'How to' 2 of 4 - Comfort
In the run up to Atlas mountain race I want to make 4 short ‘how to’ videos, to help others and talk about my thought process leading into a big race. I cannot cover everything in these short clips, or I’d be talking all day, but I will try to pick out the main elements. You can watch the video or read the text below.
Comfort might seem a weird title, the point is to make you think. If we were doing pre race analysis for a time trial or track race, we would be taking about aerodynamics – we all know aerodynamics is the most important factor. Well moving over to ultra endurance racing, comfort becomes the most important factor. This is my opinion, based on years of experience. If you want to go fast for an hour, comfort is not very important, you can shoehorn yourself into the best position, as long as you make the power. But want to go fast for seven days straight? Comfort is what you need. And when we talk about comfort, we are talking about the bike you’re riding; the setup, system and fatigue.
The bike: Mountain bike, road bike, gravel bike, or if you’re Ultan Coyle - a time trial bike. There will always be exceptions to the rule on what is best, but you need to think about what works for you and your body. Many riders looked at Jay Petervary racing Silk Road Mountain Race on a gravel bike, but if you dig into the reasons, it was for comfort on a personal level – to meet his needs. So, while a gravel bike might be faster over the same terrain than a mountain bike, when you look the bigger picture over multiple days, will that still hold true for you? Or an aggressively setup aerodynamic position for a road ultra, will you have the required core strength to maintain that position, or will you fatigue at a faster rate and run the risk of potential failure?
The setup: Bike fit is possibly the most important item to do and from a bike fitter that can get to grips with the demands of ultra endurance racing – think contact points. Aero or time trial bars are not for aerodynamics, they are for comfort. A bike fit with Jorrit of Strype Street Cycles revealed through saddle pressure mapping that when rolling forward and using TT bars, I reduced the pressure on saddle contact point by 15% - a huge reduction.
System: Location of bike packing bags – can you easily get to things? If you can’t get to your gloves or glasses easily, will you ride without them for a while? I have nerve damage in my hands from riding without gloves, having learnt the lesson the hard way. How heavy is your helmet, are you always riding around with a helmet light? What might not take a toll for a few hours, could well cause significant issues over the course of a few days. What groupset are you running? I spend extra money to get the best Shimano XTR, not because I wanted the lightweight groupset, but the force required for the shifter is lowest, the shifter also has two shifters, one up one down, so the effort is immediately split between thumb and forefinger, halving finger fatigue. It’s for this reason I also run electronic groupsets on the road.
Fatigue limitation: Training for ultra endurance is impossible, you cannot replicate the event in training to build the resilience required. At compromised level I do gym work to build strength beyond that possible on bike. You need to think how your body will react to multiple days of the same abuse. What might be acceptable for 6 hours, will likely not be for 6 days. While riding a rigid mountain bike or gravel bike off road is fine for a few hours, how much sorer will your shoulders and hands be after a week of it? What knock on impact will this have on your overall fatigue and ability to ride? What we are doing is hard enough already, so why not make it as easy as possible.
With ultra endurance racing, there is a balance to be struck, and it is my opinion you are best to sit on the comfort side of the balance.