[HAMR] Tarzan (Kurt Searvogel)

[LittleWheelsandBig]

He had a paid crew chief, rather than his wife following him. Has that changed?

[Frank9755]

I feel sorry for Kurt, but I think he could help Steve to get to a bigger distance than he otherwise would.  One which may not leave much left to go for to get the 100,000 mile record.

We all know that long distance cycling is a mental thing rather than a physical thing.  Steve has thought about this for 25 years.  There's no way he is not going to give it all he has to get the record.  And we all know that he is capable of riding very long days, for many days in succession. 

If Kurt's strategy is to try and ride a couple of miles more than Steve every day, as the weather here improves, he is going to find that it will start to get very big on him.  We know that Steve will ride very long hours in the spring and summer, and will continue to do so into the autumn.  Kurt is going to have to ride longer days to stay ahead.  But, as he does that, his average speed is going to come tumbling down, so he won't just have to ride a bit longer, it will be a lot longer.  Then, one day, he won't be able to beat Steve's mileage.  He'll give it a big shove the next day, and get back, maybe using his recombent.  But Steve will keep on grinding, and it will happen again.  And then Kurt won't be able to respond.  Then Kurt will be in very difficult place psychologically and may well have to give up. 

That's how I see it playing out.  Of course, I don't know anything at all about Kurt.  If he is able to match Steve when he starts cranking out the 20-hour days, 24-hour days or even 36-hour days, as he may well do in the Summer, then he will truly have earned his record.  But I fear that Kurt cannot quite know what is going to hit him!

[hillbilly]

I don't think I remember ever reading he had a paid crew.  From 10 January, it has been his partner (not sure it is his wife, I remember reading that he met her a couple of years ago on RAAM or somesuch.  Might be wrong though).

His FB page is showing the road rash etc he picked up from yesterday's tumbles.  Looks raw.  Hope they don't slow him down or affect his mindset.  Although given his pedigree, I'm sure they won't.

[LittleWheelsandBig]

From Kurt's website:
The crew consists of my full time crew chief Alicia Snyder and all of the volunteers that have provided help with routes, places to stay, bike services. If you would like to donate, support, partner or ride with Kurt please Contact us - we would love to have you on board!

Is that his wife/ partner?

[Frank9755]

I had assumed it was. They're going to be seeing a lot of each other this year!

[LittleWheelsandBig]

I thought his wife's name was Trish but I've been wrong plenty of times before.

[Salvatore]

This blog entry hints that it's more than a purely professional relationship.

[zigzag]

<...>If he is able to match Steve when he starts cranking out the 20-hour days, 24-hour days or even 36-hour days, as he may well do in the Summer, then he will truly have earned his record.  But I fear that Kurt cannot quite know what is going to hit him!

as ridiculous as it may sound i also think that Steve is just warming up now and building up the momentum. watch out when he really gets going! trans-siberian express vs tgv

[simonp]

The name Trisha is mentioned in his RAAM 2012 profile.

[hillbilly]

From Kurt's website:
The crew consists of my full time crew chief Alicia Snyder and all of the volunteers that have provided help with routes, places to stay, bike services. If you would like to donate, support, partner or ride with Kurt please Contact us - we would love to have you on board!

Is that his wife/ partner?

It looks like I'm misremembering.  Annoyingly I can't find the article where it came up.

<EDIT: Yeah, I'm wrong.  Married to Trish.  His crew are hired. Assuming Trish's Facebook is up to date, which it looks to be. Not that I'm stalking  >

[Wowbagger]

You make it sound so easy Wowbagger.  He's already exceeding his schedule, but was expecting to go for longer/faster in the summer.

Everything in the plan is just an estimate since much will depend on the weather and where I can start and stop each day.   My goal is to start out riding 10 hours a day the first week on my long rides and then add 10 minutes to the time ridden each week as I get more daylight and better weather.   I plan to increase my time on the bike to 14-15 hours during the summer and then taper it back down to about 10 hours a day by the end of 2015.    My speed goal for riding is to start out riding my long days at about 17 mph which, for me, is actually a little slow.   As my fitness improves, my average speed will get better and by mid year I should be riding at around 20 mph or better and should be able to hold that fitness level for the rest of the year.

Everything's easy from a swivel chair in front of a computer in a centrally heated house. 

[paul851]

Kurt appears to be on the Van Fleet trail at the moment , zero motor vehicles and arrow straight 

[Hummers]

This sounds like Tarzan has been to Steve's gaff:

...and taking a month long vacation to study alternate building methods for constructing harmonious living spaces at Earthship Academy.

H

[hillbilly]

Kurt appears to be on the Van Fleet trail at the moment , zero motor vehicles and arrow straight 

What a beautiful strip of tarmac.  Lucky man.  Although I am going to guess it looks like that for most of its length.

From the video his support team put on Facebook, many of his routes are based on a cycle touring map issued by Miami state.  So I suspect it is riddled with lovely settings.  Couldn't be doing it myself, as it is too flat.  I find riding in the flat harder that in lumps, as you have to keep pedalling (rather than freewheeling down a slope).  Even the routes Steve is doing would do my napper in.  Horses for courses, I s'pose.

[Wobbly]

as ridiculous as it may sound i also think that Steve is just warming up now and building up the momentum

Not ridiculous at all. And I believe that Steve holds the same opinion.

[Climberruss]

as ridiculous as it may sound i also think that Steve is just warming up now and building up the momentum

Not ridiculous at all. And I believe that Steve holds the same opinion.

If Steve holds the same riding "pattern" for a few more weeks, he will be wonderfully conditioned by the time the weather improves. He will then find it much easier to up the ante without getting overly tired.

[hillbilly]

I would imagine that Tarzan is thinking the same thing about himself.  I'll be pleasantly surprised if Steve puts big mileage into Kurt consistently.  I do suspect he will be able to chip back 10 miles a day when the conditions in the UK get more favourable.  That will see him win, provided Kurt doesn't put the throttle down in Jan/Feb, Nov/Dec. 

As someone pointed out below, I would have imagined Kurt might have "made hay whilst the sun shines" and sought to stick 50 miles into Steve every day whilst there is such a huge difference between the conditions he is riding in, and those Steve is overcoming.  That he isn't is a tactical blunder in my opinion, but time will tell.

It's fun seeing them tussle.

[Wowbagger]

It's fun seeing them tussle.

It's more than that. It's a huge privilege having the nearest possible thing to a ringside seat when two top quality mileage monsters battle it out over an entire year. When Tommy did it, he too had competition, but punters then had to wait a week to buy the paper to see how they are getting on. We have live updates. It's absolutely wonderful.

[Wobbly]

What he said.

[Ningishzidda]

"The gentler gamester is the soonest winner."

[Ivo]

It's fun seeing them tussle.

It's more than that. It's a huge privilege having the nearest possible thing to a ringside seat when two top quality mileage monsters battle it out over an entire year. When Tommy did it, he too had competition, but punters then had to wait a week to buy the paper to see how they are getting on. We have live updates. It's absolutely wonderful.

Very well said. Something for the Librarian?

[Basil]

Some struggle with the concept of a test match, a sporting event that lasts for five days.
Here we have an event that will last for 365 days!  And I'm going to be glued to it and it's going to be glorious.

Admittedly, there is less chance of it ending in a draw than the cricket.

[thing1]

It's fun seeing them tussle.

It's more than that. It's a huge privilege having the nearest possible thing to a ringside seat when two top quality mileage monsters battle it out over an entire year. When Tommy did it, he too had competition, but punters then had to wait a week to buy the paper to see how they are getting on. We have live updates. It's absolutely wonderful.

A privilege indeed.

One thought that keeps popping into my head is how the internet has made this sort of niche-obsessive sport following possible at all. I think it's no co-incidence that this record went unchallenged for 80 year and then three come along at once. They are products of their time. This sort of challenge is hard enough, without attempting it in a total media/social void.

Back in the early 20th century, before television, the weekly or daily press were the normal means of sport reporting. Multiday endurance races suited this format well, with PBP and annual records both being (in a way) the pinnacle of cycling achievement around then. Mobile radio broadcasting and then television made stage racing more exciting to follow, and displaced those endurance races. The "single channel" media only supported mass, not niche, entertainment, and so endurance racing fell by the wayside.

Now, with minute by minute tracking and "civilian reporting" available via the internet, the longer endurance races can gain a following once more. Each in their own way, the various round the world record attempts, transcontinental races, Strava monthly challenges, and now HAM'R seem to fit into this trend.

If this doesn't convince you, I'll throw in one more thought: Steve himself was not a man of the internet until he attempted the AUK points record. He found the entirely self-supported long miles socially isolating, especially by end of summer, and if I recall correctly cited joining yacf as a big help in seeing it through to the end.

[andrew_s]

I see Kurt is heading for the city of Frostproof.
Rubbing it in, or what 

[Ham]

Some struggle with the concept of a test match, a sporting event that lasts for five days.
Here we have an event that will last for 365 days!  And I'm going to be glued to it and it's going to be glorious.

Admittedly, there is less chance of it ending in a draw than the cricket.

I have a fancy in my mind that it would be entirely excellent if both complete the year but decide to wheel across the line hand in virtual hand to get to the exact mileage for both. A fitting end to what would be a monumental achievement, one which very very, very few could emulate. Won't happen like that I know.