I'd be interested in riding both ways, but we could have flexible options for those with schedule constraints.

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I just returned from a week honeymoon in Whistler. All I can say is that I am so jealous of all of you that live in that vicinity. Wow is it gorgeous! I wish I could live near by and ride with you :)

(I will say that all of the construction for Olympic prep might make riding a bit sketchy on some of 99. Man did it take forever to get from Vancouver to Whistler with the construction!)

anne

Route Recon Update:

I was up at Callaghan this past weekend (just South of Whistler) and stopped in Squamish on the way. I chatted with a guy in the bike shop for a while and paid closer attention than usual to the shoulder - it's pretty good all the way from Squamish North. There are a few places where due to construction it's gone (or gravel), but for the most part it's solid (and nicely paved).

If anyone wants, a Squamish to Lillooet ride would be 190k - and a challenging ride to boot. Adding the Squamish leg tacks on about 60k.

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I have been riding Whistler to Pemberton and back. The shoulder on that section is also decent. I am still struggling on my hills. It obviously takes longer than 4 weeks to make gains on riding these kinds of hills. I'm still game to attempt a long ride and my husband said he would drive our vehicle to support the ride. That first weekend of August still looks good. Stay in touch and lets get a definitive plan going.

What gearing do you have on your bike? As I'm sure you're well aware, there are some significant climbs on that route, and even the "less significant" ones will add up over the course of the day. You don't necessarily need to go compact or triple, but if you've got a 12/23 you might want to look at a 12/27 or even a 13/29 cassette.

I'll be riding my compact 50/36 chainrings and have been toying with installing a 13/27 myself...

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I had a 12/27 put on for this terrain. I'm still struggling with my hills though. My heart stays relatively low, but my quads have a lot of burning. I'm a fairly small woman and I think I just need to pay my dues. My hill running is really improving, but I spent a month running hills up here to prepare for Comfortably Numb. That is probably four weeks I should have been riding more. Anyway...I'm riding almost every other day now and trying to pay my dues. I know my bike fit is good and I have tried to rule out any other little mistakes. I'm realizing it just takes time to improve from a complete flat terrain to challenging hills like these. I'm doing Squamish Tri next Sunday and then planning some longer bike rides to prepare for my first half in New Hampshire Aug 17th. It will come...If you have any other advice I haven't thought of, I would LOVE to hear it. Thanks

What's your typical cadence when climbing? And are you "saving" a bailout gear? A lot of people like to climb in their second or third smallest gear because they like to know that they still have somewhere to go if it really gets ugly. The problem with this is that it generally makes the climb harder, and by the time you hit the bailout gear your legs/lungs are wasted.

Rather than trying to "save a gear" (if you are - it's pretty common) try to select a gear that allows you to spin at a comfortable cadence - ideally in the 80-100rpm range. The statement "my quads have a lot of burning" indicates to me that you're pushing too big of a gear, relying on strength to get over the hill. Shift up and make it easier on your legs.

Another thing to try (and work on) is your standing climbing. Triathletes as a general rule tend to favour seated spinning over standing, but standing is an excellent way to climb - and is sometimes your only option when it gets really steep. If you've trained your standing climbing, it won't put a huge tax on your legs.

If you've run out of gears, compact cranks may be something to look into. Especially as a smaller woman, most road bikes are WAY over-geared for a non-elite cyclist. I'm a fairly strong guy, and have been a (most definitively non-elite) cyclist for ~16 years and I really like my compacts on the road bike.

Climbing is a little bit like running in that you have to do it a lot to get better at it. You've got the right idea, riding frequently and climbing a lot. Keep it up.

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I don't try for any specific cadence, just go with whatever's most comfortable. It will be significantly lower than "spinning" though... Maybe somewhere in the 60-75rpm range?

The key is finding the right gearing to match your weight and the terrain such that it isn't a "push" but you aren't "falling too fast", either. Standing climbing isn't super easy physiologically, so yes - it will be more tiring until you get used to it. But it can be a great way to take a break (low back and butt esp) or to stretch out the legs for a bit. It's also very powerful, and if you want to blast over the crest of a hill (or drop someone) you can really move - just be aware of the penalty on the other side of that hard effort. :p The key for long standing climbs is to make it as "easy" as possible.

It is possible to climb standing "relaxed" - that just takes practice. You can also practice on the flats, in an appropriately large gear. Watts are watts. Try counting light/electrical poles or pedal strokes.

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I'm free all Aug long weekend, and am up for a ride for sure. P is only free Sun or Mon tho. Not sure about 190K, have done 200K+ rides before but it's been a while. Of course I can get sucked in to almost anything pretty easily.

AP

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"How bad could it be?" - SimpleS

// sets the hook

:)

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Was just mentioning to P the other day how I secretly like the sufferfest (as I was debating doing a 1/2IM in Sept)....

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"How bad could it be?" - SimpleS

Unfortunately I can't make the Whistler ride. Apparently I'm in the Okanagan doing some ride on what's called the "Ironman Canada Bike Course". As always it should be good fun although I must admit the idea of hitting wineries it what brings me there. K

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"There's good all around you, you just have to be able to see it".

You could do Sooke with me... :D

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Tell me about Sooke. I'm considering it but would like to know more about the course and the event itself. Is it worth the trip, or should I just wait for the NB Half next spring? It seems like a pretty small field but with some decent names.

I was looking at that one or Black Diamond in WA. Love that race.

AP

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"How bad could it be?" - SimpleS

I don't know much about the race (but I did do a sprint there a few years ago), but the area is beautiful. On that alone you should head over! :)
Of course, Khai makes the trip worth it ;)

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You know, I really don't know a thing about the course other than I expect it to be a hilly ride, and the run is through the downtown part of Sooke - so it should be very spectator friendly. Rappstar or REDSTORM might know the lay of the land as they're based out of Victoria, but I kind of figure that knowing the course, while nice, isn't going to have a huge impact on my day anyway. I'll either perform or not.

Race info is here: http://www.lifesport.ca/SookeHalfIron2008.htm

As for the race management, John Botelho & co put on an excellent event in Victoria, and I expect nothing less for Sooke (and for Vancouver this weekend).

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BD - isn't that the one with the run that's stinkin' hot, along a desolate and shade free dyke?

Sounds like fun to me... :p




Waitaminute.... you actually like that sort of thing.

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Aw, thanks darlin'!

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Nope that's not it. The run course at BD is half decent, some trails and some shade on the paved sections too.

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We can take a poll as to what everyone wants to do - originally I was thinking of a 2 day there and back (riding both ways with an overnight stay), but I'm not married to that concept - we could just as easily do a ride up and drive back on the same day. That would mean our support vehicle has to have the capacity to haul everyone + bikes back.

Another decision is the start location - Squamish or Whistler?

Finally, what day(s)?


I'm open all weekend...

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I rode from Whistler to the top of Duffey Lake Road and back last year. Not easy. 13km of tough climbing with extended sections of 13% grade. HOT. I ran out of fluids and was amazingly happy to see the Petro Can in Pemberton on the way home. Then, the really tough part is that the return leg from Pemberton to Whistler is significantly uphill so you're doing all the rolling climbs at the end of your long ride after tackling Duffey Lake. Of course, I'm sure that the fact that I went with a bunch of roadies, got dropped on every climb and then TTed all the flats and downhills to catch up again did not help ;))
Road surface is generally pretty good. Fine with normal tire pressure. There was one totally flooded section in the reserve past Pemberton when I did the ride but I'm sure that's long gone.
An incredibly beautiful trip and an adventure to remember.
I'd love to try all the way to Lilloeet some day but alas, I had to get my transition run done and make it back to North Van before the pool closed.

Squamish-Lilloeet would be just unreal!

If you come you're not allowed to kill us the whole way there and then be all happy at the end...

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Well we'll be rolling in 2 weeks, and I'm out of town the week prior - so lets get some people on board with what they want to do. While I'm happy to ride both ways and the longer distance, it might be smarter to do less. :p

I'm free all weekend.

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# DECIDING FACTORS: #
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Saturday
Sunday
Monday

1 way
Round trip

Squamish start (190k)
Whistler start (130k)

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