Yet Another Cycling Forum
General Category => Audax => Topic started by: Aidan on 19 February, 2016, 02:40:07 pm
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Alicia is going for it :thumbsup:
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(https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xaf1/v/t1.0-9/12662669_1703267429914963_9008446969816775891_n.jpg?oh=91904b197d666bdcbbf71db79580302c&oe=576EC525)
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woo-hoo great news, good luck Alicia :thumbsup:
though maybe not for Kajsa :-\
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Best of British to both of them :thumbsup:
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woo-hoo great news, good luck Alicia :thumbsup:
though maybe not for Kajsa :-\
Different records, Kajsa has continued undrafted so the two records should stand side by side.
IIRC Jacquie Schlitter is having a crack soon, she'll be under HAMR rules.
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Any news when this will start?
This is all very good indeed, I'm really pleased to see so much interest has been revived in these records! :-)
Very best wishes to Alica and Team!
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End of March according to Alicia's FB posts.
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Nuts! :thumbsup:
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Way to go!
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Bike Type (circle one)...
Is that gonna work? ???
Go Whip! :thumbsup:
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Ooooh! Those two are just as bad as each other :thumbsup:
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Excellent. Sometimes I'm happy to be wrong.
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woo-hoo great news, good luck Alicia :thumbsup:
though maybe not for Kajsa :-\
Different records, Kajsa has continued undrafted so the two records should stand side by side.
IIRC Jacquie Schlitter is having a crack soon, she'll be under HAMR rules.
They may be should stand side by side, but currently that won't be the case.
There is no distinction between drafting and non-drafting records as Guinness have accepted Kurt's UMCA (HAMR rules) ride as their own new World Record. There will be only one overall Guinness World Record Holder in each of the male and female categories unless they create separate drafting and non-drafting records in the future (I hope for Kajsa that this is the case).
Up until that point there could have been a clear distinction - register with the UMCA and it's a UMCA approved drafting record, register with Guinness and it's a non-drafting record.
I wonder if UMCA are accepting rides done under Guinness rules in a reciprocal agreement. Otherwise we could have a World Record Holder who rode under Guinness rules who doesn't feature in the UMCA age or overall categories. I thought part of the rationale of Guinness accepting UMCA approved rides was to prevent the situation where we had different records for the same thing under different governing bodies.
A bit messy if that is indeed the case.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_xmujSyxkU
;D ;D ;D
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I've just seen the latest video from Kajsa
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3_72NT930I (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3_72NT930I)
It seems Guinness have now retracted their rule changes that brought them in to line with the UMCA rules and Kajsa has been assured that they won't be changed again in the future.
So we now effectively have different rules for the Guinness male (drafting allowed etc) and female (non drafting etc) year records.
Does that have implications for Alicia who entering via the UMCA would have expected a Guinness Record acceptance just like Kurt?
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Thanks you for all the support!
"Whip crack away, whip crack away!" - funny Ham!!!!
FYI, Jacquie Schlitter is a friend of mine and has informed me that she won't be attempting the women's record at this time. Although, she is supporting me and my attempt along with... pssst an up and coming dynamo (you'll find out very soon if you haven't guessed).
As far as Guinness, it looks like it is what has been. I think the difference is that the UMCA is an official cycling verifying body. Whether Guinness will accept the women's record from the UMCA, we'll have to see. Guinness is not an official cycling verifying body, therefore I doubt the UMCA will accept a record from them, but I could be wrong. Whether I make it into Guinness has no bearing on my attempt. I just want to ride a century a day for a year and if it counts somewhere, great!
Yes, I'll be riding an upright and a recumbent. One circle = both
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Good luck, Whip. I'll be following your efforts (from my armchair) with interest and support.
GO WHIP!
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Not the first time IIRC has been a flat 'no, you don't', won't be the last.
Best of luck Whip, I too shall be keenly watching from my warm & comfortable chair :thumbsup:
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Best of luck! This year is turning out to have great entertainment with Kajsa and now Alicia!
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Nuts! :thumbsup:
Walnut, Whip?
Best of luck, Alicia!
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Best of luck! This year is turning out to have great entertainment with Kajsa and now Alicia!
Go Both of you. my armchair becons.
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Go Alicia.
The motto “Fortune favours the bold” was and is the motto of the Dixon family dating back to Sir James Dixon, 2nd Baronet of Hywortone. A Northumberland family.
Sir James’ son Robertus Dixon was the great grandfather of the surveyor Jeremiah Dixon, who together with Charles Mason, devised the Mason-Dixon line.
In American folklore, the southern states are affectionately referred to as ‘Dixie’.
Kurt rode his HAMR in Dixie, so IMHO, Fortune favoured the bold.
May the same be upon Alicia.
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8) :thumbsup:
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Of course, the most amazing part of this whole endeavour is I never had the Whip down as a day over 30. ;D
The very best of luck for your attempt, clearly you are one of a very select group that truly know what is required to ride consistent big miles, and I hope that those experiences pay huge dividends during the darker hours.
This all has the makings of a true Hollywood blockbuster!
Go go go!
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Kurt riding point :thumbsup:
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Of course, the most amazing part of this whole endeavour is I never had the Whip down as a day over 30. ;D
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Just as a US liquid gallon is 2/3rds of an imperial gallon, it would make sense if US years are similarly proportioned. I reckon this puts Alicia at about 33 or 34 real years old. ;)
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Allez Alicia!
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...I never had the Whip down as a day over 30. ;D
You old smoothie!
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Good luck Whip
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Of course, the most amazing part of this whole endeavour is I never had the Whip down as a day over 30. ;D
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Just as a US liquid gallon is 2/3rds of an imperial gallon, it would make sense if US years are similarly proportioned. I reckon this puts Alicia at about 33 or 34 real years old. ;)
Pedant hat in place ;D, it is Just over 4/5ths or about 0.83 imp gallons :thumbsup: But i'm not going to equate that to age or looks, oh no.
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What fantastic news!! Wishing you all the very best of luck. Will Kurt be in the RV shouting "don't forget your blinky!"
At least you won't have to take time off to get married! Can you also please let me know how you stay looking so young - I was truly shocked when I saw your form!!
I'm sure you'll give this record a huge whipping
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All the very best on your attempt Alicia :thumbsup: Im looking forward to the story unfolding.
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Ooh, the HAM'R* goes on and on giving! This has been an exciting 14 months already. I was loving watching Kajsa's efforts (and especially her videos), but this will add more spice to 2016-7. Go Alicia!
*Yes, I know Kajsa's not doing HAM'R officially, but you know what I mean.
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This is such brilliant news. And what a great moment in history it would be to see the men's and women's record holders stand together. The last time that happened was at a race track near Paddington in May 1940.
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Even more special considering they are husband and wife.
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Excellent news - good luck, Alicia!
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Of course, the most amazing part of this whole endeavour is I never had the Whip down as a day over 30. ;D
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Just as a US liquid gallon is 2/3rds of an imperial gallon, it would make sense if US years are similarly proportioned. I reckon this puts Alicia at about 33 or 34 real years old. ;)
Pedant hat in place ;D, it is Just over 4/5ths or about 0.83 imp gallons :thumbsup: But i'm not going to equate that to age or looks, oh no.
Yeah, I did bend teh numbers slightly, for effect. ;)
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On road.cc... :) Alicia Searvogel to attempt Billie Fleming's Year record (http://road.cc/content/news/179696-alicia-searvogel-attempt-billie-flemings-year-record)
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So finally Kurt is going to know what it's like to spend a year driving a camper van. That's what we call gender equality! All the best to both of you!
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But will he seek to emulate Alicia or use the cruise control?
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On road.cc... :) Alicia Searvogel to attempt Billie Fleming's Year record (http://road.cc/content/news/179696-alicia-searvogel-attempt-billie-flemings-year-record)
Smashing picture in that article :thumbsup:
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But will he seek to emulate Alicia or use the cruise control?
I think he'll have to use the crew's control
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She's only doing it to add a few chapters to the book. ;)
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She's only doing it to add a few chapters to the book. ;)
Damn, you're onto me.
Years of events and Kurt has never been on a support crew. How much support will I really need? Haha, this could be fun... bwhahahaha... O:-)
Thanks again to Citizenfish for another great book!!!!
BTW, don't forget your blinkie!
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Couldn't resist it when I heard you were thinking of popping over. Like Kurt I packed in my job for a year to write that one
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All the best Alicia!
We shall all be giving you our support here on the forum, I'm sure.
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Whip it by Devo:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIEVqFB4WUo (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIEVqFB4WUo)
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This posted on Fb today; revving up...
"Cyclasana Balanced Fitness - AKA Coach Kurt is very happy with our first testing session. Our goal before announcing the start day for Alicia's attempt is to make sure her fueling and recovery are working correctly. To this end we are doing two test sessions: the first with 3 centuries in a row, which we have just completed and the second with 4 centuries in a row. Alicia is taking a day off today and the second session will run from Wednesday - Saturday. If all goes according to plan we announce Saturday night a start date of March 26. - Kurt"
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Whip looks to be struggling with knee issues in her training.
For those who don't access her Fbook posts, this appeared yesterday:
"Anyone who has had or knows anything about knee issues with the symptoms being sharp pain above, below and behind the kneecap - please comment. The problem is only while riding, especially after climbing."
which appeared after this earlier extract:
"...Kurt was great to stay with me throughout the entire ride (he usually takes off with the fast kids). I was good for about 30 miles keeping up a 18- 20+ mph pace, but then the knee pain flared up. It got worse and worse which reflected on any power even when spinning. My speed usually drops after two hours of riding with him anyways. At a snails pace, Kurt stayed with me. If I dropped under 10 mph climbing he would put his hand on my back and help me up the hills even when I didn't want help. He said it gave him an extra workout... whatever. The sharp pain in my knees become unbearable and I would have to stop for a few minutes. My fear is blowing them up. The pain would subside and I'd have a temporary burst of energy. I made it to the end (less 10 miles because we made a wrong turn). I really need to get this sorted out professionally before it turns into an injury. ..."
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How much ridding did Whip do in the last year? Three and then four 100 miles rides is tough for anyone (except a select few) it sounds like an overuse injury. I sometime get knee pains if I have not ridden very much and then do a long ride. Have to settle back into normal daily rhythm and then increase mileage again.
My body does not like quick increase in mileage.
BB
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In the latter part of the year, she got a lot more miles in.
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Kurt put a shout out to YACF and I talked about the YEAR on this podcast interview with Over The Top.
http://www.acast.com/overthetopcycling/overthetopcycling-kurt-aliciasearvogelhamr?autoplay
Update: moved my seat up and forward plus added pedal extensions called "knee savers" and what a difference! Overuse and climbing a lot when we've been in the flats for a year hasn't helped. Otherwise, fittness is great. We were in Arizona yesterday and asthma was a bit of a problem which I haven't had an issue with for a long long time. Interesting to see what pops up so that we can get it all manageable beforehand. Off to New Mexico and then to Texas to catch a ride with Hell Week (doesn't that sound nice, huh).
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Glad to hear you've found a potential solution to your problem. GL
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I had to google what knee savers were, first result was a foam mat :-\ :) then found the correct website :thumbsup: putting the pedals wider apart seems simple and obviously works.
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Good Luck Alicia, I too will be watching your progress from the comfort of my armchair. Does Kurt know how to use the cooker etc? :D
Think I'll try a pair of these knee saver thingy's as it's becoming clear that on a long ride (200Km) I am suffering from cramps in my feet and in my ankles which seems to come and go during the ride, most uncomfortable. I am a little Charlie Chaplin in my walk (toes pointing outwards, no moustache and cane).
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Glad you've found some alleviation to the knee issue. Bummer about the asthma though; was that heat/dust related? Good luck, Alicia!!
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I had to google what knee savers were, first result was a foam mat :-\ :) then found the correct website :thumbsup: putting the pedals wider apart seems simple and obviously works.
^^This
Only 1cm either side but my knees no longer trace a figure of eight when I get tired.
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Kurt put a shout out to YACF and I talked about the YEAR on this podcast interview with Over The Top.
http://www.acast.com/overthetopcycling/overthetopcycling-kurt-aliciasearvogelhamr?autoplay
Update: moved my seat up and forward plus added pedal extensions called "knee savers" and what a difference! Overuse and climbing a lot when we've been in the flats for a year hasn't helped. Otherwise, fittness is great. We were in Arizona yesterday and asthma was a bit of a problem which I haven't had an issue with for a long long time. Interesting to see what pops up so that we can get it all manageable beforehand. Off to New Mexico and then to Texas to catch a ride with Hell Week (doesn't that sound nice, huh).
This is a great interview and well worth a listen. I type this and I'm only 9 minutes in!
And I get a mention ;-)
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I couldn't get it to play :'(
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Shame
I was WFH yesterday so played this on headphones while I did some testing. Interesting to listen to an experienced (cycling) audience question Kurt and 'Whip'.
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Crack on, Whip.
Oh! The Kurt's RV is a-rollin' on over the plains,
With the curtains flappin' and the driver slappin' the reins.
Beautiful sky! A wonderful day!
Whip crack-away!, Whip crack-away!, Whip crack-away!
Oh! The Kurt's RV is a-headin' on over the hills,
Where the puncture flints are thicker than porcupine quills.
Dangerous land! No time to delay!
So, Whip crack-away!, Whip crack-away!, Whip crack-away!
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Alicia Searvogel played by Doris Day? Does that make Kurt Howard Keel?
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From posts on Facebook it looks like Alicia's broken her clavicle - bugger and damnation!!!
Get well soon Mrs Whip!
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From posts on Facebook it looks like Alicia's broken her clavicle - bugger and damnation!!!
Get well soon Mrs Whip!
Buggeration!
Sorry to hear that - get well soon Alicia.
H
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GWS Alicia. Sounds painful!
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Heal fast Whip! :thumbsup:
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Ouch. GWS.
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Any update on recovery & rescheduled start?
Ta in advance, I'm farcebook phobic.
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Any update on recovery & rescheduled start?
Ta in advance, I'm farcebook phobic.
I follow Alicia and Kurt on facebook and while they've posted pictures of pretty places they have visited, there has been no news about hamr
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Thanks :thumbsup:
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The collarbone isn't healing and she might need surgery. So till that's resolved you won't be hearing too much about a start date.
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Just listened to Kurt and Alicia's interview mentioned above on acast.com; YACF mention is at ~34:25.
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Alicia's attempt will start on June 4th.
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woohoo! Fine roads and fair winds Whip. Mostly though I hope the obvious implication for your shoulder is correct.
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Alicia's attempt will start on June 4th.
Do we know where?
(Pictures Alicia and Amanda in a Flatwoods Standoff)
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Alicia's attempt will start on June 4th.
Do we know where?
(Pictures Alicia and Amanda in a Flatwoods Standoff)
It's grid-lock!
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Alicia's attempt will start on June 4th.
Do we know where?
(Pictures Alicia and Amanda in a Flatwoods Standoff)
Round the Rock event, Arkansas. She's doing the 100 mile event with Kurt.
It's grid-lock!
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Day 1 seemed to go well. Day 2 sounded harder. But Alicia is consistently riding centuries.
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She appears (at present) to be splitting her rides, 100m am and around 30-40m pm?
And yesterday's afternoon ride was curtailed, courtesy of a Chilli lunch :o
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A Century A Day For A Year is about all it adds up to and that's enough for me. Sorry, not exactly exciting sports entertainment or data. I do like to make note of all the quirky unexpected things that happen, though...
A friend of mine made this comment, "It will be a deep personal journey and that will be interesting to you. You will discover things about yourself that you never knew."
My replied back, "I hope not! I've been on enough deep personal journeys. I want this to be an empty one!"
La la la la laaaa......
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I for one wish you an uneventful year.
Go Alicia!
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Certainly no more events like collapsing pedals!
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Better a collapsing pedal than a collapsing hrung (http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/The_Great_Collapsing_Hrung_Disaster_of_Galactic_Sidereal_Year_03758).
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Stomach issues of late, bland food at moment and sure she'll get through it.
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Heart scare today for Alicia. Hospital tests came out normal but being monitored.
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Eeek! Well I guess that confirms the shoe cannot be more on the other foot in the Searvogel household.
Go Alicia! but go carefully please.
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On FB, Alicia reports a close call with a 'semi'* yesterday, but they were untouched.
* stop sniggering, you!
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Alicia is ditching the recumbent, having decided it is the root cause of her knee problems.
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After noticing that there have been no Strava updates from Alicia in the last three days I checked her Facebook page. She reports that her nephew Evan was killed in a car crash on the 5th and she sounds pretty shaken up by it. Not sure what this means for her riding but it must be really tough for her at the moment. Thoughts are with you.
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Yes, I saw that. Heart goes out to her and all that, but further posts suggested that she was still riding. Not sure how far.
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She has been riding
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Struggling with her motivation again today.
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Alicia is piling on the miles in the closing stages. Not sure if there is a minimum to set a category record, but I imagine she's surpassed it.
Here's to a big finish!
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She mentioned she was riding for her category monthly record, which would explain it.
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If Guinness have done a volte-face and recognised the HAM'R records, has the UMCA recognised Kajsa's Guinness record?
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I doubt that they will. They strike me as being a lot more professional than Guinness. The GBoR are whores. Now they know they have a pukka organisation who cares about endurance cycling they can just print the results and pretend they are theirs.
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This posted by Alicia on Fbook today.
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Here is a write up I did about my HAMR year:
LIVE IN DENIAL OF YOUR LIMITATIONS
Women’s HAMR 2017 (age group 50 - 59)
Alicia Searvogel
Had a female ever cycled over a hundred miles a day for a year? Could it be done and more so, could I do it? I had no idea. I just remember wondering this every time I threw on my backpack and went out for a long ride.
I didn’t even know what ultra cycling was until I saw the documentary Bicycle Dreams. I was in total awe of those who could push themselves to such an extreme in every aspect of their being. It was like climbing the Mount Everest of cycling! I didn’t know if I had what it would take to do something like that, but to strive for something like it was brewing. As luck would have it, the doors were opening and I was asked to crew for Kurt Searvogel and Joel Sothern’s two person RAAM (Race Across America) team in 2014.
When I first met Kurt, we had a conversation about cycling everyday for a year. Knowing a century was a piece of cake for someone of his caliber, I remember asking him, “Could you ride over 200 miles a day for a year?” He said, “Yea, if somebody paid me!” Well, nobody paid him, yet “someone” did persuade him to ride over 200 miles a day for a year — and what an epic adventure we had!
After Kurt’s HAMR (Highest Annual Mileage Record) year, I knew I was going to write the book about our amazing journey. But, I had this relentless nagging, gnawing feeling that I needed to do the women’s HAMR too. Since the thought wouldn’t let up, I realized I needed to do it even though Kurt was less than enthusiastic about the idea. After all, he was still decompressing from his year in the saddle. Convincing Kurt took a little time and some stubborn foot stomping on my part, but he eventually relented.
We then had to consider, could we actually switch places? Was it possible for Kurt to crew without killing me or going absolutely bonkers? I was dying for him to get a taste of what I had to go through when I supported him during his year, although, I did’t want it to be the teeth-grinding-hair-loss challenge I endured. I wasn’t that cruel and we did just get married.
When I think of ‘why’ I would take on this cockamamie endeavor, the first reason that comes to mind is that I wanted a better understanding of what Kurt experienced before I started writing the book. Also, I thought I could at least do a hundred miles a day and that would break the previous record set by Billey Dovey in 1938. And then, this was a great way to recover from a broken ankle; and here was a chance to train for a year with Kurt as my coach — I could build endurance and speed! (Endurance, yes, that happened gradually. Speed, not so much since I had to pace myself to recover and ride the next day.)
As a mother, I wanted to dedicate this to my two sons, Cole and Dane. I knew there were many lessons we would all learn during this challenge. I also wanted to teach them that you don’t have to be the best in the world to do what you love. Above all, honestly, maybe I just needed to do this for myself and for my sons to be proud of me.
Now, I’m not a competitive athlete and not to sound disingenuous, but I never even considered myself an athlete. I have no special talent when it comes to sports (unless throwing darts is an athletic gift), although I am highly active and always have been. I’ve invariably seen myself as an underdog.
Having said that, when I crewed for Kurt’s year I found that when I had days he needed less support, I had time to ride. For example: when we were in Flatwoods Park, Florida I would ride 40 miles in the morning… 20 miles in the afternoon… and then another 20 miles in the evening or more. I would support and run errands in-between rides. I found that the affects of an 80 mile day was hardly noticeable in my body. I didn’t really feel it the next day. I could do it again. Soon I was doing centuries the same way. I realized then that the women’s HAMR was actually possible for me.
After we decided to do this, we then had to figure out how we were going to do this? We had to structure the year differently from Kurt’s HAMR year. From our previous experience, we learned that setting up our strategy in advance was necessary, although we had to be flexible because we also knew that in an instant our plans could and would change. Kurt had a business to run and he needed to get back to work. We had to manage the year around our life because it wasn’t going to be all about riding. Little did we know we would also have the added bonus of buying a new house, moving and remodeling it too.
Then there were the mishaps and glitches that were going to happen, which they did. Like the bikes falling off the racks. Even with the ‘idiot lock policy’ and how expensively comical it all has become, there were some pretty hard blows that we struggled with. These were heart breaking tragedies that could have derailed our pursuits which had nothing to do with cycling. We both lost close family members during our individual year. This was a tough emotional challenge to ride through, at least it was for me.
Originally, the majority of my riding was planned to be here in Little Rock, Arkansas doing loops on the River Trail. And then, when the weather suited him, Kurt would come out and kick my butt riding, pushing me hard before heading off to work. I occasionally rode with a handful of friends I trusted, but not very often. I rode solo for the most part which worked out very well for me since I could control my speed and prevent burning out.
The Little Rock River Trail is made up of your common streets with regular vehicle traffic and some bike lanes. There is about an eight mile section which involves climbing the Big Dam Bridge (remember this is all about miles not elevation gain, so I avoided if I could) that is strictly park trail and highly used by runners, dog walkers and families with little kids. There are sections Kurt and I dubbed “the gauntlet” because trying to maneuver in, out and around the living obstacles was a potential hazard on some days. We were always hearing about someone hitting someone, getting caught up on a dog leash or almost nailing a little kid. Let alone the parks natural wildlife. The suicidal squirrels, rabbits, turtles, snakes and then the darting deer which Kurt actually clipped on one foggy morning ride.
Then there were the routes in and out of the city leading to the rural country roads. This is where I tried to do most of my riding at first, but the more dogs I came across the less I rode them. A dog had taken me out and I broke my collar bone a month before I started the HAMR, so I tried to avoid dogs at all cost even though I was armed with pepper spray and a Dazer.
Kurt was a big fan of highway miles. I was scared to death of them. Speeding cars and semi trucks — I could die! But, he finally talked me into riding the highways (of course, not the interstate). This soon became my preference. Adjusting to riding the four lane highways was ideal. They were lengthy stretches of road, with few stops, a three to five foot shoulder with a rumble strip, desirable pavement and the hills were rolling. I could plug into an audio book or music and the day would fly — especially with a tailwind.
We also planned to take off whenever we could to ride to other states searching for better weather and new routes. Kurt did take a week off here and there so that he could support me as I rode down to northern Florida or up to Wisconsin. I ended up making more highway runs down and back to Louisiana with the wind and a few times to the Natchez Trace Parkway in Mississippi. I did fly out to California for a few days to see my boys and with a borrowed bike, obtained some miles on the American River Bike trail.
My primary bike was a Specialized Roubaix with Reynolds wheels. I had the option of going tubeless and after trying both I’m still on the fence about it. Then in addition, Kurt had a cyclocross bike we had rebuilt as my backup bike with disk brakes for wet days. It was heavier and a bit larger than my Specialized, yet the change in fit position was a good stretch and break for my body in aero. The seat, though, was everything. Even when they were trashed I wanted to keep my Forte’ saddles. I had planned on switching between the road bikes and my recumbent, but sadly the recumbent ended up causing more problems and trouble than it was worth so it sat in the garage with a “For Sale” sign on it.
People always ask me about my nutrition and I am embarrassed to say I have failed to get this right. My diet was constantly changing. Right from the start I had a stomach bug and I was on a bland diet. Slowly I was able to add more foodstuff that I could digest while on the bike. PB&J on toast (using GU as jelly) became a staple for half the year. On the bike I drank smoothies made of coconut milk, coconut water, bananas and ice. I ate an egg white spinach omelet for breakfast and fried wild rice with egg whites for lunch (see, I told you it was bland.) One good thing, Kurt was really great about making normal dinners every night.
It wasn’t until the very last month that all nutrition concerns of any kind went out the window. Kurt had signed me up for the HAMR month record for my age group and we did what was convenient. One day I asked Kurt to get me an apple fritter from this place called Donut Palace that I always rode by and then I craved one everyday (damn you Donut Palace!) We became such regular customers at Pizza Hut takeout that Kurt uploaded the App. Children’s Pedialyte seemed to always be in one of my water bottles towards the last few months. It was my placebo, it just made me feel better.
Right after I finished, a friend asked, “Did you ever think you would quit?” No, not really and when I did it was a fleeting moment. I knew I would see it through. If I compared myself to Kurt or anyone else and the massive miles they could do, the speed… sure, that would be overwhelmingly demoralizing. Unquestionably, it’s humbling if I think about it, yet I tried not to let myself go there. I had to focus on what I was doing, what I was capable of, what I set out to do. I was dedicated and determined to see this through.
What was really hard was riding through the cold. When it was below freezing and I felt like an ice cube, the thought of going back out after thawing nearly brought me to tears, “I don’t want to freeze again!” That was when Coach Kurt (who won’t ride below 50 degrees fahrenheit) implemented the HTFU rule. It was pitiful, but I endured through the winter.
In all reality, I didn’t hit my goal of a century a day for a year, but that’s OK. Getting up to the point where I could ride a double century was a major milestone for me. I’m very pleased with how I did. I gave it all I had. There were some setbacks, illnesses and my back went out for ten days. Yet, I am grateful for the opportunity that was given me and feel very blessed by all the friends I’ve made. Their immense support has meant more than they will ever know. Kurt, as many know, stepped up and beyond compare, became my champion crew chief, hardcore coach and colossal inspiration.
If I can express anything, the most important thing I did learn was that this is a team venture. All involved must want this. We have been very fortunate to have survived — we are still alive — and it’s because the support goes both ways for crew and rider. Watching out for each others safety and health is of the utmost. The encouragement, the guidance, the nurturing, the care, the respect and appreciation, etc… patiently understanding where the other person is, it’s all part of the balancing act of a partnership, our little team. I believe this is truly the secret to our two successful cycling years.
Chalk it up!
Women’s HAMR (age group 50-59) 32,415 miles
Women’s Month Record (age group 50-59) 4,021 miles
I did something I never imagined I would do.
Live in denial of your limitations!
Alicia Searvogel
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Someone keeps deleting her record off Wiki, according to her farcebook page. Apparently it is someone from the UK who got a bee in their bonnet.
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That is just too petty for words.
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I checked the history of the deletions; reason given is that 'record is a age-category only therefore doesn't belong on this page'. Well, some of the 'records' are only there because they are recognised by one body, they aren't absolute records.
Yeah, it is petty.
I think I'll go and reverse the deletion.
[edit] I checked the page - the page is supposed to be a list of records certified by (list of bodies - including HAMR). Alicia's record is certified by HAMR.
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The omission of Alicia is probably justified given she's never held an overall gender record (has she?) and the page in question ("List of Cycling Records") is meant to summarise major achievements only. I think the solution to this is to make a proper Year Record page that can cover everyone that's had a go.
(Also the sentences about Alicia appear to have been added by a user named Alicia and re-added by a user named TarzanRides. Editing pages about yourself is generally considered bad form (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Ten_Simple_Rules_for_Editing_Wikipedia#Rule_7._Avoid_shameless_self-promotion))
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dogtrousers, I agree with you - but total removal of her record is not justified - not if you read the description of the page at the top.