With Hell of Hunterdon less than 48 hours away, and Battenkill in less than 3 weeks, the season is starting for me and most of my crew (for some of you, you're already well underway!). With that in mind, I put a few thoughts together for the AE Collective to think about...maybe you'll find something in here to help out a bit.
Since HOH is an hour away, and it looks like there are several ride
options being offered, I think travel/transport is an easy thing to
check off the list. Add the fact that Sam is getting up at O'Dark-Thirty
to get an HB Tent set up and it looks like the morning is relatively
easy. Having a place to gather and coordinate, leave bikes, talk a bit,
have some coffee and take care of registration takes a lot of stress
away from what can typically be a stressful few hours.
Bike Set-Up/Gear:
Clean your bike today. Clean the chain and drivetrain. Lube it. Tighten the bolts. And then don't think about it. Check
the weather forecast. Looks like a chilly, but not too cold, start, and
a sunny, relatively warm early spring day. You guys know what your
knees/elbows and fingers can handle with certain temps, so plan to dress
accordingly. For me, it'll be arm and knee warmers with a spring weight
compression garment underneath my jersey. I'll wear my usual cap under
my helmet, but nothing on my ears. And I'll wear a lightweight shoe
cover/boot to keep my feet warm.
Figure out tomorrow today...try
to take the stress of any decisions out of the equation. I like to know
what my commute/work/family schedule is going to look like...if not
specifically, then at least a solid framework. A nice, low stress dinner and
an early bedtime is the look we're going for. I DO NOT recommend
changing what you've been eating...and DO NOT CARBO LOAD. CARBO LOADING
is nothing more than LOADING UP WITH CRAP. And CRAP IN will lead to CRAP
OUT, in one way or another.
As for eating on the morning of...I
usually look to take in 500 calories in the 90-120 minutes before the
start. For me, it's homemade oatmeal with a banana, almond milk, a
little brown sugar and agave syrup, some peanut butter and few nuts,
dried fruit and coconut. Coffee...of course! I drink coffee every day.
Not going to change it up. Then I usually look to get 200 calories in
the hour leading up to the start. In the case of HOH, since it's
strictly a bike event, I usually take in solids. I'll likely bring a
homemade rice bar (thinking almonds, cherries and dark chocolate) or a
waffle with peanut butter and nutella. If you're stomach isn't so good
with the solids that close to the start, a Hammer gel and diluted drink
(I'm a big fan of skratch labs) is a good way to get the calories in.
Time to get started...
ALLEZ
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