the last couple of days. If you preload with some carbs/hydration, you can get to aid station #1, but there’s also the risk of getting in a fueling hole with 50+ miles to go. Segment 2 takes longer than Segment 1 due to the climbing/altitude and the slow descent down Johns. You’ll definitely want to use the water station at the top of T&G if doing just bottles as the time to the next aid station is greater than you might guess from distance. The final aid station is in a good spot if you need something to get to the end.
I got the USWE Outlander for this race. The other thing to consider is that almost the entire race is singletrack. I find it is a lot easier to just drink from the pack than mess with the bottle. I tend to forget to eat/drink, so I set a reminder on my Garmin. When it says drink, I drink regardless of the current trail conditions. There are spots where I would hesitate to reach for my bottle and take a hand off the bars.
Hopefully, someone with more experience can chime in. I went back and forth on gearing, but just decided if I was going to make a mistake, it would be to go to small with the chainring.
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I’m racing it for the first time as well and was just going to start this thread. How has the air quality been with the wildfires in CA?
From an equipment standpoint I will probably go with a 30t (I’m 4.2 w/kg but coming from NJ) and will run 2.35 barzo/2.2 mezcal w/ inserts. Hydration-wise it sounds like a pack might be the way to go and my wife will also be my fuel Sherpa. More importantly, for post-race recovery on Sunday we are headed to Snowbird for Oktoberfest.
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Air quality is up and down. I rode part of the course today and AQI increased from 45 to 281 in 3 hours. Ugh. Hopefully, we have some decent air on race day.
I think 30T is conservative for 4.2w/kg, but not sure how to factor altitude impact.
Per PCP2P, the average finish time is 9 hours. With the 2 main aid stations at roughly 1/3 and 2/3 intervals, that’s 3 hours between refills. So I think a pack is the way to go. Even if you are fast, it’s 2.5 hours between stations.
Snowbird Oktoberfest always a good time. 
I did p2p last time it ran and used a trail 130/120 bike, with 30t x 10-50t. My aim is completion of the course.
This year, maybe fitter, maybe wiser, I am using an XC bike, and am still going to use 30t x 10-50t again. I want help on the climbs when I’m toast.
I have been training with a 34t in PC all year, but still want that luxury 30t climb after hours in the saddle.
For the people flying in how early are you getting in? I was thinking day before for as little elevation issues as possible.
Thanks Sam, good info. What is your w/kg for reference? With you dropping down two chainring sizes you have me concerned that I should go to a 28t.
I’m flying in on Thursday from NJ. Not ideal but I figured if I had any mechanical issues I’d have a day to get them sorted.
My w/kg is 3.5. Not tested my ftp for a while. If there was no traffic and I could ride at MY pace I’d go for the 32t. But the fact I was in traffic, either going slower or faster than what I wanted wore me out faster than I’d have expected.
So I’m going to go for the 30t on a 2019 Spec Epic Evo XL, 15kgish. (I’m 6ft 5). Also going to run a more trail tire at the front for grip when I’m tired, vs speed/weight.
All season I was running ground controls as a front tire how dumb would it be to throw some fast trak on as a front? Im now down in Dallas so I wont have a chance to ride them on trail but it seems with all of the rain it’s less not gonna have as much moondust
I was planning to run a 32/9-46 till i read this thread. Think I’ll swith to a 9-50, but i cannot find a x-sync 30t (the 4 bolt) for the life of me. I do have a direct crank. Should I swap? Seems i can get a 30t in direct-x but no one has a 28t.
I did a 25 hour race in Hurricane on a 36 chain ring and 11 speed. Managed 14 laps. figure i’ll just have to hike a bike a bit here and there.
I rode the first 1/3+ on Friday (following rains) and it was still loose sand in spots (and puddles elsewhere). No rain in forecast so I would plan for dry and loose. I think slightly more tire width/grip for comfort and traction is probably better for most.
Gearing needs to consider power. I’m ~3 w/kg (at altitude), so I am going 28 / 10-51. I usually ride a 32T on those same trails. Sam indicated 3.5 w/kg going with 30 / 10-50. There are only a small handful of very steep sections, but the volume of climbing combined with the fact that it is single track with rocks, roots, sand, switchbacks, etc. just means it all adds up so, for me, I figured it’s much more likely I’d want more gears for climbing. There are very few places where faster gearing will help me anyway.
My goal is to finish. Stretch goal is under 10 hours. 
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If you follow the PCP2P FB Group you probably saw that the RD, Jay Burke, was on the cycology.fm podcast talking about the race. Having never done the race or ridden PC I found the discussion about the course extremely helpful (they go through every section of the course). In short, he talked about Maxxis Aspens not being the best choice for the course (and to run something wider than 2.2), staying on top of your nutrition on the climbs since some of the descents are pretty technical and tricky and it being difficult to run bottles or grab gels/food.
Just downloaded it. Thanks! a little late, but i didn’t get to preride most of it so I’ll take whatever intel i can get.
I have ridden the entire course this year in parts. I listened to this on my flight today. I think Jay does a great job explaining things. Don’t burn a match on Somewhere Elks. Going down John’s is tougher than climbing Jenni’s. Few, if any, of the descents allow for feeding.
In the pod, Jay says run wider tires (2.3"+) and also says something to the effect of “Maxxis Aspen is probably not the right choice.” He also strongly recommends a hydration pack… partly to carry enough fuel and partly to ease fueling on a course that makes bottle access challenging.
Having ridden the first section a few times recently, his comments about the climbing in Round Valley and on Lost Prospector made sense. There are no big climbs, but lots of punchy little climbs so by the time you get to the bottom of Pipeline (this first big climb) you have climbed a lot.
Anyway, if you are racing this year, I think that interview is definitely worth a listen.
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So my the rear shock on my epic broke and I gave it to my bike shop to send it to specialized. They called me today and said it was ready which was about a week faster than I thought. Turns out they didn’t send it and they serviced my front shock instead. I’m kind of out of options for this race either try to find someone to lend me a bike or race with a rear shock that is sagging/squeaking every pedal. What do you think is the better option at this point?
That would be a long day to deal with a broken shock. Have you looked into renting from a local bike shop? Fezzari is out of SLC…maybe you can get a demo from them. Otherwise, if you don’t want to race, you can sell your entry on the PCP2P FB.
I would just rent a bike for the day. White Pine Touring is a Specialized shop. They had Epic EVOs to rent and the going rate is $125 a day. I’d call ASAP and reserve if you want to rent.
Jan’s is their sister shop a mile away and have Santa Cruz rentals.
Cole Sports is across the street from Jan’s (not sure what they have). Contender and Storm are also nearby but not in PC proper. Contender might have some Scott XC bikes and Storm had Pivot and Yeti last time I stopped in.
Good luck and as a fellow Brain owner, I love to hate the Brain.
All you guys riding have fun out there.