The Circuit of the Dales, promoted by Nelson Wheelers, is an early season classic around the roads of the Yorkshire Dales. Starting off in Ingleton, the course heads West towards Kirby Lonsdale, then north up to Sedbergh. From Sedbergh, it climbs up towards Gardsale, before the descent into Hawes. At Hawes, there is the hardest climb of the race, as you go up onto the exposed moors around Ribblehead. This moor road takes you past Ribblehead Viaduct before finishing just outside Ingleton. This year there was a full field with 153 entrants. This entry included quite a few road riders, and a big turnout from Velosure-Giordana Racing Team. There was a good prize list to celebrate Nelson Wheeler’s Centenary anniversary; and the 66th running of the Circuit of the Dales.
With Rapha Condor JLT racing in Japan / Asia, last year’s winner Richard Handley was absent. The organiser mentioned the only previous winner in the race was Martin Brass (1991).This year James Gullen of Velosure-Giordana Racing Team won in a very good time of 2.02.37. I finished second in 2.03.33. 3rd was Pete Williams (Haribo Beacon) 2:05:19
1st lady was Nina Benson Ilkley (CC) with 2-46-56.
1st Tricycle: Geoff Booker (Oxonians CC) 2-58
1st Vet: Simon Bridge Manchester Wheelers 2-06
My Race
In the past 8 days, I’ve ridden over 400 miles in an unusual burst of getting the miles in. It was helped by finishing teaching and a period of good weather. With so many miles in the legs (including a 120 mile TDF stage on Tues) I wasn’t sure whether I would come to race with great fitness – or tiredness and overtraining. I think it was a bit of both, but riding a lot does seem to make you fitter.
I spent quite a bit of time in the preceding days nervously checking the weather forecast. I always get cold doing the Circuit of the Dales, and that’s with dry weather! With the predicted rain, I spent a lot of time trying to weigh up how much clothes I should take. Should I take a spare rain jacket in case of puncture? Is the aerodynamic cost worth the greater piece of mind? In the end, the weather was much better than predicted. Apart from a few showers, it mercifully stayed dry.
Yesterday, I cycled out to Arncliffe. There was a strange fog of pollution, hanging over the Yorkshire Dales. They say it is partly dust from the Sahara, but I fear man made pollution could be making this a lot more common. Can you imagine living in a place, where it was always like this?
A very good reason for more people to cycle and leave the diesel car at home…
I went out to do a 55 mile ride, I got a runny nose, like the start of the hayfever season.
This climb to Arncliffe is always deserted. A nice cycling road, though the climb is pretty steep.
Over the years, I’ve taken a huge variety of energy bars and food on rides. These are a quick review some of the bars I buy most often.
A selection of energy bars I have a the moment. I might take this kind of selection on a long 5-6 hour ride.
What to look for in an energy bar?
High level of carbohydrate / low fat.
Mostly complex carbohydrate, with some carbohydrate which sugars. Medium GI index.
High concentration of energy for size.
I tend to take a variety of energy bars. I’m not particularly fussy which brand. But, a bit of variety helps in various aspects – even if just making eating of the bike more palatable.
Specific Cycling energy bars vs non-Specific energy bars
For a specific energy bars developed for the cycling market, you will pay around £1 – £1.50. You can get a similar level of carbohydrate through much cheaper non-specific energy bars. For example Kellogg’s Nurti Grain contains around 35g of Carb, but only costs 40p. If you don’t want to pay £1.20 for 30 grams of carbohydrate, you don’t have to.
However, I still like to pay ‘through the nose’ for branded energy bars because:
Psychological habit. You just assume if it’s more expensive, it must be better. ( a common attribute of cycling shoppers)
The energy bars tend to be more concentrated, and relatively lower fat.
I would get bored of eating Kellogg’s Nutri Grain and the like all the time.
I always like to believe manufacturer’s claims that eating their energy products will make me go ‘15% faster’ – even if it is rather a dubious claim!
Proprietary energy bars often contain trace elements and electrolytes which may help in different aspects of nutrition and energy consumption. (even if I’m not entirely sure how)
It’s handy to buy a big box of 24 energy bars. You always have something in stock to take on long rides.
Some of the best Energy bars I buy
Powerbar 55 gram- Energize
Contains slow release carbs, = brown rice, oats and maltodextrin for slow release energy.
Contains 2:1 Glucose / Fructose, which is claimed can increase total energy uptake
Some electrolyte (sodium) + vits and minerals, such as magnesium.
1.9g fat per bar
38 gram of carbohydrate (sugars 23g) , per 55 gram bar. Quite a high % of carbs which is sugar (from fructose)
Review: Quite concentrated energy source. Needs a bit of chewing and you need to take some water with it. I do like the taste of the chocolate variety. Not too sweat. Good for long rides, and very thin for slipping in back pocket. One of most expensive though. I wouldn’t use in a race, because it does slow you down a little chewing through the bar.
Mixture of GI foods. usual maltodextrin, oats, plus fructose based energy
30 gram of carbohydrate per 45 gram bar 22g sugars)
Review: These are pretty enjoyable to eat. They are moist and tasty. This is important for long rides, where you often need something attractive to get you to eat. 30 gram of carb makes it easy to calculate – 2-3 an hour. I wouldn’t just rely on eating these on a very long ride, it becomes a bit too much fruit.
As a follow up to a recent post on energy levels for cycling, I tried to measure how much I consumed during a recent 120 miles TDF stage (120 miles, 7hrs on bike, 7hrs 30min in total, including 30 mins to fix mechanicals and take photos.)
Firstly, it’s very difficult to remember how much you are eating. Even with the best of intentions, it’s hard to keep track of how much you’ve eaten / drunk.
One very rough rule of thumb is if you are drinking 400ml of energy drink per hour (30g of carb )- you need to be taking one additional 30 gram energy bar / gel per hour. If you keep an eye on your elapsed time, whenever another hour passes, take another bar / gel and check what you have drunk. This way you don’t have to count so much, but just to remember to take something on the hour.
From memory and empty energy wrappers, I think this is what I got through in the 7.5 hours on the bike.
3 litres of energy drink 4 * 750ml bottle (varying concentrations) usually a bit weaker than recommended = 180g
2 energy gels * 25g = 50g
7 or 8 energy bars * 30-35g = 255 g (inc 2* protein recovery bars towards end of ride)
1 banana * 25g = 25g
total 500g of carb / 7.5 hours = 66.3 grams an hour.
If I counted correctly, I was fairly close to the 60-70 gram limit for absorbing carbohydrate. I never bonked, though my climbing muscles got exhausted after 2,500 + metres of going uphill. No amount of powerbars can change this.
If I was racing, I would be eating less energy bars, and would be relying on just energy drink and gels.
Pacing on rolling terrain
If you want to manage a 7 hour ride, it is best to pace yourself. But, for a route like the TDF stage, that doesn’t mean a constant power – because it would take you forever to get up some of the hills. There’s also a lot of freewheeling down them.
One interesting thing that stood out, is that when you’re going along a rolling road, you can look down at your power meter, and you’re doing 350 watts (I have an FTP of around 300 watts) – You’re doing a huge power output, when you thought you were just taking it fairly steady. Yesterday I spent a lot of time above anaerobic threshold (more than 15 mins of greater than 370 watts). No wonder I was shattered for the last climb of the day.
One thing I would suggest is be careful of rolling terrain, use you’re gears liberally. You will definitely want to increase power going up hills, but for the rolling terrain, it may be best to avoid those surges of power into anaerobic threshold – save that for the really steep long climbs.
Don’t just look for the big climbs, be prepared for rolling terrain. I was a bit surprised at how hilly that route was.
Ever since the Tour de France route was published a few months ago, I’ve been planning to ride the first stage as it includes some of my favourite roads in Yorkshire. 190km is a bit out of my comfort zone, but I wanted to see what it was like to do a full stage.
Hawes United win the 2013 Wensleydale Cheese makers league – (and the Tour de France is coming to town)
In the end, I modified the route to avoid heavy traffic and ended up including some extra climbs. It turned out to be 120 miles, with 3,100 metres of climbing. It was a great day, and really enjoyed it, even if I did really suffer for the last 20 miles.
I didn’t start in Leeds, but from Menston near the A65. The A65 is not the most cycle friendly road, so just before Addingham I turned right on the B6160 towards Bolton Abbey and Burnsall. This cuts off a corner, but more importantly saves battling the articulated lorries on the Skipton bypass. The B road through Bolton Abbey and Burnsall is a really great cycling road. Little traffic and great scenery. It’s never flat and always rolling. At Grassington I rejoined the tour route proper on the B road towards Kettlewell and Bucken. After you have passed the slate mine near Grassington, this becomes a good cycle road. It wanders up the Wharfe valley through good countryside. Today the traffic was quite light.
Buckden with Kidstones pass in the distance
Kidstones Pass
Kidstones pass may only be a category 4, but it’s still pretty hard work. 130 metres of climbing, and quite steep around 16-17%. It will make a great place to watch the tour.
Descent from Kidstone pass towards Bishopdale
By the time I’d reached Aysgarth, I had only done 1 categorised climb, but noticed I’d already done 1,000 metres of climbing. It is really ‘rolling’ countryside, and the metres all add up.
Eating sufficient calories for cycling should, in theory, not be too difficult, but in practise it is easy to get it wrong.
It is surprisingly easy to ‘forget’ to take on enough energy. But, at the other extreme you can try to take on too much in a short space of time – food the body can’t digest leaving you just a bloated stomach.
It is not just amateur cyclists who struggle to get the calorie intake correct. I’ve heard many coaches of pro-teams say one of the hardest things is to get Pro-cyclists to eat and drink in sufficient quantities. I’ve heard many times Director Sportives say of a pro-cyclist – he’ll be fine so long as I can get him to eat and drink. The problem is that when you’re racing, it can feel like an effort to eat and drink.
On a personal note, I’ve often messed up 100 mile time trials (4 hours) because I didn’t take the correct levels of energy / drink. This post is partly for my own benefit.
Top tip for optimal energy intake
The maximum rate of carbohydrate consumption per hour is 60-75 g.
This figure is very important as a rough guide to how much you should eat for long rides; you want to be aiming to keep a constant carbohydrate intake around this figure.
If you are taking more, e.g. 100 grams +, you will just get stomach problems because you can’t ingest it all, the food will be sloshing around your stomach, making you feel bloated / sick.
If you only taking less – e.g. 20 grams or less, you are under-fuelling and more likely to run out of energy and end up with the dreaded ‘bonk’.
One easy way is to split up food into 25 gram units – and take 3 an hour. Or 2*35 gram units
It does requires discipline to actually take what you need. When racing, you may not feel like drinking / eating, even though you need to. You can’t rely on the normal hunger / thirst indicators. Sometimes, you can just feel too exhausted to reach for a drink. In a Timetrial you can get stuck in the aerodynamic position and not want to move around to get food.
Twice in a 100 mile race, I didn’t stop to pick up a third bottle because in the racing mindset I didn’t want to lose 5 seconds picking up a bottle. But, I ended lost a few minutes because I took on too little energy.
Don’t do something in a race, you’ve never done in training. e.g. don’t suddenly drink litres of fructose / glucose energy drink if you’ve never done that before. Your stomach may not like it! You don’t want to find out in a big sportive / race.
Remember there’s a big difference between a steady four hour endurance / training ride and racing for four hours. The calorie consumption increases significantly the more effort you make. You might survive a steady training ride on little food, but if you race hard, the energy consumption will be significantly greater.
Easy to remember hourly units of 60-70g of energy
400 ml of energy drink mixed at 5% solution (35 grams) + one energy bar (35 grams )= 70 grams
800 ml of energy drink at 6% solution (70 grams)
3 * Energy gels (25 grams)
3* bananas (25 grams)
(you will need to check the carbohydrate levels in the energy drinks / bars that you use, and make sure you check the concentration – as this alters the energy levels)
The Nick O Pendle hill climb is a testing climb from the village of Sabden Village up to the moors of Nick O Pendle. (#72 on 100 hill climbs). The climb averages approx 10%, but at the start there are a few sections of 16%. It has been used several times for the National Hill Climb Championship, including 1988 when a young Chris Boardman won his first hill climb championship, setting a course record of 3.29 (he used a 60 inch fixed). A 19 year old Malcolm Elliot was also national champion on this hill in 1980.
Course Description
Start at the lamp-post outside the apartment block on the site of the old garage in Sabden Village. Proceed up the hill to FINISH at the large stone at the start of parking area and approximately 50 yards before the crest of the hill.The course is approximately 1350 yards long and has a maximum gradient of 1 in 6.
Nick ‘O Pendle Hill climb (from Sabden)
Distance 1.2km
Avg Grade 11.1%
Max Gradient: 16%
Elev Gain 135m
Height 1,514 ft – 461 metres
Course Record: Chris Boardman 3.29 (1988 – hill climb championship)
National Hill Climb Championships at Nick o Pendle
1988
A youthful Chris Boardman takes his first National hill climb championship in 1988.
1988 – 1st Chris Boardman – 3.29, P. Sheard 3.43, P.Curran 3.43.6 (link Paul Curran’s page)
Chris Boardman had finished second by less than one second to Paul Curran in 1987. But, after winning in 1988, he told Cycling Weekly: “I’m quite satisfied with the ride. It’s nerve racking to get it all out in three minutes. Some start too fast.
1980
19 year old Malcolm Elliot (Rutland CC) on his way to the 1980 championship.Last man Jeff Williams (and 1979 Champion) in the 1980 hill climb championships. He broke his nose before the race and did the race with blood coming down his nose. At half way he was four seconds up on Elliot, but by the finish had lost out by just 0.2 seconds. A very close championship. Cycling Weekly estimated a crowd of 5,000.
1980 – 1st Malcolm Elliot – 3.33.4, 2nd Jeff Williams 3.33.6, 3rd Gareth Armitage 3.36.6
It was one of those days which made all the long, cold winter training rides feel worthwhile. Ironically, I was supposed to be racing the North Hampshire RC 19 mile TT this weekend, but it got called off due to continued flooding from the winter rain. It meant I could finally get round to riding the first ‘century’ of 2014.
At the start of the year, I’d planned to do a 100 mile ride every week as preparation for 100 mile TT and 12 hour, but, like many good intentions, it never happened – not even once. The furthest I’ve been in 2014, is about 80 miles. But, with the temperature creeping up to 20 degrees, it was a good a day as any. It was the first ride of the year in shorts, the first where suncream was needed, and the first without a winter jacket. Since it was a day of firsts and I didn’t need a winter jacket, I took the national hill climb jerseys for its first outing. Though rather inappropriately I spent the first 40 miles plodding along remorselessly flat roads towards Chinnor and Wendover. I wanted to do some new climbs and new roads so I headed East over to Ivinghoe and Whipsnade. It’s a bit further out that usual, but it was good to get some new roads in. I climbed up Ivinghoe ridge, Whipsnade hill, Aldbury hill, Aston Hill (Wendover) and finished off with Whiteleaf and Wardrobes. I could have done more hills, but I didn’t want to overdo it. I’m off to Yorkshire next week, and would like to try ride some of the Tour de France stages.
Compared to earlier in the week, I felt good. Although I wasn’t going full pelt up the hills, there seemed to be more power in the tank than at any other time of the year. I have an unscientific theory, that if the temperature goes over 20 degrees, I can ride at least 1mph / 20 watts faster.
‘Faster: The Obsession, Science and Luck behind the World’s fastest cyclists‘ by Michael Hutchinson is a look at what makes the world’s elite cyclists go faster. Is speed due to natural talent, genetics, training, diet, cutting edge technical equipment or a combination of all of these? During his investigation, Hutchinson reveals a lot about his own personal journey / obsession with going faster, which is both revealing and humorous. He also gets to interview some of the leading figures within the successful British Cycling / Team Sky set up.
I read it pretty fast, and enjoyed it because:
I share a similar obsession with trying to go faster on the bike (though realising I haven’t spent the past 10 years sleeping in an altitude tent does make me feel a bit like an amateur)
It is written well, with a good sense of humour. This is a big plus for another cycling book. Somehow Hutchinson can even make the law of turbulence seem entertaining (not that I really understood what he was saying about turbulence) If there is one criticism of his writing style, there is often one too many sub-clauses; the end of the sentence is quite divergent from the start – but since I’m quite prone to liberally adding sub-clauses myself – it’s a fault I’m happy to forgive.
Within the several chapters, there are a few nuggets of wisdom which actually might help me go faster (or at least save me thousands of pounds in spending money on things which aren’t worth the outlay.)
It’s a bit of a coup to get so many interviews with the hierarchy of Team Sky and British Cycling. There is often good advice from the Team Sky / British Cycling coaches. I like the fact pro-cyclists say they don’t mind sharing interval sessions. As they say it’s one thing to know what to do, it’s another thing to actually do it.
Personal journey
I never relate so well to general cycling ‘text’ books on how to go faster. But, I do enjoy reading the personal experiences of cyclists who have been there and done it, especially if they do similar races to myself. It is interesting to read the highs and lows of Hutchinson’s career from going too hard at the 2002 Manchester Commonwealth Games (finishing in 15th place – though Hutchinson says he could never bear to look where he finished) to a creditable 4th place in 2006 and 2010. Overall, you get the impression of someone enjoying the process of trying to go faster, even if it involves some crazy decisions. But, this ongoing effort seems to mean as much as the 50 domestic national titles. Important for those who don’t have 50 national titles.
I took this photo at the 2010 National Champs – Hutchinson talking to B.Wiggins. The third rider is some unknown amateur, such is cycling.
Power figures and different types of riders
These days, there is always an interest in power figures (especially when you’ve just bought one and think it might be broken because the power output is much less than you would like to say). If I remember correctly, Hutchinson says he peaked at 470 watts for a 10 mile TT. His recovery rides are at an average power that I might struggle to do if I went all out in a 10 mile TT. Power figures are not dropped in just to boast about, there is usually a point, often self-deprecating as to why very big VO2 max and high power figures are not necessarily enough.
Just to prove the point, I can claim to be one of the very few people to beat Hutchinson in a time trial, when I wasn’t even riding a TT bike, but a humble road bike. (2012 National hill climb on Long Hill). That’s the beauty of cycling, Hutchinson can catch me for 16 minutes in the National 100 mile TT, but when the road goes uphill, it can favour a completely different kind of rider. From the likes of track sprinters like Chris Hoy to mountain goats like me, there is a huge range of disciplines which suit different riders. This is something the book explains quite well Hutchinson was built for endurance time trials. A near perfect physiology, but a cautionary reminder, even with 50 national titles, there is always someone more talented, more lucky in the genetic lottery, or better at training and all the rest.
I read the book in two days, but, I’m already struggling to remember what I’ve read. It is definitely the kind of book which benefits from careful reading, and also reading a second time. There are some concepts which are more complicated than just ‘pedalare’ The irony of reading the book, is that I approached it very much with the same motivation as Hutchinson approaches cycling – what can I take out of this book which makes me go faster on the bike? I’m sure many cyclists will relate to that constant questioning of life decisions
– but, what will make me go faster?
It’s the question always at the back of your mind. The book helps to clarify how as athletes we carry this motive around with us. It’s not quite that we need to set up Aerodynamics and Speed Freaks Anonymous, but it is a humorously cautionary tale on the fine line between dedication and obsession.
Nuggets of Wisdom
After reading the book, some nuggets of wisdom which I remember:
The best skinsuit may make substantially more improvements in aerodynamics than upgrading your bike. Why spend £7,000 on a new time trial bike, when you can spend £1,000 on a cutting edge skin suit? (because the bike looks better?) If you really want to go faster for free, forget breaking into a bank to find £7,000 for a new bike. Try breaking into British Cycling headquarters and find those skinsuits put in a cardboard box after the UCI decided they were too fast. Somewhere in a Manchester cupboard is aerodynamic gold.
This is a review of Quarq power meters which I’ve been using for the past six months.
I bought the model Quarq Elsa. It weighs 735g. It was 85 grams lighter than the cheaper Riken model. The Riken has non hollow crank arms and a heavier spider. The Quarq Elsa cost me around £1,500 from local bike shop.
How the Quarq works
The Quarq power meters work by measuring the torque (pressure) applied to the chainset and crank * cadence. Torque is measured by tiny strain gauges, which measure how much pressure is applied. The power readings are relayed by ANT to a suitable power device.
Much of the cost of the Quarq is the cranks themselves. If you already have a good crank, you are buying a surplus crank arm. It does make it quite an expensive power meter, especially with cheaper models coming on the market.
To swap between bikes, you need to remove the crank arm and fit to the bottom bracket. This job is OK, if you have the right tools. In theory, I should be swapping the Quarq power meter between my road bike and TT bike quite frequently. But, in practise, I don’t want even that 10-15 minute job. So I just end up leaving it on one time trial bike. I like riding with a power meter, but not enough to religiously change it every time I swap bikes.
Features of the Quarq Elsa
Power Balance. The Else features independent left-right leg power measurement. Quarq say that it measures total torque on left / right leg. It doesn’t just include the down-force, but also measures power from pulling up on the pedal. It displays the power balance as the % of work done with left / right, e.g. 45% / 55%. I haven’t yet used this feature, because left/right is not supported by a Garmin 500. However, it is a good feature to have given my past left-right leg imbalances. I would like to upgrade my Garmin, when it seems like there is money to justify thr expense.
