[HAMR] Tarzan (Kurt Searvogel)

[Jack_P]

110 mile downhill, wow, great plan

That tactic would kick off a full blown war among the anti Kurt commenters though 

[Mr Larrington]

Yee-hah!
by Mr Larrington, on Flickr

That's just outside Kooskia ID.  It's only 77 miles from the top of the Lolo Pass but US-12 follows the river down to Clarkston WA, which is another 75 miles.  The temperature in Kooskia ATM is -7 deg. C thobut.

In September 2010 I passed a heavily-laden tourist riding up the pass.  It was raining.  A lot.  Clearly a Chap from the TG mould.

[Climberruss]

110 mile downhill, wow, great plan

That tactic would kick off a full blown war among the anti Kurt commenters though 

It's just NOT tennis! 

[LMT]

Unspecified cleat issues with the 'bent today.

Just looked like he was not quite used to it on a recumbent.
Different shoes (sure I caught mention of MTB shoes in the video) and he looked like he was sat back too far to connect them properly.
Once clipped in and riding he had slide forward in the seat.

I looked at the videoand thought the same - he was way too far back - he could hardly reach the pedals.

I don't think he was, he just made a school boy error trying to clip in when having the crankset near the dead spot.

Having said this, the next clip of him riding the bent - he looks good.

[RichForrest]

I get the same when I sit too far back when trying to clip in, the seat is the correct distance for him when riding. It would be as set up by John S.
It would feel odd sitting back clipping in. I have the same issue with the 26" wheel on the front of the tandem, takes a while to get used to it and Kurt hasn't been riding recumbent that long.

[mattc]

I'm not sure I agree with the sub-point of riding oneself into form and fitness; I reckon that they will both be in a better shape physically right now than they will with another three months' riding in their legs - but I could be wrong on that and I know that Steve makes that point too - but I believe that if it exists at all, it is far less important than the seasonal effect Steve is going to benefit from: longer days and warmer weather. 

My layman's opinion is that there isn't enough data on ultra-stupid-endurance efforts for us to know; maybe the training effect will outweigh wear-n-tear, maybe not. Sadly I don't think they're collecting the data that future armchair experts will need to settle this argument!

As to where Kurt goes when Florida gets too hot, I don't know.  But he's a smart guy and I expect he has some ideas.  One strategy that has ocurred to me - so I'm sure it must have ocurred to him - would be to find a long, straight 40-mile downhill on the edge of the Rockies and do seven or eight ski runs down it, with camper van transfer back up, each day. 

However, even that would take time.  Assuming there is such a hill, and he could get down it at 40mph, it's probably going to take him another hour to put the bike back in the van and drive back up, so he would still be looking at 16 hours to do 320 miles, ie 20mph average speed.

That would make a very productive rest day. And if he can kip in the van on the way up, he might be able to keep that up 24x7. (giving 480mile days)

Facebook would explode.

[hillbilly]

As this is a brave new frontier, I can understand why both are not going full guns at the moment. 

Their only point of reference is really Tommy Godwin, and as has been described elsewhere that historic experience is unlikely to be a true reflection of what is possible.

I flip-flop between Steve and/or Kurt not doing enough to hold off the challenge of the other.  I'd imagine both is comfortable in themselves that they are putting in the right effort at this point in time.  Kurt, however, seems to be the worse for wear at the moment.  Both his sickness, whatever it was, and also his general appearance (he was exhibiting cracked lips the other day, and looked generally fatigued.  Albeit at other times he appears bright as a button).  For all I know, Steve might be the same.  He seems to be keeping a lower public profile than Kurt, largely leaving his riding (and more vocal "fans") to do the talking.

[Ningishzidda]

Yee-hah!
by Mr Larrington, on Flickr

That's just outside Kooskia ID.  It's only 77 miles from the top of the Lolo Pass but US-12 follows the river down to Clarkston WA, which is another 75 miles.  The temperature in Kooskia ATM is -7 deg. C thobut.

In September 2010 I passed a heavily-laden tourist riding up the pass.  It was raining.  A lot.  Clearly a Chap from the TG mould.

And if you hit any animals, Mr L has brought a 'vette.

[Mr Larrington]

Ningers, you are a Bad Man and I doubt your railway is much cop either

[Ningishzidda]

Ooohhh ?

Here's a nice railway,,,

http://www.roaringcamp.com/

[Jacamo]

My recollection of (driving round) San Francisco is that it's not exactly flat. That'll come as a shock to Tarzan surely.

Kurt climbs very well, and much better than most.

[Wowbagger]

No doubt he does - he's a phenomenal cyclist - but the whole point about a record like this is that you want to avoid putting your body under strain as much as you reasonably can when knocking out >200 miles per day.

[Von Broad]

I agree with the main thrust of Tim's point: when is Kurt going to be able to do the big mileages if not now?

I've had the same thought myself plenty of times over the past few weeks, although I doubt this will be his only visit to Florida throughout the year. November and December could be big gains for him back there again after things cool down a bit. Just when things could get difficult here in the UK. Lots of cycling before then though!

I'm not sure I agree with the sub-point of riding oneself into form and fitness; I reckon that they will both be in a better shape physically right now than they will with another three months' riding in their legs - but I could be wrong on that and I know that Steve makes that point too -

I remember Jack Thurston asking Steve when he thought his worse time might be, "Spring, probably.....could start thinking, ah..had enough of all this!". It must be easy for him to see getting through the winter has a challenge in itself, a mini mountain in it's own right - which, I think we'd all agree, is true! I think he was intimating that he could find himself in the bizarre situation where things improve weather wise, but he has a bit of a lull in mood, a kind of tailing off after surviving the first few months. But importantly - and in typical TG style - he's aware that that might happen, so he'll be ready to deal with it best he can.

[Exit Stage Left]

I'd have thought that the Natchez Trace Parkway might be nice in Spring.

[Climberruss]

I'd have thought that the Natchez Trace Parkway might be nice in Spring.

Subtitle for this picture...and this whole endeavour..." The loneliness of the long distance cyclist".

[Exit Stage Left]

The Natchez Trace was mentioned in an interview in January.

I asked Kurt about logistics for the challenge at hand: Won't they be a nightmare compared with riding in one general location?"Traveling will add a degree of difficultly but will keep me sane," he said. "Riding the same roads over and over will drive me crazy." It is Kurt's intention to stay in the flatter states and catch tailwinds as much as possible, but he also wants to participate in as many of the 12-hour races as possible, as well as the Gulf Coast Interstate Relay as a solo participant. He plans to start his quest in Florida, staying in the sunshine state until the Sebring 12-hour race Feb. 14-15. He will then start a trek toward Texas and California to participate in several endurance rides. In most cases he will chart a course and ride his bike toward his intended destination for his daily mileage. We are very likely to see him riding the Natchez Trace in Mississippi as he meanders from state to state.

http://www.clarionledger.com/story/go/2015/01/09/cycling-mississippi-kurt-searvogel-endurance-record/21495607/

The various Scenic Drives and Parkways might make an interesting change. I've researched a few of them, as a sort of pipe-dream.

[mzjo]

The Natchez Trace was mentioned in an interview in January.

I asked Kurt about logistics for the challenge at hand: Won't they be a nightmare compared with riding in one general location?"Traveling will add a degree of difficultly but will keep me sane," he said. "Riding the same roads over and over will drive me crazy." It is Kurt's intention to stay in the flatter states and catch tailwinds as much as possible, but he also wants to participate in as many of the 12-hour races as possible, as well as the Gulf Coast Interstate Relay as a solo participant. He plans to start his quest in Florida, staying in the sunshine state until the Sebring 12-hour race Feb. 14-15. He will then start a trek toward Texas and California to participate in several endurance rides. In most cases he will chart a course and ride his bike toward his intended destination for his daily mileage. We are very likely to see him riding the Natchez Trace in Mississippi as he meanders from state to state.

http://www.clarionledger.com/story/go/2015/01/09/cycling-mississippi-kurt-searvogel-endurance-record/21495607/

The various Scenic Drives and Parkways might make an interesting change. I've researched a few of them, as a sort of pipe-dream.

Rereading that article shows how little of it has turned out to be true. He should be heading for Texas right now and on a much lower mileage. Kurt is perhaps sailing far more in uncharted waters than he lets on!

[hillbilly]

360km.

Says it all.

[Exit Stage Left]

The weather report in the Clarion-Ledger shows why Kurt is staying in Florida.
http://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/2015/02/23/nws-ice-could-stay-a-few-days/23881221/

[Jabba]

You only have to look at the dateline for the Clarion report (Jan 8 ) and see that it's a copy of Kurt's original aims as stated on his 'TarzanRides' website, not much original reporting going on at all. I've no doubt he's looking at the US weather and adjusting his plans accordingly.  The biggest change, which everyone here has noticed, is his immediate 200+ mile continuous cycling and no 'rest day'.  Given his previous RAAM endeavours I'm sure he can bang out even bigger mileage but for how long?  This is the unknown for both TG and Kurt, looking at the miles Tommy put in during Jul/Aug he was operating on very little sleep.  We know TG can do this, he's got the history and I'm keen to watch the tactics of both riders develop over the year.

GO STEVE GO

[hillbilly]

Does anyone know what Kurt's sleep regime on rAAm was?

[paul851]

They are clearly doing this as expected, Kurt rides fast and spends more time off the bike. Steve is more a slow and steady guy.

I do not know much about Steve's history, but I do know this about Kurt; he completed the Race Across America in 10 days getting 4-6 hours of sleep in a hotel every night. I am unaware of anyone else who has approached it that way.

from dhoff on velocipedesalon so pretty much what he's doing now though he probably did more mile's per day during RAAM.

Paul

[geraldc]

Is Steve not considered fast anymore? Or is it just his current avg speed, that's getting him this reputation. Riding audax on an MTB or fixed does mean that you're unlikely to bother the people at the front end of the audax too much.

[hillbilly]

Thanks Paul.

[citoyen]

Is Steve not considered fast anymore? Or is it just his current avg speed, that's getting him this reputation. Riding audax on an MTB or fixed does mean that you're unlikely to bother the people at the front end of the audax too much.

At his current average riding speed, he would be towards the front end of the field on most audaxes, so he's not slow by any normal human standards. It's more that he's riding well within what he's capable of, speed-wise. Riding fixed has never slowed him down either - I've been passed by him a few times on audaxes, cruising along at speed, churning a massive gear without any obvious signs of effort.

As others have said, he will up his speed significantly in the summer months - he'll need to when he's putting in the really big mileage days.