A Tale of Two Ellicott City Fixie Rides

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times … it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair …"

Two Ellicott City fixie rides on successive days were very similar in some respects for the wheelsucker and very different in others. 

Saturday:
Just two riders started; Jay Murphy and the wheelsucker. The first good climb and longest of the ride is up Bonnie Branch. Jay opened a gap at the bottom of the climb, and the wheelsucker was immediately gapped, and could not close it despite going as hard as he could. The wheelsucker was sneaking peaks at his HR on the computer and calculating how far from his max HR he was, to distract himself from the pain. The HR varied slightly with the steepness of the climb, but gradually rose. Fifteen beats from max, then twelve, then near the top, seven. The wheelsucker could see Jay and was within easy site range at the top, but Jay had to wait for him. This was the pattern for the rest of the ride, Jay continued to push the pace on the climbs to ensure he got a workout, and the wheelsucker was gapped on every climb over a few seconds, was maxed out at the top of every climb, and would have to chase, while Jay would slow up and wait. Jay reported feeling stronger than he had a week or two earlier after some good workouts; the wheelsucker quietly lamented Jay’s form to himself.

Jay cut off part of the airport loop, so they returned to Ellicott City earlier than normal and then went up several steep climbs in Ellicott City. You thought Ilchester was bad? How about riding up a salt covered road so steep one needed to stand, but could not, because the back wheel would break loose when one did, or an unpaved two rut laneway that went through a mud pool at a low spot. The wheelsucker finally called "uncle" due to right ankle pain, when they dropped into Ellicott City at the bottom of a descent. The truth is he was exhausted, and nearly cross eyed on the climbs, and despaired of being able to stay with Jay. The wheelsucker went home, sat in a hot bathtub for awhile, and then went to bed to rest. The rest of the day was nearly a total loss, as he tried to recover

Sunday:
Six riders rolled out, but one dropped out very early after a flat. That left Mike Birner, Chris Harshman, Marc Frazer, Eric and the wheelsucker. Eric was riding a road bike, which is OK with this ride's rules as long as the large chain ring is not used. Even being able to coast on the fast downhills instead of spinning as fast as one dared looked great to the wheelsucker.

Mike was leading at the start of the Bonnie Branch climb but pulled off and the wheelsucker pulled through. Having done the same climb the day before, the wheelsucker was confident he could hold 158 bpm for at least part of the climb and was also expecting to tire quickly after the hard ride the day before, so kept rolling while he could. After a minute or two the wheelsucker started to wonder if he was killing himself towing the rest up the climb, so he sneaked a peak under his arm, and didn't see a front wheel. Now Bonnie Branch has some nice curves, and when the wheelsucker looked back more carefully, there was no one in site. Winning a climb that no one else contests may be a bit lame, but the wheelsucker will take whatever crumbs he can, so kept going hard. There is a road coming into Bonnie Branch from the left just before the very top, and when the wheelsucker turned the last corner, saw that road and saw no one behind him he stood and gave it all he had left, winning the climb (over a group that probably wasn't contesting it) by 20 seconds (yes, the wheelsucker timed it). The wheelsucker will take what he can get. Average and max HR were a beat or two below that on the same climb Saturday.

The rest of the ride was good for the wheelsucker, the pace on the climbs was slightly easier, and the wheelsucker could usually hold a wheel, or failing that quickly chase down after the top, confident that he was not the last rider at the top of the climb, going off the back. The wheelsucker finished the ride feeling good, with better hopes for the coming season than on Saturday.

The 38x15 gear was working well both days, allowing the wheelsucker to stay with the others on the fast downhills. The light rain on Sunday kept the roads and riders wet, and increased the wheelsucker's concerns on the downhills. On one occasion Mike and Chris contested a downhill sprint and went by the wheelsucker like he was standing still. Mike's high cadence for the day was an incredible 194 set on the long downhill back into Ellicott City on Frederick road. The wheelsucker recalls braking on this descent (and on many other descents) as he was uncomfortable spinning any faster on the wet curved road.

The wheelsucker’s guidelines for surviving the Ellicott City Sunday (and occasionally Saturday) fixie ride:

Do whatever you have to get rid of Jay; Jay was flying out of town for the week so could not ride Sunday. Jay's good days will make one suffer!

Don't believe Mike Birner when tells you a 39x16 will work. Unless you have an amazing ability to spin, you won't be able to hold experienced fixie riders on the downhills with a lower gear, especially when they can spin rather higher than you can. The gear you want is 38x15, or whatever is nearly identical in gear inches. It might interesting to try a slightly higher gear to make the downhills easier, and trying to hang on the uphills with the bigger gear.

Conserve energy and wheelsuck as much as possible (of course this comes naturally to the wheelsucker).

Ensure someone a little weaker than you is doing the ride. Some heavier riders who struggle on the climbs or some pretty women in Lycra (remember: don't drop the pretty women!) who may not be quite as strong as Jay and Mike will cause the group to wait at the top of the climbs, or at the bottom of fast descents, and one can catch one's breath while waiting for them, quietly grateful that one is not off the back oneself.

Wheelsucker Data (the Saturday ride was longer and had more very steep climbs in Ellicott City at the end):

Saturday:
average/max
HR 141/166 bpm
Cadence 78/169 rpm
Speed 15.4/33.5 mph
2:22:59 elapsed time
36.81 miles

Sunday:
average/max
HR 135/164 bpm
Cadence 84/165 rpm (the Powertap only recorded cadence for the first part of the ride, average and maximum cadence calculated from average and maximum speed)
Speed 16.7/32.9 mph
2:03:38 elapsed time
34.61 miles