My first "serious" test for the next cycle here in Gran Canaria.

It is practically the same route as the race.

Thought and mood are something very curious... while I was climbing, although I was having fun with the beautiful day (we reached almost 40º C) I had the sensation of going slower than usual and when I returned home I was quite tired. I thought it was the treatment's fault but nevertheless, when I saw the data this afternoon I saw that not only climb faster but I also set significantly better times.

 

 

Sea of clouds in the north of the island

In Tejeda it´s the Parador (something like a Hotel) Top climb 

Jose needed breakfast today....

 

 

Decided to bike to vacation. 

That, Nate, is impressive. Average speed of nearly 18mph on a hilly course with power a hair under 200W - even when I was a few decades younger and regularly weekend cycling I couldn't have got close to that.

Nate's an animal!

Yeah, me too, even when I was training for triathlons.  Impressive stats!

Thanks guys, it is a ride I’ve done once before and is in essence uphill the whole way. I mean yes, there are descents after the big climbs but as a point to point there’s a lot more up than down.  And a persistent headwind out of the north was not something I’d bargained on. 

 

Oddly enough, what freaks most people out is my HR data. AVG: 158bpm, MAX: 178.  Not too shabby for a 48 year old.  

 

When I was your age I trained for a long distance hill run called the Bob Graham Round in the English Lake district. 63 miles with the height of Everest in it. 42 peaks, a lot on bouldery broken ground. You have to complete it in less than 24 hours.

If I was not climbing at 160bpm plus on an ascent I wasn't working hard enough.

Now if I get to 160bpm in the gym, at 68, I think I'm going to die. Age is not your friend as you pile on the years.

Mind you at 61 I did the Yorkshire 3 peaks. Biggest hills in Yorkshire - a marathon distance but with 6,500 feet of ascent. I trained hard for that, and did 7h15m.

That is impressive at any age, Craig.

Congrat to Evenepoel.... espectacular!!!!! 

 

Ready for this weekend!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

It's been a long, long time since I was a virgin of anything.  Congrat!

Beautiful day.

I've had my best times in the toughest sections and I have stayed right behind the car that opens the race all the time even in the toughest stages...so I'm happy.

This year has been a real piece of shit

 

 

 

@jose - good man.

Enjoyable day spent with fellow members.

Tic-tac-tic-tac-

 

 

 

 

Edited October 4, 20241 yr by jose

Very hard route but I'm happy. Beautiful place, friends.... 

I had good times in a few hard parts but in the crono (last 5kms) I only did a regular time... I guess that my body isn't to 100%.

Edited October 7, 20241 yr by jose

Is the 1UP still the go-to hitch bike rack? We need to move two e-bikes around and want it to be easy on and off. Thinking the 1UP heavy duty is the answer, but happy to hear other ideas 

2" Rack, as much as I love 1UP (and I do), after losing 5-6k of bikes/tools/skateboards, I wanted the most secure bike rack I could get/afford. That wound up being a Thule T2 Pro XT 1.25" 2-bike rack. (You know me and deals, I got it for free from Performance Bike after I mathed the fuck out of them.) That was my 2nd choice, behind Kuat and just above 1UP, because the built-in security was the best.

Cost no object? Kuat Piston Pro X

There's a Thule T2 Pro XTR now that supersedes mine, and a more rational choice, but don't overlook the in-between Kuat Pisto Pro.

https://www.outdoorgearlab.com/topics/biking/best-bike-rack

Outdoor Gear Lab is a great review site, and a good starting point (trusted by both me and the Ginger Avenger) for most things outdoorsy.

If you have your own system of securing the bikes on a rack? 1UP HD still has tons going for it.

Al,

I have one of the Kuat racks, not the piston pro just a second generation NV, and it’s very nice and built like a tank but also built like a tank.  It’s a heavy beast so getting it on and off the car can be a pain but getting the bikes on and off is a breeze.  Integral locking is decent enough.  I ended up with it because a local was selling it, along with the 2-bike extension, for about 40% off and I needed it in less than a week’s time for the annual fall bike trip.  

Before the NV I had a Thule Helium single bike rack and it was much lighter and seemed to be well build and also had decent integral locking.  If it’d been a 2-bike setup I’m not sure I ever would have ended up with the NV.  It’s at least a few hundred bucks less than the NV and still presents well.  

 

I'm going to read more but when you are talking about security, are you referring to securing the rack to the car so it can't be stolen, or securing the bikes to the rack so they can't be stolen, or both? Or are you talking about keeping them secure and attached while driving?

I know a kid who worked at a local bike shop had his 1up stolen right off his car while working, so I guess that is at least something to think about with locking nuts or some such.

Edited February 25, 20251 yr by Voltron

A bit of both, Al.  I have no direct experience with 1UP but both the Kuat and Thule that I mentioned were super easy to lock to the car.  And both had integrated locking mechanisms for the bikes as well.  I don’t think that 1UP has built in provisions for either, which can be overcome but requires some additional investment. And because they aren’t built in it’s a little more fuss and likelihood of failure due to forgetting components at home.  

I have had a 1UP for six years and just love it.  I love that fact that the only parts of the bike it touches are the two tires.  It's very sturdy and I have had zero problems with it.

However, as Nate says, it has no built-in provisions for locking the bike.  If that is important for you, you need to look elsewhere.

Well, I did some reading and my birthday is coming up so Claire said we should go for the Piston Pro X. It's sweet. We have fenders and tail lights so I have to add extra straps just as belt and suspenders safety. It seems tight and stable without them but I used rubber coated giant twist ties that Steve used in his truck so I didn't need to buy $40 worth of Küat "fender kits" aka four velco straps. 

One drawback is that the car considers this to be a trailer and defeats a bunch of features that would be missed on long drives. I'm going to figure out if there is a way to work around that.