Snowmass/Capitol Creeks
I'm posting what I hope will be useful route descriptions of the standard rides I do here in Aspen area, to save myself having to give detailed route info at the time of the camp. They can be read in full at my blog, link below in my sign line. Here is the "MapMyRide" link for this route (or at least the main part of it) so you can see elevations, distances, etc.
http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/17450802
(For some reason, an embedded link will not work here, so just copy and paste this.)
This map does not include the Capitol Creek portion of the route, but you can easily see it on the map.
This route is 52.5 miles long, has a maximum elevation of 8100', has 4 climbs of 5-7 miles in length, with most of the climbing about 5%, and a few sections of steper grades. It usually takes me 3 hours and twenty minutes, @ 150 TSS points.
Comments
I'll be posting a description for Independence Pass on Wednesday, after I ride up there to watch the USPCC or whatever it's called.
My own view is that this ride is not very useful for IM training, especially 6-7 weeks before the race. The elevation is just to high to allow and real work to be down, other than survival. And, for me at least, the trip down on a TT bike (4000' on a sometimes sketchy narrow road with traffic) is actually painful.
But I'll certainly encourage those who want to "do it just to do it" to get it out of their system.
@ Kurt - I saw your picture with the Pass marker, don't know which side you climbed from. The side from Twin Lakes is a MUCH better quality road, and is not nearly as long, as it starts from a higher elevation. From my house, the low point is about 7600', topping out at 12,100' - 60+ miles and it takes me 6 hours.
I will be there Thursday early afternoon and leaving early afternoon tuesday- That leaves two short ride days and 4 full days. I am hoping to get in 1200 TSS and then some runs as well. Is this more than I should expect?
I would like to do the Independence Pass ride but maybe not until monday so that I can get all my quality work in before I do something that is just for bragging rights.
Al- I'm getting real excited to do this! I'll be getting a little precursor in at the High Pass Challenge on Sept 11th. That's the ride from Packwood to the top of Mt St Helens.
@ Steve - First of all, you might want to discount your TSS goal by 10% for the altitude, by reducing your FTP for the trip by 10%.
I looked back at my first five days here last year (when I was probably in the same shape you will be this Sept). I did 4 rides in the first five days, ranging from 2:50 to 4:15, all were @ a TSS of 160-170, based on my Sea Level FTP. I did 2 swims and 2 bricks during that time, but could not complete my planned long run - I quit after 2 miles. So 150 a day certainly seems reasonable. 200? I'd suggest building to that - do the first 2-3 days at 160-ish, and then see how you feel.
The key thing is how you manage your effort during the rides. It will be imperative that you (a) understand the terrain you'll be riding on each day and (b) planning for how hard to do each segment of that terrain: flat/down/up. I suggest treating the up parts of each ride as specific intervals @ 70-90% effort, depending on the length of the climb, and then cruising the downhills as "recovery". There are some ride segments which are either "flat" (1-2% up or down), or downhill into the wind where a decision will also need to be made about how hard to push.