I have 4.5 months left to get in shape (I've been "training") since the start of January, and I'm still working on figuring out some good benchmarks to estimate how much faster I need to get.
I found this simple hillclimb calculator and I've been playing around with it this morning.
Recall that my time on this 5.3 mile, 2062 foot climb last year was 33:24. I also know that I weighed about 155 pounds and that my bike was roughly 18 pounds (a singlespeed with cyclocross tires).
Punching in all those numbers means that I put out about 340 watts (making the assumption that rolling and air resistance accounted for 100w) for the climb last year. Not too shabby at all, I think. I guess I don't know that much about wattage, though.
One way to get faster is to lose weight. The bike can't lose much - maybe a pound or so. So let's say I go from an 18 pound bike to a 17 pound one. Result: an 11 second improvement. That's not going to be enough.
But I can lose weight (and in fact I'm down to around 148 pounds now). So if we assume I put out the same power, ride a 17 pound bike, and weigh 148: Now I'm down to 32:02 (recall that the record is 31:14). That's encouraging! In fact, it's so encouraging that I'm putting this picture of Mike Rasmussen up on the wall in the shop as encouragement!
Erm. No. That's disgusting. Sarah would kill me, assuming I hadn't already died of malnutrition. Sheesh.
I think I can lose a few more pounds without sacrificing muscle or overall health. So let's say I'm 145 on race day: the new predicted time is 31:27 - pretty much at record pace.
Alternately, how much power would I have to add at my current weight? If I'm 148 pounds, and I put out 345 watts: 31:22.
145#, 345W: 30:48!
140#, 340W: 30:28!
140#, 345W: 29:51 (ok, now we're getting silly)
So basically, for every extra watt of power (at about 145 pounds weight) I save about 8 seconds. For every pound of weight lost (off bike or rider) at 340 watts, I save 12 seconds.
I'd like to both lose a few more pounds and add power (though since I don't have a powertap, that's hard to measure). And since the Winter Park climb is currently snowed under, I need some local goals that I can compare to. More on that in a week or two - there are several local climbs that might suffice as comparisons.
5 comments:
Walt,
You are a roadie, disguised as a mountain biker. Don't forget that you can shave some time off with aero shoe covers and a pointy TT helmet.
Mike Morton
Hey idiot.
The easiest way to get better is increase the wattage.
we can increase your wattage by 20 watts at LT by the time the race comes around quite easily.
I can test you to work out your wattage at LT.
Nowork (also an idiot. Aren't we all on this team?)
No, the best way to increase wattage is to use a compact florescent bulb. No, wait, that lowers the wattage necessary for the same effect. hmmm... I think you need those ceramic bearings.
maybe you can switch to a tire with less rolling resistance (especially on the rear, since it has more weight on it). Going tubeless might help too (unless your tire pressure is too high for that), I'm pretty sure that reduces rolling resistance by eliminating the interaction between the tube on the tire as they deform at the contact patch.
I don't mean to be insensitive, but that picture of Chicken looks worse than Lance after chemo.
Seriously.
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