Rapha500 Video Summary

A brief compilation of helmet cam footage from the 2011 Rapha500. 

Tunes set by Xenia

Rapha Festive 500 - Day 6 #Rapha500 42km - COMPLETE!

Day 6 - 42km (26mi) #Rapha500 COMPLETE

147/2864 riders at completion. Many will surpass my 501km in the days to come, but not too bad. 

Today's ride was pretty smooth - just one loop around Lake Mendota. The forecast called for freezing rain overnight and into the morning, so I was nervous to have a miserable last ride. However, the rain phenomenon wrapped up its trouble-making activity sometime before 7AM when I started riding. 

Here are a few shots from the ride:

The sun peeking over the horizon as the Casseroll awaits. 

Beautiful morning

At the University of Wisconsin Memorial Union Terrace.

I don't know what else they're waiting for. The ice would for sure send me South. 

And the ride track:

This Rapha Festive 500 challenge has been quite the adventure. I would not have been able to complete the task without the loving support of my wife, who allows me to take family time to do these silly adventures. Thank you to all of you out there who offered encouragement and advice. Happy trails, everyone. 

Rapha Festive 500 - Day 5 #Rapha500 108km

Day 5 - 108km (67mi)


Today was interesting. Yesterday, as I wrote about, was grueling and emptied my mental and physical tanks. I thought about incorporating a rest day into the routine. Instead, my wife encouraged me to get some extra sleep, leave a little later than normal, and see how things go. Instead of leaving at 6:30AM, I left around 9AM, once the temperature had risen to a brisk 16F (-9C).

I felt well-rested, and my legs had a little bit of kick in them today that they lacked yesterday. My toe-warming strategy has evolved and improved, ultimately using hand warmers over my toes, stopping every 45min or so to rest the feet, and stopping by the house every lap to take off my shoes and warm up my feet before heading back out. Today, the strategy worked great.

The original plan was to ride two 25-mile laps, leaving 42 miles for tomorrow (the last day of the challenge). I was feeling pretty solid, so I added 17 miles by riding an 8.5 mile out-and-back at the end of my two laps. I was definitely tired, but I only have one lap around Lake Mendota left for tomorrow.

Here's the ride track:



And a picture from the out-and-back:

After I posted today's ride, I'm in 108th place (of 2,700 or so)

Not too bad, considering the cold. 40km to go!

Rapha Festive 500 - Day 4 #Rapha500 89km

Day 4 - 89km - 55mi


No pictures today. Today was a grunt. I can usually manage fairly well with moderate climbing, OR wind, but not both. Today I faced both. Steady winds from 15-20mph from the W/NW buffeted my attempts to ride respectably for the first half of today's ride. I had to work to grind out each mile. I earned each mile. An average speed of 15 isn't all that great, but I know how hard I worked to maintain that pace.

Also, my clothes weren't quite done drying this morning by the time I started riding. I started off chilled and never quite warmed up. Between the strong winds and lack of sunshine, today was a gray day. The good news? I have 92 miles to go (148km) in four days. I can do this.

Rapha Festive 500 - Day 3 #Rapha500 129km

Day 3 - 80mi (129km)


Today's adventure was a 2-loop route far west of Madison through Middleton. The wind was forecast to be S-SW up to 15mph, so I figured a route with East/West bias would be best. For the most part this was the case. On the 2nd loop, along the climbs on Airport Road, I was hit in the face with the bulk of the headwind. Ugh. This grunt work paid dividends as I turned East through Ashton approaching the North side of Lake Mendota.

Today's weather was much more agreeable. The starting air temperature at 6:30 was in the low 20's, reaching the mid 30's by midday. I even saw a couple other cyclists out today. 263/500 kilometers down, 237 to go (147mi).




A couple shots from the ride:

Today's sunrise. 

I've ridden to this intersection on a different route. Like an old friend. 

Barn-based nativity.

The freezing/thawing shore of Lake Mendota.

I should be able to finish up the 500km on Thursday--Six days of riding total.

Rapha Festive 500 - Day 2 #Rapha500 81km

Day 2 - 50mi (81km)


Today's ride was a much more positive than yesterday. I know this loop by heart, meaning no surprises. With service stations opposite the lake of my starting point, and riding through the isthmus, if something were to go wrong, I wouldn't be out of luck for long.

I started around 6:30AM today, when the temperature was around 20F (-7C). I added an upper-body layer, so I was wearing a short-sleeved Bontrager base layer, Salsa wool short-sleeved jersey, Ibex wool arm warmers, Ibex wool full zip Shak long-sleeved sweater, and a Bontrager rain/wind jacket. The wind jacket caused sweat troubles. I shed the jacket halfway through my first lap and wore a vest for the 2nd lap. Much better setup.

For the lower body, I have Ibex Arrivee wool bib shorts, Ibex wool leg warmers, Ibex Breakaway overpants, and a pair of Rainmates for windstoppage. For the head I use the Ibex Zepher beanie and neck gaiter. For the hands, Ibex Tuck gloves.

Turns out I'm quite the Ibex and Merino wool advocate. Love the stuff.


Sunrise over Lake Mendota

From a potty break on lap 2. 

I want this house. In the summer. 

The sun just creeping up on lap 1. Trek Bicycle president John Burke lives not far from here. 

A view from the Bikestache. 

Here's the map of today's riding:



See you Monday. Merry Christmas.

Rapha Festive 500 - Day 1 #Rapha500 53km

Day 1 - 33 mi (53km):

Change of plan. The temperature this morning when I left at 5AM was 12 degrees. A full 10 degrees colder than expected. I embarked nonetheless. Things felt manageable for the first 30 minutes or so, until my toes were extremely numb. I use 3mm neoprene booties over full leather shoes, but even with thick merino wool socks underneath I was numb. Ice block numb.

I pulled off at a McDonald's at about mile 20 in an attempt to warm up. I was thirsty, but all 5 water bottles were ice blocks. Even the bottles in my handlebar bag were solid. Lovely. I was sorta hungry, but the food was frozen, too. Hmm. I grabbed an Autotrader magazine and lined my shoe covers with several layers of its pages, vintage Tour de France style. No go.

I did get to watch the sun rise, however:

The camera was frozen, and would struggle to function. Can't blame it. My neck gaiter was frozen solid.

My feet got worse, and my arches and heels started to go numb. At about mile 33 (53km), I called in the SAG wagon (the Mrs.). I nursed my ice block feet to a service station, which was not easy to find along the farmroad-laden countryside. I'll be recalculating the remainder of my 500k attempt.

**UPDATE**
Attempt recalculated. I'll be riding smaller 22 mile (35km) loops around Lake Mendota. That and I'll spread the riding out in a realistic manner. Plan B on the 24hour ride is to ride during spring break.

The new route. 

The new itinerary:

12/23 - 33 (Complete)
12/24 - 44
12/26 - 66
12/27 - 44
12/28 - 44
12/29 - 44
12/30 - 35

#Rapha500 2011 Festive Challenge: In 24 Hours

Rapha does cool stuff. No lie. Rapha is a London-based cycling clothing and accessories company with U.S. offices in Portland, OR. They have developed a reputation for exposing deeply-rooted grit in some of the best cyclists in the world. Furthermore, Rapha motivates the layfolk by issuing occasional challenges, such as the Festive 500.

What's the Festive 500, you ask? From December 23-31, Rapha challenges riders the world over to shun holiday laziness and culinary indulgence and instead ride 500 kilometers--no riding on trainers. 9 days, 310 miles, or just over 34 miles/day on average. Well, that's lame. Not really, but I like to come up with alternatives that add a bit of epicness to something that's already cool. My idea? Ride all 310 miles in 24 hours or less. This translates into a 13mph average minimum, including rest stops.

Tomorrow morning, the 23rd, I'll leave at 5-6 AM and ride four 78-mile loops to the North and East of Madison. I'll be looping back by the house every lap, so I can fuel up, warm up, rest, use the baño, etc. I've planned a 24-hr Walgreen's into my route, just in case.

Here's an overview of my loop:

I'll post updates below as I ride along. I'll also be updating via Twitter @Morsebici. Or check #Rapha500 & #24hrRapha500.

Lap 1 - 0-78 miles:

Change of plan. The temperature this morning when I left at 5AM was 12 degrees. A full 10 degrees colder than expected. I embarked nonetheless. Things felt manageable for the first 30 minutes or so, until my toes were extremely numb. I use 3mm neoprene booties over full leather shoes, but even with thick merino wool socks underneath I was numb. Ice block numb.

I pulled off at a McDonald's at about mile 20 in an attempt to warm up. I was thirsty, but all 5 water bottles were ice blocks. Even the bottles in my handlebar bag were solid. Lovely. I was sorta hungry, but the food was frozen, too. Hmm. I grabbed an Autotrader magazine and lined my shoe covers with several layers of its pages, vintage Tour de France style. No go.

I did get to watch the sun rise, however:

The camera was frozen, and would struggle to function. Can't blame it. My neck gaiter was frozen solid.

My feet got worse, and my arches and heels started to go numb. At about mile 40 (65km), I called in the SAG wagon (the Mrs.). I nursed my ice block feet to a service station, which was not easy to find along the farmroad-laden countryside. I'll be recalculating the remainder of my 500k attempt.

**UPDATE**
Attempt recalculated. I'll be riding smaller 22 mile loops around Lake Mendota. That and I'll spread the riding out in a realistic manner. Plan B on the 24hour ride is to ride during spring break.

The new route. 

The new itinerary:

12/23 - 33 (Complete)
12/24 - 44
12/26 - 66
12/27 - 44
12/28 - 44
12/29 - 44
12/30 - 35

Bern Brentwood w/ Winter Knit Insert

Over the past year or so, my cranium has been adorned by the Bern Brentwood for commuting purposes. This particular model is manufactured under Bern's "ZipMold" process, where the PVC shell is molded with liquid-injected foam. The result? The helmet is very light, very strong, and is less susceptible to becoming extremely brittle as typical helmet foam does. 

The trouble is that I ride in the winters here in Wisonsin, and extra layers on my head dramatically change the fit, i.e., the helmet doesn't fit. Thankfully, Bern thought of this and developed the Winter Knit (Hunter). Here's a shot of the helmet as-is (with a ContourHD mount on the side). 

It was Movember. What can I say?

The Mrs. said, "Stick your chin out." So I did. The winter kit snaps into place where the visor kit once resided. 

Close-up of the kit and 'stache.

I rode all last winter with this kit, along with some other goodies that will show up here once the snow and sub-zero temps arrive. I usually ride with an Ibex skull cap and neck gaiter down into the single digits. Much colder than that requires goggles and a breathing mask (foreshadowing).

Happy riding. 

Kid Coaster Brake Fix

This doesn't even show how bad the coaster brake was malfunctioning. I could almost get a full pedal rotation at times before/after brake engagement.

Step #1: Remove wheel from bike. 

Begin disassembly of hub. I prefer to leave the cog side together (it has a cone setup) and disassemble from the non-drive side. I use the coaster lever as leverage to loosen the nut. 

Lay out each part in the order of disassembly. Seems obvious, but reassembly is much easier this way.

After cleaning everything, reapply lube to bearings and contact surfaces. I prefer to use Park Tool Polylube for hubs such as this. Begin reassembly process. 

This is the driver for the coaster brake process with the coarse thread. 

Apply lube to bearing here. 

Reinsert axle and coaster driver assembly. Be sure to do this from the correct side, as each side of the hub has a different diameter. This should be the smaller of the two since the other side needs to fit the expansion wedges. 

This spring-loaded piece threads over the coaster driver and applies pressure on the expansion wedges, activating the friction braking system. 

This is what they look like mated together. 

With the expansion wedges installed. This is the larger opening side of the hub. 

Lube and install this bearing.

Begin threading this cone/coaster placeholder. Don't thread on all the way. 

Insert this piece over the expansion activator piece, in between the expansion wedges and hold in place. You will thread the axle from the other side. 

Thread the axle in from this side. The nut and cone are locked together, so use a wrench on the nut if you have to.  The threads should be smooth at this point, however. 

With the axle completely threaded through. 

Install dust cover. 

Install coaster lever. This is effectively the cone wrench for preloading the bearings. Once the bearing play is removed, follow the next 2 steps. 

Install washer. 

Reinstall nut. As with most cone and bearing installations, a couple iterations are typically necessary to remove bearing play and have proper bearing preload. Once you have this step right, you're done. Reinstall the wheel. 

Much better braking and forward-pedaling reingagement. She's ready to keep on riding.