200 on 100
Vermont is spelled with a capital “V”, surely no coincidence. With the loads of mountains and climbs available, it had to start with a “V”. I mean, if it was mountainous enough to draw a runaway “loose” nun who left the church for a sailor, it must be good, right? (Great nordic skiing there””Trapp Family Lodge, if you are there in the winter months as well).
Anyways, being a seventh generation “V”ermonter myself, who was raised on a family farm on Rogers’ Hill in West Newbury, VT (which was hand cleared and settled in 1763 by my G-G-G-G-G-Grandfather and still owned by my father) I have a deep love and feel for VT, liberal politics notwithstanding. So when I heard about the 200 on 100 “Dumptruck of Awesome” that was available, I just knew that I had to do it. And not only that, I knew that I had to share this beautiful “Ode to the V in Vermont” with all of my best cyber-cycling-soul mates. Okay, soul mates might be going a bit far there, but you get my meaning.
So, enough with the intro.
Break out the rollers, get on the trainers, find your winter gear; lay off the seconds, nurse that one glass of booze, hold the toasting to one drink, dodge Cupid’s chocolates and shoot the Easter Bunny because training for this bastard started yesterday and you’ll be paying for it on the 28th of June, 2012 in spades!
See you in the pre-dawn hours on the Canadian border with our eyes firmly fixed on the prize of the Massachusetts border. Let’s drive this dump truck like Mel Gibson leaving the compound in a post-apocalyptic world, baby!
Route and location details on the Cogal Event Page.
@King Clydesdale
Thanks for all this. The question that follows comes down to what kind of gearing I want. I typically have a 25 at the back, but maybe I want to add a 27. Not necessarily for the steepness, but in order to ease the BFGs during the second leg. The first half looks similar to a typical ride around here, which I can manage fine, but I don’t think of it as a warm-up for the same distance with more climbing. This could hurt!
Of course, Killington, Terrible, and Snow kind of say it all, don’t they?
@Spearfish
Have a look on the cogals page, @936adl is the organiser of the Shifnal Cogal if I’m not mistaken.
@Chris
Excellent! Great minds really do think alike.
Thanks for the heads up, leaves me a good amount of time to get ready for those hills, assuming that @936adl is happy for a “mostly flat around my area” type to suffer along at the back of the group?
@RedRanger
“chocolate milk”
That will never get old for me either now – thanks for sharing.
@itburns
Methinks you are a mental toss flycoon.
@Spearfish
Mate – I’m hoping to peak just in time for this and am planning to form an inverse breakaway group. It’s like a traditional attack only you slow down instead of speeding up. You’re welcome to join me.
@heinous
Sounds ideal. Round here the biggest hill we’ve got is literally tiny so I don’t know how i’ll go on what I know are some pretty big climbs but i’m going to give it a bloody good go. Training starts tomorrow… 100k taking in all the climbing I can find!
@Steampunk
I completely agree. I usually run a 25 on the rear but I am thinking that I will have a 27 for this ride. Nothing taken alone would really require much more than a 39/25 but over 300 k’s with all of that climbing, might be better to spin a few hills on the 27 instead of the 25.
@Gianni
The thing I remember about that book is when he got rid of the carbuncle on his foot in a waterfall. Probably not the key message the writer intended.
@Steampunk
While i am going to be there with my 42-53 and 13-19 cassette.
@Steampunk
Also completely agree with this as well. I cannot emphasize enough that this will NOT be a casually deliberate ride. This is a pure Rule #5 ride, not because we are going to be killing the pace or trying to drop anyone but purely b/c if you are not in really great shape for this, you will fuckin’ die on this route.
It took the pro’s in the video over 10 hours to do this. If you are not able to roll 200 k solo at 28+ kph a month before this ride, you had better think twice about it.
I am 40 yars old, and no Cat 2 racer, but I am seriously training for this ride starting a month ago b/c it is going to be so hard and we have to maintain a pretty decent pace for the whole ride to finish before dark. I imagine that we will break into sub groups as the day progresses, and I also imagine that I will not be in the first group, but we cannot expect to do that distance all together.
Like I said earlier, I have no intention of it being a ride where we kill the pace or try to drop riders, but in order to finish, you have to be ready for this, myself included. Total Rule V ride as it can be no other way.
@Godsight
Team Canada bringing the V!
They way I was thinking about the pace of that ride is first 50km no drop pace so everyone can get going nicely while we try to get the pace up to 30kph +. Once we settle for a 30+ kph pace, we keep it for all the way until the last 30-20km which will be free for all cause i dont think 40kph+ would be a pace we could keep up for 250km
@godsight
Fixed your post. We’re starting at V past V, after all.
Well all, Buck has been doing a lot of work prepping for this thing but being one of the original instigators, I feel I should be helping. Here’s the current start list based on initial responses:
Start List:
Buck Rodgers
King Clydesdale
Canuck Chuck
Steampunk
Rob Sean
Roger
Heinous
Spearfish
Godsight
Perhaps (Should HTFU and move to the startlist):
MJ Moquin
Anjin-San
While the more the merrier its also a logistics thing to keep track of everyone. I think it would be really great to see over a dozen of us out there. Plus remember, the more riders the less time in the wind, the faster the paceline (if we get one going) etc. If everyone worked hard to get in shape, then working together we could at least tear ass during the first half of the day, then split up by abilities at the base of Killington or Terrible, depending on how much discrepancy there is in ability levels. I would hope the group could stick together, but there’s always complications.
I also noted that none of the Keepers have announced they would be making the trip. I was hoping one or two could make it.
@godsight
Great thought on the first 50 k’s. Love it!
Definitely will be good to try to get a decent warm up pace for the first 50 k or so as a full group. Maybe 25 to 30 kph as a group and it will also let us see who has good legs and who might be opting for a 165 k trip as opposed to the whole thing (and it could be me calling it a day mid-way). I do not see myself hitting any consistent 40+kph over much of this ride at all. I might very well be the one off the back if that is the main pace!
I REALLY think that we will find that we have multiple abilities and for a ride this length, I do not think that we will all stick together. Even might be solo people at times. We will all need to be a bit self sufficient going into this in case we can’t hack it and have to drop out at km 133 or 187 or 278 or whatever. That is why everyone must have their own set up on transportation. The main group will NOT be waiting for everyone if they are not on pace to finish, including me or anyone else. This is a Rule V Cogal.
I think that we will all be okay and will find our own pace with a few others and will regroup here and there. I just do not want us chained together and thinking that I have to kill it to try to stay on or that I have to go way slow to keep someone on. I imagine it will take us (or at least me) well over 12 hours and there will be plenty of time to chat in groups as we regroup and fall back or spin ahead.
@King Clydesdale
Dude, you are as much into setting this puppy up as me! We’re co-conspirators on this one in my opinion! :)
I am NOT the Lord High Comannder of this thing, just a guy trying to set up realistic expectations and make it work out the best for everyone involved! But make no mistake, this is going to be a BITCH of a ride!
I must say that tearing ass for the first half would probably leave most of us dead in the water at about 200 k’s, though! Steady and on the slower end of our ability will be what allows us to finish which is why we will all have to be in the best shape possible so that our slow and steady pace is pushing close to 28 kph for 330 k’s.
@Buck Rogers
Nice Buck.Far away from me though.Will read your stories I bet.
@King Clydesdale
Rumours of Rob and xyxax attending in earlier discussions. Also, possibly, Mikel Pearce adding to the Canadian contingent.
@TommyTubolare
Should be a trip to be remembered, no doubt.
And with your help, I just might run my tubular HED Belgium C2’s, as long as they are not destroyed on the pave two weeks prior!
@Buck Rogers
Cool! How you doing with those tubes?
I’m in Boston, will be heading up Wednesday with a sag driver.
Anyone need a lift?
@TommyTubolare
Poorly, but only because I have yet to pick up some acetone or thinner. I have everything I need, although the cassette is not here yet. But it is on the way. Really need to get the acetone and get the old glue off!
@roger
F’king awesome, mate!
I really hope that between us all we can work out rides and this will help a bunch. I am working on my best friend trying to get him to meet us at the finish with a van to help haul some people back as well. No promises yet, though.
@Steampunk
@King Clydesdale
@Buck Rogers
Yes, thanks @Steampunk. I can confirm pre-flight clearance pending mid-year executive review.
Now I must go scrub pots and vacuum the ceiling.
For whatever reason, my VMH appears to be OK with getting up at O dark hundred to drive me from our hotel in Burlington to the Canadian boarder. I’d have a spare bike carrier on the roof for any one else based in the area.
It would be awesome to have a ride back from the finish. It that could be swung, having a reverse sag wagon may be ideal: establish a finish time, after which the van starts driving back up 100, picking up riders still on the course, enabling all to partake in the post ride malty beverages.
@CanuckChuck
“Boarder”? Really? Too much red wine tonight… or whishful thinking re: decent snowboarding condition. How about “border”?
@Anjin-san
Book of V rings? This is a book I need to know more about!
This is going to be a tough one for me to make, but if there was ever a reason to go to the East Coast and not NYC, then this is it. Man-oh-man…gears turning.
@Sean
Anyone who wants to join – V follower or not – is welcome to join. If you can’t currently follow The V, we expect this to be your suitable induction and you would follow from that day onwards…
@frank
As a New Yorker I agree 100%. The solution is to do both.
@King Clydesdale
I’ve been in since the first mention.
Now whether I survive or not will remain to be seen.
@King Clydesdale
Public humiliation is effective… I’ll turn up my efforts with the VMH.
@frank
This is the cogal where the minions are going to need a fearless leader, we need you there to give it 1) class 2) wit and humor 3) true Dutch inspiration!
The book of V rings is the perfect warm up read, lots of strategy.
@King Clydesdale
Adding my name to the list (I am Rob – just Rob), I do not know this upstart Rob Sean…
Start List:
Buck Rodgers
King Clydesdale
Canuck Chuck
Steampunk
Rob Sean
Roger
Heinous
Spearfish
Godsight
Rob
Perhaps (Should HTFU and move to the startlist):
MJ Moquin
Anjin-San
@Rob
Failure of the enter key….
Start training now, indeed.
Last Summer I trained hard to ride 240km/3,000m. I could easily do 150km and a similar amount of climbing. I had my nutrition figured out. With a month to go I rode a mountain pass with more climbing and felt fine.
But I still got to 200km and felt completely drained with 90 minutes of riding left. I ended up averaging about 27km/h and finished in under 9 hours (granted, it was mostly alone with only an occasional random paceline).
But to think that you’ll have 100km and 3-4 hours left at that point! You definitely need to train such that you can ride 200 or 250 km with strength left. Chug protein powder. Climb, climb, climb.
Or plan to do it in two days instead of one? ;-)
@G’rilla
Yep. I’ll be working on my thousand-mile stare…
Part of my prep once I’m into my base period will be all day rides. Not going to focus to much on killing myself but instead just being in the saddle for 10 hours or more at a time. I’ll do the killing oneself bit on the Thursday Night Race Pace Ride and keep up with the fast groups on Tuesday nights.
Right now however I’m on the rollers and in the weight room.
I’m toying with the idea of just resting and carb-loading right up until the end of June. It could work…
I have been reading Velominati for a while now, never felt the need to do more then read the posts/comments. This Cogal was my tipping point, I’m in.
Also June 28,2012 is a Thursday, did you mean June 23 or July 28?
@QuattroCreep
AWESOME that you are joining in.
We are indeed going on the 28th, Thursday, to try to beat traffic. Weekend traffic can be a bitch.
Thursday it is, best reason to take time off work I’ve had in a while.
Hey Buck,
I’m not much for organization, but would it be prudent to start a speadsheet of some sort? Gathering information such as the forum member, how many in their group, emergency contact info, their arrival date, whether they will have sag support, etc etc?
I can definitely understand the cogal mentality of ‘grab yer bootstraps and start kickin’, but being somewhat local, if folks wanted to come, but felt excluded due to lack of personal sag or whatnot, then I can definitely get more friends to drive and so forth.
I am admittedly limited on hardware outside of my 9piece multitool and floor pump.
Updated Startlist:
Added xyxax and Quattro Creep to the startlist.
Moved MJMoquin from perhaps to start.
Added Frank, Mikel Pearce and G’rilla to perhaps
Start List:
Buck Rodgers
King Clydesdale
Canuck Chuck
Steampunk
Rob
Sean
Roger
Heinous
Spearfish
Godsight
xyxax
Quattro Creep
MJ Moquin
Perhaps (Should HTFU and move to the startlist):
Anjin-San
Frank
G’rilla
Mikel Pearce
May need to request a reprint run of this T:
http://cutawayclothing.bigcartel.com/product/dumptruck-full-of-awesome-t-shirt
@Steampunk
Sorry, I already am on this program so you will have to pick another – could I suggest cross training, perhaps swimming??
@CanuckChuck
To quote Team America: Fuck yeah!!!
But we will need it in orange and black with the V cog thrown in there somewhere!
@roger
Great thought. Unfortunately it takes all my computer savvy just to figure out how to post a reply to your post!
King Clydesdale is doing an awesome job of keeping a list of those who say that they are coming. Maybe we can put an asterix by those who can accommodate others.
As it is now, unless you personally art something up, the meeting point is at the border at V past V in the A M.
@King Clydesdale
whew, Strack steps into the line of fire. He is young, shows alot of post, perfect amount of dumb.
Brett and I are oceans away from Vermont, that’s my excuse at least. If I lived in Vermont I would have to come up with a medical excuse besides my mangina being sore.
@Rob
Swimming sounds like a lot of work. I’ll try meditation instead.