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Hoodoo 300 Revisited

12/27/2018

This recap of my second ultracycling race, the Hoodoo 300 in August 2018, was originally posted on the Tucson Masters Cycling website shortly after the event. Its been expanded a bit here and some additional photos and retrospective observations added. Hoodoo was a great event and experience, and was the catalyst for re-energizing my dream of attempting RAAM someday.

As many of you know, all summer long I’ve been starting the team rides early, and finishing late, training for my first ultra-cycling event, the Hoodoo 300, up in St. George UT. This was my first real ultra–I did Dirty Kanza back in 2014 (203 miles on gravel in 14 hours). I was excited about a new challenge. The route includes 309 miles across some of the best scenery in Utah and extreme northern Arizona, with 17,000 feet of climbing.

The first 80 miles St. George to Fredonia were the toughest. It’s a pretty good climb at 28 miles out of Hurricane, then 50 miles of narrow, busy highway, and a nagging head-breeze. It was frustrating, but the locals had told me the winds would shift heading north out of Fredonia through Kanab–they sort of did. I breezed through the first time check, Cathy checked me in and I picked up the tailwind to Kanab. Finally 7:31 into the ride, I crested Gravel Pass (7460′), and picked up the tailwind again and long gentle descent into Panguith and Time Station 2.

The Hoodoo Start/Finish Line set up in the hotel canopy the day before the event.

I had a soft rear tire at the top of the climb out of Hurricane, but the radio worked, and the crew was ready for a quick wheel change at the first support point. Unfortunately, the spacing on my spare wheels is not identical, and there were several stops to adjust the derailleur, before changing back to the primary wheel. Another lesson... take the time and get the wheel change right. Second lesson, if possible, have identical spare wheels.

I also owe a thanks to Colin Ng's crew, who took the time to help Cathy repair the flat, and get the primary wheel back up and ready so they could all keep chasing us down the road towards Fredonia. Crew help crew... it's a great sense of sportsmanship out there.

Leaving Panguitch (156 miles), there is a tough little climb as you gain 2000′ up into the mountains heading toward Duck Creek. Bill Packard (Phoenix) and I must have passed each other 6 or 8 times through here as we both suffered a bit and had to stop for food. Bill had been hovering 3 minutes up on me most of the last 160 miles

The climb to Duck Creek was the first departure from the 100% energy food. To this point, I had been on a steady diet of Clif Bars and "Hoodoo CytoBottles". A Hoodoo CytoBottle was 24 oz of water with two scoops of Cytomax and one scoop of Cytocarb (pure maltodextrin). They tasted sort of like hummingbird food, and at 230 calories a bottle, was the most calories I could get into a drinkable bottle. I had not developed the 40% calories by fat approach at that point and I believe the cravings for "real food" were the result. My crew also shared half a Subway turkey sandwich, which was a nice change to fresh food. Some cantaloupe helped hold off some cramps. I have no idea where the crew came up with cantaloupe--they were awesome.

Turning left towards Mammoth Creek, we joined the Tour of Utah Stage 2 route. I picked up a baggie of potato chips from my crew, and started down the Black Rock Canyon descent, named for the young lava flow defining the left side of the road. I was in a rush by this point, hoping to summit the top of Cedar Canyon so I could descend into Cedar City before dark. Descending Black Rock Canyon at 35-40 mph, eating potato chips, I looked to the left and there was the cliffs in Bryce Canyon, brightly lit with the red sunset across a huge meadow with a herd of antelope! Epic… 180 miles, 11 hours on the bike, descending into the evening, 57 years old, still moving well and feeling good, wildlife, awesome scenery. That made the top ten list.

I stopped and mounted up the lights at the top of Cedar Canyon right at the Tour of Utah KOM line, and started down the hill. I’d easily make Cedar City, 18 miles, and 3200 feet down, by dark. There is really only one technical turn on the descent, the S turn someone ironically at Mile Post 13. Safely around that, another epic view with the steep rocky slope of Blowhard Mountain deep red in the setting sun… another 45 mph quick view and epic moment. Unfortunately, on the descent, the crew went ahead and stopped to put the “orange triangle” on the back of the car, and did not see me fly by at 45 mph. They wait, thought I crashed or flatted, and went back up looking for me. I kept wondering what was taking them so long. No cell phone (my was charging in the car and there was no coverage in the Canyon), no radio. We lost nearly half an hour finding each other at the unmanned Time Station in Cedar City (basically a Chevron parking lot).

The spectacular descent of Cedar Canyon in twilight. My support crew, still in leapfrog mode, could not get around me.

There are several lessons here looking forward to RAW. Scouting the route via Google, I knew the descent well. I knew it was non-technical, except for the double hairpin at milepost 13. I had watched the pro field at the Tour of Utah come around the same corners, overcooking the second, in the recent TV coverage of the ToU. The detailed time sheet helped ensure we got the top of the descent before dark and descended in daylight. Planning pays off.

The harder lesson showed the importance of rider/crew communications. Communication mistakes cost half an hour in Cedar City and created a considerable amount of stress and worry about each other mid-race. I tried to make the most of the time, eating what I had left, changing clothes. I should have had a token amount of money. If you pass your crew, always make sure they see you! During leapfrog support, always have a cell phone with you. Be prepared to use a race monitor at home as a single point of contact--they could see my position on the GPS tracker and relate it to my crew, even if I could not reach the crew. Overall, we had way too much stopped time at Hoodoo. We are working on that for RAW.

The crew finally arrived, more bottles, more snacks, and I headed out solo, while they crew got gas, and had the most delightful time blasting down the gentle descent toward Newcastle. This was the first moment where I was really certain I had this-I would finish. Soon, the radio announced the crew had rejoined, and they took up follow, with twin orange lights on the roof, and the slow moving triangle. Oddly, Henry Mancini’s “Baby Elephant Walk” popped into my head. It would become a bit of a touchstone keeping me rolling through the night, over the final two climbs, and back into St. George. It’s a great little tune.

Over the next 4 hours, Enterprise, Central, Veyo, and two unnamed summits just seemed to pass with little effort and little perception of time. In the bright moonlight, I could see the terrain ahead, but little else. At 1:40 am, we reached to top of Snow Canyon, 295 miles. From here, the crew had to leave me to my own for the final 14 miles down Snow Canyon and the final dash across St. George (race permits did not allow cars in Snow Canyon). It was somehow fitting to cover the last 34 minutes solo, unsupported, with the Baby Elephant Walk still in my head.

As with Kanza, I found that I could quickly get my mind out of thinking “its just another 240 miles…”, and framed it as getting to the next town, the next checkpoint, the next landmark. The time passed quickly and the training made it actually feel pretty straight forward. Sure, there was cramps to manage, the scary 30 min miscommunication with the crew descending Cedar Canyon when we lost each other, and two sandwich stops, but all in all, I felt good and strong to the end. In my mind, I have a list of 10 or so “epic moments” in cycling, ranging from solo breakaways in major races, to private more retrospective moments that just put a kid like smile on my face. At least two of those moments have been added to the list from The Hoodoo.

Night direct follow, shortly after midnight after almost 17 hours of riding. Only 2 hours to go.

We had a great lighting approach to Hoodoo. I have commuted at night for 30 years, and had a lot of experience with it. For daylight, I had two Cygolite Hotshot Pro 150s on the rear and a Cygolite Dash Pro 600 on the front. You cannot beat the Dash 600 as a daylight beacon. Its bright enough to get by at night if need be. On the front after dark we had a Niterider Pro 2800 Enduro. The Enduro batteries have a USB port, and allowed me to charge my Wahoo bike computer, and keep the backlight on. I also had a Niterider Lumina OLED 1100 on my helmet. It was the backup light (at Hoodoo, direct follow is not required, and with redundant lights you can make your own way at night as we did briefly out of Panguitch). The helmet mounted light also let me look around, and encouraged me to move my neck and not stay stuck on a single spot in front of me.

For RAW, daylight safety will be more important, and since nighttime follow is required, we will have a single front light, but enough to get me down the descents near Prescott if out outrun the vehicle briefly. On bike charging of the communication system and bike computer will also be critical.

Ultracycling is pretty grass roots. Nine solo racers started the 300 (actually 309) mile event, and 11 started the 500 (actually 532.6 miles, that seems to be an ultra thing, whats another 10 or 30 miles after all). We had only two DNFs and one DNS in the 300, but the 500 was cruel, leaving only four solo finishers, and seven DNFs. Ouch. The finish is anticlimatic to say the least. My crew, and the race director meeting me at the finish, which was set up right outside the lobby door at the otherwise quiet hotel.
My crew was awesome. As hard as 19 h on the bike might been, 19 h of driving across Utah 10 miles at a time, looking for places to pull off, mixing drinks, shopping for food cravings, and then following at night for 120 miles at 18 mph is not easy either. Cathy, my wife, and her sister did a fantastic job. The Tucson Masters Cycling support training, and Joel’s help tricking out the car with signs and lights is deeply appreciated. I’ll be back… 500 next year (actually 532.6) [note: that plan changed... now its RAW 2019!]. That will push beyond 24 h and through a sleep cycle–there are sure to be new challenges and personal discoveries there. And, more epic moments await.

After 19 hours and 309 miles, the 2 am finish is rather unembellished ending.

Looking back, Hoodoo was a great confidence builder. Finishing my first 300+ mile seemed to most be to an audacious goal. I remember telling a racing friend of mine who said it "seemed like too much", that if it did not seem like too much, it would not be what it is". Planning, preparation, and execution led to a successful ride. My original plan to do Hoodoo 500 in 2019, RAW in 2020, and RAAM in 2021 was accelerated as a result. Now the goal is RAW 2019.

My RAW Story, Day 47. 165 days, 17 hours to RAW 2019.

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Start of Endurance Block Two: Kitt Peak--There and Back Again

12/16/2018

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See the entire Kitt Peak photo galery here.

This weekend was the first week of the second endurance block in the training plan, and it got off to a pretty good start. This five week block is broken up by Christmas, and has its three big back-to-back weekends scheduled around the family visit and Christmas Day. From a progression standpoint, it's the block that raises the bar from 5 hour/7 hour weekend blocks to 6-7h/8-10 h. I expected it would be difficult the first week, and it was a challenge. When I had the opportunity to join some of the University of Arizona (UA) cycling team on a round trip to Kitt Peak on Sunday, I jumped on the opportunity. It would be a 140 mile round trip from the house.

Kitt Peak is an awesome climb, and underappreciated compared to the more popular Mt. Lemmon. The fact that the Mt. Lemmon climb starts from the edge of town, while Kitt Peak is a 40 mile ride to the base is probably the reason. But, Kitt Peak is a spectacular climb, 12 miles at 5-8%, nice wide smooth roads, and almost no traffic. Riding with the UA cycling and triathlon guys was a real pleasure. I started cycling seriously 32 years ago when I was in college, so it's like a journey in time to ride with them. I feel blessed to be still be able to keep up with college cyclists. Seeing first hand the impact collegiate cycling has on the sport, and these guys college experience was just fabulous and this led to several very enjoyable conversations along the way.

Assessing the week, it feels like a great start. The Edge evaluation and Maria Crawford's support Friday (see my previous Blog on that here), and Sunday's epic ride up Kitt Peak is a great start. The progression on the weekend doubles is on track. It still leaves me doing the math twice when I realize I rode 112 miles Saturday, 144 today, and 477 miles this week--but the training plan has made that feel pretty straight forward. I'm tired tonight, but its about the level of fatigue I feel like I should have.

I'm still not eating enough on the bike... I "only" ate 2520 calories on the bike today, that's 325 calories an hour. The ride was 4790 calories! That deficit over the course of a RAW day would accumulate to almost 7000 calories, and over the entire event to 21,000 calories. I still need to eat more, even if my riding partners already think I am this overpacked rolling panty. Next week, I start experimenting with my homemade Keto Butter/Honey Stinger Gel combo. I'm hoping this will get the carb/fat ratio I want, and the caloric density I can carry.

My RAW Story, Day 36. 176 days, 16 hours to RAW 2019.

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My afternoon at Edge Integrative Wellness!

12/14/2018

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Today I had my first visit over to Edge Integrative Wellness. Edge has brought me on board as a sponsored athlete and is helping me with nutrition and body composition analysis--basically making sure I'm eating optimally and developing my body through training and not wasting it away. After the visit, I really get what Maria means by "Integrative Wellness".

I have an accurate assessment of my body composition: 9% body fat, and detailed knowledge about my hydration and body composition with her InBody 570. The device was really amazing, and no more invasive than getting weighed barefoot while holding handlebars. Through the blood examination I learned I can do better with micronutrients, improve my food absorption, and should eat more good fat. Maria could tell all that by studying my blood samples through the microscope while I followed along on a video monitor and she explained what she was seeing. Even before today, Maria and Edge had been helping me understand the need for more fat, both on and off the bike, which has helped me craft the feeding approach on the bike. Those of you that know me know that I am hard to impress--today I was super impressed. Check out the videos below, and the Edge Facebook feed.

I'll be introducing the RAW 2019 crew shortly, but am thrilled to know that Maria will be along for the RAW 2019 as a key member of the crew. Her nutritional knowledge will be invaluable, and she is a gifted athlete as well. If we have a medical emergency, we will have her there as well. I've always strived to build teams with the best people, and I'm really humbled by the team we are assembling for RAW 2019 (and hopefully RAAM 2020/2021). All I need to do is keep the bike moving east.

My RAW Story, Day 34. 178 days, 16 hours to RAW 2019.

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The Feed Wagon

12/12/2018

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My new favorite on-bike energy bar. Not all carbohydrate--50% calories by fat.

I've talked about nutritional training for RAW before, and it is mentioned several times in my training plan as well. When you race a traditional bike race, we leave a significant energy deficit that we refill in the hours and days after the event. Typically this is a recovery drink or meal immediately afterwards, and our normal diet over the next 24 hours. From an energy perspective, it restores the muscle glycogen we used for energy. Chocolate milk and various commercial recovery drinks are often used. My favorite is a smoothie with 1.5 cups of 2% milk, a whey protein powder, and a frozen banana supplemented with a branched chain amino acid (BCAA) supplement. The difficulty so many inexperienced racers have with multi day stage races has its root to the deficit they incrementally build day to day by not completely refilling these stores.

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Sunsets and a Durango Sunrise

12/11/2018

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"When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments. Here was a machine of precision and balance for the convenience of man. And (unlike subsequent inventions for man's convenience) the more he used it, the fitter his body became. Here, for once, was a product of man's brain that was entirely beneficial to those who used it, and of no harm or irritation to others. Progress should have stopped when man invented the bicycle."
~Elizabeth West, Hovel in the Hills

Picture Rocks at sunset on my evening bike commute.

As observed by Elizabeth West in Hovel in the Hills, the bicycle is a truly remarkable, efficient, and optimized machine. On a bicycle, a fit human can cross the country in less than 8 days or complete RAW in under 3 days, sprint in the velodrome at speeds over 50 mph, and descend mountain passes at even faster speeds. All on a machine that weighs less than 18 lbs. Sunset and twilight are equally pure and beautiful. To be able to enjoy them both at the same time is really special.

I've commuted by bike for most if not all of my professional life--nearly 30 years now. Each sunrise and sunset is special. Each is different. Each is more special while riding a bike. Even on a cloudless day, daylight gives way to the subtle hues of twilight, then darkness. As an astronomer, I've always enjoyed twilight as daylight fades and reveals the wonders of the heavens. During RAW, I'll likely see three sunsets. If all goes well, the first evening sunset should be rolling into Brawley CA--welcome relief from what will likely be 105 F heat in the desert. Sunset on day two will be near Prescott AZ, with the climb to Mingus Summit and descent down Hull Canyon into Jerome taking place during evening twilight. Sunset on day three should be somewhere between Tuba City and Monument Valley. Looking at the time sheet, it's most likely that Monument Valley will be under the full moon.

Perhaps most exciting about RAW is that my third sunrise on the bike should be somewhere between Cortez CO and Durango, perhaps near Mesa Verde, making the 44 mile "sprint" for the finish. I bet that will be a memorable sunrise.

Day 31, 181 days, 16 hours to RAW 2019.

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Reflections on Endurance Block 1

12/8/2018

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This weekend concluded the first of endurance training blocks, and offers a natural time to reflect, assess progress relative to the goals of the training block, and to make any observations and adjustments looking forward. The focus of this block was to start to make back-to-back 100+ mile rides "normal", and to extend the longer ride up beyond 7 hours (~130 miles). It is also an opportunity to review the progress in the nutritional training and logistics and planning towards the RAW. I'll update both in a later Blog, but here I'd like to reflect on the first four weeks of the now defined journey to RAW 2019.

The short story is that I feel really good about completing this first block:

Completed three > 7 h rides in good form
Completed two two-day back-to-back > 5 h rides
2440 km (1515 miles) in four weeks
My feeding on the bike is > 350 cal/hour on the long rides consistently
My weight is right where I was targeting

Click to see the entire training plan. I've put it out there hoping my cycling peers will give some feedback. The more input and review, the better the plan will be.

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Unexpected Things

12/2/2018

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Sunday

This was the end of week three of the first big four-week endurance training block for RAW, and I am looking forward to a consolidation (recovery) week. I'll be posting the entire training plan shortly, and look forward to learn what people think of it, and how I could adjust it. I'll also talk about what I mean by a "consolidation" week versus "recovery". This was also week two of the double-5+ hour rides, and week 3 of 7+ hour rides. I'll recap the training block next week, but it was a good start. I got both double-long rides in, got the mid-week ride up near four hours.

Saturday's 7:15/133 mile ride felt reasonably straightforward--more on that below, but today's 5 h ride tested me mentally. I was tired, it was windy, cloudy, damp, and cold (at least for Tucson), and the normal bright scenery was replaced by the flat greys of a rare Tucson cloudy day. I had several reasons to quit (tired, already had a huge week, cold, distracted), but no good reason to fail. I was unfocused, and fell behind early on both hydration and feeding. This is one of those critical crew functions at RAW, keep me on track with hydration and feeding. I thought about how I would get through times like these in RAW, and would have to just keep the bike rolling. In reality, all those reasons to quit today were really the exact reasons to gut through the final 2 hours. I thought about how I would reflect upon this block if it was just "almost all checkmarks" on its goals, vs. finishing up. I finished the 5 hours, and finished feeling pretty good in the end.

Really, it was cold... 61 deg. Brr.

At the low point in the ride, I stopped to take the gloomy picture, winds, clouds.... then, not two minutes later rolling back through Marana was the most unexpected thing. It was this sign: "You are AWESOME!" just stuck there at the end of the Interstate off ramp. Go figure. I don't know if it was just someone's cheerful thought, or left over from El Tour, but it put a smile on my face, and I finished up.

Finally, tailwinds for the final 40 minutes, through the cotton fields of Marana with the snowy Catalina Mountains in the background.

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Hoodoo 300 Revisited

Start of Endurance Block Two: Kitt Peak--There and Back Again

My afternoon at Edge Integrative Wellness!

The Feed Wagon

Sunsets and a Durango Sunrise

Reflections on Endurance Block 1

Unexpected Things

Sunday

Eric Pearce

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