Literally about to post this same questions. New to the area and have some setups I would like to test.
Does anyone know of an empty development/office block/etc.?

I don't know about routes near Boulder, but south of Denver near Centennial Airport, Meridian, AFW has some great open roads that are relatively empty in the evenings and weekends. Meridian has weeknight Crits, or used to anyway.

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The secret of a long life is you try not to shorten it.
-Nobody

How long of a route do you need for this?
How do you pace for it?
I'm going to give this a try this off season and I live south of 470 off of 25 near there.

I've used loops or out-and-backs only a few hundred meters long -- the shorter they are (while still allowing you to cover the range of speeds needed), the more loops you can do.

As for pacing, you don't want to hold either a constant pace or a constant power. You'll want to vary speed and power over the course of the run. A change in elevation helps you to change speed and power easily but if you test on the flat you should vary speed and power intentionally.

If you are using an out and back with a rise at either end but too narrow to corner in the aerobars what is your way of dealing with the turn section where you have to sit up?

I snip out the turn. I'll pick a landmark like a tree or driveway or telephone pole just short of the turnaround, then hit the brakes *hard* right there so the VE profile will jump up at that spot and it'll be clear where I hit the brakes. It's kind of a pain in the butt to do this so I prefer not to use that kind of test venue if I don't need to -- but sometimes that's all people have available to them so I figured it'd be good to see if there was a way to salvage data from that. When you paste the file back together after the snip there'll almost always be a "discontinuity" in the VE profile but usually it'll be pretty small.

Got it, thanks. Sounds workable, but not ideal.

Exactly. If you can find a place where you can turn around, that's better. If you can't, but everything else about the location works, this is a work-around. You have to balance off the effort of finding and traveling to an "ideal" site against the effort of snipping out the turnaround.

If you are using an out and back with a rise at either end but too narrow to corner in the aerobars what is your way of dealing with the turn section where you have to sit up?

When you make the turn at 5mph it won't matter if you are in the aerobars. The contribution of aero drag will be nil, since the power to overcome aero drag goes up with the cube of speed.

A course with a rise at each end is probably the easiest to find in Boulder. Look for a sparsely populated residential area with good pavement. I think it's best if it isn't too short, so you spend a decent % at race speed or higher. You can't help going slow at the turns. Time the effort so you don't use the brakes and try to be smooth when turning.

I don't know too much about the exact protocol, but I'd think Neva rd would be perfect? You have a slight downward gradient from 36, then FAST surface (not sure how long it needs to be). If you need a longer stretch then Nelson Rd eastbound has a long stretch of fast road.

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Are you ready to do an Ultraman? | How I calculate Ironman race fueling | Strength Training for Athletes |

Recommendations.

Yes, I was thinking Neva or the access road to the res. Both have that sort of shape although both are also very exposed to wind.

True - there is always wind on Neva. What about that southbound downhill on 75th? Just after Goose Pt Rd? Probably also has some wind exposure but less than Neva?

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Are you ready to do an Ultraman? | How I calculate Ironman race fueling | Strength Training for Athletes |

Looks interesting. I don't think the pavement is great there and maybe a little heavier car traffic. Ideal would be an empty sub division/industrial park.

I know its not Boulder, but at Bear Creek State Park near Morrison there is a great out and back section that has a good hill and turn around spot.

I am in Denver and am working on mapping out a good section at Cherry Creek Res. Calm in the mornings. The section I am thinking is an out and back with a loop turn vs. a 180. The is enough elevation for aerolab I believe.

Maybe some of us locals could arrange a day to test together with various equipment?

Cherry Creek dam would be ideal. Unfortunate we can't ride it

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The secret of a long life is you try not to shorten it.
-Nobody

I am in... Anyone else near Denver?

What are the thoughts on using an outdoor velodrome?

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http://www.tri-monkey.co.uk

Might be good but you have to get certified and then the need the track to yourself to get good readings, I will check into it.

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BoulderCyclingCoach.com

I have access to the track both form myself and TT bike. It's a 460m concrete oval. My thinking was that a loop could consist of 1 lap, half on the blue line, half on the top, giving elevation change, pace and power changes.

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http://www.tri-monkey.co.uk

Is anyone else really disappointed that Boulder does not have a great well known testing venue. What are all those people doing out there?

You don't have to do that. Ride the same line. Just slowly ramp up your pace from slow up to TT speed over the course of, say, 3 laps, then back down over, say, 1 lap. That'll be a bit more than a mile, with four laps.

Is there a reason for speed variation, if he isn't interested in separating Crr?

Nelson out and back to the west.

and good job telling me you were coming to CU. ;)

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36 kona qualifiers 2006-'23 - 3 Kona Podiums - 4 OA IM AG wins - 5 IM AG wins - 18 70.3 AG wins
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