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2009 The Grand Tour 300 Page 1
We help athletes
achieve their goals
to win, race, or be
fit, and to discover
for themselves our
passion for cycling.
achieve their goals
to win, race, or be
fit, and to discover
for themselves our
passion for cycling.
This would be a good time to thank my sponsors who make it possible for me to ride my bike. Sportquest, Nathan Sports, Niterider, Motor Tabs, Skins, and Speedfil. At home I prepared nutrition flasks to carry with me. The mix that works for me is five (5) scoops of Carbo-Pro powder and 1/4 cup of water. I had 500 calories in each Speedfil soft flask. I then had 1,200 calories in each of the Nathan hip flasks. For a total of 3,400 calories. Then you add Motor Tabs to your bottle for electrolytes! To me the only logical choice for a 400 mile timed event is a Time Trial bicycle. The energy savings on such a long distance event is enormous. I borrowed a Zipp 404 front clincher wheel from Nytro. I used my rear wheel which is a 24H Velocity Deep V with Power Tap power meter. I knew pacing was the key to the 400 mile event. In my opinion, racing Ultras with a power meter is essential! |
The Grand Tour has multiple ride options. I decided last minute to register for the Quad or 400 mile event. The climbing is concentrated in the front-end of the event. But the urban areas make it really difficult to maintain a high average speed. I was not able to finish the 400 miles in the required 24hour time period. I got lost twice and crashed on the descent to Ojai (~ mile 105). After my crash things slowed down quite a bit but yet I rode another 200 miles to finish the event. DNF was not an option. However, I had gotten way behind schedule by mile 168. I then backed off the 400 mile pace. The bright side is even with all the things that went wrong I beat my 2004 time by 17 minutes and set a new Personal Record for the Highland Triple Century Total Time of 20 hours 30 minutes. |
THE GRAND TOUR 300 In 1959, Eisenhower was President, 10-speed bicycles were virtually unknown, Greg LeMond wasn't even born yet, and the Los Angeles Wheelmen began holding an annual Double Century -- the "Grand Tour". This is the original Double in the U.S. and also includes 300 and 400 mile options -- all of which count towards the California Triple Crown. The Traditional Double offers a bit of everything you think of when you think of California: the ocean, valleys, mountains, movie star homes, orange groves, ranches, vegetable fields and oil fields. Looping through rural Ventura County, the route contains some hills but is still one of the easiest Double Centuries we know of. There is only one very difficult hill and the club places a rest stop at the top to help you out. The scenery, the low traffic and the generally favorable winds will help you forget the hills and make this a very enjoyable Double. SOURCE |
The Graphs |
The Ride |
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Introduction |
Pre-Ride Preparation |
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As I was getting ready to roll out I ran into my old friend Francis Ignacio and all his merry men and women from Adobo Velo. He's a great guy and a great cyclist as well. I had arrived at 3:30 am for early check-in. By 4:15 am I was ready to go. I was scheduled to ride with Wyatt Wood a six-time 400 mile finisher. We both waited until exactly 4:30 and punched out. According to the screen shot above 109 riders had already left. I must have passed at least 50 of them before getting to Port Hueneme Checkpoint #1 35.5 miles into the event. |
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