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New milestone: metric century
Yesterday I completed a new milestone on the Coker, a metric century of 62 miles. The Clarksville Labor Day Weekend Classic in Tennessee is billed as one of the flattest century rides in the country. A lot of bicylists use this as their first 100 mile century ride, my brother was one of them. Kudos to brother David! At first I wasn't sure if I really wanted to do this ride on a unicycle or even if I'd be able to. My Miyata air saddle has been shipped to David Stockton who's fitting it on a new frame from Hunter Cycles. On the day before the ride, I took the Viscount saddle off my 24" trainer, trimmed down the seatpost with a pipe cutter, and took it out for a brief 4 mile ride. Everything seemed to be okay, though I probably should have put in a shim on the seatpost. On the morning of the ride, I left about 20 minutes before the official start so as not to get tangled up in the mass start. I was also worried about my speed, since the SAG vehicles would pick up any stragglers at 4:30 pm, and figured an early start would give me an extra margin of safety. About 2 miles into the ride, the 62 mile and 100 mile courses diverged. After 40 minutes of riding I started getting passed by people riding the metric century. It was fun being out on the road with other riders who would whoop and holler as they passed. By the time I'd arrived at the first rest stop (15 miles) I was still ahead of some of the slower metric riders. I arrived at the rest stop about 2 hours after I'd started, without a single dismount. This would be my longest continuous riding for the day. Thereafter, I would be forced to dismount about every half hour to relieve myself of saddle pressure. I didn't have a cyclocomputer on the Coker, but I could estimate my distance by checking my watch. I was probably averaging slightly over 8 miles an hour. After the third hour, the traffic from the metric riders had mostly passed me by, including some children on mountain bikes. I would often push down on the nose of the saddle with my left hand, stand up and balance on the pedals to relieve saddle pressure. This slowed my progress and was tiring on the quads, but kept me going forward. After 4 hours into the ride a yellow VW beatle SAG vehicle pulled up and warned me that there was a fast paceline approaching. It was the lead group in the 100 mile ride, perhaps 25-30 riders strong. Soon afterwards, I rode into the second rest stop at mile 31, near the Jefferson Davis monument. (Why a monument to Jefferson Davis in Kentucky which fought on both sides?) The 31 mile halfway point to the metric ride was the 70 mile point for the century riders, and I got the chance to see many of my friends in the Harpeth Bike Club riders there. I pulled out of the second rest area feeling pretty strong, but knew the next section would take its toll. My initial plan was to stay on the unicycle for 30 minutes, then take a 1 minute break to relieve the saddle pain. So I was constantly watching my wris****ch, waiting for the blessed break time. Occassionally I'd cheat and dismount after 20 minutes. Additionally I was having some minor problems with the saddle twisting whenever I'd apply too much torque. I was regretting not taking the time to shim the seatpost. On my other saddle I've got GB handlebars which help (a little) to get some relief while riding. I'm not sure how much this would help for longer distances, but I've got to find some solution for long rides. I also took some Ibuprofen, which is pretty rare for me. After leaving the second rest stop, the next one would be at mile 49. On my bicycle, I'd normally pooh-pooh these short distance rest stops, but in my present transportation mode I welcomed them. For the remainder of the ride I would be passed by the slower 100 mile riders. It was great to hear their encouragement, and it kept me going when all I wanted to do was get off the stupid unicycle. Several times someone would whip out their camera and say "I've got to get a picture of this." Even a few cars not associated with the ride would slow down and yell out "Totally awesome!". One advantage (the only advantage?) with traveling at such a slow speed is that I never missed any of the road markings. At one point I yelled at some riders who missed a turn and redirected them to the route. At another I yelled but the riders were too far ahead to hear me. I later heard one of them exclaim as we met at the last rest stop, "I've already done my 100 miles!" The toughest part of the ride was the last few miles into the third and last rest stop. We encountered some brief rain, which wasn't unexpected and actually somewhat refreshing. The overcast day had kept the worst of the heat from scorching us. I had miscalculated the time/distance and thought I had another half hour until the last rest stop. It was somewhat discouraging. Then the rest stop appeared as an unexpected surprise. I talked with a few riders including two of my brother's riding buddies, Kenny and Jim. They told me David was only a few miles behind. Leaving the last rest stop, I was feeling confident that I'd finish the ride, with only 13 miles to go. It helped that there was a continuous stream of riders still on route. Interestingly, most people were curious as to the difficulty of climbing the hills, (what hills?) which were the least of my problems. Saddle comfort is the only killer issue. I wonder if (like bicycling) saddle comfort will increase with training? I hope so. Soon after I left the last rest stop, perhaps 10 miles from the finish, my brother passed me. He was looking in pretty good shape and said he only hit a rough patch between miles 60 and 70. He would have enough time to shower and get back out and take some photos of my arrival. I arrived about an hour later, still ahead of a very few scattered 100-mile riders. My finish time was under 8 hours. On the way home we stopped and ate dinner with some friends from the Harpeth Bike Club, always a pleasant way to end any kind of ride. -- rubic - Unstable Coker Addict It's never to late to have a happy childhood. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ rubic's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/3956 View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/27495 |
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#2
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New milestone: metric century
Great write up! Congratulations. Did you have to take any "circulation breaks" besides rest breaks? My longest time in the saddle for both Coker on yesterday's 22 mile ride and a 24x2.6 on a similar railroad grade 15 mile ride is 2.5 hours for each. It seems the time to get the circulation back comes before the rest break is needed. -- UniBrier - Its Time to Ride Steve DeKoekkoek - I've got a one track mind. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ UniBrier's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/1404 View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/27495 |
#3
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New milestone: metric century
Did you have to take any "circulation breaks" besides rest breaks? Yes. After the first 2 hours, I got off the Coker about every 30 minutes, for a 1-2 minute break. It was frustrating because I wasn't tired, but I had to give my butt a rest. Do you have any suggestions as to what a good seat design would be? Silk and gossamer? 0.5 wink One of the more radical ideas I had during the ride was a seat that could be rotated 90 degrees, using different pressure points. Rotating it once every half hour to effectively change seat positions. But that's probably not practical. This is a major factor in uni distance riding. Yes. I could have easily gone 100+ miles, but the cumulative saddle pressure is just too much to bear. It is definitely the limiting factor for long rides. Bummer. Questions: 1. Does training improve the ability to withstand longer saddle time? 2. Has anyone adopted a leather Brooks saddle for the Coker? --- One last thing I may seriously consider, though I'd like to get feedback from others first. It would appear that the aerobar setup I've seen with some Cokers might permit some weight to be shifted from the saddle, especially those with elbow/forearm rests. Comments? -Jeff -- rubic - Unstable Coker Addict It's never to late to have a happy childhood. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ rubic's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/3956 View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/27495 |
#4
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New milestone: metric century
Wow! A helluva distance in a helluva short time! I'm impressed. -- Mikefule - Roland Hope School of Unicycling The long distance Fule on his farcycle ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Mikefule's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/879 View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/27495 |
#5
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New milestone: metric century
A helluva distance in a helluva short time! I'm impressed. Coming from you Mike, that's a helluva compliment. I'm quite impressed with your 12+ miles in a hour's ride. -Jeff -- rubic - Unstable Coker Addict It's never to late to have a happy childhood. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ rubic's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/3956 View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/27495 |
#6
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New milestone: metric century
Jeff, Nice Post. It's weird how much pain you can endure when everyone's yelling out support I'm in training for my 5th MS150 on my Coker. I don't ride (train) nearly as much as I used to, but I try to keep "my foot in the door" for bike rides in this area. I need to come over to TN from OK and ride with you sometime. Are you still planning to ride the NATCHEZ trail? -Mark -- Cokerhead ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Cokerhead's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/136 View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/27495 |
#7
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New milestone: metric century
rubic wrote: *1. Does training improve the ability to withstand longer saddle time?* Some. But I think there's a limit, and that limit is somewhere below the # of hours in a saddle you get on a bike. Training will also improve your speed, which will cut down the saddle time for a given ride. But in the mean time you can play with equipment. *2. Has anyone adopted a leather Brooks saddle for the Coker?* I don't know about that, but I did once buy a new unicycle that came with a similar saddle (Ideale, from France). That was a Langenberg unicycle I bought in Germany in 1982. I no longer have the seat, and don't know if I have the "determination" to find out whether it would conform to my crotch before I died. Does today's average road bicyclist still use those things? *It would appear that the aerobar setup I've seen with some Cokers might permit some weight to be shifted from the saddle, especially those with elbow/forearm rests. Comments?* Heck yeah. I'm a relative beginner to road Cokering, but the handlebar is the only way to go. I can't imagine doing 100 km on a Viscount seat with no handle or handlebar. My hat's off! I really like my handlebar on my 8 mile ride each way to & from work. I especially like that I've set it up with two different hand positions. I have pictures of mine in the "Misc. MUni and Commuting 2003" album he http://www.unicycling.com/ofoto/unistuff.htm In any case, believe what works for the riders on the big uni tours (www.unitours.org). If they don't know what works, who does? On a bike, the ability to coast makes it easier to stand up every once in a while and give the crotch a rest. Handlebars support up to 40% of your weight. And I think the different pelvic angle of your body against the seat also makes a big difference. Scot Cooper used a bike seat for the Norway ride. For a unicycle with a handlebar, the rider probably no longer needs a saddle with the typical unicycle shape. You're not making lots of fancy turns, and you need comfort more than control. Sounds like it's time for the designers to start coming up with new seat shapes.... -Jeff [/b] -- johnfoss - Now riding to work John Foss the Uni-Cyclone www.unicycling.com ________________ "Where's my kids?" -- Amy Drummond "Where's my unicycle?" -- Andy Cotter spoken one right after the other, mostly to themselves, at NAUCC 2003 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ johnfoss's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/832 View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/27495 |
#8
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New milestone: metric century
johnfoss wrote: [b]Some. But I think there's a limit, and that limit is somewhere below the # of hours in a saddle you get on a bike. Training will also improve your speed, which will cut down the saddle time for a given ride. But in the mean time you can play with equipment. I don't know about that, but I did once buy a new unicycle that came with a similar saddle (Ideale, from France). That was a Langenberg unicycle I bought in Germany in 1982. I no longer have the seat, and don't know if I have the "determination" to find out whether it would conform to my crotch before I died. Does today's average road bicyclist still use those things? Heck yeah. I'm a relative beginner to road Cokering, but the handlebar is the only way to go. I can't imagine doing 100 km on a Viscount seat with no handle or handlebar. My hat's off! I really like my handlebar on my 8 mile ride each way to & from work. I especially like that I've set it up with two different hand positions. I have pictures of mine in the "Misc. MUni and Commuting 2003" album he http://www.unicycling.com/ofoto/unistuff.htm In any case, believe what works for the riders on the big uni tours (www.unitours.org). If they don't know what works, who does? On a bike, the ability to coast makes it easier to stand up every once in a while and give the crotch a rest. Handlebars support up to 40% of your weight. And I think the different pelvic angle of your body against the seat also makes a big difference. Scot Cooper used a bike seat for the Norway ride. For a unicycle with a handlebar, the rider probably no longer needs a saddle with the typical unicycle shape. You're not making lots of fancy turns, and you need comfort more than control. Sounds like it's time for the designers to start coming up with new seat shapes.... -- johnfoss - Now riding to work John Foss the Uni-Cyclone www.unicycling.com ________________ "Where's my kids?" -- Amy Drummond "Where's my unicycle?" -- Andy Cotter spoken one right after the other, mostly to themselves, at NAUCC 2003 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ johnfoss's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/832 View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/27495 |
#9
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New milestone: metric century
Congrats rubic on the long ride, especially w/o a handlebar! I am a firm believer in that training can only help out, both in less saddle time because of improved efficiency, and the old bum just getting used to being it. A handlebar is a must as well for long Coker rides, I use a air saddle with a handle bar and it is the only way I can ride for hours at a time. Way to Go! -- aspenmike - unicycling albino ------------------------------------------------------------------------ aspenmike's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/3768 View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/27495 |
#10
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New milestone: metric century
Hi John. But I think there's a limit, and that limit is somewhere below the # of hours in a saddle you get on a bike. With my current bike setup (Brooks saddle, relaxed geometry frame) I can almost ride indefinitely ... or at least until sleep deprivation takes its toll. I doubt that will be possible with my Coker, but any suggestions to extend my "cruising range" is appreciated. Does today's average road bicyclist still use those [Brooks] things? After last year's Boston-Montreal-Boston 1200K, the only people who weren't complaining about their seats were the Brooks saddle cultists. So I joined. 0.5 wink Sounds like it's time for the designers to start coming up with new seat shapes... Interestingly enough, David Stockton made the same point in a conversation we had last night. Thank you for your comments. -Jeff -- rubic - Unstable Coker Addict It's never to late to have a happy childhood. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ rubic's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/3956 View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/27495 |
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