When our small band of
exhausted cyclists rolled into Paris on the last day of the grueling 21 stage
Tour de France Challenge, everybody couldn’t help but feel a sense of
accomplishment.We had finished
what we set out to do and for the last few kilometers of the ride, the aches of
the Alps and the pain of the Pyrenees seemed to
be distant memories and in a slightly twisted and masochistic way,
necessary.
Nothing worth having
comes easy. At least that’s what we kept telling ourselves along this journey,
which started almost two years ago.Kevin Mahaney, whom I have had the distinct pleasure of coaching since
June of 2003, wanted to take on a significant cycling challenge after watching
the Tour on TV with his kids. He thought, “What could be more challenging than
the TDF. This is when he called me to ask if we could get him prepared to ride
the Tour course. I came back with the typical response, “Of course we can. Which
stages are you planning on riding?”To which he replied, “All of them.”
Not only was it all of
the stages, but it was to be every kilometer of each stage, including the
neutral kilometers at the start, in the same order and number of days as the as
the pro peloton. It didn’t take long for this to sink in and for me to realize
things were going to have to change quite a bit in order for us to get him ready
for such a monumental undertaking.My job was to get his body and mind prepared to withstand 2,241 miles of
saddle time over the course of three weeks. When training for anything as
specific as this challenge, you first need to sit down and identify the demands
that are going to be placed on the body, and even the progression of those
demands, over the course of the ride.
Equally as important are
baseline measures of fitness which help identify weaknesses as well as provide a
benchmark to use to assess progress along the way. We had a year and a half to
get him in proper shape and these measures provided us with smaller, more
manageable goals to focus on and accomplish on the long grueling road to the
first stage in France.
The competitors of the
Tour de France spend years and years racing and training as preparation for such
an event.We unfortunately didn’t
have that time, but fortunately, we weren’t going to race the distance, but
rather conserve our energy and ride at a pace that would allow us to complete
the distance. This made our training strategy slightly easier to deal with.
Kevin and I spent the
largest amount of time working on his aerobic fitness. In fact, we spent over a
year on that alone before we even touched any of the systems that come into play
when working at intensity above lactate threshold.This developed his aerobic fitness to a
level where, with a large amount of determination and luck, we would see the
Champs-Elysees with over two thousand miles of road behind us and smiles on our
faces.
It was very obvious to
Kevin and I we were not going to do this on our own so Destination Cycling was
hired to take on the logistical duties and a team of riders was formed.A group of ten cyclists was assembled;
all with the goal to get Kevin to the finish line, and in the process raise
money for the Lance Armstrong and Tyler Hamilton Foundation. The team was
assembled with the approach of any professional team; we had riders to fill
specific roles. We had some big motors that provided more draft than an open
barn door for the flats, as well as a few smaller riders that could set the pace
in the hills without putting themselves, or other members of the team, over the
edge. The only thing we were missing was a sprinter, because, well, we weren’t
sprinting for anything but city limit signs.
The staff was another
invaluable addition to the team.So
much energy can be wasted on things that seem small and meaningless, but in the
big picture, add up and diminish a person’s ability to sit on the bike for a
mind-numbing (as well as other areas) amount of time.To help relieve this stress, a mechanic,
several massage therapists, and general managers were also brought on to
complete the team which, by the time it was finished, resembled nothing short of
fully supported professional squad.During an undertaking of such magnitude, even with the complete staff and
a team of riders, unforeseen obstacles and bumps in the road can, and of course
will, arise and this is what you need to be prepared for.
The foreseeable problems
are easy to prepare for if you’re thinking ahead.Keep in mind on this ride, as well as
any ride you might be doing that consists of five to 10 hours on the bike each
day, you will inevitably encounter problems you’re not going to see on shorter
rides.Staying hydrated and
consuming enough calories is pretty elementary, but what you might not realize
is that after a day or so of eating nothing but what I like to refer to as robot
food (energy bars, drinks and gels), your gut can get pretty angry with you and
the last thing you need is to stop the forward momentum so you can dive into the
woods to take care of some lower GI distress.
Early in long rides and
multi-day tours, it’s important to consume real food, and by real food I mean
fruit, sandwiches, bagels, whatever you can get your hands on. Ham and cheese
sandwiches worked nicely for us, but offered its own challenge. Try to find some
smoked turkey in France; it’s not as easy as you might
think.Whatever you can consume on
the bike and keep down with relative ease should suffice; then throughout the
day supplement your caloric intake with sports drinks and gels to help fill the
gaps between feedings.
Make sure you have some
food accessible to you immediately after you get off the bike.A recovery drink is important for
jumpstarting the process, but get some sort of solid food in you as well.Remember, when completing multi-day
events, tomorrow’s ride starts when you get off the bike today. You don’t need
to make things any more difficult than they already are, so take care of your
body.The first thing you do when
you get off your bike is consume your recovery drink.The second thing you do is get out of
your cycling shorts and clean “the undercarriage” with some baby wipes. Do this
even if you’re going to take a shower relatively soon. Your rear is going to
hurt enough as it is without throwing a couple festering saddle sores into the
mix.
Take care of your
contact points.If you have hand
problems, wear gloves and think about double wrapping your handlebars for some
extra cushion. Make sure you’re sitting on a seat that won’t anger your bum and
keep a close eye on your feet.Comfortable shoes are a must and make sure you bring along some sort of
blister treatment.Overuse injuries
are a huge possibility as well, so ice any aches and pains as soon as you can;
anti-inflammatories to reduce swelling are also a must.
No matter how much you
prepare, there will always be those wild cards that can throw the day into a
tailspin.Crashes happen, and
you’re lucky if you can walk away from them without missing half of the skin on
your backside, so make sure you’ve got plenty of first aid supplies.Support cars can get caught in traffic,
and as any mechanical object is prone to breakdowns, don’t rely on the support
vehicle being there whenever you need it.Take with you plenty of water and don’t run it dry before you
refill.Keep plenty of food in your
pockets. It’s not heavy, and its benefits outweigh (pun intended, sorry) its
actual bulk. A bonk can hit you like an angry bull, and when you’re on a bike
for as long as we were, it’s bound to happen to a few people.
Keep an eye on the
riders around you.They won’t do
anybody any good if they’re swerving off the back of the group looking through
one eye to keep from seeing double.If you notice somebody isn’t eating or drinking enough, don’t be afraid
to give them a friendly reminder.Keeping an eye on the route is something you need to do as well.Don’t just follow the rider in front of
you, keep your head up and have an idea of where you’re going.This can be pretty difficult when you’re
in the middle of a long, hot ride, so make sure a few riders in the pack have a
route map. We were fortunate enough to have a follow vehicle with GPS, as well
as the TDF course markings, but GPS units breakdown and arrows get removed for
souvenirs, so riding astray was a possibility and sometimes a painful reality.
More than once, we realized we had added 20 km to an already long stage because
of wrong turns and back-tracking.
Speaking of a painful
reality, staying healthy can be the biggest challenge and you can get sick
anywhere, even if you’re on ‘vacation’. When you’re riding an average of 40
hours/wk for three weeks straight, as we were, you’re immune system is extremely
compromised. While this was an extreme situation, riders face compromised immune
systems on one-week and long-weekend bike trips too. Try not to touch your face,
and wash your hands often.If at
all possible, don’t share bottles; and if you’re pooling them make sure they get
washed after every use.If one
rider gets sick, it’s best to try and keep the illness isolated to that single
rider if at all possible. Give that rider his own set of bottles, even his own
set of eating utensils.
Keeping all the above in
mind made our long trip to Paris very successful and personally rewarding
for everybody involved. We had our fair share of bumps in the road, butts,
necks, backs, and any other place that could possibly hurt, but the goal was
achieved and a lot was learned in the process. We rode the entire course, but
the intensity and the pressure of the professional Tour de France cannot be
replicated. The Tour de France Challenge was an epic adventure, and everyone
came away with a deeper respect for what the pros endure each July. Like the
racers, we faced all sorts of potential hazards, but through proper preparation,
great support and a lot of good luck, we made it to Paris and rounded the final corner onto the Champs Elysees to see the Arc d’Triomph backlit by the
setting sun. I have to agree with Tour de France veterans, that after three
weeks, that’s the most welcome sight for tired eyes.
Josh
Powers is a Pro Coach for
Carmichael Training Systems, Inc. (CTS). He not only coached Kevin Mahaney for
the Tour de France Challenge, but also participated as a member of the team as
well. To find out what CTS can do for you, please visit http://www.trainright.com.
