Ripper Soloists: game plan

[mattj]

To the soloists this Saturday, what's your game plan? Nutrition, morning of, pre-race, etc?

I'm gonna be eating good amout of carbs and protein, and reduce my fat intake these next couple of days, then for the morning of the race I think I'm just going to eat a normal breakfast (eggs, bread, etc) then feast on Powergels at the start line and stand around in my winter outfit to be fully warm before the race. I'm not going to have anything with me (no water, no tube) so I'll have someone up top give me a bottle of water so I can hydrate some before the DH.

What's your plan? Any suggestions for me? How about clothes? How are you guys going to dress/gear up?

I'm wearing my platform pedals (practiced once this week with clipless, hated it), shin armour, full-finger gloves, XC lid, shorts, long-sleeved jersey, and maybe a fleece bike vest if it's cold that morning...


-m

[grj]

30-40 minutes without water????? not a great idea.
as for your diet, i wouldn't get to stressed about it, just a nice big meal on friday night and a low key evening, (video and a couple beers at home). get a good nights sleep and eat breakfast 2 hours before you race, nothing heavy. for a short race like this sugar can be a good friend, powerbar carb select 10 minutes before you go and a gel at the line.

for clothes stay very warm until just before you leave, go for a 15-30 minute warm up to get the body working then stretch, if you are already warm you can wear less clothes when you race.

in closing, don't stress if you are racing with flat pedals and shin pads it won't be much of a race anyhow so just enjoy the day and have fun.

[TheGiggler]

grj nailed it. for a race under an hour a good dinner and breakfast are all you need to really worry about.

oh, and i'll def be taking water.

i'll be on flats for sure (i cant drop 12" with clips). but i can't decide if i want to wear any armor. probably not...

[sleeper72]

wow, you guys are organized. I'm still trying to decide which bike to use, the heavy freeride which would be a pain to get up but fun on the way down, or the 3" travel hardtail which would be a pleasure on the way up but suffering on the way down.
Speed is really not a concern for me (I'm a slow climber regardless of bike), just which would be more fun.

What kind of bikes are you guys using?

[Nelson]

I'll have the XC lid, Shin pads on my backpack. Gear up/take a breather for a minute at the top of 7th, and then head down. I timed my climb at around 45-50 minutes today on the big bike. I'm not sure if I wanna borriw a short travel bike...I was bagged on the downhill, feeling off with not much food and riding pretty sketchy, I think the DH took us around 45 minutes. Either way I'm gonna suck :)

[dirty deeds]

To the soloists this Saturday, what's your game plan? Nutrition, morning of, pre-race, etc?

I'm gonna be eating good amout of carbs and protein, and reduce my fat intake these next couple of days, then for the morning of the race I think I'm just going to eat a normal breakfast (eggs, bread, etc) then feast on Powergels at the start line and stand around in my winter outfit to be fully warm before the race. I'm not going to have anything with me (no water, no tube) so I'll have someone up top give me a bottle of water so I can hydrate some before the DH.

What's your plan? Any suggestions for me? How about clothes? How are you guys going to dress/gear up?

I'm wearing my platform pedals (practiced once this week with clipless, hated it), shin armour, full-finger gloves, XC lid, shorts, long-sleeved jersey, and maybe a fleece bike vest if it's cold that morning...


-m


you're too nervous about it. Just get up in the morning, have a cup of coffee, take a dump, drive to Fromme, ride up to 7th, drop your saddle and ride back down.

[mattj]

^^^ Yeti AS-X w/ Sherman Breakout Plus. If speed on the way up is not a concern for you then this is the only logical choice. Racing down 7th and the others on a xc hardtail is not just not fun, it's also dangerous...

^^^^ and ^^^^^ thanks for the tips, as for the water, I never drink on the road. I hate sucking out of that straw while trying to breathe. I always find that drinking out of hydration bags is a lose-lose situation. I either don't get enough liquid to quench the thirst or I almost pass out to lack of air if I drink enough. Plus my back hurts like crazy when I climb with those things. I used to race a lot of xc and even in blazing hot summertime I would do an entire 30 km race with just one 500 mL water bottle. I guess my body is used to working when parched....


-m

[mattj]

I'm not nervous I just really miss xc-sytle racing and this is like my dream race course and format. I'm taking this pretty seriously so I can maximize my enjoyment on Saturday.


-m

[sleeper72]

My overall plan is to treat it like a normal day of riding, but with fewer pee breaks. Hmm, maybe I should go for the costume prize....

[TheGiggler]

What kind of bikes are you guys using?


5x5" heckler.

i don't really see more travel making the DH any faster... esp with the amounts of flats on leopard/kirkford...

could go less travel, but then when i get tired i'll get hammered for picking bad lines ;)

[sleeper72]

5x5" heckler.

i don't really see more travel making the DH any faster... esp with the amounts of flats on leopard/kirkford...

could go less travel, but then when i get tired i'll get hammered for picking bad lines ;)

5x5 sounds like the perfect choice. Unfortunately my choice is between 3x0 and 7x7. Probably go with the big one and bump up the air pressure in the shocks a bit.

[Nelson]

What are your guy's times?

[sleeper72]

What are your guy's times?

I think my times are about the same as yours Nelson, so don't worry, you'll have company.

[Wayne P]

5 X 5" is great, I rode a Heckler last year. But my Devinci the way it's set up is running faster times right now. The rear end doesn't bob and its riding really light. The short climbs are not long enough to make a difference, and there's a lot of time to made up in the descents surprisingly enough. Plus, I don't have to work it too much over the chunder - just let it work for itself.

Your guys' times will be wuite a bit faster on race day. You'll find the energy.

[Nelson]

I think my times are about the same as yours Nelson, so don't worry, you'll have company.


Wooo :cool:

[Silk]

What are your guy's times?

I just got back from doing a nite run up to see how fast I could get to
7th.

I am on a Big Hit and my time was about 35 minutes, But I nearly lost
a lung and pushed way to hard. Going down was not fun at all.

I hope for the Solo's they give us a 10 minute break or I might lose
the other lung.

[atb]

last weekend i hiked up to 7th in about and hour. but i think i can bo better if i ride up.

im going to be using my giant dh team, with a 34t ring and 24" rear wheel. i'm also going to bring a longer seat post for the climb, then put my shorter post in for the down hill.

i still dont know if i'll bring all my armor or just my leg/arm pads, or if i should use my full face or xc lid.

last weekend was the first time i rode 7th and the other trails. it took about an hour to get down (with getting lost a couple times)

the down hill should be fine on my bike, it was super fast going down 7th, way faster then i expected it to be. so as long as i dont die riding my DH race bike up the hill i should do better then last place, i hope.

[Nelson]

I just got back from doing a nite run up to see how fast I could get to
7th.

I am on a Big Hit and my time was about 35 minutes, But I nearly lost
a lung and pushed way to hard. Going down was not fun at all.

I hope for the Solo's they give us a 10 minute break or I might lose
the other lung.


Well you'll be a good 15 minutes ahead of me ont he downhill :P

[TheGiggler]

i think the fast solos will be in the 40-50 mins. 20mins down is reasonable if you know the course. so it all comes down to how much you push it up the road... as you guys found out, it's tough to be too much under 40mins and still feel good for the down.

right now i'm tempted to wear leg/arm armour and just do up the knee straps up top. unless it's legal to get my gear shuttled up to 7th ;)

hope the weather people are wrong abotu Sat...

[Silk]

i think the fast solos will be in the 40-50 mins. 20mins down is reasonable if you know the course. so it all comes down to how much you push it up the road... as you guys found out, it's tough to be too much under 40mins and still feel good for the down.

right now i'm tempted to wear leg/arm armour and just do up the knee straps up top. unless it's legal to get my gear shuttled up to 7th ;)

hope the weather people are wrong abotu Sat...

thats a great question. I wonder if we could have the armour waiting for us at the top. It would for sure make the ride up much easier.

Statix you going up for a ride again tonight?

[TheGiggler]

no... i'm probably taking it really easy today to rest up for the ripper. last couple days i have not taken it too easy... :)

maybe a small ride friday to spin...

[LeeLau]

good luck to you all! I'll be volunteering somewhere on course. The first time it was held the best team were some Swiss Guys - just over 45 minutes combined if I recall with all climbs on the fire road and coming out on Roadside Attraction on a straight no-surprises course. Pruner was fastest solo at about 48 minutes. Rod Daigneault was the only guy to climb the last pitch up to the water tower from Roadside Attraction! I think I was just over 55 minutes and was mid-pack solo. Course was dry

If I was to do it again I would be on a short-travel duallie. i did it before on a hardtail with xc type setup and got rattled around quite a bit

[Nelson]

Hey Lee, I have a freind who want's to come watch the race, but I think she's gonna get bored sitting at the finish for 2 hours though. Can I volunteer her to marshall the course?

[bunny]

Hey Lee, I have a freind who want's to come watch the race, but I think she's gonna get bored sitting at the finish for 2 hours though. Can I volunteer her to marshall the course?


for sure :) call me or send an email.
if anyone else wants to volunteer we could use a few more people. thanks. :)

[Silk]

If anyone else is Interested I might go up one last time at a nice easy pace and then down just to get everything fresh in my mind.

I have only been down Seventh, Leopard,Kirkford,Crinkem Crankem,Griffen like 4-5 times and almost every time was at night.

I would be going up around 6:00 - 6:30 tonight

[TheGiggler]

Silk, i must admit i'm tempted to skip out of work a little early. problem is i doubt i can hold myself to an easy pace ;)

[Silk]

Silk, i must admit i'm tempted to skip out of work a little early. problem is i doubt i can hold myself to an easy pace ;)


Well going up nice and easy going down a little harder :) but with me along it will always be slower :)