I only pedal when I have to.
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I bought a bike with a 42 and 10-50 a little while ago. This week was the first week Iāve been able to test it out on similar terrain and Iāve been super happy with it.
I spin out the 42 10 fairly regularly but like others have said itās not a concern for Unbound.
The 50 isnāt a necessity but I definitely like having it.
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GRX 2x setup 48/31 up front. Currently thinking 11-30 out back. I am considering a 14-28, but am going to test it out on some gravel rollers to see if it is feasible. Thinking behind the 14-28 is to keep the jumps to a minimum, just not sure if a 31/28 is as low as I want to go, but thatās why Iām going to test it on some gravel rollers.
Hmmm. The RideWithGPS map shows 5200ft of elevation but the Garmin route shows half that for the 100 mile course.
I wonder which is more accurate. (Please God, let it be Garmin.)
ETA: Strava shows ~4100. So any elevation under 5200 is a win, I guess.
Having just come off a Sunday race that was 96 miles an 10k of climbing so any of the listed will be ābetterā than what I have been doing.
UBG site says the same as RwGPS 5,200ā
Garmin 2,500ā
Strava 4,500ā
Someone go pre-ride that an let us know for sure?
I uploaded the .gpx file to Strava and noted a segment called āsome big frigginā hill in the middle of nowhere.ā So we have that to look forward to.
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Thatās funny. I took a look also and found āDied and came back as a cowboy, I call that reintarnationā. Not very long, but looks steep.
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Iām not seeing any single climb thatās intimidating, itās little ones over and over and overā¦ What TR workout preps one for this type of terrain?
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I canāt take this video seriously, with that amount of beard oil 
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It wasnāt much of a Course Previewā¦.more of a āTour of the Aid Stationsā. 
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would I be crazy to ride my speedplay pedals and road shoes on the 200 course? I saw the Flobikes video on potential mud at mile 152 and it has me thinking about switching to some SPD stuff I have but I have spent most of all my riding this last couple years in the speedplays and road shoes.
I was on the fence about this last year and was pretty convinced I could do it in my road shoes as well. Ultimately I switched to spd pedals and didnāt regret it as I did have to do some unexpected walking when the going got tough. You definitely can do it with road shoes if your day goes perfectly, and Iām sure plenty of people do. Just be prepared that you may have some moments of difficulty if youāre forced to walk for any reason.
Yes.
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I concur! Donāt mean to start a road vs off road cleat argument, but if you have reasonably stiff shoes and good 2 bolt cleats, youāre not losing much if anything by going with gravel/mtb shoes.
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Especially when you are talking about Speedplay road pedals off-roadā¦if you know you arenāt gonna have to get off the bike, fine. But there is no guarantee of that in KSā¦creek crossings, getting stopped on climbs because someone 30 riders in front of you loses traction, etc. Just not worth the risk for arguably no benefit.
Agree with others, no way Iād run speedplays. As much as I love my zeroās for road, they become completely unusable with the smallest amount of mud in the cleat.
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Some may recall me posting of my COVID experience which only seemed to cost about a week and a half of training. Being that it was right after a training camp, I even felt that maybe the forced rest was like a blessing in disguise. Resume training with four weeks to go, no worries.
Or maybe, there should have been worries. A week after resuming training, after a nice week topped by good volume on the weekend, I felt oddly tired on Sunday night. But we all know that fatigue leads to fast, so no worriesā¦
The day after, on Monday, I noticed a lingering headache and felt a weird burning on my right cheek and had conversations with myself over the balance of long-term skin health with endurance cycling. Must need better sunscreen.
On Tuesday, the symptoms continued with the addition of what I felt was a sunburn on my scalp. Huh, must keep cap on when outdoors unless riding and wearing a helmet. Training resumes, feeling pretty good!
Wednesday was much of the same, but the itchy burning cheek was starting to look like a rash. Weird. Also, dialed back the training for I felt unusually fatigued.
Thursday, a revelation. 1+1+1+1=4. Shingles. Quick visit to doctor and get some antiviral meds and an appointment to the ophthalmologist in hopes of protecting the eye on the affected side of my face. All this was followed by high hopes of a quick recovery and return to plan.
Friday, Saturday, Sundayā¦no return to normal for some time. In fact, Friday was the most uncomfortable day I recall having, ever. Since then, each day has been a bit better, but the symptoms continue in various formats and levels and a slowly decreasing fever.
Why do I write this? Weāve all heard and read about the impact of training stress AND life stress on oneās body. This is an example of what can happen when the cup overfloweth. The signs are not necessarily easy to recognize, especially if there is a constant load of fatigue from training possibly masking the life stress effects. As amateur athletes, we may at times feel comfortable approaching professional volumes of training without consideration of the fact we have other things in life to deal with as well. Yes, this is not news to any of us, but just because we can doesnāt mean we should.
It has now been almost two weeks since the onset of symptoms, and Iāve felt relatively good the last four days, with the exception of a lingering mild headache and super sensitive skin, both just on the right side of my head. Iām not at all sure whether Iāll be at the start line at Unbound, but I have almost two weeks to make that decision.
I returned to the bike yesterday, did an easy hour at IF .65, systems felt pretty good. Today, I did a little more endurance, just over 3 hours at IF .7. Again felt pretty good, albeit my HR was a bit higher than I expected. Going to take tomorrow off and dabble with more endurance and some tempo next week. I know Iāve lost fitness, and my immune system is in recovery, so maximizing rest/sleep and getting my legs back in the game seems to be the best thing I can do at this point.
Even if I decide to race, Iāll be adjusting my plan and expectations, for I know the load this race can put on oneās body and I donāt want to take (too many) risks with my health. Best case scenario, I figure I could back off on my targets and still have a chance to beat the sun. Worst case scenario: I decide to not start, Iāll join my wifeās crew and it will be the super crew of her dreams!
Stay healthy peeps!
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I hope your have a quick recovery.
Reminder that if you havenāt had the Shingles vaccine yet, get it. Now. You donāt want to mess with this schitt.
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Oh dang. Sorry to hear. Take it easy and definitely take care of you first.