Dawn-riderMy main avocation the past fifteen years has been road biking, especially longer distances ('ultra cycling'). I  try to ride about 6,000 miles per year, not too much by ultra standards, but about all I can manage with a family and a career as an astronomer. I commute to work (20 miles round trip on shortest route) on warm months of the year (April-October) if the road conditions aren't too terrible.

Ultracycling Web Resources

Locally, there are a several local bike clubs in Iowa City, including Bicyclists of Iowa City, the 2-Bee Racing club, and a mountain bike club, the Iowa City Coalition of Off-Road Riders.

Statewide, the Bike Iowa web page is a great resource for finding cycling events of all types  throughout Iowa.  There's  an active local group of long-distance cyclists in eastern Iowa, including the Cedar Valley Cyclists, who run an annual set of 200K - 600K brevets and the Big Dogs Endurance Cycling club.

Two organizations which organize ultra cycling events  on a national level are the Ultra Marathon Cycling Association , sponsors of the Race Across America, ultracycling's premier racing event, and Randonneurs USA, which coordinates US riders who wish to qualify for the granddaddy of all ultracycling events, Paris-Brest-Paris. PBP, as it is universally known among ultracyclists, is a mythical 1200 km (760 mile) ride from the western Parisian suburb of Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines to the coast at Brest and back again. In order to qualify to enter PBP, riders must complete a series of officially sanctioned brevets (200 km, 300 km, 400 km, 600 km) in under specified time limits and send their brevet cards to Paris. PBP is only offered once every four years (including 2007) and the brevets must be completed in the same year. Over 4,000 riders from around the world participate in PBP, all striving to complete the ride in less than 90 hours, thereby becoming an 'ancien' and earning the coveted finisher's medal. I did this ride in 1995 (in 72:10)  - it was one of the most enjoyable rides of my life.


Finally, there's the annual bike ride across Iowa, RAGBRAI, which my family and I have done many years since 1990, except when the sunny prospect of another hot and humid trip through the bucolic Iowa countryside is somehow supplanted by a week riding out West, for example in the Rockies with the Pedal the Peaks  tour. These tours are much more challenging than RAGBRAI, both in terms of distance and elevation gain, but it was beautiful and amazingly well organized - highly recommended.

 Ultracycling log


2001. The year 2001 was not been a great year for big miles, but the rides have been enjoyable. In June I rode the TOMRV ride in 'express' mode (single day), about 180 miles, and the National 24 Hour Challenge near Grand Rapids Michigan. I also showed up for John Thier's Dubuque double century ( a Big Dog club ride), which includes one of the steepest hills in the Midwest! I had grand plans to finally break 400 miles at the UMCA 24 Hour Championships, but after a MCL knee sprain trekking in Kyrgyzstan in July, I settled for a very enjoyable 210 mile ride and a good night's sleep. The Cochise County Cycling Classic in Arizona on October 6 was great fun. My friend Terry Brown (from Sierra Vista) and I did the 156 mile event as a team,and finished in just over 10 hours. We were on track for a 9 hour finish at the 100 mile mark (top of Texas Canyon), but the headwinds in Sulphur Springs Valley really took its toll.

2002. Another modest year in 2002. The only significant event was the UMCA 24 Hour Championships in mid-September, with a 345 mile finish. This included 2.5 hours off the bike, caused by not having any support crew (and tiredness!)

2003. Another so-so biking year. Connie and I had a great week on our tandem bike at Pedal the Peaksith daily rides up to 128 miles and 6,000 climbing feet in northern Colorado and southern Wyoming. Add a few  doubles and a 306 mile ride at the UMCA championships in September.

2005. Several week-long organized rides  including Hell Week Las Vegas  (800 hot miles  in 8 days, May) and Pedal the Peaks  (June, Northern New Mexico) again. In early September,  sons Chris (28) and Matt (23) joined me at the UMCA Midwest 12/24 hour championships for a leisurely double century ride. In October I did the Cochise County Classic 157 again, but once again  could not break 10 hours  (10:15).

2006. Late May featured  a solo tour from Fraser to Grand Junction Colorado over several less-traveled mountain passes (e.g. Gore, McClure) . In June I did another solo tour in Southern Utah, visiting Zion, Bryce, and Cedar Breaks parks. In July, I had a pretty good 20K time trial at the Iowa Games, managing 32:10 (23.3 mph average). In early September I did the 12-hour race at the UMCA Midwest 12/24 hour championships and managed to ride 207 miles, a personal best for 12 hours. It was also good enough for first place in the 60-69 age category (don't laugh).

2007. A few nice trips, including rides in Switzerland with my son Chris (Klaussenpass ride photos), several days on the Blue Ridge Parkway near Asheville NC with Chris and Matt, and another 12-hour race at the UMCA Midwest 12/24 hour championships. I managed to ride 207 miles again, but was off-course for 4 miles, so my official total was 203. This was (just) good enough for another first place in the 60-69 age category (don't laugh again).

2008. In mid-May I rode a lovely 540 mile route from Las Vegas to Green River (UT), with stopovers in Overton [NV], St. George, Orderville, Tropic, Boulder, and Hanksville. The first two days were unexpectantly tough, with fierce [30-50 mph] headwinds almost the entire day. I ran out of water halfway up 'Utah Hill' (old US 91) , now a lonely two-lane backroad between Mesquite and St. George. It features a steady 3,000 ft climb, with the steepest part near the top, and no services. The combination of headwinds, relentless climbing, and afternoon desert heat made this a tough climb. The highlight of the trip had to be the 'Hogback' between Escalante and Boulder along Utah state higheway 12, a spectacular road that every cyclist should do once in a lifetime.

I spent June in Switzerland where my oldest son Chris is a graduate student at ETH in Zurich. For my 62nd birthday we rode an epic route that included the famed Stelvio Pass in Northern Italy (2757m), a 6,000 ft climb in 24 km averaging 8%, with upper sections well above 10% grade. The picture at right is on top of the pass, with Chris on the left, our friend Forrest, and me at right. The arch behind commemorates the legendary Italian cyclist Fausto Coppi who won the Giro several times in the 1950's - the Stelvio has been a key stage in the Giro for many years. The day totalled nearly 11,000 ft of climbing in 85 miles.

Bike Stable

I currently own at least 6 road bikes [lost count] and a mountain bike. This is  clearly excessive, but I find that it's a lot harder to get rid of bikes than acquire them!
  • Two Specialized Roubaix (Elite and Pro models). Definitely my favorite bike. Very smooth, comfortable, easy to stay in the drops for long periods. A great ultra bike. I keep the Elite (with alpine gearing) in Switzerland and one in Iowa.
  • A Kestrel 200 SCI with 9-speed Dura-Ace double and a FSA 50/34 compact carbon crank.
  • A Trek 5900 equipped with 9-speed Dura-Ace triple and Syntace aero-bars.
  • A Trek 5200 with Ultegra triple and Syntace aero-bars.
  • A Softride Power Wing 700 with Ultegra double. This bike is very comfortable on ultra rides, but doesn't climb as well as the standard triangle frame bikes. It is also hard to attach rear lights,water bottles, pumps etc. I use a Camelback for water and spare clothes, on this bike.

Recommended equipment for ultras

  • Brooks Champion B17 Saddle. I have never been happy with any saddle on long distance rides. Although I owned an old Brooks saddle in the 70's, it was abused by being thoroughly soaked many times and was as hard as a rock, and consequently very uncomfortable. In 2003 I talked to a very experienced ultra rider and was convinced to try Brooks again. In a word, the Brooks is fantastic. I use the B17 'Champion special' lightweight model with titanium rails (pricey at about $211, with the model without Ti rails is closer to $90). After a brief break-in period, it conforms to one's anatomy and is unbelievably comfortable. It is especially good in hot, humid weather because the leather breathes. I rode the UMCA 24 hour time trial on September 2003 with very little seat discomfort, a first. Wallingford Bike offers a 100% return, no questions asked policy which is valid for six months on Brooks saddles.
  • Compact (50/34) dual crankset. Although the Dura-Ace triple on my Trek 5500 shifts fine, a lighter alternative to serious hill-climbing gears is a 50/34 tooth dual crankset. When equipped with a 12/28 rear cluster, the low gear ratio is 1.21, much more comfortable than the 1.39 ratio of a conventional 53/39 and almost exactly the same as the second lowest gear on the triple (39/25, 1.20). On the high end, the 50/12 ratio is 4.17 compared with 4.41, a 6% difference which is only noticeable above 25 mph. Although fairly expensive ($300), the FSA 'compact' 50/34 carbon crank is beautifully machined and at 525 gm is about 100 gm lighter than the DA triple crank.
  • Cateye HB100 HRM Speedometer. I have several of these (one for each bike). I find monitoring my HR during a training ride an excellent way to maintain intensity. For me, a HR of 140-145 for an hour or so is a good workout, and for very long rides (over 100 miles), keeping the HR below  130 keeps my stomach happy. The Cateye is also an excellent bargain (about $80) compared with the competition.
  • Syntace C-2 Aerobars. These bars are fantastic. I use them on all road bikes. The arms rests are set a bit behind the handlebars, which is much more comfortable than other styles.
  • High, short stem. I use a 80mm stem with a 45 deg angle on most of my bikes. In my opinion, this is the most comfortable setup for ultra riding. Most bikes are set up for short races, with racing-style bars too far away and too low. That's great for criteriums and 40km TT's but not for 24+ hrs in the saddle. That position leads to severe back, hand, and neck problems.
  • Garmin Edge 305HR GPS Cycling computer. This  is a fantastic device: lightweight, easy to use, and full of features. It has built-in heart rate monitor and records speed, location, and HR every 10 seconds. You can upload each ride and plot of e.g. Google maps, and also plot HR, Speed, etc vs. time. Details at Garmin's  website. The only drawback is the lack of street maps - a deficiency which the new Edge 605/705 models will address (March 2008), but it won't be cheap!

 Long Distance Biking Nutrition

  • GU. Having a few packets of GU in your jersey pocket is great insurance against bonking. They are much too expensive to use for normal caloric intake (about $1 per 100 calorie package in quantity), but they treat the stomach well and get digested very fast. I like the vanilla and orange flavors best.


Local Cycling Quick links

Iowa City and regional cycling

Local Bike Trail Maps

Regional rides 2007

Iowa and Midwest ultra events in 2007

Ultracycling Organizations 

Ultracycling Training Tips