It is from my EPIC Coker journey I did the weekend before NAUCC 04’. Here are some of the stats for the ride:
Distance was 80 miles
Average riding altitude is 9700’
Average riding temperature was 62 F
Highest altitude was 11,318
Lowest altitude was 7,800
Vertical feet climbed 10,100
Vertical feet descended 9,900
Time in saddle was 7 hours, 40 minutes
Time for complete journey was 10 hours 10 minutes
Average Speed was about 10.2 mph
Maximum speed was 15 mph
Average heart rate 140
Food eaten during ride
7 Lara Bars
5 Peanut Butter Balls
6 Gu Gells
1 Balance Bar
225 ounzes of water with Grape Cytomax powder mix added.
Four Mountain Passes summited during ride
100% ridden, and by the way, NO BRAKE
Coker setup
GB4 36er frame, Stockton Wheel, 170 mm Kooka cranks, Azonic
A-Frame pedals, and a air seat. Chamois Butter was used often, but no major chaffing occured. Tire was filled to 60 psi.
This was my biggest Coker ride yet, so I was anxious, nervous, and scared. I went solo, so to me it was like preparing for a backcountry ski trip. I had first aid supplies, tools, and clothing for whatever I might encounter. I was able to re-fill my 100 oz bladder twice. The whole day went very smooth, no problems at all. I only took a few pictures as I knew I had along way to go, so didnt want to stop allot. The scenery was out of this world beautiful, it helped keep the attitude strong. The climbing was not difficult, although on Fremont Pass towards the top the wind picked up and made it difficult to balance. As you might think, people along the way were so supportive and gracious. This route is a known bicycle loop, so it is not common to see bikes on it. This day though, was the first time a Unicyclist had been on it. I left the big downhill, 3,800 vertical down, for the end to really test my ability. It was no problem as I made it down off of Vail Pass.
I made it to the motorhome, ate and drank some more, stretched and drove 2 hours back to Aspen. I am very grateful that the ride went without a problem and that I felt great the next day. The body is a machine, if you feed it right, it will work and work. I might add that being a little crazy helps as well.
Wow, what a cool ride, maybe a double EPIC? I’m such a wimp. I rode my max of 27 miles yesterday on mostly flat ground. Time to head up something more substantial.
What are the road conditions like? Do you have plenty of shoulder? Smooth surface? Did you pass any unsuspecting (bi)cyclists?
I didn’t see much stuff hanging off your back or frame, did you travel light with just food and liquid?
Mike, that is a monsterous ride! 20000’ in a day!! 6100 meters! You destroyed my elevation-change-in-a-day and ascent-in-a-day records, but you have a ways to go to get my descent-in-a-day record.
But the thing that I don’t understand is HOW you managed to do this with no brake? Did you get a pair of those $6million bionic legs or something? I will not ever be challenging you for any in-a-day-brakeless records!
I would LOVE to do a ride like this with you someday…are you hatching up plans for anything similar (or even bigger)?
Of course its not as good as a head to head, BUT i’ll be interested to compare their times…
10km
Unicon 2002 - Roger 24:12.63
NAUCC 2004 - Mike 29:53.49
Unicon 2004- Roger ?
Interestingly with the 2002 Unicon results, you have to go down to 9th place to find mikes 2004 time. We need a John Foss input here I think, was the course THAT much harder? Johns time in 2004 is some 6 minutes slower than his 2002 time. I think this one could run and run.
I’d be interested to know the course conditions at UNICON 11 10km road race too If the photos of the 10km UNICON 12 course is anything to go by- the race times will surely be faster- it’s so smooth and flat.
>>>What are the road conditions like? Do you have plenty of shoulder? Smooth surface? Did you pass any unsuspecting (bi)cyclists?
I didn’t see much stuff hanging off your back or frame, did you travel light with just food and liquid? >>> iunicycle, the road conditions were so so, I was on two different state highways and the last leg was a bike path. Some shoulder, but not much traffic which helped. The roads were smooth for the most part, with a few exposed areas. I saw three bicyclists on the first two legs, then the third leg I ran into a huge organized ride called “The Triple Bypass”. My final mtn pass I rode with a hundred or so bikes. I ride with a Camelbak “Blowfish” which carries the essentials.
>>>Now I understand how/why you were so fast in the Marathon.>>> mgrant, I wasnt sure how much energy I would have left after this ride with only 4 days rest until NAUCC, but I did ok anyway.
>>>Nice job on the 10k by the way, you gave rolf a wooping.>>> maxdingemans, Thanks, Cokers and hills can do pretty darn well against bikes. It was fun to see Rolf have to get out of the saddle on the hills.
>>>aspen Mike, are you going to be at Unicon? It’d be interesting to see you and Roger Davies head to head on the 10k. >>>sarah.miller, I am not going to be at Unicon. I hear the next UNICON might be in Switzerland, if so, that interest me. I LOVE riding MOUNTAINS, and if the course is in the mountains I might go.
>>>Unicon 2002 - Roger 24:12.63
NAUCC 2004 - Mike 29:53.49
Unicon 2004- Roger ?
Interestingly with the 2002 Unicon results, you have to go down to 9th place to find mikes 2004 time. We need a John Foss input here I think, was the course THAT much harder? Johns time in 2004 is some 6 minutes slower than his 2002 time. I think this one could run and run. >>> sarah.miller, I would say that the 2002 times are on a flat course where people ride with short cranks. I agree that John Foss would have the best input for this question, as he has ridden with both of us. The NAUCC 2004 course had 520 feet of climbing with uphill and downhill curves in it. It was held on some of the same trails that the 2002 Salt Lake Winter Olympic cross country and biathalon events where held on. Some of the corners where sharp and narrow. Short cranks this time around did not win out. I used 170’s and do not ride anything shorter, short cranks do not interest me. Add to the course layout a riding elevation of 5,800’ and that makes times slower as well. What this all means is that I don’t think that you can compare times unless they are on the same course. Lower elevation flat courses will always be faster. As a side note, I would LOVE to see the course length change to a minimum of 20k, and a minimum 10k cross country MUni course.
I totally agree, cooler temps will speed the times up. I just looked up the average temps for the 10k and MUni cross country. Remember, this was 1000’ higher than the track events in Salt Lake. Average temp for the 10k was 80 degree’s, average temp for the MUni cross country was 91 degree’s.
I seem to think about crank length more than any other detail. On a unicycle you get two issues wrapped into one:
mechanical advantage (or gear ratio?)
amount of leg usage.
Most bikes have long cranks allowing maximum usage of your leg muscles. You vary ‘1’ by changing gears. and ‘2’ by changing cranks, but I guess this is not done that much on bicycles.
The one fixed feature of a unicycle is how far it will travel with each stroke. The crank length changes how hard it is to pedal and also how far the leg must extend/contract during a pedal stroke.
So if you have 125mm cranks or 170mm cranks your stroke rate must be the same to go the same speed. One obvious advantage to short cranks is that it is easier to spin without wobble. But you lose the advantage of overall leg muscle usage. The question is really if it is advantageous to develop the ability to spin with longer cranks, thus utilizing more muscle on each stroke and probably putting less stress on your legs overall. This also moves your knee through a greater angle. Is this good for your knee or is the extra stress required by short cranks worse on your knee?
One thing that stuck in my head today was for the second year during the Tour de France the announcer mentioned a key difference between Lance and Jan. Jan being compared to a big diesel engine using big gears and steaming ahead. Lance uses low gears and seems able to quickly react and attack even on the steepest slopes.
Also 20km sounds like a great length for the Coker marathon, but isn’t there a 24" max in one category?
Hmm, you are correct, but don’t forget that Brian Hansen was second in the open class 10K and he was running very very short cranks on a 28" wheel. I think his cranks were 87mm.
I think that more than any other factor it’s the rider and not the equipment. Being comfortable with your cycle helps too. I can’t catch Brian at all when he’s on short cranks but put him on longer cranks and at least I have a chance.
I love that sort of riding! You’ve got some wicked scenery.
If the photos of the 10km UNICON 12 course is anything to go by- the race times will surely be faster- it’s so smooth and flat.