The Road Map

The view from FOLLOW heading north out of Blythe CA into a super hot day two of RAW.

All you need is the plan, the road map, and the courage to press on to your destination." -Earl Nightingale

The Plan and the Road Map

It's been one year since "Day Zero", the day I committed to training and entering RAW 2019, with the ultimate goal of attempting the full RAAM in the future.  Over that next month or so, a more detailed plan developed that included a 500-mile class ultra in 2019, Race Across the West (930 miles, 3-4 days) in 2020, and finally, perhaps, an attempt at the full RAAM (3072 miles, 10-12 days).  I was building on a successful ride at the Hoodoo 300 in 2017.  At the time, one of my cycling friends remarked that 300 miles was too much, to which I replied "If it did not seem like too much, it would not be what it is."    Now, two years later 300 and 500 miles are challenging but feel straight forward.  RAW 2020 and RAAM 2021 will be the next steps in the progression.

August 2018
320 miles in 19:04

August 2019
511 miles in 42:20
​Qualified for RAAM

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If it did not seem like too much, it would not be what it is.

The plan is simple progression to longer and longer events, accumulating experience and fitness along the way.  Of course, like all plans, we had our detours along the way. After being surrounded by a few too many life-changing experiences of colleagues and friends, I decided to attempt RAW a year early, and DNFed in the desert in Salome AZ.  Still, it was valuable and the experience for both crew and racer will prove itself in 2020.  After the DNF we regrouped and completed Hoodoo 500 ten weeks later.  Most of Hoodoo went spectacularly, but miles 320 to 410 were a spectacular slowdown and loss of mindfulness.  Again, more important lessons and experience working through that and knowing that we can get my wheels back on and moving well.   The experience showed that at RAW 2019, when I DNFed just beyound Hope AZ, I was actually no where near beyond hope.

335 miles into RAW and RAAM, the route turns right and continues to climb out of the desert towards Congress and Prescot. We would call in our 2019 DNF 8 miles past here in Salome.

With the Hoodoo 500 finish, I'm now a RAAM qualifier. The idea of being qualified for RAAM is exciting and stirs emotions that I cannot describe and don't fully understand.  It is tempting to throw caution to the wind and line up for RAAM 2020. However, being qualified for RAAM, and being ready to line up in Oceanside for 12 days and 3000 miles are two different things. In my mind, RAW still is the quintessential prerequisite for RAAM.  Having the confidence of successfully riding from Oceanside to Durango in under 92 hours will be critical when riding down the The Strand from the RAAM start in 2021, turning right, and knowing that the task ahead is 3071.2 miles to Annapolis MD.  With RAW 2020, Hoodoo 500 2020, and another early season ultra in 2021, my crew and I will accumulate nearly 2000 additional miles of experience.  I will build another 19 months of fitness.  We will have 12 additional months to muster the crew and the logistics tail to follow me across the country.

What to repeat and what to refine

To excel in any endeavor, one must take an approach of mindful observation and continual improvement.  Ultracycling is no different, but does take this to an extreme. Unlike traditional bike racing where I used to race 20 or 30 times a year, the mind, body, crew, and bank account can only accommodate a few ultracycling events.  At most, there are a few ultracycling events a year, and perhaps one or two RAAM attempts in most people's lifetime.  One must pay attention and learn purposefully from each.  Yet another unique aspect of ultracycling is that there is a lot to figure out on your own.  The published literature on training and nutrition are thin compared to other sports.  Even the scientific literature is thin, and tends to be merely observational accounts of what and how much one athlete or another ate combined with some pre- and post-race body composition measurements.  

One of the reasons I started the blog was to leave a trail, not for others to follow, but for others to consider.  I hope it will find some aspiring athlete that wants to step into the ultra, and help them get started in the right direction.  I openly share my training plan, race plans, course reconnoitering, and other thoughts.  The blog helps me organize those thoughts.  The www site serves as a tool for the crew.  I hope others find it a useful place to start.

Now with 35 years of racing, and two years of road ultras (and that Dirty Kanza thing in 2014), there are some things to repeat, and some things to refine.  Here is a quick list.  

• Training: I was pretty happy with how the training went.  I had a very detailed multi-phase plan, week by week, that included the ultras and the traditional racing.  Documenting that plan helped integrate my own experience and ideas with the different approaches documented by others into a coherent plan.  The year came in around 25,000 km in volume, and 7-8 hour single rides became routine.  The schedule included Tour of the Gila and RAW.  Hoodoo was tossed in on the coattails of RAW.   The adjustments going into next year are simple (and a blog for another day), but include: (a) less structure, (b) less focus on double and triple long rides, but longer weekly rides, (c) one less stage race early in the year, and (d) including more speed work early season now that I have a 25,000 km/year base built. Tour of the Gila is still in there, and will likely to be in 2021 as well.  I just enjoy Gila too much, classic epic stage racing, and with a combined 40+/50+/60+ field, there are only so many more years I can be competitive there.

• Feeding: My feed has evolved.  At Hoodoo, I exclusively used a custom Infint mix with 300 cal/bottle, and a high dose of electrolytes with BCAAs and protein.  Other than some comfort food, the Infinit mix was >95% of calories consumed.  It was simple for the crew to mix and feed.  Total caloric intake is easy to measure and monitor.  It worked.  On unsupported long rides, it's compact and allows me to carry 8-10 hours of feed without stopping for snacks at various convenience stores. It's actually cheaper by calorie than other mixes and bars combined.  Into next year, I'm going to experiment with adding the median chain triglycerides (MCT) powder back in as the stomach will take it and get the early bottles up to 400 cal/bottle.  The scientific literature would suggest that MCTs can be absorbed independently without impacting the carbohydrate digestion (see Jeukendrup 1995).  I think the extra 100 calories an hour will make a big difference later in RAAM. I've also added a second custom Infint mix based on their Jet Fuel mix with a big dose of caffeine to replace the over-fizzy but fun tiny can of Coke.  I was so impressed with Infinit, after being initially skeptical of custom mixes, I became in Infinit Ambassador.  

You can try Infinit Mix yourself, and are welcome to use my discount count INFINIT-Pearce.

7 hours of feed, two bottles and five refills. 2100 calories. Just need to find a few water sources.

• Cooling: Staying cool across the desert is critical to a successful RAW and RAAM.  Living in Tucson, I had become quite accustomed to 1-2 hours in > 100F since I bike commute all summer.  Unfortunately, going in to RAW 2019, Tucson was unseasonably cool--right up to race week.  Mentally I was prepared for the extreme heat to begin in Borrego and extend a few hours into the evening.  I was not expecting > 100F for most of the afternoon climbing out of Oceanside, and all of day two, and did not adjust my plans.  For RAW, I invested in a cooling vest, spare inserts, and a dedicated high end cooler just for the inserts.  It was a failed approach.  The front inserts hung pointlessly off my chest.  The rear inserts quickly warmed up.  The cooler did not keep the spare inserts cold enough.  Basically it was a warm, heavy vest that needed a lot of attention.   
• Cooling 2020. For next year, we are taking a different strategy.  Lots of ice, and covering up.  The crew says they can supply as much ice as I can go through, and I will test that.  (They said that in 2019, but I did not listen.) We have an "innovative" clothing strategy to hold the ice close to the chest (watch my OhioRAAM interview in February 2020 for an interesting discussion on this topic and more with Shu Pillinger).  I have new white arm and leg coolers.  Finally we will try harder not to spend too much time off the bike and not get caught out between Parker and Salome at midday.

The cooling vest for RAW 2019... that didn't work.

• Bike: My primary bike for RAW and Hoodoo was my Serotta HSG.  This was my team bike back in 2007 when I rode with Bethel Cycles team in New England.  I had some of my best racing seasons on this bike.  Serotta only made a few of these--mine is serial number #49.  The HSG was before its time as an endurance race bike.  Its been upgraded to a 11-speed mechanical Dura-Ace drivetrain, and most recently with a bullhorn/aerobar cockpit.  The aerobars and cockpit stay on year around at this point so that I can become accustomed to that position. The stock Profile F-35 pads have been replaced with Cee Gees Cushy's.  Lighting is all Light & Motion--bright, aero, compact, and quick charging. The L&M mounts allow me to mount a second light for follow-not-required races like Hoodoo, and for technical descents.  After experimenting with a noseless saddle, I'm back to a more traditional endurance saddle.  The spare bike, my Specialized Tarmac, just watches me ride from the top of the car.  I used to think of it as the "climbing" bike, but analysis with bikecalculator shows any slight advantage climbing is more than offset by non-aero position and the time and disruption of changing bikes.  

• Bike RAAM 2021: I'm hoping to add an updated version of the Serotta for RAAM, with similar geometry on a newer frame, an all carbon bullhorn/aerobar cockpit, and electronic Dura-Ace drivetrain.  I'm looking for a local shop to partner with and make it a very special ultrabike.

The ultrabikes go to Vegas! in route to the Hoodoo 500 2019. The spare rides on the right for safe access in case of a bike change.

• There are more, the value of reconnoitering, lessons with crewing and provisioning, the tips and tricks to survive the days before the start in Oceanside.  I'll detail these over the next year.  Its all about purposeful learning and continual improvement.

There is no unfinished business, only destinations not yet reached

"Unfinished Business" is nearly a term-of-art in ultracycling.  Most often, you hear from ultracyclists when they talk about returning to an event that they previously DNFed.  Dex Tooke's titled his captivating book about returning to RAAM in 2011 after his DNF the year before after a 299 hour/2808 effort "Unfinished Business."  ​I want to return to RAW in 2020.  In conversation, other riders have told me "you have unfinished business at RAW".   Yet, when I consider my desire to return to RAW, and ultimately to RAAM, I do not see it as unfinished business.  I see myself on a personal journey, a voluntary one--with no obligations, no "business" to complete.  Instead, RAW and RAAM are waypoints on a journey--destinations I have yet to reach.  The journey continues.

​My RAAM Story, Day 73, 580 days to RAAM 2021.

Mile 503 of RAW and RAAM: AZ-260 heading out of Camp Verde starting the 28 mile/5000' climb up to the San Francisco Plateau... about 100 miles to Flagstaff.